More suction sounds, then a loud, hoarse cry. Jenna grinned at Elly, then Cole. “It’s a boy. And he doesn’t sound too happy about coming out to this cold, bright world.”
Unlike Belle, Sophie and Hunter’s daughter, this baby flailed his little arms and legs, crying loud enough to make everyone laugh. Tiny Belle had frightened everyone when she’d been born early. Born blue and limp, her first cries had been weak. Barely louder than a faint mew from a kitten.
Elly collapsed against Cole’s arm, a smile breaking through her fatigue. “He’s okay?”
“He’s perfect, Elly. A healthy baby boy. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s about seven and a half pounds.”
Sophie took the baby from Jenna, who gently massaged Elly’s abdomen to help her expel the placenta. She dried the baby, set him on Elly’s chest, indicating that Cole should hold him there as she tossed away the wet towels and replaced them with dry blankets. Quickly, she swaddled the baby. “Here’s your beautiful baby boy, Elly.”
Cole blinked hard, the little pink face swimming in front of him. He rubbed the heel of his hand against his eyes and laughed. “He’s so tiny!” While bigger than little Belle, he still appeared fragile and helpless.
Elly peered at him, seemingly oblivious to the ordeal she’d just gone through as she bent and kissed the still damp, matted hair on the baby’s head. “He’s so precious.”
Cole reached out, grazing a finger down the baby’s cheek, chuckling when he turned his head to the side and started rooting. Elly’s eyes flew wide. “What do I do?”
Sophie reached over and helped guide the baby to the breast as Jenna said, “Let him nurse. It’ll help with getting you all back together down here.”
The baby latched on the third try, with more help from Sophie, who was now an expert at breastfeeding.
For several moments, nobody spoke. Mesmerized by the infant, Cole barely noticed when Sophie moved away and started cleaning up, only aware that she had done so when Elly began shaking and Sophie appeared with a warm blanket, draping it over her.
Jenna no longer stood at the end of the delivery bed, and had somehow managed to change the linens without Elly having to move. With a push of a button, the bed went from almost a chair to a regular bed, with the back raised for Elly to lean against. And even more incredibly, Jenna and Sophie had somehow managed to change the sheets with Elly still in the bed. A few half-rolls in each direction, and it had been accomplished.
“What do you think we should name him?” Elly gently broke the seal as the baby seemed to lose interest in nursing, but his eyes were wide as he blinked up at her.
Cole edged to the side to get another look at him. “I have no idea.” Many had run through his mind, but he hadn’t voiced them out of fear that picking a name would jinx the birth. That something would happen to Elly or the baby. She hadn’t spoken of any names either.
She smiled into the baby’s face. “Now that he’s here and I can see him. I think I have the perfect name for him. Fox.”
Startled at the choice, Cole tilted his head, watching the baby’s eyes. He leaned in closer, and the baby, seeing the movement, shifted his look to Cole’s face. “Fox…”
The baby blinked, his body jerking slightly as if in response. His legs kicked the blanket. Cole grinned. “Yeah. I think he likes it. Fox. With a big brother named Hunter, you’re in good company with a strong name.”
Elly smiled at Cole, then dropped a kiss on Fox’s head. “Welcome to this new world, Fox.”
Epilogue
“I’m going to go deliver this beef to Garret after I’m done at court. Do you have anything you want me to take?”
Elly came from the kitchen, one arm around a squirming Fox as the toddler fought to get down. In the weeks since he’d learned to walk, that’s all he wanted to do. He kept them all on their toes. He probably wanted to find Belle, but Cole knew she was napping. “Yeah. Piper baked up an extra loaf of bread and wanted you to send it. It’s on the counter. And ask him if he has any more potatoes.”
With a head-start on growing potatoes at the beginning of the pandemic, Garret had become the main source of them. Willingly trading them for other goods. Wisely, he’d saved most of his first harvest, subsisting on canned goods he’d taken from empty homes, and used his first harvest to increase his second one, giving him enough left to plant while leaving him surplus to trade.
As the unofficial peacekeeper, in addition to helping on the ranch that now, effectively, was theirs after Scott and Don had vacated Amanda and Will’s family ranch, and putting in hours helping Elly get a biology lab going, Cole was kept busy settling disputes. Most of them were minor, thankfully. Someone didn’t feel a trade was fair and sought out a neutral third party. For some reason, he was the one most turned to.
At first, he’d gone along and helped settle matters to keep the peace, but some weeks, he’d had to drop what he was doing four or more times to go hear both sides. Now, he set hours at an abandoned office and people started referring to it as the courthouse. Twice a week he went in to arbitrate between ten a.m. and two p.m.
Anyone who had a problem could come in on those times and Cole would hear them out. Often, both parties would eventually agree upon an outcome with him only guiding the conversation. Afterwards, more often than not, both parties also left him payment in the form of food, or goods.
