Etherworld (9 page)

“Got it,” I say, cheerfully. In spite of the situation, I'm feeling pretty optimistic. “Let's go!”

Josh uses his legs to launch his bike forward, pedaling hard and hovering over the bike with his butt a few inches above the seat. A plume of red dust forms as his tires grind through the trail. When I ride through it, I breathe it in, expecting to choke, but it feels more like I'm drinking in pure oxygen.

As Josh dips down the hill and toward the ravine, I pedal faster, trying to catch up. I lose control for a second, barreling down. I'm still upright, but the frame of the bike is vibrating with every bump in the ground, and I have to hold the handlebars so tightly my knuckles are turning white. Trees are whizzing by, creating a blurry red curtain.

I follow in Josh's path, dodging tree roots and ducking underneath ledges. Grit from the ground is kicking up all around us, covering my arms and face, and now I'm starting to feel . . . like a warrior.

Like I'm about to save the world.

“Watch out!” Josh shouts, as a sharp turn in the trail sends him skidding to the right.

I brake lightly, which helps me navigate the turn more easily than he did. Josh recovers, managing to take the lead once more.

“We're getting close to the bottom,” he says over his shoulder.

My feet don't need to pedal anymore. I'm just coasting, letting gravity take control. My eyes scan the canyon, searching for Nora, Malik, and Ayesha, hoping that they're around the bend, waiting for us with my father.

I risk a glance at my wristband. The numbers have changed again and are now two sets of double sixes. I feel a soft pressure on the tips of my fingers, moving slowly into my palms. It doesn't hurt, but just tingles, like my hands have fallen asleep.

A strong gust of wind funnels through the ravine, almost knocking me off my bike. But thanks to Elusion's precise programming, I handle it like a pro, maintaining control.

Josh comes to a stop at the bottom of the canyon, smiling as he sees me approach. I ignore the strange feelings in my hands and clench the handlebar brakes, the bike skidding out before stopping in front of Josh.

“What took you so long?” he says, grinning.

Before I can answer him, a tall thicket of desert flower bushes begins to rustle. My dad, Nora, Ayesha, and Malik emerge, with no trace of weariness on their faces.

“Dad!” I call out, jumping off my bike. As I take a step toward him, the tingling spreads into my arms. It's so intense, it's almost painful. I clench my fists, trying to fight it off as I make my way toward my dad.

I'm not supposed to feel pain in Elusion.

“Regan,” my dad says, meeting me halfway and giving me a hug. He doesn't appear angry that we've followed him to this Escape, and I'm no longer bothered by the fact that he left us behind at the base. Due to the wonderful effects of trypnosis, all those negative thoughts are gone.

But the pain in my arms isn't. In fact, it's growing worse. I ignore it, smiling cheerfully at my dad.

If Orexis is trying to send me back, they're going to have to work a hell of a lot harder than this.

“David knows where the trigger is,” Malik says.

“Where?” Josh asks.

“It's a stone submerged in a pool of water,” my dad replies.

“A few hundred yards west,” Nora adds.

“Come on; let's hurry,” Ayesha says, tugging on my sleeve.

My legs are now beginning to ache as well, and by the time we've reached the water, I'm having a hard time keeping up. I think about Claire again, remembering her agony as she disappeared. But I'm still here—and in nowhere near as much pain, so I keep pretending I'm fine.

“How far down does this . . . hole go?” Malik asks my dad.

“Maybe ten feet,” says my father. “Possibly more.”

“That's not too bad,” Nora says.

Ayesha squats down and does a quick inspection. “So who's going to take the plunge?”

”I am,” Josh says.

I'm not surprised that Josh is volunteering. But even though my emotions are numbed, I'm still worried.

”Are you sure?” I ask.

“I have a mastery badge for this,” Josh says, as he takes the bomb from my dad, who is smiling appreciatively. Josh kneels down in front of the small circle of water. He grins at me and then says to my dad, “Hold on to my feet and pull me up when I tap your arm?”

“You got it,” he says.

