It was 3:28 AM when Joel Evans heard his cell phone chime and he ignored it. Instead, he burrowed deeper into his pillow, clutching it closer to escape the noise. It happened again a minute later, the sound shrill and insistent. Demanding and garbled, like needles tapping against his ear drums. As if the source of the sound was from inside his own head. When it warbled a third time, it dragged him into a bleary sort of awareness. He blinked, long and slow as he stared into the shadows of his bedroom. In the silence, he wondered if he’d dreamed up sound. It was possible - he was running on little sleep after a week of 12 hour shifts. He waited for the sound, waited to see if his theory was correct. Around him, silence. And for a moment, brief and fleeting, Joel smiled and closed his eyes.
His cell phone chimed again. Joel groaned, while he rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. Then he reached for his phone, clumsy fingers groping along the carpet until he found his phone where it lay charging. He picked it up, the light of the screen too bright for his tired blue eyes.
It was a text message that waited for him, the notification persistent in the middle of the screen. Part of him hoped it was a mistake. A misfire with their true target a digit off. The rest of him thought better of it, when he saw his name written in neat block letters. The sender was little more than a jumbled mass of hashtags and numbers and symbols. It made no sense. But, then again, not much did at 3:34 am.
With a hesitant thumb, he swiped the screen and waited as the message opened. It was the wrong number, he told himself again. He would delete it and go back to sleep. He wouldn’t think of it again. His life would go back to normal.
Can you save us, JOEL EVANS?
It must be a prank, he thought. He laid down again, phone face down on his chest. He did not want to devote another minute to any of this. If it was a joke, it was wasting the little time he had left on his day off. His phone was silent and any other night, Joel would have fallen asleep with ease. Tonight, when he closed his eyes, there was a feeling of dread. It started in the pit of his stomach and traveled up to the roots of his messy black hair. He hated this feeling, this unease and anxiety. He sat up, read the message again, and in the seconds it took to read it, made up his mind. With careful, expert thumbs, he typed: Who is this?
He wasn’t sure what he was expecting as he waited for his reply. The answers to the universe? A string of laughing emojis? Nothing at all? Instead, he got a name. Benjamin.
Joel could only recall one Benjamin in his life. He was tall and skinny, with thick glasses and hair he kept trimmed and neat. When Joel shut his eyes, he saw him, lingering around his locker in the hallway of their shared high school. He was always there, waiting for the other kids to clear out so he could walk to class unhindered. Joel never spoke to him and had not seen him in the handful of years after their graduation. He couldn’t make sense of it. Either way, he wasn’t the Joel Evans this Benjamin was looking for.
you’ve got the wrong number, benjamin.
He could have settled back down if his anxiety eased. But it didn’t, coiling tighter instead in the spaces between his ribs. He could see Benjamin typing and Joel curled his toes in anticipation. What else could he say besides sorry? Please!
There was a sense of urgency in each letter. The lines that made them up were thick, as if pressed into paper with ink instead of typed out on a screen. Joel wanted to be angry at the intrusion, frustrated at the insistence. His fingers tensed around his phone. He tapped out an angry reply. Then another and another. And he deleted them all. He wanted to yell, to throw his phone into the wall so it shattered into pieces. But he could not stop reading Benjamin's message. Over and over he read it and every time he did, his stomach coiled up tighter. Benjamin sought him out by name, calling him so twice. It could be a scam or a prank. But Joel couldn’t dismiss the idea that it wasn’t.
Fine. What do you need me to do?
He didn't notice at first. The light that traveled up his toes, until it split where his ankles crossed. It didn’t hurt, but it was warm and Joel could feel it pulse beneath his skin. He leaped from the bed for all the good it did him. The light followed, engulfing his legs and torso and arms and fingers, right down to the nails. And then up it went, twisting and swirling around his neck, growing hotter with each pulse. It poured into his wide eyes and opened mouth. Despite its warmth, it did not burn. It concentrated where his frantic heart hammered against his ribs.
Joel crumpled to the floor, fingers clawing at the light, desperate to stop it from consuming him. But it did not stop. It gathered there, squeezing itself into all the spaces it could fit. And it felt like it filled up his chest, until there was no room for anything. Not his lungs, not his heart. Finally, as Joel took in a desperate breath, the light burst out of him and materialized on the carpet. When the light faded, a little black device remained, its face ringed in red.
