"Where's the nearest hypertube?" I ask Carnelian.

"The one we used after rescuing Lachlan," He says looking around. He starts to walk more purposefully in a direction, Rook and I follow.

"Do you love my brother?" Rook asks. I look away. How do I answer that question?

"Everyone else seems to think so," I say looking around as I walk, pretending to be admiring the wilderness.

"But do you?" He questions. I finally look Rook in the eye.

"I love Lachlan." I say nothing more. But I also love Lark. Rook grins, nodding his head.

"Does Lachlan know?" I nod. "Well, that's good. Are you and him dating now?"

I burst out laughing at the thought. Dating? That word sounds so normal, so typical. How could a word so routinely used apply to Lachlan and I's relationship?

"No," I chuckle, then my face turns grim. "Unfortunately, I've found that loving someone isn't enough. Just because I love him back doesn't mean that everything's just uncomplicated all of the sudden. There's so much more to it than that...I've found that love has nothing to do with it."

"That can't be true," He says. "If you love each other it can be enough, especially now."

"Yeah, well, that's easy for you to say," I snap. We walk the rest of the way in silence. Finally, we pass Mira's garden and I see Carnelian's pace slow. He suddenly stops. Mira and a few other bodies are already in the garden.

"I have to see her." He strides quickly into the garden. I want to stop him, tell him it's not a good idea, but I don't bother. I know not to try to mend a broken heart. Carnelian walks through the lick foliage and into the garden, where he sees Mira's grave. She was buried earlier today. Three other head stones lay beside her where others have been buried. The few bodies they could find were retrieved and the people sucked into the nanosand have been rescued.

Carnelian takes a long time to stand several feet away, just staring at her headstone. The sun starts to come up and he kneels in front of her grave. I start to cry too. Slow tears make there way down my face. I've been so focused on my own pain, my own suffering, that I never stopped to truly mourn her yet. I haven't stopped to truly mourn anything that this war took. Suddenly, I feel such shame, and guilt, and grief, that I can't hold it back anymore. I fall to my knees silently sobbing.

"I just don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore," I sob. I feel strong arms around me and I let my head dig into his chest. My breathing starts to slow and I become calm again, until I realize it's not Lachlan holding me. I wipe my tears and shift away from Rook.

"It'll all be clearer soon," Rook says, helping me to my feet. "But first, we have to get to Eden."

Those are words I thought I would never hear again. Carnelian nods, rising to his feet. I've never seen such strength in him. He's always been so shy and what others might interpret as weak, but now he has a strength. What's done is done. Now we must do what we can so it doesn't happen again. He truly understands that now, I'm not sure I do anymore.

"The hypertube is this way," Carnelian says, striding away from the garden, away from Mira. Just like last time, we jog for about an hour, the sun is now fully up, until Carnelian stops. Our surroundings look familiar. He piles the stones on top of one another again, then leans against the baby sapling. This time I don't bother warning him to be careful.

The rock splits and a cave forms, filled by an elevator. We step into the elevator and we start to go down. Rook looks amazed, and I have to admit, even after everything I still find technology to be marvelous. It's crazy to think of the last time I was in this elevator. Lachlan had dead Mira in his arms but he softly laid her down in the elevator, knowing he'd have to carry her a long time after. Lachlan didn't say a word to me, he just pulled me into his arms and pressed his lips to my brow. Just when I went to kiss him, thinking the moment would never end, the doors opened and we carried on like normal. It's crazy to think of how simple it was then. How is everything in my life just getting harder, and harder?

It will get better, Yarrow whispers. I promise you will be happy.

"Why do you care what happens to me?" I mumble so they don't hear.

I care what happens to you because your suffering is my suffering.

"Then what should I do about Lachlan and Lark?" I ask.

"What'd you say?" Carnelian asks.

"Nothing. Just talking to myself."

You know I took an almost immediate liking to Lachlan. I grin. Liking? She took more than a liking to him, that's for sure. But there is something wonderful about Lark. There's always some lingering passion for your first crush, even when it ends.

"She isn't a crush!" I protest. Rook and Carnelian give me a look. "Sorry. You know I still have bits of Yarrow in me. Sometimes she talks and she's not always agreeable."

I know she isn't a crush, Rowan. I just mean she isn't as permanent as Lachlan, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't choose her. Lachlan is sardonic, which is enraging, but I know you don't mind, it's part of what makes him, him. Lachlan is also steady, and will always take care of you. You will be happy with him. Lark is memorizing. She's like a gentle flower, or a sunrise, or the taste of mint. She is your embodiment of hope. But she can't protect you like Lachlan. She can't understand you, even after what she went through at the Center. You will always be hiding your pain from her, always waiting for her to numb it, but she can't. Even with that pain, she will still make you happy.

"Rowan!" Carnelian snaps me out of my daze. "We're here."

