My name is Alodia. I thought I knew who I was. I remember who I have been, since the day I landed on La Huerta. I am the best friend of Diego Ricardo Ortiz Soto. I am the lover of Jacob Lucas McKenzie. I am a student at Hartfeld University, but Hartfeld University is gone. Everything is gone, and now I do not know if I can trust my memory.
I have heard stories of the Endless, the great god of the Vaanti. I saw a vision of them once, back before I understood just how deep the mystery of La Huerta ran. When I was just a scared, lost college student, barely keeping it together on a dream vacation that had gone horribly wrong for reasons I did not yet understand. That was the day I first met Varyyn, then a Vaanti prince. Before his mother gave her life for us, before he was crowned the Elyyshar. Before he fell in love with my best friend. That day on the beach, as I knelt in surrender between Sean and Jake, he touched my forehead and flooded my brain with visions. Of Elyys'tel, his village, built into the trunk and branches of a tree massive enough to be Yggdrasil of the Viking stories. Of Ximedra, his mother, her green-tinted face covered by a sheer drop veil. ...And of the Endless, a figure dressed in a blood-colored space suit, their face concealed behind a black visor, a ball of flame dancing over the skeletal fingertips of a mechanical right hand.
Uqzhaal, the Vaanti shaman, spoke of how the Endless had foretold my coming. Mine and the coming of my eleven friends. The Catalysts, they have called us. We are meant to prevent Raan'losti, the end of the world. It seems we have failed, though. The world outside this tiny island in the Caribbean is a fiery hellscape. I collected our scattered idols, forged of pure amber. Each one granted me a terrifying vision of its owner dying, but I continued to gather them, trusting that knowing the future would prepare me to change it—to prevent the vision my own idol gave me, a vision of eleven graves, with only one left alive to dig them.
But now...now, I am at the Threshold. The place where I saw myself covered in blood and digging eleven graves. Now, deep in the mining tunnels beneath Mount Atropo, with Uqzhaal and the pirate Yvonne beside me, I am face to face with the Endless. Her helmet is off, and my own face stares back at me from atop the crimson space suit. My pale skin has gone slack with age, my honey-blonde hair is gray and thinning, but there is no mistaking my face.
"I had to be certain you were ready, Alodia," she says. "Now our work can begin."
I feel my knees turn to rubber. I sink down onto a stone that juts out of the cavern wall. Yvonne edges closer to me, her dark eyes wide and wary as she looks between me and the Endless.
"What devilry is this?" she demands.
I hazard another look at the Endless. My stomach threatens to rebel, but I keep my gorge down. "You...you're..."
A smile plays around the Endless' wrinkled mouth. Vague amusement flickers in her bright blue eyes. "I am you," she confirms patiently. "Yes. Don't worry. The suit will prevent a paradox from being caused by our proximity to one another."
Ice water flows in my veins. I hug myself, shivering. The armor of polished amber that I wear rattles just a little. It is the armor of Andromeda, my Hadean zodiac sign. Less than a full day ago, I discovered it on the roof of a dorm building at Hartfeld University, half-submerged in molten lava, and yet comfortably cool to the touch. After a total of six months trapped on La Huerta, my friends and I had found our way home—only to discover that our home had burned the same day we left it.
"You lied to us!" Uqzhaal's angry voice pulls me back to the present. "Lied to the Vaanti...for generations!"
The Endless does not flinch as she regards the blue-skinned shaman. "I did not lie," she replies mildy. "The Twelve are integral to preserving Vaanu."
"You used my people as mere pawns! Fodder! Caring only for your so-called Catalysts!"
"You needed something to believe in, didn't you?" the Endless retorts. Uqzhaal's jaw tightens. He glares at her, his crimson eyes snapping with fury, hurt, and betrayal. There is a smugness in the Endless' smile that fills me with the desire to slap her, but that urge quickly deflates. I want to reach out to Uqzhaal and offer him comfort, but I am paralyzed. What could I possibly say, when the most terrible part of all of this is my certainty that it is all sickeningly, terrifyingly true?
