by Logan Jacobs
“I’m very glad we’re joining a caravan,” I commented as we started to walk toward the stairs together. “But I hope she doesn’t spend the entire trip describing the wonders of Lock Haven.”
“I still have my ear plugs,” Darwin mused. “Might not be a bad time to test them out.”
“You better plan on sharing those,” I replied.
Darwin chuckled as we reached the door for the third floor.
“So it sounds like you’re coming with us,” I noted as the ex-trooper pulled the door open.
“I thought about it all last night,” the older man admitted as we stepped into the hall together, then found a post where we could loiter for a moment.
“Are you sure?” I pressed. “It was a good offer, and I’m sure Viv would be happy if you stayed.”
“Now you’re trying to get me to stay?” Darwin griped. “I thought you wanted me to go?”
“I do,” I assured him. “But I don’t want you to stay with us if it’s going to make you miserable.”
Darwin chuffed, then shook his head.
“No, it’s the right choice,” he sighed. “I’m sure there will always be a part of me that wishes I had stayed, but in my heart of hearts, I know I have to keep going. I said I’d get you to Detroit, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“And then?” I asked.
“And then we’ll see,” Darwin said quietly. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll get to see Freya start a family of her own. Lots of little rabbity Hex Theriots running around shooting at things with toy-stick guns. Wouldn’t that be something?”
“For what’s it worth, I can’t imagine making this trip without you,” I told him with a grin. “I’m pretty good at surviving the cattle trail, but as you once pointed out, you always make those trips as part of a group. I think that goes double for this journey we’re on.”
“Yeah, I think so, too,” Darwin agreed. “See you in the lobby?”
I held up the bag of scrambled eggs and bacon.
“As soon as Barnaby is done,” I chuckled.
“Well, that should take all of ten seconds,” Darwin noted as he started to walk away. “Looks like you’re stuck with me for a while longer, kid.”
I smiled as I walked back to the room. I realized I hadn’t spent much time considering what would happen if Darwin had decided to stay, in part because I didn’t want to believe it was possible. But it felt like a weight had been lifted now that he had agreed to continue westward with us, at least as far as Detroit.
Detroit, however, was still a long way away, and for now, I still had the best companions a man could ask for, and even Barnaby’s drooly greeting made me happy. It felt like there was nothing that could stop us from reaching Sorcha’s mystery island, not the protesters, not the mutants, not the Magesterium, and definitely not the artists of Lock Haven.
End of book 4
End Notes
Thanks for reading Gun Mage 4! I’ll start writing book 5 when this book gets 100 reviews, so please leave a review right here. Thank you!
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2020 by Logan Jacobs
