Hello There, Do You Still Know Me?. Laurie B. Arnold

to the Rescue

      Back in the lobby, we hovered around the GPS, staring at it as if any second it would reveal its great secret. Even Leroy sniffed it, trying to uncover its mysteries.

      Finally, Noah flipped it over. He slid open the back and found a slot for a USB cable connector. “I think I know what to do.” He took the device over to the lobby computer but couldn’t find a USB port to plug it in. The computer was too old.

      “Holy schnikies, they need to order a new computer, and fast,” Violet said.

      “That could take weeks,” I pointed out. I wasn’t sure Florida had that much time.

      “I’ve got it!” Noah’s eyes shined brighter than a cake full of candles.

      Somehow I knew exactly what he was about to say.

      “Riptide and Wingnut. Come on, let’s go.”

      With Noah in the lead and Leroy picking up the rear, we raced down the corridor to Room Five. A ribbon of light streamed through the bottom edge of the surfers’ door. I knocked. Riptide opened it, peeking out through squinty eyes. Then he broke into a broad grin.

      “Dudes! Like I totally wasn’t expecting you! Are we having a pajama party or something?”

      “Not exactly. We need to use your computer, if that’s OK.” I vowed not to say a word about the MegaPix. It was best to keep the secret to ourselves.

      “Yeah, we need to plug this little gizmo into your laptop.” Violet pointed to the GammaRay Particle Scanner in Noah’s hand.

      Riptide stared at it. “Whoa. What is that thing?”

      “It’s sort of like a virtual detective game,” Noah said. I was glad he covered for me since I’m a lousy liar.

      “Sounds totally epic,” Riptide said.

      The room looked as if the guys had packed explosives in their suitcases and when they’d opened them, their clothes erupted everywhere. We picked our way over the piles to the desk by the window.

      Leroy leaped onto the bed, making himself at home on a wad of wet board shorts next to Wingnut. Wingnut was glued to his computer, wearing headphones over his shaved head as he listened to the kabooms and kapows of videogame warfare.

      Riptide paused his game of Battle Wizards and Noah connected the mysterious device to the laptop. The GPS whirred to life. In a flash, the screen turned pitch black.

      “Oh man, did that thing just crash my computer? I was about to capture a three-headed dragon and level up.”

      “I hate it when that happens,” Noah said.

      Just when we thought we’d have to restart the computer, a bright blue text box popped on the screen.

      “Looks like it’s time for you to sign in.” Noah nudged me. I scooted my chair over to the keyboard.

      Here goes nothing, I thought. Or something, I hoped.

      I typed in my name and made up a secret password. Then some text popped on the screen:

      Hello, Madison! We’ve been waiting for you!

      Who had been waiting? How did they know? I kept reading.

      Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of the GammaRay Particle Scanner™. Your GPS will detect gamma rays embedded in the MegaPix 6000’s remote control.

      Our mapping system can pinpoint the location of the gamma ray device within a three-mile radius.

      Once the GPS is within that radius, it will beep and a red light will flash. Beeps and flashes will become more rapid as the device moves closer to the remote control.

      “Wow! A high-tech game of warmer-cooler!” Violet scooched in closer to get a better look at the screen.

      Noah could barely stand still. “So that’s how the MegaPix works!”

      Uh-oh.

      “Wait. Whoa. What’s a MegaPix?” Riptide looked confused.

      Violet covered quickly. “Um, it’s just part of this whole game.”

      “It’s like a magical teleporter,” Noah added. “A pretend magical teleporter.”

      “Gotcha,” Riptide said.

      Noah took a deep breath, relieved that his mess-up hadn’t spilled our secrets.

      “So how does it work? In the uh, game, I mean.” I was itching to hear what Noah had figured out.

      “OK, here’s what I think happens. The gamma rays in the remote must break matter down into pure invisible energy so things can teleport. Then once the energy is out of the gamma ray force field, it assembles back into solid matter.”

      “Whoa! Matter, dude?”

      “You know, like people. People are matter. Chairs are matter. Dogs are matter. We’re all matter. Anything solid is matter.”

      “Well, I’m totally solid, man, and I matter.” Riptide chuckled at his own joke. “Sounds like an awesome game. So are you some kinda super brain?”

      “Not really. I just read a lot of stuff.”

      But I was realizing more and more that my friend Noah was officially a brainiac. Not to mention modest.

      Next I clicked on a tiny map that grew to fill the screen. It was dotted with twinkly gold lights that quickly dissolved and left behind two flashing red targets. One was in Kenya on the continent of Africa. That’s where the remote-control eating lion was probably experiencing a massive case of indigestion. The other was about 2,000 miles southeast of Costa Rica.

      “Brazil!” I said.

      “Not far from where we did Stranded in the Amazon,” Noah whispered to me so Riptide couldn’t hear.

      I shrugged. I didn’t have any idea exactly where we’d been in Brazil since Florida and I hadn’t arrived by airplane like everyone else. We’d traveled there by magic, through the MegaPix.

      “How do we get there?” Violet asked.

      “Maybe it’s like Battle Wizards. You look for clues in the game,” Riptide suggested.

      “That’s one idea,” I said. “Personally, I think we should ask Rosalie Claire.”

      “Whoa. You mean the lady at the front desk? She’s a video gamer? Sure wouldn’t have guessed that!” Riptide looked impressed.

      “Life sometimes has a way of surprising you,” I said.

      It was getting late. I clicked on quit. Another text box popped up on the screen:

      Are you sure you want to quit? Do you need transportation?

      We gawked at the message. It was as if somebody knew exactly what we needed.

      “Click ‘yes!’” Violet got so excited that she reached over and clicked the computer mouse for me.

      A cool graphic of a high-tech airplane zoomed across the screen, pulling behind it a banner with this message:

      Our luxurious supersonic Astral plane will meet you tomorrow morning at the Quepos Airport—10:00 a.m., sharp. Don’t be late.

      Tomorrow morning? It was almost midnight. We didn’t have much time to pack.

      We thanked Riptide, who laughed and waggled his head like a springy bobble head. “You know, this game of yours seems gnarly cool. It would be totally awesome if you showed up at the airport and that plane was waiting for you. Like for real.”

      Little did he know that’s exactly what we were counting on.

      For the first time since we’d arrived, Wingnut glanced up from his computer game. “Hey, when did you guys get here?” His eyebrows scrunched