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

and debris continued to pour down on them all.
    Brent, paralyzed by fear, could do nothing but stare into the dark swirling heavens.
    Above him, arcs of bright white spilled like spider webs into the darkness, shooting out for what seemed like miles in pulsating strobes of light like a dance club in hell.
    Brent sat, transfixed by the beauty of light fighting black and by the seething hues of the battle. Time slowed to nothing as Brent felt wrapped in serenity. Peace, awe, and a weird feeling of enlightenment spread through his body. Even though he had no idea why, Brent felt — for a moment — as though he were staring into the eyes of God. His awe was so deep, he almost felt like dying would be fine.
    Ben would be fine.
    So would Gina.
    They would move on.
    And he would simply cease to be.
    Just close your eyes.
    Before he could close his eyes, however, a dark solid shape filled his vision — a truck being lifted high into the sky, dangling above him, as though taunting him with the inevitable.
    Oh God.
    Someone suddenly pulled Brent hard, then dragged him under the overpass seconds before the truck plummeted to the ground in an eruption of metal and glass, raining fresh pain all over his body.
    Brent closed his eyes and welcomed surrender.

    **

    When he came to, the darkness had ceded to the light.
    It was morning. Or maybe afternoon, and Brent was lying in the back of a van, feeling as if he’d been beaten to hell. Ed lay beside him, eyes closed and face battered. Billy was sitting, leaning against the wall of the van, his face bruised and scratched, clothes covered in dirt and blood. Brent had no idea how much was his and how much was from the birds.
    Brent’s head was pounding, his throat was dry, and his tongue was coated in blood and dirt. He craned his neck to see up to the van’s front. Lisa was driving with The Prophet beside her, somehow wearing hardly a scratch, though Brent was certain the old man had been behind him.
    How did he survive all that?
    Brent noticed that Billy was looking at Brent oddly. Billy looked down at Ed’s hands, and then Brent’s, and then back again and managed a smile.
    What’s he trying to tell me?
    He looked down, then over at Ed. Both of their handcuffs had been removed. Brent went to return Billy’s smile, but Billy’s eyes were then on the front of the van. Brent followed his gaze just in time to see they were entering a wide dark tunnel.
    “We’re here,” Billy whispered. “Black Mountain.”

    * * * *

CHAPTER 7 — Luca Bishop

    Other Earth
    Paddock Island, New York
    Sunday July 10, 2011
    THREE MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT…

    This wasn’t fair.
    Luca’s dad was visiting Boricio, making sure he was safe, while Luca was stuck at home with his sometimes babysitter, Sarah.
    Sarah was pretty, in her early 20’s, and had always been nice to him. Even made him two bags of popcorn when she knew Will only wanted her to give him one.
    But it still wasn’t fair.
    His dad said he had to go see Boricio in the city alone. He also said Luca wasn’t allowed to “travel” while he wasn’t in the house. He even made Luca cross his heart.
    Luca crossed it like his dad told him to, but that didn’t make it fair.
    His dad said he would be back later tonight, maybe tomorrow. Luca wasn’t supposed to wait up. That wasn’t fair either. He wanted to know if Boricio was okay, and shouldn’t have to wait until morning to find out. His dad said he’d call with news, but sometimes his dad got busy and forgot to call, and Luca worried that this might be one of those times.
    “Thanks, Sarah,” Luca said, taking the bowl filled with his second bag of popcorn.
    “You’re welcome,” Sarah plopped beside him, hugging her own bowl.
    “Do you want to watch TV?” She looked at Luca. “You’re just staring at the screen. It’s okay to watch it, you know. Your dad wouldn’t mind.”
    “Okay,” Luca said. “But I don’t care what we watch. Whatever you want is fine with me.”
    Sarah picked up the remote and started flipping channels, pausing on some show with people yelling at each other on MTV for a minute before moving to The Cartoon Network.
    Luca leaned back on the couch and shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth, then started to chew. That’s when he heard Sarah say something that wasn’t so nice inside her head.
    I dunno what happened, but this kid got weird enough to be the top of a totem pole. Fucking. Creepy. Like a kid from a King book.
    “I want to go