Whatever it was, Joel wasted no time in inspecting it. Instead, he patted his chest, searching for the hole it left behind. When he didn't find one, he plopped down and wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. It took a moment, but breathing became easy again. When he noticed the device on the floor, he reached for it and turned it over in his hand. Joel would have called it a toy were it not for the weight of it. It wasn’t heavy, but there was a solidness about it. It was sturdy and metal with a solid red stripe down the back of it. The screen came to life under the touch of his finger, its glow blooming across his face. After a short boot up sequence, a message greeted him.
Hello, Joel. Your Digital Output System is ready.
“Digital Output System?” he said. He’d never heard of such a thing and turned it over in his hand. What exactly was it outputting?
His cell phone chimed and he jumped, startled at the sound. It was Benjamin again, this time with directions for an address. Without hesitation, Joel got up and got dressed.
When Joel arrived at the Go Metro! station, heavy gates blocked the main entrance. He checked the time. 4:30 am, and the first signs of sunrise in the star filled sky. It would be hours before the first trains ran. Benjamin’s directions had brought him here, but how was he going to enter with the doors locked tight? The parking lot was empty, save for a few vans parked in a neat row alongside the building. He thought for a minute about going home and coming back when the station opened. But it seemed impractical. He didn't want to waste his day chasing a ghost. He was going to solve this right here and now. He paced the sidewalk, hands tucked away in his pockets while he searched for a way to slip inside.
At the building’s end, Joel noticed a door tucked away in the corner. It was unassuming, a gray slab of metal with a silver knob and employees only etched into the sign. As standard as it was, it would have been easy to ignore, if Joel had not noticed it was open. Not wide, but there was enough space for him to slip through. So slip through he did, taking a few uncertain steps into the unknown. He held his breath in the darkness beyond the door, half expecting an alarm or for the police to rush in and haul him away. But there was silence and in the distance, a single light dangled from the ceiling.
He walked toward it and at the juncture stopped. The hallway split here, with one way leading farther into the dark. The other pointed toward the ticket booths and platform. Around him, nothing moved and there was a sense of foreboding in the sickly yellow light. He thought it would be better if he turned back, went home, and pretended this never happened. It could be a funny story to tell later, when there were hours and days and weeks between that moment and this one. When he could look back and think he’d been foolish to wander into an empty subway station. He looked back the way he’d come and could see the outline of the door shut tight. The thought of going home that way didn’t ease his nerves and he decided he did not want to stay here a moment longer. He turned away from the door and made his way toward the platform. A proper exit would be waiting for him there.
It brightened as he walked and he felt a little better to have the light to guide him. Ahead, he could see the backs of the ticket booths, Go Metro’s branding stamped into the metal plating. And beyond them, he could see people, and that stopped him in his tracks.
They huddled close together, though the blonde man in black loomed tall over them. To his left was a woman, her tight brown curls pulled into a neat bun at the back of her head. Beside her was another woman with red hair, vibrant against the dimmed lights around them. Joel hadn’t thought about what he would do if there were other people here. Honestly, he hadn’t thought there would be other people here. He thought maybe he was the only one in Laguna Bay who’d lost his marbles. He was glad to know he wasn’t. He took a tentative step toward them. “Hey!” he said and straightened when they turned to look at him.
They watched him come closer with curiosity and apprehension in equal measure. Now that he could see them, there were four of them. The last one - a brown haired young man - stood off and away from the rest, arms folded against his chest. He eyed Joel where he stood and said nothing.
Joel stopped short of coming into their circle. He wanted enough room in case he needed to run. To where he hadn’t a clue, but there was comfort in the space he left between them. “I guess you guys got that weird text too?” he said, a nervous laugh pressing against his teeth.
The blonde man nodded and reached into his pocket. “And this,” he said. In his hand was the same little device that Joel carried, except his screen’s border was green instead of red. The others found their own devices and held them out for inspection. Their colors varied, but how they got them did not. All of them were born from light that burst out of their chests.
“I’m Joel,” he said.
The blonde man smiled, recognition in his eyes. “I thought I knew you. I’m your neighbor, Kale.”
