04 Last

by Lynnie Purcell

  Reaper nodded at my question. “Sara got back while you were topside.”

  “So, King is back?” I asked.

  “Yeah…” Reaper agreed. “Why?”

  “Oh. No reason,” I said, not able to keep my voice normal for a second.

  Lying was not my forte; it never had been. The only time I was good at lying was when other people’s lives depended on it and even then, I sometimes faltered.

  Daniel’s eyes immediately moved to my face at my words. He didn’t need any other clue to know I had a reason for wanting to see King, one I didn’t want to share with him. I hadn’t mentioned my reason to him, and he instantly thought the reason I was keeping it secret was more connected to my emotions than I was letting on. I mentally cursed myself for mentioning King in front of him.

  “I’ll go find Margaret and Preacher, then,” Jackson said, oblivious to Daniel’s look and Reaper’s curiosity at the unspoken question in Daniel’s eyes, and the refusal to answer them in mine.

  “Fifteen minutes,” Reaper repeated.

  Jackson nodded, and we moved out of his way, to let him walk back out to the hall of the ship.

  “Who do you think we should take with us?” I asked. “To the cave, I mean.”

  Daniel was still staring at me, but he answered my question in a calm voice. Whatever he was thinking, he was unwilling to let it affect our planning. He was business as usual.

  “Me, you, Jackson, Margaret, Preacher, Reaper, Alex and Spider,” he said.

  “Spider?” I questioned.

  “Yes,” Daniel agreed.

  “Why?” I asked. “What’s he gonna do? Steal a stalagmite?”

  “We need him there. I feel…” he hesitated as he searched for a way to articulate his emotions on the subject. “I feel like it’s important.”

  I realized I was not the only one keeping secrets. He had a vision he hadn’t shared with me, one that was about the mission we were about to go on. I trusted his secret keeping was for as good a reason mine was…or at least I hoped it was.

  “Okay,” I agreed.

  “So, it’s settled then?” Reaper asked.

  “Unless you want to take some of your people?” Daniel asked.

  “You are my people,” Reaper pointed out.

  I smiled at his words.

  “Awwww, you totally love us,” I teased.

  Reaper didn‘t respond to my teasing, though his eyes did soften.

  “If that’s all, I have a couple of things I need to talk to River about…and I need to make sure everyone is ready. I don’t want any surprises,” Reaper said.

  “Of course,” Daniel said. “We’ll be in our room when you’re ready to go.”

  Reaper nodded and gathered his things from the table. He passed us, headed to the control room. Daniel took my hand and pulled me down the hall to the small room we shared. At first, I thought he was going to ask me about my strangeness with King, but he had bigger issues on his mind.

  He sat down on the bed and put his elbow on his knee. After a second, he placed his chin on his hand. The pose was pensive and ultimately sad. He looked at the floor for a long moment – the sadness radiated from his body – then he spoke.

  “Impenetrable,” Daniel whispered sadly as if he thought speaking the word made it true.

  I sighed and sat down next to him. The word had bothered me as well, but I knew nothing was impenetrable, not as long as what we wanted was on the other side of ‘impenetrable.’

  “You know how Jackson is,” I said. “I’m sure it’s an exaggeration.”

  “Jackson does not exaggerate about defenses. He’s been trained to be accurate,” Daniel said.

  “‘Accurate’ doesn’t meant ‘right,’” I argued.

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” he said.

  “Words are subjective, Daniel,” I said. “Jackson says ‘impenetrable,’ you say ‘kinda hard,’ I say ‘let’s go for it.’ We all have different opinions on things. Don’t freak out until you see the place for yourself.”

  He thought about that for a moment. My words had given him hope.

  “You’re right,” he finally said.

  I smirked at him. “I know.”

  His mouth twitched with his impulse to smile. He smothered the impulse and another serious question formed on his lips.

  “Have you had any more dreams?” he asked.

  I turned my head away from him – our faces had been close as we talked, close enough for us to kiss – and looked at the wall. It was barren and ugly but infinitely better than looking at him and admitting my fears. The truth was that I had been forcing myself to stay awake, despite my regular exhaustion after long and difficult missions. The dreams were too real simply to set them aside. Even with the desire to stay awake fueling me, I sometimes lost the battle. I was still too human not to sleep occasionally. The dreams were consistently scary; I had forgotten what a good dream looked like.

  My last dream had been terrifying. More than terrifying – real.

  I was in New York – I recognized the location as Time’s Square, tourist city. There was a naked cowboy playing on the corner, tourists stopping to take pictures of the buildings, of the cowboy, anything they could take pictures of; others were walking at a brisk pace to get home after a long day at work. It was the afternoon. The wind was crisp. The remains of a snowstorm piled along the edges of the sidewalk. It had turned brown from the traffic.

  For some reason, I was running toward a building. My legs were soaked from the snow and my breath came in heaving gasps. My heart pounded hard with adrenaline and fear. Something bad was about to happen. I could feel in my bones. I was running out of time as much as I was running toward the unknown.

