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.‘I think – I think this is me now.I think I’m cured.’ She didn’t sound happy about it.‘When?’ Jordan asked, suddenly urgent.‘When did this happen?’Amy took a step back.‘I don’t know! Sometime –’‘An hour ago,’ said Lauren quickly.‘Like, twenty past two or something.I remember checking the clock on our way out.’‘Why?’ said Amy.‘What’s going on? Do you know what happened to me?’Silence.All except for the hum of the shield grid and the distant sounds of the battle.Everyone stared at Jordan, who shot me a wary look.I felt my stomach turn over.Jordan took a breath.‘What if it was us?’ she said finally.‘I mean, we know I started the fallout in the first place, so what if –?’‘Hang on,’ Amy interrupted.‘What?’‘Long story,’ I said.‘Not her fault.’‘The fallout was released when the portal collapsed,’ Jordan pushed on.‘Right? The one that sent you and Peter – Bill and Peter – back in time.Twenty years ago, when it brought down the Complex – That’s when it all started.So what if – If the fallout started at that end of the portal, what if it finished at our end? An hour ago, when that same portal collapsed in the present … What if that was the end of it? What if the fallout started and finished with us?’Lauren squinted like Jordan was speaking another language.‘So … wait,’ I said slowly, and it was like a massive weight was creaking up off my shoulders.‘If that’s true, then it’s not just Amy who’s been –’ I hesitated.‘It’s not just her who’s been “cured”, is it? It’s everyone.It’s you.’Which would mean no more visions.No more portals.No more spending every waking moment wondering if today would be the day she finally faded out completely.But then, if the fallout really was gone …‘What about Tobias?’ said Jordan, speaking the thought out loud just as it dropped into my head.‘If we’ve all lost our powers, then …’I felt the weight come slamming back down.If there was no more fallout, then what did that mean for our one hope of saving the world?Jordan held the baby closer against her.‘We need to get to Shackleton,’ I said, that dizzy, how-am-I-even-still-alive? energy crashing through the fear again before I had time to think the better of it.‘Get him to actually talk this time.If Tobias can’t stop Tabitha anymore, then we need to find a way to make Shackleton do it.’Jordan’s eyes widened, not at the idea but at me suggesting it.‘What’s going on in town?’ I pressed.‘What did Reeve say?’‘He told us to stay away,’ said Jordan, in a tone that said this advice would have zero influence on her decision.‘Leave the town to them and focus on getting Tobias to the release station.’‘What about our families? Did he –?’‘No, that was the first he’d heard about it.’ She gazed out towards town again, torn.Tobias stirred.I watched, imagining him sitting up in Jordan’s arms and laying out his plan to save everyone.But he just yawned, his little face screwing up, and settled back down to sleep again.Jordan turned.She stared into me, gathering herself, like she was still talking herself into whatever she was about to say next.‘We should split up,’ she said quietly.‘Now that we can.Now that the fallout’s gone and we don’t have to worry about me fading out again.One of us should go out to the release station, and one back into town.’‘We don’t know the fallout’s gone,’ I said.‘No, I know, but it makes sense, doesn’t it? How else do you explain –?’ Jordan faltered, looking sideways at Amy.‘Anyway, we’ve got, what, fourteen hours left? We’re not going to win this thing by playing it safe.’‘Sure, but –’Jordan ploughed on.‘Think about it: we finally make it out of the Complex – which is kind of a miracle all by itself – and we’re stuck because we can’t split up, and then out of nowhere, here comes Amy, all ready to tell us that whatever the fallout did to her has suddenly come undone.What if that’s not a coincidence? What if the reason we ran into these guys is so that we could split up without freaking out about me randomly slipping off into another time or –?’‘Whoa,’ said Amy, holding out a hand to silence her.‘Whoa.Do you guys …?’Lauren shot her a puzzled look, covered almost immediately by a wide, disbelieving grin.I heard it too.The growl of an engine from somewhere in the distance.Somewhere above us.I looked up, through the haze of smoke and the reverberating cords of the shield grid, and saw a pair of blinking lights drifting across the sky.‘No way,’ Lauren whispered, and I felt a cold shiver cut my spine down the middle.It was a plane.THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 3.28 A.M.13 HOURS, 32 MINUTES‘They’re coming!’ said Lauren breathlessly.‘They’re finally coming.’‘Who do you think it is?’ Amy asked.