by C. C. Bolick
Chapter Fifteen
Travis
Chase teleported to one of the ships and returned with a pale face. I felt for him having to pretend to be Paleris. First the man took over his mind and now he had to act like an evil madman.
“I think I fooled them,” Chase said, his voice wavering. “I was able to hack into their systems at least. They won’t be able to destroy the gateway. Their ships will be stuck here unless we return.”
“Until we return.” Pade turned to Rena. “Ready to go?”
“Give us a minute,” I said. “Maybe two.”
Pade nodded. “You’ve got two. Kayden said don’t think of this as your last adventure together, but the first of many more to come.” He turned to Chase and put a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll get through this and so will she.” When Chase nodded, they both teleported out of the room.
“He’s right,” Rena said. “She’s tough like me, and I know she’ll survive.”
The way Rena had forgiven everyone who had a hand in taking her life would never cease to amaze me.
Rena wrapped her arm in mine as if we’d done this a thousand times. The movement was simple and showed anyone watching how much she loved me.
Beside us, Angel said, “Haven’t you spent enough time together? Get out there and save the world.”
“I guess if this goes sideways, we’ll find out if you really can die,” I said.
Angel put her arms around me and hugged me tight. “If it’s meant to be, we’ll face it together.”
“Are you scared?” I asked.
She stepped back and wiped her eyes. “Not really. I would like to know if it’s possible, but not by destroying everyone I care about.”
“Rena,” Alfie shouted as he ran toward us. He circled his arms around Rena’s waist. “I heard you get to fly again. This time to another planet.”
She rubbed his back. “You’ll get to go one day. I promise.”
He pulled away. “You better take me.”
“You’re not worried about us saving the world today?”
“Nah,” Alfie said. “That’s your job and you’re really good at it.”
Rena chuckled and shot me a grin. “Glad someone thinks so.”
“Let Rena go,” Agent Mason said as he and her mom approached. “It’s time.”
Rena’s mom pulled Alfie into a hug. “Goodbye for now, Alfred. I’ll miss you.”
“You’re coming back,” Alfie insisted, his voice full of emotion. He turned to me as he tried to hide his tears. “Will you bring me back something from the other planet?”
I ruffled his hair. “What do you want?”
“Don’t ask that question,” Mason said as Van walked up with Agent Dallas. She was dressed in a camo outfit, not the normal black agent suit.
“You’re going too?” I asked her. “Where’s the agent suit?”
“Van asked me to be his co-pilot,” she said with excitement. “Since this could be a suicide mission, I decided to wear what I always did on my pilot-for-hire jobs before the agency. It’s comfortable and well… I might never have the need to wear black again.”
“I told her this could be a suicide mission,” Van said. “Everyone is prepared to die if necessary.”
“But I hope it’s not necessary,” Agent Dallas said. “I told him I’ve been on my share of suicide missions. I’d rather be out there than down here.” She smiled. “If I can say I’ve flown to another planet, I can die happy.”
Rena laughed. “Let’s hope you die happy another day.”
* * * * *
Rena
I waited until the last moment to leave while hoping Erin would show up to say goodbye.
After Mama and Travis’s dad left for Van’s ship, she arrived at the op-center. Dad had insisted on going even though there wasn’t anything he could do but watch us try to stop the star’s collapse. He said he wanted to be there at Mama’s side. I understood how he felt.
“Good luck,” Erin said.
I pulled her into a hug. “I’ll take every bit of luck I can get. The queen seemed sure we would be successful, but I can’t help having doubts. We’re going to fly across the galaxy.”
“It can’t be much worse than flying to the sun.”
“Maybe one day you can try it yourself.”
She smiled. “Maybe one day. I’ll let you get going.”
Although I knew my time was running short, I hated to watch her walk away.
“She was a good director, no matter what anyone says.”
With surprise, I turned to Sylvia. “Why did you give her the job?”
“I needed to get out of the office and get the heat off of us, mainly from the senator. I also wanted to prove she could handle anything she set her mind to. This job isn’t easy.”
“I think she was a great director. Did anyone get mad that you gave her the job?”
Sylvia chuckled. “The people who claim they want the job of director either have no personal life or lack the emotional investment this job requires.”
“I’m glad you found a way to keep her here.”
“I knew you could use her help. The moment I saw Erin walk through that conference room door and the shock on Tyler’s face, I knew I had to do anything possible to make her stay.”
“I think they made up.”
“Erin understands hard work and dedication. She’s lived her life for that hospital and people like her are rare. I see a lot of myself in her, but I don’t want her to waste her life away and not realize she can have a career and family. She can have happiness. She can have it all.”
I smiled as I thought of Travis. “You’re right; she can.”
“My biggest reason was you.”
My smiled died. “Me?”
“Erin was a doctor who easily accepted what happened to your mother. She already knew powers existed coming into this, and I felt she had a better chance of reaching you than anyone else. She defied my orders to help you. This planet may have needed you to save it, but you needed Erin.”
