Yesterdays Gone: SEASON TWO (THE POST-APOCALYPTIC SERIAL THRILLER) (Yesterday's Gone)

by Platt, Sean;Wright, David

  Will was confused, “Out of this room, or leave The Sanctuary?”

  “Both. Go tell your friends their time is up. The Sanctuary offers no solace to sinners.”

  Will felt the acid churn in his gut.

  What have I done? I can’t get the rest of them kicked out.

  “Listen,” Will said, trying to smother the flames of his reckless behavior. “I don’t know what I’ve done to cause offense, but it wasn’t intentional. I’ve abided by your rules. All of them. And I’ve not spoken a word against your customs. I’ve helped in every way I’ve been asked. So, if there’s something I’ve personally done to you, please forgive me. But don’t take it out on my friends. If you want me to leave, I’ll leave right now.”

  Brother Rei stared at him, then sat back and folded his fingers on his desk. Whatever the weasel had expected to happen, Will had thrown him with his offer. Brother Rei’s eyes, and the uncertainty lurking like fear within them, said he was contemplating his next step with caution.

  “You will leave? Just like that? Right now?”

  “I’d like to take a few of my things, and tell the others I’m going. But yes, I’ll leave.”

  “And what will you tell the others? That I pushed you out, made you go away, gave you an ultimatum?”

  “No, because then they’d leave here with me, and I don’t want that. I don’t have to believe what you believe to think they are still safest here. I even told them so when The Prophet asked Mary to choose here or outside. I’ve never been one to stay too long in one place. They know that, and aren’t likely to think much of it.”

  Brother Rei leaned forward a second time. “The Prophet and Brother John are kind men. The Prophet has already once allowed the wrong people into our Sanctuary. I, however, was not a kind man before coming here. And I have no problem tapping into that darkness to preserve the light of this holy place. I will allow you to leave, but you must do so today. And you must convince the rest of your friends that this was your idea. Because even though The Prophet gave them a choice, I will never allow them to leave, at least not with the child.”

  “Luca?” Will asked.

  “Yes. He is a gift from God, and it would be an affront to allow him to be corrupted by your world. If they attempt to leave with him, they will die. Each and every one of them, including the girl.”

  “I can’t believe The Prophet or John would allow that,” Will said.

  “The Prophet isn’t doing especially well. He’s come down with something vile. To be blunt, I’m not sure he’ll live to see the completion of his church.” The corner of Brother Rei’s mouth crinkled, just enough to make Will certain he had something to do with The Prophet’s sudden illness.

  “And John? Certainly you don’t think John will stand by and let you take control of this place, let alone murder his friends?”

  “John is not a concern,” Brother Rei said. “I have won the loyalty of my brothers. If there’s a war for heart and soul of The Sanctuary, have no doubt, I will be the victor. I have God, and the men, on my side.”

  Will stared at him, then smiled.

  “Why are you telling me all this?”

  “You’re leaving,” Brother Rei said. “And I have two guards outside this room right now to ensure my absolute safety. These men will be your shadow until you leave. And you will leave promptly after dinner. I’ll make a big announcement, let everyone know how truly sorry I am to see you go. You will be given a car and some supplies. Then we’re done here, do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes,” Will said, anxious to get the hell out of the tiny room.

  Will stood and headed for the door, tempted to turn back, and put a bullet in Brother Rei. Maybe three. But that would be changing things, and Will knew that was forbidden. Brother Rei was in the dreams of what was to come, so that meant he was still alive. Even if Will were to get a shot off, fate would intervene long enough to keep the weasel breathing.

  Will was strapped in, committed to the roller-coaster ride, all the way to the end. He knew all too well the dangers of attempting to change fate.

  * * * *

  LUCA HARDING: PART 1

  Luca wasn’t feeling well before lunch, but he didn’t say anything to anyone until he had a mouth filled with meat he couldn't chew, let alone swallow. Everyone gave him looks that said they were sorry he was sick, except for Brother Rei, who gave him a look Luca didn’t understand, even though it made him feel a little bit black inside.

