I drop to my knees and reach for the bracelets which dangle on my wrist. They were Charlie’s and mine before the rains and we wore them all the time. They were sister bracelets and I never took mine off. When she died, I tied hers to my wrist right beside mine, but that was a futile effort to keep her alive in my mind.
Charlie is gone and so is every part of her. I feel it is wrong of me to keep this bracelet when Bosco died to protect something Charlie loved. He deserves a piece of her. I jerk the bracelet from my wrist, filthy with dirt and sweat, and lay it on the loose soil above Bosco’s body. I hold mine to my chest and take a deep breath, placing a small stone above the fabric bracelet to keep it from blowing away.
“Rest easy, buddy,” I whisper to Bosco.
I back into Hayden and look into the galaxy eyes with which I fell in love. “Do you think we will win this thing?” I ask him seriously.
Hayden looks at Bosco’s grave and a slew of expressions pass over his face, all different and indecipherable. “I don’t think it will be easy. There are thousands of them out there,” he states. “But I know we can do it.”
Ross stays at the gravesite even after we leave. It isn’t nearly as beautiful as Charlie’s but the fact he received a burial is a blessing. Most people don’t. Part of my family didn’t even get a proper burial.
As we approach the camp, the first thing I notice is Josephine and Noah facing a small group of people, Abdul and Jebadyah standing at their side, fists clenched. I stop and push Mary and Red behind me. Hayden pushes me behind him and I scowl at his protectiveness, drawing my Glock 22 from my waistband. “Who are you?” Hayden shouts. All six of the men turn toward Hayden and their attention shifts to Mary and me in shock. “I’m speaking to you, not them,” Hayden shouts viciously. I have no doubt he will kill someone if they take one step out of line.
“We heard about your victory against the Szorians and we wish to help,” the tallest of the men state. He is the only one who didn’t break Hayden’s gaze upon noticing Mary and me.
“How did you hear?” Hayden asks. Due to a lack of people, the word no longer travels quickly.
“Everyone heard. A message was sent to the remaining Nectorian. I don’t know who sent it or how, but we are here to help, and I am sure hundreds more will follow.”
I stare at the group in confusion and look around, my eyes meeting Isabelle’s. If anyone can send a message to all remaining Nectorian, why would they not have done so way before now? And if anyone has the ability to do so, I feel as if it would be the person who can project herself elsewhere and sense what’s coming. “Isabelle?” I ask.
“I sent a message to everyone willing to help,” Isabelle says with a shrug. I glare at her for a moment and shake my head at the stupidity.
“You sent our location to hundreds of people who we have never met and cannot trust?” I shout at her. In theory, the idea would work. But after the world went to shit, we can’t trust anyone. I can’t even fully trust my group now—only a few select members.
“I sent a message we were going to fix the world and if anyone is willing to help, it would be greatly appreciated,” she says. Isabelle clearly doesn’t understand my point, but everyone else does.
“How did you even do it?” I ask. “I thought you could only sense what lies ahead.”
“I can send a part of myself to detect what is ahead. It’s a burst of energy, but if I put more energy into it, it can also send a message to everyone in a certain proximity.”
“Wait, so you are telling me it’s not specific to Nectorians, but to everyone?” I ask, shocked I am even asking the question.
“Szorians run on a different wavelength, so only Nectorians can receive my message. This means more allies,” Isabelle says. I can’t be completely mad at her when she is so confident she is helping our cause, but I am terrified of what’s to come.
Fortunately, we have a team of warriors, royals, and a sharpshooter to back our cause. And with a few more, we could be unstoppable.
*****
Epilogue
Jo Leigh (Six Months Later)
We built an empire of good, hoping to stop the bad which plagues the world.
It is not surprising many more Nectorians and their human soul mates joined our cause. The different personalities that surround our camp are astonishing and useful. One more royal entered our lives, striking Mary in the heart once again, but this time it was different. This royal was not a woman, but instead a kindhearted man bound to a woman who reminds me immensely of Mary.
