“We have a beer shipment going by horse and wagon to Kansas City,” the king said. “Leaves in the morning. We can take you that far.”
“Oh yes,” Thursday said, the relief flooding out in his voice. “Oh, thank you, your majesty.”
“Yes, of course,” the king said. His expression dropped. “I wish I could have done more for your friend.”
Thursday could see it on the face of the king and his guard—Ryan was dead. Thursday squeezed his eyes shut, but couldn’t stop a tear from escaping.
~~~
“I wish you would come with me,” Thursday said. He stood behind Nandi, both of them on the tallest roof in the set of brewery buildings. Chilly morning breeze whipped over his skin. Nandi watched the sun come up over the river. He was glad she didn’t turn around. The pain in her eyes was too much.
“I know…” Thursday said. “I know that right now it must feel like if you went with me you’d be betraying Ryan or… or not showing that you cared enough. But it’s not like that. I just want you to have somewhere you belong. I’m not trying to get you to fall in love with me, I just want you to have someone who cares.”
Thursday stopped talking. He didn’t know what else he could say.
After a long pause, Nandi said, “I know you care. I do. But I can’t go with you now.”
“What will you do, then?” he asked.
“Maybe go back to Louisville,” she said. “I know a couple people there. They’d probably let me stay until I figured out what to do next.”
“Okay,” Thursday said. “I have to go now, you know.”
“I know.”
Thursday turned to leave.
“Thursday…?”
Nandi hugged him lightly.
“Thank you. Really.”
“Yeah. Sure.”
“Take care of yourself. When you find a cure, come back to Louisville. Maybe I’ll still be there.”
Thursday looked into her eyes, hoping to read her meaning, but Nandi looked away. She turned back to the sunrise.
He took the steps slowly, hoping to hear her feet rushing to catch up to him, but the sound never came.
END
To find out what happens next, check out Episode 3:
The Post-Apocalyptic Tourist’s Guide to the Utah Deserts by Dustin Steinacker.
About the Author
David VonAllmen began writing at age thirteen, but was generally unimpressed with the quality of his work. His senior year of high school a short story he wrote led to accusations of plagiarism and threats of expulsion. That’s when he realized his writing might be better than he’d previously given himself credit for.
Having spent his youth assuming that all fantasy was identical to Tolkien, David thought of himself as a science fiction writer, although a somewhat uninspired one. Then, upon reading Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, David’s brain said to him, “Wait, if this is fantasy, then fantasy can be… ANYTHING.” Now that David is writing fantasy, he and his brain have a much more amiable relationship.
David has summited a glacier-covered volcano in New Zealand (then watched it erupt on television a few years later), won a gold medal at the Collegiate National Track Cycling Championships (then watched a teammate get stripped of an Olympic gold medal due to a positive PED test), and dislocated bones in mixed martial arts training (then watched one of his instructors become the UFC Welterweight Champion). He lives in his hometown of St. Louis with his wife, Ann, and their children Lucas and Eva, who write some pretty darn good fantasy stories of their own.
Connect with Me
Follow me on Twitter: @VonAllmenDavid
Subscribe to my blog: davidvonallmen.com
The Post-Apocalyptic Tourist’s Guide to St. Louis Page 6