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  The pale Coder might never have interfered in the Final Raid and she might have been able to shepherd Zaela through to the next level at Blizzard University. But what then? LifeGame never ended. Watching her father grind down under the constant pressure was proof enough of that.

  Though despite that dreary future, Gabby missed its surety, its reliability. If you understood the system, you could own the world. She would have succeeded under LifeGame. That's why the Frags and the Coder, Mr. Johnson, had sought her out in the first place, because she was at the top of her class.

  Milton sat in the bench in front of her. He'd been in the tops of his class too. Until the epilepsy took him down. And Drogan in front. Why couldn't LifeGame make use of a brilliant mechanical talent? And Celia with her blindness. Though Gabby never understood why Michael had to flee the GSA with his sister. She seemed perfectly capable, even super capable, like the most buffed character in a LifeGame raid.

  Michael sat on the other side of the bench from Celia. His eyes were sunken and his checks gaunt. It appeared he hadn't slept or eaten in weeks. His eyes fleetingly drifted over Gabby, giving her a brief electric shock.

  The flirty game they'd danced when she first met the Frags had been squelched by the enormity of their challenge. There'd been no time to act like a giggly teenager with so much at stake.

  The Caterpillar approached the crest of the last hill and Gabby felt like she was waiting for the first drop on a rollercoaster. The valley was dusted in white. A winter storm had painted the grass and trees with snow. The lake glossed a whitish-blue that reminded Gabby of Michael's eyes. Snow dervishes swirled on the ice, made to dance by invisible strings.

  The lake was the weak point in the GSA's walls, so they had placed gun towers on either side. Drogan, under Celia's guidance, would drive the Caterpillar past the towers. The angled steel canopies would have to protect them from the hailstorm of bullets. They just had to hope the ice would hold the massive vehicle.

  The Caterpillar lurched forward, straining Gabby's neck and she knew that Celia had taken over guiding Drogan. Milton had been hesitant and cautious, just like the plan he'd proposed. Celia was anything but.

  Celia piloted the vehicle through a ravine, scraping the plates on the sides and spitting dirt and hoarfrost over them. There'd been a safer way around the wide ditch, but Celia had gone straight through. When the front half dropped off a short ledge and the support pipes groaned under the strain, Gabby punched the seat in front of her and began climbing over the benches toward Celia.

  "Celia! You're going to kill us before we even get to the wall!"

  When Gabby put a hand on Celia's shoulder, a tiny mechanical insect buzzed her face. Gabby restrained the urge to squash it. When Gabby shook her shoulder again, Celia pointed a finger back behind her, toward the top of the hill.

  Gabby didn't see anything at first, but then the top of a blue and yellow snow cat cab appeared. Gabby recognized the colors of the GSA immediately. There'd been deeper snows in the foothills.

  Their whole vehicle shuddered with impact and the steel girders whined precipitously. Rocks and debris rolled down the ravine ahead of them, broken loose by the plow on the front. Gabby's teeth hurt from the jarring ride.

  When she looked back up the hill, she could see a figure leaning out of the cab. He had stark white hair that matched his clothing. Gabby could imagine the sword on his back, the one she would only be able to see if she were still in LifeGame. It was the Coder, Mr. Johnson.

  Gabby was about to tell the others when the whole vehicle dropped a couple of feet. Celia had driven them off a ledge. The steel canopy on the right fell limply as half its supports snapped. The remaining ones held it barely, but the canopy would provide no protection from the gun tower.

  The ride smoothed out as they were out of the ravine. The Caterpillar thundered onto the frozen lake and the ice screamed in protest. Loud booms echoed through the valley as the ice surface strained from the load. Celia had them pointed toward the left tower. The steel sheets might not protect them from the bullets at close range, but they didn't have a choice now with the right canopy broken.

  Gabby was about to crawl back to Mouse's spot to check on the injured girl, but Michael was already there. Mouse was awake and cradled into his arms. Gabby felt guilty for having jealous thoughts. Mouse was recovering from a gunshot wound and they all could die soon.