Two-thousand one-hundred thirty-nine. That's how many times the Endless has watched her friends die. And probably several versions of herself—of me—as well. Unbidden, their faces flash through my mind. Diego. Jake. Estela. Sean. Craig. Michelle. Raj. Quinn. Zahra. Grace. Aleister. The Endless gave them names that the Vaanti would know them by. She named them after constellations in the Hadean zodiac. But knowing now who is behind that helmet, those names start to take on new meaning.
Diego. My oldest and dearest friend, my brother in all but name. Canis. The dog. What more fitting symbol for my sweet, tender-hearted best friend than man's best friend? Jake, my lover. Once a lone wolf, now fighting for his pack. The Endless named him Lupus. Proud, fiery Estela, as deadly as she is beautiful and majestic, is the Dragon. Sean is Aquila, a noble eagle. Craig is a bear, fiercely protective and steadfastly loyal. Michelle is a beautiful peacock. Raj is a centaur, as wild as he is wise. Quinn is a gentle dolphin and Zahra a crow, the symbol of the trickster in many cultures. Grace is a swan, beautiful to look at, but not to be trifled with. And Aleister...Aleister, who betrayed us all at MASADA. Though I care for him as much as the others, the Endless called him Serpens. The snake.
"I know this must all seem very strange," the Endless remarks, pulling me back to the present. "Is there anything you'd like to ask me, Alodia?"
I am silent for a long moment, my thoughts racing. I don't know where any of my friends are. I was unconscious when Yvonne pulled me from the frigid water surrounding the MASADA complex. The last thing I remember is Jake's terrified face as he reached for me while I clung to the landing skid of the doomed Arachnid chopper. Sean, Estela, and Craig were also in that chopper. Zahra had been pulled out by Lundgren. Quinn...Quinn had vanished into thin air. Overtaken by the Island's spirit, she had stopped the missle from killing us all instantly, even if the blast wave had ultimately destroyed the chopper. Raj, Michelle, and Diego had managed to escape with Varyyn, but God only knows where they are now.
...But...they are alive. I know they are alive. Because if they were not, the Endless would not be standing in front of me now. ...This is the first time I have made it this far. The first time in two-thousand one-hundred thirty-nine loops that I have made it to the threshold with all twelve idols and every one of my friends still alive.
I look up at the Endless, swallowing. "Wh-what is this 'work' you mentioned doing?"
"Everett Rourke seeks to harvest La Huerta's time-altering energy by triggering the island's destruction. We cannot allow that."
"So...you can't just go back in time and terminate his parents or something?"
"I told you, I cannot leave this island. My powers are restricted to this time bubble. Besides, there is no need. There's a crux of extradimensional crystal inside the core of the volcano. All of the fragments on the island originate from it. By harnessing the crux's power, you and I will stop Rourke for good. We must act quickly though. Now that he has the Island's Heart, Rourke has no more use for the Catalysts. Or me. And he is not one to leave loose ends."
"Yeah." I mutter. "I got that impression. But...how is any of this possible? What are you? What...am I?"
The Endless lowers her mechanical right hand toward the tunnel floor. "My journey to self-discovery was long and difficult. Yours will happen much faster. It's important, however, that you develop that understanding on your own."
Flames swirl from the Endless' metal fingertips, igniting a line of black powder that I had not even noticed was there. An orange spark travels the trail's length, disappearing around a bend in the tunnel.
"In the end," she continues, "it's up to you to decide who you truly are."
I don't know how to answer that. I feel a deep, cold fear spreading over me like a stain, filling me to bursting and leaving me empty all at once. I want my friends here. I want Diego. I want Jake. I want all of them. I want to hold them and beg them not to leave me, not to let me slip away. I want them to tell me who I am...
A distant explosion echoes through the caverns. The Endless nods with satisfaction.
"There. That should activate the crux. We'll..." She trails off abruptly, frowning. I barely notice the tremor at first. It's so subtle, it might as well be my own heart fluttering with anxiety. But the Endless looks alarmed. "...This is not as I'd expected."
The earth under my feet pitches violently, throwing me to the ground. I go sprawling, tumbling into Yvonne. The walls around us shake and a blast of blisteringly hot wind rushes through the tunnel.
"The mountain is erupting!" Uqzhaal cries.
"Right now?!" I shriek.
