D. MacHale - The Reality Bug

Dorney cleared his throat, took a deep breath. He was fine. “What’s so funny?” Mark asked.

“Just like his uncle, that one,” Dorney said with a smile. “Always jumping out of one frying pan into another one that’s even hotter.”

Mark glanced at the metal boxes that held Press’s journals. “Can we read some?” he asked.

The smile fell from Dorney’s face. He glanced over at the journals, then back to Mark and Courtney. “Depends.”

“On what?” asked Courtney.

“On whether or not I like what you have to tell me.”

“We’re here for Bobby” Mark exclaimed. “You heard what Bobby said to Evangeline.”

“Evangeline?” he scoffed. “If the devil himself told that lady he was misunderstood, she’d invite him in for tea.”

“You know her?” Courtney asked in shock.

“How do you think I knew to send you my address?”

“But she’s from-“

“Veelox, yeah. So what?”

“But, you said you weren’t a Traveler,” Mark said.

“I’m not! Are you thick or something?”

Courtney and Mark were dumbfounded.

“I’m s-sorry if we’re being dense,” Mark said. “But I thought only Travelers could fly through the flumes. If you’re not a Traveler, how could you know somebody from another territory?”

Dorney stared at them for a moment, as if debating about whether or not to answer. Finally he held up his hand-the hand with his Traveler ring.

“It’s the rings,” he said. “It’s all about the rings.”

Mark and Courtney sat there patiently, waiting for Dorney to explain. But he didn’t. Instead he pushed himself out of the easy chair with a grunt and began moving the metal boxes with Press’s journals in them back into the cabinet.

“I was a practical guy,” Dorney finally said, sounding serious. “I always thought that everything had its place. B always came after A. Two always followed one. But then Press Tilton came into my life. He opened my eyes, so to speak, and I began to realize there was something else going on. Something bigger than me and my safe little life. I don’t mind telling you, it scared me. All this business about fluming and territories that exist in different times-it’s enough to make a fella want to lock his door and never poke his nose out again.”

Mark and Courtney nodded. They knew how he felt.

“But what scares me even more,” Dorney continued, “is that somebody out there is causing problems. Knowing Saint Dane is trying to make it all fall down has kept me from getting a good night’s sleep in near ten years. Only thing that gives me a little piece of mind is knowing the Travelers are trying to stop him. That’s why I’m an acolyte. I do what I can to help the good guys.”

Dorney put the last of the metal boxes into the cabinet, then closed and locked it.

“Trouble is, I’m getting too old for this. Now that Press is gone, I’m not so sure I’ve got the energy. That brings me to you two. Pendragon seems to trust you. Question is, should I?”

“We told you!” Courtney shouted defensively. “Bobby is our friend and-“

Mark put a hand on her arm to quiet her down.

“You’re right,” Mark said calmly. “You don’t know us. All we can say is that we’re just as freaked out about Saint Dane as you are. Besides that, you’ve gotta trust that Bobby knows what he’s talking about.”

Dorney looked between the two of them. Finally he shrugged and said, “Don’t matter anyway. It ain’t my choice.”

“What does that mean?” asked Courtney. “Whose choice is it?”

Dorney shuffled toward the front door. “Go home,” he said.

Both Mark and Courtney jumped up in surprise.

“Mr. D-Dorney,” Mark stuttered, “we came here because we wanted to learn about being acolytes. You can’t throw us out.”

Dorney opened the door and stood to the side. “I can do whatever I please,” he said. “Truth is, you two ain’t ready.”

“But w-we are!” Mark protested.

“Not from what I’m hearing,” Dorney countered. “When the time is right, come on back. I’ll help you then, not before.”

Mark and Courtney looked at each other. They knew it was no use to argue. So Mark grabbed the silver hologram projector from the table and jammed it into his pack.

“How are we going to know when the time is right?” Courtney asked.

“Believe me.” Dorney chuckled. “You’ll know.” He opened the door further, expecting them to leave.

“We’ll be back,” Mark said as they backed out the door. “Count on it.”

“I hope so,” Dorney said seriously. “I truly do.”

He shut the door, leaving Mark and Courtney in an empty corridor.

“Well, that sucked,” Courtney said. “We came all the way here and all he can say is we’re not ready?”

Mark walked toward the elevator. Courtney hurried after him.

“We’re not giving up so easy,” she asked. “Are we?”

“We’re not giving up at all,” Mark said. “I think Dorney believes we can be acolytes, but the time isn’t right.”

“I think he’s a crazy old coot who likes pulling our chain,” Courtney said.

“Yeah, that too,” Mark said. “But I’ll bet you anything we’ll be back here.”

The two rode the elevator down and left the building. All the way back to Stony Brook, Mark and Courtney tried to analyze what Bobby had told them about Lifelight and the Reality Bug. Mark was fascinated with the idea of a computer that could read your thoughts and make them real. Courtney was too, but was more interested in talking about Loor. She thought Bobby made a bad choice. She thought he should have gotten Spader. Mark pointed out that Bobby wasn’t a hundred percent sure he could rely on Spader. Courtney didn’t care. She felt Spader would have been the better choice.

Mark had a pretty good idea of what Courtney was really thinking. She was jealous. From what Bobby said in his last journal, it was obvious he had feelings for Loor. But Mark decided not to point that out. He didn’t want to risk a punch in the head.

When the train brought them home, the two stood on the empty station platform at the bottom of Stony Brook Avenue.

“Now what?” Courtney asked.

“I don’t know,” Mark answered. Then added, “Does this mean you officially want to be an acolyte with me?”

Courtney had to think about that for a second. “It means I still want to find out what it means,” she said. “I can’t promise any more than that.”

“Good enough,” Mark said. “Maybe Bobby’s next journal will tell us more.”

Courtney nodded. “You’ll tell me when-“

“Soon as it comes in,” Mark assured her.

With a quick smile Courtney turned and headed for home. Mark stood there for a moment, twisting the ring on his finger. When Bobby was in the middle of an adventure the journals came pretty close together. Mark expected the next delivery to come through his ring at any moment.

It didn’t.

Mark had to get his mind off Bobby and back into his own life. He busied himself at school and went to his first meeting of Sci-Clops. It was better than he could have imagined. Mr. Pike, or David as he insisted on being called, introduced him to the other members, all of whom were older than Mark. They were all working on different projects, like mixing unique metals to create a new lightweight alloy, and making a computer processor that responded to eye movement. It was heady stuff for Mark and he feared he was out of his league. But he quickly discovered they all spoke the same language. He had found a home.

Courtney focused on classes and soccer. She continued to practice with the JV team and did pretty well, but she always had one eye on the varsity squad that practiced on the other side of the field. More than anything she wanted to prove herself worthy of being back there.