Sometimes he got a bottle of whiskey, other times, a chicken, but he didn’t set a fee and accepted whatever was offered. He’d tried to decline at first, but Garret, Amanda and Will convinced him that his time spent away from his other duties should be compensated, so reluctantly, he took the offerings. Consequently, with the number of chickens he’d received, their ranch had grown into a chicken farm.
With the abundance of eggs, Piper was able to create baked goods that were sought after by other folks, and she and Jake had moved into a house next to an abandoned bakery. Jake put his diving skills, learned over many summers at his dad’s house in Florida, to good use when he and another diver succeeded in cleaning the intake pipes on the Hoover Dam from being clogged with mussels. It had been the biggest threat to their electrical supply. A couple of Dam employees had survived the virus and had trained a few others, so electricity still flowed unimpeded. Sean had taught Hunter some basic electrical skills and the two of them, with another man who had arrived from Arizona, repaired broken power lines.
Their world had returned almost to normal. The population had grown, as Cole had predicted, when survivors migrated to the Dam area. Last fall, an unofficial count had their numbers close to three thousand people. He guessed another five hundred had taken up residence since then. Housing wasn’t an issue, but food always was a worry. In the spring, nearly every man or woman who could sit a horse scoured the hills in the area for cattle that had wandered away in the first days of the virus. Everyone who participated in the round up was entitled to a share of the cattle collected. Those too old to ride but who helped in other ways, such as preparing food for the cowboys, were also given a share.
Cole had gone along, as had Hunter. Each of them received ten steers for their efforts. Sean hadn’t needed to since he was often paid with calves when he got someone’s power up and running, or fixed their air conditioning. He gave Hunter a share of what he received, but since Hunter was still learning, he didn’t get a full share.
Between what Sean received and, what Jenna accepted when she created the clinic and treated everything from cuts and scrapes to heart attacks, his brother’s family was doing well.
Belle and Fox weren’t the only babies delivered. Thirty more had either been born in their new community, or were newborns when their families arrived searching for other survivors.
As Cole walked to his car, one that ran on electricity, since that was much easier to come by than gasoline, he scanned the skies. A few pilots had settled in New Vegas, as some had begun calling the area. The first time he’d seen a plane overhead, he’d marveled at it with everyone else. It seemed like
a miracle. Now, he was more apprehensive. It was one thing when it was a local flying, but another when an unknown plane approached. That had occurred several times and nobody knew who was in the planes. He hoped that eventually, they’d be able to trade with survivors in other areas, but for now, they were all on their own.
A buzz from the air made him look east. It wasn’t a plane this time, but a helicopter. As it came closer, Cole froze, his hand on the door handle.
The helicopter flew past, but low, and looked to be landing somewhere a mile or so up the road. He hopped in the car and took off in that direction.
He wasn’t the only one drawn to the helicopter’s landing and he nodded to several men who parked alongside the road as the helicopter’s rotors slowed. It had landed in the middle of their main road. That irritated Cole already. While most people walked or rode horses to conserve fuel, the road was used every day for people to deliver goods and livestock to other parts of the community. Jenna’s clinic was on this road and so was his court.
It had to be an outsider. Even with the Air Force base so close, helicopters were unusual because the local pilots didn’t know how to fly helicopters. So, when a helicopter had been spotted months ago, it had been news. Someone had gotten out of the copter, asked a few people who were close at the time of the landing what the name of the town was, who was in charge, and other questions.
Cole had spoken to the people questioned. Nobody had given the man any names, but one person had said that Cole’s name had been brought up. He had pretended not to know who the man was talking about, telling Cole at the time, “He looked like military, you know? They weren’t around to help us so I don’t owe them shit.”
The helicopter door opened and Cole wasn’t surprised when Holland stepped out. Damn him.
Well, he couldn’t hide forever. Might as well see what the guy wanted. Cole straightened his shoulders as he approached the man.
“Holland?”
The man turned to Cole, surprise splashed across his face. “Cole Evans? I did not expect you to greet my arrival.” He smiled as if they were long lost friends and approached, his hand extended. Cole ignored it.
“What do you want? If you want me to leave with you, forget it. This is my home now.”
“And a fine job you’ve done creating it.”
“It wasn’t me. It was all the local folks, and the amazing survivors who have flocked to the area.”
“Yes, I’m aware of what this place is like. You see, we got word of this community back east.”
Cole opened his eyes wide in surprise. “Really?”
“Yes. And we sent someone out here to scout the area to see if the story was true. It was, and your name popped up.”
“That’s not how I heard it. I heard someone was asking for me, specifically.”
Holland waved dust from in front of his mouth, spitting to the side. “Sorry. The helicopter must have stirred up a lot of dust. Why don’t we go somewhere more comfortable to talk.”
