Digimon: The Nail
Part 4
by Christian "Sid" Lang
John chuckles as he finishes his run through the compound.
If the boys knew that I would spend a day in the park with some kids, my reputation would be ruined.
Then he shakes his head. It's not as simple as that.
These kids might be their only hope once these... things came back.
John slows down to a walk as he comes close to the main gate.
He can see the soldier at the entrance discuss with some... children.
John likes children. They're always happy, their life is full of dreams.
Then he sees the children's faces and frowns. They remind him more of T.K. and Kari, just worse.
And they seem to be eager to get into the compound.
"Trouble?" Dieter asks, having sneaked into John's back again.
"Do you have to do that every time?" John hisses trying to hide his shock.
The big German just shrugs. He has obviously seen the three kids, too.
"Should we take a look?" John asks.
"You're better with children. I rather train a little more." Dieter answers and starts to leave.
Weird guy. John thinks and shrugs. Then he starts towards the gate.
"Please." Takato insists.
It's no use. The man in front of them seems to be determined not to let them through.
The boy looks at the other two children next to him.
But they have run out of ideas, too.
Besides, they were exhausted, having walked almost the entire night.
Only to fail here. Takato adds in his thoughts.
"Is there a problem?" another adult asks, joining the group.
"No, sir. These kids just want to get in here." the guard answers.
"Please. You don't understand." Lee tells the men.
"Well, then please enlighten us." the second adult says, slowly dropping onto his knee.
"It's... because of this." Takato says, showing the man his device.
It's grey and red, with a little screen. And it's still beeping.
John stares at the little toy the boy is showing him.
The tiny screen is showing a small arrow, just like a compass.
But the arrow isn't pointing North.
It's just a toy. he tries to convince himself.
Still, his hand starts towards the device.
The three children instantly move backwards in fear. John sighs.
"Could I please take a look at it?" John gently asks.
The boy hesitates. He looks as if he is very tired, still something seems to drive him.
After some moments, John shows the boy his Compound ID card.
"Let's trade for a while. So you're sure I won't take it away from you." he proposes.
The boy looks at his two friends, a boy and a girl. Both nod.
God, when did they get some sleep? John asks himself briefly.
Slowly, the boy takes John's card and gives him the device.
John quickly examines it.
Looks quite stable. No battery lid, no screws. No way to open it.
John frowns. He has read similar things in the files about the children's DigiVices.
Then he looks at the screen. the arrow points somewhere inside the compound.
John rotates the device, but the arrow still points at the same point.
But where exactly? And why're the children in this condition?
"can you phone the gym?" John asks the guard, who instantly starts to dial.
After a second, the guard hands John the receiver.
Gym, reception. a female voice answers the call.
"This is Captain Nelson. Could I speak with Mr. Dieter Weber please?"
Weber... Weber... the woman whispers, obviously trying to remember the name.
"The big German dude." John helps her.
Oh, of course. He'll be right there. the woman giggles.
Minutes later, the silver BMW slowly approaches the main gate.
"You sure about this?" Dieter asks as he lowers the window.
"Not really. But I want to know if where these things point at." John answers.
"Who'll be with me?" the Ex-GSG man asks next.
"This boy here. His name is Takato. I'll interview the others in the meantime."
Both men nod as the brown-haired boy enters the car.
"Hi. My name is Dieter Weber." Dieter greets the boy.
"Takato Matsuda." the boy introduces himself in a timid way.
"Well then, Takato. Do you know what a triangulation is?"
Dieter slowly starts to drive next to the fence, outside of the compound.
"I don't know." Takato answers after a while.
Dieter parks his car at a corner of the large compound.
Then he takes out his laptop and a compass.
"We'll drive to some spots around the compound and look where your device is pointing at."
Saying this, he motions Takato to lift his device up.
It's pointing somewhere in the compound. Dieter holds his compass next to it.
"The laptop has a map of the compound. We're currently here." he says, pointing at the map.
Then he quickly enters some coordinates. The map now displays a thin line over the map.
"And this is where your device is pointing at."
"Oh, I see! And in the end, the lines meet in one point." Takato realizes.
