“Yeah, and what the world will be like now that more than one race of people will be living here,” Tammy explained with a saddened look.
“It’s hard to say,” Jack began,” But with half of humankind gone, there will be a lot of teens and children trying to survive on their own. Maybe your people, having more adults, will step in and help to raise, teach, and guide them.”
“I hope so,” Tammy grinned. “I just don’t want there to be any more fighting. You know how quickly the resistance wanted to lock me up and use me for their experiments.”
“Yeah, I’m sure there are going to be some people like that. There always are. But I think that the majority will understand once they realize that it wasn’t your people’s choice to come here. It’s kind of like you are refugees, stripped from your home only to be abandoned here. It isn’t your fault,” Jack reassured.
“We know that,” Tammy said,” I just hope the world can see it once things begin to get better.”
“I’m sure everything will be okay. Otherwise, why would your people have been saved from a dying world, only to be left here with us? It can’t just be chance. Everything will be fine and if there are problems, we’ll tell people the truth of what happened.”
“Yeah,” Sam agreed with a smile of her own.
“Now, let’s talk about what’s really important,” Jack suggested.
“Like what?” Sam questioned.
“Well, Chicago is toast, not to mention I’m not looking forward to living in a tent or something in the snow. I was thinking we might head south or west.”
“Do you have any place in mind? Cause Tammy and I already talked about it and we were thinking kind of the same,” said Sam.
“Well, to be honest, the specific location isn’t that important to me, but I was thinking that we’d want to go somewhere warm where we could try to garden like Grandma and Grandpa did. I was also thinking that somewhere near water would be good. We could fish, and have a beach for enjoyment. I mean, if we gotta start fresh with nothing, why not start someplace beautiful, even without all the manmade amenities?”
“You’re funny,” Tammy interjected.
“Why?”
“Because you basically just repeated the exact same thing Sam said just a few minutes ago,” Tammy smiled.
“Good, then what are your thoughts on the matter, Tammy? Any place you want to go see?”
“I don’t know about living there, but I’d love to see mountains. My father told me that back home, he and my family had lived in the mountains for generations. I know it isn’t the same as going home to see where my family had lived, but I would like to see mountains one day.”
“Well, if I were to pick a place,” Jack began, “It would probably be Florida or California. Both are warm and have plenty of beachfront. And just for you, Tammy, we can go through the mountains on our way to either one.”
“Florida is closer,” Sam said,” No way am I walking any further than I have to. We’ve been walking and running and climbing and running and walking for like… ever. I am so done walking. Let’s just get someplace nice. Find a place to live and take a few years off to relax.”
“Years?” Jack questioned with a smirk.
“Yeah, years.”
“Alright, then. It’s settled,” Jack said, shrugging his shoulders. “After Will gets up, we’ll pack up our stuff, and head southeast. It’ll probably take a while, but with any luck we’ll find our way. Florida it is.”
“I want to try an orange,” Tammy chimed in, “They look so delicious.”
“They are,” Sam agreed, “and you will. We’ll go to Florida and live on the beach, swimming and fishing and eating oranges. That sounds just about perfect.”
“Then it’s agreed,” Jack said, pushing himself up from the table.
Last night, and even just moments ago when he awoke, he was anxious about the day. He had been worried about all the ‘what ifs’. He had no idea what they would do or where they would go, but now that they had a plan, albeit a simple one, he felt much better. Flashing a smile to both Tammy and his sister he stood and quietly walked back to his bunk. Though they wouldn’t likely be leaving for a few more hours, he began collecting the few things that he knew they would want to bring with them. Though there was still a lot of unknown in the world outside, he was looking forward to this new adventure. Together with his siblings and Tammy, they would start fresh with the sun on their skin and a salty breeze to relax them. Some things were worth fighting for.
* * * * *
Sam would be lying to herself if she didn’t believe that she was at least a little excited. The prospect of moving on, and traveling further from the only home she had ever known was daunting, but after all they had been through, she knew that a fresh start was exactly what they needed.
Sitting in silence across the table from Tammy for several minutes she watched as Jack began gathering up his few belongings, including a few newly acquired ones from the room they were currently in. Taking this as her cue to do the same, she also rose from the table and gathered not only what was important to her, but also what she thought would help them survive while on the move once again. Florida was a long ways away, and anything that could help them make the trip was worth its weight in gold.
Walking to her bunk, she was quickly joined by Tammy, and together they helped one another gather up their meager belongings, stuffing the items down dead dolly’s throat and into a small pack recently provided for Tammy by the aliens. Sam found it both sad and exciting that they were leaving. She was ready to move on, she supposed, and looked forward to a life as a beach bum.
With her things all packed up, she placed her bag on her bunk and went about preparing for the day. A few minutes in their collective bathroom and she had discarded the ill-fitting outfit provided by the aliens and donned, once again, her now clean clothes that she was all too familiar with. Back in her body-hugging jeans and tee, with calf high platform boots, she felt like herself again and was as prepared as she would ever be to leave.