Josh sucks in a big breath and plunges in face first, while my dad clamps his ankles, keeping him anchored to the surface. Nora nervously bites her nails, as if the power of Elusion is wearing off on her as well. We all stare at Josh's feet for what seems like forever, waiting for some kind of movement. Suddenly, his sneakers twitch. The sky rumbles, like there's a storm forming in the distance.

There's a crackle of thunder as the ground beneath us shakes with such force we're knocked on our backs—including my father, who is no longer holding on to Josh. Pieces of rock begin to shower down on us, as the canyon starts to crumble.

We need to get Josh out of there, but I can't help. I'm numb all over, lying on my back, unable to move.

Suddenly I hear Josh, coughing and gasping for air.

“We've got to get out of here,” I hear my dad say.

A searing pain shoots through my wristband and up my arm. My eyes cast down at my right hand and I see that now two nines are flashing on the keypad. My hand begins to fade into a fluorescent yellow glow, feeling like it's being consumed by fire.

This is what happened to Claire, just before she dissolved into nothingness.

It's as if I can still hear her screaming, but it's actually Josh. He's soaking wet, leaning over me, and frantically calling to my dad for help. My dad crouches next to him, and even though he tries to soothe me by telling me that I'm going to be okay, I know I'm not.

I'm fading away, and no one can stop it. Not even my dad.

“Don't go,” Josh whispers in my ear, his voice shaking.

I desperately want to say something. Anything but good-bye.

But no words ever come, because in a heartbeat, I'm gone.

My eyes burn so much I can barely make out where I am or the shape of the hazy figure that's looming above me. Even though I can't move, I can feel every internal bodily function with a significant amount of clarity—the blood shooting through my veins; the sharp, rhythmic pulse of my heart; the nervous spasms in my stomach. My bones even seem to be shifting and twisting, like they're trying to pull away from my muscles and push through my skin.

The figure leans closer; the fuzziness begins to fade from my vision. Fragments and pieces start to slowly drift together until I recognize the outline of a familiar face: an angular jaw, a narrow nose with a slight upward slant at the end, and thin lips that are forming incomprehensible words. Then come the eyes, bright and blue and tormented all at the same time.

Patrick.

His voice is coming across as a whisper, but from the way his mouth is bending into big circles and straightening into tight lines, there's no doubt that he's yelling at the top of his lungs.

“Talk to me, Ree. Say something!”

I have enough strength to move my chin down, but my throat feels swollen and raw, so the only thing that comes out is a raspy cough.

“Don't worry. You're going to be fine. Do you hear me?” Patrick's tone is starting to register in my brain. He sounds just as frightened and confused as I am. “The Aftershock will wear off any second now. Just try to relax.”

Aftershock?

The phrase kindles a flame inside my mind, igniting flashes of memories that burst open and explode.

My father is alive in Etherworld.

I was helping him destroy Elusion.

And apparently, Orexis didn't eject me from the Red Canyon Escape. Patrick must have woken me up.

But that doesn't mean I'm going to survive, does it?

I don't have a lot of time to consider that question, because memories are bleeding into every corner of my thoughts; vivid images of Josh, Nora, and the rest of the crew pierce through me like some kind of mental shrapnel. Then, suddenly, I'm able to wiggle my toes and flex my fingers.

Maybe I'm going to be okay.

I slowly pick my head up and I realize that I'm in my bedroom. This is where I was when I put on my Equip and went to the Prairie Escape to confront Patrick—before the rolling meadow turned into rock and mud and everything went to hell. Even though I've been fighting to return home, it's sort of strange to be back here. Nothing has been disturbed since I left. The titanium Equip case is on top of my nightstand. My grandmother's quilt is in a heap on the floor. The sensor lights are on a low setting, and I can still hear the faucet leaking in my bathroom.

How long have I been gone?

Patrick places his hands around my wrists, tugging me toward him and into a sitting position. My head pops back a little, a clear sign I'm still struggling to regain control of myself, and he pulls me closer. My left cheek is resting against his chest, and his heart is thumping rapidly. The half-eaten microwave pocket sandwich I had for dinner the night I found my father is on the same square plate, right on the edge of the media console next to my InstaComm wall. My laundry is still in a neat pile on top of my dresser. My mother put it there right before she left for work.