  Luca excused himself from the table, then crossed the courtyard and went into his room. He slipped into bed and turned toward the wall with his hands cradling his stomach. Since Scott was gone, Luca had the room all to himself. The woman who cleaned the house, Sister Louise, was scrubbing the hallway on the other side of his door. Luca could hear her thoughts and they were making him sad. Louise was nice on the outside, and always smiled whenever she said hello, but today Luca could hear her thoughts, wondering if Luca were indeed possessed.

  He turned toward the window, wanting to find Rebecca, since he lost her in his dream last night. He’d been worried about her all day, and was glad that the funeral took place outside The Sanctuary so she didn’t have to hear Brother Rei talking about Scott’s “Heavenly reward,” which he got when he was fighting the bleakers, or the Demons, as everyone at The Sanctuary always called them.

  Luca kept listening for the sound of Rebecca’s thoughts, but her thinking was nowhere to be found.

  Listening for people’s thoughts, he’d discovered the prior day, was like TV channel surfing, like his dad used to do. Sometimes his dad would know what he was looking for and go straight to that channel. But most times he didn’t. When his dad didn’t know what he wanted to watch, he would point the remote at the screen, press the arrow, and flick from show to show until he found a station that looked promising. Often, his dad would watch the channel for a few seconds, lose interest, then move onto something else. When he finally found something entertaining, he’d drop the remote in the “Remote Boat,” then sip his glass of water, smiling. Picking up on people was the same way, but less entertaining.

  If Luca knew whom he wanted to hear, or when he was looking at the person directly, getting in their thoughts was easy. But when he didn’t know, he had to do a lot of dipping. Dipping was what Luca called it when he had to go into someone’s thoughts just long enough to figure out whose mind he was inside.

  He kept trying to find Rebecca’s thinking, but he couldn't go dipping since the only person he could hear thinking was Louise.

  “He picks his nose . . . and all that urine around the toilet! That’s all bad enough, but it’s his eyes that are the worst. That boy’s been branded by the Devil as sure as he misses the bowl.”

  Luca didn’t want to be inside Louise’s head anymore, but he still couldn't find Rebecca. He was almost ready to turn back to face the wall, since his tummy hurt less in that direction, when he heard her.

  “Are you trying to find me?”

  “Rebecca!”

  Luca heard her think in a giggle. “Yay! I found you,” she thought.

  “How long have you been looking?”

  There was a moment of silence, then Luca heard, “All morning.” There was another moment of silence then she added, “How was the funeral?”

  “Terrible. I left at the beginning. I was crying like a big baby. Everyone probably thought I was stupid.”

  “That’s not true,” Rebecca thought. “No one thought you were stupid. They understand that you’re just a kid.”

  Luca thought. “They didn’t understand that you are just a kid.”

  Rebecca went quiet.

  He said, “I’m sorry” in his head.

  “It’s okay.”

  “Where did you go last night?” Luca wondered.

  “I’m not sure. I think I went into a different part of the dream. I looked for you but I didn’t see you anywhere. I kept looking, but I couldn't find you. I was lost for a while. And I couldn't escape from the man who
was watching me. He was watching both of us, actually. At the same time, too. Like he had eyes all around him. I wanted to follow him because I thought he might show me where you were. But I was too scared. I ran away when he saw me behind him.”

  “That’s The Man in the Middle,” Luca thought. “Did he say anything to you?”

  “He said, ‘you can’t watch the watcher, unless your eyes are made of sky.’ He disappeared into the snow after that. Is The Man in the Middle bad?”

  Luca had to think before he thought his answer. “Yes, I think he is. But since I’m not scared of him, I don’t think he can hurt me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because the voices didn’t say anything bad was going to happen. I think The Man in the Middle has to stay inside the Terrible Scary.” Luca didn’t want to think about The Man in the Middle or the Terrible Scary anymore, so he wondered if Rebecca wanted to go on another trip. She said yes, and the next thing they knew, Luca was back in Las Orillas, in the middle of a freshly mowed lawn, looking at his old house with Rebecca beside him.

  “Is that where you used to live?”

