The Reality Bug

VEELOX

We dove into the small, blue elevator and I quickly pulled the door behind us. At that exact instant the snake hit with such a force that it slammed the door shut the rest of the way, knocking me into Loor and Zetlin. “Look!” Zetlin shouted.

Imbedded in the door, having cut clean through, were two snake fangs. A second later a stream of liquid shot from each of the huge teeth.

Venom.

We all scrambled to the side of the elevator to get out of the way. Zetlin’s hand was splashed with the poison and he screamed in pain.

“Get us out of here!” I shouted at Loor.

She reached for the control buttons. I don’t think she knew which was the right one, but it didn’t matter so long as we got moving. The elevator lurched and we were on our way. The fangs didn’t move, though. The snake was hitching a ride. Luckily the flow of venom had stopped. It must have shot out all that it had.

“We’re moving sideways,” I announced. “Why aren’t we going down?”

“Because the Barbican is horizontal,” Zetlin winced through his pain. “All the floors are on the same level.” Oh, right. I’d forgotten.

Loor took Zetlin’s hand and wiped away the venom with her sleeve. I saw that the poison had left a nasty-looking red slash on the back of his hand.

“I’m fine,” Zetlin said.

“How do we get out of here?” I asked, deciding to save my sympathy until after we were safe.

“We’ll take the elevator across to the jungle where you first entered,” Zetlin answered. “I can right the Barbican into a vertical position from there, and we can walk out the door.”

“That’s fine,” I said, then pointed to the fangs that were still imbedded in the door. “But as long as that thing’s got its jaws in us, we won’t even get out of the elevator.”

Suddenly, the car shuddered and stopped.

“Is that normal?” I asked.

“No,” answered Zetlin. “It must be-Before he could finish, the elevator began to shake. I looked at the fangs of our hitchhiker and saw them moving. The snake had decided to take control. A second later the fangs pulled out, leaving two holes in the door.

“Now what?” I asked.

The elevator began to rock. It felt like we were inside a small ship in rough seas. Zetlin looked at the control panel and announced, “We’re in the weight room.”

Weight room? Did Zetlin have a personal gym? He threw open a panel below the elevator controls to reveal a compartment with a series of odd-looking devices like the slippery skate pads we used to race across the ice. They had the same kind of wire frames that fit over shoes, but there was only one pad on the heel. It was a thicker pad, with a hole in the center.

Zetlin pulled out three pairs quickly and handed them to us.

“Put these on your shoes,” he commanded.

We did as we were told. The elevator was now rocking so hard, we couldn’t stand up anymore. The Reality Bug was trying to pull the car off its track. He was doing a good job. The three of us were being tossed around like kids in a carnival bounce. Only it wasn’t soft and fun. It hurt.

“What are these?” I managed to ask while struggling to pull the wire over my shoes.

“It’s the only way to get around in the weight room,” Zetlin answered.

That didn’t explain anything. He then handed us each a small controller and showed us how to slip it over our middle finger like a ring. There was a button attached to the ring that rested in the palm of your hand.

“Once we’re out,” Zetlin instructed, “press the button. It’ll activate the inertia jets.”

“Inertia jets?” Loor questioned.

She never got an answer because the elevator toppled and started spinning. The Reality Bug had pulled it from its track and tossed it. It felt like we were inside a washing machine as the little car rolled over and over on its side. I braced myself as best I could, waiting for an impact. But it didn’t come. We just kept spinning. It seemed impossible, but the rotating elevator didn’t slow down.

Zetlin went for the door handle. “Follow me!” he ordered.

“Don’t!” I yelled. I thought he’d kill himself for sure. But he had no fear. He pushed open the door and heaved himself out. Loor followed right after him. I figured if we were going to go down, we should do it together, so I dove for the door and launched myself out.

