World's End by Jake Halpern Read Free Book Online Page A

not? Is this some sorta teenage rebellion?"
    "Nothing like that," replied Alfonso. He paused. "I can't quite believe this, but my dad, Leif, may be alive."
    "What!" declared Bilblox incredulously. "Whaddya mean? Where is he?"
    "Not sure exactly," said Alfonso. "But I think I know who could help us."
    "Who?"
    "Josephus."
    "Josephus!" said Bilblox with a snort. "The old Dormian historian? He's back in Somnos. You can't just pick up the telephone and call him. You'd have to trek through the Urals and ... Wait a minute. Are you suggestin' that we ... No, no way, that's out of the question."
    "Look," said Alfonso calmly. "My dad may still be alive, but if he is, I think he's in trouble."
    Bilblox stared intently at Alfonso. Snej walked onboard to announce that the Rolls-Royce was hidden and the Twin Otter was ready for takeoff.
    "Let's get outta here," Bilblox commanded.
    "Very well, sir," replied Snej. "And may I assume the destination is World's End, Minnesota?"
    "Just head north," Bilblox growled. "We'll make a decision after I hear what this boy—sorry, teenager—has to say."
    The Twin Otter's engines revved up to maximum as Snej settled into the pilot's seat. Soon, the plane took off in a steep ascent out of the desert canyon. Snej set a course due north across the Mediterranean. Meanwhile, Alfonso told Bilblox the whole story, starting in Paris and continuing through the fight with the taxi driver and the discovery that his father was a Great Sleeper.
    When Alfonso finished talking, Bilblox sat there in silence. Finally, he spoke. "I remember Leif from the few years that he and your uncle were livin' in Fort Krasnik with me and the other longshoremen," said Bilblox. "He was a few years older than me, but ya could tell he was meant for somethin' special. The way he used to play ballast! Man! I never saw anyone move so quick in my life. A real nice guy he was, too." Bilblox's hand traced the contours of the glass of lemonade and after a moment's pause, he continued.
    "But you've gotta realize," said Bilblox, "what yer talkin' about is no small thing. You could be searchin' fer years fer yer old man and, meanwhile, ya got a mom at home who is worried sick about her boy."
    "I just want to stop by Somnos," said Alfonso. "That's all."
    "That ain't so easy last time I checked," said Bilblox with a snort. "First off, it's winter in the Urals right now and we can't just land anywhere we choose! And even if we found our way back to the entrance, how d'ya suppose we'd get through the mountain gates? They'll never open if we don't have a Dormian bloom with us. And then supposin' we did get in and found a clue in Somnos about where Leif had gone off to, we'd be trampin' around the Urals tryin' to find a needle in a haystack."
    Bilblox looked sorrowfully at Alfonso.
    "I ain't tryin' to be insensitive here," said Bilblox. "But ya ain't a kid anymore—ya got to think about these things. I mean, let's be honest here, ya really think yer old man is still alive? I mean, I wish to God that he was, but what are the chances?"
    "All I know is that I was led to that crypt for a reason," insisted Alfonso. "You remember how it was on the way to Somnos the first time. Everything I did, from raising falcons to growing the Dormian bloom itself, had a reason. It was my sleeping-self preparing me for something. And now it's the same thing. All the things I've been up to—from meeting the Wanderer in Paris to diving into the water in front of the Three Sphinxes—there's something important going on here."
    "It doesn't make sense, though," said Bilblox. "Suppose that yer old man is a Great Sleeper, where was he headed? You saved Somnos and that's the only Dormian city left. What was yer dad up to? Where was he headed?"
    "I don't know," said Alfonso. "That's why we have to talk with Josephus."
    Bilblox sighed heavily.
    Neither of them spoke for a while and the only sound in the airplane was the drone of the Otter's engines. Bilblox found