Something snapped inside of Tick. It was like a bunch of valves had been holding back the flow of Chi’karda inside him, and they all broke at once. The power almost burst out of him, but somehow he grabbed it at the last second, held it at bay. But he couldn’t keep the words from tumbling out.
“That’s enough!” he yelled. “I swear, if you two don’t stop acting like I’m not here, I’m going to let it all out, no matter what happens. It’s like a dam over here, and it’s about to break! Take these straps off of me. Now!”
His heart raced, and he could feel his limbs shaking, the blood rushing to his head and face. Heat ebbed along his skin, as if his pores were straining from exertion, the orange might of Chi’karda trying to burst through.
“Let me go!” he shouted.
He saw a flash of fear in Chu’s eyes before the man tried to hide it. Jane was no longer smiling. But neither one of them moved.
“Let me—”
He didn’t finish the sentence. A sudden jolt hit the room, shaking it so intensely and violently that all other thoughts vanished from Tick’s mind, as instant as the flip of a light switch. The overpowering surge of Chi’karda disappeared as well, making him feel empty and scared. The room slammed toward the side, then sprang back the next second. Chu and Jane both fell down, sprawling over each other in a tangle of arms, legs, and the folds of her yellow robe.
It all happened so fast, like a speed bump in time. The room had barely stabilized before it began to shake again, this time more steadily, growing in strength. Chu and Jane were scrambling to get to their feet, reaching out to hold on to Tick’s bed. Things fell off the shelves, rattled across the floor. Tick was helpless, holding on to the sheets as if they’d give him any protection—the straps held him down as firmly as ever.
And the Chi’karda really was gone. Completely. He even reached for it again, wanting to feel its power and comfort, but it was like something had blocked it within him. He couldn’t find a single trace.
He was looking at Chu when everything in the room went completely crazy. Walls started bubbling outward, and the floor looked as if it had turned into liquid, waves running through the tile without breaking them. The bed jumped up and slammed back down again, and Jane and Chu lost their balance, sprawling out on the rippling floor once more. The ceiling bulged in the middle, as if water were collecting there. None of it seemed physically possible.
And then the horrible sounds started.
Chapter 51
Holding Hands
Paul had never seen Master George move so fast.
The old man seemed to lose thirty years in age once he spotted the frightening and impossible sight of bodies falling from a long, blue rent in the air. He turned on his heels and bolted back through the balcony door, pulling everyone else along with him as best he could. They eventually all made it—struggling against the disorienting sights that continued to warp and bend all around them—Sofia and Paul at the tail end. The Realitants were still holding hands, helping each other as they took turns losing and regaining their balance.
“We must get down there straightaway,” George called over his shoulder as he headed for the hallway. “After a quick detour to grab my Barrier Wand, as we may have to get ourselves far from this place.”
Sofia stopped, and everyone looked back at her. “You guys go. I need to head to the operations center. I can feel . . . it. I can feel the Karma. I think if I can study Gretel’s notes—the whole team’s notes from that time—I can figure things out.”
“I’ll help you,” Paul added immediately. He felt it too. Even as Reality broke up all around him, he felt a power like electricity trickling through his veins.
Master George looked proud, shockingly not offering one ounce of protest. “Rutger,” he commanded. “Take them there at once. Give them access to everything. The others—with me.”
Paul’s heart leaped as Sofia grabbed the notes from the floor. They followed Rutger, fighting to keep their balance the whole way there.
Chu’s face was pale with terror.
Tick didn’t understand it. He’d thought the man was brave and ruthless, but now he looked like a toddler who’d lost his mommy at the shopping mall. He swayed on his feet as the entire room shook and wobbled, his eyes darting this way and that in a steady flare of panic. Jane was close to him but seemed much calmer as she mildly took a step when needed to keep herself from falling to the floor again.
And then there was Tick. Strapped to the bed, unable to even touch the slightest bit of his Chi’karda. The madness of everything seeming to have lost its solid structure was made ten times worse by the sounds of moaning and wailing that flew through the air. That, and the fact that Tick couldn’t do anything, not even run.
“You’ve gotta let me go!” he yelled at Chu, hoping to take advantage of the man’s obvious terror. “Something really bad is happening, and I can probably help stop it! Take these stupid things off of my body!”
“He’s right,” Jane said.