  Then…the world stopped. My vision dissolved in to a world of white and the sound of ringing. The tourists and the people had changed in to a nightmare. Chaos was king. Dead people were everywhere. Those who were still alive had blood running out of their eyes, ears, and nose. Blood shattered the peace of the city. In my heart, I knew everything had changed forever.

  Daniel was waiting on my response. He was waiting to hear what horror I had dreamed up. It wasn’t just because my dreams felt real…they had a way of being true. He was convinced I was developing the same kind of gift for premonition he had. I was convinced nothing good could come of that gift; the only things I ever dreamed were of disasters. The disasters were stalking my dreams as much as Marcus, to the point where I didn’t know where Marcus ended and the disasters began.

  I wanted to tell him ‘no.’ I wanted to tell him that I had dreamed of us on a beach somewhere, relaxed and having fun, but that lie was dangerous. Beyond that, I couldn’t lie to Daniel and get away with it…not for long. Not that I really wanted to. Lies had torn us apart once. I would not let them again.

  “Yes,” I said.

  He put a hand on my chin and gently forced me to look at him.

  “You have to talk about it, Clare. It’s the only way to face what you see.”

  “Says the guy who doesn’t talk about most of his visions,” I said.

  “I’ve told you the important ones,” he said.

  “Who says?” I asked.

  He frowned. “Don’t go there,” he said.

  “Where?”

  “Accusing me of lying, just because you don’t want to talk about your scary dreams,” he said.

  “Talking about it makes it real,” I said. “It breathes life in to the vision.”

  “I’m probably the only person you know who has the power and knowledge to interpret your dreams and stop them from happening,” Daniel pointed out.

  “I know…” I sighed.

  “Do you trust me?” he asked.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” I said.

  “So, tell me…” he urged.

  He put his hand on my cheek, extra incentive to spill the beans. His green eyes were full of just the right amount of pleading and encouragement.

  I gave in to the look. I didn’t feel like
arguing with it. I told him the details of the dream. He listened in complete silence, keeping his hand on my face for comfort. When I was finished, he was thoughtful for a different reason. He stood and started pacing the small space between the wall and the door. I pulled my legs off the ground and crossed them on the bed, to give him room. He put his hands behind his back and lowered his head thoughtfully as he walked.

  “You sure it was New York?” he asked.

  “You lived there, too. Wouldn’t you know it if you saw it?” I asked.

  Daniel nodded in agreement, trusting my ability to remember a city street.

  “You didn’t see any kind of date or event going on that could tell us when?” he asked.

  “No,” I said. “It could have been any day…tomorrow or ten years from now.”

  He turned back to me. His eyes looked bothered by the truth.

  “I suppose there’s not a lot we can do about it right now,” he admitted.

  I nodded in agreement. A dream was the last of our worries.

  “Yeah, your parents need rescuing,” I said. “We can worry about New York blowing up afterward.”

  Daniel’s grin was sarcastic. “It didn’t sound so good when you put it that way.”

  “I mean it, though,” I said. “We’re going to get your parents out. We’ll see where we are after that.”

  Daniel sat on the bed again. His expression was thoughtful.

  “Have you noticed how much we keep saying that? ‘We’ll see where we are…’ We say that more than we say ‘I know what to do.’”

  There was no arguing with him. Our whole life had turned in to catching up to situations, instead of preventing them. We were always two steps behind. It was annoying, but it was the best we could do under the circumstances.

  “Yeah,” I agreed.

  “Everything is so…” he struggled for the proper words.

  “Up in the air?” I asked.

  “Yep,” he agreed.

  “That’s what we get for trying to save the world,” I said. “Everything comes with a price.”

  “Even truth,” Daniel said.

  “Yes,” I agreed.

  He eyed me carefully. He started tapping on the edge of the bed in a habitual way that meant he was either bored or thinking hard about something. I could tell it wasn’t boredom. Something was on his mind. It was something a little less earth shattering than the world blowing up.

  “So…why did you lie about King?” he asked.

  “We’re not having the King discussion again, are we?” I asked. “I told you. Nothing happened between us after I was rescued from Lorian’s prison.”

  “But you did just lie,” Daniel pointed out. “You never lie. Even when you should.”

  “I’ve lied before,” I said.

  “Not to me,” he said.

  “Why are you being so pushy today?” I asked. “Normally you wait and charm and act all cunning about getting information.”

  “You don’t like it when I do that,” he said.

  “That’s never stopped you before,” I said.

  “Clare…” he said in a voice laced with doubt.

  It was the beginning of an unnecessary conversation. Despite being a super-being, he still had an overwhelming capacity for self-doubt. It was easy for him to think I had found someone else to fulfill my desires. He didn’t realize there would never be anyone but him. The emotion made him more human – which would have been a good thing any other time.

  “I am not, nor will I ever, cheat on you,” I said.

  “That’s not an answer to my question,” he pointed out.

  “Life’s not fair,” I said.

  His lips moved to form a retort. His retort was stopped by a knock on the door. He closed his eyes in irritation at the interruption.

  His eyes still closed, he said, “Come in, Alex.”

