The N.D.P

Chp.3: Let the Games Begin!

      "Now know that we can do whatever we want with this technology and know that everything I tell you is going to happen," Java smiled. He waited for a response but all the teens were scared stiff. "Now, you will be participating in what we call the N.D.P," Java squared his shoulders. He looked at everyone now with a frown.

     Max wanted to ask so many questions. That he had to blurt out. But he didn't want to get in trouble. "The N.D.P is something like this," Java pressed a button on the desk and a big TV slowly moved down. When it finally fully revealed itself as a huge TV, Java pressed a big red button on the desk and the TV turned on.

     It was showing a small island with two large buildings. It didn't seem too bad at first, but then something in the distance came to on view the overhead camera. It was something in the water a couple miles out. Max looked harder. It was a tornado! A huge one! Then the camera changed to inside the building.
   
     There was a kid with rugged brown hair falling to all sides of his head holding the camera. It was Ego! Max jumped in excitement. He finally knew where he was. Java wasn't looking at the TV, but he was looking at the teens. His frown turned into a large grin.
    
     "What's happening! Why is there a huge tornado coming!" Yelled Ego. Java cackled.

    He again looked at the children. "This is going to happen to you! Now!" Java yelled. Maxes' heart jumped. The big brown doors opened quickly and in came Commander Pildue with five other soldiers with pistols at ready. Java turned off the TV
     "Don't move now, or you'll be shot dead. Commander, you know what to do," Java growled.
   
     Pildue nodded and pulled out a wooden club. Then the other five followed suit. The next thing Max knew he was being hit in the back of the head by Java's big club.
   
    "Aaahhh. What the," Max groaned. He pushed himself up. He then looked around. "Oh no. No no no no nooooo!" Max yelled. There he was on an island surrounded by water. He saw the forty nine other kids getting up and having the same reaction. There were so many screams.
    
     He turned around and behind him was a small budget amusement park caged in. It had a bouncy house, a small power tower for kids and a lot of blow ups. Some kids didn't think much of it and started riding the power tower.
    
     Max started breathing heavily. There was no high ground for a tsunami in this place. Ego was lucky. His island had two big towers. Max looked around the small island. He saw nothing but water then the bright sky with no clouds to be seen.
    
     "HEY!" Yelled a kid in Max's ear. Max jumped.
   
    "What the! Hey! Don't do that!" Max protested. Max looked at him. He was a huge fellow with a big build. He could snap a plank in half. Max instantly regretted yelling at him.
    
     "I was just asking if you wanted to join us on the power tower," he growled just like Java. Max didn't know if he was in the mood for it. Max was about to say no but he realized. There's high ground after all! The power tower! He definitely didn't want to be stuck on the ground during a natural disaster! Everyone knows that.
    
     "YES! Hem, I mean yes," Max said. The kid grinned and turned around.
   
    "It's high ground for whatever comes," the kid said. Max now knew because of his low voice and his colossal build, he was definitely seventeen.
    
     "That's what I was thinking too!" Max blurted. The teen jolted around and covered Maxs mouth.
  
     "Ssshhhhhhhh! There are bad teens here that don't need to join us. It's only me you Murphy Deb and Cloco. Got it," he growled in a very low tone. Max nodded and walked with him to the power tower. "Names Caleb by the way," Caleb said. "Now it's your turn." Max hesitated then spoke.
    
     "My name is Max." Caleb turned around and smiled. He then got back to looking forward. Caleb walked like a zombie almost. There was a huge rip on the right of his pants with a bandage covering the damage.
    
     "What happened to your leg," Max asked. Caleb stopped; he didn't look at Max but at the sky.
   
     "The dogs bit me when I tried to escape last night," Caleb said. He turned his head halfway around his body and looked at the ground. "I don't know if it will ever heal, but I'll certainly try to do everything in my power to heal this thing." Max suddenly felt bad for Caleb. He was a nice guy on the inside, but on the outside he was tuff. Max was suddenly starting to really like Caleb, almost as much as Ego if not more.
   
     "How did you get that big scratch on your eye?" Caleb asked. Max felt it every second. It ached like he was being scratched every minute.
    
     "I got it before they removed my memory of my life," Max suddenly felt a shudder in the ground. Then there was a siren noise, a tornado siren! Max felt the ground start to shake.
    
     "TORNAAADOOOOO!!" Caleb screamed. He started to run as fast as he could to the power tower. "MURPHY DEB CLOCO! GET OOFFFFFF!!" Caleb ran as fast as his legs could push as Max followed far behind. Caleb's long legs made Maxes' speed seem like a snail's pace. From the corner of Maxes' eye he could see a huge wind starting to grow.
   