* * * * *
The inside of the ship reminded me of Van’s ship on our trip to the sun. Travis sat by my side. Chase was at the controls with Pade by his side. Neither spoke much as we approached what they called the gateway. Surrounded by black glass on all sides, even beneath my feet, I saw an image of space outside of the ship. Stars, planets, and a huge black expanse.
At the gateway, Travis warned me of how passing through could make a person sick. Colors appeared on the screen at the front of this ship, colors like the rainbow I saw whenever I called the neutrons to stop a bomb.
Pade explained how Rachelle’s body would die during this trip. Her heart would stop beating. As if I was afraid of dying.
“The gateway will consume the ship’s power,” Chase said. “All life systems will stop, but your heart will restart with a jolt after we pass through.”
Travis reached around my arm and laced his fingers through mine. “I think I’d like to take a nap on this trip. A few minutes are all I need.”
I grinned as happiness welled inside of me. “We’ll have plenty of time.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Travis’s voice turned serious. “Ready?”
I thought back over the life we’d shared. “Yes.”
As we entered the gateway, I felt Travis’s hand go limp. I could no longer move, but I didn’t lose consciousness like everyone else. The screen no longer showed bright reds, yellows, and blues. Instead only an empty blackness.
While everyone else seemed to lose consciousness, I floated in the dark for ninety-two seconds until a jolt brought them back. Travis gripped my hand while grabbing his stomach with the other. Would he get sick?
On the screen was a blue planet with two suns, one to either side. It felt as if someone had turned off a switch and then turned it back on.
“You didn’t get sick?” Travis asked.
I shook my head. “I was awake the entire time.”
Pade turned around fro
m his seat at the controls panel. “How is that possible?”
“I’m not sure,” Chase said. “Maybe it’s because she’s already dead. Can you describe the inside of the gateway? No one has ever been awake to see it.”
“Total blackness,” I said.
Travis stared at the screen. “Which sun will it be?”
“The one to the right,” Pade said.
A memory of my last visit to space flashed through my head. This would be different. I’d actually be hovering in space like when Mama took me to the sun.
Before us, the fleet of ships made a formation that stretched across the screen. Van’s ship pulled ahead and we followed.
Travis turned to me. “I guess it’s time for you to go, Miss Science. If you can explain all of this with one of your books, I’d like to hear it.” He took both of my hands. “We’ve had a crazy ride and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. I couldn’t think of a better way to live my life than with you.”
“Don’t count me out just yet.” I wrapped my arms around him and leaned in. “I’m glad I got to share all of this with you.”
A flash of light appeared on the screen. “I guess Mama is ready. I don’t think she likes when I keep her waiting.”
He released me and I laid across the seat, placing my head in his lap. I closed my eyes and pictured myself outside of the ship. The last thing I felt was his gloved hand on my cheek.
* * * * *
Travis
Rachelle’s body went limp in my arms, her hand falling almost to the floor. I lifted her hand and laid it over her chest. She looked peaceful as I stood and knelt beside her. Would Rachelle ever wake up from this nightmare? Even though I’d finally grown accustomed to seeing Rena in those dark eyes, I wanted Rachelle to come back. She deserved a chance to live.
On the screen, a second flash of light joined the first. The two lights headed toward the sun on the right.
“If this works,” Chase said, “it means all of my calculations were wrong. If she can handle this much power, it will be truly amazing.”
“There’s nothing wrong with you making a mistake every once in a while,” Pade said.
Chase shrugged. “I guess statistically speaking, it should happen eventually.”
“She can handle the power,” I said. “She absorbed the power from a nuclear bomb and stopped solar flares on the surface of our sun.”
Pade looked back at me. “If you can see the future and you still have hope, that improves our chances.”
“It’s not only a question if she can handle the power,” Chase said. “Even if she can’t stop the sun from collapsing, Golvern can survive with only one sun like Earth. The key is dissipation of power. The sun doesn’t just collapse. All that power has to go somewhere.”
“Out into space?” Pade asked.
As Chase stared at the screen, his face lit with an idea. “She should dump some of the power into the gateway, but not all of it. Like I said before, power is about balance. If the gateway can absorb the energy from our ship, maybe it can absorb enough of the energy from the sun while Rena and her mother try to balance the collapse with their power.”
Was it worth a shot? Something about her dumping energy into the gateway didn’t feel right. The vision from Van’s future replayed. If we were worried this tidal wave of energy would destroy Earth, why send it in Earth’s direction? Maybe this could be the cause of the destruction instead of the solution.
“I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m here.” As I removed my glove and touched Rachelle’s arm, a vision of the future sent me stumbling back.
* * * * *
Rena
I listened for Travis’s voice but heard nothing. “I don’t understand. Why can’t I hear Travis?”
Mama flew toward the sun and held out her arms, reaching with her power to surround the flaming surface. “Can you feel the field change?”
