Project Alpha Read online

  Heavily armed soldiers wearing desert fatigues swung the two gates open and waved the caravan through. Once the cars were inside, the helicopters broke off. Their mission was complete. The cargo had arrived safely.

  The cars traveled for another mile until the first buildings appeared like an oasis, revealing a sprawling military base and airfield. Fighter jets lined the long runways. Massive hangars loomed high above the desert floor. One of the huge buildings had its giant doors open, and the caravan turned toward it. The Humvees broke off and the SUVs continued on inside. They rolled to the dead center of the vast empty space and all eight vehicles parked side by side.

  Behind them, the enormous hangar doors rolled shut, cutting off the sun and intense heat.

  A man stood in the center of the hangar, facing the lineup. He was in his thirties and dressed in a dark blue military jumpsuit. There were no insignias or patches, and with his unkempt boyishly cut hair, he didn’t fit the typical military mold.

  He gave a curt wave and the car doors opened.

  First out were the drivers. They were soldiers wearing desert fatigues. They quickly moved to the back doors, pulled them open, and stood at attention.

  Slowly, tentatively, the passengers emerged.

  They were kids.

  Twelve-year-old kids.

  Four boys. Four girls.

  They stepped out of the vehicles with caution, gazing around at the enormous building in wonder until they laid eyes on one another. It was the first time they were seeing the other finalists in the Project Alpha competition. Some smiled a silent greeting. Others gave steely glares as they appraised the competition.

  Last out was a pale girl with blond hair and blue eyes. Her driver brought a motorized wheelchair up to her door and moved to help her out. The girl waved him off. With a quick flip, she pulled herself out of the SUV and onto her wheels. Without missing a beat, she joined the others.

  “Welcome,” the man in the jumpsuit declared formally. “Don’t be shy. Join me.”

  The man wasn’t cold, but he was all business.

  The group slowly gathered and formed a line, shoulder to shoulder, facing him. Everyone fidgeted nervously, waiting for whatever might come next.

  “Congratulations,” the man said sincerely. “Eight finalists. Down from over seven hundred thousand applicants.”

  “Who are you?” one girl asked skeptically.

  “Hello, Anna,” he answered while stepping forward to shake her hand. “My name is Shawn Phillips. Commander Phillips. I’m the leader of Project Alpha. It’s time for you to meet one another.”

  Anna was a dark-skinned girl with a mass of curly hair. She looked challengingly at him through oversized rectangular glasses. “Are you the one picking the final four?” she asked as they shook hands.

  “I am,” he replied.

  “Cool. Just want to know who I’ve got to impress.”

  Anna stepped back. Next to her, a slight Asian girl with long dark hair and straight bangs stepped forward.

  “Carly Diamond,” Phillips announced to the group. “Konnichiwa youkoso.”

  “Arigatou,” Carly replied with a slight bow, then added, “You don’t need to speak to me in Japanese.”

  “I know that,” Phillips said kindly, then addressed the group. “Everyone here is fluent in English. It’s the chosen language of Project Alpha.”

  “Gabriel Parker,” Phillips said, continuing down the line.

  A boy with dark skin and a mischievous twinkle in his eyes stepped forward. He stood a head taller than the rest, eye to eye with Phillips. “Yes sir,” Gabriel said with authority. “Thanks for the chance.”

  “Thank you for volunteering.”

  Gabriel’s bright eyes shone with eagerness as he stepped back into line.

  “Ravi Chavan,” Phillips said, shaking the hand of an Indian boy.

  “You got it,” Ravi answered with a slight accent and a cocky sort of grin.

  The next girl was tall with olive skin, deep blue eyes, and long dark brown hair.

  “Ciao e benvenuto,” she said in graceful Italian. “I’m Siena Moretti.”

  Phillips shook her hand and moved to the next boy, who was shorter than the rest by several inches but stood as straight and tall as his spiked-up black hair. “Niko Rodriguez,” Phillips said. Niko didn’t answer, only nodded and stepped back quickly.

