Page 88 of Vanish Into Light

And when Beck righted his head, and looked at her across the distance. The white light from above made his eyes look lemon-yellow, the pupils tiny slits. “Hello, sweethearts.” His voice echoed and vibrated, like a conduit’s would. “Don’t ever doubt that I love you. I have to go now.”

“Beck,no!”

He wrapped his arms around Morgan, bent at the knees, and leaped aloft. His wings stretched, and flapped, and he flew up, up, up, and disappeared into the light.

Rose tried to scream, but her throat was too tight. She ripped out of Lance’s grip instead.

“Rose,” he said in a choked voice. “Rosie.”

She lurched forward, legs threatening to buckle, and climbed up onto the dais; out of the water, and up into the light so bright she had to close her eyes a moment. When she tipped her head back, all she could see was white. Burning, searing, burning like ice against her face.

“Beck!” She couldn’t hear her own voice, but her lungs and her throat hurt, and she knew she was screaming. “Beck, no! Come back!”

Wind funneled down into the hole in the ceiling, blowing her hair back, rippling the water on the floor below.

The light got brighter somehow…even brighter…

Strong arms closed around her from behind. Lance’s face tucked into her neck, and she couldn’t hear him, but she could feel the words he mouthed against her skin:I’m sorry. Rose, I’m so sorry.

She closed her eyes, and the light still burned them. Tears leaked hot down her cheeks, and he was gone, he wasgone, and she couldn’t…

The world shattered.

She landed hard, on her side; all the air left her lungs as Lance landed half on top of her, and it was only then that she realized she’d been slammed to the ground – and only after that that she heard the awful, roaring explosion of the sky overhead.

Something struck her head. Sharp, quick pain.

And then blackness enfolded her.

~*~

Gallo opened his eyes, and thought,well, guess I’m not dead. His second thought was,what the fuckwasthat?And then,God, Tris.

He blinked, and in the moment before he gathered himself, and realized he’d hit the floor hard, he realized that the nearly phosphorescent light of before had softened. That it was bearable. That it was…sunny outside?

His muscles protested, but he managed to grit his teeth and get his hands under himself, push up out of the two inches of water on the floor and twist around to search the hallway. He spotted Tris straight off, sitting upright and rubbing his neck, wincing.

“Hey,” he said, relief making him lightheaded. “You okay?”

“Yeah, baby, I’m good. You?”

“Fine.” He glanced down at himself, quickly. Other than being sore, and wet, nothing seemed too out of place. He blinked down at his soaked tac pants a moment before he realized why they looked different: it was because of the light. It was soft, and warm, and bright, and clear in a way he’d never seen. Not the harshness of fluorescents, or the golden flicker of candles, of lanterns; not the bluish, energy-efficient bulbs so often found on base or in modern buildings; not the UV lights of the hydroponic gardens. He tried and failed to think of where he’d seen this sort of light before.

“Oh, shit,” he heard Gavin mutter, so he was alive. “What happened?”

Gallo turned to look at the window. The brown, stubbly lawn was dotted with piles of what looked like wet ash. But it was…bright, out there. It was…

He hauled himself to his feet and took the few shaky steps across the width of the hall, water swirling around his boots.

“What?” Tris asked.

Gallo rested his fingertips on the window mullions, and craned his neck to look out, and up. “Oh.”

The sloshing of water heralded Tris’s movements as he joined him. His shoulder pressed into Gallo’s, and then he murmured, “Shit. The sky.”

“What?” Gavin asked, getting up with an array of splashes behind them.

“It’s blue,” Gallo said, and itwas.

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