What I hadn't expected when I asked Jamie to come help us at the base, was that we would become such great friends. I never imagined we'd have that much in common, to be honest. I was just an average kid from suburbia who had dreamed my whole life of following in my father’s footsteps, and joining the military. Jamie was a world-famous celebrity, just like Felicity used to be. I just assumed they'd hit it off again and become closer than ever. Instead, by some odd twist of fate, Jamie and I had actually grown closer. With Benji gone off to the front lines, leading soldiers to battle against bikers and warlords and cannibals, and Moto busy with his new duties as the acting general of Port Hueneme Unified Armed Forces, I found myself hanging out with Jamie more and more, often turning to him for advice on Felicity. Soon, I stopped seeing him as a famous person like my wife had been, and began viewing him as a close friend and trusted adviser. In fact, it had been Jamie that insisted on teaching both Moto and me how to surf, after learning that one of our new recruits had been a board shaper for Channel Islands Surfboards prior to Z Day.
“I can't believe you've lived in California your whole life, and have never been surfing before,” Jamie said when I told him I didn't know how to ride. “You've got to let me teach you. It will change your whole life!”
He was right. Soon we were spending mornings in the break just off the base, and I found myself caught in a full-blown obsession with the ocean. Riding calmed me down more than even doing Tai Chi.
Just then, a knock at the door pulled my attention away.
“Come in,” I said, still holding my pregnant wife by the arm.
Jamie Friendly poked his head in with a smile on his face.
“Speak of the devil,” I laughed. “I was just thinking about you.”
“Good morning, love birds,” he sang. “Felicity, you look amazing as always.”
“I'm as big as a house,” she shot back testily, but Jamie just grinned.
“A house with leaky pipes,” I added, helping her to the bathroom.
“I hate to do this to you, but I need to borrow him,” Jamie pleaded, making a face. “One last final best man duty before curtain call. You know how it is.”
“Go on then,” Felicity said. “Take him.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“I'll be fine,” she assured me. “I'll see you at the wedding. Don't be late!”
“Give me five,” I told Jamie. “I'll meet you out front.”
“Got it,” he replied, vanishing as quickly as he'd appeared.
“You really don't mind me taking off with the boys?” I asked again. The last thing I wanted was to be accused of ditching my pregnant wife. Felicity's moods had become unstable as the pregnancy went on, with her snapping over small things one minute, then bursting into tears the next. She said it was just her changing hormones, but I didn't want to risk upsetting her any more than I had to, just in case. We'd been getting along so well
“Go enjoy your freedom,” Felicity teased me. “Once this baby comes, you won't be going out with the boys for a long time.”
“Thanks, babe,” I said, kissing her on the cheek.
I quickly dressed while she was in the bathroom and headed out, meeting Jamie in front of the building.
“What's the plan?” I asked.
“The bird is inbound as we speak,” Jamie assured me. “They should be touching down any minute now.”
“And Moto?”
“Follow me,” he good-naturedly commanded, leading me off and around the front of the base. He led me to where the gallows had been. A solid black hunk of obsidian stood there now in memory of all who had passed away, carved with the date of the battle and the names of those lost in the fight. Moto stared down at it. He was dressed in full regalia, with his hat in his hand.
“It doesn't seem fair,” he said reverently. “Does it? Us still being here to enjoy this beautiful day, when so many others can't be.”
“All we can do now is honor their memory,” I said with empathy as I walked up to him.
“What's this big surprise you've got planned?”
“Give it a minute,” I grinned.
Right on cue, the sound of a large military helicopter caught our attention from the east. Within moments it was in sight, the double whirring blades of the Boeing CH-47 Chinook drowning out Moto's objections as it passed over us and came to rest just past the gates.
“What's going on?” Moto demanded.
“We're taking a little trip off base,” I teased.
“Xander, we don't have time for this,” Moto objected.
“It's just for a few hours,” I quickly replied. “No one will ever notice you've left.”
