Project X-Calibur (5 page)

“Good afternoon. And welcome to our Round Table Reboot,” he boomed in an English accent.

Round Table Reboot. RTR. Project X-Calibur. Things were starting to make sense.

“Everyone ready to get started?”

“Affirmative,” Malcolm instantly replied in a solemn English accent.

“Somebody needs to cut down on the caffeine,” Kwan whispered to me with a chuckle.

“Do you ever shut up?” Darla hissed under her breath at Kwan.

“My name is Pellinore,” the man said. “Percival Pellinore.” It took a moment for the name to register, but then it hit me: Percival Pellinore was one of the original knights of the Round Table,
a guy who had fought alongside King Arthur.

Pellinore held out a hand to the adults all around us. “And this is my team. Techs, scientists, engineers, physicists. The cream of the crop in their fields, all chosen to work under the utmost secrecy. I owe them a great deal. And very soon, so shall mankind.”

Pellinore walked over and put his hand on the shoulder of the eight-year-old. “And this, of course, is my noble and esteemed partner. He has been by my side—and I by
his
—longer than I care to remember sometimes.”

The kid smiled. These two had history. He gave us a little bow. “Greetings, new knights. My name . . . is Merlin.”

7

136:07:14

THE
MERLIN?
The greatest wizard of all time? I
had
to be dreaming!

I stole a quick look at Merlin's eyes. No wonder they had looked weird to me when I first met him: They were the only part of him that still showed his true age.

“Have the five of you had a chance to get acquainted?” he asked.

“Well, Ben and I go way back,” Kwan wisecracked. “And Tyler here—the croc killer—is like my brother from another mother—”

“I would never kill a croc,” Tyler interrupted. “We wrestle. There's a difference.”

Merlin and Pellinore exchanged a look. Darla said nothing, her expression tight.

Malcolm looked at me, hesitated, then came over and warmly held out a hand. “I've met everyone except Ben here. Pleased to meet you. I'm Malcolm.”

He had a really strong grip. “How did you know my name?” I asked.

“Saw it on your data sheet earlier. During your physical.”

“Oh. I saw yours too, actually. Cool name.
Gunn.
”

He gave me a curt smile. I was pretty sure he was only being friendly because Merlin and Pellinore were watching.

I decided to follow Malcolm's example. I turned to Darla, extending a hand myself. “
We
haven't met yet, either. I'm Ben.”

She reluctantly shook. “Darla,” she said simply, avoiding my eyes and basically introducing herself to the floor.

“All right then,” Pellinore continued. “You'll have plenty of time to get to know each other later, knights.”

Knights?

Pellinore nodded to one of his techs, and the guy walked over with a thick stack of folders. He put his hand on them. “Can any of you deduce the contents of these files?”

“Battle plans, sir?” Malcolm ventured.

“Admirable guess, but no, Malcolm,” Pellinore said appreciatively.

“Restaurant take-out menus?” Kwan offered with a smirk.

I traded a glance with Tyler. He took a step backward, as if trying to blend into the background (hard to do when you're the biggest kid in the room).

Pellinore grabbed a handful of the folders and held them up.

“These are other candidates we scouted for this project. Dozens and dozens around the world who might have had what the RTR needs.” He suddenly tossed the folders over his shoulder, and they fluttered to the floor. I don't think anyone expected that. I certainly didn't.

“We've chosen
you
five,” Pellinore announced, striding toward us. “Do not take this honor lightly.” He glanced at Kwan. “That said, we're going to give you an opportunity to leave now, if you wish.”

Huh? Leave?
Merlin was watching me now, surely wondering if I'd leap at the chance.

“What's ahead for you is nothing short of a monumental undertaking. ‘Dangerous' doesn't begin to describe what's headed toward us.” He eyed each one of us gravely. “And if we fail, it will be the end of everything we hold most dear.”

I swallowed, remembering the destruction I had seen with Merlin.

“Look at the faces around you, knights. When battle comes to us in”—he glanced up at the digital countdown—“one hundred and thirty-five hours, some of them might not make it out alive. Any one of
you
might not make it out alive.”

There was silence as the stakes sank in.

“Well,
I'm
not going anywhere.” Malcolm crossed his arms and gave us a fixed, determined look.

