by Jordan Rivet
A guarded expression crossed Levi’s face, and he looked over at his companions again.
“Yes.”
“Did you let him join your cohort like he asked? Is he still alive?”
“He is.”
Joanna smiled, tension draining out of her body. “He led our BRP orientation, right alongside Colonel Waters. He knows me. I can go back with you and talk to him—alone if necessary. He’ll want to get back to the original ideals of the program too. I think he’ll trust me, even if you don’t yet.”
“Why would you risk yourself like that?” Levi asked. “Didn’t these people let you down?”
“Yes.” Joanna thought of Garrett, of the moment she knew for certain he had chosen his family over her. And she understood. Garrett always tried to do the right thing. He would choose the safety of his wife and children over the whole world, no matter the consequences. Not everyone viewed things so plainly. Figuring out what was right wasn’t always simple—but Joanna had to try anyway. They had to get down in the muck and let go of past hurts if they were going to make it in this new world. And they had to make this world a place where they wanted to live.
“Yes, I’ve been wronged,” she said. “But I’m not going to let that destroy me. Will you?”
In answer, Levi lifted his gun. Joanna held her breath, fearing she’d misread him after all. His gaze was steady on her face, inscrutable still.
Then she heard the distinct sound of a rifle cocking behind her. Chloe must be raising her weapon too, ready to shoot Levi through the head before he pulled the trigger on Joanna.
More cocking sounds crackled around them.
No. Not when we’re so close.
Levi glanced around. The moment balanced on the edge of a cliff.
Then instead of shooting her, instead of giving the order to fire, Levi laid his weapon on the ground at Joanna’s feet.
“All right.” He drew in a deep breath and released it, shedding the dangerous manner he’d worn since they met. “I’m in. Let’s get started on this peace of ours.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
AFTER
Levi and his men piled their weapons at the edge of the garden. He assigned two to watch over them—along with two villagers to keep them honest—and sent another three back to the mine to summon the others. The message they carried was clear: peace started with them.
The villagers threw the strangers an impromptu welcome party. They produced the leftovers from Thanksgiving, sweets they’d been hiding away in cupboards, and more moonshine. They gathered around the schoolhouse on the village green and told the stories of their lives in the post-comet world. Levi and his followers listened raptly as the villagers told them of farming in the early days, of accidents and salvage operations and illnesses. The older generation impressed upon the younger how hard it was going to be but also showed them it was possible to make a good life in a hard world.
As it grew late, Chloe directed the villagers to bring blankets and cots from their cabins so the newcomers could camp in the schoolhouse—after the children were sent to bed—but no one seemed ready to sleep in the presence of strangers just yet. So they poured more moonshine and told more tales, gradually becoming acquainted.
Late into this night of breaking bread and sharing stories, the others returned from the bunker. The former hostages and hostage-takers were wary of each other, and they trooped into the village under a heavy cloud of suspicion. But with the help of food and drink and a thousand lights holding back the darkness, they got on just fine.
Joanna found Levi sitting on the porch of the schoolhouse around midnight. She brought him a wet cloth and bandages and apologized for slashing his face.
“My hand hurts more.” He showed her where the butter knife had cut deep into his palm.
“Ouch. To be fair, that was a complete accident. I didn’t expect you to jump out at me.”
Levi grinned wolfishly at her. “It won’t happen again.” He looked around at his followers mingling with the older bunker group. “I thought there were more of you. That trick of the light was clever.”
“Not my idea. Do you want to take back our truce?”
He shook his head. “There are few enough of us left. I’m relieved we’re not going to start killing each other off after Brandon failed to wipe us out.”
Joanna smiled. “It would be a shame to waste all that cryo gel.”
They looked at each other shyly. Levi opened his mouth to speak when Priya bustled over with a jar of salve for his wound.
“Put this on before you get an infection. Antibiotics are in short supply here.” She gave Levi a quick once-over, his smooth skin and piercing eyes and fine cheekbones. “Actually, Joanna, why don’t you put it on for him?” And Priya shoved her unceremoniously toward the very age-appropriate young man before marching off again.
“May I?” Joanna said, her cheeks warming.
Levi held out his hand so she could apply the salve. His palms were warm and strong, and he smelled like clean sweat and leather. And for one fleeting moment, she imagined not her past before the apocalypse or the future she’d planned after it, but something new.
“Hey, Murphy, I hear you saved the day.” Blake plopped down beside her, swaying slightly, a jar of moonshine in hand. He gave Levi a cautious nod and received one in return. Ruby and Vincent sat down on the porch steps on his other side.
“It was mostly Chloe.” Joanna finished tying a bandage around Levi’s palm and wiped her hands on the cloth. “You guys will never guess who turned up at the Oregon bunker just in time to get into cryosleep.”
“Harvey Brandon?” Ruby said.
Levi chuckled, and Ruby gave him an appraising look.
“Dr. Huntington,” Joanna said. “He knew Colonel Waters was going off the rails and decided to join a new bunker family.”
“Typical,” Vincent said. “He was only an idealist when it suited him.”
Ruby frowned at Levi. “There was room for him in your bunker?”
