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Back Dark Stars Save as PDF
Chapters (51)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Part One
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. Part Two
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. Part Three
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. Part Four
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 38
  45. Part Five
  46. 39
  47. Acknowledgments
  48. About the Author
  49. Books by Danielle Rollins
  50. Back Ad
  51. About the Publisher

“I had no intention of causing either of you so much heartache,” he said instead. A small, sad smile. “I was trying to prevent all of this, believe it or not.”

Ash nodded, understanding. He did believe it. Time travel, he was starting to realize, had a way of muddling things, of messing things up.

The Professor removed a small, silver gun from his coat pocket. It was strange-looking, almost like it had been cobbled together using spare parts from his ship, but the Professor held it in his palm like it was something precious.

He said, “Humans travel through time more easily than a clunky ship. All we need to do is take a small amount of EM into our bodies, which this gun allows.”

The Professor tilted the gun, and Ash could see that there was a very small amount of exotic matter stored inside, held in place by a clear glass capsule.

“That thing really works?” Ash asked, skeptical.

“It brought me here,” the Professor said. “No bumps or bruises, no horns growing out of my head.”

Ash rubbed the back of his head. He felt uneasy. It was something about that tiny bit of exotic matter stored inside the Professor’s gun, the knowledge that there was so much power stored inside of something so small. Anyone could get their hands on it.

He wet his lips and said carefully, “If someone like Mac Murphy were to get ahold of this thing, there’s no telling how—”

A creak on the other side of the room, the sound of a door opening. Ash stopped talking and looked up.

Dorothy and her mother stood framed in the doorway. Looking at them, Ash realized he couldn’t say exactly how long they’d been there. It was entirely possible that they’d been listening this entire time.

“If you two aren’t too busy,” said Dorothy. “I believe we might have a plan.”

Part Four

There’s no place like home.

—The Wizard of Oz

31

Dorothy

NOVEMBER 13, 2077

Dorothy and Ash stood on the docks overlooking the Puget Sound. The night was still, and the only things that disturbed the flat surface of the water were the distant boats circling the anil. Dorothy counted the ripples as they drifted toward her, sending water lapping against the docks.

“They think we’ll be coming through the anil,” Ash said, pushing the damp hair from his forehead. It wasn’t raining, but the air was still thick and wet. Dorothy felt her own cloak sticking to the back of her neck, her hair plastered to her forehead and cheeks. She shivered.