Yesterday's Gone: Season Three (THE POST-APOCALYPTIC SERIAL THRILLER)

right — for a bit anyway, until he grabbed a hold of the other Ed and got a feel for his take on the relationship.
    Ed continued, “It’s just that I kind of got attached to you … even though you were a massive pain in my ass.”
    He grinned and Teagan smiled back through her watery eyes.
    “You’re like a daughter to me, Teagan, and I just want to make sure you’re okay. If you say he treats you right, and he’s helped you, that’s all that matters right now. Things could’ve been so much worse. I thought I might never see either of you again. But here we are, and for a moment anyway, let’s just be happy with that.”
    He held his arms out, inviting them both to hug him.
    He felt weird and uncharacteristically affectionate, and a bit like a phony, but he forced himself to do it anyway, because he knew it was the right thing to do. It’s what a loving, happy father — surely, there must be some in the world — would do.
    They embraced, and to Ed’s surprise, the hug felt right.

    **

    The door slid open, with the other Keenan and Sullivan on the other side, standing beside Boricio Bishop.
    Ed looked at Other Keenan, giving him a glare to let him know he knew. Other Keenan met his gaze without defense, offering only a subtle nod. He said, “We’re rounding up a few people to go and get the vial. I don’t know if it’s gonna do anything, but Will, Luca, and Boricio seem to think it’s our only hope of defeating the aliens.”
    “How?” Ed asked.
    “I’m not going to pretend to know,” Keenan said, “but I think we’ve all seen enough weird stuff that it’s justifiable to go on faith here, and trust in something beyond what we know. Will, the other Luca, and Boricio all say that if Luca can get the vial, it could counteract the spreading infection and possibly return you all to your homes.”
    Ed wasn’t sure if their faith was good enough, but it wasn’t like they could make the situation much worse if their attempt failed.
    “What about you all?” Ed asked. “If it returns us to our world, what will it do to you, the few natives?”
    “I have no idea,” Other Keenan said. “But there’s so few of us, versus so many people from your world, that I must act in the interest of the greater good.”
    Ed looked back at Teagan, uncertain if she were doing the same mental math as he — and figuring that if they were returned home, she and her new guy could be split up. If so, she wasn’t reacting yet.
    “OK,” Ed said. “Let me get to the armory and I’ll—”
    “No,” Other Keenan shook his head and put a hand to Ed’s chest. “I need you to stay.”
    “Like hell,” Ed took a step back, shrugging Other Keenan’s hand from his body. “I’m not sitting here hiding away while you all go out there. It’s too dangerous.”
    “That’s exactly why I want you here,” Other Keenan said, calmly. “If something happens to us, or, God forbid, the vial turns us into more of these mutants, then I need someone here who can defend the Facility. Who can help rebuild things.”
    “What do you mean, rebuild ?”
    Sullivan stepped forward and held up a glass sphere with an orange swirling light inside.
    “What the hell is that?” Ed asked.
    Sullivan answered, “This is our Hard Reset Protocol. The island is built on top of a machine which emits a powerful blast of energy that will disrupt the life of any living thing on the island. Plants, animals, people, aliens, all of it wiped out within seconds of activating the sphere.”
    “A Doomsday device?” Ed’s eyes were wide, his voice almost hoarse. “What about everyone in here?”
    Sullivan continued, “The Facility’s seventh and eighth levels are lined with lead and a counter energy field which starts up once the Hard Reset Protocol is initiated. Everyone inside will be safe.”
    “What about you?” Teagan said, looking at her lover.
    “If we use this, then that means we were already lost,” Other Keenan said.
    Teagan cried out, “You’re not going out there, are you?”
    Other Keenan nodded. “I have to,” he said. “It’s my island. My duty.”
    Ed shook his head. “Let me go in your place,” he said.
    “No, Daddy,” Jade now argued. “You just got back. You said you almost died. Do you really want to be away from me so much that you’re gonna run out again and throw yourself into yet more danger?”
    Ed shook his head, “I’m doing this for all of us.”
    “No,” Other Keenan said. “You’re not