Kel’s head pounded. The brightness behind her lids didn’t help her screaming headache. She wrinkled her nose at the strong stench of charred hair. She rolled over and groaned. Her muscles ached, and her mouth was dry. She cracked her eyelids and blinked a few times, wincing at the light.

The afternoon sun was low in the sky. It felt closer than normal. Hotter, too. Its heat toasted her face like an oven. She sat up. She was in a patch of dry, dusty grass. There was more dirt than vegetation here and no trees to be found, only small, shrubby plants. On her right, the flat, dusty landscape stretched as far as she could see. On her left, a flat mound of earth rose from the ground, continuing indefinitely in either direction. She couldn’t see over it.

Scrambling to her feet, she climbed the slope. It wasn’t high, but the exhaustion of what she’d been through had her panting by the time she reached the top. A bleached asphalt road stretched out in either direction, its surface divided by a faint yellow line. A road. Her heart thudded in her chest. She was back on Earth?

She spun around to survey the ditch where she’d awoken, but her gaze snagged on something else. Further down a car rested in the ditch, perpendicular to the road, its front end facing away. It was a convertible and pretty beat up. The windshield was smashed, and the hood was bent, coated with a layer of dust. It looked like it had been sitting here a while.

She spotted a form in the ditch not far from her. She recognized the mess of tangled brown hair. Jax! Her heart beat wildly. Was he hurt? Was he alive?

She stumbled forward, nearly tumbling down the slope, and collapsed at his side. His hair and face looked scorched. She touched his cheek. He groaned and opened his eyes.

“Jax!”

He sat up, a groggy expression on his face. She threw her arms around him, squeezing him tight. “Are you all right?” She pulled back, searching his face.

“We’re back?”

She nodded.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. The last thing I remember was Zap and his gang shocking us.”

“He must have brought us back after we passed out.” He shook his head. “I thought for sure we were dead meat.”

“He was true to his word,” she muttered, more to herself than to him. “Jax—there’s a car over there. It looks like someone drove off the road.”

Jax followed her gaze. After taking in the vehicle, his eyes grew wide. He grabbed her sleeve and started to run toward it. “Come on!”

She jogged after him, noticing something white fluttering on the ground as they got closer. He stopped when they reached the car, and she bent down to catch one of the blowing papers in her hand.

Jax seemed more intrigued in the car than the papers. “Wow…” He touched the vehicle with a hand.

“What?” she asked.

“Kel, this is our car!”

“But how—do you have your memory back?”

“No,” he shook his head, “but he showed me this. I’ve seen it. It’s our car.”

“How do you know?”

“When I was captured, Zap showed me visions from our past. He was in charge of reconnaissance—remember? I think he’d been watching us for a while. I saw myself through his eyes.” He walked over to the driver’s side, opened the door, and got in.

Kel glanced down at the paper in her hand. It was written in legal jargon she didn’t entirely understand, but she caught enough words to grasp what she was holding: divorce papers. A knot formed in her stomach. She’d been sent back to reality and then given a reality check. Her hand closed tight around the page, crumpling it into a wad. She glanced up at the landscape. The papers were strewn across the ground, a few were caught in tangled bushes nearby, and others had been blown so far off she could never collect them all if she tried.

“Check this out!” Jax said from the front seat of the car. She choked down the lump in her throat and walked over to see what he was doing. He waggled his eyebrows and sent her a coy smile. “Get in.”

She frowned and pulled at the door handle. It was stuck. The side of the passenger door was smashed in, making it impossible to wrench the thing open.

Jax patted the seat next to him. “Hop on over.”

She climbed over the side of the door and plopped onto the leather seat.

“Look at this,” Jax said, holding out a paper. “I found it in the glove box.”

“Noah Gibson. Miranda Gibson,” she read. “Are these the insurance papers?”

He nodded. “See, it’s us. It’s got our address, too. And look at this,” his fingers jangling something below the steering wheel. “The keys are still in the ignition! This is great. It’s just like we never left.” He turned the key.

She frowned. “This thing looks like it took a beating. It probably won’t—” The engine started up, cutting her off.

“Sweet! I can’t believe it still works!”

