“I only arrived here a little before you did.”
“I don’t understand.” Sebastian looked at him oddly.
“It’s a long story; we’ll have plenty of time to share.”
Annaliese opened her door and exited.
“Who’s this?” Gordon asked.
Annaliese walked up to Gordon, and just before she hugged him, Sebastian said, “Gordon, this is Annaliese, my wife. Annaliese, my brother, Gordon.”
“Wife?”
“You’re not the only one with long stories,” Sebastian joked.
“Uncle Sebastian!” Haley squealed when she saw him from the house. She ran from the house and right into his arms.
Sebastian held her tight and squeezed her. He didn’t want to let her go. Holding her, he realized how much he had missed her and Hunter. “Where’s Hunter?” he asked, looking toward the house where Haley had appeared from.
Gordon looked down and couldn’t quite say it.
Haley didn’t have that problem. She said, “Hunter died.”
A grim look wiped away the joy he had. “What? What happened? Oh my God. Gordon, I’m so sorry, brother.”
Gordon didn’t answer right away. With a slight tremor in his voice he said, “Let’s talk about it later.”
“Sure thing.”
They all had so much to share.
...
The remainder of the daylight was spent removing the bodies of Truman’s people and preparing the corpses of those in their group. With the ground frozen, Gordon had ordered that Truman’s group be burned. Mack, Scott, and Frank’s bodies would be buried aboveground. The numerous granite rocks that littered the surrounding area would be used to cover their bodies until the spring.
Troops from Mountain Home had made it to the community less than an hour before and had taken Wilbur, Cruz, and Christopher with them. Gordon said his good-byes and Cruz reminded him that he’d pass on his message.
With the evening now all to themselves, Gordon, Samantha, Haley, Sebastian, Annaliese, and Luke gathered inside Samantha’s house for dinner and drinks.
The yellow glow of dozens of candles illuminated the stark dining room. Gordon rose from his chair at the head of the table and raised his glass of wine. “I want to give a toast.”
Everyone raised their glasses and waited for him to continue. “To those loved ones here and to those loved ones who will never sit at our table again.”
After he finished the room was silent. In each person’s mind thoughts came of those loved ones who were lost.
For Gordon, Samantha, Haley, and Sebastian, there were thoughts of Hunter.
For Annaliese, she thought of her father and her mother.
And for Luke, he thought of his parents and even of Brandon.
Gordon, still standing, looked carefully at each person sitting before him. When he came to Samantha’s face, he smiled and winked.
She returned his wink and smile but also blew a kiss.
There was much for them to discuss but now was not the time for that. Tonight they would revel in their reunion.
...
“I can’t believe you’re married,” Gordon remarked, taking a sip of wine.
“I know, sometimes I can’t believe it either,” Sebastian replied.
“For what it’s worth, she seems like a good woman and I think Mom and Dad would have been proud.”
“I don’t think about them all that much. That’s sad, right? Is there something wrong with me?” Sebastian asked.
“Not at all, brother, that was literally another lifetime ago. I do miss them, but I know Mom wouldn’t have wanted to live like this and Dad would have been—”
“A stress case!” Sebastian injected.
“Yeah, he would’ve been for sure,” Gordon laughed.
“So what happened?”
“With what?” Gordon asked, suspecting the direction the question would lead.
“With Hunter?”
“I fucked up, pure and simple,” Gordon answered somberly.
“I’m sure it’s more complicated than that,” Sebastian countered.
“It’s not. Like someone told me, I made a choice and that choice was the wrong one; it got Hunter and others killed.”
“I can’t say enough how sorry I am for your loss.”
Gordon just stared at the hot coals in the fire pit. Thoughts of Hunter flashed in his mind.
“So where did you go?” Sebastian asked.
“Where didn’t I go? By the way, I ran into your old unit in Oregon,” Gordon said, clearly attempting to divert the topic of the conversation.
“No shit?”
“Yeah, I was in a bit of a scrape in Oregon and guess who showed up like the Seventh Cavalry? Gunny Smith!”
“Seriously? That’s crazy!”
Gordon and Sebastian chuckled about the irony of the encounter.
“He told me what happened with you. They chalked you up as probably dead, but I just knew in my heart you couldn’t be. I refused to believe it.”
“I thought about what you did and I have to say, you’re braver than I am. I probably would have just gone along with it,” Gordon said smugly.
“That’s because you gave up on the country a long time ago,” Sebastian said.
“Well, like I’ve said a hundred times, it gave up on me. Don’t fool yourself, Sebastian. Those bastards are only taking care of themselves right now while the rest of us fight each day to survive.”
“I wouldn’t be that cynical. I think most of the people who ran this country into the ground are now gone. I talked with the vice president and he seemed like a nice guy.”
“Of course he seemed like a nice guy, he’s a politician,” Gordon countered.
“I guess there’s no convincing you that our country means more than just those politicians who run it. You used to believe that we defined our country by our beliefs and our values.”
