“No, Kalli. Go back,” Ellis breathes.
Before I can answer, I’m torn from Ellis and flung against the wall.
“Ellis,” I cry, crawling back to him.
Something suddenly lands with an echoing thud on my right. I turn to see Ellis slumped beside me, and Fallon, blackened and glistening with sweat, beside him. The ground Ellis had been lying on just seconds before breaks into a thousand pieces and plummets into the fire.
Gasping, Fallon looks at me. “You are such an idiot.”
“Where’s Adalyn?” I ask, afraid of the answer.
Fallon jerks his head to my left, and there, lying on her back, with her arms and legs splayed, is Adalyn. Fallon tugs at the zipper on his pack and removes the flask. He pours the liquid into Ellis’s mouth. And then he crawls over to Adalyn, cradles her in his arms, and gives her a drink too.
“Kalli,” Ellis moans softly beside me.
I lift his head onto my lap. I can’t believe it. He’s here with me. We’re together. We’re alive. His hand reaches up and touches my face.
“You found me,” he croaks. “How?”
“Fallon,” I whisper back.
He smiles and nods. Fallon is back on his feet, carrying Adalyn’s limp body.
“Is she—?”
“She’s alive,” Fallon says. “Are you able to walk?” he asks Ellis.
Ellis nods, and together we clamber to our feet. With our arms entwined around each other, we follow Fallon along the edge of the cavern and back into the darker corridor.
Ellis draws me closer into his body. “When I first saw you, I thought I was hallucinating. A beautiful memory to take with me,” he says. “After all I’ve done, you still came. Why?”
Even in the absence of light, I can see his eyes fixed to mine. Those eyes that I had fallen for the instant I had seen them. Those eyes that had stared into mine and lied. Those eyes that I hated. But now I finally look past all of that and see what’s really there.
“Because I couldn’t allow another catastrophe to shape my life. You made mistakes. Terrible mistakes. But I believe that a lot of what you did was out of love. Love for your people and then love for me. And I thought you deserved a chance. That we both deserve a chance.”
“Thank you, Kalli.”
“We don’t have time for this, Ellis,” Fallon says. “We have to get to the ships.”
“So what’s the plan, Fallon?” Ellis asks.
“Lucas doesn’t think he’s going to be in power much longer. And considering everything that happened ….” His gaze drops to Adalyn for a split second and then quickly resumes looking ahead. “He’s probably right. Like I told Kalli, there’s no guarantee we can make it to the ships to get off Istriya.”
“Why the hurry?”
“It’s because of what I did,” Adalyn says.
We all look at her, shocked at the sound of her voice.
“It’s my fault. Isn’t it?” Adalyn presses.
None of us answer. But there is a response. It starts with a slow grumble and then escalates as the ceiling implodes and massive pieces of jagged rock come crashing down.
Ellis pins me against the wall, shielding me, as the air fills with endless echoes of deafening crashes.
It’s happening. The disasters Adalyn warned about are happening. It’s so loud it hurts.
Then as quickly as it started, it stops. The roaring ceases and is replaced by something even worse. A cry so painful and shrill, my ribs vibrate inside my chest.
“Kalli, are you okay?” Ellis breathes into my ears.
“Yes,” I croak.
It is no longer dark. The black cavernous roof has been replaced by a gray lifeless sky. And in this dismal source of light, I can see the enormity of the devastation. Massive rocks and rubble surround us. Our bodies, faces, and hair coated in dust. And on top of the rubble is Adalyn. A tortured sound escapes her lips. At first I think she’s trapped, but then I notice her arms rising and plunging back into the rocks, throwing them aside.
“Fallon,” she cries. “I’m so sorry, Fallon.”
“Oh my God!” Ellis says. “Adalyn, where’s Fallon?”
She screams as she heaves a huge boulder from below her. “I don’t know. He threw me aside and then he fell and everything came crashing down.”
“Kalli, stay right here. Don’t move.”
Ellis crawls over to Adalyn and starts moving aside the rocks.
“He risked his life for me!” Adalyn sobs. “And now he’s gone. He’s dead.”
“Shut up!” Four eyes turn and look at me, astonished. Even I’m taken aback by my own words. “He’s not dead.”
“Kalli, I told you not to move. It’s not safe.”
“I know, that’s why we have to find Fallon quickly and get out of here,” I say, moving a rock.
“Stop it!” Adalyn screams. “You need to lift them. If you just jostle them, you’ll crush him.”
“Come on, Addy, we’re all trying to help. And this wouldn’t have happened if….”
“If what?”
No one speaks. The answer hangs in the air. Ellis and Adalyn move faster, their arms a blur as they pull out rock after rock.
“Shhh.” Ellis holds up his hand. “Do you hear that?”
We freeze. I close my eyes, hoping to hear something. Hoping to hear Fallon.
“It’s coming from under here,” Adalyn says, as she ferociously flings her hands into the pile of rocks and tosses them aside. “Fallon? Can you hear me?”
A low moan winds its way through the spaces between the rocks. Ellis scrambles closer to Adalyn, and together they clear the boulders that have claimed Fallon. His face and chest are covered in blood. Ellis tunnels his hands under Fallon’s body, trying to lift him out.
“We need to get out of here before everything gives way,” Ellis says.
“There’s not enough time,” Fallon whispers. “I’ll slow you down. Just go.”
“No. Fallon, I’m not leaving you. I’m so sorry,” Adalyn cries. “I didn’t mean what I said. I was just so angry. The baby was yours. Ellis wouldn’t.” She pauses and looks at Ellis and then at Fallon. “I’m so sorry I hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you. I love you.”
“I know you do,” Fallon says, his voice barely audible. “It’s okay, Addy. But you have to go now.”
Adalyn shakes her head, tears falling onto Fallon’s face as she leans over him. “I never meant for any of this to happen. I was just so angry and so sad.”
“Addy, I know.” Fallon coughs and gags.
“I’ve almost got my hands through this,” Ellis says.
“Ellis, stop.” Fallon grimaces from the effort of placing his hand on top of his brother’s. “It’s no good. My legs are crushed.”
“No. You don’t know that.”
“I do. And if you move me anymore, I’ll bleed out. It’s only the weight of the rock that’s keeping me alive.”
“It’s crushing you. It’s not helping you. Listen, we’ll get you out and then Margaret can fix you,” Adalyn says.
Fallon says nothing. He just shakes his head.
Ellis stops pulling on Fallon. Tears streak his dust-covered cheeks.
“You better get going if there’s any chance of making it to those ships. Maybe even saving those women,” Fallon gasps.
“I’m not leaving you. This is all my fault,” Adalyn says.
And then I remember his pack. I crawl over to Fallon’s body and lift up his shirt. He moans from my touch.
“What are you doing? Get off of him!” Adalyn pushes me back.
“His pack—he’s got that drink. He gave it you.”
“Kalli, that won’t work. Not … for … this,” Fallon sputters. The anguished lines in his face fade, leaving behind a vacant stare. He becomes absolutely still.
“Fallon!” Adalyn’s cries are so piercing that I expect the walls and ground to crumble from the weight of her agony.
“It’s not safe here. We need to get to the ships and leave,” Ellis says.
“Let go of me.” She shoves away his hand.
“Addy, he’s gone. There’s nothing we can do for him.”
“Go away.”
“He wouldn’t want you to die. Come on.” Ellis stands up and holds out his hand.
“I’m not leaving him, Ellis. I’m not.” Adalyn lies down beside Fallon, her arm resting on his chest.
Ellis says nothing. He takes my hand, and we walk away. Neither of us looks back.