A blood-curdling howl rises above the roar of the explosion, coming from somewhere below us, sounding like a cruel mockery of a human voice. Yvonne clutches me.
"By the black depths, what-"
"Now I understand," the Endless interrupts her. "The core is missing. Destablizing the entire structure. We need to leave immediately."
No one needs to be told twice. We charge through the caves towards the mouth of the Threshold, Uqzhaal supported between me and Yvonne. Hot air licks at our backs, spurring us on until we burst back into the open air.
A plume of fire and smoke billows from Mount Atropo's summit. Streams of shimmering lava ooze down the slopes like blood trickling from a wound. Uqzhaal closes his eyes, slumped with despair.
"Too late," he murmurs. "It's all too late. Raan'losti has come."
Yvonne puts herself in the path of the Endless, stopping her in her tracks. "Arrete, demon!" the pirate snaps. "You told me that if I brought you Alodia, you would give me the Fountain."
"The legendary Fountain of Youth. Yes. It's inside the mountain just as you and your fellow pirates believed. But not in the form you expected. In any case, I wouldn't go back there now." The Endless gestures toward the mountaintop, where geysers of lava are rocketing into the night sky. "This is no ordinary eruption. The entire island is about to change. Just as it did when Rourke tampered with the crux."
I stare at her in disbelief. "You didn't know this would happen?" I cry angrily. "You saw everything else, but not this?!"
"This is as new to me as it is to you," she confirms grimly.
Helpless tears are burning in my eyes. "Can't we just go back in time and stop it?" I ask pleadingly.
"These kinds of eruptions cannot be reverted. They shatter apart time itself."
"So you are saying the Fountain is lost?" Yvonne asks.
"What you seek can be found to the east," the Endless replies. "There is another temple on the coast. A place once known as No'ax Naj. Your brother, Patrice-"
She is cut off by a bubble of lava that crashes into the nearby slopes, converging with a pyroclastic flow that starts to ooze down the mountain toward us.
"Oh, god..." I whimper. "I don't think we're going to survive this..."
"Alodia!" The Endless' sharp voice draws my eyes instantly to her face. She has pinned me with a penetrating gaze. "Listen to me. You are the miracle I've waited for. You're the only one who could keep everyone safe. I need you to recover the Island's Heart from Rourke. With it, we can preserve La Huerta and protect our friends. Do you understand?"
"I..." My voice falters. I close my mouth and open it again. "...I..."
"Alodia, do you understand?!" Suddenly, in the Endless, I can hear my own voice clearer than ever. In her eyes, I see her love for our friends. Our family. All we love in the world. All we have left.
"...Yes. I understand."
"Good. Stand back." We do as she tells us. The Endless affixes her helmet to her head. Slowly, she extends her arms toward the approaching inferno. "Go. Find everyone. Find the Island's Heart!"
And then she's gone, vanished beneath the rising blaze.
"No! Wait!"
"Laisse tomber!" Yvonne snaps, grabbing my arm. "We must go!"
She drags me off, and the three of us take off, crashing through the rainforest. As we crest a hill, I dare to look back. A sea of liquid fire is gathering at the base of the volcano, glowing hellish red. My chest feels tight. That's what the whole world looks like, on the other side of La Huerta's time bubble. A lifeless sea of lava that gleams the color of blood.
"We should be safe up here," Uqzhaal murmurs. A series of yellow flashes light up the sky, reflecting the smoky clouds drifting off the mountain. Yvonne frowns.
"...A storm?"
"Not a natural one," Uqzhaal says grimly. Then, I see something familiar. Yellow-orange orbs of energy flaring to life in the sky, exploding into wild arcs of lighting.
"It's happening again. ...Just like when we flew in..." A deafening crack like thunder rips through the air as several tongues of lightning lash out at the earth, igniting the foliage around us.
"Zut alors!"
"No longer safe!" Uqzhaal exclaims. "We must move! Quickly!"
I hear the telltale crackle of splintering wood, and feel the rush of air as the tree trunk hurtles toward me. Acting on pure instinct, I spring out of the way, diving into the smoking brush. The tree crashes to the ground, sending up a thick cloud of sparks and smoke. The next breath I draw fills my lungs with smoke that burns like cinders. My lungs rebel violently. If I don't get away from the smoke, I almost expect them to climb up my throat to escape on their own.
