“Rewa is gone. You have nothing more to fear,” Dirk whispered.
“He wasn’t evil. I sense what you were thinking.” Opor stayed where she was. “He knew his mate wasn’t on his side, but he sought to find another means for the Zalt to exist. He wanted to show her…”
“From what I saw, she didn’t care,” Dirk said. “Rex was there.”
“On the Objects?” Opor asked.
“Yes. He was powerful.”
“Like his father.”
Dirk wanted to get as far from this place as he could, but being in the warmth of Opor’s embrace, and the gentle breathing from her nose, he was lulled into a dreamless sleep.
He woke hours later, well-rested. He roused Opor and told her it was time to depart.
As a pair, they began their trek from the valley. Dirk and Opor were stuck on Rimia, but they were together.
____________
The soldier screamed, a horribly primal sound. He fell, dropping his gun, and Tripp lunged, grabbing the weapon.
The others at the estate yard did the same, and soon everyone was shrieking, then tumbling to the grass. Veronica jumped to her feet and rolled the soldier over. His eyes were blinking, but they weren’t bloody or red.
“Where am I?” he asked.
Veronica smiled at him, a lump forming in her throat. “You’re okay.”
She ran to the next soldier and found her the same: healthy and confused.
Tripp stood with Veronica, protecting her with the M4 as they searched the congested yard. People were starting to regain consciousness.
Jessica’s voice carried above the muttering crowd. “You’ve all been inhabited by the Unknowns.”
It was ideal that this came from Jessica, as long as she had their best interests at heart. Which Veronica doubted, but she played along.
“Where are they?” someone shouted.
“I imagine they’ve left,” Jessica told them. “They were not our allies. We were deceived. We meant nothing to them!”
“How can you be certain?” a middle-aged woman asked. She held a hand to her chest, and Veronica swore the lady was a national newscaster.
“We were a means to an end. The Book was created to preach a lie. We were never going to coexist inside them. Do you feel like you were part of the last day? Were you cohabitating?”
They returned a series of negatives.
“The Believers are done.” Jessica walked toward the estate and waved for Veronica and Tripp to follow.
They reached the entrance, and Jessica reasserted that the entire household had to disband. She sent them home to check on their friends and families. People were rushing from the house, many crying, others standing quietly. Veronica saw a man walk through the kitchen and out onto the patio. He had a gun in his grip, and he pressed the metal to his temple. She shouted, but it was too late. He pulled the trigger.
There would be more of that. These people had spent their lives preparing for the Zalt’s arrival, and now that it was over, the guilt surrounding their actions would be too much to bear. Especially when they learned how many people had died in the attempted incursion.
Veronica swallowed bile and looked away.
Tripp put an arm around her shoulder, and they followed Jessica into the basement.
When they opened the door, she couldn’t believe her eyes. An exact replica of the Porto cave, down to the torches, which had been extinguished.
Jessica walked to the torches, pulling a lighter from her blazer pocket. She lit them, and they flickered gently in the calm room. The Case was on the podium.
“They left. For Rimia.” Veronica set a hand on the metal Case. Time was different there. It had only been a couple of hours, but she hoped that when they opened it, Rex would return. “Shall we?”
Tripp stared at Jessica. “Let’s try it.”
They stood back, not wanting to travel to Rimia if Rex and Beverly were waiting across the Bridge. The lights swirled, the wind blew, but there was no indication of life.
“We should go check on them.” Veronica stepped to the podium.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Tripp still clutched the M4. “Let’s wait. Activate it again in a while. We don’t know what lies across, and I’m not willing to risk losing you.”
Veronica hated sitting idle, but Tripp was right. She held tight, feeling her stomach grumble. When was the last time they’d eaten something?
Tripp must have heard, because he glanced at Jessica. “You want to be helpful?”
She nodded.
“Then make some coffee and bring food. This may take a while.”
Part IV
The Aftermath
1
Dirk’s senses were on fire. The sound of the lake water as the paddle cut through the surface relaxed him like a meditation. His skin tingled, as if he’d been numb for the last decade. Colors popped in the distance, and he spotted the Rimia village a mile or so away.
He wanted to wake Opor. Instead, he watched her sleeping in the center of the boat.
She didn’t wake until the bottom of the canoe scraped the rocks along the shoreline, and he smiled as she rubbed at her eyes. “What are you so happy about?” she asked.
“You.”
She sat up and stretched. “Me?”
“I missed you.”
“You’ll have to tell me about Earth,” she said.
“I will. Remember, the villagers are all gone,” he reminded her.
The grin fell from her face. “It’s a terrible tragedy.”
“It is,” Dirk said.
“What of Clayton?”
She and Dirk hadn’t talked much during their trek. Instead, they’d basked in the heat and each other’s company. Now it was time to reveal everything. “He’s dead.”
“I am sorry.” Opor splashed into the water, and together, they dragged the boat to the beach.
Dirk sniffed again, catching the scent of a fire’s smoke. “Do you smell that?”
“I do.” She let go of the boat and ran toward the village.
