A sense of severe vulnerability crept over Astrid. Here they were above all of Velee, and the message wasn’t being sent. If they stayed there too much longer the Veleens might stop them from leaving. But we can’t leave without sending the message. Can we?
“Try again.” Rune’s voice was firm and his eyes alert. He too realized the danger they were in.
Dev pushed the buttons again and read several other instruments besides. As she watched his face, it suddenly hit her how young everyone was. They were carrying such responsibility, but Astrid had only just turned seventeen and Rune was only nineteen. People could change so much in so little time. Astrid would never have imagined that she would be sitting in a spaceship above Velee with Rune and her redeemed persecutor.
Dev turned back to them. “It’s no use. I can’t get it through.” He paused and silence reigned for a moment. “What are we going to do now?” he asked with sudden anger and a hint of despair.
It had already been five minutes since they ascended out of the shiphouse. It wouldn’t be long before the Veleen soldiers reached them. From her view she could see a large mass of merpeople entering the city. She assumed they were the Akaytans.
The responsibility weighed heavily on her, filling every bone in her body. Astrid decided on her course of action in that second. She bolted up, exiting the cabin.
“Where are you going?” Rune shouted after her.
Astrid darted through the ship, opened a small hatch, and exited. She swam down onto the stage in the town center where she had been poisoned. The cacophony of colored buildings and people met her eyes and ears. The ground was already trembling. Most people were scowling and arguing. Tremors were coursing through the water, gently shaking everyone. Vibrations hit her from all directions.
Astrid stood there quietly, no one taking notice of her at first. Time flowed in slow motion as the memory flashed back into her mind. These same people tried to murder her when she warned them about the core the first time. They might not listen this time either. Why should she risk her life for these people who had treated her so horribly?
Then she saw a pair of eyes that she remembered.
Delta.
The kindly mermaid who’d helped her the first time she came to Velee. As their eyes met and they stared at each other she thought, I can’t become like Cipher.
As hard as it is, I must overcome and forgive. There is always room for a second chance.
She snatched a mic patch from the case on stage and faced the crowd. “Listen! Do you feel those tremors? The core is going to explode in only seventy minutes. You didn’t believe me last time, but I’m telling you again. You have to evacuate.” Eyes turned to her blankly, then small gasps of panic arose as they looked down at the ground and gradually realized she was telling the truth.
With every word, Astrid was overcoming the unforgiveness she hadn’t realized existed inside her. Her voice faltered at first, but then it grew louder and stronger. She knew what she had to do and she was doing it. A sense of the power in this purpose rippled over her.
She shouted as loudly as she could manage, “You have to hurry. Don’t push, there is room in the ships for everyone. You must go now. Don’t go back for any of your possessions. Just get onto the ships. Figure the rest out later.”
Astrid watched as understanding dawned in the surrounding eyes. They followed her directions without delay and started rushing to the shiphouse. A gigantic commotion arose as the merpeople swam far and fast and zipped by on transports.
She swam down through the streets and continued shouting her message, guiding people to the shiphouse. Time spun by like it had never been constant. She pointed both Akaytans and Veleens the right way. They pushed past her in waves heading toward their escape. It felt almost like a dream. Water and bodies crushing together, rushing past in panic.
Finally she looked around and realized that no one remained in the streets. It was so quiet and still, every open door seemed eerie. She looked up toward the ships, many of which were rising through the atmosphere into space.
One remained. The small ship that held the Cover and the Star. She’d accidentally moved farther away from it than she realized. The waves from the shaking core coursed through the water. She hovered there, the only moving thing outside of the ships. Even the pest fish had taken cover.
It only took her a second to realize that she had to get back to the ship. A figure leaned out of the hatch. Rune. His eyes were panicked as his arm waved for her to hurry. Her head whipped to her timepiece. Three minutes. Shock ran through her. She hadn’t been watching the time. Her mind only took a millisecond to calculate that if they waited for her, they would still be in the atmosphere when the planet exploded. They will all die if they wait for me.
