“I didn’t think he should die alone,” Mykl said. “The least I could do was let him know that everything was going to be okay.”
When sensors determined that only one man remained on the planet, the reanimation plans were initiated by the few City agents who had remained awake and unseen over the long years. Mykl and his father were among the first to be awakened. That was some six months ago. Today, they celebrated Mykl’s sixth birthday, though one hundred and three years had passed since his birth.
An old thought came to his mind.
“Dad?” he asked.
“Yes, Stinker?”
Mykl struggled to speak through the grin breaking across his face. “I was wondering: what do you think Mom was going to give me for a present on that night she disappeared?”
His father looked at him with that special sort of smile fathers use when they know a deep secret. He leaned over and whispered, “You’re holding it.”
Mykl’s mouth popped open in surprise.
His father laughed. “Happy birthday, Mykl.” He kissed his son’s forehead. “She planned on taking you to the City after she finished her mission that night. She thought it was time for you to meet the rest of your family. My old teddy bear would be a perfect present.”
“You made that up!” Mykl said.
“Did I?”
Mykl dropped his head into Stinker as he thought it over. His dad was probably right.
He sat up and surveyed the area. Sweeping an arm out to the children and the city beyond, he asked, “What do we do now? Everyone’s awake.”
“We start over,” his father said. “This is a new world without borders. Everyone is free to be whatever they want to be. A new planetary constitution has been ratified that spells out individual rights, including the rights of the planet itself. Because, without the planet, there is no us.”
“Can I be a surfer when I grow up?” Mykl asked, admiring the waves crashing in.
“We’ll talk about it,” his father said in a tone that certainly meant “no.”
“Then can I have a sword?”
His father stifled a laugh by coughing into his hand. “Why don’t you go play with Tina? She’s been trying to get your attention for a while now. I think she likes you.”
Mykl blushed. He really wanted a sword. But, as much as he tried to hide it, he liked Tina too.
CHAPTER 90
One last task to complete, Jack thought as he and Jessica entered the deserted and sunless City. With its purpose fulfilled, there was no longer a need for anyone to hide. But it would continue to operate on minimum maintenance power, remaining available in case a new crisis should arise. Without the fusion-driven sun overhead, the City streets would lie suspended in perpetual twilight.
They decided to walk rather than drive to the Operations Center. It gave them both time to think. They passed by the fish feeder, which was now empty; while the lake remained, all the fish had been transplanted to lakes and streams. Only insects and single-cell pond creatures would remain as the city’s caretakers.
Inside the Operations Center, Jack showed Jessica how to access a locked enclosure known only to a select few individuals. It housed an elevator shaft that went even deeper into the earth. Quietly, in pitch black, they slipped downward, their eyes adjusting to the darkness. The elevator and the five stronger-than-steel cables lowering it radiated no energy. More efficient ways to move the elevator certainly existed, but technological devices and power were kept to a minimum down here.
When the elevator stopped, Jack pulled open the doors manually and led Jessica out. Directly across from them, a vault door emitted a weak blue light through its view window. Jack noted that the glow was neither dimmer nor brighter than it had been the last time he visited—almost one hundred years ago. He found the observation discomforting. He signaled for Jessica to be cautious with her voice and movements, and they crept forward to peer inside.
Hard vacuum filled the vault’s interior. Securely perched on a pile of moon rocks, to mimic the environment in which it was found, sat a glowing sphere. Mysterious symbols clouded its translucent interior, and scars and scrapes marred its diamond-hard surface—a result of its long voyage. It appeared unchanged. Jack breathed a sigh of relief.
Jessica’s eyes grew wider, and she held her breath. Her face was dramatically side-lit by the glow.
“The artifact?” she asked in an awed whisper. “It’s real?”
Jack nodded. Turning back to the sphere, he closed his eyes in acceptance of its unchanged presence. He could have observed it using passive sensors embedded in the vault lining, but he’d had to see it with his own eyes. He’d had to be sure. The sphere posed too many unknowns. City technology couldn’t penetrate it—yet. It was not of this Earth, and until proven otherwise, it was dangerous… and a problem for another day.
When they returned to the top, Jessica blew out her breath as if trying to expel her disbelief. “Does Mykl know about this?” she asked.
“He does not, and I would like to keep it that way, for now,” Jack answered. “His curiosity and love of puzzles would cause him to obsess over it. He’s done enough for the time being. Let him experience childhood for a change. He’s earned it. He needs it.
“Once the human race has reestablished itself here, it can begin venturing to other planets. Diversifying the species among many worlds is the true key to survival. But someone, or something, is already out there…”
CHAPTER 91
A frigid river swept her along with merciless force. Chunks of shadowy ice spun in the current’s dark eddies. The cold made her arms and legs sluggish in responding to her mind’s commands, but one hand clung for life to a smoldering log. It should have burned her, but instead it felt warm and safe. Almost as if, were she to let go, it would maintain its hold on her.
As long as she had strength of will, she would never let go.
Something clawed its way up her body, attempting to pull her under and away from the log. She coughed and gagged as foul water threatened to drown her. No, she wanted to cry out, but the icy cold rendered her mute.
Panic chipped away at her sanity. Determined not to give up, she kept fighting the current and the creature whose claws raked up her back. When it reached her head, it opened its maw and sank serrated fangs into her skull. Her back arched in a futile effort to throw the creature off. She dug her fingernails into the log. If she could only scream… If she only knew it was a dream…
***
“Sedate her,” Dr. Lee said as her patient arched off the bed, writhing in pain.