  His shyness stood in stark contrast to the next finalist in line—the blond girl in the wheelchair with sparkling blue eyes.

  “Hello, Piper Williams,” Phillips said. “Welcome.”

  “Thanks!” she replied brightly. “You didn’t make a mistake.”

  “What do you mean?” Phillips asked.

  Piper tapped the arm of her wheelchair and said, “This isn’t a handicap.”

  “If I thought it was, you wouldn’t be here.”

  “And thanks for the new wheels,” she added. “They’re pretty slick.”

  The wheelchair was a cross between a standard two-wheeled chair and a high-powered sport motorcycle.

  “We felt you might need a little extra horsepower.”

  The smile dropped from Piper’s face. “I don’t need extra help.”

  “Glad to hear that, Piper,” Phillips said.

  Phillips moved on to the last candidate, a pale-skinned boy with an easy smile and relaxed stance.

  “Dash Conroy,” Phillips said, shaking his hand. “Welcome.”

  “Thanks,” Dash replied with genuine enthusiasm. “This is pretty exciting.”

  Phillips gave him a conspiratorial wink and said, “You have no idea.”

  Phillips took a few steps back to address the entire group. “Welcome to you all. You know why you’re here and how you came—”

  “Where exactly are we?” Anna asked. “All I know is I was on a plane for hours, then driven through the desert. We could be in the middle of the Sahara.”

  “Not likely,” Siena said. “Based on my flight time from Rome and seeing that Project Alpha is sponsored by the United States government, it’s more likely we are in the continental United States.”

  Anna gave her a blank stare and said, “I wasn’t serious about the Sahara.”

  “So then where are we?” Gabriel asked.

  “I think we’re at Area 51,” Ravi announced. “I mean, we’re talking about exploring outer space. What better place than where they keep all the aliens?”

  “Sounds about right to me,” Niko added. “That’s in Nevada, right?”

  “That is correct,” Siena replied.

  “You’re hiding aliens here?” Anna asked Phillips. “Like, seriously?”

  “Those are just rumors,” Carly said. “There’s never been proof and without proof they’ll stay rumors.”

  “Do the winners get to see the aliens?” Ravi asked. “That would be cool.”

  “Yes!” Phillips blurted out, trying to contain his frustration.

  The group stared at him in wonder.

  Dash finally said, “Yes, there are aliens here?”

  “No, there are no aliens here, but yes, this is Area 51.”

  “I knew it!” Ravi exclaimed, and held up his hand to Siena for a high five.

  She didn’t return it.

  “If you would let me continue—” Phillips said patiently.

  “Go ahead, chief,” Ravi said. “This is your show.”

  “Thank you,” Phillips said, taking a deep breath to regain his composure. “This base has been called Area 51, among many other names. For our mission, we are simply calling it Base Ten. I’m sorry to disappoint you but there are no aliens here.”

  Most of the kids shrugged and looked to the floor, disappointed.

  “I knew that,” Ravi said under his breath.

  “For the next few weeks, you will be engaged in the final phase of the selection process. You know the purpose. With our natural fuel resources on the verge of depletion, the hunt for an alternate clean fuel source has been a primary goal of the US government and of
many other countries around the world. Up to this point, those efforts have been unsuccessful, with one major exception.”

  “The Source,” Dash said.

  “Yes,” Phillips replied. “The Source. Deep-space probes have located and identified a material we’ve been calling the Source on a celestial body far beyond our own solar system. We believe the Source contains enough untapped energy that even a small amount will provide the power we so desperately need.”

  “What planet?” Anna asked. “Like…Pluto?”

  “Pluto is no longer considered a planet,” Siena said knowingly. “And it isn’t outside our solar system.”

  “You know you’re getting on my nerves, right?” Anna shot back.

  “The exact location is also classified,” Phillips said. “We’ve put a lot of resources into this mission; we don’t need to be giving away our findings to competing outfits.”

