Yesterday's Gone (Season 5): Episodes 25-30 by Sean Platt, David Wright Read Free Book Online

way or another, save for the odd familiarity of having seen the man in his dreams.
    “So why are you here?” Ed asked.
    “I came back to save the world. That’s where you come in.”
    “Me?” Ed held his hands out, palms up. “I’m done saving the world. I just want to rest. I don’t know how much you know, or how long you’ve been here, but the guy running this show, Bolton, wanted me to kill off all of the ten to fifteen survivors, so forgive me if I find it hard to believe that we’re sharing common goals.”
    “Bolton has seen the error of his ways, we’ve had … discussions, ” Desmond said with a twinkle in his eye that indicated that he’d likely dressed Bolton down. 
    Who the hell is this guy? Military?
    “Why would Bolton listen to you? You’re just a civilian, right?”
    “I have The Light inside me, the part of the aliens that wants to save us, rather than murder or absorb us. But there’s a darker force out there, gathering strength, searching for vials that contain the alien in its raw form. If The Darkness finds the vials first, then we could have a repeat of what happened on the other world happen right here. But if we find them first, we can use it to destroy The Darkness once and for all. We can stop it.”
    “ We? How?”
    “We, those who vanished on October 15, all have a bit of The Light inside us. When Luca brought us back over, some of him came, and stayed, with us. We can use it to find the vials. We can find the people who have the last vials and convince them to hand them over.”
    “And what then? What are we going to do with the vials?”
    “I don’t entirely know. But I’m confident that The Light will show us the way.”
    “Sorry, pal, but I’m not buying the mumbo jumbo and pseudo-religious dark and light shit.” Ed meant to rattle the man for a response.
    Surprisingly, Desmond held his calm.
    He kneeled to Ed’s level.
    “I’m not going to bullshit you, Mr. Keenan. I don’t have all the answers. But I do know one thing. If we don’t get those vials, then you, me, and everyone we love will die at the hands of The Darkness. You and I have both seen what it did to the other Earth. You can be the grizzled cynical bastard that Bolton said you are, or you can do something to save your family.”
    Ed chewed on the message, then said, “How do I know that The Darkness hasn’t already infiltrated Black Island? It got to Sullivan. Hell, how do I know you’re not infected?”
    “Because we’ve got our very own sniffer, someone who can see The Light and The Darkness.”
    “Who?” 
    “Well, I can, for one. But there’s also Paola.”
    “Mary’s girl?” 
    “Yes, she is now The Light.”
    “What do you mean is The Light?”
    Desmond explained that Luca had been The Light, but was growing weaker after fighting off The Darkness and sending the other Luca to take his place on this world. He then found Paola in the hospital, in a coma. She needed saving; he needed a home. 
    “Now she’s helping us find the other vials. But she’s a kid and helping from here. I need someone I can trust out there, boots on the ground following up on the leads Paola’s getting from her visions.”
    Ed shook his head, trying to stop his world from sounding like bad sci-fi. He wanted to call it crazy, but couldn’t dismiss a syllable. He’d seen destruction caused by The Darkness, and how it had murdered a planet. 
    He didn’t trust Black Island to save the world, especially when they couldn’t see an enemy in their own damned camp, but Ed felt like Desmond could be trusted. Especially if he’d managed to convince Bolton to let him head this operation.
    “So, what do you need me to do?”
    “What you do best,” Desmond said. “Find people and convince them to do something they might not want to do.”
    “And my family, friends?”
    “They can all stay here on Black Island. They’ll be safe.”
    “OK,” Ed said. “I’m in.”
     
    * * * *

CHAPTER 5 — MARY