"Stop! Whit, please! You don't know it's her! It could be a trap!"

I do know it's her. You never, ever forget the voice of the one you love. Whether it's a whisper or a scream or a distant memory, I know when it's Celia. I guess Wisty doesn't understand that. She's never been in love.

And then I hear Celia again. But not from too far away. It feels as if she's all around me somehow.

"You don't want to know?… know?… know?… What happened to us?… us?… us?…"

I can't stand it-Celia feels so close now.

Her voice is so loud that it's as if she's broadcasting right into my head. It's unbearable… but also the most beautiful, incredible kind of pain. Torture I'd beg for. Does that make any sense?

"I do! I do want to know!" I halt in my tracks, then I sink to my knees in the middle of the town square. "Where are you, Celes? I need to see you again."

"Look up, Whit. She's right there."

It's Wisty's voice, to my left. And when I raise my head, I see what she sees.

There is my girlfriend-on-screen. Celia, on a New Order propaganda board. Her gorgeous face is more than twice my height, and every inch of it is as smooth and perfect and beautiful as I remember it. It's as if she's a movie star.

Chapter 11

Whit

"Did you forget about us, Whit? Did you forget about me?" Celia looks sad, making this even more painful for me. "I guess I can't blame you for moving on."

"What are you talking about, Celia? I never forget you. Everybody knows that. I never stop thinking about you, trying to find you. People think I'm crazy!"

"Maybe you haven't totally forgotten me, Whit. But I'm talking about us. The lost, the kidnapped, the murdered. The Half-lights." I shiver at her mention of the sad souls in the Shadowland. "I'm really not… me anymore. I'm part of something… bigger."

"Celia, you'll always be you. The Shadowland can't destroy you. Not for me. Where are you? The real you -?"