Paranormal Misdirection

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

I come to my senses in the hub and back away from the yellow gate, my heart hammering frantically.

That was awful. Beyond awful.

Suppressing the urge to vomit from remembered agony, I turn and start walking back through the labyrinthian corridors.

Thank goodness for my instincts and Dr. Hekima’s Orientation lessons. If it weren’t for his dire warnings about the dangers of the Otherlands, I might not have had the foresight to have this vision.

Walking briskly, I ponder the implications of it, the key one being how I’m going to get to my father given this new information.

Maybe I need to get myself a Hazmat suit? Will that help me survive whatever killed me in that vision?

I guess I can buy one, then approach the gate and have another vision to find out.

But what if there’s radiation, and I end up dying from cancer a few months or years later?

At least I have some savings to invest in this venture—Nero recently awarded me a hundred grand for punching him in the face.

Speaking of Nero, should I bring him into this?

I dodged his guard because I didn’t think he’d help, but maybe I can get his help without his willing participation? After all, he has the map. Maybe he knows how to get to my father’s world through the path depicted on it. At the very least, he could tell me if the Hazmat suit idea is doomed.

Or maybe he would help me?

Sure.

Nero helping me.

Right after someone sells me the Brooklyn Bridge.

Still, it’s worth a try.

Exiting the secret section of the airport, I get a taxi to Nero’s office.

“Wait for me,” I say to the driver when we arrive.

He agrees, and I step out of the car and stare up at Nero’s building.

I’m about to implement the same strategy as I did at my building and the yellow gate.

Step one: decide to go talk to Nero. Step two: see a vision of how that would go.

“I’m going to talk to Nero about the map,” I tell myself determinedly, over and over. When I feel convinced that I’m indeed about to go face my boss, I take in a calming breath and focus on getting into Headspace instead.

Once there, I reach out to the closest shape.

Nero’s blue-gray eyes widen when he spots me.

“Here on your day off?” he says. “That’s a first.”

“Yes, and I also managed to sneak by your Thalia replacement,” I say instead of a hello. “But don’t kill him,” I add hastily. “I’m just that sneaky.”

He stands up and stalks toward me, his expression grim.

“Don’t blame Felix for allowing me to leave, either,” I say nervously. “He relayed your wish for me to take it easy, but something urgent came up and I had to come see you in person.”

“Oh?” Nero stops and lifts an eyebrow.

“I’m here to talk about this,” I say and show him an image on my phone. “The map that leads to my biological father.”