Something knocked them off Gunner, slamming them hard and forcing the breath out of their lungs.
As he scrambled away, Andy opened their eyes and found to their horror that Colin lay beside them, his chest torn apart.
Ten meters away, Eddy was beating the crap out of Davian.
“What happened?” they shouted, kneeling before Colin. He was going too fast, and the wound was too big. There was nothing they could do to save him.
Eddy gave Davian one last savage blow and got up. “Davian shot him with this.” He held up a gun.
Andy stared at it. “I thought those weren’t allowed up here.”
“He must have brought it with him from Earth when we came up.” He tucked it in his belt and ran over to help.
We can help him.
But should we?
Jackson is going away. We need a strong third.
Jackson is going away?
No time to explain. Are we agreed?
No one dissented.
They put Andy’s hand on Colin’s cheek. His eyes opened, and he tried to say something. All that came out was a croak.
“It’s okay. We have you.”
He nodded.
They thrust Andy’s hand into the ground and connected to the world mind. “Here we go.”
Andy had never done this before alone, but a part of them had.
The floodgates opened, and Colin’s mind, heart, and soul flowed through her, a torrent of thoughts and emotions and memories.
For the first time, Andy saw the skies of Earth as if through her own eyes, the big blue vault of heaven over Colin’s father’s ranch, and she wept at the sight of it.
The others gathered around her, their hands on her shoulders.
Colin’s life flowed through her like an electrical current, pouring into the world mind to become a part of Forever’s legacy and its future.
It lasted an eon. From the first breath of life to the last moment of death, it left its touch on her soul.
At last, it was over.
Andy opened her eyes.
“He’s gone,” she whispered to Eddy. Gone, just like the others.
“He’s with Ana, Lex, and Jackson now, isn’t he?”
She nodded.
“He gave his life to save you.”
That was something she’d be carrying with her for the rest of her life. “Where are they?”
Eddy looked around. “Oh shit.”
In the midst of the transfer, his once-friend Davian and the man’s pet psychic had disappeared.
The shaking had stopped as well.
“Goddammit. We’ll find them.”
Andy nodded. “It wasn’t Jayson’s fault.” She was still reeling over that revelation. Her uncle, whom everyone had assumed had been lost all those years before, on Forever. And the things he’d done.
“Jayson?”
“The man who did this to them.”
Eddy frowned. “I thought his name was Gunner.”
“It’s a long story.” One they’d have to figure out. Why was he helping Davian? Was he even still in there? Andy shuddered.
“The shaking—that was you?”
She nodded. “I needed to distract him and to break the bubble.”
Baaaah.
Andy turned to see the two lambs that had precipitated this long goose chase and ultimate tragedy. They must have been spooked by the shaking and had run toward the village.
“I know someone who will be happy to see you.” Eddy scooped them up. “What should we do with Colin? Can we carry him out of here too?”
Andy shook their head. “He’s a part of this place. We’ll make a suitable tomb for him.” They called to the world mind again, and a pair of roots appeared to spin a fine filigree over Colin’s body. It covered him entirely like a cocoon, and after a moment, collapsed and withdrew into the soil. He was gone.
“Ashes to ashes,” Eddy whispered, his face a little gray. He retrieved his crossbow and slung it over his shoulder.
“Let’s go.” They stood and took one of the lambs, holding it gently.
They made their way out of Agartha, down the now empty path. At various intervals, great roots had pierced the surface, knocking aside trees and huts and blocking their way.
They detoured around them as best as they were able and eventually came to the stairs that led to the tunnel.
Shandra was waiting for them. “Are you okay?” she asked, running forward to embrace Andy. “I was so worried.”
“I will be.” Andy was shaking. They handed the lamb to Shandra. “Stand back.”
Shandra and Eddy did as they were told.
Andy turned and knelt, touching the ground and dipping into the world mind.
This place had been profaned by what had been done here.
She tapped into another of the mountains and called up the fluids that the world used to dissolve its waste, like those that had ended Ana’s life so long before under these very mountains but a hundred times stronger.
She flooded Agartha below, sloshing back and forth, wiping it clean of the vegetation and human habitations that Davian had placed there, making darkness descend on the hollowed-out space. Then she called up the roots to tear down the vault of the mountain.
A flock of seagulls rushed by over her head, forcing her to duck as they shrieked in her ear and fled down the narrow passageway of the tunnel.
The roots wound their way up the inside surface of the cavern roof and up the sides of each of the massive stone columns that supported it, digging into the rock as easily as if it were butter. Up and up they went, and when the roots reached the apex, Andy shouted, “Run!”
They pulled down the walls of the cavern with a terrible crash, as she and Eddy stood and ran down the tunnel.
Behind them, Agartha collapsed into a pit of rubble.
EDDY STARED down nervously at Andy. She had collapsed when the cavern had been destroyed, and he’d handed the other lamb to Shandra, who’d scooped her up to carry her to the outside world.