“What’s wrong?” James asked, fear and concern draining the blood from his face.
“The tumor is dying. But as it decays, it’s producing waste products that her system must eradicate. That process is causing her a great deal of discomfort.” Dr. Lee studied a monitor. It showed Dawn’s brain activity returning to an unconscious and dreamless state. “She started to show normal brain activity as she approached consciousness. That’s a good sign, James. For now, we’ll keep her sedated and comfortable. The rest is up to her.”
“She’s a fighter,” James said, still holding her hand tightly. Beads of blood oozed where her nails had dug into him. “She won’t give up… ever.”
CHAPTER 92
One Year After the Great Awakening
On a soft, grass-covered dune by the ocean, with her bare toes extended toward the waves, she sat with her eyes closed, feeling the warmth of the setting sun on her face. A light breeze blew strands of her silky black hair across her long, dark lashes, tickling her nose. She puffed the offending filaments away in frustration and tucked them behind her ear again.
Crunching footsteps plodded through the sand toward her from the left, as they had every evening since she had discovered this secluded dune. She smiled… and opened her eyes.
The footsteps came to a stop beside her. She felt no need to ask who was there. She knew. He would always be there. A perfect red rose lay in her lap as proof. It
numbered one of eleven he had given to her earlier that day. An odd number from an unusual man.
“I have something for you,” the young man said as he kneeled beside her.
Determined not to rise to his bait, she lifted the beautiful rose with two fingers and said, “But I have everything I want.”
“But not everything you need,” he said gently.
She tilted her head down toward him, letting her hair tumble over her bare shoulder. She lifted a hand to his cheek. Such a handsome face. An electric thrill ran through her. And those eyes—those titanium gray eyes. She could spend eternity gazing into them. Right now they held a mixture of mischief and love. She took a moment to catch her breath.
“Are you so sure?” she asked, smiling coyly and fluttering her eyelashes. Two could play at this game.
He twisted from his kneeling position to retrieve a large white box from behind him. A preserved rose lay on top of the lid, and several holes ran along the sides. He placed the box between them. Curious, she set her rose to the side and knelt before the box as well.
“It’s Teeka’s rose,” he said.
She stroked the petals with two fingers as if petting a sleeping kitten. Her eyes peered up at him, moist and questioning. Holding her gaze with his own, he tilted his head to the box. A tear tumbled down his cheek as he lifted the lid.
Her hands immediately went to her mouth to stifle a sob. A tiny white kitten with a black smirk of a mustache lay curled in a soft, sleeping ball, next to a grimy old shoelace.
Dawn’s tears fell unchecked on the fur of the innocent wonder before her. Her subdued sobs awakened it from its peaceful slumber. It stretched and yawned mightily. Then a pair of kitten blue eyes gazed serenely into her own and slowly blinked, forging a trusting bond that healed past pain. She stroked its tear-dampened fur with a trembling hand.
“They were able to take genetic material from the root of the rose to give her a second chance at life. She’s identical to Teeka in every way,” James said.
Unable to speak, Dawn mouthed the words, “Thank you.”
The kitten rediscovered the shoelace and began playing.
“I have… one more thing,” James said. He pulled from his shirt pocket a roughly carved driftwood box, and presented it to her.
With a tear-streaked face, she looked questioningly from the box to him.
“Diamonds are a dime a dozen these days,” he said, “so I made something special. I hope you like it.”
Using her thumbs, Dawn popped open the little box. It held a ring, crafted from a section of new shoelace. James had unraveled the individual threads and retied them to form a delicately petaled rose where a stone would normally sit. Dawn admired its complex beauty.
“I love you, Dawn… Will you marry me?” James asked, his voice husky with emotion.
“You’re crazy,” Dawn half-laughed, half-sobbed.
“I’m not crazy,” James said. “I’m stupid.” He smiled.
“Whatever!” Dawn slipped on the ring. “Yes… Kiss me.”
And James kissed her. Until the sun fell from the sky and the stars danced in celebration. And every morning they woke next to each other for the rest of their lives… which was a very… very… long time.
end
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Before a book can be written, there has to be a spark of inspiration to light the candle of one’s imagination. I give credit for that inspiring spark to Terry and Jeri. Your accomplishments and words of reason (along with your friendship) made me understand that if I had a story to tell, I need only have the discipline to write it, and the courage to share it.
Many profound thank yous go to Stephen, Tom, and Rebecca. When my writing candle began to flicker, you took it and used it to light a fire under my ass.
To my seafaring beta readers, Elizabeth, Kathy, and Kristy, who, after reading about the death of billions, demanded the Grim Reaper take a few more. Cheers, my friends. I hope you are satisfied!
Scott, Stephanie C., and Crystal, thank you for taking time out of your busy days to show me where my pen strokes fell short.
As a first-time author, I can’t thank my editors, David Gatewood and Crystal Watanabe, enough. I learned more from your feedback than any book could ever teach me. My next project will be better because of it. I promise.
Susan, the beauty of your art is a reflection of yourself. I hope the words on the pages do your cover justice.
This book was a learning experience for me. I had doubts that I could even write. No more. Now I have a desire to do better. Thank you ALL for igniting that fire inside me.
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