'round?
I wondered if the people on the Moon had
never been able to return because these stoic human beings had
refused to fall, and kept the bacteria with them as a giant screw you to those that had consigned them to die.
Our Armageddon had been their escape. They looked around in wonder at the forest, even as they
continued walking. I was sure they could do nothing to help us, but
I wished them luck all the same.
The boys both trembled with exhaustion and
fear. I had to keep their minds occupied while I tried to come up
with something, anything… "Danny, why did you hit Thomas?"
"He tried to take the book through on his
own, somewhere dangerous," my second explained. "I had to do it,
for his own good."
Thomas looked up at me from under my arm as
we limped forward.
"Is that right?" I asked him. "I guess I kind
of assumed one of your parents hit you, when you wanted to sleep in
an abandoned house instead of at home. Danny, are Thomas' parents
abusive?"
"I dunno," he replied. "I never met 'em. He's
a new kid, remember?"
I nodded. "I remember how he was an outsider,
when I first came around."
Thomas looked strictly ahead, a worried
expression on his face.
I pulled us all to a halt, suddenly grimly
certain about something. "Thomas, where do you live?"
He gulped, and said nothing, instead watching
us both with fear.
"We'd never hurt you," I told him. "It's you , isn't it? You showed up at the same time as the portal,
and you kept following me in, helping out…"
"I just wanna go," he suddenly blurted, on
the verge of tears. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I
can't control it well at all. And that thing, that book, made
everything go crazy."
"Did it make the destinations worse?" I
asked. "Or was that because… of how you felt when I came
around?"
His face screwed up even more, and a few
tears began running down his cheeks in the half-illumination of the
distant fires. "I just miss my mom," he admitted. "And to have you
around, acting like her, taking care of people… of me…"
"Of course," I replied, hugging him tight.
"If you stick with me, I'll always keep you safe."
He sniffled. "Really? Why would you do
that?"
"You lost a mother, but I lost a child. I
don't think there's anybody more suited to take care of you. Our
two pains can cancel each other out, if we let them. But right now,
you need to protect me …" I looked over at Danny. "And your
new family. All these kids. They're your new swarm."
Thomas laughed despite himself, and wiped his
eyes.
I let the words fall slowly. "But right now,
you have to turn off those portals. The gunfire's stopped, so I'm
guessing the iWorker men have retreated… for the moment. They'll be
back when they formulate a plan. The mind behind those
corpse-things is on the other side of their portal, and the
cleansing fire comes from the other side, too. If you shut down the
portals right now , we might all just survive the night."
"I don't know if I can," he said with a
worried sob. "It's… an emotional thing… and I need to be calm… and
feel safe…"
I looked around, understanding how hard it
would be to concentrate in a forest filled with approaching
invisible corpses and belching flames. "Would it help if you
understood just how far I would go to protect you? Just how much I mean it when I say I would never leave you?"
"Those are just words… she promised,
too… and then she died…"
I handed him the book. "Souls can't lie. Take
a look at my story, and you'll understand."
He did. Danny and I watched as the
light-being in the form of a boy - the light-being that had just
been trying to go home all this time - read my story, the one I'd
been running from for far too long. The moments spent standing in
place were long, and our seconds of safety were few, but it was the
only way for him to understand.
Finally, he looked up. "Is that true? Did all
that really happen to you?"
I closed my eyes for a good three seconds,
knowing what he was asking about, and
I wondered if the people on the Moon had
never been able to return because these stoic human beings had
refused to fall, and kept the bacteria with them as a giant screw you to those that had consigned them to die.
Our Armageddon had been their escape. They looked around in wonder at the forest, even as they
continued walking. I was sure they could do nothing to help us, but
I wished them luck all the same.
The boys both trembled with exhaustion and
fear. I had to keep their minds occupied while I tried to come up
with something, anything… "Danny, why did you hit Thomas?"
"He tried to take the book through on his
own, somewhere dangerous," my second explained. "I had to do it,
for his own good."
Thomas looked up at me from under my arm as
we limped forward.
"Is that right?" I asked him. "I guess I kind
of assumed one of your parents hit you, when you wanted to sleep in
an abandoned house instead of at home. Danny, are Thomas' parents
abusive?"
"I dunno," he replied. "I never met 'em. He's
a new kid, remember?"
I nodded. "I remember how he was an outsider,
when I first came around."
Thomas looked strictly ahead, a worried
expression on his face.
I pulled us all to a halt, suddenly grimly
certain about something. "Thomas, where do you live?"
He gulped, and said nothing, instead watching
us both with fear.
"We'd never hurt you," I told him. "It's you , isn't it? You showed up at the same time as the portal,
and you kept following me in, helping out…"
"I just wanna go," he suddenly blurted, on
the verge of tears. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I
can't control it well at all. And that thing, that book, made
everything go crazy."
"Did it make the destinations worse?" I
asked. "Or was that because… of how you felt when I came
around?"
His face screwed up even more, and a few
tears began running down his cheeks in the half-illumination of the
distant fires. "I just miss my mom," he admitted. "And to have you
around, acting like her, taking care of people… of me…"
"Of course," I replied, hugging him tight.
"If you stick with me, I'll always keep you safe."
He sniffled. "Really? Why would you do
that?"
"You lost a mother, but I lost a child. I
don't think there's anybody more suited to take care of you. Our
two pains can cancel each other out, if we let them. But right now,
you need to protect me …" I looked over at Danny. "And your
new family. All these kids. They're your new swarm."
Thomas laughed despite himself, and wiped his
eyes.
I let the words fall slowly. "But right now,
you have to turn off those portals. The gunfire's stopped, so I'm
guessing the iWorker men have retreated… for the moment. They'll be
back when they formulate a plan. The mind behind those
corpse-things is on the other side of their portal, and the
cleansing fire comes from the other side, too. If you shut down the
portals right now , we might all just survive the night."
"I don't know if I can," he said with a
worried sob. "It's… an emotional thing… and I need to be calm… and
feel safe…"
I looked around, understanding how hard it
would be to concentrate in a forest filled with approaching
invisible corpses and belching flames. "Would it help if you
understood just how far I would go to protect you? Just how much I mean it when I say I would never leave you?"
"Those are just words… she promised,
too… and then she died…"
I handed him the book. "Souls can't lie. Take
a look at my story, and you'll understand."
He did. Danny and I watched as the
light-being in the form of a boy - the light-being that had just
been trying to go home all this time - read my story, the one I'd
been running from for far too long. The moments spent standing in
place were long, and our seconds of safety were few, but it was the
only way for him to understand.
Finally, he looked up. "Is that true? Did all
that really happen to you?"
I closed my eyes for a good three seconds,
knowing what he was asking about, and
Similar Books