Shandra knelt at Andy’s other side. They had lain her on the grassy hillside outside the small cave where they had first entered Davian’s own version of hell. “Is she going to be okay?”
“I hope so.” There was something budding there between them. Good. Delia had been a fool to let Andy go.
“I’m not dead, you know.” Andy’s voice was soft but still managed to carry her deadpan sense of humor.
“Oh thank God.” Shandra squeezed her hand and knelt to kiss her.
Andy’s eyes flew open, but she didn’t resist.
Eddy chuckled to himself. Score.
Shandra helped her sit up.
“Did everyone get away okay?”
Eddy nodded. Typical Andy. Think of everyone else first. “They sent out a bunch of traxx to shuttle the villagers to the train station. Your father will help you clear the rest of them, when you’ve rested a bit.”
“Is that what we’re calling it now?” She grinned her lopsided smile.
“Yup. Came up with that one myself.” He grinned back.
“And Davian and Jayson?”
Eddy shook his head. “No sign of them.” He sighed. “Your father explained the Jayson thing to me.”
“It’s so strange to know he was here all along. That he was the one who took out Transfer Station.”
“Was he always evil?”
“I don’t think so.” Andy tried to remember the things her father had told her about Jayson. “I think someone found out what he could do and broke him. They turned him into a weapon that Davian found and used for his own ends.”
Eddy nodded. “We’ll find them. It’s a small world.”
“I hope so.” She rubbed her temples.
“Headache?”
She laughed bleakly. “You try sharing your brain with five other people.”
Eddy snorted. “You feel up to moving? I want to get you home so you can recuperate.”
“Yes, a warm bed and a cup of embrew sounds about perfect
at the moment.” She let them help her up. “One more thing?”
“Anything.”
“Next time you call me for help, it better be for something simple.”
DAVIAN STUMBLED along after Gunner, his whole body aching from the beating Eddy had given him. He cursed himself for getting out of shape.
The cavern rumbled, showering him with dust and knocking him to the floor. He screamed at the pain as his bruises and wounds impacted with the hard stone.
Gunner knelt next to him and lifted him as the shaking stopped.
The tunnel held.
Always have an escape hatch. He’d drilled that into himself, and his foresight had proved prudent when that bitch and her friends had destroyed everything he’d built over these last six years.
He should have killed Eddy when he had the chance, when they’d first reached this new world.
But one good thing had come from this whole misadventure.
As he lurched forward, he replayed it in his head, over and over. How the girl had taken the old man in her arms and thrust her hand into the ground. How her head had rolled back and her eyes had gazed, sightless, at the cavern ceiling.
He’d worked out what she had done. She’d sent the man’s soul into the world mind.
And if she could do it, then so could Gunner.
He would bide his time and learn more before taking that ultimate step. There were things to prepare, and he wasn’t quite ready to let go of the corporeal world.
But his time would come soon enough, and then he’d have all of Forever at his beck and call.
Chapter Thirteen: Passing
JACKSON SQUEEZED Aaron’s hand. “It’s time.”
Aaron’s mother and father had brought him and Andy back “home” to the little white house for one last meal, and for a couple hours, he’d been fifteen again, just a kid at dinner with his parents. He wished Jayson could have been there with them.
In reality, his parents were already dead, his father decades before, and his mother so recently it still stung like a knife in his gut. And so was the Jayson he had known.
Nevertheless, this extra time with Jackson and Glory was an unforeseen and unexpected blessing.
“Are you ready?” His mother took his other hand and took Andy’s too. The late-afternoon sun shone through the kitchen window behind her, giving her a glow like an angel.
Of course I’m not ready. How in the hell could you be ready to lose both of your parents at once, for good? But she didn’t need to hear that. “I will be.”
“We’re ready, Grandma.” Andy squeezed his hand.
“Ana and Lex are waiting for us.” Jackson got up. Aaron and Glory followed suit. Aaron’s father took one last look around the old house. “I’m going to miss this place,” he said gruffly.
Glory wiped her eyes. “Don’t get me started.”
He kissed her cheek and took both of their hands.
The house shimmered and vanished, leaving them standing in a wide green valley. Aaron recognized it instantly—Lex’s world.
Lex and Ana were waiting for them at the top of the hill, next to the stone tower. Lex was looking decidedly feminine, with long black hair and a rich blue silk dress. Like a princess.
Jackson climbed the hill and hugged Lex. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thank you for taking care of Jackson for all these years.” Glory was smiling. Mostly.
Lex nodded. “It was my pleasure.”
Jackson turned to Ana.
She had an anguished look on her face. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”
“It will be okay.” He pulled her close, and Aaron was surprised to see her start to cry.
“I know you believe that there’s something out there waiting for you. But you’re here now. Both of you are, despite our agreement otherwise.” She pulled away and glared at him. “We can make it work.”
“I know, I know.” He spread his hands. “I’m sorry I went behind your backs. I couldn’t let her go. But now….”
“Are you sure?” She searched his eyes. “Why can’t this be your heaven?”
