The green glow of the vortex faded behind the five teens, leaving them trapped in their new location. Tee carefully squeezed the brake levers on her hover-cruiser, bringing the breathtaking view before her to a standstill.

  She ignored the strong green scent and the buzzing of insects across the endless grass stretching for miles. Instead, her eyes fixed on the distant ground, where it dropped sharply, like the edge of the world.

  To her left and right, a mist veiled the curvature of the massive circular crater, giving the illusion that it stretched infinitely in both directions. The walls facing them shimmered with orange, brown, and white dots sparkling under the early morning sun. Tee could just make out millions of old houses lining the sloping walls.

  Along the rim, towering statues stood in pairs, with wide waterfalls cascading between them. The lower portions of the falls were lost in the distance, hidden beyond the cliff’s edge—they’d need to get closer to fully appreciate the sight.

  Zod, hovering forward on his cruiser, stopped directly in front of her, blocking the view.

  “The walls curve out on all sides,” he called, back to them. “Racing to the center on these cruisers should be fun!”

  Kie mirrored him, gliding forward and lining up shoulder-to-shoulder with Zod, further obstructing Tee’s view.

  “Why must you—” Tee began, but before she could finish, both boys accelerated, zipping across the green plain and disappearing over the cliff, leaving long trails of broken grass behind them.

  Saeda shook her head, voice raised as she followed closer. “Unbelievable,” she muttered, watching the chaos below.

  “Those two can race like idiots,” Tee said, gripping her handlebars and moving forward at a leisurely pace. “I prefer to take my time.”

  Miko chuckled, hiding her smile with one hand. “Do they even realize we’re not following?”

  Tee muttered in frustration, “If not, they will eventually.” Being there was the last thing she wanted, especially knowing those two would reach the center long before they did. She didn’t bother worrying about how they would teleport without the rest of them.

  Gliding through the field, Tee glanced down at her hover-cruiser—silent, vibration-free, and clearly built for speed. Zod seemed to have already mastered that concept.

  Miko broke the silence. “I still don’t understand why we have to kill Varrak. He can change, you know.”

  “No,” Tee replied bluntly, catching the attention of Miko and Saeda. “He won’t. He’s been involved in illegal activities for far too long. If he wanted to change, he would have by now. Besides, we’re just following the Commander’s orders. Don’t feel guilty—you’re not the one killing Varrak. The Commander is.”

  Miko frowned, hoping for reassurance rather than justification for the Commander’s motives.

  Tee decided to pick up the pace. Even so, it would take another five minutes to reach the cliff. The boys, however, were already there. How fast were they going? Tee furrowed her brow, worried for their safety.

  Ahead, dark boulders with eerie markings lined the path, partially hidden by tall grass. The unsettling carvings reminded Tee of Xenosapians, though she tended to associate anything creepy with them. Perhaps it was the Commander’s threats playing tricks on her mind. Most likely, the strange patterns were just stains from decaying animal urine.

  As she neared the cliff’s edge, Tee considered gently applying the brakes. But with the ground sloping downward at thirty degrees, her weight and the hover-cruiser’s momentum sent her zipping forward at lightning speed. The wind whipped through her hair, and tears sprang to her eyes.

  “Yahoo!” she yelled, exhilarated by the rush.

  Tee and her female comrades sped forward, expertly navigating a road that seemed to lead straight to the center. As the terrain gradually leveled, their speed slowed, and the scenery stopped blurring past at breakneck pace. Soon, the remnants of dilapidated buildings and overgrown, abandoned farmlands came into view.

  Passing through the ruins and cleared lands beyond, the large green lake at the heart of the ancient metropolis came into focus. The road stretched ahead, guiding them between two colossal statues standing on opposite sides, guarding an orange bridge.

  They glided past the statues’ sturdy bases and crossed the long bridge, shimmering waters on either side. Tee couldn’t help but notice how the figures resembled wise elders, draped in flowing garments with hoods shadowing their faces. Relief washed over her once they passed, only to reveal more statues further along.

  Glancing past Miko and Saeda, Tee spotted several pairs of statues marking the entrances to other bridges around the lake. The unyielding stare of their stone eyes seemed somehow fixed on her.

  Her conscience nudged her, reminding her of something important she needed to share with her teammates. Her gaze drifted to the crater walls in the distance. Why wasn’t the crater flooded, despite the countless waterfalls pouring toward the center? Shouldn’t everything be submerged?

  A faint voice crackled through Tee’s telecom, nearly lost to the roaring wind. She held the device closer to hear clearly.

  “Has anyone spotted any signs of Varrak?” Kie’s voice asked urgently.

  “No, nothing on our side,” Saeda replied from behind Tee.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Kie’s tone sharpened. “Great, ‘cause we’ve got a problem.”

  They continued gliding over the bridge, speed unbroken, listening intently to his report. Soon, as they crossed onto the central island, they began to experience exactly what Kie had described.

  Their hover-cruisers gradually slowed, descending closer to the uneven ground. Vibrations shook the metal frames as emergency wheels deployed, forcing them to traverse the terrain instead of hovering.

  As their speed dropped, the devastation ahead came into view. Amidst crushed green-coated metal and scattered engine parts lay the wreckage of Zod and Kie’s mangled hover-cruisers.

  Tee brought her own vehicle to a complete stop, surveying the scene. Saeda and Miko were frozen as well. She planted her left foot firmly on the ground for balance.

  “They’re dead,” Saeda said solemnly, her voice heavy with disbelief.

  Saeda’s remark about her lifeless hover-cruiser hung in the air. She crouched, inspecting the immobile vehicle.

  “Mine too,” Miko exclaimed, deploying the kickstand and stepping off her own hover-cruiser to investigate.