"Exactly. Now come on, we're moving on!"
John listens patiently as the girl called Ruki tells of her dreams.
Lee, the other boy, has had dreams, too. But his weren't as disturbing.
They're inside John's apartment, although it took him a while to convince the guard to let the kids in.
"I've been in this dungeon. And there was a... boy with a cape." Ruki whispers.
Freud would be delighted. But I doubt that this dream reflects her feelings.
"The boy has locked me away. Tried to take away my free will. But he failed."
Lee nods, he obviously has had similar dreams.
"Then he locks me away. I'm afraid. So afraid..."
John puts a hand on her shoulder when she starts to cry.
"Shhh. It's all right. You're safe. Nobody's going to harm you." he whispers.
There is a knock on the door.
"It's me. Dieter."
"Come in." John shouts, still stroking Ruki's hair.
Dieter and Takato join the group at the table. Dieter is frowning.
John quickly gestures at Lee to take care of Ruki as he is pulled aside by the German.
"Anything useful?" he asks quietly.
Dieter simply shows him the display of the laptop.
The map of the compound is overlayed by more than six lines.
All of them meet in exactly one point.
"That's a building inside the compound." the American observes.
"It's not just a building, it's the Portal." Dieter whispers.
"A difficult situation." John says.
He looks at the other people in the park.
They had decided to go to the park, anyway.
Takato, Lee and Ruki are in the small hospital, sleeping.
The doctor who had looked after them had given them sleeping pills.
Finally the kids had accepted them, even though they feared the dreams.
That had given John and Dieter some time.
"True. It looks like they are new recruits." Dieter replies with a frown.
"I really don't like this."
Dieter shrugs.
Kari and T.K. are walking around for themselves, isolated from the rest.
The others are fooling around, behaving just like kids.
John's cell phone chirps.
"Nelson. ... Yeah. ... They did what? ... Damn."
Dieter frowns. Something has obviously gone wrong.
"No, just put them back to sleep." the American says and ends the call.
"The kids?" Dieter asks.
"Yeah. I tried to get to the Portal. It took five men to stop them."
Dieter's eyes widen. Normally one guard should have been able to stop them.
"Pretty stubborn, hm?" John remarks.
"I think the proper term would be 'desperate'."
"They won't give up until they've reached the Portal." John guesses.
"Are you saying that we should let them?"
"I don't know. Wait a sec."
"Tanaka? Nelson here."
I take it you've heard the news.
"Yeah. But I want to know who is allowed to use the Portal."
There is slight pause as Mr. Tanaka thinks some steps in advance.
You are free to plan and execute any action with the children.
Just when John starts to smile, Mr. Tanaka continues.
However, the Portal is under my command. And I won't open it for a suicide mission.
Cursing, John disconnects.
He turns around-
-and looks directly at Davis, Yolei and Cody.
"Problems?" Davis asks with a frown.
"No. For you, everything is right." John tells them.
"It's about the three new kids, right?" Yolei guesses.
Dieter instantly shrugs at John.
"How'd you know-" John asks.
"Well, it's not as if we have too much to do." Yolei says and shrugs.
"They want to go to the other world. Depserately." Dieter tells them.
"Yeah. But our superiors won't let us use the Portal." John adds.
Davis and the others exchange nervous glances.
"No." Yolei tells Davis.
"But-" Davis starts to protest.
"Kari and T.K. would kill us." Cody whispers.
John looks at Dieter, but the German looks just as confused.
"What are you talking about?" Dieter finally asks.
"You won't drag us into this!" Yolei protests.
John blinks when she and Cody leave the groups angrily.
Davis just sighs.
"There is another way to this world." the boy finally admits.
John's eyes widen in surprise.
"We have used it to escape the dullness around here." Davis whispers.
"Incoming." Dieter mutters suddenly.
John notices Kari, T.K., Yolei and Cody marching towards them with angry faces.
"Dieter. Take him back to base. I'll talk to the others here." John quickly orders.
The huge German just shrugs and quickly leads Davis to the cars.
I sure hope this is worth all the trouble. John thinks and sighs.
