Well that was a failed experiment, he thought, pushing himself off the ground. He blinked through the rain, hoping that Zora wasn’t too far, that she might be able to take him home. He lifted his head—

And froze.

The Seattle cityscape spread out before him, dark and glittering. It wasn’t the hulking black outline of New Seattle’s remaining skyscrapers that Ash was familiar with but the dazzling, lit-up skyline of the city before the flood. The roads were dry, and buildings rose high into the air, every window golden and glowing. The old highway curved through it all and, on it, Ash could just make out the twinkling of headlights as cars and trucks and motorcycles roared past.

And then there was the ground itself. He was on a beach, a real beach. Ash laughed and dug his fingers into the sand, amazed that he hadn’t realized it before. There were no beaches left in New Seattle. Everything was underwater.

He’d gone to the past. Somehow, unbelievably, he’d traveled through time without a vessel. Without any exotic matter.

It . . . shouldn’t have been possible. Ash gave his head a hard shake and pushed himself to his hands and knees, trying to make sense of what had just happened. People had tried before. The Professor had performed experiment after experiment. This thing that he’d just done should’ve killed him, but it didn’t. Why?

Ash found himself wishing that Zora had come back with him, that she were here to offer him some sort of explanation for what he’d just done. But she wasn’t, which meant that he’d have to figure out what to do next all on his own. It was a more daunting prospect than it should’ve been.

Standing, he peered up at the city, shielding his eyes against the fierce glow of light. In her broadcast, Dorothy said that she and Roman were headed back to the old hospital to pick up medical supplies. Ash thought it might be too much to hope that he’d not only traveled back in time but also somehow managed to wind up at the exact moment that Dorothy and Roman had gone back to. But, hell, stranger things had happened today.

He could see the top floors of the hospital from his spot on the beach. It was downtown, one of the largest buildings in the city. Couldn’t be more than a mile away.

Pulling his wet leather jacket more firmly around his shoulders, Ash set out for the hospital.

33

Dorothy

Down dark and twisted hallways. Past more rooms filled with medical equipment and drugs they were supposed to be stealing.

Roman didn’t stop, but said only, “This way.”

And now, the skin on the back of Dorothy’s neck crept. His voice sounded . . .

Feverish. Desperate.

He stopped at a room that looked just like all the others, abandoning his empty body bag at the door. “Come on,” he murmured, seeming to speak to himself.

Dorothy stayed in the hall, wary and watchful.