by Matt Ryan
“I can bring them back,” Joey offered.
“If you even think of doing that, I will bust your kneecaps,” Poly said.
Hank blinked hard and focused on Joey once again. It was weird seeing him alive. His best friend . . . back from the dead. He couldn’t wait to have some time with him, to tell him everything that’d happened while he was gone.
“We’re risking everything if I go and look for them.” Evelyn sighed.
“Please,” Cindy pleaded. “If I could do what you do, I’d go after them myself.”
Evelyn clenched her teeth. “Fine. I hope they are worth the risk.”
“Thank you,” Cindy and Hank said in unison.
Gladius pushed Hank back to the edge of the circle and glanced at the group. “What are we doing?” she whispered.
“With what?” He watched as Evelyn blinked away.
She slapped his shoulder. “Where the heck are we going to be when those stones come down?”
“Oh, I didn’t. . . .” He stopped from saying he didn’t think they would go anywhere but Earth, but then he caught Travis staring at them. He knew exactly what that man would want. He would want his daughter and hopefully, one day, his grandkids on his planet.
“This could be our chance to get away from all of this,” Gladius said. “You know this won’t be the end of things. Just look at Evelyn and especially Will, and. . . .” she hesitated.
“And Cindy,” Hank finished.
She bit her lip. “Yes, Cindy as well. You think this world is a better place than Vanar?”
“No, I don’t. And I can’t ask you to lose your family,” Hank said. “But I also can’t ask you to leave me here. I can’t live without you . . . so if you need to go to Vanar, I’m with you. But Cindy comes too. Her family as well.”
“You’re serious?” Gladius asked.
He felt sick to his stomach, but knew what his answer would be. “Yes. I don’t want to wake up without you; I also don’t want you feeling regret about where we are. I want you to be happy.”
“And what about your happiness?”
Hank glanced at his dad and his friends. They had already proclaimed to be staying on Earth. As much as it hurt to leave them, he’d do what he had to, to make sure Gladius was happy. “I’m with you, wherever you may go.”
Gladius hugged him and Hank had a feeling they were going back to Vanar. He wasn’t going to have that conversation with Joey. The idea of not having them in his life seemed as implausible as leaving Gladius, but there it was. There would be no possible way to ever see his friends and family again.
Hank and Gladius walked back to the group, already in conversation.
Julie nodded and said, “We’re staying in Preston.” She held Will’s hand.
“I have my best friend back,” Lucas said, wrapping his arm around Joey. “You couldn’t tear me away from looking at this beautiful face.” He pinched Joey’s cheek.
“And you have a family here. . . .” Julie supplied.
“Yeah, of course . . . but dude, just look at Joey. He is real. How the freak is that possible?” Lucas said. “And hell yeah, we’re staying on our planet. Can you just imagine all the looting we can do right now?”
“You’re an idiot,” Julie said.
POLY THOUGHT SHE KNEW THE answer, but had to ask. “Travis, where are you going?”
“I have to go back to Vanar. That world needs me as much as this world needs you.” He stepped closer. “It’s going to break my heart to never be able to see you again. I thought with Joey gone, we’d form a tighter connection, but I wanted to be patient for you. I figured we’d have all the time in the world to find each other, but like many things in my life, I was a fool.”
“You aren’t a fool.”
“I am,” Travis chuckled and hugged her. He kissed her on the corner of her mouth and then stepped back and whispered, “You have your man back with you now. You tend to him. Love him with that amazing heart of yours, and I will cherish the brief time I got to spend in your light.”
Poly felt the tears building again. She couldn’t believe she was losing another man in her life. “I don’t know what to say. I feel like we never had a real chance at getting to know each other.”
“I think it’s for the best this way,” Travis said and hugged her again. He pushed her back. “You’ll have a scar to remember me by.”
“I’m still holding you to our deal about Harris.”
“I think we’ll be fine.”
“I’m going to miss you, Travis.” She hugged him again and then let go, rushing back to Joey’s side. Harris was deep in conversation with him when she approached.
“I will miss you all,” Travis said to the group. “If it wasn’t for you guys, I’d still be a playboy, running around the streets of Sanct. Now, I have a world to look after.” He faced Harris. “What do you say, Harris?”
Harris kept his hand on Joey’s shoulder. “I’m thinking maybe Vanar would be better without me.”
“The fact you are even questioning that, means you need to come home with me,” Travis said.
Harris eyed him with suspicion and let go of Joey. “Without me, you’d have no opposition. You’d have total control over everything.”
“What’s the fun in that, old friend?”
Harris laughed. “Not much. But if I do go back to Vanar, things are going to be very different for me.”
“You do what you need to do.”
Harris pulled Poly closer and motioned for Hank, Julie, and Lucas to join him and Joey.
They huddled together in a tight circle. “I need to apologize to you kids.”
“For what?” Joey asked.
Poly wasn’t sure how much he remembered. She wanted the man alone to assess him, and much more.
“I will admit that early on I used you to get to Marcus. I manipulated you for my personal cause and as a result, I am responsible for Samantha’s death, and until recently, Joey’s death.”
