Chapter Ten: Just Like Erica

Erica's eyes flicked to Megan, back to her father, Dexter. The knife in her hand wavered just a little.

"Please." Megan whispered; her dad held her back, but she still reached out for the knife. "You take care of me, Erica. You always take care of me. I need you to do one last thing for me now. Do this one last thing and I won't ever ask you for anything else. I won't even cry when you leave, I promise, just do this one last thing! Please. For me?"

The whole room hung, frozen at the point of action. Everyone in the room was poised, reaching for each other, holding their breath.

Erica sniffed… and then finally smiled. "I love you, Megan..." She said calmly, suddenly at peace. "...but some people just don't deserve a second chance."

Erica lunged for Dexter Knowles, the knife coming up faster than Hugh or Dexter or anyone could try to stop her-

"NO!" Megan woke up with a short scream.

Her husband was right beside her, woken by her nightmare, reaching for her already. "Meg? What's wrong?"

Megan had one hand over her heart, and the other bunching into a fist so tight she felt the sleeping bag tear. She stared into the dark for a few moments, trying to sort out a nightmare from reality. "I… I was…" She was breathing hard. An instant later she was up and running to the next room.

Rika wasn't there.

Biggs came after her. "Love, what's wrong? You were having a nightmare." He looked around. "Where's Rika?"

"I'm trying to find out…" Megan worked the Terminal desperately. It was the only thing in the room not falling apart. "Where are you?" She said under her breath.

Biggs came over to look. "Megan, talk to me. What are you looking for?" He looked over her shoulder at the display. "Why are you searching for Rika's travel records?"

"Because I don't think it was a nightmare." Megan said shortly, and thumped her hands down on the Terminal. "The Database is still offline!"

Biggs was still trying to calm her, when he saw it. "How about that?"

Megan looked. Closed into the door was a folded note, addressed to 'Mom and Dad' in familiar handwriting. Megan snatched it up. She got two lines in before she knew everything she needed to know. "She went back for him."

Biggs was already at the window. "And she took the car." He said seriously.

Megan nearly fell down. Her legs just went out from under her and she leaned back against the wall hard. "W… We'll never catch her on foot."

Biggs bit his lip, thinking, before he went back to the common room. "These old Dormitories had radio receivers built in. They were built in enough places that they were used as part of the Cell network for the first few years. The radio's been taken out, but the cable is probably still there. If there are any real parts left in storage..."

"Try it. Hurry. Maybe we can call someone to cut her off before she gets to him." Megan was a bundle of bouncing nerves.

Biggs glanced at her.

"To... make sure she gets to Sanctuary in time." Megan corrected herself.

~~/*\~~

While Atxi was with her sister, James had been preparing the Nicholas for her voyage. She found him there and reported what was happening on the far side of the island.

"Your sister isn't wrong about us all improvising our way to the finish line." James admitted. "But it wouldn't really be a test if we didn't have to make any kind of choices beyond pushing a few buttons."

"This is true." Atxi admitted.

James pointed at the radio. "While you were out, I got a message. We've been asked to find someone. Someone who needs help."

Atxi looked back at the jungle. "James-"

"I know." Her husband agreed. "I don't like any idea that involves us delaying arrival at Sanctuary any more than you do. But… I keep thinking about that talk at the last convention on 2nd Peter 2:9."

"'Jehovah knows how to rescue people of godly devotion out of trial, but to reserve unrighteous people to be destroyed on the day of judgment'." Atxi quoted with a nod.

"If someone that needed to be rescued was left 'out there', then God could send a team of angels to pick someone up and carry them, if it comes to that. But if we leave them out there, what does it say about our own character? Given that this is all a major character test for the human race…"

Atxi nodded. "I'll tell my sister to go with Smitty, and take mom with her, if at all possible." She squeezed him tight. "I'm sticking with you."

~~/*\~~

Hugh and Kasumi had nothing but the clothes on their back when they stepped off the plane. But they'd arrived in the New World with less.

The Sanctuaries had been built in the same style. Across the world, there were many of them, and there wasn't much difference from one to another, aside from size. But there was one exception. Only one city in the world had been converted into a Sanctuary completely. Of all the cities in the world, it was arguably the most significant population center in the spiritual history of humanity.

Jerusalem.

Hugh taxied the plane someplace where it would be out the way of the door; and came towards Sanctuary, hand in hand with Kasumi. From the ground, it was even more impressive; the upgraded walls looking impregnable; with a huge ramp-door on each side. It was a new Ark, meant never to float; but rather to draw a clear line between 'inside' and 'outside'. Paradise had prided itself on the combination of nature and civilization; to the point where it could be hard to tell them apart. This structure was obvious.

"Once we're in there, we're safe." Hugh said with a sigh. "Let's get set up, and see if they've got communications of their own. If they have, we might be able to figure out where Megan is."

