21

ALORA

FEBRUARY 18, 2147

Everything that happens after I part ways with Bridger feels surreal. After retrieving my DataLink at the museum, I make my way to Tara’s apartment. I don’t remember much of the trip—flashes of color as people passed by me, sounds blasting from Jumbotrons, and the glint of shuttles passing overhead.

The directions on my DataLink lead me to an unfamiliar apartment building. I immediately take the elevator to the fourteenth floor and search for Tara’s apartment. It’s amazing how similar this building looks to Mom’s, even though it’s six blocks away.

Once I’ve located her apartment, I press my thumb on the sensor beside the door that visitors use. It takes a few moments to read my print, then the door slides open. Tara is standing just on the other side. “Good grief, you look terrible,” she says while pulling me in.

A man and a woman are in the living area, watching the TeleNet screen.

“Are you going to introduce us?” asks her mom. She looks like an older version of Tara, with medium-brown skin and curly black hair. Her father’s skin is slightly lighter than Tara’s, but his hair is dyed an electric shade of blue. He smiles warmly at me and tugs at his collar of his orange button-up that looks like something straight from the 1960s. “Do you think this shirt clashes with my hair?”

I try to smile back, but I’m sure I look like I’m cringing.

“Alora, these are my parents, Salina and Tannis Martinez,” she says, then glares at her father. “Of course it clashes. It’s hideous.”

“Well, I don’t care. I dig it,” he replies.

“Yep, it’s groovy,” her mom says, and they both cackle like it’s the funniest thing they’ve ever said.

Tara rolls her eyes. “You two are so beyond embarrassing.”

We do the small talk thing for a minute or so. They want to know about my parents. I nearly choke up when I say my father is missing, since that’s the official story—the only thing I’m supposed to know. They murmur condolences about my terrible childhood, and then, thankfully, Tara ushers me into her room, where she leads me to an overstuffed green-and-white polka-dot chair and orders me to sit.

Once she’s seated, cross-legged, on her bed, Tara asks, “Is there anything I can do? Do you want anything to eat?”

I shake my head no. My stomach is in knots, so I don’t even want to think about food right now.

When Bridger told me that my dad was dead, I didn’t want to believe him. But just seeing how heartbroken he was on my behalf was enough to convince me. I couldn’t stop crying. I managed to get myself together enough to part with him, since he had to go to Elijah’s house to pick up his DataLink. I couldn’t face Mom just yet, so I commed Tara to see if I could stay with her for a while. But I didn’t tell her why. I just said I needed somewhere to go.

“Your parents are nice,” I say in a rush.

“They’re all right,” she says with a shrug. “So, are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

“I just found out that my father is dead,” I blurt out.

Her jaw goes kind of slack. “Oh shit, Alora, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay,” I murmur, looking down at my hands. They’re shaking in my lap. Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry, I tell myself over and over.

It doesn’t work. Tears fall fresh down my cheeks. Tara hops off the bed and a few moments later hands me a soft tissue.

When I manage to compose myself, Tara perches on the edge of her bed and says, “Do you want to talk about it?”

What can I tell her? She has no idea that I restored my and Bridger’s memories. She has no idea what we did today. I wonder if I can trust her, but then I remember that she’s dating Elijah. If Bridger trusts Elijah and Elijah trusts her, then I’m sure I can too.

It takes me nearly half an hour to share the craziness that’s been my life for the past ten months.

Tara is gaping at me by the time I’m finished. “That’s so wild. But what are you going to do next?”

My DataLink chimes. It’s my mom. I sigh and accept the comm. Immediately, her image hovers over my wrist. I was expecting her to be angry, but instead she lets out a huge sigh of relief. “Oh my God, Alora, where are you?”

“It’s okay,” I say in a flat voice. “I’m visiting my roommate, Tara. Remember I told you about her?”

“Yes, but you told me you were only going to the museum. You nearly gave me heart failure when I saw that you weren’t there.”