Pellinore grinned. He homed in on me, Kwan, Tyler, and Darla. “Any one of you might also be
replaced
—today, in fact—if you don't have what it takes to succeed here. We cannot afford to waste precious time on anyone who isn't ready to give his or her all. Mankind deserves more than that, don't you agree?”

Kwan, Tyler, and Darla nodded. I crossed my arms, fighting off a chill. The atrium was cold, or maybe it was just the shiny steel all around us that made it seem that way, like standing inside an enormous, well-lit freezer. There was a part of me—a big part—that wanted to go home and tell Mom we needed to protect ourselves from what was coming. But then I thought about Dad. How many times had he chosen to rush into a burning house or building? What would
he
think of me turning my back on a chance to step up for mankind?

“I'm staying,” I said softly, probably more to myself than anyone else. Malcolm glanced over at me, and Merlin too.

“Why us?” Darla suddenly asked. I'd been wondering that too.

“Because you each have qualities we believe will be beneficial to our task.”

“But we're
kids
,” she pressed.

Pellinore exchanged a glance with Merlin. “That information is on a need-to-know basis,” he explained. “And right now, you don't need to know. But soon. You have my word.”

He held a hand forward. “Now, if you'll follow me, we've got some more initial testing to get out of the way. Then you'll be shown to your rooms.”

Two double doors slid open to reveal a hallway with orange lights glowing down the middle. It looked like the tunnel of a secret military base. As we walked past Pellinore and Merlin, I whispered to Kwan, “My father told me all the King Arthur stories. When Merlin was born hundreds of years ago, he was an old man already, with incredible wisdom and power. He ages
backward,
really slow. That's why he looks like a kid now—”

A hand suddenly rested on my shoulder. I stiffened. It was Pellinore.

“It's Ben, right?”

“Yes, sir,” I gulped.

Pellinore kept pace with me as we continued through the corridor. “I couldn't help but overhear that you're well-versed in Arthurian legend. Where are you from?”

“Texas.”

“Any brothers or sisters?”

“No, sir.” I felt like I was being interrogated.

“Forgive me for the questions. It's just that I know so little about you. I've had a very involved hand in choosing the others here, but Merlin alone has championed you, and quite enthusiastically, at that.”

Championed me.
I stared straight ahead as we continued walking, unable to meet his gaze.

“What do your parents do?”

“My mom is a waitress. My father . . . is dead.”

It had been a while since I had had to say that out loud. I think Pellinore noticed, because his eyes softened. Then he turned to everyone.

“There are no secrets within these walls,” he said, holding out his arms. “The creatures living in the shadows of our universe are very real.
Magic,
however, and some of the other things you may have heard in the legends surrounding Merlin and I, are not.” He stood taller than ever, as if to prove that he was still worthy of our respect.

“But Merlin's a wizard,” I blurted. How could there be no such thing as magic when the greatest wizard of all time was standing three feet away from me?

“The knights of the Round Table were feared and respected in their day, as was I,” Merlin explained as we all continued walking. “But much of our prowess began with creating our own legends. Arthur was particularly creative in that regard—”

“The best,” Pellinore said to himself fondly.

“Don't misunderstand us, knights,” Pelinore added. “Not all of the legends are total myths. We
did
fight hard and often, against many worthy foes. We won many battles, went on many real quests. Arthur and I tracked down the Holy Grail, and the holy water I drank from that cup resulted in my very real immortality. But our greatest weapon was the fear our opponents carried before we ever set foot onto a battlefield.”

Merlin stopped and looked me in the eye. “We'll need more than bloated myths to defeat what's coming. We may not have genuine magic, but think about it, Benjamin—the magic of today is our technology. And
that
will be our weapon.”

I glanced at the other kids. They were entranced, although Malcolm had a cold look in his eyes. I don't think he enjoyed Merlin speaking directly to me.

“Okay,” I offered softly, even though the closest I'd come to modern technology in my life was my desktop computer at home, an ancient piece of junk that Dad bought for me secondhand. I glanced past Merlin and noticed a door up ahead. Wherever we'd been headed, we'd arrived.

Pellinore straightened his suit jacket and held a hand forward. “Now that we've settled that, let's proceed. There's much to do, knights.
Much
to do.”