“I’m sure.” He looked rested. At peace with himself and his decision. “We talked about it for two days. It’s the right thing for us. We’re ready.”
Ana laid a hand on his cheek. “I’ll miss you most of all, scarecrow.”
Jackson laughed. “I’ll leave you everything. My memories, my ideas. All of me but me.”
Andy ran forward to hug him. “I’ll miss you.” She didn’t try to hide her tears.
“I know, little one. You take care of your dad and your new little sibling, okay?”
She nodded. “I will.” She hugged Glory too.
“I’m so proud of you, my little angel.” Glory hugged her fiercely. “You have a bright future, mija.”
Jackson turned to Aaron. “It’s time.”
Aaron nodded, though his heart was beating like a machine gun.
Jackson hugged him from one side, and Glory did from the other.
They held him tight. “You have become more than I ever hoped for.”
Aaron smiled bleakly. “I had a good role model. Two of them.”
“Love you, Scout,” Jackson whispered.
“Love you too.”
Aaron closed his eyes. He didn’t want this to end. He’d gotten used to having his mother nearby and his father on call when he needed him.
To lose them both, and Colin, all at once? It seemed inconceivable.
Although Colin would be back, after a fashion, once he’d managed to integrate himself with the world mind.
When Aaron opened his eyes, they were gone. Andy, Ana, and Lex were embracing him instead.
He let everything out that he’d been holding inside, and they joined him.
When his immediate grief ran its course, he wiped his eyes and flashed a sad smile at Andy.
It was the next generation’s turn.
THE WORLD edged closer to 42 Iris. Ana smiled. The explosive charges had worked as planned, and the two worlds were now spinning in perfect synch.
The tremor that marked the mating of Forever and her next source of expansion materials would be felt all along the length of the world, but she hoped to make the union as smooth as possible. “You can come out of the shadows.” She’d known he was there for a while, but she remembered what it had been like at first, when she’d transitioned from her old life and body.
“Sorry. I’m still a little disoriented.” Colin stepped out into the light to stand next to her.
“You’re just in time for the big show.” She pointed to the virtual screen.
“Then it’s off to the stars.” His eyes sparkled.
Ana closed her eyes. “Remember that day on Ariadne, when I found you staring up at the heavens?”
“You mean when Jackson died?”
She nodded. That old wound no longer gave her such pain. “I saw the look in your eyes. You wanted to go out there. To see what the universe held in wait for us.”
He laughed. “It was that obvious?”
“Let’s just say I was familiar with the look.” She took his hand. “We’re the lucky ones. The chosen. We get to see how it all turns out, while they—” She gestured behind her. “—will live the spans of normal mortal folk.”
“Is it a blessing or a curse?”
She smiled wryly. “Yes.”
“How are we seeing this?” He pointed at the virtual screen.
“The external cameras still work. Mostly. And I have a shuttle out there giving us eyes on the process.”
“Ah.”
The distance between the two bodies shrunk slowly, almost imperceptibly, until at last there was a crunch as the masses met. “Bet that spilled someone’s embrew in Darlith.”
She laughed. “Probably.” This was the most critical part. Ana joined with Lex as they reached out to extend themselves into the new asteroid, anchoring it firmly to Forever. World roots dug in and pulled Isis tightly into their grasp. “
There. It’s done.”
As they watched, a thin sheet of organic material spread out from the end of Forever where it met Isis. It floated out into the void like a gossamer umbrella, ready to catch the solar wind.
“All this from that one little seed.” Colin whistled. “She’s aptly named.”
She kissed his cheek. “This is all because of you. Would you like to take the wheel?”
PART TWO: COUP
2181 AD
Chapter One: Happenings
HE WAS hungry.
He stumbled along the stream bed, kicking up water from the little creek to wet his dirty gray trousers.
The world around him was gray, too, as if it were smothered in fog.
When did I eat last? When did I see another human being? Who am I? These things were all mysteries to him. He only knew that he was starving and exhausted.
Through the haze that overlay his vision, something new materialized in the distance. It was a….
He struggled to find the word.
A… house. It was a house. A farmhouse.
He clambered up the hill, reaching out toward it, afraid it would vanish in the mist.
There were people there, outside. A man. A woman. A teenager.
He remembered children. There had been children, before. In the other place. The one he could never quite remember. Small children.
He’d been happier there. He’d always been fed, had things to do.
“You okay?” the teen asked. A boy.
“He doesn’t look so good.” A woman’s voice. It soothed him somehow.
“I… hungry….” His voice was raspy and weak, as if he hadn’t used it for a long time.
He couldn’t remember. Something was missing. Someone. The person he had talked to, sometimes.
Davian.
He nodded.
“What’s your name?” The man this time.
“Davian. Yes, that’s right. Davian.” He tottered and then lost his balance and collapsed on the ground.
“It’s okay,” the woman said. “We’ll take care of you.”
“Hungry,” he said. Then he fell asleep.
COLIN SLUMPED at his desk in his neat vee space office, staring at the view on the wide screen plastered across one wall.
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