She was calm. In that moment Astrid made a decision. For Rune, for Honor, for Ris, even for Cipher. She straightened her back and clenched her fist. Then she held it straight up in the air. She could barely see Rune’s face, but she still did.
As he realized what she was doing, he shouted. “Astrid! No!”
The sound carried to her ears, but she kept her fist in the air. They were watching for the signal, and in the stillness of everything else, they saw it. Hands pulled him inside and closed the hatch while the ship rose through the water towards space. The tremors were rumbling through the water with a new intensity. As the ship shimmered and disappeared from her view, Astrid was left alone on the dying planet. One individual in a vast space. Her fist still outstretched as she stared into space.
An impression placed itself into her head. You are not alone. All of a sudden, understanding and the joy of something she didn’t know before enveloped her.
“God, you’re here,” she whispered.
Then the planet exploded. The cadence of the melions had finally become so unrestrained that they destroyed themselves.
Chapter thirty
Rune rushed to the window as the ships pulled out of the atmosphere and into space. They weren’t that far from the planet when it exploded. The silent sound shook everything with a blinding fury. In a brilliant burst of light, blue masses of water shot through space in all directions creating a sparkling mosaic of destruction. The ships were just barely out of it reach.
With every second he stared out the window, Rune’s heart broke a little more. “Astrid,” he whispered. No. I need her. She can’t be gone.
Rune could barely form a thought, he was too overwhelmed with emotions. Tears poured from his eyes uncontrollably as sobs wracked his body. The image of her floating there with her fist in the air and that tranquil look on her face blanketed his mind’s eye. He understood why she did it. But it hurt too badly. She died to save the rest of them. The Veleens and Akaytans, the Star and the Cover. She gave her life to save those who’d mistreated her.
He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes as he sat right up against the window. There were others around, but they didn’t register in his mind. All he felt was the pain rising in his heart. He hadn’t realized how deeply she was implanted in his thoughts. Whenever he tried to think of something else, everything led back to her.
Suddenly the voices about him started mounting in excitement. He was forced to glance up. However much he wanted to be left alone, he was still their leader. He was still responsible.
Whispers ran through the water as people crowded around the windows. He looked out his own.
A spinning blue oval of light had appeared in a patch of water floating away from the planet. Then it disappeared and in its place was a flash of gold and red...His mouth opened in disbelief.
Astrid?
At first his brain didn’t register what he was seeing. There she was, floating in space. He could tell by her face that she was struggling. She was floating in a drifting patch of water—the only thing keeping her alive—and it was rapidly dispersing. She won’t be able to breathe, he realized. Rune bolted up and raced through the ship. He strapped a small silver rectangle to his back that attached to a ma
sk, which went over his mouth.
His heart raced. Every second could be the difference between life and death for her. Once he activated the waterlock and pulled on a spacesuit, he exited the ship into space.
There she was. Astrid. Oh, Astrid. He had never known what it was like to hear his heartbeat in his own ears. It was strange because the sound came from so deep inside. His eyes didn’t move from Astrid as he made his way toward her form as quickly as he could. She was outlined by the blackest black, and the sparkle of the stars. Her eyes moved to him as he took her in his arms and they were both pulled back toward the ship by those inside. Her face was deep shade of purple, but she gave a little smile, even as she tried to draw breath when there was nothing to draw in.
Everything in him belonged to her. She was his only focus. He didn’t glance as the enormous space filled with twinkles of light. He didn’t glance at the dead planet which had once been his. He didn’t glance at the ethereal and biting white sun. He only watched her face. He felt like he was choking with her.
Within a moment they were back in the ship and the hatch was closed.
Water rushed into her lungs so quickly that Astrid almost choked as she gasped it in and out. Spots filled her vision and her mind was foggy, but it soon started to clear. Her breathing slowed to normal and her face returned to its natural color.