  An incoming transmission tickled her neck. Gabby didn't have LifeGame anymore, but that was how it notified her when she had. Gabby brought up her new interface to find an urgent projection waiting. Instinctively, Gabby knew who it was. She glanced up the hill at the Coder hanging out of the door.

  Gabby closed her eyes momentarily before punching the receive signal. It wouldn't hurt to hear what he had to say and maybe give her a clue of what was happening back at home.

  The Coder appeared on the seat in front of her, legs crossed and hands clasped on his knees. Since it was his projection, the sword was on his back. After months in the wilderness, the Coder's retro-fantasy outfit seemed childish.

  "A valiant effort, but you realize there will be no escaping today," he smirked.

  Gabby clamped her lips closed. If he wanted to talk, he could talk, but she wasn't going to give him any information and she didn't want the others to know she had let his projection in.

  Mr. Johnson looked over his shoulder toward the looming tower. A protruding gun rested atop a black metal tripod. It followed their approach with tracking adjustments. The lake continued to protest their presence with more booms. It was like they were traveling over a frozen thunderstorm.

  "Even if you get past the tower, we'll just follow you onto the plains," he said. "I have a cab full of special ops with me including your old friend Unthar. Technically he hasn't graduated yet, but I brought him along for funzies. And there are other ways to track you even if you escape us."

  Gabby hesitated over the 'Dismiss' command. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear anything else the Coder had to say. Right before she dismissed Mr. Johnson's projection, he said something that went right through her gut.

  "All could be forgiven you know," he said and when she reacted, he laughed. "I'd even give you a chance to get your friend Zaela back, but know that my offer doesn’t stand forever. Once the summer arrives, my offer isn't valid anymore."

  His red eyes regarded her coolly. She tried to interpret what he meant by his body language. He was holding something back, something pertinent.

  The first pings against the steel canopy released her from her thoughts. She sent the Coder away and turned her protections on max. The automatic gun was firing steadily at them. Gabby brought the bubble world up briefly to check on Drogan. He was humming along with the music. Milton had integrated the bullet impacts as heavy chimes ringing over him.

  Gabby turned back to Michael and Mouse. The Coder's snow cat had hit the ice and was catching up to them. Michael was just noticing. The steady thunks of the bullets grew louder. Gabby cringed as one hit right near her head. She could see the little button pushed through on her side of the steel. The bullets would almost certainly break through when they got nearer and it appeared Celia was steering them right past the tower.

  It was my plan.

  "They're catching us," Gabby shouted back to Michael.

  He nodded and climbed over Mouse to the flatbed section of the Caterpillar. It wasn't as protected as the benches. Michael was crouched down near his motorcycle. A thunderous crack drew Gabby's attention forward. The front wheel had partially broken through the ice. Water sloshed onto the surface of the frozen lake as they drove over the hole.

  The sudden absence of the pinging bullets and the low growl of a small motor brought her around. Michael sped across the ice, fish-tailing as chunks of ice exploded around him. Michael was headed straight for the tower.

  "Michael!" screamed both Gabby and Mouse.

  The bullet spray appeared to be catching up to him, but before it could, he made it close enough t
o the tower that it couldn't reach him. Then he hopped off his bike and disappeared around the corner.

  Gabby couldn't believe he'd take such a foolish risk. He could have been killed. The bullets resumed their music against the steel canopy. They'd driven closer and now she was sure they would start breaking through the metal any moment.

  Suddenly, Michael appeared on top of the tower. He grabbed the back of the gun, fighting the aiming gears and pointing it at the ice behind them. Michael began spraying all around where the Caterpillar had broken through. The impact chewed through the ice, scattering a mist of broken snow.

  As the snow cat approached, the gun stopped firing. The Coder must have taken control, but it was too late, the damage had been done. As the snow cat tried to advance, the ice began to break apart. It stopped as a huge section disappeared into the cold depths. Water splashed onto the area around the ice.

  The Caterpillar reached the edge and began to climb the little hill toward their escape. They paused at the top to watch as the snow cat tried to go around the hole. Sections broke and cracked, echoing beneath the ice. Eventually, the snow cat had to retreat back to the other side of the lake, as the hole kept growing.