  Luca nodded.

  “It’s really nice,” she said. “We didn’t have anything like that. What did your parents do?”

  Luca thought about it, but then felt bad that he couldn't remember. Then he wondered if he’d ever known. Was eight old enough to know what your parents did for work? Yes, of course it was. It had to be. Did he not know, or could he not remember? Luca finally said, “I’m not sure,” though saying it out loud made him feel like he lost something important.

  He said, “Come on!” then took Rebecca by the hand and ran inside the house. No one was home, but that was fine. Luca wanted to show Rebecca his toys, not his family. He showed her his Lego collection, including his TIE-Fighter and his newest prize, the Ninjago Fire Temple.

  “Isn’t it awe-awe-awe-awesome?” Luca sang, just like he did all through late September and early October of the previous fall, back when the Lego Ninjago Fire Temple was the pride of his bedroom.

  Luca caught his reflection in his closet mirror, then dropped his Lego dragon on the floor where it shattered to pieces.

  He had expected to see his eight year old self. They were in his house and his dream, after all. But the young man looking back at him hadn’t been a boy for some time.

  “It’s okay,” Rebecca said. “You can still like Legos.”

  Luca smiled, then showed Rebecca his favorite books, his lightsaber collection, and his three favorite Nerf guns. She even watched him play the Zelda video game and sat beside him while he beat his favorite boss. When the boss was dead, Rebecca told Luca he was cute. He turned from the screen, dropped his controller, and told her she looked pretty, even without her hair.

  Rebecca touched the top of her head, as though she had forgotten, then lost her happy face to a sad one. “I’m so ugly now!” she said.

  “You’re not ugly at all.” Luca shook his head. “You’re awe-awe-awe-awesome.”

  Rebecca laughed and told Luca he was nice. She said she hadn’t really known too many boys, especially nice ones. And though she had thought Carl was nice, she was wrong. “Have you seen Carl?” she asked.

  Luca shook his head. “I haven’t seen him since the day they took him away. I know they’re keeping him somewhere else. Linc told me it’s a place called The Hole. Do you know where that is?”

  Rebecca nodded. “I’ve never seen it, but it’s in the basement of the women’s house. That’s where they put people when they’re really bad.”

  “Oh.”

  Luca was silent for a while, and didn’t really know what else to show his friend since she was way too old for any of his sister Anna’s toys, and too young for anything in his mom’s room.

  “Do you miss your house?” Rebecca asked.

  Luca scrunched his nose. “I’m not sure. I guess I do. I miss my mom and dad and Anna. And I miss my toys. But I’m forgetting what I really miss, instead of what I’m supposed to miss.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Luca shook his head. “I don’t know how to tell it.” He sighed, “I don’t know where I put the memories. It’s crowded in here.” Luca pointed to his head. “And I think I might be running out of space because there’s new stuff I don’t understand, and the old stuff that I do understand is getting harder to find.”

  Before Rebecca could ask Luca to explain, there was a knock at the door.

  “Who is that?” Rebecca said, startled.

  “I don’t know,” Luca was already on his feet and on his way to the front door. He opened the door and was instantly shocked to see Will, though it was barely Will at all.

  Almost Will stepped inside the house, not formed like Luca or Rebecca.

  “Hi Will,” Luca said.

  “Who are you talking to?” Rebecca asked.

  Luca turned to Rebecca. “My friend, Will. You can’t see him?”

  Rebecca shook her head.

  Luca turned to Will. “Are you really here?”

  He had to ask since he could barely see Will, a semi-invisible shadow with Will’s wild hair and beard and general shape, but none of his skin and little of his coloring.

  “Good, you can see me,” Will said, “I needed to tell you something, but I haven’t got long. Brother Rei is asking me to leave the compound tonight, after dinner.”

  “What?” Luca said, upset, “Why?”