Kel frowned, a thought chilling her. “Jax, what if we didn’t leave? What if we dreamt the whole thing up?”

His expression turned serious. He cocked his head. “But we both remember being on another planet…the aliens….”

“But neither of us can remember our lives before that. If we got into a car accident, memory loss could have been the result.”

Jax frowned and shook his head but didn’t answer.

“Think about it,” she continued. “We both assume we woke up lying in a ditch on the side of the road because that’s where Zap returned us. But maybe we were never…abducted.” The word tasted strange on her tongue. She felt crazy just uttering it. “Maybe we woke up here because this is where we were thrown after the crash. Maybe this pounding headache I have isn’t because I was transported through space and time, but because I was in a car crash.”

His eyes darted to the dashboard and back at her. Her words had thrown him. She saw the familiar workings of calculation behind his eyes, but he recovered. “No. I don’t think that’s possible.”

She waited for his rationale, but he didn’t argue. Whatever he was thinking, he kept to himself. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to hear—that she was wrong and that the whole thing couldn’t have been some kind of shared dream or nightmare or whatever?

“Why?” she finally asked.

“Because that’s not how the human mind works.” He took a deep breath. “But there’s one place to start looking for the answer. And that’s where we’re going.”

“Where?”

“Home.”

The sky was black, a full collection of stars twinkling overhead when they pulled into the driveway. Kel realized for the first time that on the strange planet the stars had never twinkled. Because they weren’t real, she thought. They were just a projected image. But this was real. The modest one-story house with the porch swing out front. The number 305 on the mailbox shining silvery in the moonlight.

“This is it,” Jax said. He killed the engine.

Kel blew out a breath.

“You ready?” he asked.

She swallowed and nodded.

They walked up to the front door, the keys clinking softly in Jax’s hand. Kel’s pulse sped up when the key clicked in the lock. He pulled the door open, and they stepped into darkness.

After feeling around for a moment, he found the lights. They were standing in a small foyer with deep brown walls. A rushing, vibrant sense of familiarity overtook her. She knew this place. Sensations of emotions rushed past her, some tangible, some so faint she couldn’t quite discern them. She let out a soft gasp as they flooded her. Excitement. Joy. Peace. Contentment. Sadness. Anguish. She clung to the one that was strongest of all: comfort.

Jax’s eyes had gone wide, and she saw that he must be experiencing the same thing. “This is it,” he said in a hushed tone. “This is where we live.” The words held a note of awe as if he were setting foot into a celebrity’s home.

But after the sudden rush of familiarity, a foreign emotion worked its way through. Fear of what they were about to find prickled Kel’s neck. It was a new sensation, not the terror of a being that could harm them, but the concern of uncovering the ugly truth and what it might mean for both of them. This place had seen comfort, but she knew it had also seen pain. “Jax,” Kel began, but he held up a finger.

“Call me Noah.”

She nodded but didn’t answer.

“What were you going to say?”

“I can’t remember.”

He eased farther into the house. She trailed behind, taking it all in, watching his reaction. When they entered the living room, she scanned the furnishings then walked over to a bookshelf to inspect a scattering of picture frames. The first photo’s familiarity stunned her. She’d seen it before. It was the same wedding picture they’d found in the locker with the journal. She and Jax—Noah—were in black and white, their arms around each other, smiling broadly. She couldn’t remember ever being as happy as she looked there.

“Hey, look. It’s us,” Noah said, coming up behind her and grabbing a different frame. In that one they were on the beach—her mouth wide with laughter and her eyes squeezed shut, his gaze fixed on her, an adoring smile on his lips. “Must have been on vacation, eh?” He returned it to the shelf. There were a few others. All giving tribute to their past happiness. It was time neither of them could remember, although standing in this house, she could feel traces of that joy lingering in the nooks and crannies. She wanted to absorb all of it until it pushed aside all the negative feelings.

Noah disappeared down the hall. A door opened. His voice trailed back to her. “Welp, here’s the bathroom.” Another door. “Master bedroom…hey!”

Until then, Kel hadn’t realized she was still staring at the photos. Her vision had hazed over as if she were in a trance. She blinked and went to see what had him so excited.