“Here is fine.”
Holland sighed. “Okay. Well, nobody is here to take you away. Instead, I’m here to offer you a chance to make the vaccine right here. I even have some key information for you. Your medical record from when you were infected, along with a sample of the virus you were exposed to—before it was modified to create Sympatico Syndrome. With your antibodies already in you, it’s possible you could make a vaccine with this.”
Cole’s jaw dropped. “How did you get all of that?”
Holland grinned. “I tried telling you I wasn’t a bad guy. I was just determined to get a cure. I haven’t yet, but you are the key. We can’t ever let this virus destroy us again.” He put a hand out. “Will you help me?”
“I’m no expert on creating vaccines. Hell, I’m no expert at all. I had an idea how to make one, but no clear way to go about it under these conditions.”
“I have a couple of people to help with that. Good people from the CDC. What’s left of the CDC anyway. They’re coming out even as we speak and should arrive tomorrow.”
Cole didn’t see a downside. They did need a vaccine and with others’ guidance, they might be able to create one. He owed it to his family to try. He didn’t want Fox or Belle or any other children to have to face the same virus in the future.
He took Holland’s hand, clasping it firmly. “I’ll help.”
Sympatico Syndrome Survivor List
From Infection and Isolation:
Cole Evans—Former epidemiologist with the Navy. Retired a year or so before the pandemic.
Hunter Evans—Cole’s son. Was away in college when the pandemic struck. Made his way across the country. Age 20 at beginning of series.
Sean Evans— Cole’s younger brother. Had his own business as an electrician.
Jenna Evans—Sean’s wife. Worked as an ER nurse prior to pandemic.
Piper Evans—Daughter of Sean and Jenna. Age 17 at beginning of series. Was a senior in high school.
Trent Evans—Son of Sean and Jenna. Age 14 at beginning of series
Elly Jackson—Epidemiologist with CDC. Knew Cole from prior mission to Africa to treat people with Ebola.
Jake—18 year old who teamed with Elly on the streets of Chicago during the pandemic. Lost his mother, who was a doctor. Parents divorced. Dad had lived in Florida.
Sophie—18 year old girl who lost entire family. Hunter helped her escape from bad guys. Is approximately seven months pregnant at the beginning of Invasion. Hunter is the father.
Joe—had been a long-time friend of Cole’s uncle, who had left Cole the island in a will. Lived in town on mainland near island. Joins with Cole’s group. Has many handyman skills.
Luke—8 year old boy whose mother had died. He survived with his younger sister. Found by Elly and Jake.
Zoe—Luke’s younger sister. Approximately five years old.
Steve—With a group of friends who survived the pandemic, show up to find help for his friend, Mike.
Mike—Seeking treatment for a bad cut on his hand that had become infected.
Acknowledgments
I’d like to thank my amazing beta readers, Vickie Boehnlein, Win Johnson, and Lala Price. I couldn’t have published this without them. They gave me valuable feedback on what worked and what didn’t work from a reader’s point of view.
Thanks also, to the Antioch Writer’s Group, where I’ve received lots of encouragement and critique.
And finally, my daughter, Maggie, who helped me brainstorm several aspects of this novel, and who, as a teen herself, and budding writer, gave me feedback to make sure the teens in this novel sound like actual teens.
Afterword
If you have a moment, a review of Invasion would be fantastic and greatly appreciated. It would also help other readers decide if this book is something they might enjoy.
Invasion: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Novel
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Mark Taylor: Genesis
(The Mark Taylor Series)
When Mark Taylor witnesses the drowning of a little girl whose death appeared to him in a photo taken the day before, he discovers that the camera he found in an Afghan bazaar has a strange and unique ability—it produces photographs of tragedies yet to happen.Tragedies that he is driven to prevent.
Wary of his new super-hero like power to change the future, Mark keeps the camera a secret--even when it means risking his own life. But with only 24 hours to act, what if he fails to prevent the greatest tragedy his country has ever experienced?
About the Author
M.P. McDonald is the author of supernatural thrillers and post-apocalyptic thrillers. With multiple stints on Amazon's top 100 list, her books have been well-received by readers. Always a fan of reluctant heroes, especially when there is a time travel or psychic twist, she fell in love with the television show Quantum Leap. Soon, she was reading and watching anything that had a similar concept. When that wasn't enough, she wrote her own stories
with her unique spin.
If her writing takes your breath away, have no fear, as a respiratory therapist--she can give it back via a tube or two. She lives with her family in a frozen land full of ice, snow, and abominable snowmen.
On the days that she's not taking her car ice-skating, she sits huddled over a chilly computer, tapping out the story of a camera that can see the future. She hopes it can see summer approaching, too. If summer eventually arrives, she tries to get in a little fishing, swimming and biking between chapters.
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