Joel smiled too, the familiar face helping to settle his nerves a bit. The introductions continued. The redhead offered him a wave and a smile. “I’m Erika.”
Behind her, the third man stood. “Lewis,” he said.
And finally, the other girl of their group shuffled where she stood before she offered her name. “Sasha,” she said, her voice soft.
In all his fumbling through the dark, Joel hoped there would be answers here. Something to satisfy the curiosity that brought him in the first place. But the promised train was missing and if Benjamin was here, he had not shown himself. The presence of the others, with the same little metal toys in their pockets only added to his questions. Still it was good that they were here too. At least, he did not have to wander alone.
“What now?” Erika asked, “I thought a train was supposed to be here.”
In the distance, a horn blared, as if on cue. It echoed through the empty building, a long low sound. Three times it sounded, each blast closer than the last. Until a train crawled to a stop in front of them and its doors slid open with a hiss.
Inside the bright well lit space was plush seating and clean carpets. Better than your standard Go Metro! train in other words. If asked about it later, Joel would say he had no idea how he ended up here. But there he was, at the front of the group huddled near the doors, peering inside. Muzak poured out of the speakers overhead. It looked inviting enough, but then most death traps do.
“Please step inside,” a voice said, replacing the muzak in the speakers, “We don’t have much time.”
Where the others held back, Joel took the first step into the car. It was warm inside compared to the chill of the platform. Still, he waited. Waited to combust or to vanish into nothing. It felt anti-climactic when nothing happened at all. Joel turned to them and smiled, “You guys coming or what?”
Kale followed first, choosing a seat beneath a window. One by one the others followed, picking seats that suited them, tucking them out of the way of the aisle. When Joel sat down, the doors shut and the train began its trek deeper into the station. They spoke amongst themselves, discussing the text that had brought them there. Had the device not burst out of his chest, Kale would have dismissed the whole ordeal as a scam.
The conversation idled, until the muzak began to drown them out. It grew louder and more distorted until it cut completely and they heard the voice again. “Good morning!”
There was no enthusiasm in their replies. Most of them had dragged themselves out of bed for this. The formalities were nice, but they were far more interested in the point of the whole affair.
“I apologize for waking you. But I couldn’t wait any longer.”
“What’s going on? What couldn’t wait?” Erika asked into the air.
For a moment, the speaker was silent, as if the voice was giving thought to how to answer. “The Digital World is in danger.”
The five exchanged glances. “Never heard of it,” Lewis said. Neither had the others it seemed. But the voice was not deterred.
“Your names were in my records. You answered the SOS.”
No one spoke, unsure of what to make of this. None of them had heard of the Digital World, let alone received a message about it. Not before tonight.
“You mean the text?” Kale asked.
When the voice did not reply, Joel shifted in his seat. Maybe it wasn’t the text. But there was nothing else; no other memories long buried or forgotten about a world other than this one. Maybe Joel was right all along. Maybe Benjamin had the wrong number.
At the car’s front, a young man appeared, dressed in long white robes, his face hidden in the shadows of his hood. He approached them with purpose in his steps and when he was close, he pulled down his hood. He was young, his skin fair and his hair dark. But no one recognized him.
He looked at each of them, studied their faces for minutes on end. “You must be them,” he said. There was a sense of finality in his voice, as if he was trying to convince himself more so than the group in front of him. “Don’t you have the digivice?”
They looked at one another. Erika shrugged when Kale’s gaze met her own. The only things with her were her phone and the strange little device. When Lewis found his device again, he held it up. “This thing?”
The man exhaled, then he smiled and nodded. “Yes, the Digital Output System. So you are them.”
“What are we, exactly?” Kale asked, “And who are you?”
Flushed, the young man bowed, a brief bend at the waist, “I apologize. My name is Benjamin. I sent you the message that brought you here.” When he straightened, he was smiling at them. “And you were chosen to save the Digital World – the Digidestined.”
They were words to add to their vocabulary. Digidestined, Digital World. It was strange to say, felt strange on their tongues and yet Benjamin said them with ease. Like they were ordinary. But there was nothing ordinary about any of this.
Benjamin turned from them, head tilted to the side just so. “Buffalo?”
Around them, the train grumbled and sighed. “How much longer?”
“Not long. Five minutes.” The voice that answered rumbled deep and echoed through the car. Lewis shot up from his seat.