"Alodia...!" Yvonne's voice is thick and strained. "Got to...keep...moving..."
I try to answer her, but my throat is already swollen almost shut. The most I can manage is a whimper as I stagger to my feet, only to land on my knees again. The fiery glow around me is growing brighter as trees and undergrowth are rapidly consumed. My head is starting to swim. My vision narrows, filling with static at the edges. I can only pray that the smoke kills me before I start to feel the flames...
A hand, the palm rough with callouses, grasps my wrist. I feel my arm pulled over a pair of shoulders. Another arm wraps around my waist and pulls me firmly against a torso. As I'm hoisted to my feet, a familiar, gruff voice cuts through the haze in my brain.
"...I ain't losin' you twice, Princess."
I look up weakly, hardly daring to believe it. "...Jake?"
"Let's get you out of here." I manage to get my feet under me enough to limp out of the immediate danger zone. Through the curtain of smoke, I can see another familiar figure. Estela, bracing Yvonne, keeps close to us. As I manage to take in a few lungfuls of clean air, my head starts to clear. The spastic coughs tearing through my chest start to ease. Jake holds a canteen to my lips, and I take a long swallow of water before passing it to Yvonne. He rubs my back.
"You all right?"
"I think so." I grin shakily. "Nice timing, by the way."
"Oui, the two of you really know how to sweep in at just the right moment," Yvonne agrees, winking at Jake. "How do you call it when there are two couples? A...'double date'?"
Jake snorts. "You wish."
"Can we save the flirting for when we're not about to be burned alive?" Estela snaps.
"Wait..." I look around, my stomach twisting as I realize that someone is missing. "Where's Uqzhaal?"
"He was on the other side of the fallen tree," Yvonne says grimly.
"Grandpa Smurf knows these jungles better than we do. We're gonna have to hope he can make it out on his own."
"But..." Another flash of ball lightning rents the sky apart, raining down arcs of electricity. I turn to Jake. "H-how did you find us?"
"The chopper went down right after you fell. We've been combing the forest while Cap and Big Guy search along the eastern coast."
"So Sean and Craig are all right?"
"We can only hope," Estela murmurs. "It's been three days since we saw them."
"Didn't think it'd take this much time to find you, but Michonne over here will tell you that I'm wrong every great once in a while."
"Th-three days?!" Relief gives way to dread again. "But we were only separated a few hours ag-"
"Stop!" Estela cuts me off sharply. "What's that up ahead?"
On the path ahead of us, rays of bright blue light stream from a glowing rift hovering in the air. It as if the air itself has been torn apart. A wound in the skin of reality...
"It's...like a window," Yvonne remarks. "There is a...place on the other side..."
A piercing shriek echoes from the other side of the rift. I squint, peering through the tear, where I can clearly see a herd of dinosaurs roving through a prehistoric jungle—as well as a massive pterodactyl streaking through the sky, diving straight towards the rift.
"Run for it!" I scream. I don't have to tell anyone twice. We launch away from the rift just as the prehistoric creature bursts through and soars into the sky on leathery wings.
"C'est un monstre!" Yvonne gasps.
"Dinosaur," Jake corrects her. "But close enough for my mustard." Overhead, the creature disappears into the darkening clouds.
"Okay, let's not hang around this rift or whatever it is. I am in no mood to be a dinosaur dinner."
"Agreed," Estela says flatly. The four of us run on into the forest until the rift disappears behind us. Finally, we dare to slow down for a moment.
"This kind of thing didn't happen during the last storm," I murmur. "...Did it?"
"Hard to say," Jake replies. "I was busy trying to keep Delilah from making a swan dive into the Caribbean at the time."
"We were lucky." Estela's voice is soft and heavy. "We were spared...along with this island. And now there's nothing out there to go back to."
Jakes reaches out to put a hand on her shoulder. "Take it easy, Ripley. I ain't having you crack at a time like this."
Estela shrugs off his hand. "I'm not cracking!" she snarls. "I'm being honest with myself. Everything's gone. This is all we have now."
