Through the Eyes of the Phoenix

by Martin W Francis

  The room went crazy when he appeared before them. Many were upset at being lied to. Others were amazed to see someone they actually witnessed attacked by Fallen still alive. A small handful shook their heads storming out of the room. One woman fainted, quickly carried out to get fresh air by a couple men led by Dan.

  Roberto stood by the microphone with his hands behind his back patiently waiting. Slowly the people began to notice he was waiting for them to quiet down before he spoke. Silence spread throughout the room.

  “I cannot say that lying to my closest friends who I trust wholeheartedly or to you was anyone’s first choice. We tossed around hundreds of ideas and scenarios before it came to the decision we made. The leader of Eufaula, Roland, although a good man would have come by force with the assistance of other communities to take the cure. Of that I am absolutely positive. He may even have taken Jessie because her blood is from where it derives. Lying or keeping secrets never sits right in your gut. It eats away at your soul. However, what would anyone among you have done to protect this community? What would you do to keep the peace? To save lives? I’m telling you that I know this man Roland better than anyone. I was his second in command. We were best friends. Roland would not have left a single vial of J23. His reasoning would be for the same reasons we seek to protect it. Regardless, is it alright for a thief to come into your house and take what he pleases? Is it right to let a stranger freely take a member of your family? We did what we decided was absolutely necessary. It was not to deceive you or for some great con. I hope in time that you can forgive us. I plan to spend every breath I have to make this community a better place. I will give everything to protect this community including my life. It is a life that I am blessed with because Jess chose to do what any of you would have done in her situation. I am eternally indebted. Some may call me a hero, but in truth Jessie is the real hero. She risked everything for a single life.”

  There was a long silence. Some stared at the ground feeling ashamed they were previously angry. A few women were crying. Somewhere in the crowd someone began chanting Jessie’s name. It spread like wildfire in an old dry forest. Mom flushed red out of embarrassment. As for who started the chant, that would be my girlfriend. She had been holding my hand throughout the angry shouts of the citizens while I shook furiously at their stupidity. When she saw a chance to turn things around she had made her voice heard. I thanked her properly with a kiss while everyone was cheering.

  -2-

  A little over a year later the town had been rebuilt back to its original borders. There were strong outer walls ten foot tall now surrounding the community. Those were reinforced with huge metal storage containers. Razor wire encompassed the entirety of the walls being electrified for extra piece of mind. There was twenty feet between those walls and the secondary wire fencing. Eight guard towers were erected in between that area. Patrols were assigned to walk every inch of the perimeter at all times. Cameras, tripwires, and other means of protection were also set up.

  My seventeenth birthday came around passing just as quickly as it had come. My last school year will finally be coming to an end before long. Jessie’s term in office officially ends in February. We are going on a weeklong outing (Jessie, Sandra, and myself). Amy of course had excuses not to go with us. She has never been outside of Alpine since I was born. The consensus is that either Dan or Roberto will be the next elected to Jessie’s current position. Pretty sure that Dan will decline if they chose him since he is too busy with so many other things.

  Sandra had begun training to work in the law enforcement field after a slight nudge from Jess. We are still dating. We are actually planning on asking for our own place next year. Community rules state that we both have to be eighteen to apply for housing together in the small duplex district. One person has to be twenty-one (which Sandra will be next year) to put in an application for your own house. After the devastation of the tornado there was a shortage of housing. Luckily there are six men in the community who know all about construction. They quickly made minor and major repairs to many of the properties that had been damaged. They also built a couple new houses (one of which was for Peter). Although the extra houses repaired on his block have always been reserved for guests, I’m sure that rule would easily be bent so we could visit him more often.

  It won’t be long before I’m taking tests for community placement. Of course, I already know what I want to do. Hopefully I will be training under Aunt Aurora or Celeste (who finished her supervised training) as a runner. I feel that being a runner is where I need to begin learning the basics necessary for what I am actually supposed to do in life.

  A week before Christmas a letter was delivered to Sandra by Edward (He has always delivered the mail since the community was established. My understanding is that he was a postal worker here even prior to the epidemic). On opening the envelope, Sandra briefly showed me that it was a Christmas card. She teared up reading the inside of the card. It was handed over to me once she had finished. We were both invited to a Christmas Eve dinner by Sandra’s father according to the message.

  “Maybe he wants to make amends. It has been a long time since you left.”

  “That’s what I’m hoping. Not sure what has changed. Guess there is only one way to find out. That is of course if you’ll go with me. He did invite you too.”

  “Of course! Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” I gave her a supportive hug. “Love you.”

  “Love you too. Thank you Em.”

