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Mary wondered how wise it was to get into a stranger's car, but decided unless she wanted to walk these empty downtown streets alone, she had little choice.
"A city can be a scary place at night," said Beto, as they stepped out into the cool night. "But this neighborhood looks worse than it is." Then he added, "Besides, you have your own personal security guard."
Mary laughed at that, if only to make the moment less awkward.
"This way," he said, leading her down an alley. "The parking lot is in the back."
He took her hand, and she chose not to resist.
"So what are you hungry for, Mary? Chinese food, maybe? A burger?"
"Food is food," she said. "Anything is fine."
It wasn't until they were halfway down the alley that she realized, and stopped cold.
She had told him her name was Megan ... not Mary.
A distant streetlight at the end of the alley lit half of his face, but from this angle his eyes were in shadow, so she couldn't be sure. "Milos?"
Then he smiled. "I was wondering how long it would take for you to figure it out!"
"But ... how long?"
"Do you remember when he stopped to check his keys?"
Milos laughed, and Mary launched herself into his arms. She simply couldn't stop herself, and in return, he held on to her with arms strong and unfailing.
"You came back for me! You came back!"
"How could I not? Your children need you," he said. "I need you too."
Milos went on to tell her about their week west of the Mississippi. The train traveled slowly, stopping at every town they came across, but they hadn't found a single Afterlight. There were dubious sightings of creatures that seemed part animal, part human, but that may just have been the over-active imaginations of the younger children.
"I've been thinking about what you said," Milos told her. "How you might be able to work from this side. It will be difficult, but it might work. Even alive, you can give comfort to your children. Of course you won't be able to see them, but they can see you."
"Is anyone with you right now?" Mary asked.
Milos shook his head. "No. We're all alone in both worlds."
"Good!" And then she did something she never had done in Everlost. She kissed him. She kissed him so long and so hard that he had to back away to catch his breath. She knew it was partially the weakness of her flesh that made her do it, but she also knew it was necessary to seal the bond between them. He had come back for her. He didn't have to, he didn't need to--he could have chosen to rule her children alone, yet he didn't. Mary knew what he wanted; he wanted to take Nick's place in her heart. The least she could do was make him think that he had achieved that goal--and who knows, maybe someday he would. But for now, she would do him the service of telling him what he wanted to hear.
ad arrived early in the morning, presumably to wait for someone to arrive on the train, but few passenger trains came through Little Rock's Union Station--in fact it was more of an office building now than anything else. The ticket agent called security, and the two security guards on duty eyed her from a distance.
"A nut job," concluded the older man, but the younger guard was not so jaded. He had just turned twenty, and was new to the job. He still saw the best in people. "Maybe she's just waiting for the Texas Eagle."
"That train's not due for hours," said the older guard. "I'm tellin' ya--she's a wacko. Sooner or later there'll be a 'tell' that gives it away--you watch!"
The girl did not have the look of the various and sundry crazies that frequented the nation's train stations. She was well-dressed--in fact, overdressed in a emerald-green satin gown. True, her red hair looked a bit disheveled, but she was neither talking to herself or engaging in questionable activities--although sitting for hours in a train station was, in and of itself, questionable.
She was hard not to notice. What with that shimmering gown, she was the only bright spot in the dreary station, and it drew the younger guard's attention all morning long, until he finally approached her. She was as beautiful up close as she was from a distance, although some discoloration around one eye attested to some sort of trouble.
"Are you all right, Miss?" he asked. "Can I help you with anything?"
"No," she said cheerily. "I'm just waiting for a friend."
"The train isn't due to arrive for another six hours-- and with that bridge down in Memphis, everything's been rerouted, so it's bound to be late. Wouldn't you rather come back later?"
"My friend is not necessarily arriving by train," she informed him.
