AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Fine." I sweep my gaze over our surroundings, and I can't help smiling. "We did it, didn't we? The worlds are unbound and devoid of magics, and we haven't forgotten each other."
"You already said that, before you passed out."
"Oh. Sorry." I glance around, but stop as I feel something strange inside me. For a moment, I can't understand what I'm sensing. Then it hits me—so hard that I gasp and stumble into Gabriel, clutching his shirt. "Oh, my God. I remember everything."
"Do you have brain damage from all those magics? You keep repeating the same phrase."
"No, no, I'm not." I lift my face to his and grin. "I don't have amnesia anymore. My name is Sarah Delaney, and I was born in Olympia, Washington. My brother and parents were alive beforethe apocalypse, but I have no idea what happened to them after that. The rest of my memories are still pretty fuzzy."
"You'll get all your memories back, eventually."
I don't see how he could know that, but I realize Gabriel wants to make me feel better. He shouldn't bother. I feel amazing right now, just knowing we saved the world and that I do have a past.
Unfortunately, everyone who died during the apocalypse will stay dead. We couldn't bring them back. Something in the magics that Sefton Stainthorpe used to create the alchemy of worlds prevented that. But we have each other, we have a beautiful world to live in, and we have all the time we need to rebuild the Earth. All the infrastructure has been resurrected, but it might take decades to get everything working again.
"How will we get back to Sanctuary?" I ask. "We need to check on our friends, but we can't teleport anymore."
"Oh, don't worry about that," Erin says. "I can hot-wire any car you want. We'll return it to the original owner later on."
As we wander down the hill to the bridge that spans the river—the Paddock Viaduct, Allison tells us—we don't talk at all. I think we're in shock, still coming to terms with what we've done. We saved the freaking world. Grant will never have his wife and son back, and Erin will never see her sister again. But we've all forged new bonds that mean everything to us, as friends and as lovers.
Do I wish we could've brought back everyone who died? Of course I do. But we can't change the past. It's time to make a new future.
A few blocks past the viaduct, we find an abandoned vehicle that we can all just barely fit inside, but we can find something bigger as we travel. Erin hot-wires the car, and we get on the road.
We don't see anyone.
Maybe they're hiding, unsure of what has happened and whether they should trust it. It will take time for people to accept that the horrors have ended and they've been given a second chance. Still, it feels odd not to see anyone walking around. The city seems normal again, but vacant of human life.
Jarek follows us, loping along at an easy pace that lets him keep up with our car only because he's so enormous.
Allison, who sits up front with Erin, turns on the radio. Nothing but static. She flips through stations but finds none in operation. That's also no surprise.
While we traverse the city, I focus on what I do see rather than what I don't see. Though I had never visited Fort Worth before the apocalypse, I imagine it didn't look as pristine as it does today. Cities never are like that, at least not the ones I've visited. We pull over at the public library so Allison can take a peek inside. We all climb out to join her, mounting the steps to the portico and pushing through the unlocked doors.
While everyone else admires the restored library, which no longer bears the wounds of the apocalypse, I stand near the windows and stare out at nothing in particular.
Gabriel comes up behind me and loops his arms around my waist. "What's going on inside that amazing brain of yours?"
"This will sound weird."
"I'm on board for weird. I did make love to you inside an apocalypse machine, after all."
"Yeah, I know. But, um…" I glance back at our friends, who are laughing and smiling. "Maybe I should wait. Let everyone enjoy the remade world for a while first."
"You can tell me, Sarah. I can keep a secret, and I can handle whatever it is."
Of course he can. I know that. Gabriel is the most incredible person I've ever met.
So I decide to tell him. "I think we still have our Echo powers. Pretty sure nobody else does. Just the six of us."
"Not Aldith either?"
I shake my head.
"What about the creatures here and the ones we consigned to the Echo?"
I shake my head again. "Just us."