  “Because he knows I’m on to him for being a bad guy,” Will said. “I don’t have time to get into it now. I’m not sleeping like you are, and this isn’t exactly easy for me, but I needed to reach you privately since they’ve got people watching me. Please, Luca, I need you to be brave; for me and you, and everyone else, including Rebecca.” The ghost Will nodded toward Rebecca, even though she couldn't see him. He turned back to Luca. “I need you to lay low, and convince the others to lay low with you. Be discreet, and trust no one but Desmond, Mary, and Paola. I’ll be back as soon as I can. I promise.”

  “But, but . . . Where are you going?” Luca was trying hard not to cry, but wasn’t doing very well.

  “Not far,” Will said. “And I’ll stay safe; I promise. I need you to do me a favor. Are you up for it?” He put his hand beneath Luca’s chin and raised his face to meet his eyes.

  Luca nodded.

  “I need you to let Desmond know there’s a gun in the tank in the bathroom at the end of his hall, along with a set of keys to a BWM SUV parked in the woods on the south side of The Sanctuary, beneath a white tarp. Got that so far?”

  Luca nodded.

  “Great job.” Will smiled and Luca smiled back. “There’s also a bag of guns behind a cluster of trees on the outside of the south wall, at the back of the compound.”

  “What’s happening?” Luca said, afraid, but still trying not to cry. “Are you gonna be okay? Will I see you again?”

  “Yes, you’ll see me tonight at dinner. After that, I have to leave. But I promise I’ll be back soon. Just swear you’ll do what I said; tell Desmond and Mary everything the next time you’re all alone, okay?”

  Luca agreed. Will told him not to be afraid, but he had already faded away before he finished his sentence.

  Luca blinked his eyes open, somehow knowing what he’d find.

  Even though he was in the real world and away from the dream, the Terrible Scary was everywhere around him, covering him like a blanket.

  Luca had never felt so close to the middle of it all.

  * * * *

  CHARLIE WILKENS: PART 2

  Somewhere in Alabama

  March 25

  Mid-morning

  “You sure you’re gonna be able to find this place?” Adam asked as the morning sun beat a glare into the windshield.

  “I’ll find it,” Charlie said, for the hundredth time in the past hour.

  “I sure hope so,” Adam said, “Because I think we’re lost.”

  “Do you have anything productive to say?” Charlie snapped, no longer able to
bury his irritation. Adam said nothing.

  Sometimes, Adam felt like two different people. At times, he was the nice, overly friendly dude who knew exactly what to do in a moment, like when he saved Charlie from freezing to death from the killer storm or shot the monster Vic seconds before Charlie would’ve been a dead man. But other times, like now, he behaved like a semi-retarded man-child who didn’t know anything about anything, and was full of doubt and annoying questions. It was a wonder to Charlie how this Adam managed to even dress himself in the morning. If Charlie could find a way to split Annoying Adam from Cool Adam, he’d do it in a heartbeat and drop that other fucker off at a rest stop somewhere on the highway, tie a big red bow around him, leave him for the monsters and never look back.

  Of course, Charlie couldn’t do that. He was stuck with both Adams, like it or not. He watched as Adam shoved an entire pack of gum in his mouth, a stick at a time, while laughing like an idiot. Charlie rolled his eyes, turned his attention back to the road, and tried to figure out where in the fuck he was.

  “Check the glove compartment; see if Harry left any maps in there.”

  Adam leaned forward, then said, in a voice muddled by a mouth full of gum, “Mo-thwing in here.”

  “Of course,” Charlie said, slapping the steering wheel with his palm. Pain shot through his arm. He remembered doing the same thing in the car after the storm, and how badly it hurt.

  I have to stop doing that!

  “So?” Adam asked, mouth full of marbles.

  Charlie turned slowly, “What?”

  “Wha we gon . . . do?” he said, barely able to talk around the gum.

  Fucking idiot.

  “I don’t fucking know! Don’t ask me again, or I’m gonna shove one of these shotguns up your ass!”

  “Je-bus,” Adam said.

  “And spit out that fucking gum; you sound like a retard!” Charlie said.

  “Sowwy,” Adam said, then pulled the gum from his mouth, in a big sticky, saliva-coated wad, rolled down the window, and threw it outside. “Sorry,” he said, mouth now free of gum.