The Rift (108 page)

“Good,” Nick said. “I hope we can talk soon.”

Jason threw his arms around Nick, squeezed tight. Nick hugged him back, careful of his broken ribs. “You’ll be okay,” Nick said. “You
know
that, right? After what you’ve been through, adolescence in Los Angeles is going to be
easy.”

“I guess,” Jason said.

And then, as they stood in their embrace, the earth gave a sudden jolt. Thunderous booms crashed through the air. Nick and Jason stepped back, legs and arms both wide for balance, as the earth shivered, a series of sprawling, looping rolls that almost sent them tumbling like circus clowns.

And then it ceased. The southeast horizon roared as the earthquake sped away. Nick stood on the green earth, his heart lurching crazily in his chest.

“Aftershock,” Manon said, in the sudden, expectant silence.

Nick and Jason looked at each other, and Nick saw that they both understood the pitiless message sent in that moment by the violence of the earth. That the world was not done with them; that they were atremble always on the edge of the crevasse; and that in the end the world, this ancient and multifarious remnant of an exploded star would have its remorseless way.

THE END