Etherworld (7 page)

“Possibly,” my dad replies. “If Claire's brain exhibited any kind of heightened activity, whether it was fear or exhilaration, there's a chance the safety settings rebooted on her wristband and her time in Elusion expired.”

I swallow as the blue lights in the ping tunnel flicker in a frantic pattern that hurts my eyes. It must signal something important to my dad, because he lifts me to my feet without asking me if I'm all right.

The fear that he's keeping something from me is stronger than before. Maybe I'm still paranoid because of everything that's happened and all the lies I've been told. But I can't help it—there is so much that he seems unable, or unwilling, to explain: too many variables for someone who is supposed to know everything about Elusion.

“
Safety?
No one is safe out there,” Nora says, her hand latched on to Josh's arm.

Avery said almost the same thing when she stood up at Patrick's press conference and claimed that Elusion was addictive. And even though we all know Avery was right, I still feel like I should defend my dad.

“He said he couldn't guarantee anyone would be safe, remember?” I reply.

“But nobody said anything about
suffering
.” Nora wipes at her eyes and pulls away from Josh. “Claire was in agony.”

I'm about to respond when my dad steps in between us. “I know what Claire went through was terrible, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything bad happened to her in the real world,” he says.

Wyatt crosses arms in front of his chest and sneers. “Tell that to Anthony Caldwell.”

“Or Maureen Baker,” Nora chimes in.

Josh walks over to Wyatt, squaring off against him. “I told you before, we don't really know why Anthony died.”

“I wouldn't say that,” Nora counters suspiciously, as she gestures at my dad. “We don't know how Anthony died, but I think we can all agree we have a pretty good idea
why
.”

My dad stands very still, waiting for something—another flash of lights in the tunnel, perhaps? I can tell from the creases in his brow that he's desperately trying to undo the horrors that haunt this place.

Wyatt starts to pace, his nerves obviously getting to him. “All I want to know is if there's really a chance for us. Are we going to have lives when we get home?”

“I hope so,” my dad mumbles, his eyes scanning the panels in the tunnel, searching and searching.

“That's all we have left?
Hope?
” Nora says, her tone sharper now.

“Cut it out, Nor. You're just making things worse,” Josh says curtly. “We're all freaked, okay? But getting upset isn't going to change anything.”

“Josh is right,” I say. “If we don't stick together, destroying Elusion will be impossible.”

I look to my dad to support me here, but he's quiet and lost in thought. Nora is staring at him, her face full of doubt. I'm worried about what's going to happen when we return to base camp. Will anyone listen to or trust him after this? If not, how can we possibly destroy Elusion?

“Wyatt, are you still with us?” I ask.

He sighs and says, “Yeah.”

I turn to Josh. “What about you? Do you still want to go on?”

He doesn't even hesitate. “Definitely.”

Nora says nothing and turns her back to us, like she'd rather think this through without all of us watching and waiting for her. I step forward, wanting to push her for an answer, but Josh puts his hand on my shoulder, stopping me. Maybe he just wants to talk to her himself.

But before he can explain, another patch of flickering lights floods the tunnel; it's followed by a blast outside the entrance. The ground beneath us rumbles, knocking us off our feet.

“What the hell was that?” Wyatt yells.

“We need to get out of here!” my dad shouts. I take Josh's hand and sprint down the tunnel.

As we turn a corner, I glance back over my shoulder and see my dad struggling to keep up. Josh and I slow down, but my dad motions for us to continue.

There's no way I'm leaving him behind. I turn back toward him as another monstrous blast ricochets through the tunnel. I let go of Josh's hand, grabbing onto the wall as I fight to regain my balance. The ground splits open, dividing the group. Nora, Josh, and I are on one side of the crevice; my dad and Wyatt are on the other. The gulf is too wide to jump over.

“Dad!” I shout, moving as close as I can to the ledge and reaching out to him.

“It's going to be okay,” he says. “I know another way out!”

