D. MacHale - The Reality Bug

As I looked around, something felt a little bit off. It was because the place was totally clean. I mean, immaculate eat-off-the-floor clean. The wood was polished, the crystal cases of knickknacks sparkled, and there wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere. Rubic City was a falling-down mess because nobody cared, but this place was spotless. I couldn’t imagine

Aja taking the time to be so neat. Who was taking care of the place? My answer came right away.

“You must be Bobby Pendragon!” came a warm voice from deeper in the house.

I looked to see an older woman hurrying toward me. She was the perfect image of a way-cool grandmother. Her gray hair was long and tied back in a ponytail, much like Aja’s. She wore a deep blue sweater, dark pants, and black boots… no granny-style dresses for this lady. She hurried up to me and held out her hand. I took it, not sure of how hard to shake. But her grip was solid. This lady may have been old, but she still had it going on.

“Oh, this is silly, give me a hug,” she said.

Before I could react, she pulled me in and gave me a strong hug. I figured it would be quick, but she surprised me by squeezing tight and holding on. It was totally awkward. I wasn’t sure if I should hug back or not. We hadn’t even been introduced.

“I was so sorry to hear about Press,” she said. “He was a wonderful man.”

Okay, now I got it. She was being sympathetic about my uncle. I still felt awkward, but a little less so. She then held me at arm’s length and said, “You are exactly as he described you.”

The woman had kind eyes, with a hint of sadness.

“Thanks,” I said. “Uncle Press was a great guy.”

“We’re all going to miss him.” She then smiled and said, “Come. You’re just in time for dinner.”

Dinner. Excellent. I hadn’t eaten since I had breakfast with you guys back on Second Earth. The fantasy pizza in Lifelight didn’t count. The woman held my hand and led me toward the back of the house.

“You didn’t tell me your name,” I said.

The woman laughed warmly. “I am so rude. It’s Evangeline. I’m Aja’s aunt.”

Whoa. That didn’t compute.

“Aunt? I thought Aja didn’t know her family.”

“Well, I’m not her real aunt. Not by blood, anyway. I worked in the group home where Aja was raised. Still do. I love all the children, but there was something special about Aja. When it was time for her to leave, it was like losing a child of my own. So we decided to move in together and, here we are.”

“Your house is beautiful,” I said, figuring it was the kind of thing an older lady would like to hear.

“Thank you, but it’s not really ours,” she said in a whisper, as if it were a secret. “I don’t think Dr. Sever is coming back anytime soon, but I make sure to keep the place tidy just in case. Are you hungry?”

“Starved.”

“Perfect! Then you’re in for a treat.”

I was beginning to like Evangeline. First off, she was nice. She had a pleasant personality. She had a sense of humor. And she seemed to like me, too. In other words, she was nothing like Aja. We entered the big kitchen which had a table set for two. Evangeline busied herself setting a third spot for me. I was getting hungrier by the second.

“What’s for dinner?” Aja said as she entered the room behind me. She had taken off her blue phader jumpsuit and now wore gray sweats and dark, sneakerlike shoes. If I didn’t know any better I’d think she was a normal kid, instead of an obnoxious, brainy. Traveler geek.

“Your favorite,” Evangeline answered. “Tricolor gloid.”

Gloid. I remembered the signs in the shop windows advertising gloid. I hoped it was as good as the pizza from Lifelight.

It wasn’t. Evangeline placed a small cup at each of the place settings. Each was filled with something that looked, well, it looked tricolor. It was a thick liquid, like soup, divided into half-inch-wide stripes of bright green, orangy rust, and royal blue. It looked like finger paint.

Evangeline and Aja both sat down and grabbed spoons.

“Sit, Bobby,” Evangeline said. “Enjoy!”

I reluctantly sat and looked down at my bowl. My appetite was suddenly gone. But Aja and Evangeline dug in like it was the tastiest treat in the territory. And for all I knew, it was. I watched as they dipped their spoons into the goo. It had the consistency of bird doo. Evangeline was delicate. She tasted one color at a time. Aja was less discriminating. She dug up all three at once.

“We don’t often have tricolor gloid,” Evangeline explained. “It’s getting harder to come by.”

I smiled like I was impressed. I wasn’t.

“I don’t mean to be rude,” I said. “But I’ve never had gloid.”

Aja and Evangeline exchanged glances. Oops. It was the wrong thing to say. Aja knew I wasn’t from this territory so she would understand. But if gloid was such a big deal, how would I explain why I’d never had it? It was like admitting I didn’t know who Dr. Zetlin, the inventor of Lifelight, was. My mind searched for excuses, but I didn’t know enough about Veelox to come up with any.

“It’s pretty much all we eat,” Aja said. “It was developed for Lifelight by the vedders to feed the jumpers when they’re in the pyramid for long periods. It gets absorbed through their skin.”

I had wondered how people could survive in Lifelight for so long without eating. I was bracing myself for Evangeline to ask me why I didn’t know about gloid when Aja said to her aunt, “I don’t think they have gloid on Second Earth.”

Whoa. Did Evangeline know about the territories and the Travelers? I mean, she knew Uncle Press, but Uncle Press knew a lot of people from the territories. He never told them about being a Traveler, though. He always made up some story about being from another part of the territory. At least, that’s what I thought.

Evangeline then said to me, “Press once told me about something you had called… ‘Gatorade’? Is that anything like gloid?”

“Uh, not really,” I said dumbly. “Gatorade is a drink for when you’re exercising hard and… I’m sorry. I’m confused. You know about Second Earth?”

I figured I had nothing to lose at this point. After all, she was the one who brought it up.

“Of course, silly,” she answered with a smile. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Okay. I figured I might as well cut right to the chase. “Evangeline, are you a Traveler?” I asked.

Both Aja and Evangeline laughed.

“No, silly,” Evangeline giggled. “Of course not.”

Now I was totally confused. If she wasn’t a Traveler, why did she know about Second Earth?

Evangeline reached to her neck and pulled out a silver necklace. Dangling on the end of the chain was something very familiar. It was a silver ring with a heavy, gray stone at its center.

“I’m not a Traveler,” Evangeline said. “I’m an acolyte. Now please, eat your gloid.”

(CONTINUED)

Acolyte.

There was that name again. Uncle Press had told me they were people from the territories who helped the Travelers. But the only evidence I ever saw of them was when I’d flume into a territory and there would be clothes and stuff to change into. I had never met an acolyte… until now. I was pretty psyched because it felt like another piece of the Traveler puzzle was about to fall into place.

“Eat your gloid, Bobby,” Evangeline said sweetly.

Man, I didn’t even like the name. Gloid. It sounded like a body part, as in: “I’m afraid we have to operate and remove your gloid.” Ick. But I couldn’t be rude, so I picked up my spoon and cautiously took a scoop of the orange stripe. It was gooey, like pudding. I don’t mind pudding, but the bright color was throwing me off. Still, Aja and Evangeline seemed to like it, so how bad could it be? I wanted to hold my nose to kill the taste, but that wouldn’t have been cool. So I took a quick breath and put the spoon in my mouth.