  Somewhere over the last year I had fallen completely in love with Sandra. I couldn’t imagine being without her. I do recall the first time I told her those three words for the first time. It was about a week after the town meeting concerning J23. We were sitting on a porch swing holding hands while watching a meteor shower. The urge to tell her was overwhelming me. I was a little frightened you might not reply. I final got up the courage to tell her those three words openly expressing my heart and soul. There was no awkward silence. She kissed me telling me that she loved me too.

  With further encouragement from both my moms, we headed off to Frank’s house on Christmas Eve. On arrival, we saw strings of multicolored lights adorning the roof. There were various yard decorations creating a playful woodland scene with deer.

  “Dad hasn’t put up decorations since before the Fallen. This seems really weird.”

  Sandra stood at the front door for a moment pondering if she was in an alternate universe. Seeing that she lacked the courage to knock on the door, I did. I heard voices and rustling inside before the door opened. Frank stood in the entryway wearing a Santa hat. He was smiling a huge goofy grin.

  “Sandra! Ember. Come in. Glad you both made it.”

  On entering the house a live Christmas tree with colorful lights and ornaments stood in the living room surrounded by several wrapped presents. There was a large wreath on one wall covered in holly with ornamental red birds. The fireplace was blazing giving off a nice cedar smell. Several other aromas filled the air that made my mouth water hungrily.

  “Whatever you have been making for dinner smells wonderful.”

  “Well, to be honest I can’t take credit this time. I can’t even enter the kitchen to help or I’ll get beaten with a spoon.”

  We had our backs facing away from the kitchen while talking with Frank. A voice replied from behind us.

  “That’s only because you keep trying to eat it all before we sit down for dinner.”

  We turned around to find Celeste standing in the entryway of the kitchen wearing an apron.

  “Celeste!” I hopped up giving her a big hug. “What are you doing here?”

  Sandra chuckled next to me. “It’s kind of obvious love. How long have you been dating my dad?”

  I must have been in momentary shock or just so overjoyed at seeing her that I didn’t realize the obvious. There was a short silence as Celeste stood there smiling. She turned a slight shade of red from embarrassment.

  “I wanted to tell you sooner, but
your dad insisted we wait. We started dating officially about five months ago.”

  “I guess the invitation makes sense now.”

  “No, you got it all wrong Sandra. Yes, I wanted both of you here to celebrate the holidays. However, it was Frank’s idea. He has been pacing for days hoping that the two of you came.”

  “Really? It’s nice to hear that.”

  “I need to go check on the rolls in the oven.” Celeste smiled walking back to the kitchen.

  “We need to talk. This may take a minute. Please make yourselves comfortable.” Frank walked over to a recliner near the fireplace taking a seat.

  We both glanced at each other making our way over to a loveseat across the way from him. I took Sandra’s hand to let her know I was there for her.

  “I’ve heard about many of the things the both of you have done for the community since the tornado. I have also personally seen some of those things from afar. I’ve seen death, destruction, and thousands of Fallen walking within our walls. During all that time I lived alone in self-pity while the two of you grew into respectable women. I was arrogant in beliefs instilled by overly religious parents. My stubbornness to accept change or allow others to have their own concepts of life pushed away my own daughter. I acted like a complete ass. In doing so I lost the only thing in the world that really meant something to me. I can’t change the past, but I hope I’m given a chance to make it right. I want a future that my daughter is a part of. I’m so sorry Sandra. I hope someday you can forgive me.”

  Starting to tear up, “Does that mean you are willing to accept Ember? That you can accept that we are in love?”

  “Yes, of course. I was an idiot. I owe you an apology too Ember. You have always been there for Sandra. You were her best friend almost from the first day we arrived here in Alpine. You have always been a good influence. You always brought nothing but happiness to this house. You helped both of us heal from the pain we felt in our hearts from the loss of ones we loved. I’m truly sorry for everything I said out of anger. I always loved you like you were my own daughter. Please forgive me.”

  Frank put his face in his hands silently weeping. Sandra got up going over to him. She wrapped her arms around him hugging him tightly.

  “I love you daddy. Thank you for apologizing. I forgive you.”

  I stood up joining her in a group hug. I told him that I forgave him as well. The tears that followed were ones of joy.

  A little while later we sat around having normal conversation like nothing had ever happened. Celeste returned telling us that dinner was finally ready.

  “What is that delicious aroma?”

  Celeste laughed, “You’ve never had turkey before have you Em?”

  “I’ve heard they were delicious. I remember seeing pictures of them with little pilgrim hats when I was little. I thought that they actually wore them for years. Where did you find a turkey at?”

