Begin Again

by K. A. Applegate

  “What a long strange trip it’s been,” he said. “Huh, Duck?”

  The group wandered back to the alcove where Billy hung suspended in the humming golden glow.

  Sanchez felt his breathing slow to the rhythm of its song.

  “He’s here for a reason,” Jobs said solemnly.

  “Yes,” Sanchez said, placing a palm over the relic that lay against his chest. Silently he added, And it will be my work to discover that reason…

  “Is he alive or dead?” Mattock asked nervously.

  “I don’t know,” Jobs admitted. “Maybe neither. Doesn’t matter.”

  That one is wise, Sanchez thought.

  “Okay,” Violet said, glancing back to where Tate’s remains lay huddled. “But, what about Tate?

  Should we, I don’t know, bury her? I feel bad just leaving her here —”

  “No!” Sanchez stated emphatically. “This is where She belongs.” Violet flinched at his harsh tone.

  Sanchez felt bad for having upset her — he knew she had meant no disrespect — but it was essential that no one defile the Source.

  “Agreed,” Mo’Steel said, his hand on the knife in his belt. “Hear me? Nobody touches Tate.”

  Vaguely Sanchez was aware of voices murmuring agreement. But suddenly his ears didn’t seem to be working the way they should. They seemed stuffed — aware only of the blood pulsing through his body. Sanchez pressed his palms to his ears and rubbed, in a futile effort to clear them. By now his vision had begun to blur, too. It was as if he was being smothered….

  Suddenly, the golden aura around Billy began to undulate and Sanchez dropped heavily to the floor.

  The golden boy reached for Sanchez’s hand. “Please don’t be afraid,” he said.

  Sanchez slowly extended his own hand and let the boy clasp it.

  The boy smiled. “Good,” he said. “I am here to help you.”

  “And me? Why am I here?”

  “You are here to help me. Sanchez, you must be my voice. You must listen and then explain to the others.”

  “Must I?” Sanchez asked.

  “It is your destiny.”

  “The one they call Tate. From long ago and yet from the future. The one I call the Source. She told us to listen to j’ou.”

  “Yes. Listen to me.”

  “Who are j’ou?”

  The boy laughed. “Me? I don’t really matter Except as Mother’s voice to you. As you are my voice to the others.”

  “What do I tell them?” Sanchez asked.

  “Tell them that all will be as it was. But different.”

  “What is old will be new. What is dead will be brought to a better life. What is barren will be made to bear fruit.”

  “I — Do j’ou mean —”

  “Palms will sway in the wind and waves will lap at the shore. Fruit will ripen and nourish.”

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  “Rivers will swell and the sun will warm.”

  “How? How?”

  The boy’s clasp had begun to weaken. Sanchez clung to the slim, cool fingers but they slipped from his grasp. When the boy spoke again, his voice trembled.

  “There are things you need to do.”

  “What?” Sanchez begged. “Tell me. Tell me!”

  “There are things that must — that must —”

  Sanchez opened his eyes and yelped. Mo’Steel’s dirty, sweat-stained face was inches from his.

  “Thank god,” Violet said. Sanchez turned his head slowly and saw that she was kneeling at his right.

  “I thought…”

  “He spoke to me,” Sanchez told her.

  “What?” Jobs now was leaning over him, eyes feverish with excitement. “Billy talked to you! What did he say?”

  “Let’s give the guy some air, okay?” Mo’Steel and Mattock helped Sanchez sit up, then stand.

  “What he do to j’ou?” Newton growled.

  Sanchez looked hard at Newton before turning to the rest of the group.

  “The boy says he can help us.”

  “How?” Mattock blurted.

  Sanchez closed his eyes. He remembered what he had seen in his latest vision. He remembered what Billy had just told him. Sanchez reached for the place where the vision and Billy’s words connected.

  “Things will be as they were, but different,” he said finally.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” 2Face’s tone was angry.

  “I hope to learn more in time,” Sanchez answered, feeling his strength return with each word he spoke. “The boy speaks for the Source. He referred to Her as Mother. I — I believe the boy — She —

  is speaking of a rebirth. Of a new world. He spoke of wind and water. Of fruit and — and of the heavens. I must learn more.”