"Biggs will look after her." Kasumi said with certainty.

"Heh. Biggs would say that she'll look after him." Hugh returned; and they walked up the ramp. "Once we're in there, we're safe."

Kasumi was saying a prayer of gratitude, when she heard a voice calling on the wind. Despite herself, she began to look back. "Hugh! Look!"

Hugh looked, and froze, mid-step. Right at the doors to Sanctuary, standing right at the doorway; they saw The Boy. In his trademark white tunic, with his guitar strung across his back. It was the same Angel they'd seen before, several times.

The Boy was waving them over urgently, looking as worried as his kind ever did.

"I…" Hugh looked to Sanctuary, then back at the Angel. "We've seen that one before. He's never approached us directly. He talks to Izzy sometimes; and I think Megan was his first contact with anyone we know, but…"

"They said Angels weren't going to be helping us through this." Kasumi said softly. "The rules were clear, weren't they?"

The Boy kept waving. He spoke without shouting, but somehow they could still hear him clearly, as though his voice was calling right in their ears. "It's Megan. I need to tell you!"

Their daughter's name hit Hugh and Kasumi like a punch. Barely glancing at Sanctuary, or each other, they hurried over to The Boy.

"You have heard the instruction, to head for Sanctuary and keep the faith." The Boy said. "The instruction was to stay in Sanctuary, and leave the rest up to Him." The Boy reached out and touched them both, claiming their full attention. "But you have something to do first. Your daughter is in danger. She doesn't know it yet, but she will not make it to Sanctuary in time, unless you help her. Go to Megan, and bring her back to Sanctuary with you!" And with that, The Boy vanished instantly, evaporating into thin air like he never existed; but his voice lingered for a moment, coming from nothingness. "I promise, you will have time, but you must go quickly. We will speak again soon."

Hugh and Kasumi were left stunned. "This can't be right." Hugh breathed. "We were told, we were on our own for this."

"If we are, so is Megan." Kasumi offered. "And we were told to be ready for the unexpected challenges."

"It'll mean leaving." Hugh tried to reason it out. "I mean, we're right here! We're ahead of practically everyone else!"

"Maybe that's why we got the instruction." Kasumi countered. "We've still got a plane. We could make it to the house and back."

"If she's at the house." Hugh started moving, Kasumi keeping pace with him, all the way back to the plane. Hugh rushed to his seat in the cockpit and tried the radio again. The one channel still broadcasting was an unsettling chant.

~~/*\~~

"We Have Decided! We Have Decided! We Have Decided!"

~~/*\~~

Megan and Biggs were also listening, their radio cobbled together from parts that Biggs had found, and their understanding of the science involved, developed over a thousand years of learning. "Well, that's unsettling."

"All the transmissions I'm picking up are short-range." Biggs turned it off. "Enough people have degrees that they can probably make a shortwave; even if we haven't used them seriously for years. But Rika's not one of them."

"Three hundred kilometers from us to Dexter Knowles... Three hundred back to Sanctuary." Megan calculated, looking off into the distance. "She's got a car, but no anti-grav drive, so on the ground, via roads, it would take her…. What? Five hours?"

"A lot longer for us on foot." Biggs reminded her. "There's a reason she waited until today, Meg. She was making sure we were close enough to walk the rest of the way to Sanctuary. We can only hope she-"

"Well, we'll have to see what we can flag down on the way. I saw horses back about half a mile. They were behind a fence, so they're tame. I know how to ride bareback, and I know you can too..." Megan was already walking. It took her several moments to realize he wasn't following. Megan was vibrating with adrenaline and fear, nearly bouncing off the street. "Come on! We have to go after her-"

"No, we're not leaving Sanctuary. The instructions were clear." Biggs said seriously. "We're so close, Meg."

"It's Rika!" Megan said, as though he was speaking gibberish. "She's our daughter. What's the matter with you?"

"Megan, this is what we talked about befo-"

"You're really going to leave her." Megan was aghast. "You're really going to leave her with that… that…" She was already heading for the highway.

"Megan, wait!" Biggs called after her.

"I have to go!" Megan yelled over her shoulder. "I have to save Erica!" She spun away, heading for the street.

"Megan." Biggs said quietly. Somehow, the quiet tone made her stop to look where a shout would not. "You meant Rika. Not Erica."

Megan said nothing, but she started moving again, speed-marching back the way they came. Biggs looked down the road, as if he could see all the way to Sanctuary; and then looked back after his wife. He was about to start praying for a clear answer, when he heard the faintest sound of a familiar voice. He followed it back to the radio.

The connection was bad, full of static, at the very edge of the possible range. "Meg, it's mom! Can you read me?!"

Biggs adjusted the frequency as precisely as he could. "Kasumi? It's Biggs. Where are you?"

"We're right outside Jerusalem Sanctuary." Kasumi's voice was faint. "Is Megan safe? Is she inside?"

