“We need to move,” Steph said sternly as she gave Karli a small shove. She pulled Cedric’s arm, but he stopped at Davis’s body. He pulled the necklace off him and then stood back to his feet.
With Steph and Karli helping Cedric, they managed to make it back to Black Bio. Steph walked to the porch of the house and began shouting until the door opened.
Clarke quickly ran out and picked Cedric up.
“Where’s the others?” Pearson asked from the doorway.
“Dead,” Steph said as she led Karli inside.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Pearson said. “But we’ve got to hurry.”
“Why?” Steph asked. “We just got here.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Pearson said. “We have to leave.”
“Where to now?” Cedric asked once Clarke set him in a chair.
“Brazil,” Pearson said. “Fiji, Hawaii, Great Britain. Anywhere that is not North America.”
“What are you talking about?” Steph said.
“Look around, girl,” Stewart said.
Steph began to check out the few rooms available and noticed that they were all empty. “Where is everyone?” she asked.
From the small couch he was laying in, Cedric said, “Gone. Right?”
Pearson exhaled slowly. “Remember the cleansing we talked about? When we got logged into the satellite server, we found out that the president ordered Operation Bailout. We only have days until the bombing starts.”
EPILOUGUE
Cedric clicked the button to the satellite-based communication device and spoke again. “Cherokee facility, do you read me?”
“They might not have them fixed yet,” Karli said. “Maybe dad can’t fix them.”
“He’s had three full days to tinker,” Steph said. “There shouldn’t have been anything to hold him up.”
“Shush,” Cedric said.
“Cedric,” a voice said over the radio. “Keep talking, we’ve almost got you.”
Cedric pushed the button again and said, “Can you read me yet?”
When the voice came through the next time, Cedric recognized it as his father’s. “Cedric, we can hear you. Are you safe?”
“We lost Ross and Davis,” Cedric said. Before he could finish telling his father what he needed to, Hank began to speak.
“I’m sorry to tell you this Cedric, but we’ve lost a lot here since you left.”
Cedric paused for a moment before asking, “What happened?”
Hank gave the shortest version possible. Cedric listened the entire time without comment. He could hear Karli crying behind him. When he turned around, he saw that Steph was trying to comfort her. Cedric bit back his own pain about his brother’s death and tried to stay strong for the others. He knew he didn’t have time to grieve yet.
When Hank finished, Cedric picked the com mic back up. He pushed the button and said, “It gets worse.”
Cedric took a deep breath. “We are leaving immediately to return. We have nine days left before this entire continent is blown apart systematically by a combination of nuclear and non-nuclear explosives.”
Hank was silent on the other end of the satellite radio. After Cedric thought he’d lost him, he finally responded. “What do we need to do?”
“Pack,” Cedric said. “We are going to drive nonstop. Since we have the path now, we can make it back to you in a lot less time. Be ready to leave the morning after tomorrow. Stay safe. Over and out.”
Cedric set the radio down and turned to his comrades.
Pearson looked Cedric up and down. “You sure about this?” he asked.
Cedric nodded. “We have to head back and get our families. I don’t blame you for going now. We’re ditching the Hummer and getting a gas saver. With the right foreign car, I think we can make it back fairly quick without many stops.”
Pearson nodded. “We’re headed to South America. We’re already this close. We’ll find a ship.”
He grabbed a large map from the wall and pointed to small spot in Chile. This town, La Serena. That’s where we’re headed. I’ll visit the lighthouse every day. If you make it, come find us.”
Cedric nodded and shook Pearson’s hand.
“And Cedric,” Stewart said holding one of the serum boxes out. “You might need this.”
Cedric grabbed the box and nodded. “Thank you.”
Within the hour, they were back on the pontoon boat heading for their waiting vehicles.
Cedric sat in the front-most seat and looked over the bow at the waves as Steph steered the boat. He reached down and scratched Blitzstark on the top of the head.
Karli walked up the deck and sat next to him. She laid her head on his shoulder. He could feel the tears soaking into his shirt.
“Do you think we can pull this off?” she asked.
Cedric nodded and said, “After everything we’ve survived, I think we can endure almost anything.”
Dear Reader,
I truly hope you enjoyed your read of The Living Saga – Book Two: Enduring. If you enjoyed the book, you can always help out indie authors like me by leaving us reviews on websites like Amazon and Goodreads.
Be sure to also follow me on social media accounts @JaronMcFall to stay tuned for the rest of the series, as well as my other series: The Apprenticeship of Castor Murray.
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Jaron McFall
The Living Saga (Book 2): Enduring Page 21