Yesterday's Gone: Season Six (50 page)

“No!” she cried. “I can’t leave you.”

Boricio looked up into Paola’s crying eyes, and saw something he never thought he’d see again — love and friendship.
 

But he couldn’t let that love get her killed.

He still had something to do, and couldn’t if she were with him. He had to get Paola to her mother.

“Luca!” Boricio screamed. “Get her out of here!”

And then, in a flash, Paola was gone.

* * * *

Chapter 29 — Mary Olson

“Why do you keep fighting me,
Light?
” Desmond raised his Dark bladed arm, with Mary stuck to it like a speared fish, and stared into her eyes. “You cannot win. And yet you keep fighting.”

He jerked his arm, slicing deeper into Mary’s guts.

Blood poured through her shirt. Intense pain flooded her body. The pain was dizzying, and she could barely hang on.

She longed to let go, to taste the sweet embrace of an endless abyss.

Come on, Mary,
said Callie’s voice.
You’ve gotta fight. Gotta fight for your girl.

If she let go, The Darkness would finish her off. And that would be that. Desmond was right: The Darkness was many, The Light were few.

She fought to keep her eyes open, determined not to let the smug fucker win.

Just close them for a second. One sweet second.

No,
Will’s voice commanded.
We are not done. We will not give in.

A high-pitched scream came from above, followed by the sound of metal tearing.

Mary looked up groggily and saw hundreds, if not thousands, of bright aliens pouring into the room in a wave of what looked like pure light.

Desmond’s eyes widened: now he was outnumbered.

The swarm of brightness gathered around them, though not yet attacking. Desmond looked to Mary, confusion knitting his brow.

Mary, reinforced by hope, felt the tide turning. While she was tempted to act on the years of rage and hate that had been building within her, she then thought of Paola.

Act on love, not hate,
a collective voice said within her.
 

Mary thought not of revenge for all The Darkness had done to her and everyone she loved. She thought of protecting Paola. Of never letting The Darkness anywhere near her daughter again. To do that, she had to end it, once and for all.

Mary looked down to see her hand and arm engulfed in a brilliant-white light. She stretched her fingers, entranced by the beautiful drops of light dancing around her fingers.

She met Desmond’s eyes then looked down at his bladed arm in her gut.

She swung her bright hand down and severed his arm.

Desmond fell back, blood and black liquid jetting from his appendage.
 

Though he’d been holding her up, Mary didn’t fall when she sliced his arm off. She floated in air, as if lifted by The Light swelling behind her.

She looked back to see the Light bleakers stacked atop one another, hundreds upon hundreds, if not thousands.

She could feel them buzzing, awaiting her command.

She ripped his claw from her gut and threw it to the ground where it dispersed into dark swirls.

Desmond met her eyes. “No, Mary, please.”

The voice he used was more like the Desmond she once knew. Tears streamed down his face. Was the real Desmond truly trapped, a hostage in his body? Could he be saved if so, with only the alien killed?

The Light brightened behind her.

“I don’t know what to do,” Mary said, feeling as if she could either send the mountain of Light down on this man and end both him and the alien, or maybe try to remove The Darkness.

“Please, Mary,” he begged again. “Don’t kill me. The Darkness is gone; I swear it.”

She flashed back to holding Paola’s dead body. Seeing her shot in the head. Mary knew she couldn’t take any chances. Could never trust another word from Desmond’s mouth.

She met his eyes and felt two things at once — a genuine sadness for the loss of the man she once loved and relief to finally end the threat that had destroyed the world, and nearly killed her daughter.

“Goodbye,” she said.

And the wave of Light rolled forth, consuming all in its wake.

* * * *

EPILOGUE

Six months later
 

Washington State

In her dreams, she’d saved Boricio.

In her dreams, she’d made it to the mainland with the others, watching the ship explode on The Island, finally destroying The Darkness. The difference between dreams and reality was that in her dreams she’d found Boricio after The Light teleported him to safety.

In reality, she felt him on the ship as it exploded.

He was gone with The Darkness.

Also gone, from all of their lives, was The Light, which had become such a deep part of them. It had moved on after the ship exploded.

And it was that realization, and that reality, she woke to every morning, feeling slightly empty.

But her bed was never lonely.
 

Paola slept beside her.

Mary watched her daughter’s eyes roll behind their lids, wondering if she was having more nightmares. They all had them for several months after defeating The Darkness. The kids, including Paola, often woke in the middle of the night, screaming, thinking The Darkness had returned to claim their family.

Which was why Paola slept with her mother, for now.

Mary didn’t mind. She was glad to have her girl back. Glad that they’d been able to build a new community in Washington. It was small, just over one hundred men, women, and children — all people she trusted. Paul and Emily were living among them, their telepathic powers still strong, even if neither Mary nor Paola felt anything
extra
running through them. Paul and Emily were in charge of ensuring the people in their community, called Hope Springs — Paola’s corny suggestion — were good people.

Every now and then, they heard from Lisa, who was out on the road, doing what she could to help the teams working to rebuild life after the aliens. It wouldn’t be easy, but Lisa was up for the fight.

The scent of bacon roused her stomach. Someone was making breakfast, and Mary was famished.

She looked at Paola, wondering how long the girl would stay sleeping. She gently shook her. “Want breakfast?”

Paola made a noise and rolled over, pulling the covers over her head.

“Fine, I’ll eat yours,” Mary joked then got out of bed.