Biggs felt sick. "Megan… has something she insists on taking care of first. But I promise, I'll get here there in time!"

There was a response, but it was so full of white noise and distortion that Biggs couldn't make it out.

There was an agonized moment, before he left the radio and took off after Megan. "Jehovah God…" He prayed as he hurried to catch up. "There's still time. Please, Lord in Heaven; keep the gates open just a little longer for us. Because it's Rika. She's my daughter too, and… I know. I'm sorry. But I'm scared of what might happen if I let Megan go alone."

~~/*\~~

Kasumi looked at Hugh, distraught. "The angel was right. Megan's not going to Sanctuary."

Hugh looked sick. "There's still time." He said to her gently. "We were warned, over and over again, that we'd all know people who weren't going to even try for it, for whatever reason seems right to them. We were warned that it's an individual test now."

"An individual decision." Kasumi corrected him. "There hasn't been a single moment in thousands of years when we had to get to wherever we were going all alone. Especially in Paradise."

"I'm just saying, if we're going to trust in God to get all His people into Sanctuary without anyone making a mistake, we can surely trust that our daughter is one of them. There were clear instructions to leave it in Jehovah's hands once we arrived at Sanctuary." Hugh reasoned. "Maybe this is our own test. To see if we Trust God enough to leave it in His hands."

"And an Angel showed up specifically to tell us that Megan needed our help." Kasumi reminded him.

"We are right at the door to Sanctuary, Kas. We actually went inside. We can't leave now." Hugh insisted. "Megan's a good girl. She'll be protected. In a thousand years, we've never seen a moment where God was 'too busy' to save one of his own."

"What if we're the way?" Kasumi told him. "An Angel wouldn't come to see us if it wasn't important. If it wasn't permissible. If it wasn't good."

Hugh bit his lip, and looked to the controls and the readouts. It was a restored antique, but he'd upgraded the power source, since nobody used the old fuels anymore. "We can make it to her." He said carefully, checking the batteries. "I think."

"Can we make it back again?" Kasumi asked seriously.

"Depends on how long that Gate stays open. And we don't know how long is left."

"We have never known." Kasumi admitted. "In OS, we never knew how long we'd live, or when the System would end. Noah went into the Ark never knowing how long the Flood would last. First Century Christians had no idea how long Jerusalem would stand before it would be too late to flee." She looked at her husband. "I trust God will keep the Gate open long enough for our daughter to get to any Sanctuary."

Then why do we need to go? The thought occurred, but Hugh pushed it away. "Alright. We go."

~~/*\~~

"Look!" Atxi pointed to Starboard. "Someone's crashed!"

James looked, and turned the ship, pulling alongside. The flotsam was an Auto, half-sunk in the water. James knew the vehicle enough to recognize that it was starting to go under. "I thought those things were designed to be light enough to float, just in case one came down over water."

"Hard to be sure. I've never heard of one crashing." Atxi called back. "Get over here! I can't lift the survivor on my own."

James hurried from the control room to the side of the Nicholas, and helped Atxi lower a rope to the castaway, clinging to the roof of his sinking Auto. "Hello!" James called to their passenger brightly. "Looks like we caught something."

Atxi pulled the shivering man over the railing, studying his face. "You look familiar. I've seen you on stage at some of the conventions. Brother… Benedict." She nodded. "Mm. Well, if you can walk, you better come below; we'll get you out of those wet clothes."

Benedict was wobbly, but he could walk. "How did you find me?" He coughed.

"By accident, believe it or not." James told him. "There's a lot of that going around, with the Database offline. People are making their way on foot, finding help as it's needed. In an amazing variety of ways, from what little I've been able to hear over my wireless. Comms are down with the Database too."

"This is the way it was, back in the early days." Benedict coughed. "We didn't have any of the infrastructure set up yet. It was just… low-key miracles, happening every day. Need something to eat, and suddenly someone would find a huge cache. Need a certain kind of material, and someone would just drive by with a truck full of the stuff, looking for a place to dump their surplus. It happened every day…" Benedict weaved on his feet. "It's not so wrong, is it? To go back to that, when we need it most?"

"And you, brother? How did you come to be out here?" James probed lightly.

"My Auto… I had taken some precautions with the navigation and controls." Benedict explained shakily. "I know of several Trib Survivors who wanted extra redundancies for this whole event. But I forgot to account for the individual parts. Something in there must have had the Preserver-Tech used on it before installation."

"So something in your vehicle suddenly 'aged out' mid-flight." Atxi nodded as they all went below. "Well, fortunately, one of those 'low-key miracles' was ready for you." She gestured at one of the cabins. "You should find suitable clothing in there. Come join us on the bridge when you can."

Benedict thanked them and slipped onto his temporary quarters. James and Atxi left him to it, returning to the control room.