“He offered a crate full of gold bars to anyone who’d give up their spot,” Levi said. “A kid from my team got cold feet and took him up on it.” He grimaced, looking down at his bandaged hand. “He was always a little skeptical about the comet and decided he’d rather take the chance that it wouldn’t be so bad, especially when it meant becoming a millionaire.”
“Huh,” Vincent said. “I never thought I’d hear where that gold ended up.”
Joanna leaned past Blake to look at him. “What do you mean?”
“Huntington was one of the people my parents paid off to get me into BRP. I always wondered what he planned to do with the gold. Many who accepted payments for bunker spots only took vehicles and supplies and things that might actually be useful post-apocalypse. The good doctor took gold, probably for insurance in case he was wrong about everything.”
“I forgot you didn’t know that, Jo,” Ruby said. “Vin filled us all in once we were safely in the future.”
Vincent patted his wife’s knee with his gnarled hand. “Had to make sure no one would give me up at the last minute.”
“Well, since we’re solving mysteries,” Joanna said, “Blake, you once told us you’d gone into cryosleep before. What was that story?”
Blake picked at his beard, as if to return to his square-jawed, clean-shaven state. “It was a classified mission, but I reckon the confidentiality part don’t matter so much now. I went in when I was eighteen and stupid. No offense, Joanna.”
“None taken.” She wasn’t the eighteen-year-old she had been two hundred years ago.
“It was the early days of the Cryo Revolution,” Blake went on. “Private companies were leading the way, but the US government wanted to get a jump on the tech. They tried it out on their own soldiers. I was under for six months, then they spent two years prodding and poking me to study the effects.”
“Sounds a little unethical, doesn’t it?”
“I got promoted for my troubles.” Blake took a swig o
f moonshine. “I reckon it’s why I was selected for BRP. They wanted to seed the group with people who knew what was up.”
“So survival was a reward for you.”
“You could see it that way.”
Levi cleared his throat. “I was one of those too. Sergeant Leviticus Yamamoto, United States Army. I did three cryo runs, so I was a shoo-in for BRP.”
Blake tucked his drink under his arm and saluted.
“Specialist Blake Taylor, though you wouldn’t know it to look at me now.”
Ruby shook her head. “Were there any truly random selections?”
Levi hesitated.
The others looked up. This was something they had long wondered about, long debated. Joanna hadn’t expected she’d ever get an answer.
“The random part was real,” Levi said after a minute, “but I believe less than half of each cohort was truly selected from the general population. Between the buy-ins and the favors and the people various officials snuck in for their own reasons, there were fewer spots than anyone would ever admit. Most BRP folks probably thought they were the only ones who pulled some strings.” He rubbed a finger under his eye and suppressed a yawn. “People always think they’re the exception or it doesn’t matter if they just bend one little rule. They never think how that affects the person who didn’t get chosen because they didn’t have the same opportunities or access or connections.”
Joanna thought back to the sunny afternoon around a picnic table when Vincent had told everyone his situation. He was here because his parents bought a spot from Dr. Huntington that belonged to someone else. But he wouldn’t have had a shot at all under the program’s original rules. Some people had resented him for it, but Blue Team Seven had defended him anyway. They had decided that whatever brought them here mattered less than what they did next. Despite the many ways BRP had failed, that strange, flawed program had saved their lives. And now they were going to build a new legacy.
A cold breeze ruffled over the porch, stirring Joanna’s hair and making her shiver. Levi took off his leather jacket and held it out to her. She accepted it with a smile, about to thank him when a yawn cracked her jaws and stole her words. It had been a long day.
Soon the others were imitating her yawn. The festivities were winding down around them, the villagers and visitors shuffling off to bed. The night sky looked as deep as an ocean above them. But it wouldn’t swallow them up.
Their troubles weren’t over, but thanks to the efforts of her family and the willingness of the strangers to take a chance on peace, all of them would live to see the dawn.
That night, Joanna slept like a baby.
The following morning, the villagers served breakfast to the newcomers on the green. Most looked as though they hadn’t gotten much rest. Josh and Dannika had dark circles under their eyes, and Aaron and Marco slumped over their bowls, eyelids drooping. People on both sides must have lain awake, wondering if they were going to be slaughtered in their beds. It wouldn’t be easy for these two generations with vastly different experiences to get along. But they were determined to try, and that didn’t change in the harsh light of day.
Joanna sprawled on the grass with Ruby and Vincent, enjoying a bowl of oatmeal and berries while Ruby told her what it had been like to sit beneath the strangers’ guns for hours, only to have three of them burst out of the wilderness and insist everyone had decided to be friends.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Jo,” Ruby said.
“We have to try,” Joanna said. “Besides, I’m excited to see what the other bunker people are like. It’ll be like meeting a group of our old selves.”
Ruby grunted. “I had enough of that when you arrived. Can’t say I’m excited about a world where I’m an old fogey at forty.”
“You’re two hundred twenty, dear,” Vincent said.
Ruby tossed a berry at him. “Thanks for that, babe. At least you don’t have to see all my gray hairs.”
