Page 133 of Don't Let Me Go
“Over here,” a feeble voice answers. I cast my phone’s light farther down the tracks and see Caleb huddled against a wall. Blood trickles down his face from a nasty gash across his forehead. And his right arm, clutched against his chest, is bent at such an unnatural angle, it must be broken.
“Where the hell is the park staff?” Duy asks. “Aren’t they coming to help?”
I shake my head.
“Why not?”
As if in response, a violent crash shakes the entire pyramid down to its foundation.
Jackson looks at me nervously. “What was that?”
“Galaxy Peak is collapsing,” I answer. “The whole roller coaster is imploding floor by floor.”
“What? Why didn’t you tell us?” Duy demands. “We have to get out of here!” But as soon as the words are out of their mouth, Duy remembers Jackson, and their face falls.
“It’s okay,” I assure them. “I’ll stay and help Jackson. You get Caleb out of here. There are a couple of overturned rockets blocking the tracks, so you’re going to have to help him climb over them. But other than that, the path is clear.”
Duy shakes their head. “We can’t leave you.”
“It’s okay. We’ll be okay. Right, Jackson?”
I catch Jackson’s eye, hoping he understands my meaning.
“Right.” He nods. “You should get Caleb out of here.”
Duy opens their mouth to protest, but Caleb lets out a low moan and clutches his broken arm.
“Okay,” Duy concedes with a reluctant nod. “We’ll send someone to help you guys as soon as we’re out.”
I force myself to smile as if Jackson and I have all the time in the world. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be okay.” A second later, though, my confidence falters. “But just in case, if for some reason you see my dad before I do, would you tell him?.?.?.?tell him I love him. And tell him I finally figured out what I want to do with my life.”
In the light of my phone, I can see Duy working out the implications of what I said. I’m afraid they’re going to insist on staying with me or try to convince me to leave with them. Instead, Duy pulls me into a hug and holds me tighter than their tiny frame should allow.
Nearby, something heavy and metal collapses with a deafeningbang, and we jump apart.
“You need to go,” I tell them.
Wiping their eyes, Duy nods. Without wasting another second, they hurry over to Caleb and help him stand. Then the two of them carefully make their way down the track toward the exit.
“You should go too,” Jackson says, his voice gentle but firm.
In the dim light of the tunnel, I can see his blue eyes are filled with a placid resignation. It’s impossible for me to look away from them asI listen to the metal bones of the roller coaster snap and sag under the weight of its collapsing body.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I answer as I sit on the floor beside him.
“Don’t be stupid,” Jackson protests. “You know what’s gonna happen. There’s no point in both of us dying. I’m the one who screwed up and pushed us to get back together. This is my fault. I’m the one who deserves to die. Not you. You need to go, okay? Before it’s too late.Please. Just go.”
“And what am I supposed to do after I go?” I ask.
“You live.”
“Without you?” I shake my head.
Given the circumstances, I’m surprised at how calm I feel. Maybe because, despite how inevitable this ending is for Jackson and me, I know it’s not an ending. Jackson and I have no ending.
When one song ends, another always begins.
“Riley, listen to me,” Jackson pleads. “If we die together, we’re just gonna end up reincarnated again. And then we’re gonnadieagain. And again. And again.”
