The Last Mile Trilogy

by Jacqueline Druga

  Jeb Hoyt – A strong man both in size and strength. Jeb is the number one personality irritant of the group. He is also the bravest, being a former soldier in the United States Army. Jeb respects Robi and sees her as the only one with enough sense to lead the group. He also develops a relationship with Robi. At the end of the book, Jeb is attacked by an Atranda and is nearly killed. This gives him a new outlook on life.

  Tate Hoyt – Jeb’s younger brother, and he is the more emotional of the two. He thinks with his heart, doesn’t desire to lead, and jokes around a lot. He tries to smile at every chance. He is likeable and also a former soldier. Jeb was his only living relative before the drop occurred. The night of ‘The Drop’, Tate, brokenhearted, got drunk and passed out. He woke up the next morning and was oblivious to the fact that the world had ended.

  Bishop Dean – A kid in a man’s body. He was a pharmaceutical salesman with a passion for video games when the world ended. He tucked himself away for months, listening to the radio, taking names and locations, and then finally left his sanctuary in search of survivors. Robi and her group found him after he was attacked by dogs.

  Greek – Was part of the original group with Robi. He is the analytical brains of the group and says very little. When he does, it is important and he is always right. Greek was also attacked by Atranda while they were under and hadn’t emerged.

  Manny – Another original member of Robi’s group. He is the inventor, mechanical genius, and cook of the group.

  Doc – Met up with Robi at the church, and is well past eighty years old. While physically Doc is mobile and can occasionally diagnose, he suffers at times with bouts of dementia.

  Mas – Upon the group’s trek, they came upon Mas after his group had been attacked. He was the only survivor of the slaughtered group. He is super intelligent, creates things out of nothing, and knows the alien invaders well. He is from another planet, embedded on earth to be part of a team to divert the alien invasion by sabotaging the first wave … the deadly virus. The plan was to deliver an antidote. While they succeeded in delivering the antidote via a common college favorite food, not as many as they hoped ingested the food. He still holds out hope that he can aid in saving the human race with his knowledge and skills. While super smart, Mas has yet to grasp the English language correctly.

  Sam – He is another alien from the same planet as Mas. He, too, was embedded on earth and is more intelligent than Mas. Together they are the super brains of the community. They have all the answers.

  Parker - A widower from Oklahoma who survived the drop along with his teenage daughter. He was the sheriff in a small town. Many people from that town survived the drop, a higher percentage than nationally, and they followed the radio call to Southern California. Parker, because of severe diabetes and fast failing health, stayed behind.

  Eva – Parker’s spunky and quirky fifteen-year-old daughter. She is very protective of her father and a tomboy through and through. When Robi’s group stopped in her town, Eva threatened them with guns to try to scare them off. Unfortunately, she used an air pellet gun, and shot at only Jeb. Because she never really knew her mother, Eva took an instant liking to Robi.

  Martha – Before Jeb and Tate met up with the group, they had settled on a farm in West Virginia. Martha, only a few months old, was left on their doorsteps. The Hoyt brothers were clueless and then relieved when Robi and the gang showed up. When Jeb joined Robi, they became parents to the abandoned infant. Martha is special, because she is an alien healer. Because Mas’ people have special psychic abilities, they knew that Jeb would eventually meet up with Robi and they would lead survivors. Martha needs to be fed Lilacs to keep her healing powers at full strength at all times. If she doesn’t, she needs to sleep to regenerate. Her healing powers are remarkable as she can revive someone at death’s door. She is the most powerful weapon in the impending war against the aliens. She saved Jeb when he was seconds from death after the Atranda attack. Martha is also unique. When found, she was the size of a nine month old, but she ‘morphed’ and took the form of a three year old child. Mas informed Robi and Jeb that she will stay that way for fifty years.

  Juanita – Bishop’s girlfriend, well, not really. She is the ceramic head that Bishop carries around obsessively and talks to.

  NOVA

  The United States Space Program is going broke, and in an attempt to save it, a worldwide lottery is held. Four lucky people would join a skeleton crew upon the spaceship Galaxy for a once-in-a-lifetime chance for a trip to outer space. The timing is impeccable, and upon their return, the Galaxy spirals out of control after being struck by something. They believe a CME from the sun caused the event, when actually it was the first wave attack of the aliens. The blast not only shot them momentarily back into space for a second reentry, it put them in a ‘time worm hole’. And what seemed like only a few second, was actually five years. The crew and lottery winners arrive on a desolate planet void of life and water.

  Colonel Reese Gray – Commander of the Galaxy and leader of the group. He is strong and committed, no nonsense and honest. His main goal is to keep the crew alive and get them to somewhere safe. Plus, find out what happened to their world.

  Lucy – An every day housewife, Lucy won the lottery and boarded the Galaxy. She worked at Walmart before the trip, and is ever optimistic. It was the search for her children that led them to clues regarding survivors in a place called So Cal. Her husband and daughter both died in the drop, but her son was never found. Lucy was fatally injured when she and the others were attacked moments before arriving at the gates of So Cal.

  BJ – Ben, or Bj, is Lucy’s son. He was ten years old when the drop occurred. Like many other survivors, he left a note saying he had left with a neighbor. His clues brought Lucy and the group to an abandoned survival camp that held directions to So Cal. BJ is alive and well and is a teen soldier in So Cal.

  Thaddeus Hall – A billionaire who purchased an obscene amount of lottery tickets and won a seat on the Galaxy. He made his money by being an ‘as seen on TV’ inventor. Beneath his debonair exterior, Thad is unique, down-to-earth, and a self proclaimed nerd. Thaddeus was injured in the pre-So Cal arrival attack. He suffered major head injuries.

  Kip – He purchased one single lottery ticket and won. He gets muffled ‘visions’ that no one really takes serious because he is always stoned. His visions come out like puzzles, but once deciphered are dead on. He was just about nineteen when he boarded the Galaxy, and the highly energetic young man is loved by all. Injured as well in the attack, Kip lost his arm.

  Gene Brik – A retired policeman, he was ecstatic that he won a seat on the Galaxy. He is very calming and reasonable. He, like Lucy, needs to know about his family. It is revealed that his daughter is Robi. Gene is severely injured during the attack and is at death’s door when Robi finds him.

  David Hawk – Known simply as Hawk, he is an eccentric scientist brought on board the Galaxy as a technician and to test various electronics, mainly cell phones, in space. He is sarcastic and clashes with Reese. He never loses the cell phones even as they search for So Cal. Hawk was injured during the attack as well. However, when Reese went to find him, Hawk was gone. All that remained was a cell phone and a small pool of blood. Hawk vanished.