“Launch” was the perfect word to describe it. As soon as

I cleared the door I covered my head and curled up, ready to land hard. But I didn’t. I realized after a few seconds that I wasn’t going to, either. That’s because I was floating. I took a cautious peek out from between my arms to see it was pitch black, with stars everywhere. I was drifting in outer space! This wasn’t a weight room, it was a weight/ess room. Far off to my right, the elevator car was still spinning out of control. I watched it in wonder for a second, then felt something touch me on the shoulder.

“Ahhh!” I spun around fast, expecting to see the fangs of the black snake about to close on my head. But it was Dr. Zetlin. He was hanging next to me with Loor. He held her hand. They were both upside down. Or maybe I was the one upside down.

“The inertia jets shoot from your heels,” he explained. “Point your body where you want to go, and touch the button in your palm. You can maneuver by adjusting the direction your heels face.”

I touched the button in my palm… and rocketed up. Whoa! These things were powerful!

“Easy!” Zetlin ordered. “Just touch it.”

I spun around and touched the button tentatively. Sure enough, I was able to control it. When I took my finger off the button, I slowed down pretty quick. It was easy to get used to. Under other circumstances, this would be the most totally amazing, fun experience possible. It was like we were floating in outer space without space suits. But these weren’t other circumstances. Somewhere out there among the stars was a giant, poisonous snake trying to kill us.

“Follow me,” Zetlin announced. “I know the way to the far side.”

“How?” I asked, looking around at nothing but nothing.

“I know the star formations,” Zetlin answered.

I had to take his word for it. If it were up to Loor or me, we’d be floating around here forever.

That’s when the snake came into view. It was far below us, floating free. At least I think it was below us. It was impossible to tell up from down.

“We’re in luck,” Zetlin said. “There’s no way it can maneuver in here.”

Excellent. The Reality Bug had chosen the absolute worst place to pull the elevator off its track. I figured it would float helplessly in here with no way to escape. That would give us enough time to get out of the Barbican and for Aja to untangle the software. Suddenly there was hope.

And just as suddenly it came crashing down.

The snake had no way of fighting the weightlessness, so it began to change. We watched in horror as huge, humanlike arms sprouted from the snake body. The hands were massive and strong. They groped around as if trying to grab on to something.

“What is it doing?” Loor asked.

A second later we had our answer. The massive hands found what they were looking for.

“The elevator track,” Zetlin said soberly.

The elevator track was the only solid thing in this world of weightlessness. The huge hands grabbed on to the dark track and the creature had control. It moved, hand over hand, in the exact direction we needed to go.

“Hurry,” Zetlin said, and took off flying, his inertia jets making a soft whooshing sound as he moved.

Loor went next. She started in the wrong direction, but shifted her legs and soon had enough control so she could follow Zetlin. I then hit my button… and spun in a tight circle.

Oops. I realized I had only one foot in the right position. The other was floating free. Idiot! I backed off on the button, twisted my body into the right position, made sure my heels were together, and took off. After a few seconds I had it figured out. It really was easy. Just a slight movement of my heel altered my direction and I learned how to make midcourse corrections. In no time, I was sailing along next to Loor, with Zetlin in the lead.

I glanced back and down over my shoulder to see that the Reality Bug was moving quickly along the track, hand over huge hand. But with the help of the inertia jets, we were moving faster.

Zetlin then changed direction and shot down at a steep angle. Loor and I were able to follow right behind. I looked forward and saw a small, glowing red rectangle that seemed to be hovering in space. This is where Zetlin was headed. He stopped at the door-shaped rectangle and gave it a push. It was the door out.

I looked back to see the huge black snake with the human arms gaining ground. It opened its jaws and hissed angrily.

“Hurry, please,” I said to Zetlin.

Loor and I followed him and stepped through the doorway. I instantly felt the pull of gravity as we were back on solid ground. I quickly pushed the door shut behind me. It was a heavy door, much heavier than anything we had come across in this wacky building so far. It was more like a hatch than a door. When I closed it, I saw there was a heavy latch. I slammed it home. Anything we could do to slow down the Reality Bug was a good thing.