"Is he our 'charter'?" Atxi asked quietly.

"No." James admitted. "There's someone else."

"You believe his story?"

"I believe everything he told us." James said easily. "But of course, that leaves all the things he didn't tell us." He glanced back down the corridor. "His first question was how we found him. However he got here, he wasn't planning to be found."

~~/*\~~

Biggs was in better shape than he'd ever been in before. He'd discarded everything he still had with him, and was running, trying to catch up with Megan. He walked briskly for a hundred meters, then ran for another hundred, then walked again.

She must have found transport of some kind. Biggs thought desperately. I surely would have caught up by now.

And then he saw a car coming the other way. The sight made him freeze. Very few people had done what he'd done, and rigged an Auto for manual driving.

The driver stuck his head out the window. "Hey there." He called. "You look like you could use a ride."

The driver looked familiar, but that meant nothing. Perfect memories meant you had familiarity with everyone you passed by; and Biggs wasn't thinking about that anyway as he pointed ahead. "Thanks, but I'm heading the other way. Trying to catch up with someone."

"Mm. I noticed a lady on horseback. I can take you as far as where I saw her?"

Biggs took a breath. "Actually, can you take me to the horses about half a mile back?"

~~/*\~~

Every little delay made it worse. Megan was going crazy trying to figure out what Rika was thinking. On some level, she was proud of her daughter, but for the most part, she was running on pure instinct: Protect the kids. She'd spent almost all her time in Paradise looking out for kids that weren't thinking straight yet. But Rika was her own. It was made all the worse by the fact that Rika wasn't just her child.

"You couldn't save Erica. You can't let it happen to her daughter. God personally gave you Rika because you would protect Erica's daughter." The thoughts were a drumbeat in her head. It almost sounded like Erica's voice.

She had prayed constantly with every step, but had received no answer. Part of her was looking for the boy with the guitar to come back, every time she prayed. But not this time.

Not for a long time. Megan remarked silently. I know why, but it's hard not to feel abandoned here. I promise you this, my daughter won't feel the same!

~~/*\~~

She hadn't seen him since that awful night. He hadn't told her when they ended up moving to the same Region, unaware of each other. He'd recreated his house. A lot of people did; but for Megan it was causing horrific flashbacks. Though it had moved across the world, Dexter's House hadn't changed since the last time Megan had been there. On that night. That awful night. She ran to the door. It wasn't locked. "RIKA!"

"Mom?" Her voice sounded surprised. "Is that you?"

~~/*\~~

Hugh's plane flew higher and faster than any plane of it's era could. Hugh was experienced enough to know how fast he could push the upgraded engines. It was still far slower than an Auto, but at least it could fly. For the first time in centuries the skies were empty around him.

"There's the house. And the road looks clear." Kasumi said worriedly, looking down at the ground from the co-pilot's chair. "But I can't see any sign of them. Megan knows this plane as well as I do. If she was in some kind of trouble she'd be waving us down by now, right?" She looked over at the pilot's chair. "Do we land?"

"We have to land. The batteries are running low after flying across the Med Sea. We have to swap the batteries out anyway. And our spare batteries are either back at the Tower, or in Megan's Storage Space." Hugh said grimly. "With the Database offline, I think we can be sure there's no cars coming along the road. And if Megan is in trouble, we're not doing any good up here."

"Batteries." Kasumi sighed. "Sometimes I forget how long you've had this plane."

Hugh brought the plane around to land as close to the house as he could. Vehicles that could work in three dimensions had been around for the better part of a century, but they could take off vertically. Hugh's antique plane still needed a runway, but could land in a field or on a regular street.

~~/*\~~

Megan ran through the house to the kitchen. Of course, the kitchen. Just like that night. That awful night. And there they were. Standing together. Rika was giving the man a hug. Like they were family. "Get away from her!"

Rika put herself between them. "Mom, NO!" She insisted.

"Are you insane?!" Megan roared at Rika. "You're risking your life for this guy?!'

"He's family!" Rika shouted back. "When family is in trouble, you step up! I learned that from you!"

"He's not family!" Megan blew up. "The last time he had a family, it was Permadeath! He wants to wait it out here instead of Sanctuary, let him! But he's not taking you down with him!"

"Not again."

"Not Again! Never Again!" Megan snapped.

"And he's never going to stop." The distant voice that sounded like Erica was back.

Megan was repeating the words before she could stop herself. "And you're never going to stop."

"Stop what?!" Rika shouted, seeming bewildered. "Mom, this is crazy! Please, what is going on?!"

"He could hurt her. For the first time in years, he could do it."

"There's violence in the world again." Megan said, barely recognizing her voice. "He can hurt you again."

Dexter was inching back as fast as he could. "I would never do that!" He shouted over her, and then something passed across his face; and his expression started to twist, like something had pushed him past the guilt finally. "You know what? It's been more than five centuries since that night; and in that time I haven't had a single person think I was evil, except for you! I am getting really sick of begging forgiveness for things I'm supposed to be forgiven for! You'd think a woman who fostered a hundred kids would know that!"

