“Nonsense!” his father shouted. “Why, we haven’t even seen Einstein yet. Did you know there’s a statue of Einstein right off the National Mall? And the Gettysburg Address!” He pointed at the speech carved into the wall of the Lincoln Memorial to the left of the president. “Look at this. Two hundred and seventy-two words. Short and to the point.”

And then it was too late.

The memorial began to tremble, and Fort knew that nothing was going to change, that his father was going to be taken down into the earth, just like he’d been six months ago, and that all Fort could do was watch.

“I think President Lincoln is waking up,” his father whispered to Fort with a grin. “Did you know a second man gave a two hour speech before Lincoln at Gettysburg?” He handed Fort a brochure with the Gettysburg Address written out in multiple languages, the same one Fort always kept in his pocket. This version fell right through his ghostlike hand and gently landed on the floor of the memorial like he wasn’t even there.

And then the second tremor hit, this time much worse than the first. Several people around the memorial began to shout in surprise, but Fort just turned and walked toward the entrance, not even caring how many tears fell now.

He couldn’t see this. Not again. He couldn’t watch his father—

But the scene shifted around him, and suddenly he was right back inside, his father reaching out to steady Fort as the trembling stopped again. “Ladies, maybe you should go find your parents,” his dad said to the two girls they’d been talking to before turning to Fort. “Are you okay, kiddo?”

Fort just looked up at him, shaking his head, his mouth hanging open. What was there to say? He couldn’t stop this, but he wasn’t allowed to leave, either? Why was his mind torturing him like this?

“That’s the spirit,” his father said. “But maybe we should head back to the hotel and grab some dinner. Einstein can wait. After all, time is his relative, I think. Probably a cousin.”

His father made his way through the crowd toward the stairs, and Fort just shut his eyes. Wake up, he thought to himself. Wake UP. Don’t do this to yourself. You don’t have to see it, not again. Not every night!

When he opened his eyes, though, he was at the stairs with his father, watching as people ran from the Washington Monument in single-file lines. Sierra was causing that, he had learned later. She was using her mind magic to control them all, trying to make sure none of the tourists would be hurt when the creature destroyed the monument. And soon she’d take over Fort’s mind too, trying to force him to escape… but leaving his father behind.