The dead decomposed in the streets, and the heat made things worse. Dirk pulled his shirt over his mouth and nose. Opor seemed unbothered as she crouched near the first corpse. She made a guttural sound and broke into a low song.
“We have to cleanse their spirits,” she said.
Dirk knew her entire history and beliefs were built on the lies of the Zalt, but he wasn’t going to argue the point at this important moment. Opor had been the leader of their people, and he’d assist in any way possible.
“We should investigate,” he told her, and they scoured the village until they spotted the smoke rising from the direction of the dome. Bright lights shone, blue lightning flashing past the derelict city. “Someone’s using the Bridge!”
This got his feet moving faster. A while ago, he’d been content to spend his life here with Opor, unaware of what transpired on Earth, but the second he saw the Bridge and smelled the smoke, he needed to learn the truth.
He and Clayton had walked this path from the village to the dome on countless occasions, and he made quick work of it. Opor was strong, and even he struggled to keep pace with the lithe woman.
Finally, they crossed the gorge separating the dome from the city, and Dirk ran. His thighs burned and his ankles chafed, but he kept going, pumping his arms as the breath exploded from his lungs. Who was here? He…
The figures rose as he crested a rise in the ground, and he slowed. Opor came beside him and rubbed his lower back. “Who are they?”
Dirk fell to his knees, feeling the sharp jab from the rocks. It didn’t matter. They were alive. And here.
“Those… are my children.”
____________
“What do we do with her?” Veronica asked Tripp when Jessica left. She noticed how Tripp refused to let go of the assault rifle.
“Jessica? String her up for the lynch mob,” Tripp croaked.
Veronica stared at the Case. “Seriously. How do
we even explain this?”
“Why do we have to? The Believers are history. Roger said he’d try to help facilitate a peaceful return to hierarchy, and what’s done is done.” Tripp let the M4 loose and slid it around his shoulder.
“You’re serious?” She faced him, crossing her arms. “We don’t speak of what happened?”
“That’s up to you. But all I ask is that you leave me out of it,” he said.
This gave her pause. So many deaths. There would be a lot of questions, and if no one was willing to tell the story, it would be a shame. Maybe Tripp was right to want nothing to do with it, but part of her didn’t think so. “History will be written with or without our input. It’s up to us if we want our side to be told.” When Tripp didn’t respond, she gave up. “When do we try again?” Veronica was anxious to find Rex.
The door opened, and in walked Jessica. She had a tray of food: omelets, with steaming coffee in a carafe, and biscuits. She’d brought enough for three.
Tripp poured a coffee and sniffed it. He handed it over to Jessica. “You first,” he demanded.
Jessica rolled her eyes and drank from it. “See? I’m serious. I’m on your side.”
This was enough for Veronica, for the moment. She was weak in the knees and took a plate, glad to devour the contents.
They asked Jessica questions, and she assured them the Believers had ceased to exist. She went upstairs, stating that the healing was already beginning.
Once they were finished, Veronica returned to the podium, ready to attempt the Bridge again.
____________
“It’s come on once, so I assume they’ll power it up again,” I said. Dirk and Opor were in the dome with us. My dad’s arm was around Beverly, and they spoke quietly.
“Your father saved me,” Opor said.
This was the woman he was so enamored with. Her skin was coppery, her eyes big and bright.
“He wasn’t going to give up on you.” We’d spent an hour telling our stories, and now it was time to return to Earth.
“We can’t be sure we won’t be facing the cultists when we arrive,” Bev said.
I was confident the Zalt were gone, since I’d witnessed the event on board an Object. It was difficult to remember what had happened on the ship. The memories had already begun to slip from my mind.
We approached the corridor and stepped to the podium in the Bridge access.
“What if they don’t power it up again?” Dirk asked.
I removed the seventh Token from my pocket. “Then we make the trek to the hills and travel to Kabos.” That wasn’t my first choice, but it would leave us a path to home.
We didn’t need to worry about other options. Ten minutes after we’d entered the room, the Bridge was activated from the estate’s basement.
I closed my eyes as the wind blew around me, and saw the blue light piercing through my eyelids. When I opened them, the torches were extinguished. My vision was blurry and everything was weak.
“You’re here!” Someone rushed me, squeezing me tight. Her lips met mine in a flurry.
“Veronica?”
She slapped my chest. “Of course.”
My sight was returning, and Tripp stood outside the circle, clutching his weapon. He nodded at me. “Glad to see you, buddy,” I said.
“Likewise.” He eyed Beverly. “She good?”
“No one home but my sister.”
“If this reunion is over, I want to get out of here,” Veronica stated.
“What’s happening?” I asked while we climbed the steps, heading into the mansion’s main level.
“See for yourself.” Tripp pointed outside to the hundreds of Believers. They were dragging bodies from the yard, cleaning up from the disaster.
“Some of the vessels were okay when the Zalt vacated, but not everyone.” Veronica led us to the patio, and I sighed as the people worked tirelessly. I heard sobs, along with cries of joy as people embraced. They’d started this week expecting a different result, but their relief was palpable.
“They need to be held accountable,” Dirk said.
“Maybe they will be.” Tripp walked toward the waiting Rodax ship. “It looks like Marcus must have managed to shut the hub off, but we should find out if they made it.”