“I remember this,” he said as she entered the bedroom. “I’ve been here.”

“Your memory is coming back?”

“No, but this was another scene Zap showed me.” He patted the bed. “You were lying right here.”

“I was in your visions?” Her face suddenly felt hot. “You never mentioned that.”

“Sorry. I guess it didn’t come up.”

She shot him a look but he didn’t notice. He was already out the hall and heading to the next room. Deciding that snooping wasn’t really possible when it was your own house, she opened the closet and surveyed its contents. It was well stocked with clothing. She checked the dresser. Same thing. All her clothes—none of Noah’s.

Noah’s voice trailed from down the hall. “Guest bedroom.” She walked into the room, going right to the closet and throwing the door open. Men’s clothes. Noah’s. They’d been sleeping in separate bedrooms at one point—back before he moved out, apparently. That explains why the aliens designed our cabin with individual bedrooms. Zap had his eye on us…he must have thought this was the norm for married couples.

Noah’s eyes went to the closet, and she thought there was a momentary question in them, but his expression changed. He doesn’t realize the significance, she thought.

He headed back through the living and entry and passed through a dining room. She followed without speaking. The last room in the house was a small kitchen at the back. It was sparkling clean and modern. Two barstools sat at a raised counter. Kel sunk down onto one of the stools while Noah investigated the kitchen.

“Hey, look at this,” he said, meeting her at the bar. For the first time, she noticed a bright red apple sitting on the counter in front of her. Something shiny hung on its stem, reflecting the overhead pendant lights. Noah picked up a book lying nearby and flipped through the pages. “This is the journal you found in the locker, right?” Kel pried her gaze from the apple and looked at the book.

“Hey, gimme that,” she said, snatching the journal from his grasp.

Shock registered on his face as he threw up his hands. “Whoa. Okay, it’s yours. What’s the big deal?”

“It’s private,” she said, clasping it to her chest. Her gaze trailed back to the apple.

He shrugged. “Okay. Whatever.” At that moment, he finally realized what she was staring at. His eyes went wide. He touched the fruit’s red skin with a finger then let his hand trail down to the counter below, touching down on a sheet of notebook paper covered with scrawled writing. He pulled the note out and read aloud, “Please accept my deepest apology for the inconveniences. I hope you had a smooth return. You have my thanks for saving me. Sincerely, the new Primary.”

Noah looked up at her. “It’s from Zap!”

“The new Primary?”

“He must have been promoted. You know, we never asked what his real title was. If he was the Secondary, then when the Primary died, maybe he was bumped up to head honcho.”

“So it all was real,” she said.

“That must be why the waves didn’t kill us after the Primary was gone. They had to follow the orders of their new leader.” Noah’s eyes sparkled with excitement. He looked back at the apple and paused. “That sneaky thing went through my pockets,” he muttered. After a moment, he slid one of the objects off of its stem. Then he sank to one knee and took Kel’s hand. Her heart thudded wildly.

“Miranda. I love you. We’ve seen some crazy stuff. We’ve been through more than I could ever imagine. I can’t remember another person, but I know I need you and no one else. I guess we got married, but neither of us remembers that. So I’m not making any assumptions about what you want. I know what I want, though. I want to be with you forever. I want you to be my wife.” He held out her wedding ring, waiting for her answer.

Kel blinked rapidly. She felt her mouth open and promptly closed it. Her emotions were in a tumult at the moment, but words failed. She realized he was staring at her, and she had to say something. “I-I don’t know if I can.”

Noah’s expression faltered. He frowned. “Why not?”

“You don’t know the truth about me—about us.” She got up and pushed the chair out of her way.

“What do you mean?”

“We weren’t a happily married couple, Noah! Our marriage was a train wreck! A joke!”

He looked at her blankly.

Her frustration increased. She couldn’t align her wishes with reality. “It didn’t work out. Why do you think your clothes are in one bedroom while mine are in the other? You didn’t just move to another bedroom. You moved out. We were getting a divorce!”

“How do you know all this?” His voice was controlled, even.

