Page 90 of Tapeworld Induction

Talia nodded, sadness on her face.

“And we’ve been walking down this tunnel for at least ten minutes. I don’t know if we’re ever going to get to the end.”

“Is there anything we can do in here?” Talia asked her. “Can you, like, summon stuff with your mind?”

“I can. But I think what we need is something else.”

I hope this works.

Dylan placed her hand on the wall. She thought of when Isaak first taught her how to manipulate the properties of the Tapeworld, at the beach. She focused her mind.

The walls started burning. Talia’s eyes went wide.

“Be careful!”

But there was no heat to the flame. Dylan stepped back. They relaxed and watched the tunnel burn down around them, revealing the glow of a summer evening, the sun low on the horizon. A gold-brown sky that would have been beautiful in any other circumstance. The silence of the dark place was replaced with the sound of birds. The nothingness became a cityscape, buildings dotted around them, silhouetted against the setting sun – nondescript residential units, arranged in the pattern of a pleasing melody.

One building stood out. Vast, yellow-dyed metal tubes, attached to a wide, vast white dome.

Talia shared a knowing look with Dylan. “Greenwich.”

Dylan nodded. “The Millennium Dome. He must be there.”

The arena was the home of ReSports. Isaak had been here often in the real world, playing for the London Lazarus.

They made their way to the entrance. The arena was built at the tip of an outcropping of land bathing in the Thames. She’d walked here many times IRL. But the river here did not look like the Thames out there. It was a corrupted version, clear but dark. Particles of the tape stuff gathered like foam on the shore.

They could see a way into the dome. A gaping rip in its side.

“Be on your guard, Tal.”

She nodded, sombre.

A flash of Isaak’s face intruded into Dylan’s mind, then vanished. I’ll find you.

As the torn canvas welcomed them inside, she heard a distinctive, familiar sound.

Their sight warped in front of them, the edges of their vision blurring until a hole ripped in reality and three black spheres emerged from it.

“Holy shit.” Talia stopped. “What’s that?”

“Back away, Talia. I’ll deal with this. If they get too close, rip the tape from your head. You should make it out in time.”

Dylan steeled herself and walked towards the shapes.

A quiet voice told her to run away. It was her own.

Dylan shook her shoulders and grounded herself, planting her feet, before continuing to walk towards them.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Talia backing off to a safe distance.

Ahead, the shapes hovered just above the ground, gas-wrapped and black-tinged. She could see right through them to the opening into the ReSports arena. All the spotlights were lit, but the stands were empty.

“Come on, you bastards!”

The middle shape of the three lunged at her. At arm’s length, it shifted into the shape of a person. No distinctive features to identify it – the skin looked grey, and it had no hair, no clothes.

The figure threw a punch at Dylan, clearly aiming for her face.