The barbs hit Megan. "He'll never change." The thought came again, and Megan found herself nodding. "You're still in this house, still in this life; you haven't changed a bit since that night. You're never going to change!"

"Mom…" Rika put both hands up carefully, sounding worried now.

"Unless you make it happen. Unless you stop him." Megan felt something in her hand. It was a knife. A kitchen knife. Her eyes flicked to the rack of knives. The same knives Erica went for that night. That awful night. She had walked over to the rack without even noticing. "It has to stop." She breathed.

Behind her, she heard the front door open hard. Someone else was coming in. Dexter looked sick, wide-eyed. "No. Not again." He was too quiet for anyone else in the room to hear it. Megan was beyond listening.

"You couldn't save Erica." That little thought came, and Megan took a step closer, almost unbidden. "This can't happen again."

"Mom, please!" Rika shouted. "He hasn't done anything. He couldn't if he wanted to! You know that! He told me how Erica died!"

"She was your mother." Megan growled.

"You are my mother." Rika shouted, tearful. "Please! Put it down! They'll stop you! They could still stop you! I had to come! I had to try! He's family! I had to give him a chance!"

"A second chance!" Erica's voice came to Megan, clear as a bell.

Megan felt the last shreds holding her back suddenly vanish. "Some people don't deserve a second chance!" She shouted, but she wasn't angry. Her voice was full of pain and grief… "Please, God; help me do this!"

And with all the strength, all the effort she still had left in her… Megan forced her fingers to open. The knife fell out of her hand.

Before it even clattered to the floor, Megan felt a hand clap down on her other wrist, hauling her away from the scene. It was Biggs, bear-hugging her tightly. Megan struggled automatically at the sudden embrace, and then stopped. She jerked like he'd thrown a bucket of water in her face. She'd had a knife in her hand, just like…

"Just like Erica." Biggs whispered to her, holding her tightly.

"Just like Erica." Dexter agreed, collecting the knife from where it had fallen to the floor.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Megan could hear that voice that sounded like Erica. It was laughing at her hatefully.

And Megan burst into tears.

~~/*\~~

Kasumi froze, mid-step on the path. "Something's wrong."

Hugh looked. They had planted one of Nick's luminous trees outside their old home, as they had back in Brooklyn. They should have been able to see its soft blue nighttime glow, but the path ahead was dark. Concerned, Hugh sped up, hurrying to their house.

The luminous tree had been torn down, leaves strewn everywhere. The glow was faded as each leaf was blowing away in the coastal breeze; but the main trunk of the tree had been torn off. Someone had taken an axe to it.

And to the door. Kasumi ran up beside him, one hand over her mouth. The front door had been bashed in, taken right off the hinges.

They both stared blankly. In their cove, near the waterline; there was nobody else in sight. Nobody who would have heard or seen anything. But it was like looking at something from another planet. Their old family home had been… invaded.

"Why break the door?" Kasumi asked blankly. "It wasn't locked… If someone needed something so urgently, then why…?"

They came closer and realized. It wasn't just the door. The fruit trees Hugh had planted were all as wrecked as the Night-Light Tree… The garden had been torn up, and the windows had been smashed.

Fear kept them where they were for a few minutes. Without approaching the house, Hugh pulled out his Screen and tried to call the local congregation. No signal. The Database was global, and so was the shutdown.

Finally, Kasumi could bear no more, and she ran to the house, going no further than the door. "Megan!"

There was no answer.

Kasumi looked back to Hugh. He ran to join her, also going no further than the door. "What if they're still here?"

"Who?" Kasumi asked automatically.

At any other point in history, there was always a 'they' somewhere; but it had been over a century since there had been anyone 'outside' the family. The world had no strangers; only members of the family that hadn't been met yet.

The inside was worse than the outside. Everything had been tossed; vandalized… The jars in the kitchen had been smashed and thrown on the floor. The paintings and pictures, most of them done by Kasumi or Megan, had all been torn apart.

The devices were scrap, and the library had been torched… Hugh stood numb in the middle of the living room, staring in disbelief. The library that had expanded to include hundreds of volumes. The workstation that had changed with every new variation of technology; few and far between though they were. The olive tree that Hugh had brought from Brooklyn, planted there for centuries, still producing food and oil. The woven tapestry that Kasumi had made for them as she learned to stitch. The journal from Captain Diaz, now one volume among many on the shelf. The polished guitar that Megan had been given by the most unique of patrons. The Bible that he had given his daughter when she baptized, recovered and rewoven so many times, even before Preservation, that it was barely the same book any more…

All of it was wrecked.

Hugh hadn't lived there in years, and never realized how much of his history was still in the walls, added to the house that he and his wife shared.

