Hero Society
Dawn
Jessica Florence
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events, and persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of those terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.
Jessica Florence© 2017
Editing by LibrumArtis Editorial Services
Proofreading by Judy’s Proofreading
Cover by Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations©
Prologue
Draco
1942
Her brown eyes stared up from the bed.
Our bed.
Now it was her death bed.
“Cassandra.” My voice was broken, because there was nothing I could do. She was dying.
“It’s my time, Draco.” She smiled sweetly at me. She was always the kindest person I knew; it was why I married her in the first place.
“I wish I could go with you, love.” Tears ran down my cheeks, and I wished with all my heart that I could follow her into death’s embrace.
“We knew this was going to happen; you promised me.” Her eyes began to water just as the house shook from war going on outside. I didn’t care if they destroyed each other outside. My world was currently exploding before my eyes now.
“You promised,” she repeated, and I shook my head. I didn’t want to keep my promise. When we decided to get married, she knew all my secrets, and took me as I was. We promised each other that age didn’t matter, and when it was time for her to die, I would continue on with our memories of love.
“Remember me, Draco.” Her breaths were slowing, and I knew she didn’t have much longer.
“Always, Cass.” I smiled and let the tears flow freely. She smiled once more, and then her eyes closed.
I wrapped my fingers around hers, and my head fell to her chest, hoping to hear the last beat of her heart.
The final thump echoed through my head, and I couldn’t help the strangled cry that escaped my throat. I cradled her in my arms, holding her tightly as I let out all the pain that I couldn’t let her see.
This was why I didn’t fall in love.
This was why I didn’t get close to people.
The pain of loss. I’d felt so much more pain than anyone should in one lifetime.
I felt the house begin to vibrate.
“Goodbye, love.” I closed my eyes as the house exploded, and everything inside of it was turned to ash.
My sweet Cassandra was no more. Gone were the pictures of us in those little albums she liked to put together of our adventures. Everything was just gone.
Except me.
Forced to live for eternity, and never die.
Present Day
Chapter One
Draco
“Just act natural.” I gave the girl in front of me a casual smile, hoping to ease her nerves. When she nodded and went back to moving around the garden, I lifted the camera up to my eye and made the right adjustments before pushing the capture button.
Once my roll was filled, I thanked the model for her time, and she left.
“You’re a genius behind the lens, Draco! I swear there hasn’t been a photographer like you in ages. You’re like a modern-day Ansel Adams.” I rolled my eyes at the magazine’s head director, Kevin. Ansel Adams and I were nothing alike in photography. But it was nice to hear an old friend’s name again. Ansel and I would take pictures together with our Kodak Brownie cameras all the time. It was the beginning of photography for the both of us.
And while he went on to photograph landscapes and beautiful scenery, I had to move on to new places—a man who looked like he was in his early thirties forever couldn’t stay in one location for too long.
I nodded at the director and walked over to my table to pack up my gear.
“So we should expect the photos in what? A week? That’s the norm with you right?” He looked nervous asking me, like I would chide the man who hired me to do a job for his magazine.
“A week is plenty. I will develop them tonight.” He looked relieved and then held his hand out for a farewell handshake.
“Anytime you want to do another shoot for us, please don’t hesitate to call.” He smiled and walked away, an odd bounce to his step.
I watched him walk off and didn’t even think as to why he was acting strange around me.
I wasn’t the friendliest person. Time will change a man, and considering the sheer amount of time I have lived, it had changed too much in me. I was dancing along the edge of giving up. Turning to the dark side of the world.
Hoisting my bag strap over my shoulder, I left the staged room, making my way to my old Ford pickup truck. She’d been with me for years, and every time she was close to kicking the bucket, I would revive her, regardless of cost. The few things I had that stayed with me for a few years, I desperately wanted to keep.
The traffic was irritating. I tried to escape the city as quickly as possible. I’d given up on cities a long time ago; they only made the call to the darkness worse.
The sun was starting to set as I finally broke free of the city’s borders and began the ascent to my cabin in the woods.
My small cabin came into view just beyond the large tree that split my driveway into a large circle. I’d built this cabin with my own two hands back in the sixties, needing something to occupy my mind for a few months. I cut every tree down with an ax, and created my home in solitude.
My tires squeaked as I came to a stop, reminding me that it was time to change my brakes and give the old girl a tune-up soon.
As I stepped out of the truck, I looked through a break in the trees toward the city.
Seahill.
For reasons I’d never been able to figure out, I’d always found my way back to Seahill. A city that was originally just a small village for the area’s Native Americans, named for its location between the sea and the hill. The hill was more of a mountain, but I guess SeaMountain would have sounded strange.
The city was set on its own island, and was the most valuable city in the country.