  They cheered as the Coder climbed back into the cab, clearly defeated by the icy lake and Michael's heroics. With the danger behind them, they removed the steel canopies, dumping them into the snow, so the Caterpillar would be more maneuverable for their journey to the plains.

  As they were climbing back onto the vehicle, with Celia back at the helm, Gabby punched Michael in the arm.

  "What was that for?" he said, rubbing his arm.

  "That was the stupidest thing I've ever seen. You driving across the ice on your motorcycle to be the hero. I would have never forgiven myself if you'd been killed," she said with her arms crossed.

  Michael opened his mouth as if he had something important to say and then shook his head, shrugged and closed it. "It doesn't matter. We're free."

  Gabby pulled the blankets over her legs as Michael climbed back to check on Mouse. Gabby couldn't understand why Michael wasn't happier. They'd freed themselves from the GSA. Sure, they hadn't figured out what the GSA did to the losers of LifeGame, like Zaela, but maybe outside in the Freelands they would find people who would know.

  Still, she knew in her gut that something else was wrong. Was he worried about Mouse? She checked back to see a healthier glow back in the girl's face. Mouse was recovering. The two were chatting quietly.

  Gabby wasn’t sure what it could be. But she knew he should be happier. They had their whole lives ahead of them now. The Freelands were full of places they could go. They were in charge of themselves and no one would have a say otherwise.

  Gabby sank into her blankets and let her eyes drift closed. She could feel the warm embrace of sleep calling her. She let a smile trickle to her lips, deep in the comfort of her bench, while the steady shuddering of the Caterpillar soothed her mind.

  We're free, she thought. Free from the Coders and the GSA and LifeGame. Free from other people imposing their values on her. Free from having to make others do what she wanted just to survive. Free to just let people be people.

  These thoughts didn't last long as they rumbled their way onto the plains.

  Chapter Four

  The Freelands stretched from the edge of the mountains eastward to a coast weeks away. Gabby had seen maps during her studies in LifeGame, but the distances were meaningless. Until the Frags had contacted her, she'd never really physically gone anywhere. Why spend hours in a FunCar when you could go there by projection?

  They weren't really Freelands, capital F, like the GSA or the Southlands. It was an idea more than a government or system. People in the Freelands could be anything they wanted, not bound by outsiders and only beholden to the rules they setup themselves.

  When Milton had showed her a map of the Freelands, superimposed with graphics outlining the various fiefdoms, she was struck by the multitude. "There must be a million of them," she recalled saying.

  A patchwork of lands covered the area between the GSA, the Old Colonies and the Southland. Some were huge sections, a tenth the size of the GSA, and others were no bigger than a quaint town. Gabby was surprised to learn there were plenty of empty spaces between the lands. The six of them could create their own land if they wanted to. Leavemealone-ville would be a fitting name. She might have even considered it, if it weren't for Zaela.

  The Caterpillar was parked behind a rocky outcropping on the edge of the foothills. The air was warmer on the plains. Gray snow laden storm clouds hovered over the mountains. Gabby ate a handful of crackers and sipped water they'd found in a natural spring. They might have missed the spring had Milton not found a hidden cache of information tucked away in a geobox for travelers like themselves.

  The geoboxes would only work within a certain range and could only be accessed by those with a higher level of tech. There were supposed to be geoboxes throughout the Freelands. Gabby imagined the people from the Black Gate creating them. Eye-screens and sense-webs could create an infinite number of false-realities but they couldn't replace the needs of the meat-body.

  Mouse lay on the cool grass near Gabby. Michael was whittling a stick into a point with his knife and Milton was accessing the geobox. Celia and Drogan had gone for a walk to pick berries, but Celia was never truly away.

  "There's a small Freeland south of here called the Blood Farm. The geobox says to avoid it," said Milton, his eyes distantly accessing his interface. "East there's one we might stop by and southeast are smaller ones. Not much information on them. They must be newer than the geobox update."