She slipped out of her shorts and into some jeans then headed out of her room, downstairs into the kitchen she shared with Brent, Teagan, the kids, Paul, and Emily. They all lived in the compound’s main house, with fifteen other groups and makeshift families sharing neighboring homes on the ten acres of farm and woodlands.

“Good morning,” Teagan said, getting up from her spot beside Brent and heading toward the stove to get food for Mary. “Is Paola awake yet?”

“No, she was up late last night.” Mary turned to give Ben a look. “Someone kept her up playing Uno until one in the morning!”

Ben giggled.

“One?” Brent asked. “Why were you up so late?”

Ben shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not a kid anymore, Dad. I like staying up on Fridays.”

Brent shook his head. “I’m sorry, Mary. If I knew, I would’ve sent him to bed.”

“It’s okay, Paola loves the kids. And she looks for any excuse to stay up.”

Mary, with a plate of bacon, eggs, and fresh muffins, sat to eat.

Emily poured her a glass of orange juice from the pitcher on the table between them.

“Thank you,” Mary said, smiling.

She was so glad that what started off as a rather rocky relationship — her slitting Emily’s throat, then Paul trying to return the favor — was now so close-knit.

Teagan excused herself from the table without warning, suddenly rushing away.

Mary looked up at Brent. “Is she okay?”

He nodded sheepishly. “Yeah.”

Mary looked at him, sensing his secret.

Emily looked at Brent, a smile spreading across her face. “Oh, my God.”

Brent looked at her, eyes wide as he realized she’d peeked into his brain.

Emily threw her hands over her mouth, realizing she’d messed up. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to. I swear, I wasn’t prying. It was just coming off you, practically screaming.”

“What?” Ben and Becca asked together, staring at Brent, waiting for an answer.
 

“What?” Becca repeated.

Brent wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Really, Teagan should tell you.”

Teagan returned to the kitchen. “Tell them what?”
 

Brent’s lips pursed. “I think we should tell them. The cat’s kinda out of the bag.”

“What?” Teagan asked. “What do you mean, kinda?”

Brent pointed at Emily. “She saw my thoughts.”

“Sorry,” Emily said sheepishly.

“I’m sorry,” Paul echoed then joked, “I’ll be sure to lock her in the dungeon for dinner.”

Teagan took her seat next to Brent and told the kids to come over.

They ran over.

Mary watched, knowing what was going to come, feeling her eyes well up with tears.

“How would you two like a baby brother or sister?”

“What?” Becca looked like she’d been offered a pony.

“What?” Ben seemed less excited, but not upset.

“We’re pregnant,” Teagan said.

“You’re
both
pregnant? I thought only girls had babies,” Becca said.

Everyone laughed.

“No, just Teagan.”

“YAY! I hope we have a sister!” Becca danced around the table.

“And,” Brent said, “we’re not sure how we’ll do it, what with there not being any judges or preachers or anything these days, but we’d like to get married.”

Emily started crying. “Oh, I’m so happy for you all!”

She went over and hugged Brent and Teagan, then the kids.

Mary went over and hugged them, too. She was happy for them, even though she was thinking of Boricio, and what might have been.

Paola slunk into the kitchen, sleepy eyes, hair a rat’s nest. “What’s everyone going on about?”

Becca yelled out, “My mom is marrying his dad, and we’re gonna have a brother or sister!”

“How long was I sleeping?” Paola joked.

Mary went over to Paola and hugged her. “I love you.”

“What’s that for?” she asked.

“Because I haven’t told you yet today.”
 

* * * *

EPILOGUE TWO

Six months ago

The Island

Boricio sat on a grassy hill in the distance, watching the mothership’s remains burn in a bright-white fire. The music of bending metal collapsing into itself, organic material withering amid shrieking aliens that had yet to be killed, and those compromised by The Light, all leaving Earth in The Light’s fire: a chaotic melody, music to Boricio’s ears.

His body was still repairing itself, but at least he was no longer dying. Once certain that the aliens were all dead, he’d go find Mary and the others.

Two bright shapes materialized on either side of Boricio. He was about to jump, ready to rumble, when they found familiar forms: Luca, as a kid, and Will.

They sat on the hill, watching the ship burn. Their bodies were half-normal-looking, half light, partially transparent, like illuminated ghosts. For a moment, Boricio wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating.

He sat back down. “Are you all here, or am I seeing shit?”

“We’re here,” Will said, putting a hand on Boricio’s back, “for a little bit longer.”

“Where’s the others? Ed? Charlie, Callie?”

“They had to move on,” Will said.

“Move on? To where?”

“We don’t know what’s next,” Luca said. “Another life on another world. Maybe they come back here. No one can say.”

Boricio felt a bit of The Light inside him, coloring his gaps of knowledge —
when the body dies, the soul moves on to another form.

“So, there ain’t no Heaven or Hell? I’ve been Ned Flanders for nothing?”

Will and Luca laughed.

It felt good to hear them.
 

Boricio had a disturbing thought. “Wait a second, if we all die and come back, are you saying these alien fucks are getting a sequel?”

“Everything comes back, but not always in the same form,” Luca said.

“How the hell did you get so smart, Boy Wonder?”
 

Luca shrugged.

Boricio tousled the boy’s long hair. “It’s good to see you as a kid again. That old fucker was depressing the hell out of me.” Boricio looked at Will. “No offense, Grandpa.”