Her body went limp, and grief poured through her veins like poison. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and sobs shook her chest. Gathering her into his arms, Michael cradled her against his chest like a baby.
“Shh, it’s okay. It’s okay,” he murmured.
“Grandmama,” Mpho cried, her entire body shaking like a leaf in the wind.
Michael climbed into the truck but never let her go, and Lisa slid behind the wheel to drive them home while the rest took care of the bodies.
Mpho cared about none of that. Her mind was fixed on the horror of Rebecca’s last moments and the message it carried. Etched into the wood above the old woman’s head had been a sentence, carved by a knife. It read: I’m coming for you. H.
Epilogue - Nadia
Nadia woke up in a bed with crisp, clean sheets that smelled of lemon and disinfectant. Her muscles felt languid, and her eyes were gummy from too much sleep. She blinked and focused on the three faces hovering next to her bed. Logan, Donya, and Caleb.
She smiled. “Are you all waiting for me?”
They jumped to attention, but Logan commanded her bedside. “How are you feeling today, sunshine?”
“I’m good.” She blinked a few more times as her memories of the past few days flooded back. “Aw, man. I got bit again, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did, and it was a very stu…” Logan glanced at Donya, “…heroic thing you did.”
Nadia chuckled. “You would have done the same.”
He shot Donya a look. “Probably not.”
“You’re so full of it.”
Donya stood up and approached the bed with hesitant steps. “Nadia?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. You saved me, and I owe you one. I’m sorry for all the things I said before,” Donya said with a look of shame on her face.
“It’s okay. You had reason to be mad.”
Logan rolled his eyes behind Donya’s back but refrained from commenting.
“I hope we can be friends,” Donya continued.
“Of course,” Nadia said, ignoring Logan’s snort of disgust. “Did you find your family?”
Donya shook her head. “They’re gone. Martin took me there yesterday, but I couldn’t find them.”
“I’m sorry.”
Donya retreated to her seat again, and Nadia lifted her bandaged arm to give her fingers an experimental wiggle. She winced when a sharp pain shot up her shoulder, fiery flames of agony burning through her nerve endings. “Ah!”
“Take it easy,” Logan said. “You’re far from healed yet.”
“Am I okay, though? Is the arm any good?” For a moment, she feared she’d lost the use of her hand.
“He took a big chunk out of you, but you’re lucky. You’ll be able to use it just fine aside from an ugly scar,” Logan said. “You got a nasty infection, though.”
“Oh, thank God.” Her head fell back onto the pillow. “So I’m still immune?”
“Still immune.”
“Still a carrier?”
“Sorry,” he said with an apologetic shrug.
“Damn.”
“Good news is, there’s a scientist here who thinks he can make a vaccine from your blood given enough time,” Donya piped up with bright optimism. “That means you won’t be able to infect others anymore. Not if they’re vaccinated.”
“Really?” Nadia stared up at the ceiling as thoughts of a possible future with Caleb filled her mind. Suddenly, the world seemed a little bit brighter. “That’s wonderful.”
“Well, time for you to rest. Doctor’s orders,” Logan said with brisk impatience.
“Wait. Can Caleb stay a little while longer?” she pleaded.
“Him? Really?” Logan asked with overt hostility.
She grinned. “Really.”
“You know he’s not good enough for you,” Logan grumbled as he stalked out.
“No one is,” Caleb complained once he was gone.
“That’s Logan for you, but forget about that. Tell me what happened after the fight. How long was I out?”
“You’ve been out for four days. Jonathan thought it best to keep you under while your body fought off the infection. A lot has happened in the meantime.”
“Such as?”
“Someone rounded up the last of Ke Tau’s men and went back to their old hideout. Michael thinks it’s Hiran.”
“Hiran?” Nadia asked. “Who’s he?”
“He used to be Ke Tau’s right-hand man, and we never saw him during the fight. Anyway, Michael thinks he fled when he saw the way things were going and…”
“What?”
“He killed everyone there. The woman, children, all of them.” Caleb swallowed and looked like he was going to be sick. “By the time we got there, it was too late. Everyone was dead and this Hiran or whoever was long gone.”
Nadia gasped. “That’s horrible.”
“I won’t bother you with the details. Just be glad you didn’t have to see it.”
They were silent for a few moments before Nadia tactfully changed the subject. “What about Martin?”
“He’s going home soon. So is Josh, Jed, and Donya, but there are talks of allying with each other and even opening a trade route.”
“What about the Bloemfontein situation?”
“They’re still thinking about that. Max wants to send an envoy, but others are against it. Suspicious and all that.”
“And you? What are your plans?” she asked in a small voice, tensed for his reply.
“Me?” He gave her a slow smile that caused her stomach to flip. “I’m staying right here with you.”
“You mean that?”
Caleb nodded and gripped her fingers. “Of course. Vaccine or no vaccine.”
He sat with her for a few more minutes until Hannah ushered him away. The matronly woman gave Nadia a handful of pills to drink with water and bustled off to attend to her other patients. Half-drugged, Nadia dozed off. She spent the next three days drifting in and out as her body healed. Finally, Jonathan deemed her well enough for release.
