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

lost in his own little world. Considering that his mother had been murdered in front of him three weeks ago, Mary was surprised that the five-year-old wasn’t an utter wreck.
    Mary looked at Brent. “How are you holding up?”
    “One day at a time.” He sipped his drink, eyes on his son. He dropped his voice to a whisper. “It all still feels so surreal. I think the worst is not knowing what will happen next. I mean, how do you tell your children that everything will be all right when you don’t know what the hell is going on?”
    Mary didn’t know Brent that well — they hadn’t been together on the other Black Island, or here for long — but he seemed like a good man. And she could tell by the way he watched Ben that he was as fiercely protective of his son as she was of Paola. 
    “Yeah, tell me about it.” 
    Mary wasn’t sure how much he knew of their ordeal, or that Paola was now carrying The Light. She certainly wasn’t about to initiate a conversation, especially in front of the kids.
    “What do you think’ll happen if Ed doesn’t play ball?” Brent asked.
    Jade looked up, waiting to see what she’d say. Mary pretended not to notice Ed’s daughter watching. 
    “I don’t know. But Desmond is a good man. He won’t let anyone harm him.”
    Brent took another sip and said nothing.
    The room’s air felt heavy, dragged down by Desmond being part of the Black Island Guardsmen. They were getting along, but their world felt temporary.
    Brent was right — they didn’t know what might happen next. Mary trusted Desmond to keep the wolf far from their door, but knew she was the only person she could ever truly count on to put the wolf down.
     
    * * * *

CHAPTER 6 — LUCA HARDING
     
    Luca sat in the passenger seat as Rose drove along the highway on their way out of town before anyone found them. 
    When he’d asked who was looking, Rose said there were people at Black Island searching, for both them and the vials. And while she didn’t think they knew the The Darkness was hiding in her, her shell had allowed a man to escape who could tell others: Boricio Wolfe,the Earth version of the man who had once shared an adopted father with Luca . They’d have to be careful, the opposite of his time at the pool.
    It was only a matter of time before agents came looking. They had to find somewhere to go — far away.
    It was weird to feel like he was in trouble even though Rose hadn’t expressed the typical human emotions like anger or disappointment, nor had she scolded the boy. She was a puppet for The Darkness, and whatever was left of the old Rose had either left or gone silent. The Darkness felt some emotion, but it wasn’t the same as a person’s. It was primal, more instinctive, and didn’t seem to hold grudges or sulk.
    Still, Luca felt horrible for what he’d done. He couldn’t get the images of all those dead people out of his head, especially the girl, Ashleigh. He felt like he’d lost a lifelong friend. She shouldn’t have died. None of them should have. He’d messed up and let his anger at the bullies consume him. In that way, he wished The Darkness would take over more and help him feel less. To simply do and be.
    Rose, as if reading his thoughts, said, “Don’t feel bad about the people at the pool. They’re animals, really.”
    “I like animals.”
    “Why do you care about people so much? They’re cruel, unpleasant, and they’ve not been terribly kind to you.”
    “I dunno.” Luca put his feet up on the dashboard and stared at his new blue Nikes and their neon-yellow laces. 
    “Well, if it helps at all, know that they’ve moved on to something better.”
    “Like heaven?” Luca was surprised to hear Rose suggest such a thing. 
    “No, I mean that when things die, their energy moves on to become something else.”
    “Like reincarnation?” 
    “Not in the way that humans see it, no. You become part of something else — another person, an animal, a plant perhaps. Matter