8

134:28:11

I FOUND MYSELF
strapped into a strange metal chair that looked like something you'd find at a dentist's office on Mars. The other four knights were seated in identical ones, all of us lined up in a row.

Sourpuss was here, overseeing a group of techs as they checked our restraints, while Merlin and Pellinore stayed behind her, watching silently. The room was far taller than it was wide, shaped like an elevator shaft. Even though the metal of the chair itself was cold against my skin, the air in here was warmer than in the atrium; I could feel a light sheen of perspiration on my forehead.

“These are two necessary stress tests,” Sourpuss explained, all business. “We're looking for medical anomalies that we might have missed earlier.”

“What's that mean? Medical anomalies?” I fidgeted, trying to get comfortable. The chair was in serious need of some cushions.

“Overactive photo- or audiosensitivity, undetected bone or joint weaknesses that might hamper your ability to handle g-force duress,” Sourpuss counted off on her fingers. “Not to mention possible mental instability brought on by—”

“This is all just precautionary, knights,” Pellinore interrupted gently.

“I'm sure it'll be fine, Ben. No need to be afraid,” Malcolm said, looking over at me. He was at the end of the line to my right, one chair past Tyler. I
was
afraid, but why did he have to say it in front of everyone? Kwan, Tyler, and Darla looked at me like I was going to run home to Mommy.

“All good,” I mumbled, avoiding their gazes.

Sourpuss continued. “You'll notice that there's a button under each of your hands. Your directive is simple. When you hear a tone”—she held up a finger and a low beep sounded throughout the room—“press the button corresponding to the ear in which you heard the tone. Is that clear?”

I looked back and forth between Tyler and Darla on either side of me. Tyler looked confused and whispered nervously to me, “I just heard it in both ears. What do I do?”

Suddenly, I felt a slight vibration and looked up to see a pair of mechanical goggles unfold out of the back of the chair. Darla looked really nervous, although I would never call her out on it like Malcolm had done with me.

Once the goggles settled over my eyes, they pushed my head back into the chair. There was a tiny suction sound as the eyepieces fastened to my face, leaving me in pitch black. Ear buds were jammed into me. It was like being blind and having someone suddenly stick a cold finger into each ear. I did all I could to keep from panicking—
breathe in, breathe out.

“Can I get a large popcorn with extra butter?” Kwan joked from behind his goggles.

There was a muffled, aggravated sigh from Sourpuss. “Let's begin. And if you close your eyes, I'll know.
No cheating,
” she warned.

I blinked a few times and tried to steady myself, even though I had no idea what was about to happen. “Good luck, everybody,” I said, but the only response I got was a sudden beep in my left ear. I quickly pressed the corresponding button.

A second beep came right after that one, then another one, now in the right ear. As the beeps continued, I felt myself settling in; this wasn't so hard after all. But then I spotted a small white dot of light ahead of me, to the lower right. The goggles were starting to
do
something.

The light pulsed and then suddenly streaked right at me, leaving a light trail behind it like a comet. I instinctively dodged to the side as if trying to avoid it, but then another one, this time red, came from the other direction. Dozens of light streaks blazed across my vision like a multicolored strobe light. What about the other knights? Darla had definitely looked nervous about those goggles. And what about Kwan and Tyler and Malcolm? Were they okay? The thought of having to witness
any
of us having a bad reaction to this test frightened me. The assault was getting overwhelming: It felt like my head might explode, but I had to focus and keep pushing the buttons.

And then . . . it was over. The ear buds retracted from my ears and the goggles lifted off my face with a
wha-slurp
sound, giving up their hold on my skin. It was like having an octopus yanked off my face. I looked over at the others. Thankfully, nobody was shaking uncontrollably or foaming at the mouth, though Darla's shoulders were slumped. Malcolm actually had a big, ridiculous grin on his face.

“You all passed,” Sourpuss called out. “A couple of you—Benjamin and Darla—by the skin of your teeth.”

I was surprised to hear my name, until I remembered that toward the end of the test I had been worrying about everyone else, and I'd forgotten to push my button a few times. I saw Merlin's smile falter at the news and clenched my jaw. I exhaled, eager to be freed from the chair. But they weren't done with us yet.

“That was the easy part,” Pellinore announced. “On to phase two.”