  Milton kept searching through the information and giving them updates on what he found. They all could access it if they wanted, but everyone was too tired and it made more sense to only expose one of their systems to viruses.

  Milton went on about the other Freelands further out, but the names meant nothing and the geobox had few details. Only the Game Train surfaced any debate, mostly speculation if the owner of the train was a former LifeGamer. Even though the description was vague: "Game away your days, traveling safely on the Game Train!" it still raised her hackles.

  Mouse raised her non-bandaged arm, hiding her face behind her hair. Gabby smiled to herself.

  "Yes, Mouse?" asked Milton, giving Mouse a big smile. Gabby could hear how much Milton liked Mouse in the tone of his voice. It was a gentle voice one might use when offering a bouquet of flowers. A contradiction to the normal sarcastic, perverted Milton.

  "How do we know we can trust these geoboxes?"

  Milton wanted to give a retort, his open mouth said as much, but he closed and wrinkled up his face.

  "Good question, Mouse," said Michael.

  Mouse gave Michael a shy smile, glancing up through her hair. Her demure act annoyed Gabby, but she'd seen her in action during Final Raid. Then Gabby recalled the red box she'd taken when they hit the hovercraft tower. Something about it bothered her, but she didn't want to ask in front of the others.

  Gabby watched Michael and Mouse sharing smiles until she blurted out, "Do we even know where we're going? All our focus was on escaping the GSA. Now that we did it, what next?"

  "I'm not done with them," said Milton. "We never figured out where the losers of LifeGame go, which is why we contacted you in the first place."

  "Yeah, I know," said Gabby sarcastically. "I messed up your plans when I went to rescue Zaela. If I would have known the FunCar wasn't going to her, I would have never gotten in."

  "You could have helped her from inside the Coders," said Milton. "But once you ran out of that tent, we had to get you out of there, you would have never gotten to Zaela. It's a good thing we had that hacked FunCar on standby."

  "Nothing will work if you don't try," said Gabby, feeling her face flush with anger. "It's just like your plans, too cautious to ever work."

  Before Gabby or Milton could say another word, Michael shouted, "Enough!"

  Gabby crossed her
arms and stared at the grass.

  "Ever since Gabby has joined us, you two have been arguing over those same points. Let it rest. We need you both," said Michael clearly disgusted.

  Gabby gave Milton a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry Milton. I went too far."

  The blotches on his face were redder than normal. She'd really hurt his feelings. Milton shrugged.

  "Look," said Michael. "We know what Milton wants, to go after the GSA and we know Gabby wants to get her friend Zaela back. I'm with whatever you guys want to do, and the same for Celia. She just wants to make sure the big guy is safe. What do you want Mouse?"

  Mouse practically dove behind her hair when everyone turned to look at her. "Me?"

  "Yes, you," said Michael.

  "I...I miss my parents," she said.

  The big ball of guilt that Gabby had been carrying with her came storming back. Mouse was never supposed to have joined the Frags. She would have been just fine in the GSA. Mr. Johnson had wanted her for a Coder as well.

  "We all do," said Gabby and she got up and put her arm around Mouse. The tension from the argument deflated. They all shared a brief round of smiles.

  "So to rescue Zaela, we need to find out what happens to the losers, which is what Milton wants," said Michael. "Is that fair?"

  They all nodded. Michael glanced to Gabby. His ice-chip colored eyes made her stomach jump.

  "The hard part is..." Michael's face scrunched with worry. "We don't even know if they're still alive."

  Gabby closed her eyes. "I know Zaela is alive."

  "Gabby, you can't know that," said Michael, clearly pained in having to contradict her.

  "No, I do. That freak-job Coder told me as much."

  When they all turned to her, she shrugged her shoulders. "When we were headed across the ice. He contacted me. He wanted to offer a deal."

  Michael and Milton blanched at her admission. Mouse seemed to shrink further in. Did the Coder offer a deal to someone else like he had in Final Raid?

  "What did he say?" asked Milton.

  "I made sure to not say anything. I didn't want to give anything away, but I thought I might learn something," said Gabby.