“I think I’ve kept you here long enough,” he said with a crooked smile before waving her off with strict instructions and a bag full of medicine.
Nadia walked outside, leaning on Caleb’s arm, and stopped to let her eyes adjust to the sun. The grounds were a hive of activity, and people rushed to and fro from one task to the next. “Wow.”
“You can say that again,” Caleb answered. “Come on. Let me show you to your room. You’ll be bunking with a few of the other girls for now.”
“They don’t mind? You know, with me being infected and all?” The fleeting worry that these strange girls might not want a freak staying with them crossed her mind.
“They know, and they don’t care,” he said, putting her fears to rest.
“That’s a relief,” she said.
They walked along a stone path, passing strangers and well-known faces alike. Caleb pointed out a few. Nombali whom Nadia recognized from the clinic, her arm still in a sling. Mike who looked like he’d been dragged backward through a burning bush but still managed to flash her a cocky grin. Finally, Michael and Mpho, whom Nadia did not know but vaguely recollected from the battle.
The latter appeared lost, her eyes haunted with grief, while Michael wore a scowl, his anger almost seeming to radiate from his body. Nadia shuddered and clung to Caleb’s arm, avoiding Michael’s angry stare. She was glad when they turned a corner, and she could no longer see the couple.
The sight of kids playing on a patch of grass complete with two dogs and a jungle gym lifted her spirits, while a woman with a baby flashed her a kind smile. When more people greeted her with polite nods as they passed, the nervous tension in her stomach eased, and her muscles relaxed.
“It seems nice,” she said.
“It is,” Caleb agreed. “I think you’ll like it here.”
“I think so too.”
She paused. “What’s he doing?”
“I don’t know,” Caleb replied.
“He’s paying his respects to my daughter Morgan and their unborn child,” a strange voice replied.
Nadia whirled and found herself face to face with an older woman. Blonde hair with a touch of silver at the temples framed clear blue eyes surrounded by fine lines.
“Their child?”
“Yes, she was expecting.”
“I’m sorry,” Nadia replied, though she knew the words meant little in the face of such loss.
“Thank you.”
Nadia glanced at Logan again, and a sense of understanding swept over her. That’s why he ran. He was grieving for his lost family. “I had no idea.”
The women’s expression softened. “I’m Julianne, and you’re Nadia.”
“Yes.”
“Logan’s told me much about you.”
“Good stuff, I hope.”
“The best.” Julianne pointed up the path. “Let me walk you to your place. I want you to feel welcome here among us.”
“Really?”
“Of course. You’re one of us now.”
The words echoed through Nadia’s head and evoked a feeling she’d never experienced before. A sense of belonging.
“I can’t believe this is real,” she whispered.
“Believe it,” Caleb replied with a warm smile. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and she leaned into his shoulder.
This is it, she thought. This is home.
The End
Seize Another Day
Chapter 1 - Michael
For the third time that night, Michael was awoken by screams. He bolted upright and reached for Mpho’s shivering form. “It’s okay. Shh. It’s just a bad dream.”
She whimpered as he pulled her closer, her cheeks gleaming with salty tears. “I keep seeing her every time I fall asleep. Why can’t I stop seeing her?”
“It’ll get better in time, I promise,” Michael said. He spoke from experience. How many nights hadn’t he jerked awake gasping after seeing Valerie’s swollen face and glazed eyes for the hundredth time?
Mpho shook her head. “I keep imagining what it must have been like for her, my grandmama. The pain and the suffering she endured before she finally died. Did she feel them eating her? Was she still alive when they found her?”
“Don’t,” he said. “You’ll go mad if you do that.”
“I can’t help it. It’s my fault. I left her there; I angered Hiran.” Fresh sobs wracked her body. “She died because of me.”
Michael closed his eyes as cold anger welled up inside his breast. It coiled there like a snake, feeding his desire for revenge. Deep hatred for Hiran had taken root inside his heart, the kind of hate that could only be washed away by blood.
Mpho’s haunted voice cut him to the quick. She was the first woman he’d cared about since Valerie, the first person he’d allowed anywhere near his heart. In her, he had a second chance. A real shot at happiness. I can never change what I did to Val, can never take it back, but I can try my best to make up for it by looking after Mpho.
Which was why Hiran’s deed enraged him to the point of madness. It was that monster’s fault Mpho couldn’t sleep at night, that she walked around casting fearful glances over her shoulder and hardly ate anything until her body resembled that of a little bird’s. I’ll kill him. I swear it. One day, I’ll find him, and I’ll rip his intestines out with my bare hands.
The next morning, he got ready for his shift on the wall while Mpho dressed for her stint in the vegetable gardens. She was quiet, even more so than usual. Before he left, he paused to take her in his arms. “Are you all right?”
“I’m okay,” she mumbled even though her tone indicated she was anything but fine.
He kissed her gently on the lips, rubbing his thumbs over her cheeks. “I love you. Just remember that whenever it gets rough. I love you, and I’ll always be there for you. Always.”
She nodded and lowered her eyes. “I know, and I love you too.”