“I'm the general in command,” Moto said, flabbergasted. “I can't just go missing, not even for a few hours.”
“Your second-in-command has already been made aware of your leave of absence,” I assured him. “He's going to oversee the base when you're gone. He's also agreed to take over the command at any point if you ever decide to take your new bride for a honeymoon.”
“I don't know, Xander,” Moto muttered, running out of excuses.
“Quit stalling already,” Jamie nudged him. “I went through a lot of trouble to arrange this, burned up a ton of favors. Now let's go for a ride!”
Moto shook with laughter. It was hard to tell Jamie no. He had an infectious enthusiasm that made people love him.
“Fine,” Moto relented. “But you’d better not make me late for my own wedding, guys – or you'll have Sonya to deal with.”
We turned and walked over to the helicopter, laughing and boarding and taking our seats. When we were all strapped in I hollered out to the pilot, holding my thumb up to let him know we were ready for takeoff.
“Where are we going anyway?” Moto asked. “Can you at least tell me that?”
“We're going to get your wedding rings,” I sang out, the tail end of my words vanishing in the roar of the engines as we lifted off.
We rode along the coast, just out over the water, taking in the view of the land as we went. Even though I knew the military had been working overtime to reclaim as much ground as possible, I was still surprised to see all the bustling communities that had sprung up. It was overwhelmingly loud inside the helicopter, so we kept our conversation to a minimum rather than shouting to be heard, which was fine with me. We were headed to our mother's house in Pismo Beach, the one left to her by her parents when they passed. Mom and Dad met on the beach near where she grew up, but after they were married, my parents moved to Fresno so Dad could find work. I remembered childhood events like spending Easter and Christmas with my grandparents out at the beach, but all of that ended after my mom passed away. I stayed there with my dad during the time Mom was in the hospital. We'd continued living there for nearly six months after she was buried, my father not wanting to be away from her. Years later, I'd taken Moto there for the first time, after Dad passed away from a massive heart attack in the middle of the night. We buried him next to her just like he'd asked for in his will. Moto was already enlisted by then. He told me we should move there, just until we figured things out. He was worried about me finishing high school. He wanted me to go to college, but all I wanted was to enlist. A month later, Z Day hit. If I'd been back home in Fresno, chances are I'd never have survived long enough to see Vandenberg.
Just over an hour later, we touched down on the beach. We were two blocks from the house on Ocean Avenue. I could see Humvees on patrol, roaming up and down the small street.
“This whole area was just flushed out,” Jamie yelled over the sound of the chopper. “You're lucky. Just a few weeks ago, it was controlled by bikers and crawling with biters. You're still going to have to keep an eye out for crawlers, but otherwise it's all secure now.”
“Thank you,” Moto yelled as he hopped onto the sand. I followed after him. He turned to Jamie who was hanging back in the helicopter. “You coming or what?”
“Naw,” Jamie hollered. “This is family business. I'll
hang back and keep the engines fired up and ready to go. Don't take too long. The beach still gives me the creeps. You never know when one of the undead is gonna come walking out of the drink atcha!”
“We'll be quick,” I promised. “I don't wanna get any more grief from my new sister-in-law than I have to, if you know what I mean.”
Moto and I walked to the highway where a soldier saluted us. We got in his armored vehicle and he drove us the short distance to our old house, stopping out in front by the mailbox. The front door was open, and there was another soldier waiting there for us. He saluted Moto as well, as we got out and walked toward him.
“Sir,” the soldier called out. “We've gone room to room. As far as we can tell, the dwelling is clean.”
“At ease, soldier,” Moto said, and the man visibly relaxed.
“Can I be of further assistance, General Macnamara?”
“Just keep a watch on the door,” Moto instructed. “We won't be long.”
“Yes sir.”
