by Jill Cooper
“Jenna?” He said it again a little louder and took another step.
“Go away,” Jenna’s voice hissed. The animal growl of it froze Dirk in his tracks and sent a tingle down his spine. That wasn’t here though; Jenna wasn’t a monster. She was a woman, a flawed, crazy woman that he loved. Maybe for a while she forgot humanity; maybe she was forced to forget by New Haven just to survive.
“It’s me,” Dirk whispered. “It’s—.”
“I know who you are. I deserve to die here. I deserve the rubble of New Haven to crumble and crush me to death. Get out of here before I turn on you.”
“You won’t,” Dirk crouched down, low. He was almost close enough to touch her. “I have the cure. I can save you from this.”
“I don’t deserve it.” Pain rocked her voice and as she turned her head, her lips quivered. Her face was half-scale and half-human, but Dirk loved them both.
Monster, and hero, that was Jenna Morgan. That was his wife, always struggling to find a balance, always striving to do what was right despite of herself. She failed, more times than she probably should’ve, but she always tried again.
“They pushed you to this. Do you think I can’t imagine what they’ve done to you in the last six months? Do you think I don’t know the horrors they subjected on you? Hell, Jenn, we did it to glistenings. We dragged them back here and let them be tortured because it was our job. I know the pain you’re in.”
“You should’ve come earlier.” Jenna’s chin trembled and she squeezed her eyes shut, facing the wall again. “You didn’t come, you left me here!”
“I know.” Dirk’s voice was pained and his chest pulsated with his own waves of pain and regret. “I tried. I’ve been trying since that night you were taken. The world—we’ve barely survived and I did what I could, saving people. Keeping people safe and on the move. Glistenings—you have no idea what they’ve been doing out there. The concentration camps—.”
“Karma.” Jenna laughed and her fingers clung to the wall. “Serves us humans right, doesn’t it? But I’m not human. All that time and I was just pretending.”
“Jenna—.”
“GO!” she hissed and her forked tongue shot out of her mouth toward him, but then her eyes opened wide. She gasped and her mouth fell open, her eyes taking in the sight of the pink bundle in his arms.
“That’s right,” Dirk whispered. “She’s all right. Our daughter’s here and she will need her mother.”
Her eyes wouldn’t meet his, but instead trained on the floor. Still, Dirk could make out how her eyelids quivered as she spoke. “I’m a monster, I can’t take care of a child. Look at what I’ve done here. You do it, you raise her.”
“By myself?” Dirk shook his head. “No way. This was supposed to be a package deal, Morgan, you, and me. I need you in ways I can’t even say, ways I can’t even comprehend. I didn’t fight and scrap to survive just to leave you here.”
“How can you look at me like that?” Jenna asked. With a hard glare in her eyes, finally, her head lifted, but her appearance was morphing. The glistening façade—because to Dirk that’s all it was, it wasn’t her—was fading. “How can you even begin to forgive me for what I’ve done?”
“They tortured you, manipulated you, and took your daughter. You went crazy, don’t we all, sometimes?”
Jenna’s eyes gazed off at nothing. “Wendy.”
“Wendy?” Dirk’s heart skipped a beat.
“I found Wendy,” Jenna said softly and her shoulders rocked in a powerful sob that stuck in her throat.
“We heard she might be here. Jake . . . where is she? Is she still alive?”
“Was—if you could call it that. What they did to her . . .” Jenna’s face was streaked with tears. “I will never forget, Dirk. I will never lose that memory of what they twisted her into. I get another chance and not her? She was just a sweet girl and now what? What future do we have if we can’t protect her?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.” Dirk put his hand on her shoulder. Jenna shivered under his touch. “But as your husband, we have to try, don’t we? This girl and me don’t have a chance if you give up, Jenn. Those people out there, need someone like you and more importantly, so do I, so do we.”
Jenna didn’t say anything, but put her hand on his shoulder and Dirk thought maybe that meant for right then, he won. She would agree to go with him, agree to stand by his side through all of this. Dirk rubbed her back and Jenna lifted her head ever so slightly to gaze at the face of her daughter for the first time.
