“Yes,” Gabe said before launching into his personal story, which spanned a several-year period before the initial outbreak. He explained that he’d started working under Dr. Wesley on a program relating to heretofore untapped human potential, what we now knew of as “Abilities,” and had quickly been initiated into the inner circle of those opposed to the program, including Dr. Wesley, and had been made aware of the General’s Ability to control the minds of others.
He explained the moment when he first realized what Dr. Wesley had done, releasing the Virus on the general population and initiating what was essentially the end of human civilization—the moment he’d received a call from his best friend, Jake, claiming that his sister was sick and seemed to be losing her mind. Except Becca hadn’t been losing her mind, she’d been developing an Ability.
He told them that the Virus was simply a mechanism to enable the mass spread of the gene therapy and explained the science behind the mutation every person who was infected went through. He told them everything he could about the Colony and the people there—the Re-gens, the T-Rs, the yellow- and black-bands, electrotherapy, Project Eden, my abduction, and how people with different Abilities were used as though they were things, not human beings—without hinting at Dr. Wesley’s relation to Zoe and Jason, or at the fact that one or more of our people were likely working for the General.
“These ‘Re-gens,’” Bethany started, skepticism written all over her face despite Lance not once having pointed out an untruth in Gabe’s tale. “To reanimate a corpse—that’s just…I don’t see how such a thing could be possible.”
“And yet, I am here,” Becca said, speaking for the first time since we’d sat.
All nine sets of the Council Members’ eyes snapped to her, and I had to hold back a grin. Even now, in a world so filled with wonder and the impossible made possible, people still wanted to hold on to their old, outdated view of reality. Humanity could be so stubborn; I was hoping that would be the one characteristic that might prevent us from dying out altogether.
“You’re claiming to be one of these—these creatures?” Bethany said, her gaze flicking to Lance. When he nodded, she returned her attention to Becca, scrutinizing her face…her not-quite-right eyes. I knew what she was seeing—irises that were a little too dull, a little too gray, a little too dead. Camille and Mase’s eyes had the same inhuman quality; it was the one external marker of their difference from non-Re-gens. Inside, well, that was another matter entirely.
Becca nodded. “I am.”
“She’s not a creature.” Jake’s voice was a low rumble. “She’s my sister.”
There was a prolonged, tense silence. A collective holding of breath.
Finally, Bethany shot another quick look to Lance, and when he confirmed what Becca and Jake had claimed with another nod, Bethany exhaled heavily. “Well…I must apologize. No insult was intended.”
“Jake is the friend I mentioned earlier,” Gabe said, earning raised eyebrows and opened mouths from some of the Council Members. “After Becca saw whatever she saw and killed herself, I did the only thing I could think of. I took her to Wes—Dr. Wesley—to see if she was a candidate for the Re-gen procedure. It was still very new then, but we managed.”
“We would love to know more about this procedure,” the man on Bethany’s right said. “We have a few biotech people here who—”
“No,” Becca said resolutely.
“Now, young lady, I understand that this may be a sensitive subject for you, but I don’t see why you’d deny the rest of us the chance to eliminate death as a—”
“You do not see, because you do not know what I know.” Becca turned her sharp, gray gaze to Gabe. “You cannot teach them this. You must not. It’s imperative, Dr. McLau—Gabe.”
I watched Becca and Gabe stare at each other for several heartbeats, until finally, Gabe nodded. “But I may be able to offer something else,” he said to Bethany. “If you have any people with Abilities like Jason’s, specifically the Ability to nullify others’ Abilities completely, I can teach your biotech people how to make a ‘neutralizer’ that will protect whoever is injected from nearly all Abilities—including mind control—for up to a week. It wouldn’t be something you’d want to use all the time, but it would be useful as a backup plan…just in case.”
Again, Bethany exchanged a look with several other Council Members. “That’s very generous of you.” She tilted her head to the side. “What’s the catch?”