It was about an hour and a half later when Will was awake, fed, and packed, ready to leave. Standing in the doorway of their dorm-like room, Sam looked back one final time with her companions, before turning to make their way down the corridor. She would miss the place, even though it wasn’t ever quite like home. Reaching the light transporter at the end of the hall that would take them down to the ground floor, Sam stepped into the light and waited for the rest to follow. Once inside, she began guiding them down a floor at a time in rapid succession.
Traveling in the light was not a sensation she would miss. It always made her stomach leap into her throat, and every time she thought she would toss her cookies. This time was no different than any other, and when they reached the bottom she couldn’t have been any happier. Exiting the transporter she found herself growing more and more nervous about leaving, but reminded herself that it would all be fine.
The lower floors were not as well lit as the upper, and here and there dark portions of passageways played with their imaginations, making them see movement where shadows darkened deep corners. Gone was the steam and fog that they had noted on their arrival, and where the corridor had been blocked by walls that had sealed them in, the passage was now unobstructed and permitted free travel. Nearing the exit, Sam squinted her eyes against the bright light outside. It was a stark contrast when compared to the aliens’ choices of harsh green and yellow lights.
It wasn’t until they reached the exit that they truly had the opportunity to see things as they were at ground level once again. Though shoots of grass had begun to poke out of the charred soil of the ground, all other evidence of the prior devastation remained. In the distance the burned stubs of trees and fence posts thrust up from the ground in all directions. Ash and soot still coated everything and as far as the eye could see nothing stood but the alien spire behind them, minus a small group of what appeared to be people a few hundred yards away.
Sam hadn’t reall
y thought about it until now, but she guessed that most people would have fled the spire as quickly as they were able. It had been more than two weeks now that all the enslaved within the spire had been set free if they were to remain on Earth; the rest had been somehow transported to what the aliens called world ships and likely had left Earth already, headed back to the planets they had visited prior, to abduct all the species of men.
As they stepped free from the spire, a great door slid closed behind them, sealing it off, as a deep humming sound began to grow in intensity from somewhere within the giant structure. Taking Will’s hand, Sam guided him away from the spire, along with Jack and Tammy, and together they walked what they presumed was a safe distance away to look back on what had temporarily been their home in order to watch it shut down.
* * * * *
Will looked up and down the giant tower, wondering what would become of it after the aliens had gone. It seemed a shame to let it rust away, especially when it would make the perfect lair for a team of superheroes. He was sad that his power to tell people what to do was going to go away, but if all the fighting was done, it seemed only right to become human again. In all the comics he had ever read, it was always hard for a hero to fit in when they weren’t needed by the people.
Listening as the loud humming increased in pitch and volume, Will watched as great bolts of blue electricity, similar to lightning, began to leap off of the spire’s surface, only to arc back and crash into its surface again with a sizzling popping sound that reminded Will a little of frying bacon. Here and there the electrical arcs danced and popped, creating a dazzling web of bright light and sound that wound around and up the structure before them. As it climbed to the top it compressed more tightly together and the bolts became brighter and thicker, as steam and smoke began hissing up into the air as panels of the building’s skin began to glow red and orange.
Without warning, a great concussive boom shook the ground as the lightning-like bolts jolted upwards as one, climbing to the spire’s peak before leaping into the sky. There, high above them, a giant ship materialized, becoming visible one small piece at a time, as if flipping over billions of small cards to reveal the image they created as a whole. Like a dark disk the ship hung in stark contrast against the sky that it nearly blocked out. As large as a city or larger, the ship was struck at its center by the blast of electrical power, where it was absorbed or consumed, vanishing in the blink of an eye for all time. Then, without hesitation, the disk began to tilt at one end, rising at an angle to the horizon before it began to climb rapidly away from them. Will watched as the ship picked up speed, its leading edge beginning to smoke and then flame, when it suddenly vanished in a flash. Gone were the aliens. Gone were the enemy who had made humans into what they were. Though gone too, were those that had sought the destruction of humankind only to save their own species. Will trusted that the aliens would no longer intend to harm humankind or any other species for that matter, though if he never saw them again it would still be too soon. Maybe. Will kind of liked the idea of being friends with an alien race. Some of his superhero comic characters were aliens or had alien allies. What if he needed to save the world again?
Nodding to himself, he shrugged his shoulders. If the world needed him, it would let him know.
Turning to face his siblings and Tammy, he looked from one to the other, seeing as their emotions played out across all of their faces.
“So, south, then?” he asked. “We have a lot of walking to do.”
“Not yet we don’t, Jack said. “Let’s find a car I can push. My ability isn’t gone yet. We might as well enjoy them while they last.”
“Now that sounds like a plan I can agree with,” Sam said with a smile.
“Should we talk to them first?” Will asked pointing across the charred field.