“The poor girl looks like you,” Jenna said.
Dirk gasped. “She doesn’t look like me; she looks like you.”
Jenna gazed up at him, but was quiet. “Do you still have that cure? Do you think you can give it to me?”
“If it’s what you want,” Dirk said softly. It had to be her idea; it had to be something Jenna chose, not because of him, but because she wanted it.
“I’ve never wanted anything more in my life, other than maybe to forget.” Jenna curled up against his chest, one arm around his middle and the other around their baby. “I wish I could forget.”
Maybe in time, Dirk thought his love for her would be enough. With distance and their daughter, maybe she could start to forget.
For now, it was enough that Jenna wanted to heal. She wanted to live and move on, forget the monster. Maybe for a while, that would be enough.
****
Jake shook his head and pushed himself up off the ground. The glistening guards on the towers aimed their guns right at him. Fearful for his life, for the life of everyone, Jake held up his hands. “Please let me speak. Please. I’ve never meant you harm. I’m Jake Monroe!”
If his words meant something to the guards, it was hard to read. They hesitated and Jake knew, at least for now, they weren’t going to shoot him.
His legs wobbled, and he rested for a moment, taking in the surroundings. He saw other glistenings, friend and foes, strewn on the ground like him. Some were in human form, while others were still in dragon form, heaving for air.
“I can’t . . . I can’t breathe.”
Jake stood and tightly squeezed his fist. He didn’t feel it anymore; that special power he had from feeding off the blood was gone. He didn’t have the ability to reach out and feel others, their thoughts, and emotions anymore. Nor could he feel the rage that fought to control his behavior.
The smell of blood no longer called for him to feed. Was he human, normal?
Was there even such a thing?
“Friends,” Jake said as he stepped forward, withdrawing his fist to an open palm, “I speak openly to all of you. Some of you followed Victor and those that did, followed his path of bloodlust and revenge with unwavering violence and hatred for humans.”
Some turned away from Jake, but everyone heard his words, apparent by the sudden hush that fell over the crowd.
“Even I embraced the call for blood to feed. I said it was for the best, to defeat Victor, to help the innocent and the human, but no more.” Jake shook his head. “We are cured of our need to feed, our ability to shape shift and in that end, my special powers are gone. No longer, does blood fuel my fire or give me super abilities to lead a war against my brethren—and you know what? Good.
“It’s good that the power has been stripped away. Good that I’m one of you again, on solid land and on two feet. Those powers and abilities, no matter why or where they came from, corrupt all of us—even those of us who think we are incorruptible.” Jake smiled because he was talking about himself, smiling because he felt like he had a second chance.
“We can’t fight anymore; we’re one race, one people. We have to put this land back together. No more concentration camps or enslavement. When Victor said we were better than the humans, he was wrong. We’re all flawed, all the same. Each of us has the power to destroy or the power to heal.”
The faces in the crowd weren’t all accepting. Not everyone believed what Jake was saying, but they weren’t fightin
g either. They weren’t tearing each other apart, and, for today, that had to count for something.
Somehow, some way, those that killed and enslaved humans would be held accountable, but for now, Jake knelt in fellowship with his brothers and sisters, no matter what their differences were.
Jake, himself had committed atrocities in the name of winning, in the name of power. Maybe he was just, maybe he wasn’t, but he too, would need to answer for what he did. He too, would need to repent. His heart was heavy; it was the right thing to do.
Besides, Jake wanted to lead by example.
The war was over, but the end of everything? No, Jake thought the real work had yet to begin.
When Dirk and Jenna emerged, Jake breathed a happy sigh of relief, but Jenna was in a bad way. Her eyes were shifting and afraid. Her limbs barely seemed able to hold herself up, if not for the embrace, Dirk held around her shoulders. At least, she had that baby in her arms, and that alone, was a miracle.
