Chapter 40
After setting up a tentative date and time for their next meeting with Ariella at The Oasis Diner, Joel and Bobby promised her never to talk to anyone else about anything discussed, and vowed only to speak about such secrets in their dorm room with their brand-new cloaking device enabled. As they were leaving the restaurant, the roommates bumped into a very large brown-skinned man wearing a baseball cap pulled down to hide his face. He took up nearly the entire width of the doorway, forcing the two competitors to shuffle sideways to get outside.
The two boys walked up Main Street, passing a row of shops, a gas station, and a church with a large fenced-in cemetery, until they made it to a long underground walkway that connected Eden to Meta-Eden. This tunnel was once closed off with both a holographic cloaking device and a physical barrier, but for the next year, it would be open for the residents of Eden so they could watch the trials at the Arena; challenge format allowing, of course.
“So, you fucking peeping Tom’d my nightmare, huh?” Bobby said out of the blue. “And just like in today’s trial, you failed to help in any way. Is that what I’m gathering from all this?” He sounded like he was teasing Joel, but his jibing had an edge.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I’m not sure why it happened last night, of all nights, yet not before. And I couldn’t do anything. I mean, it wasn’t like I was a ghost. I could touch things and move things. But the trajectory of the nightmare seemed locked. I couldn’t get you to notice me, and everything that happened overpowered anything I tried to do.”
“All I remember from the dream was drowning in cold dark waters.” Bobby shivered despite the warm summer air. “But, it's still pretty fuzzy. Next time you end up in my dream, try to wake me up please.”
“I mean, I did try last time! Any ideas on how I can do that aside from shaking you and yelling?”
“You could try using your powers..” Bobby suggested.
“Oh yeah, I forgot. I tried that, too. But it didn’t work. In Dreamland, I’m powerless. Or, at least, I felt like I was.” Joel remembered that feeling of inadequacy. “I’d also like to gain control over when I go dreamwalking. Mind helping me figure it out?”
“For my own sake, yes. We can start sometime this week.” Bobby paused to think for a few moments. “Did that story Ariella just told us freak you out, too? Cuz, I’m pretty sure we were just read in on something really huge. I mean, even ‘being read in on’ seems so ‘conspiracy theory’.”
“Yeah, I’m still processing,” Joel said. “When we met a couple months ago, I was completely shut down. I had a lot going on in my life. I had just dropped out of college, and my mom and dad weren’t doing great… still aren’t. So, I moved home to help out. But it wasn’t going well. The night Eclipse died, I went out for a walk after dinner and just didn’t stop walking. I must have accidentally crossed over into Meta-Eden without trying and ended up lost in this forest-like park.”
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Bobby cut Joel off. “Let’s not do this now - or here! I’m spent, and we should only discuss this stuff when we know there are no eavesdroppers.”
“Good point,” Joel agreed. “So, about the trial..”
“Let’s not talk about that either.” They emerged from the tunnel in a park across the street from The Herald’s youth center. Both stopped to stare at the giant complex. The Twelve Connected Towers rose out of the earth like mighty meta-made miracles, pierced through the center by The Spire: their new home. “Let’s sleep on all this so we have the brain power to figure it out later, okay?” Bobby was still a little bitter about Joel’s actions in The Healer Challenge, and wanted a good night’s sleep before tackling the issues in their partnership. “Try to stay out of my nightmares tonight. I’d like to drown in peace.”
As they made their way toward the elevator to head up to The Spire, they heard The Show’s voice coming from around the corner. Bobby pulled Joel behind a thick hedge.
“...and why do you think they reached out now?” The Show asked whoever he was talking to.
“Well, it would seem obvious at face value. My son would like me to make sure that his kids aren’t taken advantage of in your little game show stunt,” the loud, clear, familiar voice of Solomon answered.
“And so you should. Rest assured, I have made sure that the pool of competitors is of exceptional familial lineage should any of them win Eclipse's seat. How that boy slipped through, I’m still not sure. However, it seems highly unlikely that he will win. And there are always contingencies. In the meantime, I have Dorian and Twelve scouring the Culling’s rating algorithm for whatever loophole allowed him to slip through.”
“I am uninterested in your little mission, Flint. Just make sure our plans aren’t upset by this spectacle.” Solomon dismissively said. “I’m more concerned with my son and his wife directing their attention our way. They have an uncanny ability to disrupt my plans. Still, I am happy to have the opportunity to influence the twins..”
The voices became inaudible as the two Councilmembers made their way out of earshot.
“What. The. Fuck. Was-”
“Sssshhhh,” Bobby cut Joel off and pulled him toward the loading pad for The Spire’s invisible elevator. “Only in our room. The sun is almost up, and we need to sneak in before our dormmates wake up.”
“Yeah, but-”
“Joel. Not now. Let’s get home.”
Of all the revelations tonight, the fact that Bobby referred to The Spire as home was maybe the most shocking to the young Texan. No. Fuck that. Tonight had been wild. But Bobby needed to think and sleep. No peril they had uncovered was imminent, and he had plenty of time to figure out what path to forge through the coming chaos.