  Tee’s gaze drifted from the handles to the nearly full energy indicator and the pristine footplate. Undeniable. Her hover-cruiser had also ceased functioning. Just as Kie had warned, they would mysteriously stop working.

  A sudden movement snapped Tee’s attention. She summoned a sword and hurled it like a spinning disc at the unidentified object. Miko shrieked, and Saeda straightened just as a leaf—slightly larger than their bodies—leapt into the air. Tee’s sword missed, embedding itself in the ground.

  Then laughter cut through the air, freezing Tee and her comrades. Another leaf, identical in size, emerged from behind the first, settling beside Tee’s sword. As the leaves swayed aside, the familiar grinning faces of Kie and Zod appeared. Tee ground her teeth in anger as they dropped the leaf disguises, hands on their knees, erupting into uncontrollable laughter.

  “What were you two thinking?!” Saeda fumed, frustration etched across her face.

  Startled by her sharp reprimand, Kie stopped smiling and straightened. Avoiding her gaze, he muttered, “Wasn’t trying to scare you guys,” his eyes fixed on a distant corner.

  Zod, gripping Kie’s shirt from behind for balance, wobbled as lingering laughter made it hard to walk straight. Tee folded her arms, shaking her head at the sight.

  Saeda expected Zod’s antics—but not Kie’s. “Kie, you shouldn’t be encouraging him. And as team leader, this is unacceptable!” She stamped her left foot emphatically.

  Zod released Kie’s shirt and they both straightened.

  A wide grin tugging at Kie’s lips, “Consider it a lesson to always check your holo-maps when rendezvousing,” he said, then glanced at his telecom with sudden seriousness, as if noting the time or something important.

  Tee crossed her arms and shot back, “That’s a lame lesson. Not surprised it’s the best you could come up with.”

  “You’re right,” Kie said, still grinning. “That’s your punishment for not getting here sooner.”

  Miko frowned, clutching her left arm as if scolded like a child. Saeda rolled her eyes, deliberately avoiding both Kie and Zod, wanting nothing to do with them at that moment.

  Tee turned her back to Kie and focused on her hover-cruiser. “Why did they shut down on us?” she asked.

  Kie finally noticed the multitude of white hairs sticking out from Tee’s head, tousled by the wind during the ride, and found her appearance amusing. Leaning on the handle of her vehicle, he revealed fresh scrapes and red lines on his scarred skin, his hair neatly pressed despite the chaos.

  Tee glanced at Zod, who looked equally disheveled—they could have passed for crawling out of a grave.

  Before Kie could speak, Tee cut him off bluntly. “Why do you two look like you rolled all the way down from the top of the crater?”

  Zod hung his head in embarrassment, hinting at some truth behind her words, while Saeda concealed a smile with one hand. Kie’s expression turned serious, his gaze fixed on something in the distance.

  Swallowing his pride, Kie admitted, “That’s what happens when your hover-cruiser freezes while traveling at three hundred miles an hour.”

  “I should have seen it coming,” Tee said, a wide grin stretching across her face. “I’d still be laughing my head off even now.”

  Kie let his arm slide off the handle and walked away with a lifeless expression. “People, we have a mission to complete,” he said, devoid of energy. “From here on, we continue on foot.”

  The others started walking, but Tee lagged behind. The image of Kie and Zod rolling was too amusing for her to move, and she soon came to a halt.

  Zod glanced back to check on her, while Kie kept his gaze fixed straight ahead. He noticed Saeda and Miko struggling to suppress their laughter behind polite smiles and wished he had a shovel to dig his own grave and escape the awkward moment.

  The bruises on Kie still throbbed, and the thought of Tee fussing over him after his mishap tugged at his heart.

  Tee finally composed herself and hurried to catch up, falling in step beside Miko and Saeda as they continued toward the center.

  The buildings around them felt far more welcoming than the ruins near the lake. Vegetation thrived, neatly maintained and lush, giving the impression of a miniature paradise tucked within the crater-metropolis—a stark contrast to the uninhabitable, perilous heart of Geovalon.

  “How peculiar,” Saeda remarked. “It’s like nature is reclaiming this place. Plants are growing over everything.”

  Tee turned to take in the repeating structures before them. Each building was a two-story clone: simple square walls stacked up, a single window on each level. The ground floors were dark gray stone, while the upper walls were thinner and faded with age.

  Passing the remnants of houses missing roofs and doors, sunlight streamed through open entrances and windows, illuminating the empty interiors.

  Tee couldn’t help but think that if those houses had Xenosapian-proof doors, they would still be standing. Such doors were known to withstand the test of time, keeping newly mutated monsters trapped until they starved to death.

  But she knew her Xenosapian was different. It had the potential to unleash global chaos. Flashes of a towering monster silhouetted against blood-red skies and countless corpses flickered through her mind. Shaking off the images, her attention shifted to the vibrant dark green flowers crowding a doorway, momentarily diverting her thoughts.

  Among the cluster, two white blossoms stood out, triggering a memory of when she and Jack had visited District One Hundred and Twenty-One’s stadium during Free Week. Sitting side by side, their distinct features—Tee’s white hair, Jeremy’s blond hair and pale skin—made them easily noticeable. During a break in the game, they had caught sight of their astonished faces reflected in the massive hologram emitter.

  Miko let out a loud exhale, raising her head from the shadows she had relied on to navigate the heat. “It’s so hot,” she complained, stretching the word. “My hair is not handling this humidity at all.”

  Zod wiped sweat from his forehead and tugged at the front of his shirt, seeking relief. “How long have we been here?” he asked.

  “Approximately fifty-five minutes,” Saeda replied.

  “Varrak must have already come and gone,” Tee joked, lightening the mood with a playful smirk.