Uncle Jed's face turned ashen as he took a step back, his voice strained.
"Are you and Dot…?"
Ethan nodded grimly. "I'm afraid so. What exactly are they?"
"Sandworm eggs…"
"Contagious?" Ethan asked, seeing the dread in Jed's eyes.
"Mmm…"
Uncle Jed nodded again.
"Stop with the mmms! How do we get them out?" Ethan's voice rose with urgency. The system had already warned him about lethal microorganisms.
His own death wasn't really the problem; at worst, the mission would fail and he'd be teleported out. But Dot was a living, breathing child.
Ethan no longer felt the way he had when he first arrived. He understood now—this was a real world. He still didn't grasp how Ethereal could transport him to different places, but he couldn't just stand by while a little girl's life was at risk. Besides, Dot was so small and innocent, barely five years old, and she'd just lost her father.
Uncle Jed shook his head, pale as chalk.
Ethan froze at his response. Was this another dead end?