“If you didn’t save us the day Isaac came to collect us, then none of us would be standing here,” Julie said.
“I’m not so sure about that, now that I know what Marcus’s long game was. I think I may have hurt more than helped, and for that, I am sorry.”
Joey put a hand on his shoulder. “You may not have known what would unfold, but you gave us the chance to fight for our friends and family, to get our lives back. You brought us closer than we ever thought imaginable. We should be thanking you. And I will always think of you fondly.”
“This will be a goodbye then. I will have trouble thinking of a life where I can’t see any of you, but I will try and honor you by changing my ways.”
“We’ll miss you,” Lucas said and hugged Harris.
“I didn’t say anything about missing you, Lucas.”
He laughed and pulled back. “Oh, crap, I need another Prudence before the door closes. They can’t make that stuff here.”
“Shut up,” Julie said. “You can get your stupid bow earth-made and like it.” She hugged Harris. “You can honor me by finding happiness, Harris.”
“Thank you. I will try.”
Hank stayed quiet and hugged Harris before moving out of the huddle and back to Gladius. Poly felt as if he was hiding something, and she couldn’t even begin to imagine saying goodbye to the big guy.
“I can’t believe this is goodbye,” Joey said.
“The feeling is double for me, Joey. I’ve said goodbye to you more than I care to count,” Harris’s voice cracked. “You take care of them all. They need you more than you know. And no more dying this time around.”
“I’ll try. I seem to be a danger magnet.” They hugged and Poly started crying. She couldn’t stand more people leaving her.
“Come here, Poly.” Harris pulled her in for a hug and whispered into her ear. “You are the glue of the group, the heart, the soul, and one of the most amazing people I have ever had the honor of getting to know. You have to promise me one thing.”
“W
hat is it?” Poly asked.
“Don’t let this change you. You have Joey back now, and I want you to find that joy in your heart again. Don’t block it out; share it with them all. They will need it in times to come.”
“I will,” she whispered, but wasn’t quite sure what he meant.
The stone hummed and Evelyn appeared with a few people Poly never thought she’d see again. The awkward kid, Peter, had turned into a young man. Mary as well, had become a woman. Carl seemed frozen in confusion as he looked around the dome and the people occupying it.
“Cindy!” Mary yelled and ran to her daughter.
EVELYN STOOD NEXT TO THE stone and watched as her family and friends embraced and shared their last words with one another.
She only wished it all could stay the way it was right in that very moment. Smiles, tears of joy, and the strongest group of connections she’d ever witness in her entire life. If she could, she might have frozen time right then, just to sit and stare at the tapestry of her life. But there was a lady out there who wanted nothing more in the world than to take this all away from her.
“It’s time,” she called out. “Harris and Travis, are you ready?”
“Yeah,” they said in unison.
“We’re going as well,” Hank said.
An explosion of outcries filled the air.
“What?” Gladius responded over the din.
“I thought we were going to Vanar?” He appeared dumbfounded.
“I never said that. You really think I would take you away from the Six?”
Hank stood there, staring at her in disbelief. “I don’t know what to say. Your father. . . .”
Gladius walked over to her dad and hugged him. They spoke to each other for a while and embraced one last time. Running over to Hank, she had tears in her eyes, but a wide smile.
“This can be a new start for both of us,” she said. “But don’t think for one second I’m not going to get my Snackie Cakes factory built.”
“I love you.”
More tears flowed as they all said they’re goodbyes to Harris and Travis. If the queen somehow made her way back to them in that very moment, she’d be blinded by a glorious sight. Their connections roared around them like a river of golden strands. She knew she’d never see such a sight of love and friendship for the rest of her life, and it made her sad to think she had hit another peak, and all before her second birthday candle had been blown out.
“We really must hurry,” Evelyn said, feeling the stress of impending doom.
They all left the dome, leaving Harris and Travis alone to make their final jump. Evelyn listened for the stone to hum, then she walked back to the entry. They followed closely behind her, but she stopped abruptly and turned to face the group. She was about to speak, when she felt opposition building from one person in particular.
“Evelyn is taking me,” Will said.
“I didn’t say that,” Evelyn said and tried to graze Will’s mind for information, but he blocked her from his thoughts. She’d taught him too much. Made him do too much. And now they would all pay.
“You’re taking our son from us?” Lucas said and reached back for a bow that wasn’t there. Julie glared at Evelyn.
Evelyn didn’t want this to be messy. “I won’t lie to you. Will saw things that no human should, while hooked up to the machine. I knew this might be a possibility and it’s one of the reasons I had Will do it for me. I’ve felt a change in him.”
“What are you talking about?” Julie asked. “You said it was safe.”
“Safe for him physically, but seeing into the minds of all those people. . . .” She shook her head. “Their darkness, their depravity. It’s more than any one person can handle, and I’ve seen his destiny from the moment he was born. I said he would kill us all and I wasn’t mistaken. He will play with them at first, by using the bug Marcus implanted on the world. He will want to tap into it, manipulate the world as he sees fit.”