“Keep moving!” Zetlin ordered.

We were in a short, dark chamber about ten feet long. On the far end was another door that Zetlin pushed open. When we stepped through, we entered another space that I can best describe as being like the inside of a giant clock. It was a huge room full of gigantic, heavy gears. All around us and high above were massive, interlocking cogs and flywheels and I don’t know what else.

“This is the center of the Barbican,” Zetlin explained as he closed the door behind us. “This machinery rotates the building. I think we’re safe in here.”

“How do you figure that?” I asked.

Zetlin slapped the wall next to the door we had just come through. “This wall is the structural core of the Barbican. It’s five feet thick. That monster is too big to come through the doors, and there’s no possibility of it crashing through this wall, I don’t care how strong it gets.

“I hope you’re right,” I said.

He wasn’t.

The proof appeared at the bottom of the door that Zetlin had just closed.

“It doesn’t need to break down the wall,” I said, pointing to the door.

An ink-black liquid was leaking its way into the room through the edges around the door. Like oily poison it oozed through the seams, poured onto the floor, and continued to move across it.

The Reality Bug had gone liquid.

“This way, hurry,” Zetlin said, and ran off.

He didn’t need to add the “hurry.” We were right after him. There was no telling how long it would take the Reality Bug to ooze into the room and reform as something nasty. We had to keep moving.

“We’ll take the zips,” he said.

“Zips?” I asked.

We followed Zetlin through the giant machinery. I felt like an ant running through a monstrous engine, that’s how big the mechanism was. He led us to a row of vehicles that I recognized from when we first arrived. They were the motorcycle-looking speeders that we saw racing underwater and in the air. Zetlin grabbed a helmet from the seat of one and jumped on.

“Whoa, we don’t know how to drive these!” I complained.

“Not a problem,” Zetlin answered. “A child could drive them. Watch.” He grabbed the handlebars and said, “Right grip is speed, left grip is brake.” He then pointed down. His right foot was resting on a pedal. “Heel back gives you nose up. Toes down, you dive. Keep your foot flat for level flight. Steering is obvious.”

We then heard a gruesome scream coming from back in the machinery. It was a loud, metallic, tearing sound. The Reality Bug had reformed. Loor and I gave each other a nervous look. We then each grabbed a helmet and jumped onto a zip. We were going to have to learn how to drive these babies, fast.

“Buckle in,” Zetlin said while pulling a bar around his waist. “If you’re not locked in when you hit the water, you’ll be thrown.”

“Hit the water?” Loor asked nervously.

Zetlin then flipped a switch under the handlebars and his zip whined to life. Loor and I did the same. I could feel the hum of power coming from the zip. It felt like being on a motorcycle, like Uncle Press’s. But I had never driven one myself. The closest I had come was one of those kiddie rides at the mall that you put a quarter in and it bucks around a little bit. Something told me this was going to be a little bit different. I glanced at Zetlin and he pushed his heel down. The nose cone of the zip tilted up into the air like a missile getting ready to fly.

317 325 “Let’s go,” he shouted, and hit the throttle. Instantly his zip launched. He shot into the air, turned sharply, and stopped, hovering over us. “C’mon!” he yelled.

I looked to Loor. Loor shrugged and followed Zetlin’s lead. She pushed her heel down, the nose lifted up, and she took off. She shot past Zetlin, nearly hitting him.

Note to self: Avoid hitting things.

Zetlin turned his zip and chased after her. I had to go too, or I’d lose them. I dropped my heel and felt the front of the zip lift up. I was now pointed to the ceiling.

“Hobey-ho,” I said under my breath, and twisted the throttle. The zip bucked forward and I shot into the air. The ride was incredible. It turned easily and I quickly got used to the throttle and brake. The foot pedal was a little trickier. I couldn’t keep the zip level at first, and it was making me seasick. But after playing with it for a while, I was able to level out. Man, I would love to have one of these for real. Too bad it was just a fantasy vehicle.

