Chapter Five

Through the Wires

Ralph stood within the wire, gazing at the opening of the power socket. The way ahead was dimly lit, and he couldn't see much further than twelve feet ahead.

Where SANG came from…the internet? Is that where Felix is heading?

On one side of him there stood Gene, nervously fingering the flower in his lapel. On the other was Vanellope, her eyes wide. A short distance ahead, Sergeant Calhoun was glancing over the readouts from her handheld scanner.

"No signs of life in the area," she said, tucking the device back into her belt. "There seem to be some scorch marks on the sides of the wiring inside the socket though."

"Some kind of fight?" Gene asked.

"I think so," said Calhoun. "They're blaster marks all right."

Ralph frowned. "You think Felix had anything to with it?"

"Don't think so," Calhoun replied. "The marks aren't fresh enough."

She looked back towards the group, gesturing towards the path ahead as she did so. "I'm not giving any speeches this time," she said. "We know what's at stake. Let's go." So saying, she turned towards the socket and strode resolutely through it into the wall of the arcade. Gene let go the flower in his lapel and followed after her, not once looking backward, but several times looking from side to side.

As Ralph began to move, he realized Vanellope wasn't beside him. Looking back, he saw her still standing where she had been. She was gazing at the opening of the socket with trepidation. Her hand strayed to her left side. Slowly, wordlessly, she traced her index finger along a six-inch line below her ribs.

"Hey," said Ralph, coming towards her. "Hey, you coming?"

"That's where they came from," she said. "That's where he came from."

"I know," said Ralph. "But that's where Felix went. And we owe it to our friend to find him, wherever he's gone."

Gene came hopping out of the socket. "What's the delay?" he asked. "Sergeant Calhoun is eager to get moving." His eyes strayed to Vanellope. "Oh," he said, recognition dawning. "You know, Vanellope, it's not too late to back out."

"I'm coming," she replied. "I want to go. But….I can't take the first step."

"Hold my hand," said Ralph. "We'll go in together."

Vanellope placed her small hand between her friend's gigantic fingers.

"Let's go then," said Gene. He turned and entered the power socket once more.

Ralph looked down at Vanellope. "Ready?" he asked.

"I guess so," she replied.

Sergeant Calhoun was waiting a short distance ahead, with Gene beside her. "Alright troops," she said. "We need to get a move on here. The wire curves around up ahead and there are more blast marks. If we follow those, we might get somewhere."

"How do we know Felix is going back the way whatever was fighting came?" Ralph asked.

"Look, do you have a better plan?" Calhoun asked.

"Nope," said Ralph.

"That's what I thought," she said. "Anyway, as you'll remember, I deduced mind control as the problem. Now wherever that thing controlling him, whatever it is, came from, it's as good a guess as any it had to come by this route. This route is lined with periodic blast marks. I think the fight must be connected with the arrival of whatever caused Felix to go AWOL."

Vanellope clapped. "Hey, great deduction, Sherlock."

Calhoun frowned.

"That was a compliment, okay?" said Vanellope. "I'd never have made a connection with those thingies on the wall."

"Blast marks," said Ralph.

"Blast marks, smashed markers, whatever," said Vanellope. "By the way, are we there yet?"

Gene sighed. "I was waiting for that one line."

"Hah, just kidding," said Vanellope. "Come on guys, get a sense of humor."

Calhoun allowed herself a brief smirk, before turning towards the path ahead. Gene followed her wordlessly.

"Look," said Ralph, as he and Vanellope began to move again. "I know your trying to lighten the mood, but let's not bother Gene, okay?"

"He's kind of prissy though, so it's fun."

"I heard that," Gene called back.

"Sorry," Vanellope said aloud.

Gene did not reply.

Vanellope continued to walk beside Ralph, seemingly lost in her own thoughts, for the next few minutes. Then, abruptly, she shattered her silence with two simple, melancholy words: "I'm scared."

Ralph held out his hand once again, which Vanellope took. "So am I," he said.

The trail of blast marks soon led them into a new wire that opened out of the side of the one they were in. Down this they went, until the marks ceased to be occasional and became frequent. They were joined by dirt and the occasional spot of blood, which made everyone except Sergeant Calhoun wince.

Whatever happened in these wires, Ralph thought, it must've been brutal.

As Calhoun knelt down to examine the signs once more, a look of exultation passed over her features. "Look at this," she said, pointing at a patch of dirt and grime on the wire floor.

Ralph, Vanellope, and Gene quickly gathered around to see what she was talking about. It was a boot print.

"Definitely Felix's," said Calhoun. "We're heading the right way." She stood up and gestured for them to keep walking. Gene did so gingerly, carefully avoiding the dirt. Vanellope kept glancing nervously at the bloodstains, which Ralph noticed. For the second time that day, he saw her slowly trace her finger along the path of the scar below her ribs.

"I can't not think about it," she said quietly.

"I know," said Ralph. "But try."

Calhoun had gone ahead around a bend in the wire to reconnoiter. As Ralph, Vanellope, and Gene approached the bend, they heard a thud from where she was standing. Alarmed, the three of them hurried around the turn, through another power socket that was just beyond, and all the way to the end of the wire on the other side, barely pausing to acknowledge these new developments in their surroundings. .

Sergeant Calhoun was at the end of this new stretch of wire, gazing out at what lay beyond. The thud had been the echo of her scanner, which had fallen out of her hand onto the ground. As Ralph, Gene, and Vanellope arrived beside her, their jaws dropped.

"Whoa," said Ralph. "What is this place?"