Part 4
by Christian "Sid" Lang
John chuckles as he finishes his run through the compound.
If the boys knew that I would spend a day in the park with some kids, my reputation would be ruined.
Then he shakes his head. It's not as simple as that.
These kids might be their only hope once these... things came back.
John slows down to a walk as he comes close to the main gate.
He can see the soldier at the entrance discuss with some... children.
John likes children. They're always happy, their life is full of dreams.
Then he sees the children's faces and frowns. They remind him more of T.K. and Kari, just worse.
And they seem to be eager to get into the compound.
"Trouble?" Dieter asks, having sneaked into John's back again.
"Do you have to do that every time?" John hisses trying to hide his shock.
The big German just shrugs. He has obviously seen the three kids, too.
"Should we take a look?" John asks.
"You're better with children. I rather train a little more." Dieter answers and starts to leave.
Weird guy. John thinks and shrugs. Then he starts towards the gate.
"Please." Takato insists.
It's no use. The man in front of them seems to be determined not to let them through.
The boy looks at the other two children next to him.
But they have run out of ideas, too.
Besides, they were exhausted, having walked almost the entire night.
Only to fail here. Takato adds in his thoughts.
"Is there a problem?" another adult asks, joining the group.
"No, sir. These kids just want to get in here." the guard answers.
"Please. You don't understand." Lee tells the men.
"Well, then please enlighten us." the second adult says, slowly dropping onto his knee.
"It's... because of this." Takato says, showing the man his device.
It's grey and red, with a little screen. And it's still beeping.
John stares at the little toy the boy is showing him.
The tiny screen is showing a small arrow, just like a compass.
But the arrow isn't pointing North.
It's just a toy. he tries to convince himself.
Still, his hand starts towards the device.
The three children instantly move backwards in fear. John sighs.
"Could I please take a look at it?" John gently asks.
The boy hesitates. He looks as if he is very tired, still something seems to drive him.
After some moments, John shows the boy his Compound ID card.
"Let's trade for a while. So you're sure I won't take it away from you." he proposes.
The boy looks at his two friends, a boy and a girl. Both nod.
God, when did they get some sleep? John asks himself briefly.
Slowly, the boy takes John's card and gives him the device.
John quickly examines it.
Looks quite stable. No battery lid, no screws. No way to open it.
John frowns. He has read similar things in the files about the children's DigiVices.
Then he looks at the screen. the arrow points somewhere inside the compound.
John rotates the device, but the arrow still points at the same point.
But where exactly? And why're the children in this condition?
"can you phone the gym?" John asks the guard, who instantly starts to dial.
After a second, the guard hands John the receiver.
Gym, reception. a female voice answers the call.
"This is Captain Nelson. Could I speak with Mr. Dieter Weber please?"
Weber... Weber... the woman whispers, obviously trying to remember the name.
"The big German dude." John helps her.
Oh, of course. He'll be right there. the woman giggles.
Minutes later, the silver BMW slowly approaches the main gate.
"You sure about this?" Dieter asks as he lowers the window.
"Not really. But I want to know if where these things point at." John answers.
"Who'll be with me?" the Ex-GSG man asks next.
"This boy here. His name is Takato. I'll interview the others in the meantime."
Both men nod as the brown-haired boy enters the car.
"Hi. My name is Dieter Weber." Dieter greets the boy.
"Takato Matsuda." the boy introduces himself in a timid way.
"Well then, Takato. Do you know what a triangulation is?"
Dieter slowly starts to drive next to the fence, outside of the compound.
"I don't know." Takato answers after a while.
Dieter parks his car at a corner of the large compound.
Then he takes out his laptop and a compass.
"We'll drive to some spots around the compound and look where your device is pointing at."
Saying this, he motions Takato to lift his device up.
It's pointing somewhere in the compound. Dieter holds his compass next to it.
"The laptop has a map of the compound. We're currently here." he says, pointing at the map.
Then he quickly enters some coordinates. The map now displays a thin line over the map.
"And this is where your device is pointing at."
"Oh, I see! And in the end, the lines meet in one point." Takato realizes.
