It was storming in his head.
The door shut hard and loudly behind him, which rustled commotion outside the big wall that loomed before him, its shadow surrounding him after he took a few steps towards it.
He walked up thirty steps to an observation tower that allowed for a wide view of Atlanta, life outside the HOPE walls. At the top of the tower, he surveyed the city that was on fire. He thought about the next time he would see Jamie, didn’t care about anything else at the moment.
At the same time, she was on the on bed curled up with the puppy. She picked up her cell phone and played the message she’d saved to her phone from her work voicemail months ago, just before cell phone service disappeared completely from the fiery Earth. She was able to keep the phone charged, however.
“Hey, beautiful,” she heard her husband say, another lifetime ago. “Just wanted to let you know that Jax and I are heading out now. I hope your meeting is going well. You are the love of my life. Every woman in the world to me,” he sang. She cried, though she’d promised herself that she wouldn’t. “We’ll hurry back.”
“Promise,” Jackson continued. “Bye.”
She saved the message again and placed the phone on the table next to the bed, but not until after she set the only song she had saved on the still useful device to play.
She could still feel Jackson with her as she pet Gunner with one hand and her round belly with the other. She sobbed with abandon until there wasn’t a drop of sorrow left in her body.
The End
Acknowledgements
I can still remember watching him hammer the keys on that old, blue typewriter, creating. At least I think it was blue. I was young and it was a long time ago. My father was my hero, from the moment I first understood who he was; it just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t thank him first for every bit of inspiration he has given me from start to finish regarding my first work of fiction. I’m so sorry you had to get sick for that to happen. It was not in vain. Thanks for being my dad. I wish you were still around to read this book. The willow weeps for thee.
Thanks, mom, for taking care of him so well. Thanks for everything you have always done for me and passing down some good traits that made And We All Fall possible. Thanks to my kids, Chase, Tyler, Maryn and Iainn, for being awesome. Thanks to all my friends and family, as well as everyone else that has ever touched my life along the way. You all know who you are. All of you inspire me.
Thank you to my editors, for offering your compositional wisdom and expertise to improve my dream. It is an infinitely better product thanks to you. Thank you to all my artists. You brought the story to life for me.
Finally, to my Amanda Jo. Thanks is such a small word when it comes to acknowledging all you do for me. With you, everything is possible. Dreams do come true, and you are one of them. I love you. You are my fantasy.
About the Author
Michael Patrick Mahoney Jr. (“Mike” as everyone who knows him calls him) grew up in the Tampa Bay area where he aspired to be a great storyteller and writer, just like his father. Unfortunately, Mike and his family lost the patriarch in 2005 as a result of a horrific, rare disease that slowly ravaged his body and mind right before Mike’s eyes.
And We All Fall is the result of childhood aspirations, fueled by Mike’s relationship with the man he considered his hero, the terrible things the disease did to him, and the never-ending compulsion to share meaningful stories that help his fans feel this beautiful, tortuous path called life.
Connect With Mike
Did you enjoy And We All Fall? Let Mike and the rest of the world know by completing a review wherever you purchased the book online and be sure to visit Mike’s author site at www.michaelpmahoneyjr.com to let him know directly. It would mean a lot to him!
Coming Soon
World On Fire, the breathtaking follow up to And We All Fall, is scheduled for release in 2018.
Seven years into the apocalypse, Jax, his family, and friends, struggle together to develop a vaccine and survive the deadly world now overrun by the monsters and controlled by the sinister group known as The Ministry.
The final book in the trilogy, And We All Rise, is scheduled for release by the year 2019.
And We All Fall (Book 1) Page 32