I saw Zetlin and Loor hovering together ahead of me and quickly joined them. The three of us floated there among the giant gears, fifty feet in the air.

“Are you two all right?” Zetlin asked.

“I’m good,” I said.

“I am as well,” Loor said.

“Then let’s keep moving.”

He was about to throttle up when Loor said, “But I cannot swim.”

“You won’t have to,” Zetlin answered.

We then heard another roar coming from deeper in the machine room. We all looked down to where we had come from, but saw nothing. The Reality Bug wasn’t down there.

It was up with us.

“There it is!” Zetlin shouted.

From far back among the gears and cogs, I saw a shadow swoop up from below. I only got a glimpse of it, but what I saw I won’t forget. It had the head of a bird, with a long, sharp beak. Its body looked human, with a wide, strong chest. Its legs were birdlike as well. And it had wings. Huge, black wings, like a bat.

The Reality Bug was airborne.

We all turned and pushed the zip vehicles forward. We flew in formation, with Zetlin in the lead and Loor and me together behind him. Zetlin led us on a wild ride through the incredible machinery. I guess he wanted to lose the flying Reality Bug, but Loor and I had a heck of a time trying to keep up. He flew low to the ground, under some steel beams. He then took a sharp right and led us through a narrow corridor. We had to fly single file because it wasn’t wide enough for two across. We then shot out of the corridor and climbed steeply until we were near the ceiling. From up there, the round gears below us looked like curved, steel mountains.

It was amazing that we were able to keep up with him, but the zips were easy to handle. I think part of it was because these were fantasy vehicles, and in our minds we knew we had to fly them, so we did.

We were fast approaching the far wall of the machine room. There was a square opening that glowed with bright, white light.

“We’re going to the glacier!” Zetlin called back.

I figured the next room in this incredible building was going to be the snowy ice field where we raced Zetlin in slick-shot. That was good; we were getting closer to the jungle.

But then a shadow appeared far off to our left and in front of us. All of our crazy stunt flying was a waste. The

Reality Bug had found its own route and was racing us to the opening. We were on a collision course. We were headed straight for the opening; the bird was coming from far to our left. We had to beat it. All three of us throttled up. The freakish, giant bird sped closer. I tried to calculate who would get to the opening first. Either way, it would be close. The three of us were side by side going flat out. I squeezed the throttle, hoping it would make the zip go faster. This was totally dangerous. There was no way we could pull out going this fast. We were either going to escape, or crash right into the Reality Bug. It all depended on who got to the opening first.

A second later the three of us flashed into the white light. We had made it. The bird flew right past the opening. There was no way it could have made the sharp turn going that fast. It was going to have to circle around and hit it square on. We were going to need those few seconds to gain some ground.

We now found ourselves speeding high over the icy racecourse. Zetlin didn’t try any hot, evasive maneuvers this time. I think he simply wanted speed. That was cool by me. Speed was good. I didn’t even look around to see if the Reality Bug-bird had made it into the ice world. This was all about getting across this frozen wasteland as fast as possible. It was a flat-out race.

After a minute Zetlin motioned that he was going down. He dipped his nose and shot for what looked like a sheer wall of ice. We had reached the far side of the ice room. But I didn’t see any openings. We had to trust that Zetlin knew where he was going. I didn’t think he wanted to splat against the ice like a bug on a windshield.

On the snow below, I saw a winged shadow. The bug was behind us and moving up fast. “There!” Loor shouted.

I saw it too. There was an opening cut into the ice. It was our doorway to the next room.

“We’ve got to go underwater!” Zetlin shouted back to us. “I doubt the bird can follow us.”

What made him think that? From what I’d seen, the Reality Bug could do anything it wanted. Still, maybe the extra few seconds it took to transform into something else would give us the edge we needed.