Gabe offered her a chilly smile. “We’ll do whatever we can to keep as many people as possible out of the hands of Herodson and the others like him.”
“The others like him?” Bethany said, furrowing her brow.
A heavy silence descended over the room.
Carlos cleared his throat. “Yeah,” he said, speaking for the first time since we entered the Town Hall. He rubbed the back of his neck as he started telling his own story, first captivating the Council with his tale of leaving Central Washington with his two siblings, then horrifying them with details of what happened when he arrived in South Lake Tahoe, of being forced to worship Mandy, a woman whose Ability stripped all around her of their will, leaving behind only mindless, adoring husks.
Bethany, as well as all but two of her peers—Colonel Marshall and the man on her right—were covering their mouths with their hands by the time Carlos finished. Most had unshed tears shining in their eyes as well, at least, those whose tears hadn’t already escaped.
Bethany had to clear her throat several times before she could speak. “What happened to them, to Vanessa and Annie? Did you look for them after…once you were freed?”
When Carlos didn’t show any sign of answering, simply stared down at his hands gripping his jeans, I jumped in. “We found them on our way back here. They’re at the ranch right now.”
“She’s one of the Lost Ones.” Colonel Marshall’s voice was accusatory. “You can’t keep her here. She should be put down.”
Carlos didn’t raise his head, but he did glare at the Colonel, and a faint crackling hum filled the air. The Council Members looked around the room, their eyes a little wild, and Zoe’s breath hitched as emotions spiked.
I looked at Jason, alarm widening my eyes, but he only stared back at me, his expression placid. For whatever reason, apparently he wanted to let this play out.
Fine…that’s just fine. But we couldn’t let Carlos electrocute the rest of us in a dominance display, either. “Vanessa is one of us,” I said. “We’re a package deal.”
I stared at Colonel Marshall, refusing to lower my eyes, and still the air tingled with electricity. The tiny hairs on my arm stood on end, and I could feel the flyaways floating around my head.
It was Bethany who interrupted what was turning into one hell of a staring contest. “In which case I think you’ll find our offer very appealing.”
The Colonel broke eye contact, shifting his gaze to Bethany, his features tense with irritation, or possibly anger, and the electric hum slowly faded away.
Bethany paused long enough to meet Colonel Marshall’s stare, her own seeming to say “Yes? Did you want something?” before looking at Grayson. “The ocean is our main—and really, our only—source of food. Before your people made contact a few days ago, we were in the process of discussing what type of team might best be suited for establishing an agricultural satellite settlement nearby. We’ve been held up on trying to put together a group of people with the most effective combination of skills.” She shrugged. “It would do us no good to set up an operation like this only to have it unable to defend itself, but the Colonel’s ranks are stretched thin as it is—the more people we bring in, the more people we need on the town watch.”
Grayson nodded slowly. “Interestingly enough, we came here intending to propose something very similar, so I think I speak for everyone when I say we’re all ears.”
Bethany smiled. “Based on everything you’ve told us”—she glanced at me—“and on your unwavering loyalty to each o
ther, I can imagine no better group to take on the task.” She scanned each of us quickly. “Do any of you have farming or gardening experience?”
I raised my hand partway. “Some. My grandma was a skilled gardener and herbalist, and I know a lot about animals…obviously.” My eyes hardened. “I won’t raise animals to be slaughtered, though. If you want someone to do that, you’ll have to look elsewhere.”
Bethany frowned, but didn’t argue.
“I worked on a farm during my early adulthood,” Grayson said. “I was a bit of a drifter.” He tossed me a sideways glance. “Though not that kind.”
Jason emitted a moderately interested grunt. “My dad was a carpenter—taught me most of what he knew—and Jake’s good with anything mechanical. I think we can manage.”