“Yes, but I can’t hear Travis.”
“I can’t hear Noah, either. I was never sure this part of their plan would work. It didn’t make sense that they needed to call out the future when time moves differently for us. We’ll stop the destruction without their input.”
“But the queen said—”
“Help me.”
I raised my arms and tried to reach around the sun with my power. The light warmed my skin.
The field changed with an intensity that caused me to suck in my breath, if I could breathe. I slowed time and called to the neutrons. The weight of raw power crushed against me, threatening to shove me back. I couldn’t give in this early. “There had to be a reason for Travis to be here.”
“Travis wanted to be here at your side.”
“That’s not the same. The queen gave him a mission. She said he’d need to read my future.”
“We don’t have time,” Mama said.
“We’ve got control of time.” I fought the rising wave of energy. Even with my power to slow time, the power was rising too fast. The colors changed around me, every color of the rainbow. I called the neutrons and tried to calm the sun like we had during the solar flares.
“It’s not working.” Mama flew to the other side of the sun. She reached her power around to meet mine. Her plan was to work together to contain the explosion.
I shoved every bit of energy I could find at the sun, at her.
A flash of light blinded me and the world went dark.
* * * * *
Travis
As I gripped the edge of the seat to keep from falling, the ship began to vibrate, sending me crashing on my side.
“The first wave is about to blow,” Chase shouted. “If we survive, this will be a bumpy ride.”
The shock of what I’d seen in the future stunned me. The wave headed for us and the ship started to break apart. Rena shifted her power to save us. With her split focus, she wasn’t able to stop the first wave and help her mother maintain control. She’d underestimated the power levels and realized too late.
‘A miscalculation based on inexperience,’ the queen said. Again, I felt the guilt from her words, though she never said who made the miscalculation. What if it wasn’t my miscalculation but Rena’s? The queen had also said, ‘When in doubt, trust yourself.’
After moving to regain control, Rena used up every bit of her energy in her desperate rush to stop the collapse. Her light had faded out completely.
There wasn’t time to explain. “Move the ship away from here. Head for the gateway and get everyone to follow. Now.”
Without argument, Chase hit the controls and sent us backward toward the gateway. The view of the sun shrank on the screen as we moved away. Rena’s light became a small speck and then I could no longer see her.
Now she wouldn’t have us to worry about.
* * * * *
Rena
Somewhere I floated in darkness before light began to filter in.
Mama’s light had faded under the weight of the sun’s energy; her remaining pulse was my beacon from the pitch-black. I searched the area where the ship with Travis had waited, but it was gone. All of the ships had moved away. “Let me help.”
“You stopped the initial wave,” she said in a voice filled with pride. “Now the rest is up to me. Take care of your brother.”
“You know I always will, but this isn’t it.”
“What if we can stabilize the sun? Instead of simply dissipating the energy, what if we save it?”
“Save the sun, save everyone?”
“It’s worth a try.” She sped toward the sun as I felt the energy level collapse on itself. Mama held out her hands and shoved her power at the sun. The field flickered as she dumped her power, but it wasn’t enough.
Of course it wasn’t enough. The plan had always been for us to work together.
I called the neutrons and sent another wave of power toward the sun. Maybe I’d absorb the sun’s power like I had when the ships fired at Earth. I’d just need a place to dump the power far from here.
“S
top,” I yelled at Mama.
“It’s the only way,” she said. “A strong enough blast from inside will stabilize the field. I just need you to hold back the surge of power until I’m in there.”
Blast from inside… she planned to fly into the sun? “No,” I yelled.
“Noah told me it’s the only way.”
This was the secret she’d been hiding, what Van warned me about. “How long have you known?”
“Long enough.” For a brief second, I felt her power encircle me as if she’d pulled me into a hug. “It’s counterintuitive, but many things about us are. I love you, Regina.”
Our time was finally gone. The light around me brightened until it forced me to close my eyes. I felt the power shift as she approached the sun’s core. Another explosion began from inside the sun. Her energy released and the collapsing field was energized.
Neutrons moved in opposing directions. Bright colors sprang up all around me. I didn’t have to see to know she was becoming the sun. From inside, she stabilized the field and quieted the raw power that had threatened to destroy everything in its path.
“It should be both of us,” I said.
Instead of an answer, the sun pulsed one last time. As the field returned to normal energy levels, I felt my loss along with our win.
Because of her, I’d never have to fear the darkness again.
Epilogue
Travis
From the balcony, the city stretched as far as I could see. On the horizon, two suns usually rose against a blue sky at this time. Today, dark clouds threatened to rain out the ceremony.
Below, people crowded into the area beneath the palace. They held kids on their shoulders and waved flags as they waited for the show to begin.
Standing with my hands crossed in front of me, I wore a dark green uniform. Not the standard uniform, but a fancy version that was not something I’d ever wear on Earth. Next to me stood Tyler in the same uniform. It was my first official duty as a member of the queen’s guard.