A flash of annoyance fills me. I really don’t want to be suffocated by her, especially since she was in on lying to me. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be okay.”

She seems stung by my words. “Of course I worry. Especially now that I have you back.”

My anger evaporates. I just don’t have it in me anymore. Mom suffered all those years while I was living with Aunt Grace.

“I’m sorry. I’m on the way home,” I say.

“Please be careful,” she says. A deep crease has formed between her brows. I recognize it. Perpetual worry. Aunt Grace wore that look a lot, too, when her financial troubles started.

Tara walks me to the door. “Are you really okay? I can walk with you.”

“I’m fine,” I hear myself saying. It’s funny how hollow I sound. “I think I need to be alone for a bit, anyway.”

She nods. “I totally get it. Is there anything I can do?”

I cast a longing glance in the direction of the kitchen, where her parents are happily preparing the evening meal. “Just don’t take them for granted.”

I’m nearly home when I make up my mind—I need to see my father. One last time. Not in a digigraph, but in person.

I need to say goodbye.

When I’m close to Mom’s apartment building, I step out of the crowd and into an alley. A Null, dressed in a drab gray jumpsuit, is picking up litter. I retreat immediately, waiting along the outer wall until the Null leaves. My tutors taught me that the shielded helmets Nulls wear contain recording devices and can detect cloaked people. I don’t want any record of me using my cloak outside of school.

Once I’m back in the alley, I program the target date into my Chronoband—May 19, 2136. That’s the day before Dad took me from this era and delivered me to Aunt Grace. I remember that day clearly, because that’s the last happy memory I have of him from my childhood. Mom had let him spend that afternoon with me after he begged to see me for weeks. He took me to the New Denver Zoo, and then we got ice cream cones and spent our last hour together at the Green Zone near Mom’s apartment. That will be my destination.

After activating the cloak on my uniform, I picture the date and my destination and shift back to 2136, emerging from the Void in a daze. I almost drop the cloak, then notice two Nulls cleaning trash near the entrance to the alley along with a supervisor. My pulse races—I’m not sure if the Nulls in this year have recording devices. I stay still as a statue until they finish their job and move on.

The Green Zone is mostly filled with parents and their children, as well as a few couples. It doesn’t take me long to find Dad and the younger version of me. When I was little, I always wanted to stay at the playground when we visited this spot.

As soon as I find them, though, I get a weird sensation. I feel happy and sad at the same time, watching myself giggling at something Dad says. I almost wish I could join them, be a part of the fun they’re having, but that’s ridiculous. I was there—I just wish I was experiencing it now instead of sitting on a bench and watching.

And the longer I sit, the more the doubts creep in. What if I screw something up? Could I really destroy the timeline just by being here?

By the time the younger version of Mom shows up to get me, I’ve convinced myself not to talk to Dad. But I can’t make myself leave. I watch as my younger self flails against Mom, reaching for Dad. I witness how Dad starts to follow them, then turns away when Mom threatens to call the authorities if he doesn’t back off. Anger shoots through me. How could she be so cold toward him? I know her story—that he was erratic and had a temper that scared her. But I just spent the past hour watching him, and his love for me was so obvious. He would never have hurt me.

And I know he’s about to die.

Before I can stop myself, I follow him across the Green Zone. He seeks out an empty bench and slumps down onto it, looking as if he could cry at any moment. My heart breaks for him.

Maybe I can just talk to him for a few minutes, without letting him know who I am. That shouldn’t hurt anything.

But as soon as I sit beside him on the bench, he glances up at me and his eyes widen. “It can’t be,” he whispers.

My spine stiffens. “What do you mean?”

“You look like somebody I know,” he says, still staring at me. “So similar to my sister.” His eyes zero in on my uniform, and then he peers into my eyes. “Oh, God. Is it you, Alora?”