“Thank God, my friends.” Jake offered a small smile and even though Jenna couldn’t return it, could barely look at him,
Dirk slapped Jake on the back. “It’s the beginning of a new era.”
Jake agreed with that. “I’ve done things, others here have done things, that need to be answered for.” He held his wrists out to be taken in with a heavy heart.
Dirk’s eyes widened. “Jake, for what it’s worth—I know what you’re trying to do, but there isn’t a New Haven or a police force anymore.”
“From where I’m looking, you’re in—you both are.” When Jake said it, Jenna recoiled. “I know how you must feel about them, but there are glistenings that need the cure and there are men out here that need to answer for their crimes.”
“And you trust New Haven?” Jenna spat out the words. “Why don’t you come inside and see what they did to Wendy, that will show you how much you can trust them.”
Jake’s heart hurt so bad to think about Wendy, his sweet Wendy, and the mother of his son, that it nearly crushed him. “I don’t trust New Haven, but I do trust you. I need to set an example for the others. Someone has to help me usher in this new era, as well. I’d rather it be you two, than anyone else.”
Dirk sighed with resignation. “All right, but I’m not going to cuff you. Follow Jenna inside.”
Jenna gazed back at him. “I’d rather burn New Haven down, than take you inside.”
“I know,” Jake said softly.
“It’s a testament to how much I like you, but don’t push it. We’re not staying. Too much has happened. We’ll oversee the cure for New Haven 57 and then we’re leaving.” Jenna glowered at him. “All of us. You don’t belong here, Jake.”
But where did he belong? Did he belong anywhere? “Once everything is settled, can you take me to Wendy?”
Jenna’s eyes fell to the ground and Jake realized that whatever he wanted to say to Wendy was too late. Jake was filled with sorrow for her loss, for his loss, and for his son. Wendy suffered from them both and Jake was going to make sure that it wasn’t in vain; that somehow, he would piece the country back together.
For her. For them.
For everyone.
Chapter Twenty-Three Chase
Even inside the command center, the ravaging cold left Chase’s body frozen. Outside, the other humans burned the bodies of the fallen glistening dragons for heat and others searched for food, blankets. Everyone was well cared for while Chase bided his time for morning, when it would be warm enough to set out.
Look for survivors—other humans being mistreated by glistenings.
Once upon a time he was all about fighting; now Chase thought he was all about saving, and helping.
On duty, he paced back and forth, his gun in hand and at the ready. Even under lock and key, glistenings were dangerous. At any moment, they could make a break for it.
“Chase!”
He spun and saw Ginny running down the hall from what was once Sally’s office. Her hair was braided again and it flew behind her as she hurried to catch up to him. “It’s Jake, he’s on the HAM radio.”
Chase’s eyes widened and though he shouldn’t have left his post, he raced after Ginny into the office. As soon as he entered, he heard Jake’s voice come over the speakers and it was the sweetest sound Chase had heard in a long time.
“This is Jake Monroe, acting leader of the North American territories, or what’s left of them. We have a glistening cure. If anyone out there reads me—.”
Chase picked up the receiver. “Monroe? It’s Chase. We could use that cure. We have half a dozen plus one glistening prisoners. Over.”
“Chase, it’s good to hear your voice. Where are you?”
Chase took a deep breath and glanced over at Ginny, who was grinning ear to ear. “Concentration Camp, not far from DC. We’ve taken control of the compound, Gin, and me. We have a few dozen humans here. Everyone’s a little worn and cold, but we’re hanging in there.”
“We’ll head to you with supplies and the cure. We just cured and liberated New Haven 57. There’re a lot of people that need saving if you and Ginny are up for the job.” Jake’s voice was filled with relief but more than that, he sounded like a leader. Put together—ready to take charge. Chase was damn glad that had finally happened; glad someone had stepped up to the plate and pulled everyone together.
Ginny was nodding so Chase gave a half-grin. “We’re ready and waiting for you, Monroe. Is Dirk with you?”
