I pushed all of that away, let everything go into the background.
The breeders were frantically clawing at my mind, trying to take me down, and a low throb started at the base of my skull. Their power was nothing compared to what it was before, but holding them off while trying to collapse an entire dimension…
My vision turned blurry.
“KIT!” Ronnie screamed with desperation.
Building up all of my power, my body vibrated as a tremor laced its way through my nervous system.
With a giant scream, I thrust everything I had outward into the Dream War and watched as the world literally collapsed in on itself, revealing a stunning view of Mount Hood.
I held it in my mind and envisioned the dimension peeling away from our planet like a banana peel and then just falling away into the abyss.
“KIT!”
I couldn’t stay standing any longer. As I fell, the blackness took me, but I did so with the certainty that I’d ended it. The Dream War was dead.
Epilogue
Three Weeks Later
I had a prettybad seizure when I collapsed the Dream War, but luckily it didn’t cause any brain damage. I’d just needed a brief stay in the hospital for observation. I’d had no reoccurrences since then. The entire planet saw sudden piles of ash appear of out thin air as I’d peeled away the alien reality and exposed the creatures to our atmosphere.
That night, humanity fell asleep with hope in their hearts and a healthy dose of fear. And, collectively… we dreamed.
The entire world slept and dreamed and it was glorious. Future generations would never know the horrors we lived through other than from a history book. Children could grow up innocent, and the economy would prosper again.
The first thing I did when I got out of the hospital was visit Dawn and the Galadrias at the island Damien had bought for them. There was some international outcry, but generally they were okay with it now that the threat was over. Humans were back in control.
The synthetic green stuff we were producing was working fine for the Galadrias to consume. We had also learned that seawater, with its high salt content, was akin to their birthing pools, and allowed them to have their babies safely. We had one birth in the three weeks they’d lived there. They were happy and healthy, and Damien promised to fly me out on his private jet often to visit them.
Just as he had today.
I looked down at the urn in my hands and my chest tightened.
Master Aki...
I missed him so much that it ached. Today we would put him to rest, after Ronnie did my daily, yesdaily, medical checkup.
“So nausea but no dizziness?” Ronnie held a tiny torture light and flashed it into my eyes.
I nodded. “Yep, just feel blah lately. Probably the flu.”
Ronnie looked concerned. She’d mothered me like crazy ever since the seizure.
“Nausea but no headaches?” she questioned.
I laughed. “Nope. Just feel sick, mostly in the mornings—”
We both had the same realization at the exact same time. Our mouths collectively popped open.
“Kit, are you late?”
Fuck.
My mind scrambled to remember my last period. I had an app for that! Yes. I was late. Shit—a week late. My mouth was still open, but Ronnie grinned.
“That day, when I came to give you the antibiotics on sky home, did you and Damien…?”