“Are you alright, Astrid?” Rune’s soft voice entered her mind and she realized that he was still holding her. His words were simple, but his voice was filled with such incredible relief. She clasped him in her arms in response. They stayed that way for who knows how long. Tears of joy cascaded through the water as she tightened her arms around his neck. Everyone is safe.
Safe. At that moment it was the best word in the world to her. She turned her face to Rune and their smiles and eyes communicated without speaking. There are some emotions that would take hundreds of words to explain, but can be understood in one glance. The joy and relief she felt was overwhelming in such a glorious way.
She slowly stood up. Mermaids and mermen rushed around her with excitement, asking all kinds of questions and congratulating her.
Among the faces she spotted Honor, who gave her a small smile. It would take her time to heal, but she would.
She also spotted Ris, whose joyful eyes had been sobered by the experience, but who she hoped would also recover eventually.
Tears of absolute amazement and relief continued to pour forth. She glanced at the massive expanse of gorgeous space and stars that she’d never seen from this angle before.
Astrid parted from Rune and swam up a little bit so she could see everyone sitting in the compartment.
Then she grinned and shouted, “We have the chance to form a new way of living. No one will suffer under the government of our new people. It’s time for a fresh start. We will be called the Dellinians, the Dalandian word for unity. We have to move forward and celebrate our new start.”
A cheer rose and, in that moment, everything was brimming with light and discovery.
Chapter thirty-one
Astrid swam back down into the crowd, then floated there quietly as she watched the flurry of hugging and talking. It made her excited. This is a chance we never would’ve had if Dalanda hadn’t been destroyed. Rune floated beside her.
He turned to her, “How did you get away?”
She gave him a quick glance, unsure of what to say. “Here. Let’s go somewhere more private.”
He nodded, guiding her down an empty, white hall. Both sides were lined with doors which Astrid assumed were apartments. She turned to face him and tried to figure out how to begin.
“It’s hard to explain. You’ll just have to follow me the best you can and then I’ll clarify.” She took a deep breath. “Several months ago, Effie made a discovery. While studying an ancient Atoan book, she realized there was a code hidden within the text. When she deciphered it, she found something unbelievable.
“It turns out that inside the DNA of every Dalandian is a fixed gene that gives us the ability to time-travel. But we can only travel through holes in the timestream. Effie did research and observed the phenomenon. When I left, she gave the notes to me for safekeeping.
“Well...just a moment before Dalanda exploded, I saw a spinning, blue light—a timestream hole. It opened right on top of me, and then I was floating through a place filled with so many colors and forms. It was strange. It didn’t feel like any time was passing, but I knew I was moving. I could’ve been there for millions of years or one second.
“Anyways, then I fell out of another hole that formed in a mass of water which was drifting away from the planet.
“I found out about time-travel several weeks ago, but I didn’t tell you before because it would’ve put you in danger. Effie was threatened and I was attacked because we possessed the knowledge of time-travel. I’m telling you now though since I think we’re safe.”
Rune was quiet and thoughtful as he nodded.
“Something happened, Rune. Right at that moment, I thought I was going to die. Then, it was revealed to me. There is someone who is always with us; there to help us. Someone who created everything. The one who gives us the hope that life doesn’t end at death. I felt such a sense of peace. It was God, Rune.
“The odds of a continuance hole appearing right in front of me on Dalanda and then near the ship, right when I needed them to, are statistically impossible. Continuance holes can only appear in water. The one I came out of was in drifting water from the planet. I was rescued,” Astrid said with conviction.
Rune looked at her with confusion. “Don’t tell me you started believing in the Sirof. Astrid…”
Astrid laughed. What she’d experienced was the opposite of everything the Sirof stood for. It wasn’t some religion dreamed up to keep a caste system in place. It was tactile and real, something she could feel and touch. Something that interacted with her. Something that saved her—in more than one way, perhaps.