  Mo’Steel laughed. “Uh, yeah,” he said simply.

  Sanchez sensed the boy leader’s excitement at war with his skepticism.

  Violet met Sanchez’s eyes. “Remember Tate’s message,” she said urgently. “She told us to listen to Billy. She talked about how wonderful life was before the Rock. I think — I think Billy is talking about restoring Earth to a — to a fully living planet.”

  “Look at him,” Jobs said excitedly. “He could do it! He looks like some — some —”

  “Looks can be deceiving, Duck,” Mo’Steel said firmly. “Okay, maybe Billy’s got some regreening plan up his sleeve. Maybe not. We’re just going to have to sit tight and hope Sanchez can figure it all out.”

  CHAPTER 10

  “I WAS AFRAID OF WHAT I SAW.”

  So.

  Billy was alive.

  Just when 2Face thought she was rid of him forever, he shows up, all spooky, glowing, superhero guy, speaking in freakin’ tongues or whatever, sending messages to the masses.

  Superhero! What Billy looked like was a dead bug stuck in amber.

  And Jobs looked like he was about to burst with happiness. Sanchez was acting all serious and devout, especially after his little fainting drama. Even Mo’Steel seemed in awe of the freak that was Billy.

  2Face was furious. No, she was enraged.

  She was definitely about to explode. If she didn’t get out of this stinking ship —

  “I’ll be outside,” she murmured to no one, then turned and strode from the ship.

  Once outside, she breathed deep, trying but failing to calm herself.

  Something cheesy was going on.

  First off, why should she trust this Sanchez guy? For all anyone knew he was a total quack.

  Spiritual seer her butt. He was probably making up the “message” he heard Billy speak for his own motives. What those motives could be, 2Face wasn’t sure, but that didn’t matter.

  Anyway, if Sanchez wasn’t lying about having received a message from Billy, if Billy really had told him something, then Billy was the one with some thing devious up his sleeve.

  Stranding them all — accidentally or not — on this stinking chunk of a planet wasn’t enough.

  No! Not for Billy the Weird. He probably had some additional torture in mind….

  2Face looked back at the ruined ship and imagined the freak inside.

  Newton followed 2Face out into the dusky light and tried to calm his breathing. If he’d stayed inside a minute longer he was sure he’d have gone crazy.

  Everyone who had waited outside stopped what they were doing and looked at him. Balder took a step toward Newton, but Newton was in no mood to talk about what he’d seen, scowling at his crew, he stalked off alone.

  The skeleton had been terrible. Newton had heard of Her, the Source, all his life. Seeing Her so up close and personal, though, that was tough.

  But far worse was that one hanging in midair. That kid and all that stuff about a new world!

  It was all probably a trick, like that little kid who could blend into the dust.

  All a trick meant to fool the Marauders.

  Newton was used to the dim, consistent light. The ashy ground. The kill-or-be-killed cod
e.

  Newton knew his world. He did not want to be thrown into a new one unprepared. So right then and there, looking back at the motley band preparing their nomadic camp — Aga and the other women unpacking food, Croce bullying the younger children. Cocker on guard against danger — Newton decided that he would stop the new world from coming.

  The resolution gave him heart. Already Newton felt better, more confident, less — scared.

  Life was already nasty and unfair! Look at what had happened with Mo’Steel! By rights, Newton should be leader of the Marauders, not that stranger.

  But he could deal with that - he would deal with it. For now. Another opportunity would come and Newton would seize it. He would destroy the glowing one and life would be fine again.

  But only if everything else stayed the same.

  Newton began to walk back toward the makeshift camp. Along the way, he plotted. He was sure he still had Claw, Snipe, and Balder on his side. That was a place to start. He’d talk to them right away, tell them of his intent to stop that disgusting - thing — hanging inside the old ship from regreening the planet.

  Whatever that meant.

  Violet found herself seated next to Sanchez for the meal. Since leaving the ship he’d spoken to no one and had kept to himself. Violet was surprised he’d joined the group now.

