MetaWars: Fight For The Future

Chapter 43

They flew all day, Sam dragging her father and Jonah pushing Bradbury. Jonah grew tired – mentally tired – and worried that his real-world body hadn’t eaten, but Sam wouldn’t hear of them taking a break for any reason.

At last, they reached the virtual city of Neo Tokyo, where their charges had entered the Metasphere three days ago.

Jonah and Sam searched the skies above the neon streets until two exit halos glowed, beckoning Axel and Bradbury back to the real world. Sam nudged her father towards his halo.

‘Please wake up, Dad,’ she said, and she kissed Axel softly on his forehead before she pushed him through the ring of light. The halo swallowed him and disappeared. Jonah then gave Bradbury an almighty shove into his halo, leaving Sam and Jonah hovering in the sky together, waiting for news from the real world.

‘Thank you, Jonah,’ she said.

‘For what?’ asked Jonah. He felt he was just doing what anyone would do for a best friend.

‘For never giving up. Ever.’

The news came, at last, in the form of a pop-up addressed to Sam. Jonah couldn’t see the private message, but he saw Sam’s reaction as she read it. He put his arms around the unicorn avatar’s neck and hugged her tightly as she cried with relief.

‘They’re all right!’ she said, regaining her composure. ‘Captain Teng says they woke up in his bunkhouse a few minutes ago, confused and hungry but with no brain damage.’

Jonah was delighted for her. For the past few days, Sam had looked as if she was carrying a great weight around on her shoulders. Now, she was smiling again. He had missed seeing her smile.

‘They’re on their way from Sydney in a land yacht,’ said Sam. ‘They should be with us in two days.’ She darted forward and, before Jonah knew what she was doing, she had planted a quick kiss on his cheek. He wasn’t sure, but he thought that maybe his avatar was blushing.

Axel and Bradbury weren’t the only Guardians en route to Ayers Rock.

They arrived in dribs and drabs over the next few days, from all over Australia and in some cases from beyond. Some of them were fighters, pledged to defend the Southern Corner from any Millennial attempt to recapture it. Others were technicians and engineers, who set about repairing the damaged servers.

Axel and Bradbury joined them, as scheduled, on the evening of the second day. Sam raced across the red sand to greet her father, who jumped out of his land yacht and ran to meet her. Axel picked up Sam and swung her around.

‘I’m sorry I got lost, kiddo,’ he said.

‘But we found you,’ said Sam.

Axel was like a kid at Christmas, too excited to keep still. He insisted on touring the facility inside Uluru, and on hearing the story of its capture three or four times.

‘The Southern Corner,’ he kept saying to himself, with a broad grin on his face. ‘I’m inside the Southern Corner. I can’t believe it!’

One time, he even ruffled Jonah’s hair and said, ‘And it’s all down to our secret weapon here. Jason’s little boy. Who’d have thought it?’

Jonah didn’t want to take any credit. Granger’s words still played on his conscience: I’m just asking you to think again about some of your choices... We would make an excellent team, the two of us.

‘It was Sam who led the attack,’ he mumbled.

‘And a brilliant job she did of it too,’ said Axel, with a wink in his daughter’s direction. ‘Well done, kiddo. A real chip off the old block!’