Author's Note: Hey guys, thanks for sticking with me! Thanks again to all those reviewing, I love reading them. Miss Mango, Arya and RRL24 for the last chapter inparticular. And thank you again to Ozqueene for her beta skills. She keeps the apostrophes and Aussie colloquialisms from slipping through!

Only Shadows Ahead

Chapter Fourteen

They bunkered down for the night, taking shelter in an abandoned shopping mall beside what used to be a major highway. A few members of the group went exploring — searching for food and water. The rest slowly dispersed, some taking the opportunity to look around for supplies while others found comfortable spots to lie down and rest.

The ironically named "Sunshine Mall" was in ruins. It was filthy; crawling with cockroaches, rats and an assortment of other rodents seeking shelter from the elements. The stores had been long-since looted, emptied of their products and vandalised.

Graffiti covered the walls and several cars were lying smashed in the centre court area. One vehicle had cleaned out the base of the escalators and ploughed through the information desk, sending glass in every direction.

Kwame led her through the plaza and they eventually ended up at what looked like an employee lounge area towards the back. As they entered, she caught her reflection for the first time on a wall mirror and inhaled sharply, shocked at the image staring back at her.

Bozhe moy. I look like a raccoon.

The bags under her eyes nearly reached her cheek bones. The delicate skin under her eyelids had turned black due to lack of sleep, and her face was puffy and ashen — smudged with dirt and blood. Linka shuddered, turning away before she could focus for too long on the state of her hair.

She leant against the wall, wrapping the blanket tightly around herself and watching Kwame open a kitchen cabinet above his head. He rummaged around, pulling down some tinned foods and Linka suddenly had the feeling that he already knew they would be there.

Throwing a can to her, she caught it and opened the ring-pull mechanism, using her fingers to scoop out the diced peaches and pears. They were delicious and sweet, rolling down her throat and easing the rumbling deep within the pit of her stomach.

Linka raised the can to her lips and tipped it back, drinking the fruit juice that was left behind. She looked around, still dazed and trying to process everything that had happened.

Slumping heavily onto a row of cushioned bench seats, Kwame gave Linka a small smile. She tossed her empty tin into the trash and sat quietly beside him; gripping his hand tightly and hesitant to let go. Drawing comfort from his presence.

"Are you all right?" he asked for the tenth time since he'd found her, looking at her worriedly. She rolled her wind ring around her finger, relieved beyond words that Kwame had managed to locate it.

She sighed, finally giving him a truthful answer and struggling to keep her voice steady. "Nyet. No, I am not."

"What happened? Did they hurt you?"

She nodded but remained silent, not willing to talk about her ordeal yet. Not wanting to dwell on the negative, because Kwame was here now, and she felt safe and protected. Dragging up the memories would tip her over the edge.

"How did you know I was here?"

Kwame leant back with a sigh. She squeezed Kwame's hand and he ran his thumb over her knuckles in return.

"We were listening to the radio frequencies and picked up your details."

"I told them I was German?" she frowned, pulling her feet up under her and resting her cheek against the back rest. "It could have been anyone."

"We took a chance," he said, smiling as he looked down at her small hand enclosed within his own. "Besides, the description they gave was accurate."

"Have you been waiting for me, Kwame?" She frowned, rubbing her eyes. "I do not understand, how did you know I would be brought here?"

"It was one of the last things Gaia told us before…" He trailed off, a reflective look passing over his face. "It is a long story."

"Did Blight bring me through the portal before? Have I already been through the worm hole?" She shook her head, trying to articulate the mind-bending nature of what she was asking. "Do you remember me going through the worm hole eleven years ago, in Blights lab?"

"No," he said firmly and her heart sunk. "No, Blight never even got her technology off the ground when we were Planeteers. You never travelled to the future during the past I experienced. This is definitely a first."

"Gaia is gone?" she asked softly and he nodded. "Where?"

He didn't answer. Linka scrutinised her friend carefully, still trying to equate the man that she knew with the one sitting in front of her. The changes took her breath away. The scars, the mannerisms. The hard expression replacing cautious optimism. The sparkle in his eyes now dulled.

"What has happened here, Kwame?"

"We failed." A look of sadness passed over his face and he squeezed her fingers. "There is a lot you need to know Linka, but there is plenty of time for that. You look exhausted."

"Da," she said softly, rubbing her face with both palms. She shuffled down the row of seats, stretching out and adjusting the blanket around her. The top of her head pressed against Kwame's thigh, still intent on keeping him close.

She gave a small smile as she felt Kwame's hand rest on her shoulder. The glint of metal shone in the candle light and she turned her face slightly, reaching over and tracing the ring covering his wedding finger.

"Are you married?" she breathed, scarcely believing what she was seeing. Kwame chuckled in response.

"Her name is Trissa. You will meet her soon enough." He tilted his head back and closed his eyes. "Get some rest, my friend. We have at least another two day's walk before we get home."

"All right," she replied sleepily. "Kwame?"

"Yes?"

"Is everyone else here?"