“Well, I was an idiot to believe that and look what it got me. Almost killed.”
“You weren’t an idiot. You inspired me to do something greater than myself. Even Mom and Dad were proud.”
“Can we talk about something else, please?” Gordon pleaded.
“I’m gonna hit the sack,” Sebastian said as he stood up.
“Hey, don’t run off because I’m being an ass, please stay, it’s been a long time since we just . . . chatted,” Gordon said.
“We’ll have more time, I promise you. I’m not going anywhere. I’m tired and it’s . . . shit, it’s almost past three a.m.”
Gordon took a large swallow of wine and sat the glass down next to him. He looked up at Sebastian, smiled, and said, “Good night, brother. It’s really good to have the family back together.”
“It sure is,” Sebastian agreed, then walked inside the house.
Gordon leaned back in the chair and looked at the bountiful stars above him. The vastness of space had always intrigued him and frightened him at the same time. What was so intriguing was the thought of what else existed out there, the different worlds and unusual places. What frightened him was how uncertain and chaotic the universe was. He remembered watching programs about the solar system. All the astronomers would comment that Earth was perfectly positioned, that it was in the “Goldilocks” place in our planetary system. It wasn’t too hot or too cold, its location was perfect, which allowed for the temperatures to be just right. This perfect location in the solar system made it a world that could harbor life, a world that was a sanctuary for thousands of different species all unique to this specific place and time. Gordon needed to get himself and his family to their “Goldilocks” space. He thought of McCall as that spot on this world—where there weren’t too many people, where natural resources were abundant—where it was just right. He also knew that his sanctuary was more than a place; it also resided in
those he called friends and family.
When the snows receded in the spring, he, Samantha, Haley, Sebastian, Annaliese, Eric, Melissa, Beth, Nelson, Seneca, Gretchen, and Luke would venture to their sanctuary to begin a new life. They would arrive with the lessons of their past. Gordon prayed those lessons would help guide them to a more certain and hopeful future.
EPILOGUE
OCTOBER 18, 2066
• • •
Olympia, Washington, Republic of Cascadia
“It took a while but we finally did make it to McCall. There my life changed for the best,” Haley said.
“So it took your family over five months to get to McCall from San Diego?” John asked for clarification.
“That sounds about right.”
“You’ve mentioned the years in McCall were some of the best you can remember. Why is that?” John asked.
“Daddy would refer to it as our little sanctuary, and it really was. We were safe there.”
“But war came soon after that?”
“You know the history of the war as well as I do,” Haley remarked.
“So how did your father become so involved in the war and why?”
The front door opened and a blast of cool air washed over them both. Hunter came in and shook the snow off of his coat.
“Excuse me,” Haley said, standing up. She walked into the foyer and hugged Hunter.
John followed right behind. “Hi, I’m John from the Cascadian Times,” he said, putting his hand out to shake.
“John, this is my oldest son, Hunter Nelson Rutledge.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Hunter,” John commented.
“Have you, now?” Hunter asked with a large smile.
“Would you be interested in sitting down with me and sharing your story too? Having the perspective of another generation of the Van Zandt clan would be an interesting twist.”
“Maybe another time. But it was nice to meet you. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Hunter said, walking toward the back of the home.
“Can we continue this later? I want to spend some time with my son,” Haley said.
John looked at his watch and answered, “Sure, that shouldn’t be a problem. We’ll pick up where we left off.”
John showed himself out.
Haley went to the bedroom where Hunter was staying and knocked.
“It’s open!” he called out.
Haley opened up and asked, “How was your day?”
“Mom, I think I should tell you before you hear about from someone else.”
Haley crossed her arms as if guarding herself from bad news.
“I’m leaving—”
“I know. You told me this morning,” she interrupted.
“I’m leaving for McCall.”
“McCall?”
“Yeah, I got a call from Sebastian. He’s there.”
“Sebastian’s in McCall?” Haley asked, concerned.
“He called me and said he needed me to come out, that it was important.”
“What else did he say?”
“That’s it. He just said it was important and that he needed to show me something.”
Haley was upset about Hunter’s travel plans but tried to play it off as being tired. “Can I get you some coffee? I need a cup.” He shook his head and she smiled and closed the door.
Haley walked into the hallway and headed for the kitchen. She stopped and stared for a long time at a picture of her uncle Sebastian, and her father, staring at it for a long time. It was as if she was attempting to imprint each line, every detail on her brain. The picture had been taken the day they had arrived in McCall, sometime in the late spring of 2015.
She missed her uncle Sebastian every day. What had happened to him altered how she felt about her father forever. Many times she had asked him about it, but he never had wanted to discuss it. Now that Hunter would soon be in McCall, maybe he could find out why.
She walked into the kitchen. As she poured the water into her French press, she couldn’t help but be catapulted into the past again.
Sanctuary: A Postapocalyptic Novel (The New World Series) Page 27