“What the hell. What was that?” His head swiveled, eyes searching for the source of the voice.
Benjamin motioned for him to sit back down again. “It’s alright. It’s Buffalo.”
“You mean the train?”
“Yes,” Benjamin said. He sat in an empty seat and motioned again for Lewis to do the same. “We’re about to pick up speed. You might want to sit, Lewis.”
Next to him, Sasha was quiet, turning her whatcha-call-it over in her hand. It was pink, matched the pink in her cardigan. “Where are we going?” She asked, with a glance at Benjamin.
“May I see your D-OS? I’ll show you.”
She placed it in his outstretched hand and watched him as he scrolled through the options. He was quick and efficient with it and when he found what he was looking for, a globe appeared above the screen. He touched it, using a finger to spin it so they could see the flashing point. “Our destination is Base Station,” he said, “Here.”
Buffalo grumbled, “We’re almost there. Brace yourselves.”
Outside, the train barrelled into the narrow tunnel ahead of it. The fit was tight, the walls close enough to touch if anyone felt brave enough to try. Ahead of them was the collapsed entrance to the next tunnel. “Stop!” Erika screamed, and folded into herself when the train did not even bother to slow down.
Buffalo did not stop. At the moment of impact, it vanished.
It reappeared outside, chugging along the tracks. Benjamin stood and peered out the window behind him with a satisfied smile. “Nice job, Buffalo. You didn’t miss.”
Buffalo harrumphed, offended, “I never miss!”
When Benjamin turned around, he studied each of the other passengers. They were distressed, but no worse for the wear. “Scared the pants off the kids, though,” Benjamin said, though he smiled.
If trains could laugh, this would be it. It rumbled up the sides of the car, echoing high into the ceiling. “They’ll live!” Buffalo said.
Among them, Joel was the first to stand and peer out of the window. Despite the setting sun, he could see for miles. Green fields scattered with vibrant wildflowers. They were on a single track in the middle of the scenery. In the sky, Joel could see a spark of light between the fluffy white clouds, like electricity following the lines of circuit. Kale soon joined him, curious eyes scanning the landscape. “Does it seem dull to you? Like the color is fading,” he asked with a glance at Joel.
He met Kale’s gaze, then turned to look at their surroundings again. There was a gray undertone to the colors, muting the vibrancy of them. Joel nodded at his observation. “Yeah. Kind of weird.”
At the front of the car, Benjamin pulled his hood up again, his face disappearing into the shadows of it. “What’s it look like out there, Buffalo?”
“More refugees. More than when we left.”
It struck him how dire their situation had become. More refugees and hardly any room to fit them all. He blinked to soothe his burning eyes. Gennai would have been faster. “Any Iramon?”
“I haven’t seen any.”
It should have been a relief to hear. For now they were safe. But it only made Benjamin’s chest tight. Because it meant uncertainty. He did not know where the Iramon were, but they could find him in an instant. Behind him, Sasha’s D-OS beeped, the single dot marking their destination blinking. “Turn off the map,” he said, “We have to be inconspicuous.”
Sasha fumbled with her D-OS, fingers inept with the controls. Benjamin made it seem so easy, but she felt clumsy and inadequate. Especially knowing how many eyes were watching her. It made her want to sink into the plush upholstery. When she found the correct combination, the map went away and the screen dimmed. Sasha stuffed it into the pocket of her shorts and stood up as Buffalo began to slow down. “You still haven’t told us what we’re doing here.” It was an attempt to change the subject, so everyone would forget how foolish she looked just moments ago.
All their curious stares turned to Benjamin, something he took in stride. “I promise I will explain everything in time. We are in danger here in the open.”
Erika, from where she sat, shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere with you. Turn this train around and take me home.”
Really, Benjamin should have expected resistance. They were normal people, who lived normal lives and Benjamin had upended them in the span of a few hours. Anyone would have been upset. And still, it pained him to hear it. To see the defiance and stubbornness in Erika’s eyes as she stared at his hooded face. It was too much to hope they would be willing to help without question. He looked away, took the moment to gather his thoughts. “All I need is ten minutes of your time. Please. And if you still would like to go home after, I will try my best to get you there.”
