Fade Away and Radiate Read Online Free PDF

Annie’s resolve to
sacrifice herself faded in the blaze of Billy’s furious
stare.
    “ No buts. I know, I know,
you want me to go and save myself. I ain’t built that way, and you
know it. You wanna save me? Then come with me. Because if you’re
not leaving, then I’m staying, and we’ll deal with FortuneCorp
here, together.”
    He pulled her to the door, and this
time Annie didn’t hesitate. She left her past, her fear and her
determination to hide, lying on the floor behind them.
    “ Sully’s on the way to pick
us up,” Billy said. “We could use a gardener out there where we’re
going, on that new planet. You’re just the woman we
need.”
    They walked away from the trashed hut
and into the jungle that had grown out of Annie’s vision, through
her patient fingers and over time, with careful tending.
    After a moment’s hesitation, Annie
decided to speak her last misgiving. “How is it you can talk inside
my soul?” she asked. “Roberto never could do it. He tried. It seems
like, I don’t know, cheating somehow. Like it wasn’t right I
couldn’t commune with him like that. And here we are, you and
me…”
    Billy stopped walking and turned to
face her. “Yeah, my bro Roberto was possessed of many gifts,” Billy
said with a sigh. “You guys were good together. But, Annie girl,
Roberto’s gone. And he left your protection to me.”
    They stood in a clearing surrounded by
gently drooping vines, along a pathway of soft moss. The sun
filtered weakly through the dome, arching high above both their
heads.
    “ I was the team leader you
know, and Roberto worked under me,” Billy continued. “I called my
brothers into union. That was my strength. Roberto could see ahead.
But I could speak into his heart. And you can speak into mine,
Annie. You know what that means.”
    She did know. It meant that despite
Billy’s physical strength, his horse-sense – as he called it – and
his ability to survive anything, his love for Annie ruled
him.
    The jungle grew up around them, rich
and green and fragrant.
    When Annie looked around, she saw only
the two of them walking alone in the garden. But she knew, despite
all appearances to the contrary, they didn’t walk alone. For one
thing, Violet, the killer, still hunted them out there.
    But Annie reached for Billy’s hand and
squeezed, and despite the terrible urgency that they get off
AlphaZed3 now, he waited for her, the way he always had.
    Annie closed her eyes, took a deep
breath, and saw with her inner sight the place where Billy spoke to
her. And she saw that in truth three of them walked in the jungle
at dawn.
    Goodbye,
Roberto , she said inside of her, knowing
that Billy could hear her too. I will love
you forever.
    Adios, mi
corazon , Roberto replied. Anika will stay with me, Annie goes with Billy.
You go on, and I will too. We will meet again, in that place beyond
the edge of forever.
    Annie kissed Roberto in her mind, and
finally let him go. The whisper of his goodbye echoed over her as
he faded away, speaking into her for the first time, and the
last.
    She watched him go, blinked the vision
away, and took a look around. Only a moment had passed, but all had
changed.
    She was still in the clearing. Billy
still waited for her. For the first time, Annie believed she could
be free. Free of FortuneCorp, free of the past, free of herself and
her fears.
    “ I never spoke with Roberto
like that, you know, in the soul,” she whispered. “I don’t know if
I really want to say goodbye to him.”
    She waited for the faithful tears to
appear, but for the first time, they didn’t come.
    Billy spoke out loud, gently, with a
sort of reverence. “Aw, you spoke to him without words, always,
Annie. You have the soul of a healer. A grower of seeds, right?
Anybody who could grow a world like this has the power to whisper
into a heart. And what I heard was Roberto saying goodbye to you.
He let you go, he wants you to go, you’re free. He still loves
you.”
    He took her