by Sandy Holden
“Oh.” I sat cross-legged on the bed. “Maybe you’re right. I can’t separate the attraction I feel because of his gift, and the attraction I feel just for him. And maybe he does love me in his way. It doesn’t matter, though. I love you. I’ll tell you the same thing I told him. He and I can’t be together—it just doesn’t work. But you and I? That works. It really works.”
Tucker was just looking at me, and I froze. “Unless you have changed your mind?”
He suddenly laughed and hugged me fiercely. “No, never. I just am having trouble believing it. I was trying so hard to let you go, I wasn’t prepared to hear you say that.” He pulled back to look at me. “You mean it? You love me?”
“Yes, I do.” I kissed him softly. “I really do.”
Epilog: One Month Later
I put the cell phone down and rubbed my ear. I’d heard once that being on the phone all the time could give you a brain tumor or something. If that was true, I should be making a will about now.
The last month had been extremely busy. Gabriel was firmly in control of the entire quarantine zone. There had been a few rumors that the quarantine might be lifted, and I’d been helping Gabriel as much as I could. It was far too much for one person, but Meri, Phil, and Tucker were a huge help. They all knew me well enough to follow my sometimes-erratic leadership, and without them I would have run away screaming long ago.
Things were coming together. We had supplies coming in and towns without basic services had, by and large, gotten them back. There’d been a tense couple of days where the cell phone companies of this area had told us they were shutting down the zone because we hadn’t paid. Never mind that we didn’t get mail from the outside except very rarely. Gabriel had set up a videoconference, and by the time it was done, the Hot Zone owned its own cell services, at a very reasonable price.
I’d managed to keep Meri, Phil and Tucker free from Gabriel’s influence and they all were free to hate him if they wished. None of them did, however, seeing how tirelessly he worked and seeing the things he had accomplished. Gabriel was cooler towards me since I had seen him that day Cal had been shot. Maybe he was trying to make things easier, but I suspected he was pouting.
I still thought about him a lot—more than I thought I should. I knew I’d been right when I said we couldn’t be together, and I think he knew it as well. He hadn’t insisted that I come up to St. Paul at all in the last month, and I appreciated that nearly as much as Tucker did.
Cal had mostly recovered. There was definitely something different about him, but no ‘abilities’ we had found so far. He had his arm in a sling; still he seemed in good spirits—horribly embarrassed at how he had acted. I’d taken him aside and told him the entire Eddy incident nearly word for word, and I think that had made him feel better. He had been working for an elite group of soldiers who went into problem areas and took out (as in killed) selected people. When he realized I was working with Gabriel (he saw that wretched TV interview where I looked shocked as Gabriel explained my new responsibilities), he had offered to meet Gabriel and assess the danger. Mostly he had done it because he’d known that once he got into the quarantine zone, he’d be stuck in it with Meri. The other reason was that he knew there were some world leaders who were very wary of this man who’d risen from nowhere in the middle of an area where strange things happened. Once Cal had heard that Gabriel had an ability to gain everyone’s love and trust, helped along by the rising anxiety and paranoia of the illness, he had panicked, and our little crisis had been the result. Meri had forgiven him immediately, of course, but it had taken longer for me, then again, I wasn’t sleeping with him.
Tucker had explained that he’d accidentally dropped his cell phone, and the battery had become loose. It had turned itself off, and as he tried to keep Karen from killing herself from shame over the scene she’d cause at the house plus her disturbing new ability, he had not known I was calling. Once he’d realized it, he’d texted, and was just leaving Karen’s house when she’d come running out, telling him I was in trouble. Tucker had helped organize the rescue with Luis’ help, and Karen had been glad to assist. The waiting ambulance and the overwhelming medical support had been Gabriel’s doing.
I started as the door opened and Tucker walked in. He pushed the keyboard to the computer out of the way and sat on the corner of the desk. “Are you going to take a break? It’s a party and you’re missing it.”
Cal and Meri were getting married, and this was their engagement party. I nodded, still bothered by my thoughts. Tucker, always so sensitive to my moods, kissed my forehead and used his hand to cup my chin so he could look in my eyes. “What is it?”
I sighed. “I was thinking about something Cal said that night he got shot. He said killing Gabriel was like getting the chance to kill Hitler. At the time, I thought he was ranting, but what if he’s right? What if we are like Hitler’s little worker bees, getting the Third Reich set up?”
Tucker chuckled until he saw my face. “I’m not laughing at the thought. I’m laughing because I used to think of Gabriel that way. I don’t any more, but I can see how other people see him as a threat. Do you know what changed my mind?”
“No.”
“The night we came to rescue you, he was determined to go in as the distraction. He only gave in when I told him that you were adamant that your friends not be changed. Would he do that if he weren’t a compassionate man? Plus, he has set it up in the Cities so that it’s safe, and there’s always enough to eat. No, I don’t worry that he’s Hitler, but I do wonder what his background was that has enabled him to lead us in this way. He doesn’t seem to have a history at all. It’s like he was born as an adult during the bombings. I’d really love to hear his story.”
“Tucker,” I said, getting out of my chair and fitting myself between his legs to kiss him. “I didn’t know you respected him so much. Are you sure he didn’t roll you?”
Tucker chuckled. “And would I know if he had? No, he must not have, because I still hate him for hurting you.”
“It all turned out perfect, because it led me to you, and that has been the best thing I could ever have be given.”
The End
Dedication:
For Kyle, who says this is his favorite story.
About The Author
Sandy was born and raised in Iowa, moved all over Minnesota and has finally put down roots in Texas. She attended the University of Northern Iowa, the University of Minnesota, and St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota. She has four outstanding boys and a cat and dog. She has been writing since she was fourteen.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introducing “New Guy”
Chapter 2: The Bombs Bursting in Air
Chapter 3: My World is Changing
Chapter 4: I go shopping and tell a story
Chapter 5: Quarantine
Chapter 6: Sarah Richardson does a runner
Chapter 7: House Party
Chapter 8: Enter Gabriel, Stage North
Chapter 9: The Meeting, Continued
Chapter 10: I Meet the Grand Poo-bah
Chapter 11: Think Before You Speak
Chapter 12: Homecoming
Chapter 13: Freaky Boyfriends
Chapter 14: Little Jacob
Chapter 15: A Lab and a Job Offer
Chapter 16: Answers, a Surprise, and Home
Chapter 17: I See Stars
Chapter 18: Busted
Chapter 19: I Can See You
Chapter 20: Sun’s Up—Look Who’s Here
Epilog: One Month Later
About The Author
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introducing “New Guy”
Chapter 2: The Bombs Bursting in Air
Chapter 3: My World is Changing
Chapter 4: I go shopping and tell a story
Chapter 5: Quarantine
Chapter 6: Sarah Richardson does a runner
Chapter 7: House Party
Chapter 8: Enter
Gabriel, Stage North
Chapter 9: The Meeting, Continued
Chapter 10: I Meet the Grand Poo-bah
Chapter 11: Think Before You Speak
Chapter 12: Homecoming
Chapter 13: Freaky Boyfriends
Chapter 14: Little Jacob
Chapter 15: A Lab and a Job Offer
Chapter 16: Answers, a Surprise, and Home
Chapter 17: I See Stars
Chapter 18: Busted
Chapter 19: I Can See You
Chapter 20: Sun’s Up—Look Who’s Here
Epilog: One Month Later
About The Author