Yesterdays Gone: SEASON TWO (THE POST-APOCALYPTIC SERIAL THRILLER) (Yesterday's Gone)

like you knew he was gonna die and did nothing to stop it. And even then, fate’s gonna do what it’s gonna do. It’s easier to win an argument with Paola.”
    Luca smiled, then surprised Will by dropping the subject. He surprised him more by changing it. “Do you think we should be here? I mean, right now, at The Sanctuary. Do you think it’s safe?”
    Will looked at Luca for a while before he said, “What makes you say that?”
    “Because this place feels wrong to me.”
    “Can you tell me what you mean?”
    Luca looked everywhere except at Will, before he finally said, “Just promise not to think I’m weird. I don’t want to be weird anymore.”
    “Sorry, kid,” Will shook his head. “No can do. You’re definitely weird. We both are. That’s what makes us worth talking to in the first place.”
    Luca laughed, but only for a second, then said, “Is it sometimes okay to do the wrong thing for the right reason?”  
    “Ah,” Will said, finally getting where Luca was going. “You’re worried about Rebecca, right?” Luca nodded, eyes still in the snow.  
    Will wondered which of the hundred things Luca wasn’t saying he should ask about first, then went for the shortcut. “What are you worried about? Are you wondering if Rebecca’s okay?”
    Luca shook his head. “No, I know she’s okay. She told me. But I want to help her. I keep thinking maybe I could get her out of there if I tried. I keep thinking I should.”
    Will raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean she told you ? Have you been over there talking to her? You have to be careful, Luca. If you’re caught, you’ll be in trouble, too.”
    “I can hear her in my head, but she can hear me, too.” Luca said. He closed his eyes and swayed back and forth for a second, before opening them again and holding Will’s eyes for the first time. “We talk to each other. I know it’s really happening, and that it’s not just in my head, even if you think I’m crazy.”
    Will said, “What makes you think I think you’re crazy? Didn’t we cross the country together on account of a dream?”
    Luca nodded. “But this isn’t in a dream,” he said. “It’s in real life. And when it’s in real life, with real people, it feels like I’m going crazy. Even though I know I’m not.”
    “All of it is in real life,” Will said. “Even the dreams. And you’re closer to sane than almost anyone here, Luca. You’re not crazy; you’re gifted. And you can’t change who you are, so stop trying. You’re different than us all. Most likely better, too. Best you can do is not question the gift. Embrace it, and try to do the best you can for as long as you can. Nothing less will do.”
    Will kept talking, but only in his head. “You’ve nothing to be worried about.. I hear a thought or two myself, here and there.”
    “You have?” The words were already out of Luca’s mouth before he realized what that meant. They’d been speaking without words for a while.
    “So you can hear me, too?” he thought. “Why can’t everyone else?”
    Will shrugged. “Honestly, kid, I have no idea. My best guess is that they probably could. They just don’t know how, or even that they can. Like I said, everyone’s weird. Unless they know for a fact that they can do something, most people assume they can’t do something that sounds hard or impossible, even if it’s as simple as closing their eyes and getting it done. Tell you what,” Will put his hand on Luca’s shoulder. “Close your eyes and think of something, but don’t say a word.”
    “Okay,” Luca said.  
    Will watched Luca as his muscles relaxed. When his face was placid, Will said, “Now, tell me what you see.”
    Luca said, “I can see you, and the Man in the Middle. We’re all in the courtyard here. And there’s fire in the background.”
    Will felt a cold chill. He could see The Man in the Middle, too. But his view was nowhere near as sharp. Will could see The Man, and Luca, but he could not see where they were, or even himself.“Do you know who he is?” Will thought.
    Luca shook his head. In his mind, he said, “I saw him picking petals last night in my dream, or trip, or whatever it was. But I don’t know what it means. The dreams are always there, but they never tell me what’s going to happen.”
    “Sounds to me like you have nothing to worry about,” Will thought.
    “Do you see what’s going to happen next?” Luca asked. “I’ve had bad dreams, really bad. But when