by Lynda Engler
The girl shook her head and cuddled up close to Isabella. “I know, but I don’t need to. I miss her, but I have you now.”
Isabella’s heart ached and exalted, simultaneously confused by the new humans almost cavalier acceptance of death but joyful that Andra accepted her as mother now. She pulled her into her lap, enveloping the little girl in a warm hug. The evening was getting cool now, almost cold. It was the last day of September, and she knew that October would bring colder weather, sometimes even snow. She felt a blanket drop over her shoulders and looked up to see Malcolm standing above her, his midnight skin almost entirely hidden in the darkening sky. When he smiled at her, his bright white teeth reflecting the firelight, her heart lit up with more love than she could have ever imagined one heart could hold. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
Isabella’s attention returned to the news the villagers were sharing. Telemark had gained four new residents while they had been gone. The family from “west of the Big Muddy,” as they called it, arrived yesterday. Like all new humans, they had an assortment of visible mutations, but nothing that stood out among the rest of the villagers. Telemark now had over 300 residents, and almost all of them were on the beach this evening.
Daphne and the other two soldiers finally arrived at the campfire, led by Heals-with-Hands, and Kalla made room so Daphne could sit next to Isabella. However, Daphne had not been sitting for very long when Oberon asked her to stand and address those gathered to tell them the story of the revolution at Mt. Weather and Cheyenne Mountain, and the changes in government that it precipitated. She glossed over the battle and the deaths that occurred and spent most of her time talking about the new government that was now in place, and how it benefitted the tribes Outside.
“The most important thing to know is that there won’t be any more raids on mutant – ah, sorry, new human – communities. No one will be using you for lab rats or contamination cleaning crews, or anything else. You are free to live your lives as you wish. The new government is working hard on cleaning up five cities to start with, scraping away the surface contamination, and making them livable for anyone who wants to relocate there. But they are doing it with machines and people in chem-rad suits, the way it should have always been done. It will take time, but between that and Dr. Rosario’s inoculation, anyone who wants to leave the underground cities and shelters will be able to settle Outside. We hope you accept them openly. Most people inside the shelters had no idea the atrocities our government committed on those left Outside after the Final War. I have to admit that they don’t all like those of you out here, but my guess is that those folks won’t be the first to move Outside. Many people will stay inside the underground cities for decades. Some may never leave. They like it there. They are safe and comfortable and have all the comforts they are used to. It’s all they’ve ever known.”
Daphne looked around the crowd of people sitting on logs, on the sand, or in folding chairs, and smiled. “It takes a special kind of adventurous person to be a pioneer. Not everyone is as good at being Outside as you are! Thanks for listening, and if anyone has any questions, please come talk to me or to our engineers if you have technical questions. We will be here a few days before we head back to Mt. Weather.”
She sat back down next to Isabella and asked, “Did I do okay? I’m not great at public speaking, especially to a crowd this big.”
“You did great, Daphne. You are the hit of the party,” replied Isabella, giggling at her friend’s sudden uncertainty. The soldier girl was usually nothing if not sure of herself!
Daphne leaned closer to Isabella and elbowed her in the side. Hard. “Ha ha. But seriously, this isn’t what I expected mutants to be like at all, even after all you’ve told me about them, and all I’ve learned from being around your family.”
Isabella smiled her approval but resisted the urge to say, “I told you so.”
Daphne continued before Isabella could change her mind. “I wonder if Hayden would consider moving out here.” Daphne and Hayden had become close over the last month.
“To Telemark, or to one of the human cities when they are ready?” Hayden had mentioned a few times that someday he would like to own his own restaurant, and that was not feasible inside Mt. Weather. There were enough restaurants there already, and no room to put a new one. Mt. Weather would not be excavating new levels now that humanity could move above ground. Hayden would have to wait until one of the existing restaurants needed someone new to run it, and that might be years down the road.
Daphne frowned as she fleshed out the thought in her mind. “I guess to one of the new cities. He could stake out a place and make that restaurant he wants. Telemark and the other new human communities don’t have the same kind of economy that we have. How would he make a living here? What would people pay him with? Chickens?”
They both laughed, because they knew that would actually be the best thing they could pay in – items he could use for ingredients.
Then Isabella’s mood turned serious. “I’m going to miss you, Daphne. And Luke and Teagan, and even Dr. Rosario.” She knew why each of them had decided to stay at Mt. Weather but it still made her sad.
“Me too. But I’ll come visit, and maybe sometimes you can come back to Mt. Weather with me and stay for a while. You know, like vacation!”
* * *
October 1, 2101
Malcolm
Malcolm looked across the wide valley spread out below them, squinting his eyes against the glare from the sunshine. Autumn leaves colored the vista red, gold and brown. “We can live anywhere we want now. I could still build a little cabin just for us and our girls.”
Isabella squeezed his hand. “Or we can just stay here at Telemark, in the home we are in now. I like it. But there is something I’d like to do. I want to build an indoor greenhouse for winter veggies. I know I can make them grow, as long as we can protect them from the cold. We can start tomorrow.”
“What’s wrong with right now?” asked Malcolm, his arm curled around her waist. “My father used to say, ‘Lost time is never found again.’”
“Really?” asked Isabella, pulling back to look at him as her eyebrows rose in disbelief. “Benjamin Franklin said that. I read it years ago in Poor Richard’s Almanack in our family library.”
“I don’t think my father knew Ben Franklin.” Isabella’s sarcasm had definitely rubbed off on him.
He and the other older new humans would live longer now that they were protected against the contaminated Outside world, but they had already sustained a tremendous amount of damage to their cells. Who really knew how long any of them had?
