The Leveller by Durango Julia

Author:Durango,Julia
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperTeen

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

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“ARE YOU SAYING THINGS TURNED BAD WHEN SOMEONE FOLLOWED you into the MEEP?” I ask Wyn, as we continue along the seawall. “Why? Anyone who has a beta code could have entered. I do it all the time in my line of work.”

“Yes, but I have my own private frequency, Nixy. I coded it myself, with help from my father. We’re the only two who know it. And I knew that he wasn’t going to follow me . . . he was in California for the anniversary launch.”

“So what did you do after you heard the noise?”

“I went back to the bedroom, but it was empty. And when I opened the wardrobe door, there was nothing but Black.”

A small chill runs down my back, though the virtual Havana sunshine is perfect and the temperature warm. “Okay, what happened then?”

“Well,” says Wyn, blowing out a slow breath from his cheeks, “I still wasn’t that worried. I figured maybe it was just a technical glitch—maybe my ear trans needed replacing or the MEEP network was acting up. I use a lot of beta programming, so it wouldn’t be too strange to run across a problem now and then.”

I nod as he speaks, encouraging him to go on. It all sounds reasonable enough.

“So that’s when I initiated my return frequency. Only it didn’t work.”

“Did you try yelling really loudly?” I ask with a rueful grin, remembering my ridiculous display last night.

Wyn smiles at me. “Believe me, I would have broken your eardrums if you’d been here. I think I tried about a half dozen times before I gave up. It’s a panicky feeling,” he says, as if letting me know that my temper tantrum last night wasn’t completely uncalled-for. “I spent the next twenty-four hours running all over the place, trying every door, yelling random codes, killing myself over and over . . . that’s how I ended up falling asleep on the beach, in fact. I’d just taken a running swan dive off the seawall, hoping I’d break my neck and reanimate in the Landing.”

“And instead you took a cozy nap with crab daddy,” I say, peering down at the beach below, though there wasn’t much of it left. The tide was rolling in fast now. “Surprised you didn’t drown.”

Wyn stopped and looked over the seawall with me. “I’ve been fooling around with the tides, trying to create a schedule for them that mimics the real tide charts of Havana. It’s almost high tide now. In fact, we’d better turn around and make our way back if we don’t want to get splashed. The bigger waves come right over the wall.”

“So back to your story,” I say as we turn around and head back the way we came. In the distance I can see the towering white Hotel Nacional gleaming in the morning sun. It looks like a palace. “What happened after you woke up on the beach?”

Wyn shrugs. “I tried to keep calm. I figured my grandmother would be the first to notice I’d been gone too long.

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