“I’ll see you later,” he said before leaving the small cottage he shared with her.
The sun rose later now, and its bright rays did little to dispel the chill in the air. A stiff breeze cut through his jacket, and his breath puffed out in clouds of white. He sped up to a jog, and by the time he reached the wall to take up his shift, he’d worked up a light sweat.
“Am I glad to see you,” Max said as he abandoned his post. “I’m freezing my nuts off here.”
Michael grinned. “Get some coffee in you. You’ll feel better in no time.”
“Man, I hope so.”
Michael took Max’s spot next to the main gates, while Liezel relieved Kirstin up in her tower, and Lenka swapped posts with Josh and Jed. During the day, three guards were enough while at night they preferred four.
After exchanging greetings, Michael began to patrol, walking from one end of the wall to the other with restless energy. He kept an eye on the activity within the grounds and marveled at the people’s resilience.
In the days since Ke Tau’s disastrous attack, the inhabitants had recovered quickly. Everyone worked overtime to keep the place running, waking at dawn and going to bed only when their chores were done.
It was tough, but nobody complained. He didn’t mind either; it kept his mind off things. He only wished he could spend more time with Mpho.
Once again he thought of Hiran, and bitter bile rose in his throat. That day was still branded into his brain with all the clarity of a lightning strike on a moonless night. Rebecca’s ravaged corpse, the message carved above her head, the dead women and children inside the building. All the work of one man.
Restless, Michael stalked along the length of the walls. His gaze panned over the horizon, but there was nothing but winter crops, dead grass, and bleating goats as far as the eye could see.
A voice broke into his brooding thoughts, and he turned to see Lisa climbing onto the wall. “Hi, Michael.”
“Hi,” he said.
“Are you too busy to talk?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Do I look that busy?”
She shrugged and came to stand next to him. “Sorry.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She hesitated for a brief second. “It’s Mpho.”
“What about her?”
“I haven’t seen her all day,” Lisa said.
Michael frowned. “She’s supposed to work in the vegetable gardens today.”
“I know, but she never showed.”
“Maybe she changed her mind and went somewhere else.”
Lisa shrugged. “Maybe, except I’ve asked around, and nobody else has seen her either.”
Michael’s stomach dropped. “What?”
“I went to her room and knocked, but got no answer, and the door’s locked.”
A sense of foreboding stole over him, and the skin on his arms pebbled. It wasn’t like Mpho to flake on her duties, nor did anyone in camp bother to lock their doors. What was the point? They had nothing of worth to steal.
“Can you take over for me?” he asked. “I’ve got to make sure she’s okay.”
“Of course. Go ahead.”
“Thanks.”
“Michael,” Lisa called as he turned away. “Be careful. I think…I think she might be a danger either to herself, or others.”
Michael jumped down the ladder in one swift move and landed hard on the ground. Ignoring the stares of curious onlookers, he sprinted through the camp at full speed. When he reached the single room they shared, he rattled the handle.
Locked.
He banged on the door with his fist. “Mpho! Are you in there?”
No answer.
He s
quinted through the windows flanking the entrance but could see nothing through the thick curtains. “Mpho!”
When all he got was more silence, he threw himself at the door. His shoulder connected with brutal force, and it shuddered in the frame. Another blow caused the wood around the lock to splinter, and a final hard push burst it open. Michael half fell inside and paused to collect himself. “Mpho, where are you?”
A slight creak sounded from the bathroom, and he made his way across the small space while his eyes adjusted to the gloom. The door was open a crack, and he raised a hesitant hand to nudge it with his fingertips. “Mpho?”
The door swung wide with a low creak, and Michael sucked in a breath. His eyes fixed on the sight of Mpho’s slender body swaying gently to and fro. A stool lay toppled over beneath her feet, and her long braids framed her face. He reached out to touch her hand. The skin was icy to the touch.
Pain lanced through his heart, cutting him to the quick. His mind whirled in all directions, a tornado with no purpose. For a second, Valerie’s dead face became superimposed upon that of Mpho’s. Again. You lost her again. It’s your fault. You didn’t love her enough.
He shook his head. “No, I loved her too much. That’s why I killed her…I…I couldn’t let her go…not with him. Never!”
Guilt poured through his veins as the barely repressed memories surfaced after all these months. He pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes and tried to deny the truth. He was a killer. Always would be. “No.”
He looked up at Mpho’s face. She’d forgiven him. She’d made him a better man, taught him to forgive, showed him how to love. But she’s dead, and once again it’s your fault.
“No,” he whispered in fruitless denial. He’d loved Valerie too much to let her go, and Mpho not enough to convince her to stay with him. He was a failure. A killer.
“Mpho. Why? Why did you do it?” he asked, his voice hoarse with the need for control. “I was here, right here. All you had to do was hold on.”
There were no answers for him.
Nothing but silence.
Michael leaned his forehead against her middle and clung to her body. He squeezed his eyes shut as the pain inside threatened to consume him. The hurt and anger coalesced into a knot of feeling so intensely bitter, he blocked it off utterly.
Children of the Apocalypse: Mega Boxed Set Page 73