Jim exited his mech, staring up at the red mucus-covered eye hanging over them. “I have no idea, but that’s the energy source. Whatever it is, it’s in control of this whole place.”
“You see those things all over the ceiling? They look like feelers or tendrils. Or like earthworms.”
“I don’t care what they look like. I just want to know if this is the place we’re supposed to be blowing up.”
Alex jumped off of Chine and paced around. “You know, maybe this whole ‘sacrificing ourselves for the good of existence’ thing doesn’t have to happen,” she said, thinking aloud.
Jim asked, “Are you seriously thinking about backing out now?”
“Hardly. I’m just thinking, we didn’t know there was this much energy coming off that thing when we got here. Maybe we can just pull the plug on it. And if we can’t do that, we could set off your mech. Start a chain reaction and get out of here before it blows.”
Jim thought about the plan Alex had just proposed. “You know, that’s not a bad idea,” he finally assented. “And I’m pretty stoked about the part where we don’t die.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of my favorite part of the whole thing, too,” Alex agreed. “If we make it out alive, I’m gonna want more than a peck from you. Full-on Twilight, all right?”
Jim blushed brightly but didn’t turn away. “I can definitely promise you some Twilight-level sparks,” he boasted.
“Great. Let’s do this.”
Alex climbed atop Chine and anchored herself. Let’s go, buddy.
Chine didn’t move. The dragon stayed rooted to where he was, staring at the eye above them. I can’t. I can’t move.
What do you mean, you can’t move?
The eye or whatever it is is keeping me from moving. The headaches we’ve been having, the psychic projection outside the meteor—it’s all telepathy, coming from above.
Alex couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Are you telling me that thing is alive?
It is alive and aware of me. I do not think it has recognized you or Jim yet.
Alex wracked her brain, trying to figure out what options she had. If Chine couldn’t move, she couldn’t get close enough to the eye to do any damage. Then a gamble popped into Alex’s head. Hey, Chine, did you mean what you said about me becoming a strong psychic?
Chine groaned as he tried to move. I do not see why that is important at the moment, but yes. You have a tremendous amount of raw talent.
How about we find out right now? Can you boost my whatever the hell it is strong enough that I can connect with that thing? Maybe I can force it to release you, or at least take a look at what we all look like from up there.
Alex, I think that is a very bad—
We don’t have a whole lot of options right now. Can you help me or not?
Chine was quiet for a moment. Finally, he said, Yes. I can. But I will not be able to help you past that.
Great. That was just icing on the cake. Wouldn’t have it any other way, my dude. Patch me in.
Chapter Eight
Alex did not close or open her eyes. She did not know when the change came, but it had been sudden, and she was no longer in the same place in time. Wherever she was now was a place outside of all that. She was aware of very little. Her body? Her mind? Perhaps they were here. She did not know.
All around, nothing but darkness beyond anything Alex had ever experienced. Darker than blindness, darker than the years spent alone, fumbling through books with her fingers. Darker than the quiet dreams that brought her screaming into the waking world.
Alex tried to feel around, tried to grasp where she was, tried to make sense of what she was experiencing. It did not last long. Each moment she spent trying to understand what she was experiencing made it more difficult to grasp.
In the darkness, there was a light. It was not bright, nor was it dark, yet it was all-consuming. Alex saw it, and she did not see it. In any other situation, the paradox would have driven her wild. Now, it was merely the current state of affairs.
Alex had heard many times in life that you were never supposed to go toward the light. Obviously, she would. Curiosity never faded. In or out of her body, Alex needed to know.
The light was humming. It was the hum of something lifeless, of machines working without any knowledge, of a bug zapper waiting for its next kill.
Alex went to the light. She could not tell if she was running, but she was moving as fast as she could. It wouldn’t be long now.
Blinding—that was the only word Alex could think of, and she understood the irony. She stood before the light, watching it, waiting to see what was going to happen.
Somewhere out in the dark, someone was speaking. Alex couldn’t hear what they were saying, nor did she care. It was just noise. The light was interesting. There was something special about the light. That was why Alex was here, fighting her way through the darkness. It had something to do with the light.
Then it was gone. There had been no warning. The light simply disappeared. Then the darkness disappeared as well.
A young boy stood before Alex. The child only came up to Alex’s waist. She had no idea how old the child was because there was a mask over his face. The mask was made of wood—a deer with swooping horns, the face painted with white chalk.
The boy’s black eyes peered from behind the mask. “What are you doing here?”
Alex felt like she should kneel to be on the same level as the child, but she remembered what Brath had told her about insulting gnomes. “I’m not sure,” Alex admitted. “What are you doing here?”
The masked boy pointed into the