“It’s settled then,” Bethany said with a definitive nod. “You’re the right people for the job, and I think you’ll enjoy being autonomous, considering how long you’ve been out there, away from a society with hard-and-fast rules.” She paused. “We’re willing to provide you with the provisions you’ll need to get up and running so you won’t have to waste any time or energy procuring your own, so long as the majority of your crop, when ready, comes to New Bodega. You may, of course, reserve some for your own sustenance and trading purposes…”
“You’ve been thinking about this for some time, it would seem,” Grayson said. “Do you already have a location picked out?”
The young woman sitting to the left of Bethany piped in with, “We actually have several possible spots: one in the Russian River Valley, near Healdsburg, one in the Carneros area, and one a few miles west of Petaluma.”
Jason exchanged a look with Jake, then with Grayson. He was smiling.
“Petaluma sounds perfect,” Grayson said.
“Wonderful.” Bethany scanned each of us again. “And are there enough of you to run this new settlement, or do we need to provide additional workers?”
Grayson shook his head. “That won’t be necessary. There are plenty of us, and we have more people waiting back in Tahoe who are hoping to join us eventually.”
Bethany looked at Carlos. “These are the others who were controlled by that woman?”
Carlos nodded.
“I see.” After a long moment, Bethany addressed the rest of the Council. “I propose that we move forward on the satellite settlement with Daniel and his people.”
“I second,” the woman on her right said.
Bethany nodded to her. “Any opposed?” she asked the rest of the Council.
Absolute silence filled the room.
“Motion passed.” Bethany looked at Lance, who started writing furiously. “Let the record show that in exchange for…”
I tuned out Bethany’s words as I realized that this was really happening. For the first time in a long time, we might actually have a place that was ours…a place we belonged. I almost couldn’t believe how perfectly everything was falling into place.
It was almost too perfect.
27
JAKE
MAY 24, 1AE
Bodega Bay, California
Gabe, Becca, and Grayson chatted intently with Bethany as they left the conference room and headed toward the reception. Carlos and Dani trailed out behind them, animated and smiling with hope illuminating their eyes. Jake and Jason brought up the rear, already planning what sort of projects they could start when they arrived at their new settlement and discussing who would be best suited to do what.
“It would be great to have a shop where we can tear apart any old machines and repurpose the parts,” Jason said. “I have so many ideas. I could keep you busy for months.” He shook his head and let out a small chuckle. “There’s going to be so much to do…I can see it already.” When he glanced over his shoulder, he paused, and Jake followed suit.
Zoe still sat at the conference table, her gaze fixed on the sketched aerial map of New Bodega that covered the expanse of the wall behind the Council’s table.
Jake turned to Jason. “We’ll meet you up there.”
Jason nodded, his features drawn in what Jake assumed was concern for his sister, but then he disappeared into the hallway.
Scanning the room, Jake realized that he and Zoe were the only two left.
Although he wasn’t certain, he could imagine what was bothering her. Zoe was home, the place that for her held the most memories, the most secrets, and therefore the most heartache. While Jake found hope and comfort in the idea of having a home and the endless possibilities that accompanied starting over, Zoe might not share his sentiments, especially not when their new home would be so close to the one she so desperately wanted to leave behind.
Knowing her well enough to assume she needed a moment to collect her thoughts, Jake resisted the urge to reach out to comfort her. Instead, he did one of the things he was best at: he sat down and waited as she processed what she was feeling.
When the sun began to set, darkening the room, and the muffled voices coming from upstairs were all that filled the silence, Zoe finally faced him. Her eyes were burning with more emotion than he’d seen in them since his Zoe had come back to him a couple weeks ago.
“I’m not sure I can do this,” she said quietly. “I thought I could—I mean, I wanted to—but…so close…?”
Jake turned to face her, needing Zoe to feel his resolve to stay, to see why he wanted this to work, for them. “It’s a place to call home, Zoe.”
