Good, Lou sent back vehemently. He waited, wondering if Theo had anything else to say. Ever since the whole thing with Sage had gone down, Theo had been a little more reticent and quiet. And snappish. But although there had been silence from his twin, now the connection was open and Lou took comfort in the familiar bond-simply the awareness that he was still there.

Lou looked at the computer screen on which he'd been writing a new program to a.n.a.lyze numerical information they'd obtained from a journal stolen from the Strangers, who were also called the Elite. The jumble of letters and numbers was, ironically, comforting to him, despite the fact that he hadn't figured out the significance of the sequences.

Now he could concentrate. Now he'd be able to set his mind to the task that he'd merely been using as an escape from fear that he was once again alone.

Elsie had died a little more than a year after the Change, trying to have their baby in a world without Pitocin, without epidurals, without emergency C-sections. A little flutter of her presence brushed over the back of his neck, beneath the silver-gray ponytail.

Where are you? he asked Theo. he asked Theo.

You won't believe me.

Where?

I'm at Brad Blizek's ranch.

Lou's eyes widened. Holy s.h.i.t. Holy s.h.i.t.

He could almost hear Theo's chuckle. I have to look around. More later. I have to look around. More later.

Report back ASAP with deets. I'm expecting Tony Stark's lab, you know. I'm expecting Tony Stark's lab, you know.

Me too. Later.

Brad Blizek's ranch. Sweet. Sweet. Would there be anything left of his office? With that tantalizing thought, Lou returned his attention to the computer screen, deciding then and there that if it was even half as amazing as he imagined, he was going there too. No matter what Theo said. Would there be anything left of his office? With that tantalizing thought, Lou returned his attention to the computer screen, deciding then and there that if it was even half as amazing as he imagined, he was going there too. No matter what Theo said.

"What's up with that new guy Theo?" Jen asked as she pa.s.sed Selena in the hallway from the kitchen.

"What do you mean?" Selena replied. The front of her shoulder hurt where the gangas gangas had torn into her, and there was a deep abrasion on her lower back that she'd made certain Vonnie hadn't seen. had torn into her, and there was a deep abrasion on her lower back that she'd made certain Vonnie hadn't seen.

"Well, he's not dying. And he doesn't know anyone here," Jen replied, seemingly unaware of Selena's tone. "Why is he here? Do you know him? Is he staying?"

Good question. Selena shrugged and then winced at the sharp twinge. "I don't know if he's staying, but he's perfectly healthy as far as I can tell." Selena shrugged and then winced at the sharp twinge. "I don't know if he's staying, but he's perfectly healthy as far as I can tell."

"He sure is," Jen said with relish. "Did you see that red dragon on his arm? Bang Bang."

Selena resisted the urge to mention the even more bang bang dragon on Theo's back, and merely shrugged again-this time, more gingerly. Jen had been leading Sam on a merry chase for a while-poor sixteen-year-old Sammy was too young for the cute, if not easily distracted, twenty-three-year-old, but since she worked a lot with Selena, the proximity had contributed to what Vonnie called a big, fat Orange Crush. dragon on Theo's back, and merely shrugged again-this time, more gingerly. Jen had been leading Sam on a merry chase for a while-poor sixteen-year-old Sammy was too young for the cute, if not easily distracted, twenty-three-year-old, but since she worked a lot with Selena, the proximity had contributed to what Vonnie called a big, fat Orange Crush.

Obviously, Jen had found another, more appropriate outlet for her flirtations, if the way she peered out the window toward Frank's garden was any indication. Selena had seen Theo walk out with the elderly man some time earlier, and could pretty much a.s.sume that Frank had put him to work. Jen must have met him as she walked through the area from her home, halfway between here and the settlement of Yellow Mountain.

Selena wondered if Theo had gotten hot enough in the sun to take off his shirt yet, and the thought made her pause in surprise. Not the idea itself, but the fact that she'd thought thought it. Selena certainly admired a wixy male body when she happened to see one, but normally those sorts of thoughts didn't just crop up in her mind out of the blue. She was over fifty years old, for creep's sake, and her days of pa.s.sion were long behind her. Besides, having a man in her life would be too dangerous. it. Selena certainly admired a wixy male body when she happened to see one, but normally those sorts of thoughts didn't just crop up in her mind out of the blue. She was over fifty years old, for creep's sake, and her days of pa.s.sion were long behind her. Besides, having a man in her life would be too dangerous.

Aside from that, she had other things to deal with. Things that generally put a damper on anything like pa.s.sion or s.e.x.

What guy wanted to sleep with a woman who got up close and personal to zombies in order to save their souls?

"What?" asked Jen.

"Nothing," she replied. "I just forgot something I wanted to check on. How's Maryanna doing?"