“Him, the missus, and the baby. Hold down the fort while we head to you. Any news from the White House?”
Chase paused and his heart missed a beat. “Victor’s dead. Liz completed her assignment. If it weren’t for her, we never would’ve taken the camp. She was a true hero, Jake.”
Ginny’s eyes widened and Chase realized his mistake. He realized what he had implied by speaking of Liz in the past tense and he hated himself for it. Cringing, Chase formed an apology he was never able to speak.
“Yes,” Jake let out a deep breath and Chase could’ve sworn there was a shake in his voice. “The best of the best she was, Chase. Fill me in, when I get there. Over and out.”
“Over and out.” Chase hung up the receiver and gazed at Ginny.
Her arms were crossed and she shook her head. “Chase Snow, I don’t know why I put up with you sometimes.”
Chase pulled Ginny into his arms and held her close, while her hands rested on his hips. “I don’t know why you do either, but I’m sure glad you do. Those other concentration camps, you really want to join the fight?”
Ginny shrugged with a smile. “I can’t let you go all by yourself. Who knows what kind of trouble you’d get yourself into without someone to watch your back.”
Chase dipped her to the side. Ginny squealed and held onto his shoulders tight. “I think I’d rather watch your back, but only when you’re walking away.” Chase winked.
“Never,” Ginny admitted with a twinkle in her eye and a smile she couldn’t hide. Chase’s eyes twinkled back and he leaned in for a slow, long kiss.
Epilogue
Costal New England
Morgan home
The pain had eventually faded, even though Jenna never thought it would.
Their home sat on a sprawling eight acres of land and Jenna’s red curls were long, cascading down her back. She wore a white, flowing sundress and on tiptoe, her bare feet pressed into the grass so she could hang the sheets on the line.
Taking the bucket in her hand, Jenna went to pump some water from the well. They were going to need extra that day because they were having houseguests. Jenna was excited, nervous, and as the water splashed into the bucket, a tendril of hair moved over her shoulder and blew past her mouth.
Not far off, a little girl’s cry of excitement sounded. Jenna looked over with alarm, after all this time; she still couldn’t help herself. Since all was well, she smiled at the two-year-old little girl. Her red hair done up in pigtails, she struggled to pick up her very first kitten.
“Wend
y,” Jenna let out a breath of air, “you’re going to hurt her, trying to pick her up like that, sweetheart.”
Wendy scowled with determination and all Jenna could do was watch the kitten slip away and run toward the house. Wendy hurried after her, far older, but less sure of herself on her feet, than the kitten only a few weeks old—but she was getting better.
“You’re in trouble with that one,” Jane said as she stepped off the front porch, the little girl racing past her. Gripping her cane—a souvenir of her imprisonment by Victor, Jane slowly walked down the steps to greet her own daughter.
Mother, daughter, and granddaughter—a sight Jenna Morgan never thought she’d live to see. “Don’t I know it,” Jenna said. “I’m hoping one day her father’s temperament will help us out. It has to be in there somewhere, doesn’t it?”
Jane snorted. “Us Morgan girls? We have spirit and spunk that no man has yet to ever conquer.”
Maybe that was true, but when she heard a noise coming from the road, her heart thumped with excitement. It might be Dirk. He might be home with their guests. Placing the bucket of water on the porch, Jenna wiped her hands on the hem of her dress.
“Wendy! Travis!” Jenna called with excitement and Jane just shook her head.
“You’re busting to tell him the news, aren’t you?” Jane’s eyes twinkled with excitement. “A new mouth to feed?”
Jenna touched her still flat stomach and hoped this pregnancy would be easier now that she was technically no longer a glistening, but yes, she was going to explode if she couldn’t tell him soon. Babies were hope and Jenna had so much hope for the future, she smiled from ear to ear.
Motherhood, hanging laundry? Who knew the simple life could be so much fun? Of course, after the last two years of scavenging and putting the country in order, Jenna thought they could all use some downtime. Let someone younger and more suited get the country in order.