D. MacHale - The Reality Bug

That’s why I was here. I needed Loor to cut down some enemies and risk herself for a friend. Me.

“I want to help, Pendragon,” she said. “But I worry about what will happen here on Zadaa. I do not want to be somewhere else when trouble finally arrives.”

“I get that,” I said. “And when the time comes, I want to be here to help you. But the flumes will always put us where we need to be, when we need to be there. I don’t understand it, but it’s true. When the time comes that you’re needed on Zadaa, you’ll be here.”

“And what if this Lifelight is as dangerous as you say, and we do not survive?”

Ooh. Good question.

“I don’t know,” was my only answer. “But I do know that millions of people are in trouble right now. If they die, Veelox will die along with them and Saint Dane will have his first victory. I can’t let that happen.”

Loor stoked the embers of the fire. In this light she looked like her mother, Osa, the woman who died saving my life. Loor was a little older than when we had our adventure on Denduron. So was I. Hard to believe this was possible, but she was even more beautiful. I was suddenly hit with the realization that I didn’t want anything to happen to her. Not here, not on Veelox, and certainly not in the fantasy world of some wacky old scientist.

I was about to get up and walk out when she turned to me and said, “I want to return as soon as possible.”

“No,” I said quickly, and I stood up. “This was a bad idea. You don’t need to be watching my back. Your place is here. I’m sorry. It was wrong of me to ask. I’m gonna go back and-“

“Pendragon!” she said firmly. “I am a Traveler. It is what we are meant to do.”

She stood up and grabbed a nasty-looking sword that was leaning against the fireplace. She twirled it expertly, the sharp blade flashing with light from the fire. “What weapons will I use on Veelox?”

“We won’t know until we jump into Lifelight.”

Loor gave the sword one last swing, then put it back down. I knew she wanted to take it with her, but that was against the rules.

“What is it that Spader says?” she asked.

“Hobey-ho?” I answered with a smile.

“Yes. Hobey-ho, Pendragon. We belong on Veelox.”

We were a team again.

We made it through the streets of Xhaxhu with no problem. Nobody was going to mess with me since I was with a Batu warrior. But we then had to go into the underground. Rokador territory.

“We have to get by some Rokador thugs,” I warned. “They’re guarding this machine that controls the water.”

“Stay behind me,” was all that Loor said. She wasn’t worried.

We hurried down the ramp into the bowels of the underground. I thought that if we moved fast enough, nobody would notice us.

I was wrong.

Before I could stop her, Loor walked boldly into the room with tl\e guards. It was a good move because she took them by surprise. I think the last thing they expected to see was a Batu warrior babe strolling into their secret subterranean chamber.

Before they had a chance to recover, Loor pounced. She took care of the first guy guy fell to a leg sweep followed by a roundhouse kick that caught him on the side of the head; the final guard got the worst of it. He charged Loor from behind and grabbed her in a bear hug. Loor pumped her legs and drove the guy backward, through the room and out of the portal. She finished him off by flipping him over her back into the waterfall, sending him plummeting into the fast-moving river.

I looked up at the Rokador guy who was operating the water controls. He didn’t stop working, but gave me a nervous glance.

“You should see her when she’s mad" I said to the scared guy.

I thought the poor dude was going to faint. I hurried out of the room, jumping over the bodies of the groaning guards, and joined Loor on the ledge behind the waterfall.

“Finished playing?” I asked.

She gave me a sly wink and we were off. A few minutes later we made it to the gate and hit the flume.

When we arrived on Veelox, I was glad to see that there were two sets of green coveralls waiting for us. Evangeline had been here. I made a mental note to ask her how the acolytes knew when to bring stuff to the flumes. We changed quickly and made our way along the derelict subway tracks and up the ladder to the manhole that brought us out onto the quiet street in Rubic City.

I was happy to see that Aja was waiting for us. She was at the wheel of a new vehicle. This one still used pedal power, but it had four seats rather than two.

“I didn’t think it would take so long,” was the first thing Aja said.

“Good to see you too, Aja,” I shot back. “This is Loor. Loor, Aja.”

Aja gave Loor an up and down once-over. She then said, “Is Loor a man’s name or a woman’s name?” Ouch.

Loor answered, “It is the name of a legendary hero on Zadaa. A woman.”

“Really?” Aja said. “What did she do that was so heroic?”

“She killed her enemies and ate them.”

Aja’s eyes opened in shock. She turned forward and clutched the wheel of the vehicle nervously. Loor looked at me and winked. She was kidding. Great. That’s all I needed.

“Let’s get to the pyramid,” I said, and hopped in next to Aja. Loor climbed in back and we pedaled our way back to Lifelight.

On the way I filled Loor in on everything about Lifelight that I hadn’t explained before. I wanted her as prepared as possible, because there were bound to be plenty of surprises along the way. I kept expecting Aja to correct my descriptions, but I think she was too scared to speak. Just as well.

After a few minutes of my lecture, Loor put her hand up to stop me.

“Am I going too fast?” I asked.

“You must understand, Pendragon,” Loor said. “The things you describe are beyond my imagination. You talk of computers and codes like they are as normal as air and water.”

Aja scoffed and rolled her eyes. I wanted to smack her.

“If Aja is as smart as you say she is, then I trust she will take care of us and get us to where we should be. I do not need to know all the details. My trust is with Aja.”

I looked to Aja for her reaction. Aja looked to me and I saw the surprise on her face. She even let out a little smile.

“Thank you, Loor,” Aja said. I think she meant it too.

“For what?” Loor asked.

“For trusting me… and for coming. We really need you.” We had reached an understanding. And we were under way.

This is where I’m going to end the journal, guys. While Aja prepped Lifelight for our dual jump into Zetlin’s fantasy, I took the time to finish this. I’ll send it to you with a reminder that you might be contacted by somebody named Evangeline. If you’re serious about wanting to be acolytes, you’re going to get the chance.

I have no idea what to expect when Loor and I make this trip back into Lifelight. Finding Dr. Zetlin will probably be the easy part. Finding his deepest fears is what I’m worried about. But having Loor with me gives me all sorts of confidence. It’s great that we’re together again.

Be safe and think about me every once in a while. I’ll catch you on the other side.

END OF THE JOURNAL # 4

Bobby’s image vanished.

Courtney and Mark kept staring at the empty space where the hologram used to be. Neither were sure of what to say or do next.

Then Dorney started to laugh. It started out as a chuckle, grew into a belly laugh, and finally changed into a wheezing, uncontrolled, coughing fit. Courtney jumped up and got a glass of water. Dorney took it gratefully and gulped it down.

“You all right?” Courtney asked as she sat back down next to Mark.