But as Jen rattled on about the young woman, Selena couldn't quite keep her attention from the window. She wondered what his skin tone, already a rich olive color, would look like when it tanned. And she knew how sleek and muscular his back was, how it curved into square shoulders and round biceps.

"Remember?"

With a start, Selena looked at Jen. "Uh," she began.

"You promised," the younger girl reminded her. "Vonnie will be busted if you shove it off again. And my Mom and Dad are going to stay here so you can go."

Right. Vonnie was doing her monthly storytelling gig in Yellow Mountain tonight. Everyone from the surrounding areas-about a hundred people-attended the pig roast and entertainment without fail, partly because Vonnie painted amazing pictures with her words, and partly because it was a social activity that brought them all together and gave them a rest from the daily work.

"Yes, yes, I'll be there." She smiled, but it was a little forced.

It wasn't that she didn't want to go or to socialize, but she had to be careful about that sort of thing. She'd learned her lesson back in Sivs. And again in Crossroads. She couldn't let anyone too close, because once they found out what she did, it could get ugly.

Which was why Selena never thought of herself as alone-for she had Sam and Vonnie and Frank-but she was was lonely. She didn't have a partner. Someone whom she neither had to take care of, nor who tried to mother her to death. Just ... an equal. Someone to listen. To talk to. To laugh with. And ... other things. lonely. She didn't have a partner. Someone whom she neither had to take care of, nor who tried to mother her to death. Just ... an equal. Someone to listen. To talk to. To laugh with. And ... other things.

Someone who didn't need need anything from her. anything from her.

But maybe tonight ... maybe she'd just have fun. Drink a little wine. Relax a little.

Maybe she'd even drink a lot of wine. For some reason, her gaze wandered back to the window. She knew what would happen if she drank a lot of wine. It had been a long time ... she searched back in her mind... Three years? Four? Three years? Four?

No, good grief-Six! Six years, because it had been Sam's tenth birthday party, the last time she'd let herself relax. Have a good time. Six years, because it had been Sam's tenth birthday party, the last time she'd let herself relax. Have a good time.

No wonder she was a little tense.

And so ... maybe tonight. A night where she could just do ... what she she wanted. wanted.

Selena couldn't help glancing toward the window again. Would it be so bad to flirt a bit with a guy younger than her? Especially one who looked like Theo? Plus he wasn't from here; surely he wouldn't be around much longer anyway.

"I'm going to ask Theo if he wants to go," Jen was saying. "He can sit with us."

Selena pulled her attention away, her light thoughts deflated. Right. Right. He'd fit in perfectly with the group of friends that Jen normally interacted with. Young, vibrant, and filled with energy. He'd fit in perfectly with the group of friends that Jen normally interacted with. Young, vibrant, and filled with energy.

She turned away. It had been a while since she'd felt like that.

Young. Vibrant. Filled with the joy of life.

Since he'd gotten the news that this was Brad Blizek's place, several things had occurred to Theo. Aside of the realization that there could be some awesome plans or even prototypes of some of Blizek's unmanufactured brain children (which he fairly salivated at the thought of getting his hands on), he had to believe there would be a state-of-the-art NASA-like technology setup somewhere.

Maybe even still viable.

So, as soon as he finished helping Frank with a variety of ch.o.r.es in the yard, he asked about it. And was rewarded by the old man trudging him up two flights of steps to what he said they called the arcade.

Theo was conscious of holding his breath when he entered the s.p.a.ce, and it took long moments before he expelled it.

Holy gearhead's wet dream, Batman.

It was like the Bat Cave meets Tony Stark's lab meets NASA.

The s.p.a.ce was long and open, running the entire length of the ranch. Tinted transom windows kept the glare of the sun from messing with computer or video screens. The left half looked like something from an old '80s movie: it was lined with old arcade video games-Pac-Man, Centipede, Galaga-along with some from Theo's generation, as well as pinball machines. But on the right, the large room was a fantasy. Ma.s.sive computer touch screens built into the walls, clear acrylic countertops and keyboards, a clear gla.s.s electronic whiteboard, and projector screens and webcams. Theo saw a data glove and headgear for AI work. He could hardly form words to thank Frank-for he'd learned that the man had kept the s.p.a.ce clean, dry, and powered up.

And yet ... the stairway to the arcade was kept boarded up and inaccessible.

"Keeps the d.a.m.ned snoot outta here," Frank said, eyeing Theo sharply.

"The snoot?"

"Bounty hunters. They take this stuff. Take anyone who's got it too. No one knows it's here, so you shut your G.o.dd.a.m.n can about it to anyone."

And that was all Frank would say on the subject ... but Theo didn't care. He just wanted to get to work. He didn't even spend much time wondering why Frank trusted him enough to give him access to the secret room.