Culture, arts, business, technology, and the largest growing companies for environmental conservation. All across the globe, people looked to Seahill. I’d once seen the great potential in everything the city was trying to accomplish. Changing the world was no easy feat, but in the last seventeen years, the city’s power had taken off like a jet train. Now it was purely unstoppable.
At least people were starting to care about the planet more. I was slightly unnerved by the thought of the earth falling apart and floating around in space. Hopefully, mankind still has a chance to change the effects of their past.
I scoffed at the sight and turned back to my log cabin. Mankind was the worst sort of parasite on this planet. My hands reached into my truck and grabbed my bag before closing the door.
For years, I tried to do the job I was given, and for years I failed.
My animals had gathered at the fence to greet me. Lucy, Berta, and Max were ready for me to toss them over some hay as a treat. Greedy cows.
The large mammals mooed, which startled the chickens in the coop to the left of the cow pen.
Never a quiet moment with this crew.
I’d been living off the grid since I built the place, using the large stone fireplace during the winters, and a rain collection tank in the back of the cabin for all my water. The solar panels on the back half of the roof ga
ve me all the electricity I wanted. My cows gave me what I needed from them. I had chickens for eggs, and meat. There was a river about fifty meters past the house where I’d catch trout, and sometimes escape to the calming noise of the water flowing over the rocks.
After making sure my animals were settled in for the night with fresh food and water, I walked up the few steps to my porch and opened my door. I never bothered to lock it. We were forty miles from the closest town. The only close attraction was Pinewood State Park, which abutted my property line. Most hikers didn’t come close to the line. Bears lurked in the woods, along with other creatures, and harsh trail conditions. Most wouldn’t take the chance, and on the rare chance someone made it to my home, I didn’t place any value on material items anyway. I’d learned that the hard way too many times, and I finally stopped putting any emotional investment into things that could be destroyed—which was everything but me.
The smell of cedar welcomed me as I crossed the threshold. Wanting to get these pictures developed and hanging up to dry before I felt the draining effects of being in the city, I walked down the bare hall to my darkroom. I’d debated many times how many bedrooms the cabin would have. Since I would not have a family, or any visitors, I originally decided on one. But as I started to design it, I couldn’t stop myself from adding another. Ultimately I turned it into a darkroom for my photography.
After Cassandra passed, I’d given up photography for a long while, until I’d felt a strange yearning to try again. It had always been something that I loved. I’d captured many moments in time, and it was all I had left of myself. Without photography, I was just a shell of a man. I’d lost all the people I cared about; I’d lost everything. I couldn’t let myself lose photography, too, because of my own grief. So I picked up a camera again and kept going. Now I was a sought-after photographer because my photos were unique in this airbrushed age. Film vs. digital. Talent vs. strictly Photoshop.
I walked to my large darkroom, then over to the small table and chair that sat right beside the door. Making sure all my supplies were set out within reach, I closed the door and took the film out of the camera, loading it into the reel before placing it inside the developing tank. It was second nature to me, the whole process of loading the film in the dark. Once the container was sealed tight, I turned on the red light that hung on the wall by the developing chemicals. Step by step, I brought my photographs to life. Once completely developed, I hung the long strip from a string that stretched across the room. They wouldn’t be ready until morning to transfer to paper, but I could tell while briefly looking at each frame that there were shots I was going to be very proud of.
After washing my hands, I left the darkroom in search of food. It had been a long day, and I was famished.
I sliced some of the bread I’d made the day before and fried up a thick fillet of trout. Food has lost most of its taste, but I still enjoyed eating.
Once my belly was full, I decided to shower then attempt to get a full night’s rest. It’d been a while since I’d slept without nightmares. Maybe tonight would be the one. At least that was what I kept telling myself until I drifted off.
Chapter Two
Rose
“Stupid brother, and his stupid idea,” I muttered, talking to myself in the woods like a crazy woman.
Although it was quieter, and I really did need the quiet, I wasn’t big into hiking. At least not where Phillip told me to go hike. What did he expect me to do out here? Listen to the bears think about what they were going to eat today? Gah!
Despite my annoyance with my brother, I still did as he said and took a hike through Pinewood State Forest.
Phillip had a special gift. We both did, actually.
He could see the future, which is not always set, so he saw bits and pieces. Like all possible futures and the numeric probability of it happening. He had used his powers for good and was changing life for people all over the world. His company, Griffin Enterprise, was the leader of technology and clean energy in the world. He saw what needed to happen for certain outcomes for a better future and he did them.
So without doubt, when he suggested that I take a nice long walk in the park, I did so, despite not wanting to. He must have seen something that required me to be here, so here I was. Walking in the woods, praying that one of the futures he saw for me did not include breaking a leg or something eating me.