Any response any of us might have had is cut off by another series of blue flashes ahead of us. Two more tears in reality float among the trees.
"Looks like Rourke's about to get that prehistoric theme park he always wanted," Jake mutters. The ground under my feet heaves suddenly, a spasm that throws me right into Jake's arms. He grabs a tree branch, bracing himself, and I see Estela and Yvonne do the same.
"What now?" Yvonne moans in exasperation. The earth heaves again, groaning as the forest floor splits apart behind us. A blood-red light burns through the network of fissures, followed quickly by bubbling lava that bleeds out over the forest floor. Everything it touches immediately bursts into flames. Jake swears through gritted teeth.
"Figures. My day was going well for once."
"The rifts!" Estela shouts. "We've got no choice!"
"Copy that!" Jake agrees, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards one of the rifts.
"Wait! Are you sure it's safe?"
"Again, we don't have a choice! Come on, Princess! Hurry!"
For a moment, everything is a blur. A blue flash, searing heat and hellish red light, then warm, muggy air engulfs me and I'm on the ground, clasped in Jake's arms. The roar of the eruption is suddenly gone, replaced with the chirping of insects and gentle, lapping water. I raise my head and take in the scene around me, the mossy bank beside a softly flowing river. To my horror, I realize that Jake and I are the only ones here. Jake lifts his head, meeting my eyes.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine...where are Estela and Yvonne?"
"I think they're okay. I saw them dive at the other rift." He helps me to my feet. "...Looks safe enough here..."
I turn around, peering through the rift behind me. I can still see the burning rainforest. I can also almost make out the second rift, and Estela's face on the other side. She meets my eyes and nods. My heartbeat slows its frantic rhythm. I back away from the rift.
"...I guess we'll have to pass the time here until the fire dies down."
"Guess so," Jake agrees. We sit down by the water's edge. He picks up a stone and tosses it into the gentle current. "Whatever this place is, it's a dead ringer for Pearl River."
For the first time since MASADA went up in flames, I start to feel a genuine smile playing around my mouth. "Is that where you grew up?"
"Yeah. We moved around a bit before I headed off to Annapolis, but my grandparents always had their place out in the backcountry. That house was the center of the family."
"What was it like there?"
"It's a different world out there. Simpler way of life."
I sigh. "Simple sounds pretty nice right now..."
"You're tellin' me. ...My sister and I would spend the day swimming, fishing, pranking the neighbor kids... Our favorite trick was a little thing called 'Crabby Britches'."
"'Crabby Britches'? You mean..."
He grins. "Exactly what it sounds like. Strategically placed crawdad when you least expect it."
I can't help laughing. God, how long has it been since I laughed...? It can't have been more than a few days, but it feels like a lifetime.
"You two were little brats," I say, elbowing him lightly.
"We were. It was great. But I'm sure you and Petey got into your fair share of trouble, too."
"...Yeah..." I try to swallow the fear that bubbles up in me at the mention of Diego. "I'm sure we did..."
"Hold still."
"What? Why?" His hand flies up and gives my neck a sharp swat that makes me jump. "Hey!"
He grins at me, wiping his fingers on his pants. "Maringwin. Otherwise known as a mosquito. Got him though. Not to worry."
I chuckle. "My hero."
"I do what I can. Can't have my Princess itchy." His smile seems to slip very suddenly. He turns his gaze towards the water, his eyes distant.
"...Something wrong?"
He doesn't answer me immediately. Then, he sighs heavily. "...I keep going back to the moment I lost him."
I instantly know who he's talking about. "...Mike..."
"Lundgren got his claws in him. Made him something inhuman. I could have saved Mike from all of this...And I didn't. And now whatever's left of him is in there watching, suffering..." His voice breaks, and tears start to glisten on his eyelashes. He looks back at me, helplessness and desperation in his eyes. "...I can't take it, Princess..."
I draw him into my arms, guiding his head down onto my shoulder. He clings to me, shuddering. As I rub his back, the tears start to come in earnest. I hold him while he cries, rocking him gently, just as he did for me back at the Celestial, when I feared Diego was gone forever after having been a prisoner for six months.
"We're gonna get him out," I murmur soothingly. "That's a promise."
