The Malefic Nation (Graham's Resolution Book 4)
Page 21
Mostly, people just wanted to talk, to tell their tales. Though everyone had a different story, no one had a monopoly on the terror. They were all in the same position; they were all survivors.
Clarisse began issuing notices about health care and Rick posted winter preparedness warnings. Soon survivors were asking them questions over the radio every day, so Rick began fielding survival questions and people made plans to meet up in the spring.
They were losing hope of ever hearing from Dalton again and had assumed the worst. Even so, Rick planned to track them come spring.
Clarisse ran her hand over her belly. She was too early to show, but several of the other camp members had already guessed. She was glad she at least had a part of Dalton within her to carry on. She never regretted her decision, even though she felt a little guilty for not telling Dalton earlier.
~ ~ ~
One day Clarisse heard a strange sound disturbing the everyday peace of the lake. When she looked out the window, McCann was rushing Kade in front of him and getting ready to draw his gun as a speed boat was headed their way. Clarisse ran outside onto the dock to retrieve Kade when the boat slowed. Out stumbled a thin, bearded man with one arm in a sling. McCann took aim as the stranger rushed him on the deck.
Clarisse screamed, “No! Don’t shoot!” He was almost unrecognizable, but she knew this ragged man was Dalton.
A shot rang out. At the last second, McCann had diverted his aim. The commotion caused everyone to run outside. Dalton collapsed onto the deck, and Clarisse ran to him. Everyone else gave them a few moments alone before they swarmed Dalton.
Against all odds he had done as he had promised; he had returned.
Chapter 63 Back Home
One year later, Graham pulled the truck to a stop. It had been a long drive. He’d come from the new settlement east of Spokane. They’d gathered there with many other survivors from around the area and lived there for the last six months after the winter was over. But Graham couldn’t take the growing population; he couldn’t get used to the crowds, and always found himself trying to find a quiet place. He’d turned down any leadership position offered him; he didn’t want to start a community, or forge a new frontier. He only wanted to raise his daughter and Bang and keep track of the other kids.
He eventually decided to go home for a while and be in peace. So after letting the older kids know his plans, he took the truck and supplies. Graham gave Bang the option of staying with McCann and Macy, but the boy chose to go with Graham instead. The others promised they would come soon too.
“We’re here,” he announced as he pulled Tehya from her car seat. She was drowsy from the long journey and rubbed at her big brown eyes.
They stood there for a while gazing at the cabin, Graham holding Tehya on his hip and Bang standing at his side.
“It looks smaller than I remember,” Bang said after he exited the truck with Scout, one of Sheriff’s pups.
“It’ll take some work to get it back into shape.” Scout ran ahead through the tall grass to the cabin steps and sniffed around; so like her father once did.
Graham imagined Tala standing on the porch, like the day he’d first kissed her with snowflakes in her ebony hair. He felt her spirit here and he wanted their daughter to feel it too.
“I miss Ennis,” Bang whispered. “I remember how we fished together—down the trail.” He pointed in the general direction, the trail now long overgrown.
“Yeah, there are a lot of memories here, now,” Graham said as he adjusted his daughter’s position on his hip and then they headed into the cabin.
Later that day, after they’d swept all the cobwebs out of the bunkroom and cleaned up the cabin, they heard a knock on the door. Graham answered it and when Dalton and Clarisse stepped inside, Tehya toddled into Dalton’s outstretched arms. “You guys all settled in? Where’s Sheriff?” Dalton asked Graham.
“Yeah, I think so, Graham said. “The kids and Sheriff are coming in tomorrow. Isn’t it funny? We could live anywhere, but this is our home now. We’re all drawn back here. You guys returned to your spot and we returned here.”
Dalton shook his head. “I saw enough of what was out there on my trek home. They nearly destroyed it all. Maybe one day it will be livable, but for now, this is where I want to be.” He hugged Clarisse to his side. “Sam and Addy, Rick and Olivia; they’re all back.”
Clarisse smiled up at him. “We knew you’d come back soon too. We’ve all become more independent and defensive. I don’t think our pervious trusting ways as a society will return for many generations.”
Graham reached for the baby she held in her arms and she handed him to her. “Man, three boys!” Graham’s eyes widened as he cuddled the little boy in his arms. Even as an infant, he was stocky and strong like his father. Graham looked at Clarisse. “You did good,” he said. She was crying, but she smiled at him.
“What is it?” Graham asked.
“I just wish Tala were here too,” Clarisse said.
Graham hugged her, “She is Clarisse. This is where she is.”
A Note to My Fans
I can’t tell you what an amazing journey this has been for me. Graham’s Resolution is my first series, and it’s bittersweet as I write these last lines. I know I’m saying good-bye to my beloved characters to go on to new stories that are begging to be told, but at the same time I will miss them dearly.
Graham’s story is one I believe we each live in our own way as we grow older and learn the hard raw truths in life. The challenge of a mother handing over her son to someone she barely knows, the pain of the loss of Tala—these things kill me as I pen them. These people are real to me. I hope you’ve enjoyed them as much as I have.
There may be a time in the future that I write a sequel, ten years later to see where those of the next generation find themselves, their challenges and triumphs as life renews the world over.
Some have said the series is far too plausible. It is. Please be careful with our world. Life is fleeting.
A. R. Shaw
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A. R. Shaw’s Titles
Graham’s Resolution Series
The China Pandemic
The Cascade Preppers
The Last Infidels
The Malefic Nation
Kindle Worlds Novellas
Deception on Durham Road
(Steven Konkoly’s series The Perseid Collapse.)
Kate’s Redemption
(Blake Crouch’s series Wayward Pines)
Works in an Anthology
Bite-Sized Offerings: My Zombie Mom
About the Author
A. R. Shaw, born in south Texas, served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve from 1987 through 1991 as a communications radio operator, where she was stationed at the Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) Station at Kelly Air Force Base, Texas.
Her first novel, The China Pandemic (2013), climbed to number 1 in the dystopian and post-apocalyptic (SHTF) genres in May 2014 and was hailed as “eerily plausible” and with characters that are “amazingly detailed.”
Shaw lives with her family in eastern Washington State where, after the deep snow of winter finally gives way to the glorious rays of summer, she treks northeast to spend her days writing alongside the beautiful Skagit River.
Acknowledgments
No author completes a novel without tremendous help from friends old and new. Here is a list of those whose brave souls aided in this series creation.
Keri Knutson: cover artist.
Brian Bendlin: editor extraordinaire.
Janice McFadden Mickolas: Fan and I’m forever thankful for Tehya.
Gil Gruson: radio expert and beta reader.
Chris Barber: US Army soldier.
Mary Katherine Woods: surgical nurse.
Thomas Shaw: engineer, beta reader, and my HH.
Ryan Chamberlin: doctor and beta reader.
Steven Bird: weapons specialist, author, and beta reader.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: always patient with my many questions.
Amos Barber: hunting expert, and my dad.
Sari Sandford and her father in Alaska: ice fishing mavens.
Eric and Diana Tibesar: experts on cigars and smoking.
Adam Shaw: geology expert, and my son.
Will Moore: police officer and K9 expert.
Steven Konkoly: fellow author and sounding board.
G. Michael Hopf: fellow author and sounding board.
Wendy Shaw: constant sounding board, walking dictionary, and my daughter.
Oakley: my constant companion, whose insight into Sheriff is invaluable to me.