The first thing he did was set up an access point, or NAP, to link into the Internet that he and Lou had been trying to create. Despite the fact that Envy, which of course was the cornerstone of the network, might be as far as a hundred miles away, Theo figured he could find the equipment here to build a receiver strong enough to tap into it. Aside of that, he, Lou, Sage, and Jade had spent the last two or three years setting up NAPs in a roughly fifty mile radius around Envy, and hopefully there would be one close enough that he could link into.

It took him only a few hours to rig an NAP, and he sent off an actual message back to Lou, who would be in the Resistance's Command Center, hidden two stories below the ground of New York-New York. Later, he might even be able to send him webcam pictures of the place. Lou would be f.u.c.king insane to get here, get his hands on this stuff.

By the time he finished that and sent off a message to Lou, Sam was calling up the stairs that it was time to leave for Yellow Mountain. And, mindful of Frank's warning that the place must be kept secret, Theo had no choice but to leave the Bat Cave before everyone came looking for him.

"Once upon a time there was a magical place with castles and princesses, and a little, winding river. A bright red-and-yellow train trundled along on a track that surrounded the land, stopping at three different stations. There was a busy place called Main Street, filled with families and couples walking along. Shops lined a street where people could buy ice cream or chocolates or wonderful sandwiches called hot dogs . .."

As Vonnie's sure, easy voice lulled the audience, Theo found himself alternately sliding into the story and watching everyone and everything around him. And fantasizing about getting his fingers back on those sleek, dust-free touch screens.

The audience sat on an expanse of gra.s.s, safely inside the walls of the settlement of Yellow Mountain, with a fervent fire blazing in a stone-lined pit in the center of the group. He estimated about eighty people of all ages had either settled on the lawn on blankets or on portable chairs similar to those he'd taken to picnics or sporting events fifty years ago, except these chairs had seats made from curtain remnants and supports from broken pieces of wood or reformed plastic. A few dogs settled near their masters and mistresses, and off to the left, a man had just put his guitar aside.

The fire gave off a bit too much heat for a warm July evening, so there was a ring of empty gra.s.s around it. The sun was just sitting on the horizon, and its disappearance would plunge the world into dangerous darkness in an hour or two. In the air lingered the remnants of barbeque smoke; and behind the crowd, the carca.s.s from the roasted pig still hung on its spit. A few yards away were the scattered buildings that made up the settlement, the largest of which was an old McDonald's.

"Hot dogs weren't made from puppy dogs, of course! Who would want to eat a sweet little puppy?" Vonnie said with a little laugh after one of the girls squealed in horror and clutched her own dog closer. "They were meats, long and skinny, these hot dogs," she explained to a group of youngsters who sat in the front row and gazed up at her with wide eyes. "And you'd put them in a special long bread called a bun, which sort of hugged them. They tasted sooooo sooooo good, especially with ketchup on them. Princesses loved to eat them, and there were lots of little shops in this magical world where you could buy them or other tasty things called corn dogs." good, especially with ketchup on them. Princesses loved to eat them, and there were lots of little shops in this magical world where you could buy them or other tasty things called corn dogs."

A little pang flipped inside Theo's belly. Every so often that happened-a sharp reminder of what he'd lived through, what it had been like before before. How many hot dogs had he had by the time he was the age of those kids there-eight, maybe nine or so? And none of them would have seen or tasted one in this world.

Not that the lack of processed food was anything to be upset about.

"And there was something called cotton candy cotton candy," Vonnie went on, her own eyes growing wide and a big smile rounding her cheeks. Her voice dropped into a tantalizing whisper as she bent forward to the young audience. Theo smiled. Here, for the first time, her enthusiasm was channeled into something more deliberate, more controlled than when she was in the kitchen or caring for Selena's patients.

Selena.

Theo shifted his attention to the so-called Death Lady, who was sitting on a small rise of ground above and behind Vonnie. It put her in his vision without him having to move to look at Selena. He could sneak peeks without even turning his head. Convenient Convenient.

And interesting that I should care.

He turned that thought over in his mind for few moments, considering.

Something b.u.mped Theo gently in the ribs and the warmth of a body sliding next to him pulled him back to his gra.s.sy seat. Jen had walked away from their little group a few moments before the story began, and now she'd returned to take her place between Theo and another young woman.

Jen's long bare leg slid along his calf as she settled on the gra.s.s next to him. Bare toes, ringless and painted pale pink, burrowed into the cool green blades. She carried the scent of some flower that he couldn't identify and didn't really care to-he just knew it was a nice, girly smell. Then she giggled and whispered something to her girlfriend, b.u.mping her arm against Scarlett as she did so.