* * * * *
Tammy looked back to where the group of people had stood before the alien ship had departed. Though she could have sworn that there had been at least half a dozen just moments ago, now, so far as she could tell, only two remained. Though she couldn’t tell their race from here, they either had to be human or like her.
“I think we should,” Tammy answered Will.
“Yeah, we might as well,” Jack agreed.
Turning to cross the field, they began walking at an easy pace. There was no telling what the people ahead had been through in the last months, and the last thing Tammy and her friends wanted to do was scare them into running away.
They were nearly half the distance when Will froze in his tracks, leaning his head to one side and squinting.
“What is it, Will?” Sam asked, as all of them turned to look at the small boy.
“Mom? Dad?” Will shouted, ignoring the question, sprinting off across the charred earth without a second’s hesitation.
It took no time for Jack and Sam to follow on his heels, running as fast as they were able across the barren earth. Tammy ran too, though not as quickly as her friends. The discovery of her friends’ parents filled her with mixed emotions. Her own family was gone. Of that she was certain. She alone had survived their exile on this planet. But she was happy for her friends, only now she wasn’t certain how she would fit into the equation.
Watching as Will leapt into the air to be caught by the man ahead, Tammy witnessed as their family was reunited and all gathered into one another’s arms as sobs and tears ran free. It was a little embarrassing to watch as they exclaimed things and hugged and cried, their joy evident in everything they did.
Tammy supposed that after believing your family gone, it must be overwhelming to be reunited once again after you had already come to terms with the worst.
It was several long minutes, perhaps fifteen or more, while Tammy stood aside watching the occasion unfold, when Will took his father’s and mother’s hands and dragged them towards her with a grin on his face.
“And this is our friend, Tammy. She’s an alien, kind of, and she saved our lives from these big monkey guys that wanted to have us for dinner!” he exclaimed as only a seven year old could.
“No, Will,” Sam said, stepping around her family to hug Tammy tightly. “Tammy is much more than a friend, she is our sister and we all love her.”
Both Jack and Will came forward then, wrapping their arms around her as well, to be joined just a moment later by their parents too. They shared one great big hug, before finally allowing her to breathe again, though Tammy had been fine without air. She had finally found her place. Her worry about being an outsider was gone.
Reaching out to accept their father’s outstretched hand, Tammy shook it, introducing herself.
“Well, guys,” John Francis, her friends’ father began, “What do you suppose we do now?”
“We’re going to Florida,” Will answered happily.
“Is that right?” their dad asked.
“Yup. We’re going to live on the beach and fish and swim every day.”
“It seems you have everything worked out. How do you suppose we get there from here?”
“We gotta find a car that Jack can push with his telekinetic powers, and we’ll drive the whole way if we can.”
“Wait, what?” John asked.
“Oh, right,” Will began.
“There’s a lot to explain,” Jack interrupted, “but we’ll have plenty of time to talk about it on the way.”
“Good, I want to know everything,” their dad said.
“Me too,” added their mom, “But first I want hugs. Lots and lots of hugs. You too, Tammy, you’re not getting out of this.”
Epilogue
Looking out across the sand, Jack watched as Sam and Tammy worked together to toss Will into an oncoming wave. It was almost just as they had imagined it. They lived right on the beach, in huts that had once been part of some sort of cabana resort. Lacking electricity, the huts had survived, and although not ideal, they worked for the time being.
Having settled in northern Florida, they chose to live along the Gulf in
what was once Pensacola. Though they had plenty of time to relax and play, Jack worked every day with his dad to clean and clear part of the concrete building that remained of the resort’s hotel. There were other people helping too, and not all of them were human, though many were young.
One day, when they were done, the plan was to house more than fifty people here, and have a small school too. Jack looked forward to it, but took every moment he had to be thankful for what he already had—friends, family, and a place to call home. It wasn’t always easy, but life never was. Without all the complications of his former life, he had learned a great deal about himself. Family and friends were more important than things and ambitions. Hard work paid for itself, and the end result was just a bonus. Time spent with those you loved was time you would cherish forever. They were lessons hard learned, but worth the sacrifice.
Turning back to the rubble he stood upon, he scooped another shovelful and tossed it into the makeshift wheelbarrow Dad had built. The world was going to be fine. They all just had to learn to live together, work together, and love together.
Staring at a small chunk of concrete in the pile before him, he focused on it intently. He missed the ability to move things with his mind. Before him, the small pile shifted as chunks rolled this way and that.
End.
Thank you for taking the time to read Children of the After: The Complete Series. To be the first to know when I release a new novel, learn about the contests I hold (for signed books, cash, and even real armor), or simply to say hello, please visit my web page and send me an email via the Contact page. I am always happy to hear from my readers and look forward to chatting with you. You can sign up for my mailing list by sending me an email right here:
Contact Me
Books by Jeremy Laszlo
Clad in Shadow (Poetry for a Burdened Soul)
The Blood and Brotherhood Saga
Children of the After: The Complete Series Page 47