Chapter 2

Someone turned in a computer chair at hearing the door lock firmly. "Good, she's careful," she said.

"Do you think our mutual friend chose well?" Asked someone beside her.

"Yes, I believe they did," she said. "They wouldn't have given her our number otherwise."

The lights came on, revealing a young woman at the computers and machines while beside her was a genie. But unlike most genies, he lived in a suit of armor. He sighed. "I really hoped that those greedy people would have learned their lesson the first time when they tried to use my powers, but when it backfired on them, they bound me to the armor," he said.

The programmed nodded. "I wish I could set you free, Komo, and I wish you could free Rebecca and Wooly," she said.

"I know, Skylar," Komo said sadly.

The reason Skylar couldn't ask Komo to do that was because when Komo's power had backfired and he had been bound to the armor, the person who bound him had made a wish that no one else could ask him for wishes, thus cancelling one of the rules genies were bound to. But as a result, he was now stuck.

One good thing was that when Skylar had managed to get him out of the storage building he was in and away from the horrible company that had done this to him, he was bound to be loyal to Skylar, as he owned her for saving him. "Here she comes," Komo said.

Riley paused as she saw the computer and tech set up and then saw the person she had spoken with and the suit of armor that was beside her. The suit gleamed a gold color and Komo emerged, his gold skin shiny as well.

"She looks like her aunt," he said, making Riley jump a bit.

"She does," Skylar said before standing up. "Riley?"

"Yes?" The young detective asked.

"Welcome," the other woman said. "I am Skylar and this is Komo."

"It is nice to meet you, though I do wish it was under better circumstances," Komo said.

Skylar nodded. "So...ask away," she said.

Riley was glad that the two were getting straight to the point. "What exactly happened?" She asked. "What made everything go downhill? And where are Rebecca and Sam? You mentioned I was right about my guess of Rebecca being trapped."

Komo smiled. "No nonsense and to the point," he said approvingly. "I can see why our mutual friend gave you Skylar's number."

The programmer nodded. "Brace yourself, because this isn't pretty," she said. "You've seen Amanda act differently at times, yes?"

"I have," Riley said. "Even Wooly seems to act different."

"They can sense when someone is watching," Skylar said. "Though they can't always see them. They can hear them though."

She turned to the computers and called up a segment of the show. Wooly was on screen and he looked afraid. He wrote something down and held it up to the screen. Skylar paused it and zoomed in. The word 'trouble' was written plain as day. "He knew someone was watching and was trying to get a message out," she said. "It happens a lot."

"Is he in trouble?" Riley asked.

"Yes," Skylar said. "There is a monster, one you've no doubt seen. It's trapped in the tapes with Wooly and Amanda and is trying to get out."

"It almost did," Riley said.

Komo nodded. "Our friend told us about that," he said. "You thought fast and that saved you."

Skylar pulled out something and gave it to Riley. "Read this over," she said. "Your aunt asked me to hold onto it for you until we met."

Riley took the file and began reading. Though there were not many papers in the file, she was horrified by what she read. It was possible Sam was dead and the monster the people had wanted to control was out of control. "Why did they do this?" She asked. "Why try to control something they couldn't?"

"They were greedy for power," Komo said. "The same happened to me, but my powers backfired on them. As a result, I was bound to this armor."

"The monster is also bound, but to the tapes," Skylar said. "The scientists that were brought on board for the show quickly found out what happens when you mess with something dangerous. They were able to trap it in the tapes, but as a result, they also trapped two others."

"Rebecca and Wooly?" Riley asked.

"Yes," Komo replied. "Rebecca is trapped in Amanda's body and Wooly is her brother, but he too is trapped."

Riley looked down to see a note from her aunt and she read it aloud.

"There is a way to free them, if the timing is right. Someone who knows the computers and equipment is needed," she read before looking up at Skylar, who nodded.

"Yes, your aunt meant me," she said. "I never worked for that horrible company that did all that. I had wanted to work with them after passing my tests to become a programmer, but your aunt warned me not to apply at the company and when she showed me evidence of what they had done, I was in shock and your aunt convinced me to use my knowledge to help you when you arrived. I've been practicing on my stuff since then, though I've picked up a few odd jobs here and there."

Suddenly, the same person Riley met before in the attic appeared. They gave something to Skylar, who looked to see it was notes about making a portal. She looked more into it, pleased to see that it wasn't about opening a portal to the place the monster had come from. "Thank you," she said and they nodded before slipping away.

"Who is that?" Riley asked.

"We don't know," Komo said. "They never have told us their name, but they gave us all the information on what that company did and if they find any new stuff, they bring it to us."

"They've proven they're on our side," Skylar said. "And it looks like they just gave us some information that can work to our favor."

The three studied it, seeing it was for a portal and there were countless notes on it. "Can this really be used to go anywhere?" Riley asked.

"Looks like it," the programmer said. "And this is most likely the final part of the equation we need to save Rebecca and Wooly. After that, we can go find Sam."

"What's the plan?" Komo asked.

"I've been studying the tapes that Kate sent me and from the note in the file that Riley read, the reel need to be at a specific point to free Rebecca and Wooly, but keep the monster from getting loose."

Riley's eyes widened. "You mean like, we need to watch the tapes again?" She asked.

"For now, yes," Skylar said. "We need to find the right time."

Komo lifted up a paper with what looked like a list of numbers on either side of the colons and a symbol for colors. "I bet this is what it is," he said. "These are times on the tapes and which tape they correspond to."

Riley saw the clue at once and nodded. "I think he's right," she said.

Skylar nodded. "Okay then," she said. "First things first, we get some sleep. In the morning, we'll go to the basement to get this started."

Komo made sure everything was locked up and alarms set and saw their mutual friend outside and they waved, indicating they would keep watch. "Our friend will keep watch," he said.

Riley was feeling a bit tired and sat down on the couch before flopping over and falling asleep. Skylar followed suit, as did Komo, all three ready to make right what the greedy people had done.

What exactly does Skylar mean about the times on the tapes to free Rebecca and Wooly? We shall find out in the next chapter.

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