      And in the blink of an eye a huge tornado started to rush through the carnival. Caleb didn't stop for shelter. He kept running toward the power tower. Max saw a huge chunk of the store ceiling fly off.
    
     "Caleb! It's not worth it! We're all gonna die!" Max bellowed. Although Caleb couldn't hear him. The sky started to rush with clouds. Those clouds turned a greenish color. Then something happened. Something terrible. Right next to the power tower was where conveniently a massive colossal tornado formed! It was the biggest Max had ever seen.
   
     Max stopped and watched Caleb disappear into the fog of the wind. "CALLLLEEEEEEBBBBB!!" Max screamed. Max didn't know what to do. He looked to his left and a huge wall was coming straight towards him. He dived out of the way. The wall blew right past him.
    
     "Heeeeyyyy! It's safe over here!" Yelled a voice he could barely hear. He could feel himself being pushed closer and closer to the tornado. He fought the wind to where he thought the yelling was coming from.
    
     "WHERE!?" Max yelled. He wanted to be sure he was going the right way.
  
     "Here!" Yelled the voice. He was in fact going the right way. He kept running to the place where he heard the voice. The wind was pounding against his body and pushing him as hard as it could toward the tornado. There was sand in the wind so it felt like pebbles were smacking him in the face almost every second.
    
     "I see you! Over here!" The voice said. Max turned and he saw a little bit of a shadow in the mist. He ran over and made it in. The teen closed the door and turned around.
    
     "You're not tired are you?" He asked. Max looked at him and frowned.
    
     "No, I'm not tired! I just fought against the wind for ten minutes! OF COURSE I'M TIRED!" Max yelled. The teen shrugged and looked at the four other kids in the room.
   
    "You know Caleb! We heard you shouting his name. Where is he!?" The teen to his left questioned, his eyes fuming with anger.
    
     "Well he went straight for the power tower to get his friends Murphy, Deb and Cloco. He's not going to make it," Max sighed. Suddenly the room started to shudder.
   
    "Dude! We are Murphy, Deb and Cloco!" Yelled Murphy holding the door.
    
     "What!?" Max yelled. Max ran at Murphy. "We gotta save him." Murphy's face told him all he needed to know.
   
     "Let's go and get him," Murphy yelled. He looked at the other three.
    
     "Hey, I'm Kyle and I don't know Caleb a bit so I'll hold the fort," said Kyle. Max nodded and looked around the so-called fort. It was the check in booth with the metal closer which indicates it's not open it's closed.
  
     The walls were painted orange and the toys that were scattered all over the ground were broken and ripped. It was a check in storage unit. The floor was a messy tile brown and orange and the only light in the room was a ceiling light that was hanging by a thread flickering.
  
     "I'm not going," said Deb. He was the one that had fire in his eyes earlier.
   
    "Cmon amigo, it'll be just peachy," said Cloco. Max laughed.
    
     "Just peachy!? I don't know if you're Deb or Cloco but that is not how it's going to be," Max said.
    
     "Hermano, I'm Cloco he's Deb. El no sabes el español?" Cloco asked in Spanish.
    
     "No, he doesn't know Spanish. So talk English, you know it," Murphy said. Cloco laughed.
    
     "Ok ok, but I can't help adding in some español to every sentence," Cloco said. Deb looked at the ground moping.
    
     "What's wrong Deb?" Murphy asked. Deb looked up and then back at the only non broken teddy bear in his hands.
    
     "I remember having one of these," Deb said looking at it. He looked back at them. "I remember my parents used to sing me songs before bed. Where are they now?" Deb cried. Max looked at him then back at the door. He was confused at how he knew his past but they had to get going or Caleb would be dead.
    
     "Guys we gotta go," Max said. Murphy looked at Max and back at Deb.
    
     "We'll be right back," Murphy promised. Murphy stepped back from the door, his hand still in it.
    
     "Ok guys. Three! Two! One! Go!" Murphy yelled. He took his hand off the door and it swung open. It hit the wall so hard the door broke in half.
    
     "Be safe!" Deb said. Murphy smiled and ran forward. Cloco and Max followed.
   
    "Where's the power tower Max!?" Murphy yelled. Max wanted to answer but the rocks were hitting him in the back so hard it was hard to breathe.
    
     "Let the wind take you!" Max yelled. Murphy walked with the wind then Cloco then Max. He could barely see his two other partner's. The wind was fiercer than any storm Max had ever gone through. Last time he was running against the wind and now he was running with the wind. After five minutes they started to get worried.
    
