Page 40 of Tapeworld Induction

That was new.

“Do you hear that?”

“I can’t hear anything besides that bloody alarm,” she replied.

“Shh.” His voice was taut, but there was no malice.

A howl ripped through the silence, and they stared at each other.

Where she was expecting to see him gasp, he was stoic. His posture changed. It must be… He’s behaving like he did when he was captain of the London Lazarus. How many games had she watched, how many victories had she celebrated over pints with her mates? How big was her crush on Isaak Powers? Getting to know the real Isaak… It was exciting, but also reality-crashing. What she’d seen on the screens was an idealised, perfect version of him. The real one got nervous and struggled to tell her what he was feeling.

Until, it seemed, shit hit the fan.

He looked her in the eye. “I’m sorry, Dylan. I really am. I don’t have time to explain everything this second, so please just trust me. I think we’re going to have to run.”

16

Moonlight

Isaak

He’d really fucked it up this time. Dylan joining the heist was the last thing he wanted. Not that he didn’t want to spend time with her. Of course he wanted that, and more than he’d admit. But putting her in danger like this, it was enough to shake him.

“Was that a wolf?” Dylan’s eyes moved rapidly, hands clenched.

“Just stay calm.”

“Can’t we just rip the tape off?” she asked, hand hovering over her temple.

“No, STOP!”

Isaak crashed into her, trying to grab her hand. She lowered it, and held on to the lapel of his jacket to steady herself, and his arm dropped behind her, down to her waist. The fingers of her other hand touched the back of his head, eyes looking directly into his.

Dylan’s heavy breathing, the tensed muscles of her chest, the smoothness of her skin through the white dress she wore all the time in here, all threatened to turn him into an anxious mess. Knuckles whitening, he longed to hold her even closer and kiss her. Her eyes were like gateways into other realities, the heightened, augmented reality of the Tapeworld somehow making her even more beautiful than she already was in real life. No. She was the same. It wasn’t that the Tapeworld created something fake, rather it revealed the full extent of Dylan’s beauty.

“It’s not safe,” he finally let out, with a deep exhale. “You have to tape out somewhere safe, always.”

A quick nod showed her understanding, but she stayed silent for now. Dylan was waiting for him to make the obvious move.

“Why are you still holding me like this?” she asked.

Or maybe she wasn’t.

He stepped away and helped her regain her balance. Her eyes showed curiosity, and her voice betrayed excitement. “No, I—”

Another growl echoed through the trees, closer this time. The package inside his side bag vibrated, humming with an electric noise. There was no time to look at it.

“We have to go. Come on!” Isaak instinctively held out his hand, walking away from the howls and getting ready to run.

What am I doing, holding out my hand like an idiot—

Her hand grabbed his, the soft texture of her skin shooting through his nerve endings.

Whoa!

“Isaak!” she said. “My boots!”

Oh shit. He waved his hand and her usual Dr. Martens materialised on her feet.