by Stu Jones
Ghofaun, Mos, Oksana, Yuri, and a gathering of Robusts of all races and religions shuffle back and forth to keep warm. The Vestals encircle everyone, holding silent vigil, standing strong against the Siberian wind. Here in the ruins of Logos, there are few walls left to shield us—but this is where Mila would want to be buried. This was her home.
At the back of the crowd, though still in front of a few hundred Graciles who huddle like lost sheep, stands Faruq with Husniya who grips his side, sobbing gently. I catch his eye for a moment. Still warring with Alya, he came anyway. Put his troubles aside to say a final goodbye, though I doubt he will utter a word. He carries perhaps more guilt over her death than even I do.
Say something, damn you.
That’s what Vedmak would snarl at me. Despite the fact he’s gone, I find myself wondering how he would handle this situation. His evil knew no bounds, and yet I take strength from the lessons he taught me—a fact I’m sure he would despise.
I clear my throat, unable to make eye contact with anyone.
“Mila was my friend,” I start, my voice barely audible. “Perhaps my only friend. A thing I never thought I would have. Something I was unsure even existed. My pain, my anguish at her passing is unbearable. Still, I know compared with your pain, it is meaningless. After what I’ve been party to, I don’t feel I have any right to speak to you today, though ... here I am.” I suck in a frigid breath. “But it’s not about me. It’s not even about you—her loved ones and comrades in arms.”
They stare at me, brows furrowed.
I wait for a gust to die down, and clasp Anastasia’s hand in mine for the strength to carry on. “I spent my life in relative luxury. Free to read books and learn all there is to learn about the universe. All Graciles did. We had it all figured out. Except we didn’t. Mila had lived through pain and loss that I can’t imagine. It made her tough, and sarcastic and difficult and, well, very special.”
From the crowd, there’s a cough followed by the sniffing away of tears.
“Despite her hardship,” I continue, “she chose to live every single day for the benefit of others. She never gave up hope there was a light at the end of the tunnel for humanity—for me. It cost her her life to prove it. She told me I saved her. That I saved everyone. I didn’t understand what she meant, at least until now. Oksana has told me the antidote she created for me can be used to fight the NBD. Without me, or Vedmak, even, we would perhaps never have considered such an approach. Maybe this is true. Maybe it isn’t. But how did I save her? She died. Because of me.”
Tears well in my eyes and the stone in my throat threatens to choke my words to silence. I try to swallow it away and fail miserably.
“Mila wanted to make a difference, to do something with her life. She believed saving me was a great thing because I was worth more to the universe than her. She was wrong.” I sniff hard, swallowing over and over, working to be able to make it through this. “I haven’t saved you. Mila’s love did. If she hadn’t fought with everything she had to come for me, to bring me back from the demon who stalked me, there would never be a cure for the NBD. You all would not have banded together in battle. You would not stand here together now. Because of her, you all united. And because of her, we have a chance to stay united.”
Snow blusters though the graveyard, picking up debris and flinging it between our feet and against Mila’s headstone. The rattling noise draws everyone’s attention to the simple monument. Below her name, seven words are carved deep into the rock. I drop to my haunches next to the shiny black sarsen.
“I don’t know if you’re with Yeos now,” I say to my friend, who now lies buried beneath the earth at my feet. “I don’t know anything but this—” I turn to the mourners. “If we are to rebuild the human race, it will take time and patience and an understanding many of us will struggle with. But we have to try. We have to follow Mila’s lead. Sometimes we have to make great sacrifices to get to our destination.” My fingers run across the engraved words I once saw beneath a painting in Evgeniy’s apartment. “Indeed, it may well take death to reach a star. To die quietly of old age would be to go there slowly on foot. That was never Mila’s way. She went in with everything she had, a heart full of belief in something greater. And so should we.”
Acknowledgements
We humbly thank all those who have helped us bring this world to life.
It takes a village to create a book.
Italia Gandolfo, Renee Fountain, Liana Gardner, Jason Kirk, Holly Atkinson, Justin Paul,
Chris Rapier, Chris Currenton, David Jones, Kat de Sousa, Tess Burnside and Marina Diner.
About the Authors
A veteran law enforcement officer, Stu Jones has worked as a beat cop, an investigator, an instructor of firearms and police defensive tactics and as a member and team leader of a multi-jurisdictional SWAT team. He is trained and qualified as a law enforcement SWAT sniper, as well as in hostage rescue, close quarter combat and high-risk entry tactics. Recently, Stu served for three years with a U.S. Marshal’s Regional Fugitive Task Force - hunting the worst of the worst.
Known for his character-driven stories and blistering action sequences, Stu strives to create thought-provoking reading experiences that challenge the status quo. When he’s not chasing bad guys or writing epic stories, he can be found planning his next adventure to some remote or exotic place.
Stu lives in Alabama with his wife, two children, and a golden-doodle who thinks he's human.
www.StuJonesFiction.com
Gareth Worthington holds a degree in marine biology, a PhD in endocrinology, and currently educates the World's doctors on new cancer therapies. Gareth has hand tagged sharks in California; won in the Science Fiction Category at the 2017 London Book Festival and won honorable mention at the New York Book Festival 2012 and 2013 for his writing; and trained in various martial arts, including Jeet Kune Do, Muay Thai, and MMA at the EVOLVE MMA gym in Singapore and Phoenix KampfSport Switzerland.
Born in Plymouth UK, Worthington currently resides outside of Zurich, Switzerland.
www.GarethWorthington.com
www.ItTakesDeathToReachAStar.com