About two hours before, Theo and Jen, along with Sam and Frank, had ridden in a horse-drawn wagon to Yellow Mountain. They'd arrived early enough for dinner and to join a collection of about twenty young people. Theo a.s.sumed he fit right in, at least visually, with the twenty-somethings, two of whom were pregnant and all of whom were looking forward to tonight's social activities. Several bottles of wine and beer had pa.s.sed around while they ate, and now all had the makings of a good, warm buzz.

Life was pretty good, considering the fact that he'd been dead days ago.

"Cotton candy was like pink or blue clouds," Vonnie was saying, spreading her hands to demonstrate. "And it melted in the princess's mouth, so sweet and sticky! In the hot sun, it colored their fingers so that they turned pink and blue, and when she gave her mama a kiss, she left a sticky blue lip-print on her cheek."

Jen whispered something about her hair to the friend next to her, smoothing her hand along its blondish brown length. She lifted it in a bunch, twisting it high at the crown of her head, then draping it over her shoulder as she laughed softly. Then she leaned back to say something to the young man behind her, something about his "bang" jeans, which were torn over one knee and st.i.tched with bold black at the hems. A little bit of knot work hung from the edges of the tear in the denim.

She b.u.mped against Theo again; and, whether by accident or design, she managed to slide her arm along him too. Her long hair, now loose, cascaded over her shoulder and gleamed in the sunlight as it slithered briefly over Theo's arm.

Subtle, she is not.

But she was young and lithe and she smelled good. She might be able to make him forget about Sage.

In fact, Jen reminded him more than a little of Sage, although Jen wasn't as quiet as the redhead. Perhaps it was her young age that did it. He noticed the same youth and ingenuity in Jen's eyes, the free smiles and laughter that came easily. The giggles, the talk about clothes and hair ... Simple things.

While the things that were on his mind were always so much bigger and broader.

"And so, the princess climbed into a large teacup," Vonnie said, lifting a palm-sized china cup and saucer that had somehow remained intact through the violence that had ravaged the earth. "It looked much like this, but it was wayyyy wayyyy larger. In fact, it was so big, six people could fit inside it! It was pink with red swirling designs painted on the outside." larger. In fact, it was so big, six people could fit inside it! It was pink with red swirling designs painted on the outside."

"Was it made of gla.s.s?" piped up a tiny voice. "Or plastic?"

Vonnie pursed her lips, pretending to think, and then she looked at the cup in her hand and leaned forward to respond. "It was made of something magic magic," she said. Then she lifted her face to look around the entire crowd, and repeated: "Magic." "Magic."

"What did the magic do?"

"It made the cup fly, around and around and around ... so fast that the princess giggled and laughed. The wind brushed her face and tickled it, and tossed her hair. And inside her tummy she felt it curl and flutter like a thousand b.u.t.terflies were inside!"

Jen shivered next to Theo-or at least, she hugged herself and rubbed her arms, whispering brrr. brrr. Hiding a smile, Theo shifted so that she could tuck under his arm, and he thought about how smooth her skin was, and how pretty she was when she smiled. Hiding a smile, Theo shifted so that she could tuck under his arm, and he thought about how smooth her skin was, and how pretty she was when she smiled.

And how young. So, so young. So young that wisdom and experience had yet to cloud her gaze and imprint her skin. Gay and carefree, enjoying life.

While he felt old and used.

Theo looked over at Selena again. Alone, sitting high above and away from everyone else with her arms clasped loosely around bent knees. Despite the fact that he was in the midst of people, even hugging a lovely young woman, he felt just as separate as Selena seemed to be.

And, it struck him at that moment, he'd felt this way for a long time. Longer than he'd realized. For decades: distant, separated, outcast. Despite the awesomeness of his superpower, despite the fact that he looked like a young, buff athlete at the top of his game, he was separated. Because of it.

Distant even from Lou in many ways, despite their brotherly connection. For at least Lou looked like who he was: an old man. At least people understood who Lou was merely by looking at him.

That was not true for Theo. His whole person was a lie.

And although he and Lou were close, connected so intimately, they were still so very separate. Alone.

The sun had begun to dip into the horizon, which flattened its curving bottom and sent pink and gold beams of light shooting through distant trees. He noticed the rosy-bronze nimbus touching one side of Selena's hair, for she sat perpendicular to the horizon. Half of her face would soon be shadowed as the other half of her head captured the last rays of sunlight.

The woman who'd saved his life.

No, the woman who'd brought him back to life. Literally. It still blew his mind.

How long had she been living while people died around her? How long had she lived a life filled with the pain and anguish of others ... and why did she separate herself from the living? How did she go on when she saw death every day and still be fresh and upbeat and optimistic? He wanted to know more. He wanted to know the secrets of this woman, who looked nothing like who she really was.