“Come on; we have to keep moving,” Josh says.

“
No!
Not without my dad,” I say.

“We'll meet you back at the base!” my dad yells. “Go!”

Josh pulls me away from the ledge against my will and forces me to run with Nora in the other direction.

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

..................................................................

“HAVE YOU SEEN MY DAD?”

I'm standing in the Great Space beside Josh and Nora. We've just interrupted Zared and Ayesha, who are engulfed in some kind of emotional conversation. Given the strained looks on their faces and the fact that they're holding hands, I can tell that they're more than just friends. But after what just happened in the tunnel, I could care less about their private moment.

“Not yet,” Ayesha replies. “You guys are the first ones to arrive.”

“Are you sure?” Josh asks, casing the area with his eyes, but it's deserted except for us.

“We've been keeping watch since you left. There's no way we could have missed them,” Zared says.

Behind her, Piper dashes out of the cavern, heading toward us.

“Why?” Ayesha asks, her eyes settling on me. “What happened? Is everyone alright?”

“We destroyed the Escape,” Josh says, giving my hand a supportive squeeze. “But we got separated.”

“Where's Claire?” Piper asks.

Nora steps out from behind Josh and me, her eyes fierce. “Claire's gone,” she says, her voice completely hollow.

I wish she hadn't just blurted that out. I don't want the news about Claire's disappearance to send panic through the ranks—not when we need the whole group to carry out my dad's plan.

“What do you mean, gone?” Piper asks, wringing her hands. “Did she get lost or something?”

“During the mission, she just . . . vanished,” I say.

“David said Orexis may have locked on to her,” Josh adds.

“Because of the excessive brain-wave activity, right?” Zared says.

“Probably,” I say.

Suddenly Nora turns toward me with an unwavering glare. “Why aren't you telling them the truth?”

It's so strange hearing her say this to me, mostly because this has been my line for the last week. But I'm not going to let Nora characterize me as a liar. Not when there's so much at stake.

“I am,” I reply.

“Oh yeah?” she says. “Then why leave out the grisly details? They deserve to know exactly what happened to Claire.”

“What happened to her?” Piper asks, on the verge of tears.

“If we're putting ourselves at risk, we need to know what to expect out there,” Ayesha says.

I give Ayesha a reassuring look. “Of course, but—”

“Claire didn't vanish; she
disintegrated
,” Nora interrupts. “One minute we're rafting through these rapids, and the next her boat explodes. There was nothing we could do but sit there and watch her die.”

Piper's hands fly up to her mouth, and Zared swallows hard before casting his eyes to the ground. I wince too, remembering how Claire called out to us for help, the terror in her screams. My thoughts drift to Wyatt and my dad, how maybe their late return is a sign that they suffered the exact same fate she did, and every part of me goes weak.

“It's my fault,” Piper says, her shoulders slumping forward. “I should've gone with her. I should've been there—”

“Don't blame yourself,” Nora says gently, like she realizes she may have overstepped. “Trust me, I know it's hard not to.” she says. “But to be honest, we're all victims here.”

None of her words are a comfort to Piper, whose eyes are filling with tears. She turns back toward the cavern with her head bowed.

“Nora!” Josh takes her by the arm and leads her a few steps away. “We're all upset about Claire. But there's a lot we don't know yet, so assuming she died doesn't make a whole lot of sense.”

“That's the point. There's way too much we don't know,” Nora says. “Sometimes it seems like David's just making everything up as he goes along. So why can't we try to come up with some other solution?”

“Preferably one that doesn't involve us getting blown up or killed,” Zared says wryly.

“Wait a second,” I say. “My dad may not be able to predict everything here, but he knows what he's talking about. We were able to destroy the Escape, just like he said. Isn't that enough proof that he can handle this situation?”

“I'm not so sure,” Ayesha says, meekly. “There has to be another way out. Something safer.”