Moto turned without another word and walked into the house. I followed behind him, slowly shutting the door after us. The windows in the living room faced the Pacific Ocean, giving us a breathtaking view of the water and allowing us plenty of light to see, which was good since there was still no electricity.
“It looks the same,” Moto said in surprise. “I kinda expected that it might be torn apart or looted or burned to the ground by now.”
“Yeah,” I said lamely. “I know what you mean.”
We walked to the fireplace and stared at the picture above it of my mother and father. They both looked so young and happy, like newlyweds in love. Below the picture frame on the ledge was a cigar box I'd placed there the day after my father's funeral. I pulled it down and pawed through it, taking out the funeral announcement and obituary to reveal my parents wedding rings.
They're still here, I thought, genuine relief flooding my heart. Just where I left them over two years ago.
I turned and presented them to my brother.
“I can't,” he said, fighting back tears. “That ring belonged to your mother. Felicity should have it.”
“We talked about it,” I assured him. “We both agreed that if the ring was still here, we wanted you and Sonya to have it. It's our gift to you.”
“I don't know what to say,” Moto shook his head. “Thanks, man.”
He took the rings in his hand and turned them over; just staring at them, lost in his memories.
“Do you remember what dad used to tell us all the time?” I asked him.
“Of course I do,” he said. “Family comes first.”
“That's right,” I agreed. “Dad talked about the importance of family all the time, how there was nothing in the whole world more important or more precious than your family. I'm sure he'd want you to have these rings. I just wish he could be with us today.”
“Me too,” Moto said. “I know he'd be proud of the man you've become.”
“You think so?” I asked.
“I know so,” Moto assured me.
We stood there in awkward silence for a moment before he turned to walk down the hallway that led to the bedrooms.
“Where you going?”
“Just wanna see if there is anything left worth grabbing,” he stated. “Pictures and stuff, you know, for the girls. Most of that stuff got lost when we left Fresno, but there might still be something of value here.”
“I'll help,” I offered.
We scoured the house, finding my parents’ wedding album and some vacation photos. We took what we could easily carry, promising to come back for more later on. By the time we got back to the curb, over an hour had passed. When we were driven back to the chopper, Jamie looked impatient.
“Take your sweet time, why don'tcha?”
“Sorry,” I said. “We took a detour down memory lane.”
“We gotta get airborne now, or you're gonna be late for your big day,” Jamie said, giving the pilot the signal to take off. “Did we find what we came for?”
“We did indeed,” I promised him.
“Fantastic,” he smiled broadly. “Now let's just hope we don't hit any traffic on the way back.”
We kept low and to the water on the ride home. Although the pilot flew even faster than we had on the way up, we still didn't touch down on the base until nearly noon. I slipped the rings into my pocket, and Jamie and I hightailed it back to our rooms to get dressed. Despite the fact that the Bard Mansion had burned to the ground during the fighting, the wedding was still held out back in the gardens underneath the gazebo. By the time we got there, Moto was already standing beside the priest and the bridesmaids were coming down the aisle. I slid into place at his side just as Kaya walked Sonya out in her white wedding gown.
“Cutting it kinda close, aren't we?” Felicity hissed at me with a fake smile.
“We got back as fast as we could,” I protested.
“You're still missing a man,” Tarunika whispered.
“Where is Benji?” Moto asked, nervously looking around.
I gazed over the crowd of familiar faces. Up front were rows of soldiers we knew, including some of Felicity's best students. Behind them, I made out residents of Xanadu that had come out for the special occasion, intermingled with faces from Freedom Town and Gold Strike City. Happily, both the Spooky Sisters were there, along with Bad Bart. Turns out Sonya's big ride through a zombie horde had paid off, sparing most of the citizens a gruesome death. Unfortunately, the night had not been without casualties. Alphas had taken the lives of both Frank the Blacksmith and Hudson the Marshal. They were laid to rest in the town cemetery next to Teddy Duds. Later, Harry had taken over, rebuilding Gold Strike from the ground up, with the help of the survivors.
