Hours later, as midnight approached, Gram led Roni, Elliot, and Sully through the twisting maze of the caverns. They stepped off the main path and went up a short incline until she finally halted by a wall with two chains hanging loose.
“Everyone doing okay?” she asked.
Elliot had spent the car ride home healing himself and then Sully. Roni said she did not require his aid. Though she did have a few bruises, she thought it would be better to avoid getting reliant on the old man.
From her bag, Gram pulled out the book that had captured Darin. It had green vertical lines down the front and wide black spaces between. She reached for the chains, paused, and lowered her arms.
Turning to Roni, she said, “This is your victory. You do the honors.”
Victory. Roni didn’t know if she agreed with that word. They had won, yet they failed to save Darin. Gram told her that Darin had died the moment he entered the book the first time, but that did not relieve her uneasiness.
Still, they had saved their world and their universe, so she recognized that much of a victory. Taking the book, she moved in close to the wall. She reached up for the first chain. At her touch, it snaked down and locked itself around the book. When she brushed the other chain with her finger, it too wrapped around the book and then punctured the spine with its sharp end.
Gram motioned in the air, and both chains tightened up, securing the book against the cavern wall. The Old Gang clapped their hands and Roni blushed.
“Speech! Speech!” Sully said.
Roni knew she could not avoid this part, so she decided to make the most of it. “I know this has been a difficult few days for you all. I’ve not been clear-headed or easy to get along with. All of you probably have had some idea in your heads of how I would be when I learned about the Parallel Society. Gram, most of all. Yet none of it turned out as any of you could have planned. I certainly didn’t expect any of it.”
Elliot chuckled. “You did perfectly fine.”
“I don’t know if this is a typical week for you guys, and I’m not sure I want to know. But I also realized that I’ve been fooling myself into thinking I can go back. I can’t. When Darin broke in here and went into that book, it was over for him. Same for me. You can’t unlearn what you’ve learned. And here’s the thing I really have to admit — when we drove home, beaten and tired, I had a smile on my face. We had won, and that felt really good. Special.” She stepped in front of the group. “I don’t want to lose that feeling.”
Sully put out his hand. “Does this mean you’ll join us?”
“Yes.” She took his hand. “If you’ll have me.”
Elliot and Gram stepped forward with arms out and hugs ready. “Happy to have you!” Elliot said.
Gram held her tight. “I’ve been so worried you’d leave us.”
“What?” Roni’s throat tightened. She wanted to scream. “Why didn’t you say so? Why did you keep pushing me away?”
“Because this is a commitment for the rest of your life. You had to make the choice to join us despite the bad. I’m glad you enjoyed the feeling of victory, but there are tough times in this business. A lot of them. We had to make sure you had the thickest skin possible for it.”
Roni accepted the answer but did not believe it entirely. She had too much firsthand knowledge of Gram’s tough side to buy that it was all an act for Roni’s benefit.
“Well,” Sully said, “now that’s all settled, it’s late and I’m tired. Good night.” He walked off.
“I think I shall join him. Sleep sounds like a good idea.” Elliot followed him away.
Gram held Roni at arm’s length. “You’re going to make me proud, right?”
“Of course,” Roni said.
“Because we still don’t know who hired Darin, and that troubles me. Things may not settle down anytime soon.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll do my part.”
“You’ve got a lot to learn, but I think you can handle it.”
“I can’t wait to get started.”
Gram’s face brightened. “Good. You saw the Special Library. Your first task is to organize and catalog that mess. Should only take a year or two. Maybe three. But that’s the beauty of having a job for life. You’ve got time. So, you do like the boys and get some sleep. I’ve still got to hang the books we used for those small rips from the farmhouse. Then I’ll sleep, too. Work starts at six tomorrow morning.”
Roni forced a smile as they walked back to the elevator. She did not want to look too eager. After saying goodnight, she left the bookstore and headed to her apartment. The smile on her face became one of anticipation and determination.
What she said about the thrill in victory had been true, but it was not the reason for her decision to stay. It was the library. That special library held all the knowledge of the Society. That was the reason she joined the group. If answers were to be found anywhere, she would found them in those books — answers to all her lost time.
Her smile faded. She had to be ready for what that meant. She had to prepare.
Because she had a dark feeling that Gram knew the answers already.