“The children who have no parents in Tenebra. We rescue them from the Spores, but no one claims them.” He shrugs. “They need a home somewhere.”
But he told me kids can enter and exit the Nightmare at will, just like the Spores. Is that because they’re like Spores in some way? I want to ask more questions, but I also don’t want Luc to think I’m ignoring his main point.
“Okay, so your dad is trapped in a dead LifeSuPod.” I give him no verbal assurance. Not even a blink of sympathy, though my heart remembers my own desperation to save Nole. “What’s in it for me? Travel in the Real World is deadly. Not only that, but in many cases it’s impossible. Blocked roads, empty gas tanks, muggers. And, now that you bring it up, the Spores who killed my brother and want you dead might be guarding your dad’s building. Where is he even located?”
“Upstate New York.”
I quirk an eyebrow. “That’s several hours from me.” At least, I think it is. Am I remembering right? Before the virus, a couple hours of driving would be nothing. But with only one tank of gas and pulling The Fire Swamp over broken and blocked freeways, well . . . I’d be risking my life.
“What’s in it for me?” I ask again.
“I’ll give you your own LifeSuPod.”
I still. A LifeSuPod? Free of charge? Suddenly upstate New York doesn’t sound so far away. I eye him. “Does it actually work?”
Luc laughs. “Of course. I’m not that twisted.”
“All you need me to do is get your dad to a place with charging power?”
“A very specific and safe place.”
“And where is that?”
“The address is with my father in the LifeSuPod. Once you save him, you’ll know where to take him.”
My eyes narrow. So Luc’s dad planned for this? “If he had a safe location, why didn’t he place his LifeSuPod there in the first place?”
“It was a backup. The location he’s in right now was supposed to be safe too.”
“Why would you give me a LifeSuPod? They cost millions.”
“Millions of dollars mean nothing in Tenebra. Life is currency here. And if I’m able to give that to others who are willing to join my team, to show loyalty and commitment to building a new life in this new world, then there’s nothing greater.”
It sounds too good. What’s to stop him from cheating me? He dropped the loyalty card, but surely he must know I have no loyalty to him just like he has none toward me.
What if I save his father and then he kills me or something? Besides, who is this guy who happens to have all this knowledge of LifeSuPods in the Old World? He’s hardly older than me.
Luc leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees. He takes a deep breath, opens his mouth to say something, then stops. After a moment’s deliberation, he decides to speak, and by now my ears are that much more attentive. Whatever he’s about to say, he’s torn about saying it. Which means I want to hear it.
“Listen, Cain.” His voice is low. Even Crixus shifts his weight to lean a little closer. “I’m not ashamed of what I’m about to tell you, but if it gets to the wrong ears, it can cause chaos. You’ve seen what chaos does to people in this place.”
Yes, I’ve seen. They cheer for death.
“My father . . . he’s the Draftsman. Hex Galilei is his name. He created Tenebra.”
My thoughts reel, but my body remains stone cold. Luc’s dad made this Nightmare? It’s not the Spores, then. He’s the cause of the virus. He infected the world and killed millions.
“Murderer,” I spit out before I catch myself.
Luc nods somberly. “Yes. He is. But the virus wasn’t the plan.”
I rise to my feet. “That’s no excuse! How can you ask me to save the man who has ripped life away from us all?”
“Because . . .” Luc’s voice hasn’t changed in tone or decibel. He’s every bit as serious and somber with each word. “My father has the cure.”
There’s a cure. A real cure.
Not created by me, not by Nole, but it exists. And it’s in the dying brain of the man who created the virus. How fitting. How ironic. Of course he’d be the one to have the cure. And I’d be the one asked to save his life.
“Your dad—Galilei—is the one to blame for Nole’s death. Not the Spores.” A swell of fury fills me, but Luc remains calm. Accepting of my anger.
“He’s responsible for this dreamscape we’re trapped in,” he acknowledges. “But the people here have their own free will. Spores choose to kill. Thousands of other people have managed to survive in here. My father is guilty of creating the setting, but not the actions of its inhabitants.”
I know he’s right, but that doesn’t slow my heart rate or breathing. My hands itch to throw something, crush something . . . or someone. I glance at Crixus, and he gives me a hard look. He takes a long deep inhale, and I find myself doing the same, expelling some of the overwhelming emotion.
I turn back to Luc. I don’t want to save his old man. I don’t want to help. But if it will bring the cure to the masses, I have to.
“Even if I did rescue your dad’s LifeSuPod, he’s still unconscious. He’s stuck in this Nightmare the same as we are. How would we get any information from him?”
“He’s in the Tunnel. I’m working on getting him out. But he has to stay alive, first.”
I force myself to consider the details of the offer: I’d get my own LifeSuPod, and we’d access the cure. Not a bad exchange . . . if Dear Old Dad truly will hand over the information we need.
“My truck bed can fit only one LifeSuPod. There wouldn’t be room for an empty one of my own.”
“The location you’ll take my father’s LifeSuPod to has an empty one plugged in, charged, and stocked with all the medical and caloric necessities to preserve your body for two Old World years. All you’d have to do is get in it.”
