straight up. That’s the only way this can all end.”
“That’s pretty arrogant, don’t you think?” she sniffed. “I mean, thinking that the future of all existence is only about the two of you.”
“It’s not,” I countered. “It’s about how we influence events, and the people of the territories and the choices they make.”
Courtney shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
“This has been torturing me from the beginning,” I answered. “On every territory, with every conflict, Saint Dane has challenged me. You’ve read about it all. He always gets me to follow him to his next target. The Travelers have ruined his plans more often than not. The guy is a lot of things, but he’s not an idiot. He could have won every single territory if the Travelers hadn’t stopped him, but we never would have gotten the chance if we didn’t always know where he was going. But he always tells me. Don’t you wonder about that?”
Courtney plopped down in one of the cushy easy chairs, shooting out a small cloud of dust. “Yeah,” she said, resigned. “I have. Are you saying he really wants to be beaten?”
“No!” I said quickly. “He wants to win, all right, but winning for him isn’t just about toppling a territory. It’s about beating the Travelers. Beating me. I think the battle here is more complicated than we even realize. It isn’t just about wars or destruction or us trying to make sure the people of a territory have a peaceful way of life. I think it’s more about the way it happens. The decisions people make. The paths they choose.”
“You’re getting a little cosmic on me,” Courtney said.
“I know, I’m on shaky ground here, but the more I learn about Saint Dane and the way he thinks, the more I realize he’s trying to prove some kind of point. He talks about the people of the territories being greedy and arrogant and shortsighted. He thinks that whatever horror happens to the territories, the people deserve it.”
“Because he’s a monster,” Courtney added.
“Yeah, but he doesn’t see it that way. He thinks he’s giving the people what they want.”
“Death and destruction and misery?” Courtney asked.
“I know, it doesn’t really follow. But the point is, he thinks he’s serving a grander purpose. I don’t think it’s as simple as him being some kind of megalomaniac James Bond-type villain who wants to rule the universe, muhahahahaha! In some twisted way, he thinks he’s doing the right thing.”
“But that’s just it,” Courtney pleaded. “He thinks the right thing is to steer the people of the territories into disaster. How can that possibly be right?”
“I’m not saying it is. I’m saying that’s how he thinks.”
Courtney looked around the room, letting my confused logic sink in. “So if Saint Dane is on a quest to prove that his way of running the territories is the right way, and the only way he feels he can do that is by beating the Travelers, then by his way of thinking, the Travelers are the bad guys/’
Those words hit me hard. I hadn’t thought of it that way, but if my theory was true, then Courtney was right. If Saint Dane thinks he’s trying to save the territories, in his mind the bad guys who must be defeated are the Travelers.
“That’s not all, Bobby,” Courtney added. “If Saint Dane is trying to prove something, who exactly is he trying to prove it to?”
I sat forward and rubbed my eyes. I was feeling very tired. “That’s the biggest question of all,” I said softly.
“It’s coming to an end, Bobby,” Courtney said. “Whatever the Convergence is, it sounds like it’s what this has all been leading up to. I think what Saint Dane did as Andy Mitchell, what he got Mark to do, has broken down the walls between the territories for good. There are dados on Second Earth. There are dados on Third Earth and Quillan.”
“Dados tried to get onto First Earth,” I reminded her. “For all I know, more are showing up right now.”
“The destinies of four territories have been altered. It’s sounding like those dominos are being lined up.”
“I agree,” I said. “That’s why I’ve got to go to Ibara. I hate to say this, but I’m afraid it’s too late to undo what Mark has done. Too many events have been set in motion. A Traveler has joined Saint Dane, remember? Nevva Winter is on his side. She told me on Quillan that she was thinking of taking the place of the Traveler from Ibara. All signs point to Ibara being that first domino that’s going to be tipped.”
Courtney looked at the floor.
I continued, “I don’t think we can change the future by trying to re-alter the past. We’re too far down the road for that. I’ve got to look forward.”
“So you want to give up on Mark?” she asked.
“No!” I shouted. “It may be too late to undo the damage he’s done, but we still don’t know why he did it. That’s not about Halla. Or dados. It’s about our friend. According to Patrick’s computer, Mark Dimond disappeared sometime in November 1937. Disappearing is bad. Mark is an innocent victim in all this. If something bad is about to happen to him, we’ve got to try and stop it.”
Courtney walked over to the couch and sat down next to me. She held my hand and said, “No, I’ve got to try and stop it. You’ve got to go to Ibara.”
I’m finishing this journal while Courtney is sleeping in Gunny’s bed. I’m lying on his couch, writing. I can’t sleep. My mind is going in too many directions. My plan is to finish this journal and leave it with Courtney. She’ll find a safe place to keep it. From now on, I’ll send my journals to her through the rings.
Courtney is going to stay on First Earth to track down Mark. If anybody can do it, she can. She’s as much a part of this now as I am. She’s been together with Mark from the beginning. They are a team. Or, they were a team. Though I’m worried about both my friends, this feels right. I’ve made loads of sacrifices since becoming a Traveler in the name of saving Halla from Saint Dane. Now I’m abandoning my two best friends. It’s a hollow, dark feeling. But what else can I do? I honestly believe that there’s nothing we can do about the dados. The real concern here is Mark. Where is he? What happened that he knowingly changed the course of history? Is he okay? I believe that Courtney’s mission here on First Earth is not to try and realign Halla. It’s to save Mark’s life. Knowing that I won’t be here to help is killing me, but it’s a sacrifice I have to make. While Courtney tries to save Mark, I’ve got to try and save Halla. I’ve got to face Saint Dane on Ibara. It’s about him and me. It’s about proving the Travelers aren’t the bad guys.
I’ve got the same queasy feeling I always have when I’m about to go to a new territory. What will I find? What kind of culture will they have? Will it be modern? Ancient? Civilized? Primitive? Or will I land square in the middle of a society run by robots?
Anything is possible. There’s only one thing I know for sure.
Saint Dane is there waiting for me.
END OF JOURNAL # 28
Courtney was alone.
More alone than she had ever been In her life. At least that’s what it felt like to her. Even when she was lying in the hospital after having nearly been killed by Saint Dane, there were people watching out for her. But that was on Second Earth. On First Earth she had no one. Nobody knew she even existed, because technically, she didn’t. She was out of place, out of time, and feeling a little bit out of her mind. She wanted to cry. She wanted to go home in the worst way, but that was impossible because to use the flumes without a Traveler would mean disaster. No, she was stuck. She wanted to lie in Gunny’s bed, pull the covers over her head, and pretend she was at home with her mom and dad.
Instead she focused on her mission. She didn’t resent Bobby for leaving. She agreed that he had to go to Ibara. But it didn’t stop her from wishing that he was still around. What kept her going was the hope that she would soon find Mark. History said he disappeared and she knew that couldn’t be a good thing. She needed to find him before whatever was going to happen, happened. She even held out hope that in spite of what Bobby thought, finding Mark and learning why he’d done what he did might somehow realter the course of history and put Halla back on track. But there was another reason she had to find Mark. She needed him. She needed her friend. She needed to hold on to him and cry and hear his dumb stutter and be back together with the only person in Halla who had traveled the same road she had. Mark had become her best friend, her support, her confidant. He saved her life. She needed to return the favor. She needed to get Mark back.
Her first order of business was to get new clothes. She hated the flowery dress from the flume. It didn’t matter what the current cultural standards dictated, girly dresses and Courtney Chetwynde did not go together.
