The lights flicker back on in the facility and I blink from the sudden, sharp brightness. Once my eyes adjust, that's when I see it.
At the entrance of the technician's lab, a hand lies on the floor, a trickle of dark liquid seeping out from beneath it. I hold my breath and creep down the hall. As I turn the corner, I discover the body attached to the hand. I scream again, backpedaling from horror until my back smashes against the wall. It's Craig, our lab tech. Blood has pooled up beneath him and stained his white lab coat black.
A ringing vibrates in my ears, and I start to sob.
"What is it?" Javier runs to me. When his eyes land on Craig, he gasps.
My gaze is drawn across the office to find Cheryl, slumped on the digital board, lifeless. Sun rushes to join us only to clamp her hands over her mouth.
"Oh, god." Tears stream down her cheeks. The ringing in my ears drowns out all other sounds. I stand there, immobile, as Javier checks both of the lab technician's pulses.
A flicker of light under the workstation catches my eye. With shaking fingers, I pick up the object. The Eye of God swirls before me, a universe of stars and light.
"Dad's watch," I choke.
Mom had given it to him as a gift when he won the Neuroscience Research Prize. The metal chain wristband is shattered, but the actual watch face still tells time, and the stars continue to swirl in an endless circle. Numbly, I hug it to my chest.
The room swims as if I've just entered a Dreamscape and a deep fear pools into my stomach. I pocket the watch and stalk back to where the man who is responsible for all of this lies passed out.
"Why did you do this?" I scream at him and then kick him in the side. He doesn't move. "Where's my dad? What have you done with my father?"
Javier follows me, and with a set face, he methodically works through the man's pockets and even his shoes while Tony comes to my side, wrapping his arm around me in silence.
"No phone," Javier says. "No ID. No way for us to trace him. Unless—"
He lets his voice trail off and stares up at me, eyes granite hard. My dread has hardened into stone, lodging itself against my chest.
"This man knows what happened to my father." My words are thick and angry. "Once the police are here, we won't get our chance. So the answer is yes."
He nods grimly. "It's the fastest way. The best way."
"What are you two talking about?" Tony asks. "You're making me nervous."
"Pick him up by the shoulders, Tony," Javier commands. "I'll take his legs."
Tony doesn't budge. "Why?"
"Because we're going to find my dad," I snap. "First we investigate our way. Then we'll call the police."
"The police will know we moved the guy," Tony says. "They can figure out all kinds of stuff. And what if he wakes up and tries to kill us?"
"Pick the damn body up!" Javier says. "We'll make up some kind of lie."
When Tony doesn't move, I slip on the gloves and grab the man's legs while Javier hauls him by his shoulders. We stagger down the hall to the sleeping lab.
"The surveillance is down. I just checked," Sun announces, coming into the room. "This was a well-planned operation. What are you two doing?"
"Put him in the test sleep pod," I order.
"What are you doing?" Sun says, louder.
"Something bad." Tony follows us like a lost puppy.
"No," I say. "He's the one who did something bad. We're making the wrong right."
"I don't like this," Sun says.
"Prep the Dreamscape," Javier orders Sun as we drop the guy into the pod. "I'll hook him up."
"You're not serious." Sun gapes at us. "He's a criminal. An assassin. Can you imagine what's inside his mind?"
"Listen," Javier says. "When I was in high school, I got myself into a whole lot of trouble. I had no one to help me. Dr. Hale volunteered at my school as a mentor. And it's because of him I graduated high school and even college. So I owe him everything. And every second the criminals have, the further Dr. Hale gets from us. We can't waste another second."
"He's right." I rummage about until I find Temazepam, a sedative that will keep the guy sleeping for a while. We usually only rely on the Sound Oasis to put us to sleep, but today I'm not about to take any risks.
I prep the syringe, desperate to keep my hands steady. I've never actually done anything like this, but whatever. I've watched Debbie do this maybe twice. Okay, once. But as long as this creep doesn't die on us before we've finished, I'm good with the consequences.
I march over to the man. He's shifting on the table. His hand lifts to the growing knot on his head and he groans. I yank back his sleeve, but my hand freezes as I hold the syringe just above his vein. If I were in the Dreamscape, I'd just plunge this into his veins, no hesitation. But this isn't a dream. It's real. Too real.
"Do you want me to do it?" Javier asks.
"No." I suck in a deep breath and plunge the contents of the syringe into his vein, hoping my aim was good. His eyes start to crack open, but Tony throws a towel over his face.
"Can't have him seeing you," Tony explains. "Just in case."
The man's body falls limp again.
"Guess I better add injections to my resume." Then I stare at Tony. "If our friendship ever meant anything to you before, you'll help me. Please tell me you're in."
The Adam's apple in his throat bobs. He lifts his chin slightly and his dark eyes stare into mine. "I've got your back."
Meanwhile, Javier straps the sleep mask over the creepy man's eyes. Sun comes over with a laptop with the Dreamscape program opened on the screen.
"What's this?" I ask.
"Your dad put a new portable prototype on this laptop. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles and can't record the session like the main system, but it's exactly what we need. If we do it on the main system, everyone will know what we did."
"They're going to find out either way," Tony says as Sun clips a wire from the passed-out man's sleep mask to the laptop.
"Then let's hope we find out where my dad is and why this guy was here."
Sun's fingers fly over the keyboard as she types in the program's sequence. "Okay. He's in."
"You stay behind," Javier tells Sun. "Monitor the Dreamscape, okay?"
She nods, but her face twists like she tasted something bitter. "This is completely illegal, you know. We don't have a signed release. We could totally lose our licenses for this."
This makes me hesitate. What am I doing? I fiddle with my sleep mask. This is my dad and I'm totally okay with doing whatever I can to find him. But my friends don't have to do this. "Sun is right. This is not your problem. It's mine and my family's. I can't have you risking your careers to help me. You should leave. Just give me an hour before you call the cops."
"Too late for that, Air Girl." Tony huffs as he climbs into his pod. "This whole thing is stupid. But you are right. If this was my mom, you'd do this for me. You are family. If you go down, I go down."
My throat is dry. "Thanks, Tony."
"It goes the other way around though, too." He points a finger at me as the top lowers over him. "I go down, you go down."
"I'm good with that," I say.
"Trust me, hermanita. I'm not sitting by and letting this criminal get away with this." Javier hops into his pod and pushes the button to bring the top down.
My mind whirls as the sleep pod lowers over me. What will we find once we enter this assassin's mind?