The Annihilation of Foreverland

right combination— The room went black. Something clicked.
    A spot of light hung over his head.
    “What is it?” the girl said.
    He’d forgotten she was there. “The firewall cracked.”
    “What’s that mean?”
    More clicking, like blocks were stacking and pieces latching and uncoupling. The spot of light shrunk to a pinpoint and began to dim. The clicking ended. Something fell into place like a key sliding into a lock. And turning.
    The point exploded in blinding light.
    And then they were flying above planet Earth.
    “We’re through,” Danny said.
    “Where?”
    Danny stood up. “It’s the outside world.”

    It exists .
    There was an outside world. The desks and keyboard had disappeared. Danny walked on clouds, looking at the blue ocean thousands of feet below.
    “We’re seeing the world through satellites,” he said.
    “Where’s the island?”
    Danny put together a few thought-commands, requesting the location of the portal he’d just hacked. The view spun like the planet rotated below. They were in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, halfway between South America and Africa .
    Nothing but water.
    [Enhance,] he thought.
    The view zoomed toward the water and two tiny islands came into view. The southern one was very small and narrow. There appeared to be an airstrip the length of it. The larger island to the north was shaped like South Carolina .
    “That’s it,” Danny muttered. “That’s where we are.”
    “It’s in the middle of nowhere.”
    “Exactly.”
    He began pacing around, observing the two islands. The details were sharper than what he’d seen in his flying sessions in Foreverland. There was the Yard in the center of the larger island and the horseshoe-shaped dormitory and the top of the Haystack nestled in the trees.
    That’s where I am. Right now.
    He scrolled the view to the south end, over the Mansion. He enhanced the view until he was walking right over the roof. The area behind the Mansion was a resort with swimming pools and lounging areas. There was a large pier attached to the shore with a yacht.
    He looked at the smaller island, now off in the distance about five miles.
    “They must fly into that island.” Danny took a few steps and the view scrolled beneath him until the airstrip was just below their feet. There was a hangar at one end and an empty pier on shore. “And then bring people over on the yacht.”
    The girl stood next to him. “What do you think they’re doing?”
    The view returned to the Mansion. Someone was swimming. One of the Investors was taking long, smooth strokes to the end of the pool before turning to backstroke in the other direction.
    “Looks like they’re on vacation,” he said.
    After scrolling over the rest of the Mansion yard and finding nothing unusual, he began to look at the rest of the island. The view – directly overhead – looked like a privately owned tropical island. If someone flew over it, there would be nothing out of the ordinary.
    “There’s not much time.” The girl had been walking along Danny’s side, looking where he was looking but watching for his reaction. “Is there anything here that helps?”
    He grunted. “Not really.”
    Danny continued walking, looking for anything that would be of interest. The Yard had a few people in it. The Chimney was highest in the sky, the stovepipe quiet. The waves were crashing violently on the north shore. The beach was empty, of course, because Reed was still in the Haystack with those vicious looking things on his hands.
    Danny turned.
    The girl was standing in the middle of the room, her hands clutched in front of her. She saw his thought and her eyes were big but not glassy this time.
    “How do you know Reed?” he asked.
    “It’s hard to know… my memories…”
    “They’re mixed up?”
    She shrugged.
    “But you’re stuck in here?” Danny asked. “You can’t get out of Foreverland?”
    “I don’t know… I just remember suddenly being here… something was after me when I woke up…”
    Danny waited, but she seemed more confused than before. “So you escaped into the Nowhere?”
    Quick nod, again. “No one can come out here. Not even him.”
    The Director.
    “You know that Reed dreams about you. He thinks you’re telling him not to come, that he has to—”
    “I know… I just… want him to be okay.”
    She turned away so Danny couldn’t see her face. Her shoulders tensed. He thought she might be weeping, but when she turned back around,