Jake shudders, gulping audibly. He slowly sits back, scrubbing at his eyes. He nods. "...We will. No matter what it takes."
"Damn right." I lay a hand on his back, making slow, gentle circles. He exhales slowly, shaking his head.
"...Helluva place, this island..."
"You're telling me," I say wryly.
"We've been through a lot here. But I gotta say...for you, Alodia, I'd do it all again." He reaches over to take my hand, and leans in to rest his forehead against mine. I grip his hand, and let my other arm wind around him to draw him closer. Outside, the world is burning, nine out of the eleven people I love most in the world are missing, and some version of me is an old woman in a red spacesuit with a skeletal claw where her right hand should be. But in here, I am in his arms. Just for a moment, I don't need anything else.
"...Hey, Top Gun?"
"Yeah, Princess?"
"...Kiss me. Now."
He chuckles. "Don't mind if I do." His lips find mine, warm and soft. I taste them hungrily, and he answers with slow, gentle passion, caressing my mouth as if he wants to savor it. Even when we break the kiss, he keeps his forehead on mine, reaching up to run his fingers through my hair.
"Hey, Princess...you ever think...maybe...we were meant to be?"
I nod against him, nuzzling him like a cat. "I do think that. Yes." I have to. If I believe anything less, if only for a moment...I don't know how I could bear it.
"All the craziness this place has thrown at us couldn't keep us apart. Even brought us to this Land Before Time swamp that looks just like my old stomping grounds."
"I'm glad I could see it with you."
"Me too, Princess."
I feel something heavy settle in the pit of my stomach. Images still nag at the back of my mind: a red spacesuit, a mechanical limb, my own aged face. ...And another face, the face of my best friend and brother. I don't even know if he's safe. Jake kisses the top of my head. Over his shoulder, I see the shimmering rift. The sliver of rainforest visible through the tear is dark and smokey.
"I think the fire's died down."
"Well. As we say in the south, 'tempus sho' does fugit'." He exaggerates his Louisiana drawl to such an extreme that I can't help laughing. He grins and stands, holding out his hands to help me to my feet. "You ready?"
Hand in hand, we emerge from the rift. The ground is still a little hot through the soles of my shoes, and covered in writhing smoke. The cracks in the forest floor still emit a faint glow, but the surrounding brush is no longer in flames. Estela stands near the second rift.
"Welcome back."
"...Where's Yvonne?"
"A third rift opened just before we dove in." She gestures at it. "I think she got into it all right."
Jake hops over a cooling fissure and peers into the third rift. Cupping his hands over his mouth, he speaks into the gleaming tear. "Ground control to Buccaneer Barbie. You can come out now."
Yvonne's head pokes out of the rift. After taking a moment to observe her surroundings, the rest of her emerges.
"That was a surprisingly pleasant sieste. Shall we be on our way?"
"Absolutely," I agree. "Let's get moving before that volcano comes up with a new way to kill us."
I hazard a glance back at the mountain as we trudge on through the rainforest. The eruption continues, lighting the night sky with geysers of fire. I find Jake's hand and keep a tight grip on it. For almost two hours, we continue in relative silence. Then, the shoreline comes into view through the trees ahead of us. We emerge from the jungle, arriving at a wide, moonlit cove. Pillars of natural rock rise from the see like fingers grasping at the stars.
"...Where are we...?"
"Magnifique, non?" Yvonne remarks, smiling at me. "Colonnade Cove. A trecherous harbor that only master sailors dare traverse."
"So now what?" Estela murmurs.
"I...guess we have a look around," Jake replies.
"And what exactly are you expecting to find? Look at the mountains. We're on the northern side of the island."
"You said Sean and Craig were searching to the east, right?" I ask.
"Yes," she replies flatly, her hands balling into fists at her sides. "And the eastern coast is probably one giant inferno of lava right now. ...We took too long." She cries out suddenly, a loud, angry, helpless sound that makes me jump, and kicks furiously at a boulder.
"Hey," Jake murmurs. "We'll find them, Trinity. Just relax." Estela whirls on Jake, dark eyes flashing, and pins him with an icy glare.