  “The visions,” he said suddenly, handing her a small plate of food.

  “What?” Violet blurted. “I’m sorry. You scared me.”

  Sanchez lowered his head but Violet saw that he was scanning the circle of hungry people.

  She guessed he didn’t want anyone to overhear their conversation.

  “Yes?” she whispered. “What about the visions?”

  Sanchez hesitated a moment before going on. Finally he said, “I was afraid of what I saw.”

  “Tell me,” she urged.

  Sanchez did.

  When he was finished, Violet touched his hand. “But there’s nothing to be afraid of!” she whispered reassuringly. “You saw my world. What used to be my world, back before the Rock. Maybe … Sanchez, I think you saw what this world will be like someday. Someday soon, if we can believe Billy.”

  If we can understand Billy, she thought, experiencing a moment of anxiety. So much is up to Sanchez … Could he handle it? Would he handle it?

  “There is more about the vision,” Sanchez said now, poking idly at the food on his plate.

  “There was a yellow ball. And then it became — darker — yet still — intense. Many colors I have seen only in the pillars of flame spread out from it. I didn’t know what was happening.

  The fiery ball began to drop and I thought it would crush the Earth but — it just slipped away.

  Almost immediately, I saw in its place a bright orb…. It started to ascend, so slowly…. In it, I saw shadows, but they did not dim the brilliance. …”

  Violet felt her heart swell. She could hardly keep from shouting with joy.

  “Sanchez, you saw the setting sun and the rising moon! Wasn’t it beautiful?”

  Sanchez put his plate on the ground. Suddenly he looked terribly weary.

  “I don’t know,” he said softly. “I don’t know.”

  “Hey, Sanchez!”

  Newton was sitting at the far side of the circle, directly opposite Sanchez. Jobs averted his eyes as Newton dug into his mouth with a grimy finger.

  “J’ou tell us a story, something we can laugh at,” the big man went on.

  Before Sanchez could answer, Mo’Steel got to his feet and said, “I’ve got another idea. We heard something pretty wild not long ago. The Source spoke to Sanchez and he told us all about it. I don’t know about you,” he went on, looking at each face in turn, “but I’ve got some questions about this new world.”

  A murmur of agreement rippled through the group. Newton, though, was silent and scowling. Jobs guessed he wanted to forget about what had gone down in the old ship.

  Like that was possible. Mo’Steel was smart to get people talking. To get them comfortable with a seriously mind-blowing notion.

  Aga spoke. “I don’t know what to think. But I want to know.”

  “Me, too,” Olga added helpfully. “But where to begin?”

  “With what we know of Earth before the Rock,” Violet suggested. “We start with the big picture and work down to details.”

  Mo’Steel looked at Jobs. “How about a lesson?” he said. “Explain — simply — some basic science. Basic astronomy. Basic, Duck.”

  Jobs rolled his eyes at his best friend. “Yeah, I get it,” he said. He gestured for everyone to move back several feet. Then, with the back of his spade, Jobs smoothed and patted down a section of ash.

  “I’m going to draw some pictures,” he said, looking around at the group of wary Marauders.

  His gaze flickered to Echo, Lyric, and Mattock, then to a few of the Mayflower people. “Some of you might be familiar with what I’m going to show.”

  Stupid thing to say, he realized too late. Half of the Marauders shot dirty looks at the Alphas and Remnants. He’d just reminded the Marauders that he knew more than they did.

  “I need a lesson,” Noyze said with a laugh. “I was terrible in science class. Maybe I can finally learn something.”

  Jobs gave Noyze a quick, thankful smile. With the tip of his spade he drew the solar system as it had been known before the Rock. He pointed out Earth and the other planets. He showed them Earth’s moon and sun. Next to the crude diagram he drew another one to show what it meant for a planet to spin on its axis. Then he illustrated a planet’s path of rotation.