Buffalo grew still, his door sliding open to the platform outside. Everyone else stood, gathered near the exit with Benjamin. Erika sighed. “Fine. Ten minutes.”
She could not see it, but Benjamin smiled as he turned and led his group into the setting sun. Base Station was a busy place, teeming with creatures of all sorts. Some of them, these newcomers could call some sort of cat or dog. But they were not of any species they recognized. There was no accounting for any of the other odd creatures they saw. They were nothing like the wildlife back on Earth. If they were even on Earth.
Benjamin gave them no time to ask. He cut through the crowds with long purposeful strides, forcing his group to pay attention to keep up with him. They passed creatures who whispered about them behind their oversized paws, until the crowds began to thin. Benjamin led them deeper into the woods and they were grateful he seemed to know the way because there was no path to follow.
The trees around them were tall, their branches long and spindly, bending easy in the gentle breeze. The leaves were green, impossibly green and shined bright even in the setting sun. It would have been beautiful to admire if they had the time to stop and take in the wonders. But Benjamin’s brisk pace kept all their focus on him so they wouldn’t become lost in the thick foliage. Their destination was in a clearing, the trees cut away to make room for the building set neatly in the middle.
It was a drab old thing, two storeys built of slabs of mismatched wood. The door was heavy set in the frame, a thick piece of wood with a rusted sign bolted just above the header. Baba’s Place.
The door swung open before Benjamin could even raise his arm to knock. Behind it, stood a squat creature. Her gray hair pulled up in a bun fixed to the back of her head. There were no eyes that the Chosen could see but they imagined they must have been angry behind her fringe. From nowhere, she brandished a broom and smacked Benjamin in the face with all her might. He sputtered, stumbling back into Sasha and Erika.
“You’re late!” She hissed, broom raised ready to clobber him again.
“Forgive me, Baba! Buffalo and I had to reconfigure the gate.”
She did not seem satisfied, but let the matter drop. Instead she peered at the bewildered group behind him, lifting her bangs to see them better. “This them?” she asked.
Benjamin stood, taking the moment to straighten his robe and smooth the wrinkles away. “Yes, I think so. They answered the SOS.”
“You think so?” She raised her broom to smack Benjamin across the face again, but he retreated, peeking at Babamon from behind Sasha’s shoulder.
“Now’s not the time for guessing, Benjamin!” Babamon said. She menanced him with her broom before she put it away and motioned for them to follow her inside. “It better be them, for our sake.”
Inside, the inn looked no better than the out. Tacky fur art on the mustard yellow walls. Pea green shag carpet covered every inch of the floor. Ahead of them Babamon pointed to a staircase that descended into darkness. “They’re waiting for you.”
“What’s waiting for us,” Kale asked. He strained to see what might be at the bottom of the staircase. He saw nothing but a deep black shadow.
Benjamin breezed by him. He took a few of the steps down and looked back at them with a smile on his face. “Your partners. Come on, follow me.”
It seemed silly to hesitate now, after riding a train into this strange place and following Benjamin into the woods. He didn’t seem out to hurt them. And yet, the five of them stood huddled at the top of the stairs, watching Benjamin descend into the darkness below. If he had been a little more forthcoming with an explanation, perhaps it would have been easier to follow him into the unknown. Instead, all they had were vague promises and little metal toys in their pockets and no answers to their questions. Babamon appeared a moment later, watching the group with a curious quirk of her lips. “Y’all waiting for an invitation?” She asked them.
“More like answers,” Joel said. Behind him, the others nodded. “We don’t know what’s down there.”
“Your partners,” Babamon replied. It seemed obvious to her. She made it seem like it should have been obvious to them too, but it wasn’t. She approached them, stared at them one by one and smiled. “They’ve been waiting a long time for you.” Babamon spoke softly, a far cry from the menacing tone she had moments ago. Reaching up, she took Sasha’s hand between her own, brushing her thumbs along the back of it. “So have we.”
Sasha was silent as she watched Babamon. The others were quiet too. Benjamin spoke briefly about their purpose here. There was something desperate in the way Babamon rubbed her hand. Desperate and sad. In her heart, Sasha knew she couldn’t say no. When she turned to look at the others she said, “We did say we’d hear him out.”