‘Who cares who it is?’I tuned them out, hugging Tobias against me, feeling a rush of false hope before the truth came in and tore it all down again.What were they doing?Luke’s eyes were fixed to the sky, his face etched with an expression that said he was thinking exactly the same thing I was.If this was help arriving, if Luke’s dad and Kara had actually gotten out alive and convinced the military or whoever to come and rescue us, then why in the world were they trying to get back in here by air? Even before the shield grid went up, there was still –The plane swooped lower and my stomach went with it.Luke swore.It was small.Definitely military.Or, at least, definitely not commercial.It roared above our heads, straight over the town centre, then sailed around in a wide arc, coming back for another pass.‘Get out!’ Luke hissed at the plane.‘Get out, you idiot.You’re going to get –’‘What’s it doing?’ asked Lauren, somehow oblivious to our panic.‘Like, surveillance or –?’Bright light flashed from somewhere out in the bush, silencing them both, and a low rumble streaked across the sky, almost inaudible over the noise of the jet.Phoenix’s automated defences, kicking into action as soon as the jet was in range.The jet banked left.The missile swerved with it.I had just enough time to wonder what kind of insane defensive system involved blowing a target to pieces right over the place you were trying to defend, before the missile hit home and the jet exploded in a brilliant ball of flame.Exploded, but kept on streaking across the sky.The missile had struck just as the jet cleared the town centre, but something – the momentum of the jet or the force of the explosion, maybe – kept the wreck hurtling forward, tearing itself to pieces out over the bushland.Right over our heads.Lauren screamed, darting into the shadows as the jet soared overhead, spilling its guts out behind it.Amy followed, whimpering, sprinting away at what was now her top speed.Bits of flaming aircraft plummeted towards us.‘RUN!’ I yelled, yanking Luke into action.A strangled moan broke out from his mouth.I weaved through the trees, pulling him along behind me until I was sure he’d keep moving on his own, knowing what was holding him back, knowing the question that was flooding his mind.Had his dad had been on that plane?I released Luke’s hand, holding Tobias in both arms now, racing for the edge of the storm of debris, seeing already that I wouldn’t get clear before it hit [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.‘I think – I think this is me now.I think I’m cured.’ She didn’t sound happy about it.‘When?’ Jordan asked, suddenly urgent.‘When did this happen?’Amy took a step back.‘I don’t know! Sometime –’‘An hour ago,’ said Lauren quickly.‘Like, twenty past two or something.I remember checking the clock on our way out.’‘Why?’ said Amy.‘What’s going on? Do you know what happened to me?’Silence.All except for the hum of the shield grid and the distant sounds of the battle.Everyone stared at Jordan, who shot me a wary look.I felt my stomach turn over.Jordan took a breath.‘What if it was us?’ she said finally.‘I mean, we know I started the fallout in the first place, so what if –?’‘Hang on,’ Amy interrupted.‘What?’‘Long story,’ I said.‘Not her fault.’‘The fallout was released when the portal collapsed,’ Jordan pushed on.‘Right? The one that sent you and Peter – Bill and Peter – back in time.Twenty years ago, when it brought down the Complex – That’s when it all started.So what if – If the fallout started at that end of the portal, what if it finished at our end? An hour ago, when that same portal collapsed in the present … What if that was the end of it? What if the fallout started and finished with us?’Lauren squinted like Jordan was speaking another language.‘So … wait,’ I said slowly, and it was like a massive weight was creaking up off my shoulders.‘If that’s true, then it’s not just Amy who’s been –’ I hesitated.‘It’s not just her who’s been “cured”, is it? It’s everyone.It’s you.’Which would mean no more visions.No more portals.No more spending every waking moment wondering if today would be the day she finally faded out completely.But then, if the fallout really was gone …‘What about Tobias?’ said Jordan, speaking the thought out loud just as it dropped into my head.‘If we’ve all lost our powers, then …’I felt the weight come slamming back down.If there was no more fallout, then what did that mean for our one hope of saving the world?Jordan held the baby closer against her.‘We need to get to Shackleton,’ I said, that dizzy, how-am-I-even-still-alive? energy crashing through the fear again before I had time to think the better of it.‘Get him to actually talk this time.If Tobias can’t stop Tabitha anymore, then we need to find a way to make Shackleton do it.’Jordan’s eyes widened, not at the idea but at me suggesting it.‘What’s going on in town?’ I pressed.‘What did Reeve say?’‘He told us to stay away,’ said Jordan, in a tone that said this advice would have zero influence on her decision.‘Leave the town to them and focus on getting Tobias to the release station.’‘What about our families? Did he –?’‘No, that was the first he’d heard about it.’ She gazed out towards town again, torn.Tobias stirred.I watched, imagining him sitting up in Jordan’s arms and laying out his plan to save everyone.But he just yawned, his little face screwing up, and settled back down to sleep again.Jordan turned.She stared into me, gathering herself, like she was still talking herself into whatever she was about to say next.‘We should split up,’ she said quietly.‘Now that we can.Now that the fallout’s gone and we don’t have to worry about me fading out again.One of us should go out to the release station, and one back into town.’‘We don’t know the fallout’s gone,’ I said.‘No, I know, but it makes sense, doesn’t it? How else do you explain –?’ Jordan faltered, looking sideways at Amy.‘Anyway, we’ve got, what, fourteen hours left? We’re not going to win this thing by playing it safe.’‘Sure, but –’Jordan ploughed on.‘Think about it: we finally make it out of the Complex – which is kind of a miracle all by itself – and we’re stuck because we can’t split up, and then out of nowhere, here comes Amy, all ready to tell us that whatever the fallout did to her has suddenly come undone.What if that’s not a coincidence? What if the reason we ran into these guys is so that we could split up without freaking out about me randomly slipping off into another time or –?’‘Whoa,’ said Amy, holding out a hand to silence her.‘Whoa.Do you guys …?’Lauren shot her a puzzled look, covered almost immediately by a wide, disbelieving grin.I heard it too.The growl of an engine from somewhere in the distance.Somewhere above us.I looked up, through the haze of smoke and the reverberating cords of the shield grid, and saw a pair of blinking lights drifting across the sky.‘No way,’ Lauren whispered, and I felt a cold shiver cut my spine down the middle.It was a plane.THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 3.28 A.M.13 HOURS, 32 MINUTES‘They’re coming!’ said Lauren breathlessly.‘They’re finally coming.’‘Who do you think it is?’ Amy asked.‘Who cares who it is?’I tuned them out, hugging Tobias against me, feeling a rush of false hope before the truth came in and tore it all down again.What were they doing?Luke’s eyes were fixed to the sky, his face etched with an expression that said he was thinking exactly the same thing I was.If this was help arriving, if Luke’s dad and Kara had actually gotten out alive and convinced the military or whoever to come and rescue us, then why in the world were they trying to get back in here by air? Even before the shield grid went up, there was still –The plane swooped lower and my stomach went with it.Luke swore.It was small.Definitely military.Or, at least, definitely not commercial.It roared above our heads, straight over the town centre, then sailed around in a wide arc, coming back for another pass.‘Get out!’ Luke hissed at the plane.‘Get out, you idiot.You’re going to get –’‘What’s it doing?’ asked Lauren, somehow oblivious to our panic.‘Like, surveillance or –?’Bright light flashed from somewhere out in the bush, silencing them both, and a low rumble streaked across the sky, almost inaudible over the noise of the jet.Phoenix’s automated defences, kicking into action as soon as the jet was in range.The jet banked left.The missile swerved with it.I had just enough time to wonder what kind of insane defensive system involved blowing a target to pieces right over the place you were trying to defend, before the missile hit home and the jet exploded in a brilliant ball of flame.Exploded, but kept on streaking across the sky.The missile had struck just as the jet cleared the town centre, but something – the momentum of the jet or the force of the explosion, maybe – kept the wreck hurtling forward, tearing itself to pieces out over the bushland.Right over our heads.Lauren screamed, darting into the shadows as the jet soared overhead, spilling its guts out behind it.Amy followed, whimpering, sprinting away at what was now her top speed.Bits of flaming aircraft plummeted towards us.‘RUN!’ I yelled, yanking Luke into action.A strangled moan broke out from his mouth.I weaved through the trees, pulling him along behind me until I was sure he’d keep moving on his own, knowing what was holding him back, knowing the question that was flooding his mind.Had his dad had been on that plane?I released Luke’s hand, holding Tobias in both arms now, racing for the edge of the storm of debris, seeing already that I wouldn’t get clear before it hit [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]