"Use my name or don't speak to me again!" she growls through gritted teeth. Jake is too startled to answer immediately.
"Estela..." I say softly. I approach her cautiously, but she turns sharply away, sitting down hard on the sand.
"We were idiots to think we could all make it through this together," she whispers. "Honestly, I doubt anyone is getting out of here alive."
"Ahh, pardonnez-moi...but do you happen to see something out by that cliff?" I look where Yvonne is pointing, at a shadowy outcropping of rock a short distance away. I squint, but I can't make out anything unusual.
"Uh...more...beach?" Jake says uncertainly.
I'm about to give up and turn my attention back to Estela when I see it: something shimmering between the stone pillars. An indistinct humanoid figure approaching across the beach, appearing to reflect the silver moonlight.
"There!" I point. "I...think it's coming closer."
"Is that...the shaman?" Jake calls out. "Jumanji! That you?"
The figure doesn't respond. Its approach is unhurried. I gulp, feeling my heart beat faster.
"Wh-who's there?"
Again, there is no answer. But now it is close enough to make out, and a chill races down my spine. The figure is shaped like a human, but it is translucent, sexless, its face without features. Green light undulates within its body, reflecting off the lines of a flat, broad chest and wide hips. Jake sucks in a sharp breath.
"...Holy..."
"What the hell?" I breathe, barely aware that I've said anything.
Yvonne backs away, her eyes wide with terror. "Non non non! This is too much! Yvonne will not suffer ghosts!" Before any of us can react, she turns on her heel, running for a cluster of palm trees. The fleeing pirate seems to shake Estela enough that she turns to look. When she sees the creature, her eyes go wide, her jaw dropping.
The figure approaches Estela. Jake and I tense, but the ghost's pace is slow enough that any of us could flee if we felt threatened, and it stops a few paces short of Estela. Its eyeless gaze seems to fall on Estela's grief-tinged face, as if studying it.
"What is this?" Estela whispers. "W-what's happening?"
The figure stretches a hand toward her, as if offering something. In fact, I can just make out an object within its luminous grasp. Estela gasps softly, a hand flying to her mouth.
"Is...is that...?" She looks up at the featureless face. "How did you get that?!"
"What is it? What does it have?"
"It's...it's a photo. A photo I kept at home in San Trobida. It's me, my mother, and Tio Nicolas..." She shakes her head. "It can't be real. Everything out there is burned to cinders." Her whole body quivers as she stares at the spectral entity, her eyes wide and fearful. The light within the ghosts body falters. I read a sort of desperation in it as it turns and extends the photo to me. I look down at the picture, which is slowly darkening at its edges, flaking, looking as if its about to burst into flames. I reach out to grasp the picture. Before my eyes, the figure's body dissolves into smoke that dissipates in a matter of seconds. I turn to Estela, holding the photo out to her. With a trembling hand, she reaches out for it. The moment her fingers brush the picture, my whole world flashes white.
The experience is familiar. Too familiar. It's happened to me before on this island, too many times. I brace myself for visions, steeling myself to watch helplessly while Estela suffers...
I find myself in an unfamiliar room, sparsely decorated, but cozy and warm. A bearded older man, his graying hair tied back with a leather thong, leans over a desk, tinkering with an old typewriter, muttering in Spanish.
"Come on, you tonto..." He thumps the typewriter's cabinet with his fists. The machine clangs as its keys click back into place. The man snorts impatiently and sits back to resume typing. But as his fingers hover over the keys, he sighs. "...Now I've forgotten where I was."
A knock at the door makes him look up. Without waiting for an invitation, Estela enters, pushing the door open with her back to accommodate the large box in her arms. The man gestures melodramatically.
"Ah. And here is my niece who thinks she can fix everything with her fancy college degree!"
Estela grins, rolling her eyes indulgently. "Hola, Tio Nicolas. I have something for you."
Nicolas eyes the box suspiciously. It bears the image of a desktop computer.
"Estelita, I told you, I don't want that. Everything's traceable with computers."
"You're not going to use it for planning revolutions, Tio. It's for your memoirs. You're never going to finish them on that rusty old thing."
"It works just fine!" Nicolas declares indignantly.