I decided I’d walked in the park long enough. I turned to make my way back, and realized that while I was ranting about Phillip, I hadn’t been paying attention to where I was walking, thus straying from the main path.
“Shit!” I cursed. I was lost. Stupid brother. Well, I would just keep walking until I found something. The sun was almost gone. How did I miss that it was almost dark? I reached into my bag to look at my phone. No service. Great. Of course when you need it, it wouldn’t work. No cell towers around.
Maybe my power would come in handy, although that was doubtful, being so far away from people.
Both my brother and I were normal kids until we reached our sixteenth birthday. Then suddenly, he could see the future, and I could feel and influence people’s emotions.
An empath, we finally figured out, was what I was. Phillip had seen enough of the futures to see what exposing our powers would do, and at the time, they were not good. So we’ve stayed quiet. I was twenty-four, a college graduate with a degree in psychology. I thought with my particular gift that I could tap into people’s emotions and really understand them. Maybe even give them a little nudge, if they needed it. But after graduation, I had yet to take a job that was offered. And Phillip didn’t push me, so I figured all was okay for now. I was still figuring myself out, and trying to understand my power. Something in me had gradually begun to change. It used to be that I had to touch someone to understand what they were feeling, but now it was just coming to me. I just had to be around people, and I would start feeling what they were. It was something I hadn’t learned to control.
Maybe that’s why Phillip sent me out here, to escape all the emotions that were rampant in the city atmosphere.
Just as I started to feel confident that I was making good time back to my little car, the sky let out a loud crack of thunder.
Great.
I started walking faster in the direction I thought would lead me to the parking lot.
It was almost dark, and I was beginning to lose sight of where I was going. Stopping, I dug around my bag to the flashlight I’m glad I packed, and kept moving with haste.
Then the clouds decided to let go. Big, fat rain droplets fell on me one by one, picking up in frequency until I took off in a run to hopefully make it out of the woods soon. I saw what looked like a light ahead and ran quicker. So close! My jacket was feeling heavy from the water soaking through, and my jeans weren’t any better. My feet skidded to a stop when I came to the clearing, desperately searching for my car.
It wasn’t the parking lot, but a cow pasture, with a cabin about twenty meters away.
“That’s not creepy or anything,” I murmured to myself and looked back at the woods. I debated turning around and fighting the storm, but I knew that was a bad decision. Then again, so was walking up to some stranger’s house in the middle of the woods. I looked around for a shed or anything that I could hide in for the night and then make a run for it in the morning. I did see a shed, and as I walked closer to it saw a bunch of big handsaws and decided that would not be smart. Only people in horror movies willingly chose to stay in a shed full of sharp objects. The cows looked like they had a nice stable to hide in during the rain, but I didn’t feel comfortable doing that. What if they were mean cows?
Next to the cows was a little chicken coop inside a pen.
I wasn’t afraid of chickens.
Knowing that my brother probably saw all of these futures, and didn’t have a problem with them, I decided to go with the chicken coop. I trusted him, and he wouldn’t have told me to come if it was a bad thing. Although, I wish he would ha
ve been like, “Hey, Rose, you should bring a rain jacket. And maybe a tent, or something. A map? GPS? Satellite phone?” But no, that’s not the way it was supposed to go I guess. I walked over to the chickens and they didn’t really make much noise as I slowly opened the pen door, then the door to the coop. It was dry. I would be snuggling up with chickens, but I would be okay.
I pulled out a snack bar from my bag, and took a long sip from my water bottle. Dinner is served.
One of the chickens came over, eyeing my “dinner.” I rolled my eyes but then broke off a small piece. Surely oatmeal wasn’t harmful for chickens. Grain, right?
My muscles started to ache from all the climbing and hiking, and a big yawn opened my lips. I could feel my body letting go, and demanding sleep. I was tired.
“Goodnight, chickens. I gave you oatmeal, so no pecking me while I sleep.” I looked them all in the eye, like we had just made a bargain, and they were to keep their end of the deal.
I fell asleep quickly, but what happened after that, was not what I was expecting.
Cold, lonely, hurt.
Flashes of a man in battle crawling on the ground, leg bleeding, fingers broken, and a long gash on the side of his head. He probably would have been a very handsome man had it not been for the fact that someone had taken a sharp weapon to his body.
He felt pain, not only from his wounds, but pain from losing someone. A man, a friend.
Then the worst pain of all came through the strange dream. Betrayal.
The man, who was dressed in something you would see a soldier in ancient Greece wearing, found a tree and propped himself up. He let the betrayal of his friend fester, and the wounds slowly began to seal themselves. One by one, the cracks heard in his fingers signaled they were indeed healing, too.
When the man was all but finished with his strangely fast recuperation, he let out a jarring howl of pure agony.
Dawn (Hero Society Book 1) Page 1