“The people of this world could use some guidance,” he said defensively. “You have no idea what’s in the minds of the people out there.”
Evelyn sighed. “I was afraid you might feel that way. Did you know the purge people had many wonderful and magical stones? And then they had some downright nasty ones. I can’t make them, but I can use them, and I have a few I took from the queen’s supply with me right now.”
“Is that a threat?’ Will said and Julie and Lucas flanked him.
“It’s a gift.” Evelyn produced an opaque stone that looked like a round diamond. “This is going to help you get rid of the memories of what I taught you, what you saw in all those people. This is going to make you safe, make you whole again.”
“No, I’m not unlearning what I’ve learned. The things you taught me . . . I won’t let you use that on me.”
“If you are thinking of touching one strand of hair on his head. . . .” Julie said, pointing a finger at her.
“I am only giving you your son back; to undo what has been done to him.”
Lucas looked at Will and then back to Evelyn and she spotted the struggle in him. He had seen the change as well. Maybe even felt it.
She hated dealing with a special person like herself. Hiding behind words became difficult. She stared at the white stone with pink flakes on it. Will turned sideways and held his fists up. This wasn’t going to be easy, but if this stone worked the way she thought it did, then he wouldn’t remember any of this happened.
She took one step closer.
“I told you,” Will said. “I’m not letting you do this.”
“Then you might as well kill them now,” Evelyn said. “I saw this future of yours since the moment you were born. This,” she held up the stone, “can change that course.”
Evelyn felt the pressure in her head and a heat down her spine. Will was attacking her mind. She froze from the pain and stared at Will. Had he grown more powerful than her? Impossible. Another step and she felt a fire blazing. She stared at Will. Sweat formed on his forehead. The fire wasn’t real, but he was sending the information to her mind, making it feel very real. She slammed her eyes shut and tried to push him out of her mind, but she couldn’t grab him. Every thread she pushed at slipped by.
She tried to take another step but fell to the ground and groaned. Joey and Poly rushed toward her.
“No, stay back,” she yelled and was happy to see them obey.
“Stop it, Will,” Poly cried.
The Alius stone sat just a few feet from Evelyn’s hands, but she couldn’t move. After all she’d been through, this was how she’d die? She knew Will would be the downfall of them all, but she’d been sure she’d stop that fate from happening.
“Please, Will.” Evelyn groaned. “Stop it.”
“You don’t think I knew what your plan was from the start? When you first met me and projected your thoughts into me, you didn’t have the discipline yet. I even knew you’d hoped the purge people might kill me in your mighty dome you built.”
Evelyn cried out and rolled on her side.
“Stop it,” Joey said and moved toward Will, but Lucas held him back.
She didn’t want her parents to see her die and she reached for her slow motion, but it failed her. The memory stone fell from her hand and rolled onto the ground.
“You’re hurting her,” Poly said and a few parents moved toward Will as well.
Evelyn slipped in and out as the pain overwhelmed her, and his intrusion into her mind deepened. Then it came to her. Memories. She had enough in her head to fill several lifetimes of knowledge. She let go of all of it. The pain, the pressure, the resistance against his attack. She let it all go. She felt the flash flood of information pouring from her and she rolled back as Will staggered. He grabbed at his head and yelled. He’d know everything now, if only for a moment. Her endless knowledge she collected over the many years of slowed time.
She reached for the memory stone, but Julie snatched it off the ground first with a piece of cloth. No! She had fa
iled.
Will fell to his knees as the information flooded him.
Julie looked at Evelyn, then ran to her son’s side. She placed the stone on his neck and he collapsed to the ground.
Evelyn, sweaty and exhausted, rolled onto her back and stared at the domed ceiling.
“It better work,” Julie said.
“It will,” Evelyn said and felt the pressure lessen. With Will out of the way, she only had one more thing to complete before the end of it all.
With all her strength, she rolled over and kneeled next to the master stone and felt the three lines etched down the side. She would use this stone as a link between all the others. Evelyn knew how to destroy it, and she had the queen to thank for the information. It had been sitting there in her mind.
It killed her to think of not being able to explore the worlds, the people, and the environments. But she loved her family more than gaining knowledge. And who knows, there was probably something bigger and badder than the queen herself—like the creators of the Alius stones. In time, their planet would’ve likely been decimated by whatever monsters could come through the stone.
She gripped the sides of the Alius stone and closed her eyes. Flowing her thoughts into the stone, she found the three strands dangling into the earth, connecting the Earth’s currents to all of the worlds. In a way, the stones had a network of connections quite similar to humans. The only way to sever them all was to cut them at the root, and the rest of the system would collapse.
She only hoped what was held in the queen’s mind was right. Her body floated in the void between all the worlds. A blackness surrounded her, and the golden strands ran deep into the darkness below. She reached down and she squeezed her grip and yanked hard. They wouldn’t release. Next, she pulled at the strands with her mind, using her hands as a reference. They still didn’t break. She screamed and placed both hands on the strings, pulling with all her might. Two broke loose and fell into the blackness below.