Almost a thousand years of life and love. A tale told in gifts given by friends closer than family, and things that they had made for themselves; carefully curated by himself, then Kasumi, then their daughter as she made a home for her own husband and child.

And it all suddenly seemed so horribly pointless. A thousand years to collect, a single night to lose. Hugh had never been particularly materialistic. A soldier never got the chance, and a Witness didn't have the mindset, but after almost a thousand years…

Suddenly he realized exactly which possession mattered most and ran to the kitchen.

Kasumi had apparently had the same idea, and came up from the storage space with torn pieces of paper and leather in her hands. "They tore up your journals." She whispered numbly.

Hugh came out of the kitchen to meet her, with broken pieces of pottery in his hands. "They smashed your tea set." He said in the same tone.

They both cast aside their shattered possessions in the same moment and came together, holding tight to each other. After a moment, Hugh suddenly had an awful thought and went to the storage space himself. It was trashed too, the choicest things of value were gone, stolen by whoever attacked the house. "The batteries." Hugh groaned. "The batteries for the plane are gone. We're grounded until we can charge it up. This close to nightfall, that'll take till tomorrow night."

"Where is she?!" Kasumi hissed. "Where's Megan?!"

~~/*\~~

Miles away from the family home, Megan sat on the front doorstep of Dexter's house, hugging her knees. Biggs stayed at her side. "The horses wandered off." He offered. "I went cross-country in a few places; so I could catch up. I'm lucky my horse knew how to jump fences." She was not answering, so he fell silent.

"I'd forgotten." Megan said finally. "I forgot what it was like, having that… killer instinct. It's fear. It's anger. It's easy. A thousand years ago, that was my whole life, every day."

"Mine too." Biggs admitted.

Megan looked over. "You came after me." She said quietly. "You were three hours from Sanctuary, and you came back for me."

"You're my wife. What else could I do?"

Megan looked wretched. "If we don't get there in time, I've taken you all down with me."

"Now you're doing it. This is why Dexter wouldn't leave his house." Biggs scowled. "I hate this, but Grant was right. Fifty years ago, we knew for sure what was right and what was wrong. Our weakness was that we were both too scared to be loved. I bounced around the world for centuries, trying not to catch feelings for anyone. The only person you let yourself care about back then was Erica, and now that you've got her daughter… You'd kill for her."

"I nearly did." Megan said faintly. "If you hadn't come back for me, I think I might have."

"But you didn't. And I almost didn't." Biggs confessed miserably. "For a while, I thought: 'There's the test'. For a while, I wondered if… A thousand years of life tells me to love God, and to love you. And today I thought they weren't the same thing anymore." He squeezed his eyes shut. "What an awful thing for me to think."

"I can't say you were wrong. Not until we're safe in Sanctuary." Megan admitted.

Rika came out of the house. "He's coming with us." She said shortly. "I don't know what that was, but I do know the man who lives in this house is my grandfather, and I'm tired of pretending I don't know he exists."

Megan nodded. "Okay." She said meekly. "But we've wasted enough time, so we'd better hurry."

"And we'll have to empty everything else out of the car." Biggs said. "Either that or strap our passenger to the roof."

~~/*\~~

They hadn't lived in the house for years, but Kasumi kept walking through the rooms in a daze, looking at the blatant vandalism. Hugh checked through every door and window, trying to decide if the house was safer because the vandals had left, or more dangerous because they might still be there. But after searching the house and finding nothing, they returned to the front yard.

"She isn't here!" Kasumi said to him finally. "She needed us, and she's not here!"

Hugh looked around. "Why this house?" He said finally. "It's waterfront, it's fairly private, and it hasn't been anyone else's in five centuries. Why would someone smash it up?" He looked up at the sky. "I'm really asking! Why are we here?!"

"Because you decided to leave the Sanctuary." The answer came.

They both turned to find a familiar face. It was The Boy, wings spread. The look on his face was so unfamiliar that it took Hugh several moments to recognize it. It was an expression he hadn't seen since the War.

It was gleeful cruelty. Triumph at tearing someone down.

And that little realization made it all suddenly snap into place. "Ohgod." He whispered, half a hushed prayer that he couldn't get past the feeling of his heart in his throat. "You're not him. Not the one we've met before."

"They even warned you." The Boy cackled. "You were told, point blank, that they wouldn't be talking to you for the Duration. They told you to go to Sanctuary and never leave."

Kasumi let out a cry.

"You see, Hugh: Your thing was prejudice." The Boy gestured at Kasumi. "And you think you've overcome it; just because you married the 'enemy'." He pointed to himself. "But when you see this face; the first thing you think is: I have to agree, because he's definitely right. It's the most simple-minded form of prejudice there is: You judged by appearance." The Boy grinned. "It's the easiest trick humans have ever fallen for. In the end, you will always want to believe that you're 'too important' to do as you're told. That you're 'too special' to be treated like everyone else."