My stomach tightened. If anything had happened to Marcus, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
“Don’t worry, Rex. He’ll be okay,” Veronica told me quietly.
Opor looked so out of place, despite her similarities to humans. Dirk must have noticed too, because he guarded her protectively. They were the first on the alien ship.
“Don’t leave without me!” a shrill voice shouted from the estate’s doors. It was Jessica.
“What is she doing?” I asked Tripp.
“I don’t know. She swears she wants to help clean this up.” Tripp might have believed her, but he hadn’t loosened his grip on the M4 since she’d started running toward us.
Jessica was as put together as always, and she stopped ten yards short of us. “Rexford,” she whispered.
“I don’t see why you should come,” I told her. “Or live, for that matter.”
She pulled a gun from nowhere and flipped it around. Tripp’s aim went straight for her, but she only stepped for me, handle out. “Take it.”
I did. She stayed closer and used her finger to press the barrel to her chest. “Pull the trigger, Rex. It’s what I deserve. You’re right.”
I glanced at Veronica, and she had paled. “No. We’ve seen too much death.”
“Then bring me. I can divulge every plan the Believers had. Make sure no one is hurt because of us again.” Jessica’s voice was laced with desperation.
“Let her come,” Veronica said. “It’ll be easier to watch her.”
“Fine. Everyone on board.” I stayed behind Jessica, making her go first. I peered at the yard, then at the clear sky.
I was happy to be alive.
____________
Carson shouted with joy as he defeated Marcus yet again at the racing game. Marcus set the controller onto the table. “I think I’ve had enough.”
“Aw, man. One more game?” Carson pleaded.
“Okay, but…” The floorboards vibrated, and Marcus rushed to the second-floor farmhouse window to see the other Rodax vessel lowering to the field.
“Who is it?” Carson jumped up and down, trying to get a look. Marcus would have lifted him, but his skin was still healing. Whatever the Rodax had given him for the radiation burns was working. Gren had promised there would be no long-lasting effects from the injuries.
“I don’t know.” Marcus stared, waiting to see who emerged from the ship.
His teeth clenched when he saw Jessica. She stopped at the top of the ramp, head scanning in both directions. “No, no, no…” Marcus was about to sound the alarms when he spied Tripp behind her.
Without a word, Marcus took off. He knocked on everyone’s doors. “They’re here! They’ve come back!”
Bill’s head poked out from one of the bedrooms, and Carson chased Marcus down the steps. Roger was walking for the front doors with his wife and Edith, and Marcus shot past them, pushing the screen.
“Tripp!” Marcus shouted, sprinting through the yard. His socks were getting soaked on the damp grass, but he didn’t care.
Tripp smiled at him and stepped aside.
There was Rex.
Marcus didn’t have words. He ran for him, laughing and crying.
“You did good, buddy.” Rex patted the back of his head. “You did really good.”
Marcus’ face was half-covered in bandages, and he knew he looked a mess, but no one commented as he greeted them. He stopped at Dirk, seeing the woman beside him. “Is this…”
“Marcus, meet Opor. Opor, this is Marcus,” Dirk said in English.
She glanced at him, then at Marcus, with the nicest eyes he’d ever seen. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Opor said something in her own language he didn’t und
erstand.
“Is it over?” Evan Young asked. His swelling had receded, but he still needed time to heal. He’d gotten the worst of it.
“It is,” Rex told them, and walked to Roger. “The invasion is done. The Zalt should be leaving in their Objects.”
Gren was there, smiling along with his remaining soldiers. “They have departed. We confirmed.”
“It was pretty incredible,” Bill said.
“Wait, you saw the Objects?” Tripp asked.
Bill chuckled. “Yep. I’ll never forget it.”
Marcus watched Beverly rushing toward her children.
2
Bev couldn’t slow the tears if she wanted to. Edith and Carson were on her in a flash, a series of arms tugging and faces pressing into her. She blubbered something about loving them, and Carson replied with a burst of nonsensical words.
“You’re safe now.” She crouched, kissing her daughter’s forehead, then her son’s.
“Mommy, we brought the Book, and Uncle Rex told us how brave and strong we were,” Carson finally managed to say.
“I know, honey. He told me.” Bev couldn’t believe she’d survived. The leader of the Zalt had attempted to make his home inside her, but Rex had cast him out.
She clutched her children close, savoring the reunion.
Eventually, they settled into the house. It was a giant place, with more than enough bedrooms if the adults shared. Bev found herself in a room with her kids, and after a long nap, she used the private shower, rinsing off the last month in captivity.
When she emerged, feeling more centered than she had since her mother died, her children were gone. A sudden moment of fear crept into her body, and she rushed to the door, yelling for the kids.
“They’re fine.” It was Evan, walking to the stairs. “Everyone’s outside. Fire pit.”
“Thank God,” she mumbled, seeing his gaze drop to the towel around her. She pulled it tighter, almost blushing in embarrassment.
“They’re good kids, you know.” Evan played it cool, and she appreciated it.
Lost Hope (The Bridge Sequence Book Three) Page 27