"Yes. They are close by. We are no longer together as a group, but they will come." He pulled out a small pager-looking device with a small light blinking green and an antenna jutting out of the top. "I switched this on just after we found you. We all have one."

A thought occurred to her. "Kwame, Bleak said that your Doctor Blight sent for me?"

"Yes."

"So an older Blight exists here too?"

"Yes."

"But... Blight from my time also came through with me. How can your Blight exist?"

"We have a theory, but I will wait for the others to arrive, Linka."

She sighed. "Does this mean I will see myself here?"

His fingers gently kneaded her shoulder. "No."

"Oh," she said. Her eyes were heavy but she was deeply troubled by this revelation. "Why not?"

"Because God help us, having two Linka's running around would be too much to deal with." The corners of his mouth curved into a smile. "The answers are coming, I promise. Try to get some sleep."

She resettled herself and breathed out deeply, releasing the tension from her body despite the unsettled feeling in her stomach.

She slept.

"There's running water in the food court bathrooms." The girl smiled, perching herself on the back-rest and looking down at Linka, who was currently stretching the kinks out of her body. "You know. If you wanna get yourself cleaned up."

"Wonderful," Linka said, pushing herself up into a sitting position. She leaned forward, dropping her forehead into her hands. "Where is Kwame?"

"Workin' out the best route to get us outta here. They're watching our usual roads."

"Who are watching?" Linka frowned. "Blight's people?"

"Uh, yeah. Amongst others." She offered her hand in a gesture of friendship and after a moment Linka shook it. "I'm Grace, by the way."

Linka studied her for a moment, already feeling at ease in her company. Grace possessed a small frame and a wide smile. Delicate features, with shoulder-length chestnut hair and green eyes that sparkled. An upturned nose and freckles dotting a path over the bridge. A bow and several quivers lay propped up by the doorway.

"You are an archer?"

"Yeah," she said, motioning for Linka to follow her. Linka rose to her feet, wincing as pain flared through her head. She stretched and they headed out, weaving their way through the mall. "I'm not very good, but yeah."

"Were you an archer before all of this?" Linka asked, motioning around her.

"God, no," Grace laughed. "No way. I was a secretary for a transport company." She grinned, shaking her head. "Only thing I knew how to handle was a phone."

"I guess you had to learn pretty quickly," Linka remarked, eyeing a graffiti tag splashed brightly over the wall from an individual named 'Spiffy'.

"Yeah," Grace said, glancing at Linka. "We all had to learn to defend ourselves when the riots began."

"Riots?" Linka asked, her mouth suddenly dry. "Bozhe moy, what happened here."

"Maybe I shouldn't be the one to tell you. I'm sure Kwame will fill you in." Grace looked away, biting her lip. "Let's just say, once the technology and finances failed, people started turning on each other. It got pretty bad."

Grace led Linka through the trashed food court, pulling up outside of a public restroom and holding the door open. "Third sink from the end. Running water is really hard to find out here, but it should be enough to clean yourself up."

"Spasiba," she said, heading quickly for the faucet in question. Turning the tap on, she splashed water over her face and rubbed her skin vigorously — feeling a little grossed out at the amount of dirt trailing its way down the drain. "Ugh."

Grace smiled, rummaging around in her back pack and pulling out two hand towels and some fresh clothes. "Hope these fit. Found them in a locker out back."

"Wonderful," Linka murmured, desperate to shed the clothes she was in. Stripping the blanket and her singlet off, she saw Grace wince as the hidden grazes and cuts covering her stomach and neck became visible.

"Might need to take care of those now," Grace said, nodding towards Linka's stomach. She reached up, taking a closer look at the back of Linka's head. "Infections happen pretty quickly, these days. Antibiotics are hard to come by."

They worked together for the next ten minutes, cleaning her wounds and spot-drying them. Linka sat on the edge of the counter, gritting her teeth, tears springing to her eyes as Grace worked to remove the foreign objects embedded within her scalp. They washed her hair as best they could, before a bottle of hand sanitiser was pulled from the back pack.

"It's not antiseptic, but the alcohol content should do the job," Grace said apologetically, noticing Linka's eyes were squeezed shut, her fists clenched as the liquid was dabbed over her wounds. "Sorry hon. I know it stings."

Linka exhaled, relieved when it was over. Stepping into the jeans and pale pink sweatshirt Grace had produced, she tied her hair into a loose pony-tail and checked her reflection in the mirror. Still pale, still dark shadows beneath her eyelids — but looking (and feeling) much more human.

"That is better," she said, smiling shyly at Grace. "Thank you."

"Welcome," she replied with a grin. "C'mon. Let's go find the K-Man."

"Why do you not use cars?" Dry foliage crunched under Linka's feet as she made her way over the creek bed. "They picked me up from the scavenger camp in a car."

"Working vehicles are difficult to find," Kwame explained. He grabbed her hand, helping her down the embankment as her feet struggled to find traction. "We do not have access to fuel. Plus, using a vehicle means we would be more visible to the people we wish to remain hidden from. Does that make sense?"

"I guess," she said, frowning as she fell in step beside him again. "I am still not understanding."