So down they went, one by one into the darkness and it was like they’d stepped into another world yet again. The walls were washed white and held together with rusted bolts. Computers lined the perimeter of the room, most of the screens were shattered, tubes and wires dangling out like tongues. It brightened as they moved further into the space. There were beds scattered around. And at the front of the room stood Benjamin, typing furiously at the only console still operational. More than that, gathered around him were more of those strange creatures. Five of them in total.
The red dinosaur caught sight of them first, glaring at them with bright yellow eyes. “They’ve come,” he said, voice gruff.
The air was still as they stared at each other. They do not speak or breathe or move, as if absorbing this moment in the quiet seconds that tick by between them. Then the smallest of them approached. A rabbit-like creature with long ears trailing behind him and a single horn in the middle of his head. He walked with purpose in his little black feet and stopped just shy of Kale, peering up at him with narrowed eyes. He studied him, took in his features as if memorizing them. Then he smiled and clambered up Kale’s side, moving faster than Kale’s hands could catch him. “You’re not as ugly as I thought you’d be,” he said from his perch atop Kale’s head. He smoothed out Kale’s hair and made himself comfortable there.
“Did this oversized rat just call me ugly?” Kale reached for the oversized rat and pulled him away, held him aloft to get a better look at him. His fur was a warm cream color and there were green markings beneath his neck and around his hands and feet. Patterns of the same shade were on his ears too.
He frowned at Kale, wriggling in his grasp. “This one’s busted, Benjamin. He’s ugly and rude!”
“That’s enough, Terriermon,” Benjamin said. He offered to take Terriermon and Kale let him. He thought Benjamin would coddle the little rat rabbit thing, but chided him instead. “They are guests and you will be nice. Understood?”
He set Terriermon on the floor and nudged him forward. “Now, say hello properly.” Benjamin straightened, hands behind his back while he waited. He wouldn’t budge until Terriermon did as he asked.
Terriermon mumbled, his little arms folded over his chest. Kale kneeled, maybe to make this whole thing easier for him. It was strange. Terriermon had been rude. But Kale felt a sense of comraderie. “Hi,” Terriermon said. His voice was flat.
Kale smiled. “Hi.”
The apprehension eased. The other creatures approached, slow and methodical. For Lewis, his monster was a seal of some sort. He grinned and offered up a paw stamped with purple marks. “I’m Gomamon,” he said, “Pleased to meetcha!” He was cheerful and warm, enthusiastic compared to some of the other monsters in the room. Lewis knelt and took his paw in his hand and they shook like they were old friends. “Lewis,” he said.
Sasha stood by near to Lewis, enamored of the plant chosen for her. She was on her knees, listening while the plant chattered endlessly. “I’m so glad you’re finally here!” the plant exclaimed, “I knew you would be so pretty!”
Sasha demurred, setting her gaze on her knees. “Not nearly as pretty as you,” she said quietly. “I’m Sasha. What’s your name?”
“Palmon!”
Erika’s monster was the easiest to recognize and the least bizarre among the group of them. A lion in pants who loomed over them all, a sword strapped at his back. He looked at Erika with his massive arms folded over his wide chest. Erika stared back sheepishly. “You’re a big one, yeah?”
He smiled at her assessment. “Bigger than most. I am Leomon,” he replied. He nodded, his golden mane fluffed by the movement and he took a place behind Erika. Just out of her view but not too far away.
Joel’s monster was last to approach and he stared at Joel with a hard, unblinking gaze. There was a gap between them, a yawning space neither of them offered to close. There was an immediate warmth to the others, even if Terriermon thought they were a little ugly. For Joel and this monster with the hard yellow eyes, there was hesitancy. “I’m Guilmon,” he said, “Welcome.”
For Benjamin, the moment felt melancholy. There was no buzz of excitement. No long drawn out moments of bonding. There was only urgency. He’d brought them close to the flames and now it was time to tip them into the fire. He clapped his hands to get their attention then motioned for them to sit. “I promised you an explanation, and I mean to give it. Have a seat and I will tell you why you’re here.”
One by one they gathered around, each of them sitting with their partners nearby. He looked at them, one by one. Then he smiled. There’d been so many things to go wrong between the little moments that brought him here. But he was here and for the first time, Benjamin allowed himself to feel hope.
He spread his hands wide. “Welcome to the Digital World.”