Reckoning by Heidi Lang & Kati Bartkowski

Author:Heidi Lang & Kati Bartkowski
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published: 2022-09-06T00:00:00+00:00

17. RAE

Rae knew she had a habit of jumping first and asking questions later. Caden had been on her about it ever since she’d met him and convinced him to break into her therapist’s house. But when she was scared—like right now—forcing herself to rush in was the only way to make sure she wouldn’t chicken out. With every instinct screaming at her to turn and run, she had no choice but to stride right through the rift as soon as it opened.

Her last thought was of Ava; if the Other Place didn’t kill her, her sister might when she got back. She was going to be so mad that Rae had once again leaped into a dangerous situation, and without telling her first. Then Rae was through the rift.

Immediately, the glow of the Other Place surrounded her, that eerie yellowish green that reminded her of an old bruise, all of it flickering just enough to give her an instant headache. Still, despite the dread filling her stomach, she had to admit she was secretly a little excited. Being in this place was like stepping foot on an alien planet. She would get to see things that almost no one else would. Was this how Neil Armstrong had felt when he’d said his famous line, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”?

Rae had the sudden urge to jump up and down and test that gravity worked the same way in this new dimension. It just felt so… other. The sun hung lower to the ground here but gave off less light, like she were seeing its rays filtered through murky water. It made it hard to judge distances, the horizon a blur of shadows that all seemed to blend together. Only the objects immediately in front of her were in focus: a column of spiky rocks that twisted up into the sky like the body of some great serpent; small, jagged bushes covered in thorns as long as her hand; and several weird tentacled plants, their long arms waving languidly despite the complete lack of breeze, the air pressing hot and heavy even through her suit.

Rae turned. Vivienne stood close behind her, her face impossible to read behind the gleam of her helmet, and Doctor Nguyen’s warning flashed through Rae’s head. “Vivi?” Rae said.

“I can’t believe this is real,” Vivienne said, her voice distorted slightly by the speaker in Rae’s helmet but still undeniably hers.

Rae relaxed. Vivienne was still herself. At least for now. “It feels like we just stepped inside a dream,” Rae said.

“Or a nightmare,” Vivienne answered, studying the tentacles that drifted overhead as Aiden stumbled out of the rift next to them, followed by Caden, his face pale inside his helmet. The rift stretched out behind him in one jagged line that extended all the way up into the atmosphere like a literal tear in the fabric of reality. It was barely wider than he was, but through it she could see the walls of the Green On! lab illuminated by the crisp white of the neon lights.

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