EverWorld (Book 3 of the Down World Series)

Chapter Forty-Four

I picked the door on the left. I don't know why. We weren't under the school, and so I couldn't be sure it would lead to Yesterday like that door did. But still, an instinct took over. Maybe if it took me back in time, I could change things. Fix things.

But no, we weren't under the school. Whatever Alexei had built here with these new doors, it was not a carbon copy of the original ones. It was something new. And I was aware of that the moment I passed through the yellow light and landed on the other side.

The first thing I became aware of was a large, warm hand holding my own. And a raindrop falling on my head.

And that could only mean one thing.

I had become my other self. That was the only way I could have immediately landed in a situation rather than walking through a door. The forces of balance that govern the doors had plopped me into my other body, as no two versions of the same person can exist at once—that is, unless one of them is a baby or somehow has a very different molecular structure.

So I was an adult. That meant it was either an alternative present, or else a version of the future.

I took deep breath and looked to see whose hand I was holding. Relief flooded through me as I saw that it was Kieren. He looked older, maybe thirty. Very similar to how he had looked in that photo in Adam's childhood bedroom—a tight, military haircut, chiseled jaw, freshly shaved. His eyes were squinting towards the ground, and he didn't seem to notice or care that a raindrop had just landed on his forehead.

I followed his line of sight to the ground, where a freshly-dug grave smelled of churned earth and cut grass. We were in the middle of an enormous cemetery. All around us, uniform rows of graves stretched for what seemed an eternity, little American flags, crosses, crescent moons, and Stars of David emerging from their tombstones.

My head whipped around at the crowd of mourners surrounding us, and my heart lodged in my throat when I didn't see my brother anywhere.

But then suddenly a baby cried, and I spun to see Piper standing behind me. She was a bit older now, too, and rocking an infant in her arms, gently patting its back and whispering into its little ear. The baby was swaddled in layers of warm blue blankets, shielding it from the chill of the day. And a moment later, my brother stepped up from within the crowd and put his arm around her. One of his strong hands landed gently on hers, covering the baby's back.

Robbie looked up and offered me a warm smile, though the sadness never left his eyes. I smiled back, relief overwhelming me that he was here.

I turned back to the grave, squeezing Kieren's hand tighter. He squeezed mine back, then pulled me into his side and rubbed my arm. And for just a moment, I felt as safe there as the baby swaddled in Piper's arms behind me.

But that's when I looked up and saw him, standing on the other side of the abyss of the grave.

Jonah Martel was staring right at me, his tired eyes a less vibrant shade of green than Adam's. And they were puffy, lined with red, like he had cried out every tear inside of him until there was nothing left. And I realized then that he wasn't really looking at me; his eyes were just drifting into the space before him, exhausted and unable to focus.

Nearby, a man who could have been Adam's clone, if it weren't for the brown eyes and the slightly stockier build, twisted his mouth into a sideways slant. He stared at the hole in the ground like a kid staring down a bully, knowing he didn't stand a chance in defeating it.

Caleb Martel.

My body began to shake before I allowed myself to accept what was happening.

An older man with a long gray beard approached the head of the grave, his body armored in a thick black coat. He raised a book before him and began to half speak/half sing some words I didn't recognize.