"Go back in the house, Kas." Hugh said quietly. The walls would do nothing, and they both knew it; but if it got them some distance, it was worth the effort.

By the time they shut the door, the Boy was already inside, perched on the back of the couch. "You don't get it, do you?" The innocent little face taunted. "A thousand years later, and the oldest tricks still work. You're still just meat." He tilted his head with a savage grin. "Well, I have much to do. I think I'll go track down all the people you dropped bombs on during the war. I'm betting at least some of them looked you up, Hugh. I wonder how they'll feel, knowing that they're free to do what they want, for once."

Hugh backed away slowly, keeping his eyes on the Boy as he moved Kasumi back to another room of the house.

"After a Thousand Years of Utopia, you still fall right back into who you really are. Whiny little babies, screaming when their candy gets taken." The Boy cracked. "You're all Permadeath looking for an excuse. You proved it, just by being here. You're all just meat-"

Hugh slammed the door shut.

~~/*\~~

"We've been getting some reports." Brother Sheridan reported to those assembled. "With the Database offline, we don't really have the ability to warn other Sanctuaries around the world, but apparently some of our people are being lured out of Sanctuary. Some people are reporting that it looks like Angelic Direction, but it isn't."

"We know that." Someone responded. "We were warned that once we were in Sanctuary, we were never to leave until the Test was over. Why would an Angel tell us to disobey that warning?"

"I know, but sadly, it's happening anyway. It's a thankfully small minority thus far; but stay vigilant." Sheridan reported. "Remember, Jehovah God is in charge of the evacuation directly this time. Everyone who wants to get here, they'll have everything they need to get through that door in time. God won't leave any of His people out of reach, because His reach is long enough for the whole world."

~~/*\~~

Benedict was looking at the photos hanging in the Nicholas' control room. "I've seen this wheel before." He pointed to the central picture. "On an airship."

James came over to stand with him. He didn't have to look at the picture. He had long memorized them all. "The first ship I ever commanded was a sailing ship called the Stargazer. We were pirates back then. The ship went down, sunk by the Spanish Navy in the 1600's. When I came back, I went looking for her, and found that the wreck had been found and salvaged. The Steering Wheel and the Figurehead had been found, restored; and sold to a museum before A-Day, then taken by the Captain of an Airship that had christened her the 'Stargazer'. To honor the original, the wheel was mounted on the Airship Bridge." He smiled a bit. "After four hundred years at the bottom of the Caribbean, and then another five hundred in the air; she was still good. They never used the nano-tech on her."

"That wheel has a lot of history."

"And a lot of future." James said proudly. "I heard from Captain Diaz. They want her to be part of the crew on the Chariot Project. That wheel, that I personally used to sail across the sea? They'll be sailing across the stars in a few years." The idea made him laugh giddily, and he held an arm out to Axti as she came in. "From the ocean, to the ocean floor; to the clouds, to the stars! It's eternity, my brother. I feel like she's taking me with her. I'm a part of a story that will fly forever."

Benedict winced as Atxi went over to stand with her husband. "It might have."

James froze. "Might have?"

Benedict looked miserable.

"What did you do?" James demanded, and Atxi looked up at him sharply. She could hear the pirate in his voice.

The older man looked at him; almost hoping. "What makes you think I did something?"

"I know the look of someone who crossed a line." James told him. "And if you hadn't done something, you would have asked me what I was talking about."

Benedict felt ill. "I thought it was the right thing." He said quietly. "I really thought I was doing something 'good'. We'd become too dependent on our own understanding of the universe. We'd even found the balance between convenience and personal fulfillment. We'd… We'd made it so easy."

"The Database. It was you." James breathed. "You sabotaged it?"

Benedict nodded. "I sabotaged it."

"Why?" James demanded. "For the love of mercy, why?"

"You should have heard the younger people. Most of the ones under two centuries old have never seen the world evolve like we have. None of them remember anything from OS… They were talking about all the things that even God should have done differently. And I can even guess why, with all the things they're able to do for themselves now…"

"You figured if you made people beg for their lives, they might appreciate them more?" James scoffed. "I had a Captain back in OS, who felt the same way about giving us food and water. And you know what, he was right. I was grateful to not starve. But threatening to starve us didn't make him generous!"

"I know." Benedict sighed. "I don't know what happened. It's like there was someone else in my head, thinking for me…"

The control panel suddenly let out a tone. James checked it. "Another boat." He said. "It's not moving at all…" He tapped at the screen, bringing up more information. "Ah. My charter." He glared at Benedict. "We'll talk more in a minute. Atxi, I don't want to leave him alone with the controls, so would you see to it?"

