A rare power-up, indeed. Sudden Death can render a player of your choice frozen for the rest of the game, useless to his or her teammates. I’ve never seen this power-up in play during a regular Warcross match, and only a handful of times in an official tournament game.
It must be worth at least five thousand—maybefifteenthousand dollars.
Max, for all his size, is faster than Asher. He reaches Penn first, then lunges for the red Artifact over his head. Penn ducks out of the way in time. The isle they’re both standing on starts to crack, unable to support them both for long, and Penn makes a leap for the next closest isle. But Max’s hand closes around his arm before he can do it—Max lets out a roar and flings Penn backward. Penn goes flying. He manages to seize the edge of an isle before he plummets to the lagoon below. There he dangles, momentarily helpless and dazed. The audience roars as Penn’s life bar drops from Max’s blow.
Penn Wachowski | Team Beta
Life: -35%
Now Asher joins the action. He leaps off his own isle as it crumbles, landing in a perfect crouch on the isle Penn is clinging to. The isle shudders from the impact. He leans down, seizes Penn by his neck before he has recovered from his last hit, and pummelshim into the isle’s dirt, cracking the ground. A burst of blue light radiates out from Asher in a ring at his attack.
Penn Wachowski | Team Beta
Life: -92% | WARNING
The invisible audience screams, while an analyst shouts, “Penn’s going to go down!If he doesn’t protect his team’s Artifact, Asher is going to end this game early—”
Penn frees one hand and unleashes a Lightning power-up on Asher before he can make a fatal blow. A blinding flash of light engulfs Asher for an instant. He throws his hands up in vain, but too late—the power-up has blinded him for five solid seconds. His own life bar drops by 20 percent. Penn lunges for Asher’s Artifact. At the last instant, Max saves their Artifact by grabbing it first, so that it now hovers over his head.
The crowd lets out a roar of cheers and boos. I follow suit. But my attention keeps going back to the Sudden Death power-up.
Don’t do it.
“Sharp effort from Beta! Penn’s been working on his defense!” an analyst shouts over the noise. As he speaks, the storm’s clouds finally reach us, and the sun disappears overhead. “We lost track of Kento for a while, but it looks like he’s now hunting after Jena. Both are going for the Sudden Death power-up!”
Wind blasts us. It makes the floating isles wobble in the air. Fat drops of rain start to fall, making each isle slippery and harder to stand on.
I turn my attention to Jena and Kento, who look like twosmall, bright figures fast approaching the power-up hovering over the rock. Then I swoop down from the isles and fly in their direction. Soon, I am hovering near the bloodred Sudden Death, watching as Jena and Kento dash for it.
I focus on the power-up. In theory, if Jena or Kento get their hands on Sudden Death, I might be able to hack into their player accounts. I might be able to steal Sudden Death right out of their account. And then I could sell it.
Fifteen thousand dollars.
In spite of myself, my head spins with excitement. Could this work? Hacking into a regular Warcross game has never been done—but an official championship tournament game? Unheard of. I don’t even know if I can access their accounts the same way I can in regular Warcross. My hack might not work at all.
If they catch me and I’m arrested, I’ll be charged as an adult.
Breaking the law had only quickened my father’s death. It certainly hadn’t made my life any easier.
I stay where I am, torn, my throat dry.
What if Idosuccessfully steal it? It’s just a power-up in a game; I’m not hurting anyone. I’ve never tested this Warcross hack in an arena like this—but what if it works? I could resell it for thousands. I could get that money immediately and give it to Mr. Alsole, pay off my debts. It could save me. And I’d never do it again.
The temptation nips at me, and I wonder if this is how my father felt every time he’d logged online to placejust one more bet.
Just one bet.Just this once.
Jena reaches the power-up first. She only has time to swipe it off the top of the cliff before Kento tackles her.
If I don’t make a decision now, it’ll be too late.
Instinctively, I move. My fingers tap madly against my tabletop. I bring up a player directory, then hunt for Jena’s profile. As I go, Jena kicks Kento off her and then dives in a perfect arc down toward the lagoon. A deafening thunderclap sounds out overhead.
Jena’s name finally pops up. I have only a few seconds to act.Don’t do it.But I’m already moving. A complete inventory of her virtual belongings appears. I scroll until I see the brand-new Sudden Death item in her account, shiny and scarlet.
The only weakness I’ve ever found in Warcross’s security is a tiny glitch when a user is about to use an item. When the item passes from an account into the game and is used, there’s a split second when it is vulnerable.
My fingers tremble. Before me, Jena reaches for her new Sudden Death power-up. In her inventory, I see it flash a quick gold. Now’s my only chance. I suck in my breath, wait—don’t do it—and then type a single command just as Jena’s item leaves her hand.
