Etherworld by Claudia Gabel Read Free Book Online

excitement fades when I think of the other kids. How the hell will they get past security at company headquarters? It’s looking like I’m the only one who can reveal the truth, and from the concern clouding my father’s gray eyes, it seems he realizes the same thing.
    â€œI’ll do whatever it takes,” I say.
    â€œI know you will,” he says. “But you shouldn’t disconnect me or anyone else from their Equip if we can’t be revived with the emergency button on our wristbands. We’ll need to stay hooked up until Elusion is destroyed.”
    â€œBecause of the trypnosis exposure?”
    â€œYes,” my dad replies. “The levels of cortisol in the brain will be too high, especially in the people who’ve been under trypnosis the longest. The cortisol levels will decrease once the program is disabled, but pulling off the Equip while the mind is still engaged could send the user into shock.”
    I squeeze his hand lightly, wondering if I should say what I’m about to, given how hard everyone took the news about Anthony. But I find myself going ahead anyway. “Everyone has been asking us about what’s happening in the real world. They wanted to know if they were still missing and how long they’d been gone. But not you.” I swallow and ask, “Why?”
    â€œBecause . . .” Another one of his long, thoughtful pauses takes the air out of the room. And then he shrugs and says, “It’s out of my control.”

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
    HarperCollins Publishers
    ..................................................................
FOUR
    MY DAD LEADS OUR SMALL POSSE THROUGH an acrylic tunnel laced with little blue and green lights, all of us bathed in a turquoise glow. I know we’re getting close to the opening, because the curved walls that surround us are getting bigger and we no longer need to crawl. Still, it seems like we’ve been winding our way through this narrow tube much longer than it took Josh and me to arrive in Etherworld.
    â€œHow do we know we’re not walking in circles?” Nora asks.
    â€œMy dad designed this,” I say, a little more sharply than I intended. “If anyone knows where we’re going, he does.”
    â€œRelax. I think your dad is capable of answering questions himself,” Claire says.
    Nora casts her eyes down toward her feet. Oh God, I think I’ve hurt her feelings. The last thing I need right now is a rift with my boyfriend’s sister, but after seeing how upset my dad is about everything, I’m feeling protective of him.
    I don’t want him to think we don’t trust him.
    My dad halts suddenly, looking at the side panels of the tunnel. He presses some of the electric blue squares and a door appears, revealing a steep set of steps leading to the floor below. We follow him down into what feels like a large closet with the same acrylic walls and lights as the tunnel. I recognize it as the entrance to the portal, the room that welcomed Josh and me when we broke through the firewall. We shuffle inside, crouching shoulder to shoulder.
    â€œIf any of you are having second thoughts,” my dad says, “it’s not too late to turn back.”
    We gaze at one another through the eerie turquoise light, but we all keep silent, waiting for my dad’s next instruction.
    â€œRemember, this is the White-Water Rapids Escape. The trigger was a rock near the firewall, three miles directly north of where we are entering.”
    â€œWas?” I ask.
    â€œIn order to keep them hidden from the programmers, I created triggers that would adapt to their environment. So even though I designed this one as a rock, it’s mutated into the Escape by now. It will remain distinctive in some form, but it might be difficult to detect.”
    â€œLet’s do this!” Claire says, pumping her fist.
    I laugh under my breath, thinking how this girl I