But Loor couldn’t swim.

“Loor?” I shouted.

“Do not worry,” she said. “I will make it.”

She was going to have to be incredibly brave. I knew she would be. Zetlin shot into the ice tunnel with us right behind. We sped through the short tunnel, blasted out the far side and entered pitch black. There was nothing to see but the series of colorful globes hanging in the air that marked the racecourse.

“Crouch down low before you hit the water,” Zetlin ordered. “Don’t slow down. Keep breathing.” He then dropped the nose of his zip and shot for the water.

We followed him blindly. Man, I was scared. For Loor, and for me, too. I didn’t know what to expect when we hit the water. Was it going to be so jarring that I’d get ripped off the zip? Should I really keep breathing? Should I wet my pants? I crouched down low inside the clear nose cone and gritted my teeth. The water came up fast. Zetlin hit with a splash. Two seconds later Loor and I hit too.

It was a jolt, but nothing I couldn’t handle. The pointed nose cone must have absorbed most of the shock. Better still.

I could breathe. The helmet must have had something to do with that.

I glanced to Loor to see she was charging along right next to me. She was incredible.

It was easy to see Zetlin because the moment we hit the water, our headlights came on. The water rippled over the top of my nose cone, making the whole vehicle shiver. Turning was only slightly tougher than in the air. That must have had something to do with the water resistance. Still, we were moving fast.

I heard a huge splash in the water behind us. There was only one thing that could have made that sound. The Reality Bug was now wet. I wondered if the bird creature also went underwater, or had the bug mutated itself into something sharklike. I had to shake that image out of my head.

Our trip underwater didn’t last long. Up ahead I saw the vague outline of another square opening. Zetlin aimed his zip toward it and we steered for Zetlin. Seconds later we blasted through the opening…

And out into the air high over the jungle. I glanced back at the opening to see it was a square of water. Nothing poured out, just like the strange round opening Loor and I had gone through when we first arrived. It was impossible, yet there it was. I noticed that my clothes weren’t even wet. Unbelievable.

Zetlin gunned his zip and beat it for the jungle floor. I didn’t want to run into any more of those vine-shooting plants, but it was better to get lost in the jungle than to be flying wide open for the Reality Bug to see us.

Zetlin flew his zip right for the deck. He leveled out a few feet above the jungle floor, speeding along a path. Loor was right behind him and I was right behind Loor. We were moving fast. I kept my eye on her back, looking for any movement that would warn me when the next turn was coming. We were on the home stretch. Soon we’d be at the entrance to the Barbican and home free.

After a few minutes of jungle jumping, Zetlin slowed down as he approached the far wall of the building. We had been racing for a while now, and my heart was thumping like crazy. Zetlin stopped his zip, jumped off, and ran up to a control panel that was built into the wall. He opened up the cover and started hitting buttons.

“Why don’t we fly the zips out of here?” I asked.

“They don’t work outside the Barbican,” Zetlin answered. “We’ve got to go to position two so we can walk out.”

He hit a few more buttons, and the building started to shake. I heard the far-off sound of screeching metal and could imagine the massive gears starting to turn. I could only hope they’d turn fast enough so we could get down and out of here before the bug found us. The building rumbled and started to move.

“It won’t be long,” Zetlin assured us.

We heard a tortured squealing sound, as if metal were being torn apart. A second later the building stopped moving.

“What happened?” Loor asked.

Zetlin went right back to the controls. He furiously hit a few keys, but nothing changed.

“I don’t understand,” he announced nervously. “All the indicators say we should be moving.”

“When we were back in the machine room,” I said, “there was a horrible sound. Could the Reality Bug have messed with the machinery?”

We then heard a piercing shriek come from deep within the jungle. We all looked up.

“I don’t know,” Zetlin said. “But the Barbican isn’t moving. If it doesn’t go vertical, we can’t get out.”

(CONTINUED)