“No, no, no. This is real Rune. Not the Sirof. There is something more than we can see, it just wasn’t what the Akaytans thought it was. I’ll talk with you about it more later.”
He gave her an uncertain glance.
She pulled him into a hug. “Trust me, Rune. We both know there’s more to life and death than we could possibly imagine, and I think we’re about to discover it. There’s a greater plan to the rhythm of the universe. A design. Who gave you your sense of right and wrong? Who created all of this? God is the opposite of the Sirof. He’s the way to freedom, not chains. Don’t be afraid,” she whispered.
He hugged her tighter and nodded into her shoulder.
It would take Rune time to get over his fear of the chains he associated with religion, but Astrid knew that eventually he would understand. She was a student as well, so they could learn together.
At that moment a man swam up and asked Rune to come review their supplies with him.
He glanced back at Astrid, “Are you feeling alright?”
She smiled, “Yeah, go ahead.”
Astrid watched until she was left alone in the white, curving hall. The red pouch around her waist that held her possessions was too tight. She unbuckled, then opened it.
The first thing she saw was Honor’s small copy of Time’s Grudge. She took it in her hand and brushed her fingers over its beautiful cover. I’ll go return it. I want an excuse to talk to her anyways.
The warning that Honor gave right before she left the Star resounded in her head. Astrid also wanted to check to see how her friend was doing.
As soon as she reached the common area, she scouted Honor out. Amid the bubbling excitement and flurry of talking, Honor sat alone in a far corner, staring out the window. It struck Astrid’s heart. She swam over and sat down by her friend.
“Hi.”
Honor looked up in surprise. Her tired eyes brightened a bit as she said, “Hi.”
Astrid looked down at the book in her hands, then handed it to Honor. “I haven’t ha
d a chance to read it, but I thought I’d better return it to you before I lose it for good.”
Honor smiled as she took the book. Then her smile fell as she gazed up at Astrid. “Almost all of our books, all of our art has been destroyed. All of our history is gone. No one had time to save much of it. I’m not sure about Akayta and Velee, but all of the digital books in Fillerra were on a server that was destroyed.” She looked down at the book in her hands. “This may be the last shred of Dalanda.”
“Our history isn’t gone. We’re the product of it and it lives in our memories. We can write down the stories we’ve read for future generations. As for the art and fiction, it is lost. But we get to start over and create a new culture, with our own art. It hurts, but sometimes it’s necessary to start over.”
A tear escaped from Honor’s eye. “I know. But it’s so hard. I already lost Fillerra, now I have lost all of Dalanda.”
Astrid gave her a side hug and sighed. The waves of loss were crashing down on her head as well. “We just need to try to think of the future. Maybe one day someone will look back on us and be inspired, just as you are inspired by the characters in history. Dark times like these are when we have to believe in the future, believe that the door to light is only a few feet away.”
Honor bit her lip as she pulled a parcel of palare out from her messenger bag. “I took your suggestion and am writing my story down.”
“Is it helping?”
“Yes. I feel better with every word I write. I know that my mind won’t be Fillera’s last foothold of memory.”
“The memories of Dalanda are in all of our minds, and we will no doubt write our history down for the future.” She paused. “There’s something I’m curious about. You were warning me the day I left. I didn’t miss it. How did you know?”
Her eyes saddened. “As you know, I was the records keeper, therefore I learned about all of the various types of missions and assignments Cipher had been giving out. He needed help with administration and he didn’t want me to leak the information outside of the complex. That’s why I didn’t receive an assignment. He knew I was against him from the moment I saw those assassination orders. I couldn’t get out, Astrid. I was trapped in the complex and I couldn’t tell anyone else there, because I, conveniently, also happened to know that he had cameras everywhere. He didn’t mind having one person who knew everything, as long as I was controlled by fear. He just wanted...no needed, a group of people who actually trusted and wanted to obey him.”
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