Elusion(27)

I look deep into the freeze-framed eyes on the screen and realize I’ve had it all wrong. Avery isn’t causing problems for Patrick out of maliciousness. She actually thinks she’s saving the world. And because of her fervent belief, people are starting to take notice. People like . . . Josh.

There’s only one solution: I have to prove to Avery, and to everyone else, that she’s wrong. And there’s only one way to do that.

I need to find the firewall.


When my eyes blink open, I have to immediately shade them with my hands. It’s not Elusion’s signature white light that’s interfering with my vision, but an array of shocking colors. The sky is a shade of bright peach, the scattered clouds an effervescent pink so fluffy and low I’m tempted to jump up and tear off a piece like warm cotton candy. The sun is centered directly above me, a swirling, pulsating mass of purple.

I push myself up, wiggling my toes in the plum-and-bright-red-speckled sand that sparkles around me like a sheet of tie-dyed diamonds. My pale skin looks perfectly bronzed against a green halter-top bikini that magically gives me an hourglass shape.

I push myself to my feet, transfixed by the shining silver sea, its waves cresting into a foaming kaleidoscope of colors before crashing to the shore.

This is not the same tropical Thai beach that I visited the day after I found out my father was never coming home again—the one with the lush, heavy palm trees and blue-green water with dark seaweed floating in clumps underneath the surface, the one that looked like a real place. This Escape destination is a confectionary creation, rebuilt and redesigned by Patrick and his new team of programmers. The only thing that remains from before is the faint fairy-dust outline of every piece of stimulus surrounding me.

But why?

The question doesn’t linger in my mind for long. The wondrous lull of trypnosis is penetrating my brain cells. A mellow breeze gently blows my hair, and I tuck it behind my ear. I turn toward the water as it begins to rise and crest, reaching into the peach sky and rushing along the shore with a thunderous roar. I stand up, my feet cushioned by the soft, cool sand, and walk toward the water, reaching it just as a frothy wave breaks. I laugh and jump back in delight as the water splashes all the way up to my stomach, causing my skin to glow. I take a step forward and then another, wading into the silver ocean. It feels as if the tide is moving not around me but through me, encouraging me to go farther with every wave. When I’m thigh deep in the sparkling water, a thought tugs at me and I pause.

I have a feeling that there is something I’m supposed to do.

The crash of another incoming wave distracts me, and I turn to face it head-on, welcoming the water as it spills over me. I flip on my stomach, gracefully riding the wave toward shore. When I reach shallow ground, I push back toward the sea, my legs moving in a fluid and effortless motion. I swim until I lose sight of land, then float on my back, my legs spread out in a V shape, my cheeks soaking up the rays of the sun. It’s hard to explain the feeling inside me, but I trust the water to deliver me to safety.

By the time I coast back to shore and open my eyes once again, the miles of wild-colored beach have been replaced with a dense, tropical forest that’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. I step out of the sea, water droplets lingering on my tanned skin as I walk toward leafy, blue-feathered palm trees with cream trunks. Tucked between them are giant flowers with brilliant red and yellow buds the size of human heads. I turn toward the palm tree and run my fingers over the fuzzy fibers of its pale trunk. It’s soft, like cotton.

My gaze is diverted once again to the sparkling silver ocean, and I smile widely when I notice how all the craggy pockets of land that jut out seem like a long strand of precious multicolored jewels. The sun is beginning to set, inching closer and closer to the horizon, so I decide to skip along the shore, my feet splashing in the water. I have so much energy ripping through me that I feel strong enough to move a mountain, but for some reason, all I want to do now is collect the violet and minty green seashells that are scattered everywhere I look.

I wander and search for a while, although I have no idea for how long. But I stop when my shadow grows tall and only a small sliver of the sun remains. I breathe in the fresh air, which is tinged with a fragrance of hibiscus, determined to capture this feeling of freedom and bottle it up inside me forever.

I bend down to pick up another shell—a dark burgundy one with lots of coarse ridges—when I notice something peculiar. Off in the distance is a grayish, fuzzy wall that extends into the sky like an impenetrable fog. I feel a tingling near the base of my neck as I’m overcome with a sense of purpose.

I’ve left something unresolved.

What is it?

The sky is fading from peach to black as the remaining sun recedes behind a cluster of blood-red clouds.

The firewall.

I came to Elusion to find the firewall.

I drop the shells and begin to run toward the looming curtain of gray in front of me. The breeze transforms into a strong wind, blowing my strawberry-blond hair in all directions. I follow the shoreline, watching how the light colors become swallowed by darker ones. The water is changing too, the silver hue being consumed by inky darkness.

I hear a thunderous crack, followed by another and then another. And suddenly, I stop.

I’m not alone.

There’s a man standing on the beach. He’s not facing the water but staring directly at me, as though he’s been waiting here for my arrival.