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"Animals? I've seen pictures of some animals. Elephants. And cows."
Another unknown, Jobs realized. What would they find in this new world? Would animals
need to be domesticated? Or would there suddenly be tame house cats and curly-haired
poodles roaming the green hills?
Jobs felt slightly dizzy. The possibilities were overwhelming. How could he possibly paint a
picture of a place beyond his feeble imagination? A place that currently existed only in Billy's
dreams? In his communion with the Source. Mother.
If the place existed at all.
"Look," Jobs said. "I really don't know how it will be. But I believe in Billy. I wish you
would trust in him, too."
Echo frowned. "I will try. But it's hard. All I can promise is that I will do what's best for my
child. That's all I know for sure."
"Okay," Jobs conceded. But it was hard to let it go. In his heart, Jobs knew that a gentler,
green environment would be far better for Echo's baby than this harsh, sterile world. But Echo
would have to come to that belief herself.
"So, does your baby have a name yet?" Jobs asked, needing to change the subject.
Echo shook her head. "We fled the colony before the Namer could perform the ritual. But
even before, Marina never came to me. I think now that no one cared to waste any time on us.
We were worthless to them."
"You don't need them anyway," Jobs said.
Echo winced. "Don't I?" she said. "They were my family."
Jobs wanted to kick himself for being so insensitive. "What I mean is... Why don't you pick
a name? Right now. Go on."
The baby cooed and Echo smiled. "I have an idea," she said suddenly. "Will j'ou be the
Namer for my baby?"
"Lumina," he blurted.
"Lumina?" Echo made a considering face which Jobs found adorable and then smiled.
"I like that. It's pretty."
Jobs laughed. "Whew, I'm glad. It just came rushing out of my mouth!"
"What does it mean?" Echo asked, gently smoothing her baby's fine pale hair. "Lumina," she
crooned.
"It means light." Suddenly, Jobs felt all choked up. What was there to cry about? Echo's
baby was blind, but... "Illumination. It sounds right for her," he added, surreptitiously wiping
a hand across his eyes.
"Yes," Echo said. "It sounds right."
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CHAPTER 13
THE RESPONSIBILITY WAS ALL HIS OWN.
Sanchez was alone. Alone with the Source and his own troubled thoughts.
Since their initial foray, only Sanchez had been allowed inside the ship. Those were
Mo'Steel's orders. The boy was a good leader He was always on guard against trouble.
And he was concerned that Sanchez not be interrupted during his sessions with Billy.
Not everyone was as supportive of Sanchez's efforts.
Sanchez was no fool. He knew that Newton, at least, eyed him with suspicion, even hatred.
That he and possibly other Marauders saw Sanchez as a traitor to their people. As a
troublemaker. Someone who was going to destroy the only way of life they had ever known.
And for what?
For a dream.
But Sanchez had no choice. He was what he was. He was the holy man. The storyteller. The
voice of wisdom. The shaman. That was a term Violet had explained to him just recently.
Such men or women were either revered or despised. Sometimes simultaneously.
Sanchez knew this. He also was acutely aware that the burden of interpreting the message
from Billy/Mother/the Source rested entirely on his shoulders.
True, Jobs and a few others had offered to help puzzle out the mystery of what the band
needed to do to provide? in order to make the regreening ritual a success.
Sanchez appreciated their efforts, but he didn't allow them one shred of responsibility.
The responsibility was all his own.
It was the way it should be.
But so much could go wrong. What if his spiritual gifts failed him and he couldn't interpret
the all-important message? What if Newton killed him? In either case, the regreening ritual
would never be performed.
So much could go wrong.
As if reflecting Sanchez's dark thoughts, a low moan suddenly seemed to seep up through the
ruined floor of the ship. It was both a sound and a feeling of intense sadness. Of suffering.
Sanchez put his hands to his ears but the moaning grew too loud to be kept out. The Source
wanted Her pain to be known.
And then, as suddenly as it had come, the sorrow was gone, and in its place was a spirit of...
Sanchez didn't know the exact term for what he felt emanating so powerfully from the Source.
It reminded him, though, of what he felt radiating from the Alpha girl, Echo, when she cuddled
her child to her breast.
Pride. A fierce protectiveness. Power
"Love."
"Billy?" Sanchez stepped closer to the boy, vaguely surprised that he hadn't lost consciousness
this time.
"What else?" Sanchez whispered. "What do j'ou need from us? What do j'ou want us to do?
We want to be reborn. Billy, why won't j'ou talk to me?"
"Three elements."
"Yes?"
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"Three elements are needed for Earth to be reborn."
"Tell me, Billy."
"The Source. The Five embodied in me. And "
"Yes? And what?"
"And "
Sanchez waited, hoping, but Billy said nothing more. After a while, he sensed that Billy was
dormant. That whatever energy he'd had was gone.
Sanchez left the ship, fervently hoping Billy's energy would return. Soon.
The Source. The Five embodied in me.
What kind of mumbo jumbo was Billy spouting, anyway?
2Face crept through the shadow. Claw was on guard, the idiot. Everyone else was asleep. She
had no trouble sneaking away from camp and toward the ship.
Sanchez and his stupid messages. Couldn't he see that the whole thing was a big farce? That Billy
was just yanking his chain everybody's chain? Was she the only sane person left on Earth?
Don't answer that, 2Face told herself. The truth is too depressing.
With a quick glance over her shoulder, 2Face stepped into the ruined ship. The interior was
only slightly darker than the perpetual gloom outside. In a moment, her eyes had adjusted to the
dimmer light.
Good. Because she needed to find something. Some damning evidence against Billy. If only
she had a camera! Then she could catch the jerk in the act of climbing out of whatever
invisible contraption he'd erected to make it look like he was suspended in midair. No strings,
my foot, 2Face thought angrily. At best, Billy was a magician. At worst, a complete and total
fraud.
Hey, she thought, maybe I'll even find a weapon, something I can use to destroy Billy right on
the spot. The freak seemed indestructible, but 2Face had no doubt she could find a way to
eliminate him. Once and for all.
A shudder ran through her then. Unexpected but... Okay, she was scared. She'd admit it. A
teeny bit. Actually, more creeped-out than scared. Tate or what was left of her was
lumped only twenty or so feet away. Back before the Rock, 2Face hadn't been one for those
stupid Halloween movies about teenagers too moronic to stay away from haunted houses and
psycho killers. She was not at all down with the notion of ghosts and such. Even after being
stranded on this freakish dead planet, what Violet called "home to seven billion ghosts."
Please. 2Face had never sensed any dead person's presence.
Still, 2Face couldn't help but make sure Tate's skeleton was still where they'd found it,
falling out of that old Shipwright's chair. Yeah. It was there. Gross as ever.
With one final sneer at Tate, 2Face headed toward the alcove and was genuinely surprised to
find Billy still suspended in the humming golden glow. His eyes were open and unblinking;
his chin rested on his chest; his hands and feet hung limp.
The sight of him made 2Face sick.
"Come on, you freak, say something!" she taunted. Images of when she and Billy had been
close stabbed at her mind's eye and made her wince.
In the next second, full of revulsion, 2Face lunged at Billy, fists flying but her flesh never
touched his. The golden aura was alive with power and repelled her assault. 2Face was thrown
back several feet and came to a crash landing, flat out on her back.
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