Yesterday's Gone: Season One

did.”
    “Me either, but everything looks so pretty now.”
    Back and forth...back and forth...back and forth.  
    Back and forth...back and forth...back and forth.  
    “Do you know what happened?”
    Luca shook his head. “Even Will doesn’t know.”
    “Who is Will?”
    “My friend. He’s the one who brought me here. He’s been dreaming about you and your mom, just like me.”
    “Do you know what’s supposed to happen now?”
    Luca shook his head again.  
    “Do you know how we get home?”
    “I’m not sure, but I think we can probably go whenever we really want to.”
    “Do you want to?”
    “Not yet,” Luca said.
    “Me neither. I miss my mom, but everything here is so... calm.”
    “Yeah.”
    Back and forth...back and forth...back and forth.
    Back and forth...back and forth...back and forth.
    The Indian was leaning against a tall Jacaranda tree, like the kind across the street from Luca’s house in Las Orillas. The fallen blossoms painted purple on the ground around him as the Indian looked into the sky and smoked his giant plastic pipe.
    “Do you see the Indian over there?” Paola asked.  
    Luca laughed, “Yes, he’s my friend. He’s actually my dog.”
    Paola didn’t seem surprised. “What’s his name?” she asked. “The dog, not the Indian.”
    “I call him Dog Vader, but he doesn’t really like that very much. So I call him Kick, but only out loud. And most time, I forget, and call him Dog Vader.”
    Paola laughed and Luca joined her, then they fell into quiet together.  
    They swung in silence. They had no way to count minutes in a place that didn’t have any hours, but they swung back and forth and up and down until Paola finally flew from the top of her swing and landed with both feet in the soft, flowing grass.  
    “Okay,” she said. “I’m ready.”
    Luca slowed to a stop, then joined Paola. He took her hand, because it seemed like the right thing to do, then they walked toward the rainbow together.  
    The rainbow was both near and far. They took only a few steps then the colors scattered into darkness. They found themselves blinking awake beneath the dim light of the hotel lobby.  
    “Mom!” Paola yelled.  
    Her mom was sobbing. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”  
    Everyone seemed happy, but Luca felt another feeling in the room as well.  
    They’re staring at me and they’re scared. They’re looking at me, but their thoughts are the same as if they were looking into the terrible scary.  
    Luca noticed that his clothes were all torn, including his shoes.
    Will’s hand was on Luca’s shoulder. He dropped to his knee and whispered, “Come with me,” then led Luca across the room to a pair of full-length mirrors on the other side.  
    Luca stared at his reflection.
    He was him, but not like he remembered.  
    He was now slightly taller than Paola with a full head of hair that fell just past his shoulders.The face staring back at him was at least a good five years older, and looked remarkably like his father’s.

    * * * *

TEAGAN MCLACHLAN

    Teagan stayed hidden in the stairwell as Ed negotiated with the emo-looking guy with the bat. When the guy swore that he didn’t mean any harm, Teagan cringed, praying Ed wouldn’t shoot first and ask questions later as he’d been doing since they met.
    When she heard the bat hit the ground, relief washed over her. She was fairly sure Ed wouldn’t shoot an unarmed guy. If he had, she might have lost it right there and taken off, as far and as fast as she could.  
    She was grateful to Ed for helping her and possibly saving her life twice, but that nagging part in her brain was still reminding her that not once had he waited to find out if the people he killed were friend or foe. Shoot first, ask questions later. Except when people were dead, there wasn’t a lot they could answer to.
    Had the men in the gas station posed an actual threat to them? Maybe they were just people looking for answers, like them. And who was to say the helicopter wasn’t from the government looking to help?  
    When Ed started talking rather than shooting, Teagan found her breath again. Perhaps they’d found someone else after all. Someone they could work with to figure out what was going on, or maybe find others who were still here.
    When Teagan heard Jade, she emerged from the stairwell.  
    Ed’s daughter looked like she was in her early 20’s, with auburn hair and green eyes like her. If Jade’s hair had been long instead of