  “So it’s a race to get it first?” Niko asked.

  “Not at all,” Phillips replied. “The Source will benefit the entire planet.”

  “So then it shouldn’t matter who gets it first, right?” Dash asked.

  “It doesn’t,” Phillips said quickly, trying to avert another debate. “But this mission has been planned for many years. We know what we’re doing and don’t need outside interference.”

  “So what exactly is the mission?” Carly asked.

  “Project Alpha will send a team of four into deep space to find the Source and bring it back to Earth. Simple as that. You’re competing for the chance to be on the team that keeps Earth from going dark.”

  “And winning ten million dollars each,” Anna said. “Don’t forget that.”

  “And going down in history,” Niko said. “That’s okay too.”

  “Once the final four are selected,” Phillips said, “there will be six months of training.”

  “You’ve really got a ship that can carry four of us into deep space?” Piper asked.

  “Yeah,” Gabriel added. “We don’t even have a space shuttle anymore. How did we suddenly build a ship that can go all Star Wars?”

  “I’ll bet that’s classified too,” Niko said.

  “It is,” Phillips replied. “Not everything we develop makes it into the newspapers. But rest assured we can get you there. Our job now is to find the best kids for the job.”

  “Yeah, what’s with that?” Anna asked. “Why kids?”

  “It has to do with your metabolism,” Phillips replied. “You asked if we had a ship to get you there. We do. But the technology is such that flying it would put too much strain on the systems of adults.”

  “But it’s safe for kids?” Carly asked.

  “It is.”

  “Promise?”

  “There is no danger whatsoever,” Phillips replied, trying to be patient.

  “How will you choose who gets to go?” Piper asked.

  “You will be put under the microscope. You’ll be given tests. You will compete against each other and against yourselves. You’re all brilliant kids. We know that. But we need to find the ones who can face the stress of the mission and still function at the highest levels.”

  “You mean you want to know who’s going to crack,” Anna said.

  “That’s one way of putting it,” Phillips replied. “There’s one mantra we live by: failure is not an option.”

  “What kind of tests?” Piper asked.

  “Contests. Competitions. Puzzles. We’re going to expose you to many different types of situations. It isn’t just about who performs the best; it’s about which four will combine to make the best team.”

  “When do we start?” Dash asked.

  “Right now,” Phillips replied with a smile.

  “The first competition is about how you want spend your time here. You will be living in dorms. Boys in one, girls in the other. They are functional and comfortable.”

  “Kind of like camp,” Niko said.

  “However,” Phillips continued, “one of you will be invited to stay in your own private quarters with a queen bed, a private bathroom, and your own refrigerator.”

  “Who gets to stay there?” Carly asked.

  Phillips held up a handkerchief-sized golden flag.

  “Your first challenge,” he declared. “Scattered throughout the arena are a few dozen golden flags like this one. Some are in plain sight, others you’ll have to hunt for. The first person who retrieves four flags will be staying in the superior quarters for the duration of your stay. Question is, how badly do you want it?”

  The kids all stood staring at Phillips, not sure how to react.

  Phillips pointed to a door on the far side of the hangar and said, “The arena is through there. The competition begins…now.”

  Anna took off running. Niko was right behind her. The others followed quickly.

  The final phase of the Project Alpha competition was under way.

  It began as a frantic free-for-all, like a massive Easter egg hunt with a lot more at stake than snapping up a few chocolate eggs. Anna sprinted across the empty hangar and spotted the first flag hanging next to the door leading to the arena. She snatched it off the hook and held it up in triumph.

  “That room is mine!” she declared, then waved to the others and ran out the door.

  Gabriel, Niko, Ravi, and Siena sprinted for the door and blasted through right behind her.

  Dash took his time. He did a quick scan of the entire space, checking for more flags. There were none, so he ran for the door but stopped when he saw that stacked next to it was an odd assortment of equipment. There were several coils of red climbing rope, a pile of fleecy pullovers of various bright colors, and four ice axes hanging from hooks.