  “So, if Billy is talking about a newly green planet, Earth might begin to spin again,” he said, becoming lost in the thrill of his work. “To rotate around the sun, too. Which means night and day, and phases of the moon and high and low tides, and —”

  “Spin!” Curia cried. “Earth will fall out of the sky!” Jobs looked up, startled, to see the young Marauder woman climbing to her feet. “We will fall off Earth!”

  A murmur of horror swept through the group.

  “No, no!” Jobs said. “You don’t understand. That’s not the way it works. There’s gravity and … Look, I know it sounds scary but — trust me. I —”

  “Why should we trust j’ou? Nesia shouted. “J’ou talk crazy.”

  Jobs looked pleadingly at Mo’Steel. His friend walked into the center of the rough circle and with his foot wiped away Jobs’s drawings.

  “That’s enough for now,” he said loudly, firmly. “Newton? You had a good idea. Now, who’s got a story to tell? And make it funny.”

  CHAPTER 11

  “WE WILL MAKE A NEW HOME.”

  Later, the Marauders gathered of their own accord, one by one drifting away from camp until all but the smallest children — and Sanchez — were present. Behind them, Mo’Steel and his group still sat in a circle. The three Alpha refugees had withdrawn on their own.

  Through the gloom, Newton could see Mo’Steel watching them, waiting, wary. The kid was probably scared, Newton told himself. Well, he should be.

  Newton assumed leadership of the impromptu meeting. Tension was high — and he was just the one to bring them higher.

  “I say talk of this — regreening — this new world, it bad news!” he whispered fiercely.

  There were nods and murmurs of agreement. From almost all of the Marauders.

  “How will we survive on this new planet?” Curia wondered, her eyes wide. “What will we eat? Where will we live? How will we — who will we be?”

  “Where will Beasts go?” Claw asked. “Or Slizzers?”

  Snipe laughed inanely. “What, j’ou saying j’ou will miss them killers?”

  Claw shrugged. “I wonder, is all.”

  Good, Newton thought. They will all go my way and say no to Sanchez and that thing hanging in the light.

  “We will know nothing in this new place!” Newton said now, looking from grim face to grim face. “What good will that be to us? We will be like l
ittle children. Worse! Children have adults to tell them what is what. Who will tell us?”

  “Them Alphas,” Nesia said darkly. “Or Mo’Steel and them. They will tell us what to do.

  Marauders will be nothing!”

  “Don’t be foolish!” Aga said. “How will Alphas know any better than Marauders? J’ou think they be better than us?”

  That Aga, Newton thought, scowling at the old woman. She nothing but trouble. I’ll get rid of her soon. Get rid of that troublemaker, Sanchez, too.

  “There will be no home,” Grost said, stumbling slightly into Badger

  “We will make a new home,” Badger answered, catching the girl’s arm. He looked from Marauder to Marauder “Think about what Violet say. Plenty of food. Plenty of water! Yes, that thought is — I can hardly think it. But — I will take a chance. And — beauty. There will be beauty as far as the eye will see.”

  Yorka looked at Badger with shining eyes, but Newton scoffed. “What beauty? What do they mean by that word? Marauders have no use for beauty. Nor for ugly.”

  “But we will! In the new world,” Badger argued, “Marauders won’t have to struggle all the time. We will have time. Time to sit and think and —”

  Newton snorted and waved his arm in the air dismissively. “Nothing but trouble come from that, sitting and thinking.”

  Badger, Newton thought. He will go, too. And Yorka.

  Now Cocker stepped forward. Newton tensed. Cocker was the idiot who had saved the lives of those Alphas. If it were Newton, he’d have killed and robbed them, no question.

  “I was told about the past,” Cocker said. “What it was like here, before. I was told about what we were like then. We — human beings — were magnificent.”

  Balder laughed. “J’ou been drinking that stuff again!” he said, but Newton noticed that he was eyeing Cocker keenly.

  Cocker went on but Newton called him out.

  Soon — very soon — he would confirm Balder, Claw, and Snipe on his side. And together, they would put an end to this new world horror.

  While the Marauders held their private meeting, the Remnants held theirs. Mo’Steel refrained from adding his comments. His entire attention was focused on the distant gathering.