Some people say that when you’re caught off guard, you can feel the blood rush from your face. I never really understood that, but I think I do now because I’m lightheaded. I close my eyes for a few seconds, trying to decide if I should lie or tell him the truth.

And when I look at him again, he looks so hopeful, so happy. I can’t lie, not when I know what’s going to happen to him tomorrow. “Yes,” I say, hating how my voice cracks.

Dad covers his mouth with both hands before slowly lowering them to his lap. Then he reaches out and draws me into an embrace. My whole body begins to shake. I’m here with him and he knows it’s me, and suddenly I know I was right to come here.

When he pulls away, he says, “I have so many questions. But first I have to know how old you are.”

“I’ll be seventeen in two days,” I say, smiling.

He shakes his head as if in disbelief. “I can’t believe it’s you. You’re so beautiful and grown-up, but you still look the same. I’d know you anywhere.” He reaches for my hands and wraps his fingers around mine. His hands feel warm and rough against my skin. “I’m so happy that you’re here. But why did you come? You should be living in … a different time.”

My smile fades. I’m not sure how to answer, but he’s staring at me expectantly. If I tell him the truth, then he could do something differently tomorrow and destroy the timeline. But I don’t want to lie to him either. What can I say?

Finally, I decide to compromise and give him a bare bones version of the truth. “I know you want some answers, but I can’t tell you everything. You know, the timeline is sacred, right?”

His expression darkens. “You’re at the Academy now?”

Oh crap, no. How could I let that slip? I need to fix this, now. “Dad, I know you want to know all about my life, but I really can’t share everything with you. What I can say is that I grew up in the time you wanted. Aunt Grace was a huge part of my life and I’m so grateful for that.”

Dad blows out a long puff of air. “You don’t know how relieved I am to hear that. I’ve been preparing for some time to save you and your mother. It hasn’t been easy sneaking off from my unit to get fake identifications for the two of you.”

So that’s how Aunt Grace had a birth certificate and other legal documentation for me, things that I found in her safe when Bridger and I broke into it to look for answers about my past. That’s also where I found my Jewill.

“But you never answered my question. Why are you here now? Is something wrong?” he asks.

I bite my lip, wondering what to reveal. “I really can’t tell you too much. I can say that Mom and I are both fine. I just wanted to come back and relive this day, that’s all.”

He doesn’t say anything for a while. The muscles in his jaw flex, as if he’s not sure what to say next. “You said Mom and I. That doesn’t include me, does it?”

And now my throat goes dry. For a clone—and one who’s supposed to be unstable—he’s extremely sharp.

“You don’t have to say anything else. I think I get the picture.” He runs his right hand over the top of his head, then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small box. “I’ve been wanting to give this to your mom for years, but first the government denied our application to get married, then she decided that we weren’t a good fit anymore. I was hoping once we shifted to 2003 that she would change her mind, but …”

As his voice trails off, he hands me the box. I lift the lid and find a plain gold band inside, inlaid with a purple stone. My eyes fill with tears, knowing what it is.

“People in this time aren’t big on wedding rings, but I was raised differently. I wanted to give that to her, but I guess I never will, now. So … I’d like for you to have it.”

“I can’t take this,” I whisper, my voice cracking.

“You can,” he says firmly. “It would’ve been yours one day, anyway.”

I slide the ring onto my right hand. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

He pats my hand. “Just be happy, sweetheart. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. That, and for you to be safe.”

I wish could warn him about what will happen when he tries to rescue Mom tomorrow. It’s killing me, knowing that this is the last time I’ll ever be able to talk to him.

It takes all my strength to say, “I’ve got to go now.”

“I know. I wish you could stay longer, but I understand.”

I fling my arms around him again, never wanting to let him go. “Bye, Daddy.”

“Bye, my beautiful girl. I’ll see you again one day.”

Tears are flowing freely down my face now. He thinks it’s goodbye for now. But I know it’s goodbye forever.