The Reality Bug (17 page)

“Stop right there!” a gruff voice shouted at me. “Where are you going?”

It was a big, beefy guard with a long, nasty-looking club that would do some serious damage if it made contact with any part of my body. In fact, three of these bad boys stood there, guarding the water controller. The people who lived underground were called Rokador. Loor told me that there was some tension between the Rokador tribe and the people who lived on the surface, the Batu. Whatever the tension was between these tribes, it must have gotten worse since I had been here. Before, the Rokador didn't need guards.

“I'm, uh, I'm going up to the city to, uh, get some supplies,” I said, trying to sound like I wasn't making this up as I went along. Which I was. The Rokador were light skinned, like me, so they assumed I was one of them. Good thing. I didn't want to be a piñata.

“Do you want an escort?” the guard asked. That wasn't a bad idea. If I was safe down here with the Rokador, then it followed I might be in danger up with the Batu. But I had no idea how I would explain that I was going to visit Loor, who was a Batu.

“Thanks, but, no,” I said.

“Be careful,” the guard grumbled. “Return before sunset.”

Now I was getting nervous. If things had gone south here on Zadaa, then it was going to be tricky finding Loor without getting hammered by some Batu guy who had an ick against the Rokador. The only thing I could do was try to be invisible. I hurried up the winding ramp that brought me into a building on the surface, and for the second time I saw the beautiful city of Xhaxhu.

If you remember, guys, I told you that it looked like ancient Egypt, with tall sandstone buildings. The streets were paved with stone and lined with palm trees. There were statues of all sizes, some towering as high as the buildings. It was a beautiful oasis in the middle of a vast, dry desert. Its water source was the river that ran below ground. Without that water, Xhaxhu would dry up and blow away like a forgotten sand castle. Knowing that, I saw something that made me nervous.

Running beside many of the streets were troughs that carried water throughout the city. At nearly every intersection was a fancy fountain that sprayed arcs of water in complex patterns. At least that's what I saw last time I was here. This time the troughs were nearly dry. Only a small trickle of water ran through them. The fountains weren't spraying water either. This was a really bad sign. If there was a problem with the water, the city was in trouble.

But that was something to worry about another day. Right now, I had to find Loor. It was a scary trip. The streets were alive with people, most of them Batu. As I described before, the Batu were dark-skinned warriors. They wore light, leather clothing that showed off their lean, muscular bodies. With my light skin and white robe, I stood out like a flashlight in the forest. I was getting some seriously bad vibes from these people. If looks could kill, I wouldn't have lasted two minutes. Seriously. I could feel pure hatred coming from them as soon as they laid eyes on me. It wasn't just the tough-looking dudes, either. The women were giving me the evil eye too. So were their kids. Heck, if a Batu dog walked by he probably would have peed on me. I put my head down and kept moving, hoping to make it to Loor's home in one piece.

Loor lived in a large, one-story building that was reserved for the military. She was a warrior in training, and was given a small apartment. I found it pretty easily, and was within a few yards of her place when my luck ran out.

Without warning, somebody grabbed the back of my robe and lifted me up like a doll. The guy spun me around and I came face-to-face with a giant Batu warrior. No, make that four giant Batu warriors. They all stared at me and none of them looked happy to see me.

“You have lost your way, little Rokador sheep,” the guy snarled. “Are you looking to take back more of your precious water?”

“Uh, no, actually,” I said, trying to be friendly, “I'm looking for—”

“Water!” he shouted. “Water is all you know, water is what you will have!”

The other Batu warriors cheered, egging him on.

“But my friend lives right—”

“Here is your precious water!” he shouted.

The Batu warrior dragged me over to a wall near the front of the building. I tried to break away, but the guy was too strong. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. If I broke loose, there were three other goons there to grab me. Behind the wall was the community bathroom. On one side of the enclosure was a trough of fresh running water for drinking and washing. On the other were holes in the ground with water running underneath for, yeah, you guessed it, going to the bathroom. It was basically an outhouse. Unfortunately we didn't stop at the fresh-water trough.

The warrior stopped at one of the open sewer holes, then stuck his nose in my face. “You love water so much,” he seethed, “then have it.”

The guy lifted me up and turned me upside down. The other warriors laughed and cheered.

“Hey, stop!” I yelled. “You're making a mistake.”

I know, pretty lame, but I didn't know what else to say. The guy lowered me toward the open latrine hole. I was going into the sewer headfirst! I was in such a panic, I didn't even think to try and use my powers of Traveler persuasion on him. All I could think about was landing in smelly sludge. My head got closer to the hole. I did a quick calculation and unfortunately figured that it was plenty big enough for me to fit through. This was going to be gruesome. My head was only a few inches away from crossing the portal into the land of stench and disgust, when someone shouted out, “Put him down!”

I really,
really
hoped they were talking about me. Sure enough, the warrior flipped me over. I landed on my feet and looked up to see …

Loor.

I could have kissed her, but that would have been a major-bad move.

“I know this one,” Loor said. “He gives me information on the Rokador. He must not be harmed.”

The warriors grumbled in disappointment and shuffled off. Loor had spoiled their fun. Gee, too bad. Bullies. I hate bullies.

“Come with me, Rokador!” she barked at me. She then walked away quickly. I was all too happy to follow. Seconds later we were in her apartment.

“Nice friends you have,” I said.

“They do not like the Rokador,” Loor said with no emotion.

“Yeah, I got that. Thanks for saving me.”

“No need to thank me. If they had finished what they started, I would have had to smell your stench in my home.”

The two of us looked at each other, then I burst out laughing. Loor relaxed too.

“Man, I'm glad to see you, Loor,” I said. I went over and hugged her. She didn't hug back. It wasn't that she didn't like me, it's just that Loor never showed affection. So as I hugged her, she only gave me a couple of friendly pats on the back. What can I say? That's Loor.

She started a fire and we settled into her woven chairs. I first told her all that had happened on First Earth and the
Hindenburg
disaster story. I left out the part about my chickening out at the last second. I didn't want Loor to know that.

Loor told me how tension between the Batu and the Rokador was worse than ever. She feared there would be a war. The Batu had strength, but the Rokador controlled the water. In her heart she knew this would be the turning point of Zadaa, but had no idea what to do about it.

I then told her about Veelox and Lifelight and the Reality Bug. Being a warrior from a territory that had no technology, it was hard for Loor to imagine the concept of a wristwatch, let alone something as amazing as Lifelight. Still, she listened and did her best to understand.

As I sat in that room with the dirt floor and the fire crackling in the fireplace, I couldn't take my eyes off her. The fire gave her dark skin a warm glow that looked as if she had stepped out of a painting. An amazing painting. And she's cut like an athlete. The leather outfit she wore showed off the long, strong muscles of her shoulders and arms. I've seen her battle guys nearly twice her size and kick butt. But more important than the physical stuff was that she had an incredibly clear way of seeing things. She didn't overthink things the way I sometimes do. Okay, the way I
always
do. With Loor there are only two ways: the right way and the wrong way. She wouldn't think twice about cutting down an enemy, or risking herself to save a friend.

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 the 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 with a kick to the chest; the second 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.