"Having a vehicle would make us a target, Linka. We would be at the mercy of raiders and opportunists. So if we need to travel anywhere, we walk. Large groups — we call them convoys."

"But you would still be visible?" she said, still confused. Kwame sighed, settling his brown eyes on hers.

"We tend to spread out along the way, organising rendezvous points to meet up in. Raiders — the scavenger people who found you — don't tend to bother us because they know we're armed and in large numbers. They will only strike if you're in their territory, or if you are on your own. Or if you have something they want. Like a vehicle."

"Oh," she said. The air was cold, her skin having broken out in goosebumps so she wrapped the blanket tighter around her. "Grace said something about riots?"

"Oh, she did, did she?" Kwame said, his eyes narrowing as he turned back and glared in the archer's direction. Grace was about 500 feet behind them. She waved, blowing Kwame a kiss and performing an impromptu Irish jig in the middle of the field, earning laughter from the two men walking beside her.

He muttered something derogatory under his breath. "No wonder she gets on so well with Gi. They're both downright annoying."

"She is very nice." Linka laughed, turning and waving back. "I am looking forward to seeing the others."

He sighed. "Just be aware that a lot has changed, Linka. We will not be the same people you remember."

"Where are the other Planeteers now?"

"Gi lives in an underground settlement close to mine."

"Underground?"

He sighed, reaching for her hand and swinging it idly. "It is too dangerous living above the surface— both for safety reasons as well as the change in elements. We have no choice but to wear masks and face-coverings when we are above ground. The air quality is horrendous."

"We all found it very hard to breathe when we first arrived," Linka said, recalling how she had gasped for air.

"Yes. The oxygen content here is much lower, now. Your lungs would have taken time to acclimatise."

"So you and Gi both live under the ground?"

"Yes. Many people died during the riots. Governments disbanded, law and order ceased. Technology broke down. We established underground settlements to cater for those who survived and we do our best to remain hidden."

"Bozhe moy," she whispered. "What about Ma-Ti and the Yankee? Where are they?"

"Ma-Ti is in Brazil. In the jungle. I have not seen him for a few months, but he is married now. They are a self-sustaining tribe, so it wasn't a big adjustment for them."

"So the effects were global? World-wide?"

"Yes," he said. "I am not sure on the state of Europe, but the financial markets crashed there not long after America."

"Bozhe moy," she muttered. "I still cannot believe…"

"It is a lot to take in. It all happened very quickly."

"Wheeler?" she asked, doing her best not to sound too curious. "What about Wheeler?"

"Jake is on the other side of the States. I think Delaware, or maybe Maryland?"

"He did not return to New York?" she asked. Nibbling on her lower lip, Linka was suddenly a little apprehensive.

"New York was completely destroyed, Linka." He squeezed her hand, pulling her along. Their pace had slowed significantly and he urged her onwards. "There were mass migrations from New York and Washington."

"I guess I thought the Yankee would have stayed here with you and Gi," she said softly, trailing her free hand through the long grass. "I am not understanding why —"

"It is far too dangerous here for children. He took his family further south."

"WHAT?"

She froze, rooted to the spot. Her eyes went round and Kwame half-stumbled as he was jerked backwards courtesy of Linka's unmoving body.

Linka withdrew her hand from Kwame's and hugged herself tightly. Her mouth twitched as she stared up at him, the shock evident on her face.

"Linka, I know this —"

"Family? He is married?"

Kwame looked clearly uncomfortable. "Yes."

"He has a wife and children?"

Kwame nodded.

"Who is... wait, I…" she choked. Her mouth dropped open. "Where... where am I?"

"Russia."

"I am in Russia?" she confirmed slowly, staring at the ground and suddenly feeling her face growing hotter by the minute. "Is that why I will not see… myself here?"

"Yes," he said softly, looking at her with sympathetic eyes.

"When did I return to Russia?" she asked with utter bewilderment. Linka had started moving again but she was hunched and tense, still processing what Kwame had said.

"Just before the electricity went down," he said. Her body language had changed dramatically and Kwame swung an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close. "You returned to your family. I know this is difficult, Linka."

"I guess I always... in the back of my mind," she swallowed; gazing upwards as she struggled to come to terms with her feelings. She laughed bitterly, wiping a tear away from her face. "One of the last conversations I had with you was about Wheeler. He had snuck into our tent during the night."

"I remember that," Kwame chuckled, a wide grin appearing on his face. "Was that Alaska? God, you two drove me insane, sometimes."

"I thought…" Her smile faded as she wiped her face with the back of her hand, sniffing quietly. "I guess I always thought we would end up together. That maybe when things were finished with the Planeteers…"

"I know," he said, tightening his hold on her. Kwame looked away, nodding to members of his team as they passed them, staring at the pair with curiosity. "I realise this is a lot to take in."

"Da," Linka whispered. "I thought we had time. I guess we never got the chance…"

She squeezed him around the waist and withdrew, leaving him and walking ahead; eyes downcast and her arms crossed. Kwame watched her go, giving her space and knowing that she needed some time to process things on her own.