“I’m sure they’re lovely.”
Ruby smiled softly at him. Joanna wondered if he could tell she had a special look she reserved only for him.
“Are you sure about going with them, though?” Ruby said, turning back to Joanna.
“Someone has to make sure they stick to their bargain,” Joanna said. “It makes sense for the liaison to have been awake for the same amount of time as them. I’m still much closer to BRP training than the rest of you, and Dr. Huntington will remember me.”
“But you can’t do anything to stop them if they change their minds,” Ruby said.
“I think they’ll work with me. I’m very friendly, you know. Besides, I need a little time away.”
Joanna nodded toward a well-built cabin beside the green. A spreading tree grew beside it, scattering red-gold leaves across the roof. Chloe perched on the porch, her legs swinging over the edge, with little Joanna Beth on her lap. Garrett stood beside them, pulling faces at the girl and making her giggle. His two sons darted up to him and latched on to each of his legs, begging for sweets. Their family looked happy and whole. Joanna forgave Garrett for what had happened, but she needed a break. It was time to step away from these old memories and figure out who she was going to be in her next eighteen years.
Garrett looked up then, meeting her eyes for a moment. She thought of the last time she saw him before the apocalypse. He had held her hand, and she had promised to save him a spot in the future. They had been full of hope and fear and love. Even after everything he’d done, everything he hadn’t done, Joanna was glad he still lived in this world. But it was time for her to let go, to move on—and to finally wake up.
Afterword
Thank you for reading Wake Me After the Apocalypse. If you enjoyed this book, please consider writing a review and telling your friends. Thank you!
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For a post-apocalyptic adventure set on a cruise ship, check out Jordan’s first trilogy: The Seabound Chronicles.
Acknowledgments
This book has benefitted from the input of an entire cohort of writers, friends, and family. I am grateful to everyone who read this story in whole or in part and helped me make it better.
I first had the idea for this book in the fall of 2015 while I was trekking all over Hong Kong to teach week-long reading classes. I stepped onto the MTR one day, and there it was, complete with the twist and Joanna’s voice telling me not to panic. Since then, I have received encouragement and advice from Sarah Merrill Mowat, Coco Richter, Rachel Andrews, Michele Koh Morollo, Amanda Tong, Laura Cook, Laura Besley, Betsy Cheung, MaryAnna Donaldson, Jennifer Deayton, Jennifer Brown, Kaitlin Trowbridge, Aarshi Asmita, Debra Fertig, Collier Nogues, Mandy Lam, Ayden and Julie Young, Chelsea Nieuwoudt, and my husband Seb. I workshopped the novel at the Colgate Writers’ Conference with Naomi Jackson, Alison Lanier, Daniel Hawkins, Jodi Titley, and Ming Ivory, and their feedback has made a tremendous difference in the final version. Most helpful of all was Willow Hewitt, to whom this book is dedicated. She read the manuscript in its roughest form, listened to me talk through its problems, and gasped in all the right places. Thank you all.
A special shout-out goes to Nathan Wolfe, who wrote a very informative blog post about what it’s like to climb a 1572-foot ladder. Purdue University has an awesome calculator that allows you to study the effects of an asteroid strike. Check it out if you want to be amazed—and terrified!
On the publishing side, I am grateful to Sarah Hershman, for giving this book a chance. My editor Susie Driver and Lynn at Red Adept Editing continue to provide first-rate service. Dane at Ebook Launch is responsible for the knockout cover design. I also want to thank Kylie Van Liew for her enthusiasm for my work and for her good company.
As always, I’m grateful to the authors in the AC for the inspiration and camaraderie.
Finally, I am thankful every day for the readers who buy my books and make it possible for me to spend time making up
new worlds. Without your support, I would still be scribbling my notes on the MTR and stealing moments between classes. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Jordan Rivet
Hong Kong, 2018
About the Author
Jordan Rivet is an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Her series include The Seabound Chronicles, Steel and Fire, and Empire of Talents. Originally from Arizona, she lives in Hong Kong with her husband. Wake Me After the Apocalypse is her thirteenth novel.
Also by Jordan Rivet
THE SEABOUND CHRONICLES
Esther is a gutsy mechanic on a post-apocalyptic cruise ship. When disaster strikes the water system on her watch, she’s thrust into an adventure that will threaten the lives of everyone she loves.
In danger of running out of water, she sails for a mysterious floating metropolis, where secrets lurk beneath an elegant surface. When a sudden storm reveals a new peril, Esther will risk everything to save her friends—and her ship—before the sea claims them at last.
Read the complete trilogy and the action-packed prequel now!
Seabound
Seaswept
Seafled
Burnt Sea: A Seabound Prequel
STEEL AND FIRE
Dara is a competitive duelist in the mountaintop kingdom of Vertigon. She’s on the verge of dueling glory when she’s asked to train with Prince Siv, the heir to the throne. Handsome, charming, and utterly infuriating, he refuses to take the sport—or her—seriously.
When threats emerge from the shadows, with the careless prince as their target, Dara will have to raise her sword to protect him—but even her skill might not be enough to keep them both alive.