Page 141 of Tapeworld Induction

“Did Elo give you a gun?” he asked.

“A gun? Fuck no. I don’t really know how to use one… Not to mention they’re probably extremely hard to get, though I wouldn’t put it past Elodie to be able to… Wait, did she give you one?”

“No,” he answered, looking unsure. “What do we do if Jewel shows up?”

“I’ll be ready for her this time.” She hoped.

The room was deserted. Astrid’s victims must be higher up.

“Look at the state of the place,” Dylan said. “How many people has she brought here? Sucking them dry of their senses.”

They climbed a set of stairs to the right of the door. The second floor was empty. They went up to the third.

“Fuck me.” Dylan wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stem the shiver running through her.

There were rows and rows of gurneys.

“So many people. Fucking hell…”

Isaak approached one of the beds. An elderly man with wrinkled skin and white hair lay unconscious, the grey plastic of a Crypterra Sleeper nestled around his head.

Dylan joined him, filled with dread.

The Sleeper was fastened so tight the man’s skin was red around the sides.

“They all have one,” Dylan said, looking around. “Her fucking army.”

The bed was tagged, they all were. 42 – Parker. “She’s numbering them? Fucking disgusting. These are people.” She walked over to another bed. A woman lay there, her mouth locked in a scowl. Sweat dripped from under her visor, pooling by her ears.

Her arms showed minor injuries, scratches and bruises. Maybe from a fight. She wore a dirty pair of jeans and an oversized t-shirt.

“Bruises from struggling with her abductors?” Isaak said.

Dylan nodded. “To then be forced into the Tapeworld.”

Rain started hitting the windows, then came down in a torrent. A crack of thunder echoed through the room.

She looked over at the view. “If it wasn’t for those windows, we would never have found this place…”

Isaak took out the lobster phone and set it on a vacant stretcher.

Dylan grabbed a few of the black cables dripping out from the lobster and attached them to the Sleepers of a few of the people nearby.

Her foot tapped with nervous energy. “If I hold your hand when we tape in, will I be next to you in the Tapeworld version of this room?”

“I think so, yes. We’ll open a tape-tube leading to this place. It’ll be like when we went to the Boulevard.”

Goddess. That felt like a million years ago.

“Assuming Astrid hasn’t added some fucked-up substance to the tape-space,” Isaak added with a smirk.

She shrugged. “What’s a little risking your life to save your best friend?”

As Isaak continued to set up the phone, Dylan’s nervousness grew.

“You think it’s safe for both of us to go in? With no one to watch over us?” she asked.

“If you go in alone, I’m just gonna be outside worrying about you. If I go in, you’ll worry about me.”