     "This island wasn't as big as this is taking us!" Max yelled.
   
    "Hermanos! I see something. I think it's a persona!"  Cloco yelled.
     "Where?!" Max replied.
   
    "To our right!" Cloco yelled. Max followed  Cloco through the wind in the fog. He couldn't help but notice that there were screams coming from every direction. Some yelled, some screamed and some let out an ear piercing screech.
 
     When they made it to where Cloco had said there laying in the ground with blood spewing out of his lip, nose and cheek was Caleb.
    
     "I guess you guys saw it," Caleb stuttered. Caleb looked at Max. He frowned.
    
     "You knew they weren't at the tower didn't you!" Caleb's voice was cranky and he barely even could let out a yell. Max took a step back.
    
     "I didn't I swear, I heard people calling that it was safe in the place they were so I followed the sound. Also, why would I lie to you and then come out into this storm and save you!?" Max yelled. Caleb grinned.
   
    "I guess there's nothing to be mad at...... when.... I...... don't have much.......time to live," Caleb spoke. His voice started to fade away.
    
     "No amigo there 's still tiempo!" Cloco yelled.
    
     "No there's not! We gotta leave him, he's done and he's too heavy to carry! Plus the wind is picking up!" Murphy yelled. They were getting pushed closer and closer to the tornado. In an instant Caleb went rolling towards the tornado!
    
     "Amigos! Caleb! He's still alive! We can't just let it pull him into its stomach!" Cloco screamed. Murphy frowned. Of course Max could barely see the frown because of the fog.
   
    "No! I'm leaving! Max, if I were you, I'd follow!" Murphy yelled and he fought the wind towards the broken down fort. Or at least where he thought it was. Cloco looked at Max.
    
     "I'm going hermano. There's nothing you can do to stop it. Yo quiero su assistance! Pero if you don't want to die. Adios," Cloco said.  Then he followed the wind to Caleb.
   
    "Cloco! It's a death wish to go into that!" Max cried. But Cloco couldn't hear him. He watched as Cloco went further and further into the wind. Suddenly he felt the wind pick up. It was pushing him towards the tornado. Max fought back with all the power he had, but he couldn't because the wind was pushing too hard.
  
     He felt himself starting to lift up off the ground. So with what little he had touching the ground he fought all the way over to underneath a huge cloth that was made to give shade on sunny days. But today for Max it was used as something to hold on to. He lifted fully off of the ground and was about to be pulled into the dark fog. But he grabbed a pole and held it tight.
    
     "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! HELP MEEEEE!" Max screamed. No answer. All he could hear was the thunder, the rain, his heart beating and the wind.
    
     "Amigo! I can't help you! Because I need help as well!" Cloco yelled. Max looked around. But he couldn't find his friend.
    
     "Where are you!" Max bellowed. No answer. "Where are you!" Again no answer. Max looked around. He scanned everything he could see. And then he looked to where he was being pulled and saw two body's flying in circles in the air. That meant not only is the tornado right next to him, but Cloco and Caleb were stuck in the tornado!
  
     "Help us!" The low voice of Caleb hollered.
    
     "I don't know how!" Max yelled back. Max looked around again.
    
     "We're lucky right now! There's not much debris in this thing yet! But it's picking up! So por favor hurry up amigo!" Cloco yelled. Max needed to help them. They were his only friends if Ego didn't survive the other tornado. He kept looking. It was a habit of his to know his surroundings.

     He saw the cloth on the top of the seating area where Caleb's body had been. Then he saw the pole he was holding on to that held up the cloth and was dug into the ground a couple of feet.. Then he saw what was left of the snack shack. A tiny little piece of the roof and some of the metal walls.
   
     Then he saw an extension piece on the ground so you could extend the pole he was holding on to if you wanted it to be higher up. He looked at that pole and had an idea.
    
     "Guys! I have an idea!" Max yelled.
    
     "Perfecto amigo! Keep it up! I'm gonna be sick!" Cloco yelled. Max knew the plan would work if he could grab the extension piece. And to grab the extension piece that was tied to one of the walls that luckily hadn't flown off yet he had to lower himself toward the zipper and unzip the bag that had it.
 
     Max started to lower himself. One hand under the other he went down slowly but surely. When he made it to the bottom he had to unzip it which meant he had to stop holding on with one hand!
    
     "Here it goes!" Max said. He took one of his hands off and started unzipping it.
   