She jabbed a finger at the journal, still clasped tightly in her other hand. “When you were trapped with Zap, I was reading this. I learned all about Miranda’s life—my life.” She swallowed hard, not wanting to say the truth, to feel the words pass her lips. She looked him straight in the eye and took a deep breath. “She—I was tired of you being a workaholic. Whether you knew it or not, you’d pushed me aside, and I was done trying. I’d been flirting with this other guy for a while…someone from work. We’d scheduled our first date. As soon as you were out of the picture—” A sob stuck in her throat cut her off. She threw the journal on the counter and sank back into the chair, dropping her head in her hands. “Don’t you see? Our relationship was doomed from the beginning. Even after the memory loss…we’ve both fallen into the same patterns. You were completely focused solving the problem, and I—”

“Kel.”

The sound of her nickname made her look up at him. He got back to his feet. “I know we were getting a divorce.”

“You did? But how?”

“Zap. It was in one of the visions. I think when he took us we were on our way to finalize the papers.”

She tilted her head to one side. His dark eyes locked on hers, tempting her to hope. She resisted. “But none of that matters now,” he said. “I’m a different person now. You’re different. We’ve both gone through something that changed our priorities. You are the most important thing in the world to me now.”

It felt like tiny seedlings of hope were germinating inside her, trying to poke through the surface. “But what if it all comes back? What if we start to remember things. Like why your work was so important. And why I used to be so mad at you. What if everything repeats itself?”

“It won’t. We know our past. We know where that path leads. We can choose a different way. All it takes is a decision. And even if our memories return, we’ll also remember what happened to us on that strange planet—how it changed us.”

She studied his face. Her hope was alive now, but fear kept it from fully blooming.

Jax sat on the stool next to her. “I have to tell you something.” He sighed. “I should’ve told you before I got all stupid romantic with the ring.” He took a deep breath. “I need to apologize for not putting you first.”

She tilted her head and watched him.

“I was wrong to ignore you in the insertion room. You kept telling me to leave, and I wouldn’t give up.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “It was selfish. And stupid. And I’m sorry.” He looked back at her. “I get it now, and I’m gonna do better.”

Her heart soared, bursting with hope, filled with love. She remembered what he’d done in the insertion room, but with his apology came other unbidden memories. The way he’d put the search on hold to take care of her when she was suffering from withdrawals—without complaining. His patience with her fear of heights, and his help getting her up and down the cliff. His acknowledgment of her request for one last day at the cabin, even with the desire for answers drawing him.

“I’m sorry, too,” she said. “For giving you a hard time when you took care of me. Thanks for sticking with me.” Her cheeks grew warm. She felt a shy smile tugging at her lips.

But Jax’s eyes were still intense. “I may not remember being married to you, but I’m sorry if I did the same thing then. I’m not sure what you or I did wrong, but all marriages have bumps in the road. All I know is, I won’t let it happen again. From now on, you’re first. I won’t let anything pull us apart. Not work, people, anything. If you accept me, it’s you and me against the world, baby.” The side of his mouth curved up with the faint hint of a smile.

Passion flared inside her. “I need to say something, too.”

He nodded, eyes fixed on her, waiting.

“I’m not Miranda. I may have been once, but I’m not that person anymore. I can barely even say that name,” she muttered. “I understand what happened—on her side, at least. I read it. I saw the sloping path. I saw her stumbling off it. I know why she made the choices she did.” She took a deep breath. “And after living with you for several weeks, I can even relate. But that doesn’t make it okay. It isn’t worth sacrificing us. If I say yes, it’ll be forever. Period.”

“And what say you, then?”

Her heart fluttered wildly. She smiled softly at him. “I say yes.”

Beaming, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly to his chest. “I won’t call you Miranda if you don’t want me to.” She shook her head in affirmation. “You will always be my dearest Kel,” he said into her ear. He pulled back to gaze into her eyes. “I think this is yours.” He held out the ring. She gave him her hand, and he slid the solitaire onto her finger. The feel of the cool metal was odd after having her hand bare for so long. But it was also familiar in some hazy, distant way. It was like a wonderful dream she couldn’t quite remember.

Jax stood and kissed her lightly on the lips. He pulled her closer and enveloped her in his arms. She was warm with passion and dizzy with happiness. She was finally home.