Is it possible I was only in Etherworld for a few minutes?

My hazy thoughts begin to trip over one another.
No, that can't be. Patrick and I had a huge fight when we were in Elusion. It would have taken him at least a half hour to make it over here.
But why did he come to my house in the first place? He had no idea I was locked inside the Escape—I remember my dad telling me that Patrick wasn't at fault, as I'd thought—so he must have had another reason. Maybe he wanted to tell me he was sorry? Maybe he wanted to let me know that Elusion has been taken off the market? There are so many questions I want to ask him, but my throat still feels raw.

“Can you stand up?” Patrick asks.

“No,” I barely manage to say.

“God, you scared the shit out of me. There was an error code flashing on your Equip. I pushed your emergency ejection button, and when you didn't wake up right away . . .” He trails off, as if he can't bring himself to say what he thought might have happened.

Emergency button. Patrick was able to revive me, even though I've been in Elusion longer than the allotted hour. That has to be a good sign, especially for Josh, since he and I were trapped in the program at the same time.

“Did you . . . do this because of me?” Patrick asks.

I try to focus on forming a coherent sentence, but this is all that comes out:

“D-do whaaa?”

“Mess with the safety settings on your Equip,” he says, waiting for a response. I want to shake my head, but I can't just yet, so he rattles on. “Your mom called me. She said you told her about breaking into Orexis. She asked me not to press charges. I know I threatened, but do you really think I'd send you to jail?”

It slowly comes back to me, my last awkward conversation with my mom. I admitted hacking into Patrick's computer at Orexis. It had originally been my dad's, and Josh and I had hoped that the secrets locked inside could help us find out what was wrong with Elusion.

“I know you're angry at me. Is that why you did all this? To teach me a lesson?”

Patrick's mother, Cathryn, might have been the mastermind behind the crazy plot to fake my father's death and hold him hostage, but Patrick still hid things from me about Elusion, and lied to my face when I challenged him. Some of his decisions made things worse. Of course I was angry.

But I find it interesting that Patrick seems to think that I did something to my Equip—that he doesn't seem to understand that our emergency buttons weren't working. It suggests he doesn't know anything about his mother's crimes or that his coworker Bryce has been conspiring with her. And the fact that he's here, caring for me like this, means that he's in the dark about the plot against my dad.

I regain control of my neck, lean back, and look up at him. When our eyes meet, all I can see is kindness. Any leftover hurt that he might have caused falls away, and when I think about telling him what kind of ugly deeds his mother is capable of, I kind of want to show him some mercy. But I have to tell him the truth, because I need his help. I have to remember what my dad told me. I need to go to Orexis and find him, which will be so much easier to accomplish with Patrick by my side.

“I d-didn't . . . d-do anything,” I finally answer.

“So it was Josh, right? This was all his idea?” He gently lays me back down as he walks to the other side of the room. He begins to pace and sets off the sensor-activated picture frames on my wall. Photos of my family in happier times flicker in front of us—birthday parties with my mom's lopsided homemade cakes, Patrick making faces at me during my middle-school graduation, my father smiling proudly as I sit at his work desk on Take Your Child to Work Day. Looking at them almost causes me to lose track of what Patrick is saying.

“I know he's mad at me. And I'm sorry I fought with him,” he continues. “But it's just . . . he has no right to get you mixed up in something that's way over both your heads.”

Luckily, my equilibrium has returned, and I push myself up from my bed. “No, y-you don't under—”

“I felt awful after I left you behind, you know,” he says, cutting me off. “As soon as I got back from Elusion, I tried calling and texting you. I wanted to apologize. But you weren't responding. Which is why I came over here. Can you imagine how freaked I was? Going into your room and seeing you still hooked up to your Equip, an hour later?”

An hour.

I was only inside Elusion for an extra
hour
.

“What time is it?”