We have a town surrounded by fresh water and crops that were poisonous when fed with the acidic rain, but are healthy and edible now. The other royal assisted in any way he could with his unique gift of influencing emotions and stabilizing them. He has been a huge help to my mental state, but I don’t think anything can fill the emptiness Charlie left inside of me—not even Hayden.
“I’m leading the northern border patrol today and you lead the western front. I have Jeb and Abdul leading the eastern and southern,” I tell Hayden, cocking one of the newest toys which were brought by a group of gun-happy Nectorians.
Hayden agrees with a firm nod of his head and leans in for a kiss—our usual tradition before we go on a perimeter run. When he pulls away, he grips the front of my shirt for a moment and stares me dead in the eyes. “Be safe.”
I nod and reply: “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” A smile pulls at his lips and he leans down for one final peck before leading his team of five toward the western side of the town. I lead mine north.
Everyone is more than willing to help in our town, whether it be guarding the perimeter of the camp or going on bi-daily perimeter checks which I typically lead alongside the brothers and Hayden. They are typically uneventful, but on the occasion we do come upon a group of Szorians or stray cannibals, we are prepared.
Cannibals have gone nearly extinct or fell deep into hiding, as we have run across very few of them in the past few months. Szorians, on the other hand, are far from rare and constantly attempt to retaliate. They know where we are, but we are always prepared for them. We are always a step ahead, which is why rebuilding has gone so smoothly with minimal losses.
One loss who we will all remember is Ross. He may be alive out there, but we know without a doubt he will never come back. After Bosco’s death, he left without another word and I would like to imagine he is well, but that is doubtful.
*****
The run goes smoothly and everyone meets at the border of our town, and after making sure everyone is back, we head home. My home—and Hayden’s for that matter—is with Mary, Red and Elijah. While renovating homes and apartments, everyone is forced to share housing, but I have yet to hear a complaint.
Mary stands and greets me at the door with Red by her side. Mary holds her stomach in her hand and smiles at me. “Did the run go as planned?” She asks.
“It did. How is he doing today?” I ask, pointing at her tummy. Red hops up and down, more excited about the future child than any of us.
“She is doing so great,” Red spews with an ecstatic smile. After the first few weeks of her life, she began growing slightly slower, though still rapidly by human standards. She looks like she is about six and she is the definition of a diva. She is coming into her abilities more and that has been entertaining for both Mary and Elijah, who act as her parents in the given situation.
“He or she is doing great,” Mary agrees. “I am confident it will not miscarry, despite the lack of food in my system, it is strong.” Mary acts as the town medic and has seen too many miscarriages due to lack of nutrition. Food is still difficult to come by, especially considering our lack of animals.
“It will get better. We have three cows and they will reproduce. It may be a bit, but we can manage until then,” I state.
People often go on food runs to the nearby towns. Everyone is confident we will be able to make do until the animals reproduce and plants become supple. It was pure luck that a few of the Necto
rians had kept cows indoors during the rains. It was even more shocking that they had enough hay to feed them regularly.
“Everything is going to turn out fine,” Mary says confidently.
Hayden wraps his arms around me from behind and plants small, loving kisses on my throat. I smile at the contact and grasp his hand in mine. “You know, I think you are right,” I agree. “Everything is perfect.”
Red is growing happy and healthy. We have a town full of healthy people. Mary is finally content with her life and has accepted all of her losses and moved forward. Hayden and I are finally happy together, no longer worried about one another’s safety every day.
As for me, despite the odds that we stacked against me and the losses that nearly shattered my soul into nothingness, I survived. And surviving is all I could have hoped for in a cruel and unforgiving world as terrible as this one.
I made it.
THE END
*****
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About Doug McGovern
Doug McGovern is a sick-minded individual who lives in Upstate New York with his surprisingly normal wife, Nancy (also an author with books on Amazon), and their three awesome kids.
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Rights & Disclaimer
This is entirely a work of fiction. All people, places and events contained have been completely fabricated by the author. Any similarities to real people, places, or events are completely coincidental.
The Bound Trilogy Copyright © 2017 Doug McGovern
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Final Impact: A Dystopian Trilogy (BOUND Book 3) Page 13