“Maybe the journals are wrong,” Mark countered. “You’re saying how Saint Dane was able to fool us our entire lives, and fool me into starting Armageddon, maybe he was smart enough to monkey with those journals. Did you think of that?”
“No,” Courtney said, shaking her head furiously. “You know that can’t be right.”
“But your version isn’t true!” Mark barked. “My parents are proof. All you have are words on a page. I have living proof.”
“But I was there!” Courtney cried, tears of frustration welling up. “I saw how Second Earth was changed.”
“I’m sorry, Courtney,” Mark said. “I think Saint Dane must have a hand in this somewhere, but it looks like you are the one he’s been working. Like he did at that Stansfield Academy. I’m going to deliver Forge to that company in England. They are going to do with it whatever they will and begin a series of events that will save the lives of my parents. I don’t know what Saint Dane did to you, but your version of events is not the way it was meant to be. We’ll figure this all out once we get to London.”
Mark touched Courtney on the shoulder warmly and began to walk away.
“Stay right there, Mark,” Dodger said.
Mark looked up in surprise to see Dodger standing in his way, holding the pistol he had taken from Sixth Officer Hantin.
“Dodger? What are you doing?” Courtney exclaimed, stunned.
“This is our last chance, Courtney,” Dodger said. “Once he leaves, we’re both going to get pinched by the crew and spend the rest of this trip in the brig. It’s now or never.”
“Put that away!” Courtney ordered.
Dodger didn’t waver. Mark backed toward the rail nervously.
“He doesn’t believe you!” Dodger complained. “You know what’s going to happen if he leaves. Is that what you want?”
“No!” Courtney exclaimed. She turned to Mark with tears. “Please. Mark. I’m telling you the truth. I can’t explain why your parents are alive, but if you don’t destroy Forge, you could be destroying Halla.”
“I believe you believe that, Courtney,” Mark said. “I don’t.”
“Please don’t make me do this,” Dodger begged. His voice was nearly as shaky as Courtney’s. His gun hand wasn’t too steady either.
“I’m going to deliver Forge,” Mark said, his voice growing more confident. “And I am going to save my parents.”
He took a bold step toward Dodger. Dodger wavered. Courtney grabbed the gun out of Dodger’s hand and held it on Mark.
“Stop!” Courtney commanded, crying. Her hand was shaking, but the gun stayed on Mark.
“C–Courtney?” Mark stammered as if his brain wouldn’t accept what his eyes were seeing.
“There’s more I haven’t told you,” Courtney said through the tears. “Bobby and I went to Third Earth. We looked back through history. Everything I said was true, Mark. Even this. Your body washed up on shore with a bullet in it. The computers didn’t know who the killer was, but I think that mystery has been solved. It looks like it was… me.”
“N-No,” Mark stuttered. “I don’t believe you’ll shoot me.”
“I love you, Mark,” Courtney said, sobbing. “But I can’t let you do this. I can’t let you change history.”
Mark stood frozen. Courtney cocked the pistol. Mark backed into the rail. There was nowhere to go.
“I love you too, Courtney,” Mark said softly. “I guess this is the way it was really meant to be.”
Courtney raised the pistol, squinting through her tears. Mark tensed up. He closed his eyes. Courtney took aim. She tightened her finger on the trigger. Nobody moved. The moment stayed frozen for an eternity. Courtney blinked, took a step to her right, and tossed the pistol overboard. It fell into the dark ocean, lost in the swirl of the ship’s wake. Mark let out a breath he had been holding for a long time. Courtney ran to him and hugged him. Both let out the rush of emotions through their tears.
“Courtney!” Dodger shouted. “What are you doing?”
“I think I’m changing history,” she answered. “Mark was killed on this ship. Now he’s safe. Maybe I just bought us some more time to make things right.” She looked at Mark and added, “I’m sorry.”
“I am too,” he said. “But I’m not going to change my mind.”
“About what?” came a woman’s voice.
Mr. and Mrs. Dimond approached the group, arm in arm.
“Is everything okay?” Mr. Dimond asked.
“Everything’s fine,” Mark said, though it didn’t sound to anybody as if he meant it.
Mr. Dimond said, “We’re still trying to understand all this, Courtney. We want to help you, and help Bobby. What can we do?”
Courtney looked at Mark. Mark looked away. She looked at Dodger, who gave her a helpless shrug. “It’s your show.”
The Dimonds huddled close to each other, waiting for Courtney to speak. Courtney had gotten to know the Dimonds once she and Mark had become acolytes. She thought they were terrific. The idea that she would want them to die, no matter how right history said that would be, was painful to Courtney. She wanted everything to be better and for the Dimonds to live their lives the way they were meant to. As she stood on the back of that ship, feeling hopelessly lost, a thought came to her.
“Maybe you can help,” she said. “Maybe you’re the only ones who can help.”
“Anything,” Mrs. Dimond said.
“You said Mark told you everything? About Halla and Saint Dane and the Travelers, right?”
“We’re still in shock,” Mrs. Dimond said.
“How much did you tell him? I mean about what happened with the flight to Florida?”
The Dimonds looked at each other with confusion.
“There isn’t much to tell,” Mr. Dimond said. “We didn’t get on the plane. If we had, we wouldn’t be here, right?”
“Yeah, but why didn’t you get on the plane?” Courtney asked, her mind racing. “Mark thinks that by coming to First Earth he set in motion a series of events that saved your lives. I want to know what that was. What stopped you from getting on that plane?”
Mr. Dimond shrugged. “It was Nevva Winter. She caught us just as we were about to board. I thought Mark knew.” Courtney shot a look to Mark.
Mark slowly shook his head and said softly, “I didn’t know that.”
Courtney closed her eyes and smiled. It was such a feeling of relief that she wanted to fall to her knees and cry.
“Is it that important?” Mr. Dimond asked.”It’s everything,” Courtney said. “Mark, that’s your proof. Nevva knew what was going to happen and stopped your parents from boarding. She’s from another territory. Nothing you’re going to do here will have any effect on her. Or on that plane. It’s still going to crash. Your parents are alive because Saint Dane saved them, in order to convince you to do exactly what you’re doing.”
Mark leaned back against the railing, staring at the deck but seeing nothing. Courtney desperately hoped that things would finally start to click into place.
“Mark,” Courtney said boldly. “You can put things right, and your parents don’t have to die. Please. Help Bobby.”
Mark shot a pained look to Courtney and asked a simple, poignant question. “What have I done?”
“Nothing,” Courtney said quickly. “Not yet, anyway.”
Mark left the rail and pushed past the others, heading forward.
“Where are you going?” Mr. Dimond asked. Without stopping, Mark said, “To destroy Forge.”
(CONTINUED)
“There they are!” shouted Andy Mitchell from above.
He was at the railing of the Promenade Deck, looking down on the Main Deck, where Mark had just left the others. With him were Nevva and two ship’s officers.
“Go!” Courtney shouted.