At the edge of the crowd, Benji proudly came toward us in full uniform. He had a wrapped stick in his hands and a huge smile on his face as he made his way around the seated crowd, and soon joined us at the altar.
“Where have you been?” I said.
“Sorry,” Benji whispered. “It couldn't be helped. I'll explain later.”
“Are we ready?” The priest quietly asked.
“We are,” Moto said, beaming with happiness.
The priest signaled the band with a nod of his head and the music began. Soon, Sonya was making her way down the aisle in a white wedding gown, with her nephew Kaya at her side. When they reached the altar, Sonya joined Moto while Kaya proudly informed the priest that he was in charge of giving her away. The vows were short but heartfelt, and in less time than I would have imagined, they were celebrating their union with a kiss and walking back up the aisle to where the refreshment bar was set up. Tarunika and Kaya went to congratulate them and eat cake, along with most of the other guests, but Benji and I sat down in the empty chairs.
“I brought you something,” he said, handing me the package.
“What is it?” I asked, feeling the heavy weight.
“Open it and see,” he guffawed.
I tore apart the wrapping to reveal a shiny silver staff covered in hand-carved skulls. I recognized it at once as the stick the Alpha Chieftain had used, the one he kept hitting me with on my head.
“I got it off one of the cleanup crews that helped out with Gold Strike City,” Benji said. “I thought you'd like to keep it as a souvenir.”
“Thanks man,” I said, turning it over in my hands. “I appreciate it.”
“Don't mention it,” he grinned. “I was gonna let you know that I ran into Stanley the Stone the other day too.”
“Yeah?” I asked, not looking up.
“Don't worry,” Benji said. “He doesn't blame you for what happened anymore.”
“That's good news,” I said. “Did he ever find Janice?”
“Not yet,” Benji grimaced. “They put him in charge of his own platoon of men, a bunch of fiercely loyal guys. They've been taking down some hairy biker hideouts looking for her. He's become sort of a legend for his ferociousness. His name alone strikes fear
into the hearts of outlaws, at this point.”
“It should,” I said, remembering that icy glare he'd given me as I was led away from Freedom Town in chains.
Moto made his way over to us and sat down.
“So, how did it go out in the badlands?” Moto asked.
“Oh no you don't,” Sonya said, stomping over and physically pulling him away. “No work. Not today. Not at your wedding. You promised.”
“Fine,” he said, turning and whispering to Benji. “I want a full update when I get back.”
They were pulled away by another crowd of well-wishers comprised mostly of new recruits who'd grown to idolize their resurrected leader, nicknaming him General Lazarus. I turned to Benji. He looked totally different than the kid I'd met back on the base. He was much more confident now, alert and ready. He'd grown into a warrior.
“So what did happen out in the badlands?” I asked.
“Nothing we couldn't handle,” he shrugged, trying to sound battle hardened beyond his years.
Why not? I thought. He's seen more action than most soldiers did in their whole tour of duty before Z Day. Come to think of it, we all have now, but he's the only one still actively out there on suicide missions.
“We sent in sniper units with night vision to neutralize the zombie element first,” he continued. “After that, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. A couple of flash grenades to get their attention, and some warning shots into the ground, were enough to make most of them surrender. A few tried to run, but they found themselves cut off. They gave up in a hurry once they saw they were surrounded.”
Felicity found us, waddling over in a tight white dress. Her belly was so swollen, she looked ready to pop right then and there.
Don't worry, I thought. You've still got a few more months to get prepared.
“Look at you,” Benji said, letting out a long, low whistle. “You look ready to go into labor any minute now.”
“It's still gonna be a while,” Felicity said. “Macnamaras are just big babies, that's all.”
“That's what I've been saying for years now,” Benji teased. I hit him and he laughed. He was covered in hard muscle now, a far cry from the scrawny, comic book obsessed runt I'd saved so long ago at Vandenberg.
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