    "Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" Max bellowed. His wrist started aching but he was still trying to unzip the extension piece on the wall. He felt his hand slipping. "C'mon just a little further!" Max grunted. Once he finally unzipped the extension piece his hand slipped off! But lucky he was hasty and grabbed the pole with his left hand.
    
     "Alright! I got it!" Max yelled.
    
     "Amigo! The debris is piling up! And I don't think I can hold on to this body for much longer! I've puked three times amigo! That's criminal," Cloco yelled.
    
     "I'm almost done! All I have to do now is attach the extension to the outside piece!" Max yelled. He maneuvered up on the pole until he made it to the top. He looked for a hole in the pole and found one. It didn't take him long to attach the extension to the pole.
   
    "Alright guys! I'm coming!" Max bellowed.
    
     "Are you sure this is going to work amigo?!" Cloco questioned. Max looked at the pole and tugged it.
   
    "If we're lucky!" Max assured.
    
     "Bueno, eso es tranquilizador," Cloco murmured. Which meant "Well that's reassuring" except he said it in spanish.
    
     "Ok. HERE! WE! GO!" Max yelled he pushed down on a button on the extension and he went flying into the tornado. It held up pretty well in the storm.
   
    "Ok guys! Maneuver up here!" Max yelled. He could see two body's right under him going in circles. The saddest thing is that those body's under him weren't Cloco and Caleb, they were dead body's. Cloco and Caleb were above him.
    
     "Amigo! We're up here! We'll breath stroke in the air to get to you!" Cloco yelled. Max looked up and opened his mouth wide. He knew he'd never seen a dead body and he didn't even remember his own life. After two minutes they had gotten really close to Max.
    
     "Grab my hand!" Max said as he held it out. Caleb seemed to wake up on when he said that because he was first to grab his hand. The grip and strength in Caleb was crazy. Caleb after two minutes of trying to get on the pole was holding on to it.
    
     "Alright! Your turn Cloco!" Caleb yelled. Caleb held out his giant hand and Cloco grabbed it. Just as Caleb started to pull him in, a huge wall of the snack shack came and hit Cloco in the legs! Bam!
   
    "AAAAAAHHHHH!" Cloco cried. Caleb finished pulling him in and Max looked at Clocos leg.
    
     "You alright Cloco!?" Max asked. Cloco nodded. "Alright guys! Hold on for your life!" Max pushed a button again and the extension piece pulled them out of the tornado and all the way back to the snack shack.
    
     "The wind slowed down! Stop holding on, I think we'll fall back to the ground!" Caleb said. He stopped holding on and plopped back on the ground. Max and Cloco followed suit. But when Cloco fell his legs gave away and he fell on his butt.
    
     "I guess I'm carrying you!" Caleb said.
    
     "Let's get back to the fort," Max said. They walked all the way back to a screaming Murphy telling people that it was safe where he was. When they made it into the view of Murphy. Murphy gasped.
    
     "NO WAY! YOU 'RE ALIVE! MAX, YOUR ALIVE! CLOCO! YOUR ALIVE!" Murphy yelled in shock. Cloco gave him a rude look Deb sat in the corner and Kyle was sitting next to Deb calming him down. And there were a lot of others in the room. The time didn't fly by. There was no fight and the only talking was Kyle trying to cheer up Deb.
 
     Deb was the only person that remembered something from his past. There were like twenty teens in the room. And they were all huddled into a corner. Max looked at the checkered floors, something was off about one of them. He crouched down to get a closer look. One of the black tiles in the floor was loose. Max touched it and pushed down, nothing happened.
  
     Then he tapped one of the tiles next to him. He pushed it down. The second one he pushed down was more solid. Then he knocked on the solid one and it made a small high knocking noise. Then he knocked on the weird one and it made a low noise. And it sounded like there was an echo on the other side. Max put his fingers under the tile as much as he could and pulled. The outcome was it came right off with ease.
    
     "Guys! Get over here!" Max yelled in excitement.
   
    "What is it amigo?" Cloco asked. Cloco and all the other kids walked over to Max. And right in front of him was a ladder underneath the tile of the floor into a dark abyss.
    
     "Guys, I don't think Java and the crew wanted us to find this," Max said. Suddenly one of the walls popped off of the room and flew away. And instantly the wind and rocks slapped at his face. Then the roof came off.
    
     "Everyone down!!" Max cried. He was the first to hop in. He heard screams and shouts. The ladder he went down had no space to move at all. His back was dragging itself against the dirt the whole way down. He looked up and saw someone on top of him.