Lost in Time(23)

Only darkness.

Rain splattered him and pounded in the night like a million horses galloping around him.

And he was falling, no ground under his feet.

He reached out, panicking, head spinning, looking for any sign—

He hit the water hard, his mouth open, and it filled with a salty mix that made him gag as he sank into the blackness.

He writhed, waving his arms, kicking his legs. When his face reached the surface, he coughed and hacked just before a wave crashed into him and rolled him over, forcing the burning water down his throat again.

Sam fought, and the waves fought back, slamming into him, relentless, never tiring. He felt like he was at war with the sea, and he knew the sea would win and that he would be buried here.

The rain fell in sheets, and the waves came like a battering ram until Sam simply stopped fighting. He was too tired. He rolled onto his back and left his mouth open to collect rainwater. His body flowed with the waves, not struggling against them.

He realized then that the thick departure outfit served as a life preserver as well. It was probably saving his life.

The moon was a sliver, but even in that small crescent, it was brighter than Sam had ever seen. It seemed a bit larger too. That made sense. The moon was closer to the Earth back then.

In the rocking of the waves and pitter-patter of the storm, Sam realized the big mistake he had made in thinking that he would arrive on land. In the Late Triassic, Pangea contained all of Earth’s landmass—and the supercontinent only covered a quarter of Earth’s surface. There were no ice caps, which meant the rest of the planet was covered in water. The odds of him arriving on solid land had always been one in four.

Had Daniele known? Surely she had. She would have realized it.

Why hadn’t she told him?

The obvious answer was that there was not much he could do about it. It was simply bad luck. For all Sam knew, he was a thousand miles from Pangea, from the coast and salvation.

In a way, it was a fitting end. This was what Absolom was—leaving a person adrift, in a sea of time, with no hope of spotting land and no future, only the endless expanse of time and open sea around them.

As he stared at the unfamiliar stars in the sky, blinking the rain out of his eyes, he wondered if dawn would bring the sight of land. He hoped so. If not, he was finished out here. Hunger, dehydration, or a predator would claim him soon, and he would belong to the sea forever.





EIGHTEEN


The day Adeline’s father was exiled via Absolom, she dressed in black and promised herself she wouldn’t cry. Not in front of the others in that viewing box. One of those people, sitting right beside her, was Nora’s killer. That person was responsible for ripping her father out of her life.

But she couldn’t. As she sat there watching her father wake up and struggle to stand, her world was shattered. After her mother’s death, her father had been her anchor in the world. Now he was being torn away, and she had never felt more adrift. Or angry.

She stood and ran to the glass and pounded on it and lost control.

*

After her father’s departure, Adeline went home to Daniele’s and locked herself in her room and buried her head in a pillow and thought the darkest thoughts of her life. The worst among them was that if she killed Constance, Hiro, Elliott, and Daniele, she would have revenge for her father. The real killer would be dead. But three innocent people would also die. Well, assuming one or more of them weren’t in it together.

She probably would have kept spiraling if there hadn’t been a knock at the door.

She barely lifted her head enough to shout, “Go away!”

The knocking stopped. Ryan’s soft voice cracked as he called through the door, “Addy. It’s me.”

She pushed up and let him in, and he wrapped his arms around her. She squeezed him and kicked the door shut.

He looked up through tear-filled eyes. “I want to go home.”

“We can’t.”

“You can adopt me—”

“It’s not that.” Adeline dropped her voice and moved away from the door. “We have to stay here.”

“Why?”

“We’re going to get Dad back.”

“What? How? I thought that was impossible.”

“It is. Today. But maybe not someday.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Daniele knows more about what’s going on than she’s saying.”

“You think…”

“I think she’s a big part of whatever is going on.”

“Okay, fine, but why can’t you figure it out from our house?”

“We need to stay here so I can watch her and find out what she knows.”

Ryan closed his eyes and rubbed his eyelids. “Can you at least adopt me? I don’t want her to be my only parent.”

“She is not your parent. And never will be.”

“So you will?”

“I don’t think the court would approve it.”

“Why? You’re old enough, aren’t you?”

“Technically, yes. But let’s face it: I was just accused of murder. Until our dad confessed to that murder. A court is not going to love that home setting. Plus, Dad wrote a letter endorsing Daniele’s adoption application.”

Ryan shook his head and stared out the window. A hopeless, blank expression settled over his face. His eyes were almost glassy, as if the fight had just gone out of him.