Page 94 of Tapeworld Induction

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything…”

He jolted back to reality. Dylan’s friend from the club.

Dylan broke their embrace, but stayed very close to him. He held her hand, and she squeezed it, side-eyeing him as they faced her friend.

“Hi, I’m Isaak.” He reached out for a handshake. “Guess you’re the rescue party. Did you have much trouble getting here?” He realised how much he sounded like a tour guide. “Sorry, I’m still… I can’t imagine what you’ve had to do to get to me.”

“This is Talia.” Dylan grinned at her, and her friend grinned back, their exchange hiding something that Isaak couldn’t figure out.

“Great to finally meet you,” Talia said. “She’s talked about you a lot, you know.”

He glanced at Dylan. It was a new feeling to have someone who talked about him with her friends. Who looked for him when he was lost. And who did it despite what happened the last time they saw each other…

“I’m sorry,” both him and Dylan said at the same time.

They laughed.

“You go first,” she said.

“I shouldn’t…” The words struggled to leave his throat. “I shouldn’t have monitored you. I just wanted to protect you. Bringing someone new to this world, I thought you might get hurt.” He looked at the ground. He wasn’t proud of what he’d done.

She huffed. “Look… I get it. You’re a bastard for not telling me from the start” – she punched his arm, playfully – “but I’m so relieved we found you.”

“Me too.” He didn’t think he’d ever be able to thank her enough. “Wait, how did you find me?”

Dylan smiled. “It’s a long story.”

Talia nodded. “Let’s just say you’ve got a good friend in Sacha.”

Of course.

Dylan turned to Isaak, her face full of worry again. “There’s still a problem.” She rubbed her thumb over his hand as she spoke. “You’re still wearing the sleep device.”

Shit. The memory of putting on the device had been buried under the mind prison and Astrid’s games.

He instinctively brought his hand up to his head, but wasn’t surprised to find nothing there.

“It’s Astrid,” he said. “She sent me this thing. And I put it on, like an idiot.”

“It’s not your fault,” Dylan said. She got on the phone. “Sacha? We got him.” He heard a loud cheer from the other side, Sacha’s squeaky voice. It was a relief to hear him. “Can the lobster phone help get him out?”

Lobster phone?

Dylan kept talking with Sacha on the other side, the real world side, while the three of them stood in the arena. Empty stands, setting sun. It would have been a beautiful scene, had he not been violently trapped in the Tapeworld.

He stared at Dylan, longing to be alone with her again.

“Sacha’s talking to Elodie,” she said. “They’re working something out.”

In the flood of relief at being rescued, Isaak hadn’t noticed the redness around Talia’s eyes. She’d been scared. Worry behind a put-on front.

Protective instinct kicked in.

“You know, you girls don’t need to wait. Both of you can tape out now.”

Dylan scowled. “No way! You don’t know what we’ve been through to get to you, Isaak. I’m staying.”

“So am I.” Talia folded her arms, her posture defiant. “I’m a newbie here, but I’m sticking by you two. I just saw her kick the ass of three grey-looking blokes, easy.”