  “There was a guy with a ranch in Eufaula. He was apparently good friends with Roberto. Traded with him for conversation and produce that he hadn’t seen in years. They have crops in Eufaula of course, but not nearly as extensive a variety as we do here”

  The rest of the evening went by wonderfully. Dinner was the best I’ve ever had. Celeste insisted that we take some home for Jessie and Amy. The conversation was pleasant being occasionally filled with contagious laughter. There were even a couple presents under the tree with our names on them that we joyfully opened.

  “So did my mothers know the two of you were dating?”

  “I did tell Jess. It was a tug of war to get her to keep the secret. I finally won her over by explaining that we wanted to surprise both of you. Of course it might have been because I told her that Frank wanted to make his apology that has been eating at him forever. Frank actually apologized to Jess months ago. She was willing to accept provided that he was more careful with his words in the future. She also told him that if he ever made either of you cry again that she was going to personally feed him to the Fallen. You never can tell when she is joking. Of course, Frank knows that even if Jessie was joking that I would do it in a heartbeat. Don’t you Frank?”

  Frank nodded saying that he most definitely would not let his anger control him again.

  “I can’t believe that neither of us had no clue this whole time. We have both been extremely busy, but usually you hear about everything that goes on in Alpine from someone. Not one person said anything!”

  “There is one more thing actually. It is something that we haven’t told anyone yet. You want to tell them or should I Frank?”

  Frank smiled, “You can have the honors sweetie.”

  “Sandra how do you feel about having a little brother or sister?”

  “What? Are you saying that the two of you are trying or…”

  “I’m pregnant! Three months along now.”

  The rest of our visit went by celebrating. We walked home holding hands ecstatic at a perspective hopeful future. As we walked a light snow began to fall around us.

  -3-

  February came around even though it felt like it never would. I was excused from school, but would have twice as much homework for a week when I returned. Our vacation outside the wall had a couple of developments. It wouldn’t just be the three of us for starters. Aunt Aurora and Carla both accepted invites from Jess to join us. Aunt April stopped by the day before to bring a ton of baked goods for the trip. Uncle Dan came over with her to make sure that we had sufficient medical supplies. Celeste arrived the morning of our departure looking very pregnant now. She brought the pistols from Frank’s gun cabinet. Apparently he had insisted that they were given to Sandra and me as presents. She told us that Frank was a little worried. She said to be safe giving us both hugs. Celeste happily left with half the baked goods that Aunt April had made.

  Around noon with bags packed, we headed towards the main gates in an off-roader Chevy Suburban. Once outside the gates we headed northeast. We took less traveled roads to avoid the congestion of abandoned vehicles. It was also important to make every effort to avoid going through major cities for obvious reasons. Two hours on the road Jess was having a discussion with Aurora about the fact that Fort Stockton was nearby. They were pondering how large a team it would take to make it to the military base (specifically the armory). The number of Fallen could possibly be overwhelming, however several of the military bases had actually been shut down or low staffed due to the nationwide riots, epidemic, and other reasons at the time of the epidemic. Jess estimated that the numbers could be anywhere from a hundred to a couple thousand. She said the only way to know would be to survey the area up close. I fell asleep after a few more hours driving. I missed a couple tense moments crossing Interstate twenty according to Sandra. We started to slow down. I glanced out the window noticing a creepy looking hotel that was in the middle of nowhere. It sat off the highway a little ways up a hill with a rocky enclosure surrounding it. There were a total of three vehicles parked in the curved drive and small adjoining parking lot.

  “Doesn’t exactly look like a five-star hotel. That makes it easier to clear though. No power or water of course, but then everyone knew we would be roughing it. At least we will have soft warm beds tonight. Plenty of blankets in the extra rooms if it gets cold,” Aurora said.

  We got out of the vehicle stretching from being cooped up for hours. Jess scouted the area surrounding the hotel for a few minutes. We entered the building together as a group. In the lobby we found what had once been a hotel manager named Laura according to her name tag. She had been hiding behind a pillar which we carelessly passed right by. The hairs prickled up on my skin like static electricity had suddenly passed through my body. I stopped while the others were still moving forward. I drew my sword which I have been training with Jess to properly use. On hearing the nearly silent song of the sword cutting through the air, Jessie quickly turned around. The others followed her reaction in a similar manner.

  “Wait let her do this. There is just the one.
It’s all yours Ember.”

  It lumbered forward at a medium speed towards me. I waited for it to be in striking distance. Just as it was inches away from grabbing me I side stepped swinging the blade. It sliced right through the skull like butter. Blood gushed everywhere as the body fell limp to the floor.

  Some people become nauseated the first time they kill a living creature or from the sight of that much blood. I sure as hell didn’t perceive it as living. I also didn’t think of it as human even if it once had been. I have seen firsthand what these fearless monsters do to their victims. They would have no remorse for killing or devouring me. As for the blood, it is not the first time I have seen it flow in great amounts.