  “Strange equipment to be in an airplane hangar,” Carly said as she jogged up from behind him.

  “Maybe there’s a flag buried in there,” Dash said, and quickly dug through the jackets.

  “Too obvious,” Piper said as she flew by them.

  She spun the wheelchair around expertly and backed into the door, pushing it open. She rolled outside but held it for the other two.

  “Coming?” she called.

  Dash and Carly gave each other quick looks and ran outside.

  The air temperature had plummeted to below freezing.

  “This is impossible,” Carly said. “We’re in the desert.”

  “Cool,” Piper said with wonder. “Literally.”

  “That answers one thing,” Dash said. He ran back inside and moments later came back with three jackets, a coil of rope, and three ice axes. “This stuff is here for a reason,” he said as he handed jackets and axes to Piper and Carly.

  The three slipped on the jackets, then scanned the area to see nothing but dense fog.

  “What’s this about?” Piper asked in a low voice as if not wanting to be heard by anyone other than Dash and Carly.

  “Our first test,” Carly said. “I’ll bet there’s a whole lot more going on here than a race for a couple of flags.”

  The three moved forward cautiously, straining to see through the heavy mist. None said it out loud, but they felt safer together than going at it alone.

  “I see one!” Piper exclaimed. She shot forward to where a golden flag hung from a three-foot-high pole. She grabbed it, spun back to the others, and held it up, saying, “The sooner one of us gets four, the sooner we can get out of this freezer.”

  A hulking shadow moved through the mist behind Piper. Only Dash and Carly saw it. It was a fleeting glimpse but it was real. And it was big.

  “What was that?” Dash exclaimed.

  Piper spun around but saw nothing. “What was what?” she asked.

  “I saw it too,” Carly answered. “It looked like a big guy, moving fast.”

  “Anna?” Dash called out.

  “I got another one!” Anna called from somewhere in the distance.

  “I don’t like this contest,” Carly said nervously.

  “Maybe that’s the point,” Dash said. “They’re
testing our nerves.”

  “I’m freezing,” Piper said, her teeth chattering.

  “Then let’s move,” Dash said, and they continued on.

  They walked cautiously but after taking only a few steps, Carly slipped and had to fight to keep her balance.

  “Whoa! Ice!” she cried as her feet slid out, and she hit the ground hard. “Ow. That is just rude.”

  Dash helped her to her feet. “It’s an ice rink,” he said. “Don’t walk; slide.”

  “Look!” Piper exclaimed, pointing.

  Another big shadow shot through the distant mist.

  “That’s not Anna,” Piper said, her voice cracking. “It looks like a Sasquatch. Or a Wookiee.”

  “There’s something over there,” Dash said, moving ahead.

  The three cautiously slid forward until a massive white mound appeared out of the mist.

  “It’s a pile of snow,” Carly said. “Or a monster igloo.”

  “There’s a cave,” Dash said.

  A jagged opening was cut in the face of the huge frozen mound.

  “Did the shadow thing go in there?” Piper asked nervously.

  “We should go see,” Dash said. “I guarantee it’s part of the game.”

  “I can’t,” Piper said. “I won’t be able to turn the chair around in there.”

  “I’ll go,” Carly said.

  “We’ll go together,” Dash said, and the two of them slipped through the opening.

  “Cool,” Piper said. “Be careful.”

  It was dark inside, but the ice gave off a faint glow that was enough for them to see by.

  “It’s an ice tunnel,” Carly said. “There’s gotta be a flag in here somewhere.”

  The tunnel twisted sharply, creating blind turns with no way of knowing what might be lurking around the next corner. Dash and Carly walked shoulder to shoulder until…

  CRACK.

  The sound came from beyond the next sharp turn.

  They froze.

  “Something’s in there,” Carly whispered.

  Dash fought the urge to turn and run. Instead, he steeled himself and yelled a warning. “There are two of us!”

  He lifted the ice ax and held it out threateningly, though his hands were shaking.