"Does it?" Estela raises an eyebrow, gesturing at a thin stack of haphazardly typed pages on the desk. "Tio, how are you going to inspire generations of San Trobidans with your life's story if you can't even get a single chapter done?"
Nicolas opens his mouth to retort, but nothing comes out. He sighs. "All right, all right. I know how futile it is to argue with you."
"Good." She kisses his cheek. "Now help me unpack it." They kneel together beside the box and Estela pops open the cardboard flaps.
"You never give up," Nicolas grumbles good-naturedly. "Just like your mother. I should call you Livita."
"I'm not a little girl anymore, Tio," Estela complains, transferring a bundle of packing material into his hands.
"No, you're not. She would be very proud to see you now, all grown up and on your way to great things." He sighs. "You should be somewhere exciting and full of promising young people. New York, London..."
"I like it here."
"San Trobida is your past, Estelita."
"It's my home. We fought for this place, remember?"
"I will never forget. But we're free of Salazar's corruption now. And we've sent a signal that fascism will not be tolerated here ever again."
"Yes. And now it's time to take care of ourselves. Time to rebuild and plan for the future."
"Are you...thinking of starting a family?"
Estela smiles conspiratorially. "Maybe I am."
"Ha! Didn't think I'd see the day. Perhaps I'll even be a tio abuelo. Ahh, how the time escapes me." His eyes start to mist over. He brushes at them, a bit self-consciously. Estela pretends not to notice as she plugs in the computer tower and powers it on. She hands her uncle the instruction manual.
"You got it from here? Call me if you need any help."
"Help?" he scoffs. "I'll be fine. Just...show me where I insert the paper?"
Estela laughs merrily, putting her arms around him. "Oh, Tio."
With another bright flash, I am back on the beach. My heart spasms in my throat, and my hands are shaking. I look up at Estela, who stares at the photo, her cheeks wet with tears.
"You two okay?" Jake asks worriedly. Estela looks up, locking eyes with me. In that moment, I know that she saw the vision, too, a revelation that leaves me breathless.
"I...was that...how...?"
"I think..." I say slowly, "...that we were seeing the future. A future that could have been."
"Yes..." Estela swallows, her gaze drifting toward the shore. It lingers there, watching the waves breaking over the shore. I watch with her as foaming tongues taste the sand and then draw back again, leaving behind patches of dark, wet shadow.
I feel myself yanked off balance suddenly, pulled into Estela's strong arms. She clutches me hard, cradling my head against her soft breast. I lift my arms to grip her in return.
"It's okay," I murmur, rubbing her back. "It's okay..."
"I'd forgotten how much I miss my home," she whispers. "When I was little, all I wanted was to have a family one day..."
I don't really know what to say to that. I can only tighten my arms around her. After a moment, she pulls back, looking down at the photo in her hands. She brushes the tears from her eyes and looks up, pinning her gaze on me, then Jake, and then on me again.
"...We're going to fix this." There is determination in her voice. Determination and fierce certainty. I cannot help but feel my confidence swelling. Apparently, neither can Jake.
"Damn right we are," he says with a grin.
"No more anger. No more despair. We owe it to ourselves to fight for the future with all we've got." She looks down at the picture in her hands, and presses it to her heart. "I think maybe I...I just needed to see it to keep believing in it."
Jake nods, reaching out to clasp her shoulder. "Now that's the Estela I know."
She lifts her head sharply, glaring at him. "It's Katniss, cabrón."
Jake laughs. "You got it, Katniss."
Estela draws in a deep breath, as if centering herself. "All right. Sean and Craig must've seen the eruption coming. Hopefully, the found a safe place to wait it out."
Approaching footsteps make us all turn. Yvonne is jogging up to us. She stops, clearing her throat.
"Mes amis! While I was...ah...scouting, I found something else. Come. Follow me." Without waiting for a reply, she takes off again, leading us further down the beach and around a bend. In the distance, we can make out a cluster of huts resting in the shadow of a larger cliff.
"A...village?" I squint. "Those look like Vaanti huts!"
"Maybe someone there will know where the other Catalysts are," Jake suggests. "We're supposed to be kind of a big deal, after all..."
I look back at my friends. "Well, there's only one way to find out."