“I just—” She lifted her shoulders, still shaking her head despondently. “It was home, Jake, but being here….the dreams are already worse. What happens if I stay?” She rose from her chair and began pacing. “What if I can’t get over it? What if I lose myself like my dad did? You don’t know what he was like.” She continued to pace. “He was surrounded by memories, and it ruined him. I don’t think I could handle it…”
Jake rose and closed the distance between them, reaching for her hand. “But the difference is you’re not alone here,” he said. “You have all of us…you have Jason and me and Dani.”
Zoe seemed to calm momentarily, before her shimmering, turquoise-colored eyes widened with fear. “What if the General finds out we’re alive, especially now that my mom knows? What if he comes looking for us? We’re sitting ducks if we stay here. It’ll be the first place he looks.”
“We’re not sitting ducks. Look at how far we’ve gotten, at what we can do now.” He squeezed her hand in his. “You alone would know if he was coming a mile away.” Indecision clouded her eyes, but Jake continued. “Zoe, I would never let anything happen to you, you know that. I would die a thousand times—”
She stiffened. “Why do you always have to do that?” Her voice was a hard whisper. For the first time—with her eyes so radiant, so piercing—Jake thought he saw the real Zoe, angry and unrepentant, with unbridled loyalty and determination that drove her to desperation. “Why do you always have to be the guy who saves everyone—saves me?”
He hadn’t expected that reaction, but then again, he thought he probably should have. “You’re upset with me because I want to protect you?”
With a quick, despondent exhale, Zoe closed her eyes and licked her lips before her palm gently cupped the side of his face. “Of course not.” She said it so quietly that he barely heard her. “But do you think it’s easy to watch you suffer?” she asked. “Burned beyond recognition or shot in the chest or stabbed in the back or so weak after a transfusion you can barely stand? Is it knowing you’ll eventually heal supposed to make it easier?” She pulled away from him, a despairing sadness threading her words. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to watch that, to know you’d do anything for me? To see you so close to death that I can feel the abyss nearly swallowing you, the life draining from you, until you’re almost nothing?”
Jake reached for her as a tear, too stubborn to be held at bay, slid down her cheek.
He hadn’t ever thought of it that way. He tried to imagine lying at Zoe’s bedside after she’d been shot and left for
dead. He remembered the sting of misery he’d felt when Clara had poisoned her, when they’d all thought she was dead. He never wanted to relive that moment again.
“Your regeneration doesn’t make it easier, Jake, it makes it worse. Every single time you get hurt, I ask myself, ‘Is this finally it? Will I lose him forever? How will I be able to live with myself?’” She shook her head, and he could barely stand the hurt that made her voice hollow and distant. “I can’t do that. I can’t keep losing people—”
Her voice caught, and without hesitation, Jake wrapped his arms around her. “You’re not going to lose me, Zoe.”
Her head shook against his chest. “This place is cursed,” she said. Slowly, Zoe wrapped her arms around him, clutching the back of his thermal shirt so tightly he thought she might never let go of him.
“I know it’s hard to look beyond the past,” he said, his cheek resting against her forehead. “But how can staying in a place that gives everyone so much hope be a bad decision? This will be good for us.” Jake wanted her to see their future the way he did, to have something to look forward to instead of constantly being chased by what was behind them. “Now we can make this place our home,” he added. “We can have our own memories…don’t you want to live your own damn life?” His voice was soft and beseeching.
As if she finally felt his desperation, she said, “Of course I do.”
Jake pulled her away from him and gazed down at her. “Then let’s do this. You have your family now, your real family—that’s what you’ve been waiting for. This is your second chance…our chance.” He searched her eyes, the eyes he’d relied on to tell him what she wouldn’t. He wanted everything they’d gone through to be worth something. He brushed the longer strands of hair behind her ear and dropped his voice to little more than a whisper. “I want you to smile because you’re actually happy.” He quirked the corner of his mouth up. “As obnoxious as it is sometimes, I want that determined glint in your eye back, your feistiness back…”
The Ending Series: The Complete Series Page 121