"Exactly. Now come on, we're moving on!"
John listens patiently as the girl called Ruki tells of her dreams.
Lee, the other boy, has had dreams, too. But his weren't as disturbing.
They're inside John's apartment, although it took him a while to convince the guard to let the kids in.
"I've been in this dungeon. And there was a... boy with a cape." Ruki whispers.
Freud would be delighted. But I doubt that this dream reflects her feelings.
"The boy has locked me away. Tried to take away my free will. But he failed."
Lee nods, he obviously has had similar dreams.
"Then he locks me away. I'm afraid. So afraid..."
John puts a hand on her shoulder when she starts to cry.
"Shhh. It's all right. You're safe. Nobody's going to harm you." he whispers.
There is a knock on the door.
"It's me. Dieter."
"Come in." John shouts, still stroking Ruki's hair.
Dieter and Takato join the group at the table. Dieter is frowning.
John quickly gestures at Lee to take care of Ruki as he is pulled aside by the German.
"Anything useful?" he asks quietly.
Dieter simply shows him the display of the laptop.
The map of the compound is overlayed by more than six lines.
All of them meet in exactly one point.
"That's a building inside the compound." the American observes.
"It's not just a building, it's the Portal." Dieter whispers.
"A difficult situation." John says.
He looks at the other people in the park.
They had decided to go to the park, anyway.
Takato, Lee and Ruki are in the small hospital, sleeping.
The doctor who had looked after them had given them sleeping pills.
Finally the kids had accepted them, even though they feared the dreams.
That had given John and Dieter some time.
"True. It looks like they are new recruits." Dieter replies with a frown.
"I really don't like this."
Dieter shrugs.
Kari and T.K. are walking around for themselves, isolated from the rest.
The others are fooling around, behaving just like kids.
John's cell phone chirps.
"Nelson. ... Yeah. ... They did what? ... Damn."
Dieter frowns. Something has obviously gone wrong.
"No, just put them back to sleep." the American says and ends the call.
"The kids?" Dieter asks.
"Yeah. I tried to get to the Portal. It took five men to stop them."
Dieter's eyes widen. Normally one guard should have been able to stop them.
"Pretty stubborn, hm?" John remarks.
"I think the proper term would be 'desperate'."
"They won't give up until they've reached the Portal." John guesses.
"Are you saying that we should let them?"
"I don't know. Wait a sec."
"Tanaka? Nelson here."
I take it you've heard the news.
"Yeah. But I want to know who is allowed to use the Portal."
There is slight pause as Mr. Tanaka thinks some steps in advance.
You are free to plan and execute any action with the children.
Just when John starts to smile, Mr. Tanaka continues.
However, the Portal is under my command. And I won't open it for a suicide mission.
Cursing, John disconnects.
He turns around-
-and looks directly at Davis, Yolei and Cody.
"Problems?" Davis asks with a frown.
"No. For you, everything is right." John tells them.
"It's about the three new kids, right?" Yolei guesses.
Dieter instantly shrugs at John.
"How'd you know-" John asks.
"Well, it's not as if we have too much to do." Yolei says and shrugs.
"They want to go to the other world. Depserately." Dieter tells them.
"Yeah. But our superiors won't let us use the Portal." John adds.
Davis and the others exchange nervous glances.
"No." Yolei tells Davis.
"But-" Davis starts to protest.
"Kari and T.K. would kill us." Cody whispers.
John looks at Dieter, but the German looks just as confused.
"What are you talking about?" Dieter finally asks.
"You won't drag us into this!" Yolei protests.
John blinks when she and Cody leave the groups angrily.
Davis just sighs.
"There is another way to this world." the boy finally admits.
John's eyes widen in surprise.
"We have used it to escape the dullness around here." Davis whispers.
"Incoming." Dieter mutters suddenly.
John notices Kari, T.K., Yolei and Cody marching towards them with angry faces.
"Dieter. Take him back to base. I'll talk to the others here." John quickly orders.
The huge German just shrugs and quickly leads Davis to the cars.
I sure hope this is worth all the trouble. John thinks and sighs.