I step out of the hypertube and desert is before me. I remember all of my experiences with the nanosand and swallow when I see it.

"Let's do this," I say flatly. "Are you both sure? There's no turning back after this."

"There was never any turning back, Rowan. We're with you, and with humanity. We won't turn back," Carnelian says taking my hand. I squeeze his.

"Thank you," I say then let his hand go. Together, we cross the now inactivated desert and enter the future. I hear our shoes crunch on the sand and I start to think. Why hasn't Ecopan stopped me? Or at the least talked to me? Yarrow usually blocks out my thoughts from him, but Rook has lenses and I've explained everything to him. Is it possible the disruptor Carnelian has in his backpack can block out the Ecopan too? I have no idea but I have a bad feeling.

We reach the cool shade of the beanstalk trees and I remember my first real sight of Lachlan here. I also remember almost being crushed by those artificial beauties. I lived all of my life in Eden, it's where all of my best memories were made, but it's also the most horrible place in the world to me.

Carnelian and Rook are both entranced, having only seen the beanstalks a few times. I just walk ahead of them looking for a safe way in. It takes me a few minutes to find a way in that looks clear.

"I never thought I'd be looking for a way to get back inside of Eden," Rook says. "I thought I was done with this place for good."

"We all did," I say then start to crawl through the wall of garbage. Rook and Carnelian follow closely behind. After crawling for what seems like hours we make it to the other side of the wall. I stand, stretch my aching limps, and massage my bruised knees. When I look around I see rubble and debris, realizing we're in the outermost circle.

"Home sweet home," Rook sighs, brushing dust off his shirt. Carnelian still looks horrified by what he sees. "Let's go directly into the inner circle, we shouldn't need to stop. Do you think we can make it there on time?"

"Not sure," Carnelian says surveying his surroundings.

"Well, let's get a move on it now. Let's see if we can get to my parents house in the inner circles by nightfall, we can rest up there, then we can go to the Center in the morning, reprogram the Ecopan, then get back to Harmonia in time for a late lunch."

That's if everything goes as planned, Yarrow chips in. And we both know that's very unlikely.

"Sounds good to me," Rook says. "Maybe they'll be none the wiser?"

"No," I say shaking my head. "Maybe y'all might be able to get away with something like that. Tell everyone you were there the whole time, they must have just missed you. I mean why would they suspect you're lying? Especially now. But that would never work for me. My friends have lost me so many times, they watch me like a hawk, they'll be sure to notice my absence. And once they notice my absence, they'll notice you're gone too."

"So what's our story?" Rook asks as we walk.

"Maybe we just tell the truth this time," Carnelian suggests with a shrug. "I know Eden has always been your home, and it's practically made from lies and secrets, but that's not what Harmonia's about. They'll listen to you, and your story. They will give you the credit you deserve for your bravery without any repercussions. They can understand."

"Like they understood when Lachlan crossed the desert?" I ask, raising my eyebrows. "Last time I checked the people of Harmonia were not accepting people. You saw how they tried to rally against us when we came from Eden! The only thing that keeps them from an uprising is the fact that they think we destroyed a horrible computer that controls them. They think that the Ecopan can control their minds and life anytime it wants. They think I was brave enough to get past the Ecopan's defenses, and save us all...how do you think they would react if they knew that was a lie?"

"But you didn't do any of this for vain reasons," Carnelian argues. "You could tell them your reasons. You could tell them what would happen to the first children if-"

"I don't think it would matter," I say softly, and the words that I'm about to say terrify me. "Carnelian, your people are angry, skeptical at the very least. Do you think they like having the people of Eden there? They knew we were trapped in Eden all this time, and none of them did anything. You saw the way they reacted when we crossed the desert. You saw the way they reacted when Lachlan, who is only one man, crossed the desert. They see us as a threat. Carnelian...they don't want us there. They would see the Ecopan's existence as an excuse to kill us off. They would justify a slaughter. They would teach their children in school that they did what they had to do, that they didn't want it to happen, even though they did."

"You think they want us dead?" Rook asks, he looks horrified.

"No," I say in a flat tone of voice. "They want us gone. And when they find a chance to eliminate almost all of us, they'll take it. Even if that means slaughtering a million people. Earth knows they never cared about us in the first place."

"I can't believe that, I just can't. Harmonia is based off of the principles of life, and acceptance...how could they be this cruel? Can you imagine finding out everything your society taught you was a lie?"

"Yes," I say dryly. "You're the only one here who hasn't felt that yet."

"Rowan, I don't think you're right about this. I know my people and they just wouldn't do this," He continues to argue, but in his eyes I can see he knows the truth. After the way they behaved when we crossed the desert, he knows what they're capable of.

"She's right," A voice says, except it's not Rooks. I whirl around and we're all in alarm as we see a dark skinned woman emerge from a building. "It's what happened to my people."