By the hollow sound of her voice, I can tell she's frightened—and I don't blame her for feeling that way. But if Nora keeps creating more skepticism within the group, there's a good chance she might splinter off and form another crew that decides to leave Etherworld in search of an alternate way home.

Josh has lost his sister once already—would he ever let her go again?

It's sort of a selfish worry, but without my dad, Josh is really all I've got.

“Exactly. Six of us went on this mission, and only three of us came back,” Nora says.

“Those are some shitty odds,” Zared mumbles.

“Wyatt and my dad will be here any minute,” I say, looking at Josh for some reassurance, but something has changed. The confidence I always see in his eyes—even now that they're gray—is beginning to dim.

“Maybe it wouldn't hurt to have another strategy. Kind of like a fallback,” he says.

I can't believe this. Josh is second-guessing my dad too?

“So who's going to come up with that strategy?” I ask, my hands trembling a little. “Who knows Elusion as well as my dad does?”

“Actually, we all do,” Zared says, with an obnoxious level of certainty. “Everyone here was obsessed with Elusion from the beginning. That's why we went Stealth. That's how we connected with each other.”

“And got to David's Escape, and past the firewall,” Ayesha adds.

“Right.” Nora smiles. “And that's how we'll get home.”

I wait for Josh to interject, to tell Nora not to disrupt my dad's plans, but he stays silent. I want to remain perfectly composed right now, but it's difficult to ignore the bitterness rising inside me.

“I have some ideas on where we could start,” Zared says. “Malik probably does too.”

“I don't know. He worships Regan's dad. I doubt he'd try anything that David didn't approve of,” Ayesha says.

Zared shrugs his shoulders. “That may not be a problem. David isn't here, and who knows if he'll ever be back,” he says, in this cold, matter-of-fact way that's somehow also void of maliciousness.

“Jesus, Zared. Don't be such an asshole,” Josh says, reaching out to me when he sees my reaction. What I need most right now is some time alone to think—and keep myself together, which is getting more and more difficult every second my dad isn't here.

“I'll be right back,” I say, and start walking toward the underbrush and rotted tree limbs that line the pathway to the cavern.

“Regan!” Josh calls out. “Wait.”

Even though I'm momentarily comforted by the sound of his voice, I don't wait. “I just need a minute, okay?”

He catches up to me and gently grabs my arm, pulling me to a stop. I can see he's upset. “I'm sorry. Nora can be a handful some sometimes.”

“It's fine, whatever.”

I cast my eyes over his shoulder, desperately trying to keep it together.

“You're definitely not fine.” Josh lets go of me and steps away.

“None of us are, now that everyone's doubting my dad,” I say.

“Don't you think other people deserve a say about this?” Josh asks, not backing down. “You saw what happened to Claire. Your dad said himself he didn't realize how painful the return could be. Even he doesn't know what happened to her in the real world.”

“So what's your solution? You want to stay in here forever? How long do you think our bodies will survive? We have no idea if we're getting any food. We don't know how any of us are holding up.”

“No one is arguing that. But people have a right to offer other ideas about getting out. Especially when their lives are at stake.”

In another place and situation, I might agree with him. But not here.

Not now.

“Maybe I just should see if I can find him,” I suggest. “He and I can probably pull off the protocol together. No one else has to risk anything.”

He shakes his head. “No, your dad told us to stay at the base.”

I throw my hands up in frustration. “Come on, Josh. Didn't they tell you in military school to never leave a man behind?”

“Yeah, but I also learned that you can't make good decisions when you're scared.”

He's right. I am scared. I'm terrified by the thought of losing my dad again, and by the threat Elusion poses to users. I haven't felt this helpless since my mother and I first heard about my father's death. I watched her spiral into a misery so deep she didn't leave the house for months. There was nothing I could do to help her. When I began to suspect that my dad was alive, I was determined to do everything in my power to bring him back to her.

But the helplessness I'm feeling now is amplified by new suspicions, suspicions that are directed
at
my father. As much as I'd like to keep these thoughts to myself, I can't contain them any longer.