  Alex opened the door and let it swing out until it bumped in to the opposite wall. Her golden hair reflected the florescent light above, giving her the appearance of a halo. She looked at us for a moment, sensing the tension hanging in the air. Her x-ray eyes assessed our moods and our body language. More than that, the gift she had developed with my blood – the ability to see to the heart of most things – went in to overdrive. It was an ability she had used to seal her place in the Saints. While Spider had forged his place by being the go-to guy for anything anybody could ever need, Alex had become the go-to girl for confessions and therapy sessions. People depended on her for it now. No one could imagine a time when she wasn’t in the Saints. It was a talent I would have preferred she didn’t use on me so much.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “We’re arguing,” I admitted.

  “Oh, it’s about King, isn’t it?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” I agreed.

  “How do you know about that?” Daniel asked suspiciously.

  “Daniel…some things are better as surprises,” Alex said pointedly. “You know that better than anyone. What did Jackson say?”

  “The place is a fortress,” I said. “We’re going to go and check it out. I think Reaper is hoping some grand epiphany will happen in his brain once he looks at the place.”

  Alex made a disbelieving noise in the back of her throat – doubt Reaper would ever have any kind of ‘grand epiphany’ – but she didn’t say her thoughts out loud.

  “Do I get to come?” she asked.

  “Of course,” I said. “Not only would I not leave you, you wouldn’t stay if I tried to make you.”

  “That’s true,” she said with a smile.

  She took a step in to the room, feeling more comfortable now that we had gotten past the tension of my argument with Daniel.

  “I talked to Dad,” she added.

  “Oh, yeah?” I asked.

  “They finally found a house they like,” she said. “They’re going to buy it. Apparently, they sold both of their houses in King’s Cross. Dad was more comfortable selling our house than Ellen was with yours…she had trouble with it. But I guess she was determined to move on.”

  I would have expected nothing less from Ellen. Selling her childhood home was a big step for her – I wasn’t sure it was one she was entirely ready for. However, it was a step she was willing to take to make a new life with Sam. It made me proud of her – she was finally growing up.

  “Where did they buy their new house?” I asked.

  “Santa Monica,” Alex said. “It’s three doors down from Naomi. Dad managed to talk the people down.”

  “Of course he did,” I said. “He threaten them with death by law?” I asked.

  “Probably. He also told me that he and Ellen needed to talk to us about something,” she said.

  “That sounds serious,” I said.

  “Nah,” she disagreed. “You know how parents are. They think the smallest thing is something that’s going to freak us out. They’re probably just going to get married or something.”

  “You’re probably right,” I said. “We should probably work on our surprised faces, though. Make sure we look totally shocked. We wouldn’t want to disappoint their expectations.”

  “How’s this?” Alex asked.

  She made a face with just the right amount of happy surprise and excited shock. Daniel and I laughed at the look on her face.

  “Perfect,” I said.

  “What’s perfect? ...Oh.”

  Reaper had turned the corner of our door to see Alex taking up the space. Both of them were immediately awkward at the meeting. Alex blushed and turned her face back to us, so she wasn’t looking at him. Reaper suddenly didn’t know where to put his hands. His expression was just as uncomfortable as Alex’s was. It would have been adorable had I not been so frustrated with the two of them.

  “You two had one little fight,” I said. “Isn’t it about time to forgive each other? It’ll be much less awkward for you both, at the very least. You know, since we’re on a cramped ship in the middle of the sea…”

  “Clare…
they can be awkward if they want,” Daniel said. “It’s not our place to fix them.”

  “But you do agree that it’s silly for them to be so…”

  I gestured at them.

  Daniel looked between Alex and Reaper, who were exchanging an awkward glance at our conversation. It was the sort of glance that was the beginning of awareness. A glance that suggested they had not known how transparent they were being.

  “Of course it’s silly,” Daniel said with a sly look at the pair, “but it’s not our business if they want to be ridiculous. A person has a right to be ridiculous.”

  “You know that I am the last person on this planet to be a busybody, but they are being more than ridiculous about this,” I said. “Alex gets to tell us when we’re doing something wrong.”

  “That’s true,” Daniel agreed.

  “Besides, it’s our duty as friends to tell them when they are being stupid,” I said.

  “You know, you could be on to something,” Daniel said. “Maybe we should point it out to them.”

  “I thought I just did,” I said.

  “Are you guys done talking about us like we’re not here?” Alex asked.

  “I don’t know…are we?” I asked Daniel.

  “Yes,” Daniel agreed.

  Reaper coughed awkwardly. He wasn’t as calm as Alex was over our teasing, though I sensed she was just as embarrassed as he was. Reaper wasn’t as used to being told something so bluntly – he was used to leading people, not having them tell him when he was being silly. But he respected me for my honesty – he liked that I never tried to suck up to him. Even he needed the voice of honesty occasionally.

  “We’re ready to go,” Reaper said. “Everyone is waiting topside.”

  “Alright,” Daniel said.

  Daniel was tapping on the bed again. I knew it wasn’t for the same reason as before – it was fear for his parents’ fate. I put a hand on his and held it tight, silent assurance that everything was going to be okay. His strong fingers wrapped around mine, telling me he got the message. Our touch sparkled with electricity, binding us together. It was a promise. Whatever happened, we would face it together. He would not face the question of his parents’ fate alone.