~~/*\~~

Alec Ducard was so thirsty he was almost willing to try seawater. He'd had plenty of supplies, when the Preserver failed suddenly. His boat's batteries had spontaneously started leaking, the thin spots on the outer hull had ruptured, and suddenly he was adrift. His boat wasn't that big, built for day-trips. His stores had all been down below, and now they were flooded with seawater and waste.

A full day of sitting under the hot ocean sun had baked him to thirst. He couldn't get the engine working again, and the comms were all offline. "Jehovah God," Alec prayed. "I've made a mistake, trying to see You in the Organization. You were never in the Temples. You were never in the pages. Forgive me for forgetting how to see You in difficult times. Being a Witness was always like living in the presence of a lighthouse. For a day, the lights were off, and I'm sorry I got lost so quickly. I don't know if Beckah can forgive me, but right now, I'm just praying that You can! Please, God in Heaven; I beg you to save me, just one more time-"

"Ahoy!" A voice called.

Alec nearly levitated over the side into the ocean. Boats ran quietly now, so it had been all but impossible to hear the yacht coming up behind him. It was big, and beautiful, and had an olive-skinned woman leaning over the bow, calling to him. "Are you Alec Ducard?"

Alec was stunned. "Yes."

"Ahh, good. My name is Atxi. You look like you could use a ride." She tossed a rope overboard to him.

And Alec tried not to laugh himself sick. Father, thank you for the prompt reply.

~~/*\~~

Atxi put some food down in front of Alec, who dove on the water glass and gulped it down quickly. "Well, Mister Ducard. We're currently on our way back to land; but your Benefactor will likely be able to pick you up before we get there."

"My benefactor?" Alec repeated. "I don't understand? How did you know where to find me? How did you know my name?"

Atxi's head tilted. "You don't know? We were chartered to rescue you. Our client gave us your location down to within ten meters. Promised he'd collect you as soon as he could get here."

Alec stared at her in disbelief.

"And a good thing, too." James reported as he came below decks, pushing Benedict in front of him. "Docking is going to be a tricky thing. Apparently the Ports are all closed. The people who haven't run for Sanctuary already are holding up where they can; and they're not inclined to trust others right now."

Alec looked over sharply. "Really?"

James nodded. "From what I'm hearing, apparently having the only act of violence in a thousand years come from within the Organization has rattled quite a few people. Especially given that they were already nervous about the Final Test. Nobody wants to take a chance on any of it."

"So." Alec sighed. "I wasn't the only one." He turned to Benedict. "You've been an Elder for longer than this Paradise has existed. Am I too late? Too far gone?"

"No." Benedict promised. "King Jehoshaphat entered an unwise alliance in opposition to God. But he had a good record; and Jehovah said to him: 'Nevertheless, there are good things that have been found with you... and you have prepared your heart to search for the true God'. Jehovah always looks for the positive in his servants."

"That was the way in OS. What about now? Aren't we all supposed to be perfect?" Alec countered. "The only thing left is bad judgment."

"The Test isn't over, Alec. Not yet." Benedict promised.

"You really believe that; or is that what you're hoping?" James put the question to him cuttingly. "After the part you played?"

Alec froze, looking to Benedict. "What's he talking about?"

Benedict confessed, before James could make the accusation properly. "It was a mistake." He said seriously. "I was the one that turned off the Database. That's why your boat suddenly started to come apart. The Preserver was controlled that way."

Alec was stunned, staring at him. "You did that? Why would you- No, nevermind; I don't care." Alec sank his head against his hands for a moment.

"I… shut it down, because of the younger ones." Benedict explained awkwardly. "The final instruction to the Database was to switch everything off. The Auto Network, the Comms; the Holo, even the Preserver Tech was told to stop holding things together and wait for future instructions. I just made sure those instructions never came."

"You switched it off." James repeated the key phrase suddenly. "Not 'destroyed' or 'sabotaged'. You switched it off." He reached out and grabbed Benedict by the shoulders. "Maybe you could switch it back on again?"

Benedict nodded. "I could. But I'd have to get back to the System Core, in the Foundation itself."

James looked to Atxi. "We could turn the world back on again." He hesitated. "It would be an act of service, wouldn't it? We're getting downhearted people safely through this."

"You will be rewarded."

"We'd already decided we had to help whoever we came across that was in distress." Atxi nodded. "It's the sort of thing people would make a point of remembering."

"A service like that? It certainly would." James agreed, eyes glinting just for a moment. "And it would repair the latest ship called 'Stargazer'... Including the parts of my old ship that were damaged." This was said with an undercurrent of threat to Benedict.

Alec watched the whole thing between them and felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise for a moment. It meant something, but he didn't know what. Not yet.

James checked his map. "We're in the wrong ocean if I'm taking you to California by boat. Is the Panama Canal open? We're pretty close to it."

"I flew over it on the way here." Benedict nodded. "How fast can this ship move?"

James grinned like a pirate should. "My favorite question."