Isabella smirked. “I never understood how much that quote meant until I realized how short life was for the new humans. They don’t have any time to waste.” She surveyed the valley and smiled.
Malcolm shielded his eyes from the sun with one hand and took his wife’s hand with the other. “I’m so glad we found our perfect spot in the sun, Belle.”
October 15, 2101
Epilogue
Isabella
The wind was cold as it blew across Isabella’s face, sticking out of her jacket’s hood. She ducked into the wind, making her way toward the schoolroom where her students would arrive shortly for today’s reading lessons. A voice from behind made her stop, just as she was pushing open the door to the building.
“Isabella! Come quickly,” shouted the high-pitched male voice. She turned and saw it was James, the young man who had been assigned the new job of radio operator.
“What’s the matter?” she asked as she approached him. “Is there trouble?”
The boy shook his head and smiled. “No, ma’am. But you have a radio call from your brother.”
She missed Luke, for all the pain in the ass that he was. She smiled and followed the boy back to the utility management building. The engineers from Mt. Weather had installed the communications gear next to the solar panel monitoring consol. Usually, Oberon could be found hovering somewhere in the area,
but today the room was empty, except for James. “You can sit down there. Key the mic when you are ready.”
James stood back and Isabella sat down at the radio. She held the microphone and pushed the button on the side. “Hi, Luke. How is everything?”
The voice that came from the speakers surprised her. “Hey Izz. I’m sorry I missed your birthday.” It was Mark, her other brother.
“Mark! Where are you? Are you at Mt. Weather too?” She almost shouted into the mic.
Her younger brother laughed. “No, I’m still at home in the shelter. I called Mt. Weather on the radio and spoke with Luke. He told me everything that’s happened and gave me the frequency to get in touch with you. Are you doing all right out there?”
Isabella was shocked. Mark had never been the type to be concerned about her or anyone other than himself, and while she was thrilled to speak with him, she was sure that he didn’t just call to see how she was. “Yeah, I’m doing fine. I’m teaching in the village school and really making progress. The young new humans are learning at a remarkable pace.” She paused a moment. “How’s my mom?” Then almost as an afterthought, she asked about the rest of the family.
Static broke the connection and Mark was gone. “Get him back! Please!” She almost shouted at the young radio operator.
James turned some dials and a moment later, she heard her younger brother’s voice again. “… the next resupply truck will be here next week, and they are bringing some special items; winter coats and boots.”
“Why?” Of course, there was only one reason why, but she had to know.
“Stupid question, Izz. We are leaving the shelter, probably for good. Well, some of us.” Mark suddenly sounded sad. He continued. “I have some bad news too Izzy.”
She knew; but which one of her family members would be too stubborn to leave the shelter?
Mark continued. “When the truck comes, they are picking us all up, except Granmama.”
Isabella’s heart stuck in her throat. That was not what she expected at all! She thought, for some crazy reason, her grandfather might not leave, or maybe one of her aunts. But her grandmother? No. She wouldn’t stay there. “Mark… what happened?”
His voice got quieter, and slower, and Isabella had to strain to hear him. “Izzy, Granmama died last night, in her sleep. We don’t know why. Granpapa called his emergency contact right away, but there was nothing they could do. Granpapa is burying her Outside right now. He’s been out there for hours.”
She swallowed hard and paused. Mark’s voice came from the speaker again. “Izz? Are you still there?”
“Yeah. I’m here.” She swallowed back the sobs that threated to choke her.
“I’m sorry Izzy. I know how close you two were. And I’m really sorry to be the one who had to call. Granpapa… well, he wouldn’t. So, I figured out how the radio worked, got in touch with Luke at Mt. Weather, and Luke made the arrangements. The truck is coming. We are going to Mt. Weather. But…”
He paused and Isabella keyed her mic, thinking she had lost him again. “Yes?”
“Well, Luke made a separate arrangement for me and your mom.”
She held her breath and didn’t exhale until he finished.
“There is a smaller transport coming for us, and we are coming to Telemark. Hope you don’t mind!” Isabella could hear his smile through the static. She was beaming! Her mother was coming to see her; although she couldn’t figure out why Mark was coming along. She thought he would be so excited to go to the big underground city. Mark added, “Your mom misses you terribly.”
She couldn’t key the mic fast enough to reply! “Oh, Mark, I miss all of you! Yes, of course, come here! Telemark is growing fast, but there is room. We actually have a guest room.” She started rattling off her thoughts on how her mom could move in with her and Malcolm, how Mark could sleep on the couch or have his own place if he decided to stay, and how excited she was for both of them to meet her husband and two adopted daughters. She was so excited she almost forgot to ask, but finally blurted out, “Why aren’t you going to Mt. Weather?”
Her younger brother laughed at her so loud and so long that she thought he had lost his mind. “Underground?! Are you nuts? Izz, I’ve lived there my whole life! I want to see the sky and breathe the air Outside!”
Isabella grinned from ear to ear. She felt the same way.
THE END
Acknowledgements
Thank you for reading! The response from readers has been one of the most enjoyable aspects of writing this series. If you enjoyed the book and would like to share the experience, please consider leaving a review on Amazon.
If you would like a copy of the first two books in this series, Into the Outside and Into the Yellow Zone, you can find them at Amazon.com, now available in Kindle Unlimited, and as audio books on Audible.com. Want to stay up to date on my latest writing news? Sign up for the newsletter at:
www.lyndaengler.com
I am deeply thankful for the beta readers who read my early drafts and kept me encouraged: Zora Marie, Jenna Whittaker, and Elizabeth Burns. For Henry Dixon, who shared in this book-writing journey and provided me with a wealth of encouragement.
For all the amazing friends and family who have loved and supported me through this entire adventure, this series is dedicated to you.