Meg slipped her hand into mine. “You’re really not going to do it?”
“Do what?” I asked, knowing that she didn’t buy my ignorance for even a second.
She snorted. “You’re a bad liar.”
I gave her hand a squeeze, but mostly so I wouldn’t give in.
We reached the house to find Al and Lila on the porch, holding hands and anxiously awaiting the birth of their first grandchild. They didn’t look old enough to be grandparents. Not with the way Al’s eyes twinkled when he smiled or the flawless skin on Lila’s face that seemed determined to defy the years that had passed, but it was happening just the same.
“How long has she been in labor?” Meg asked when she stopped next to her aunt.
“It started about five hours ago.” Lila’s smile stretched so wide that it looked painful. “You guys got back just in time, I think. I was afraid Luke would miss it.”
Axl climbed the steps behind us, stopping beside Al so he could slap the other man on the back. “Congrats, grandpa.”
“Grandpa.” Al laughed as he waved his stump in front of us, covered by a prosthetic sword at the moment. “I remember a time when I thought I’d never see another day, and here I am, twenty years later.”
“Can’t believe it’s gone by so fast,” Axl said.
Angus charged up the stairs, grinning from ear to ear with Parv right behind him.
“I got somethin’ hold on,” he said, and then ran into the house.
“Never seen him move that fast,” Axl said, chuckling.
Parv stopped at his side, her usual calm demeanor contrasting with the joyful atmosphere.
“Where’s he going?” Meg asked.
“He has something,” her aunt replied, but she was smiling too.
Angus was back in less than five minutes with a brown bag in his hand. He unrolled it and the paper crinkled loud enough to draw everyone’s attention his way, so not a single person missed it when he pulled a handful of cigars out of the bag.
“Nice,” Al said, grinning. “Where did you find those?”
“Some new guy traded ‘em to Dragon for a keg.” Angus’s eyes sparkled. “Glitter swiped ‘em for me.”
Axl laughed. “You sure got your hooks in her fast.”
“Apple didn’t fall far from the tree,” Angus said in agreement. “We’ll pass ‘em out once the proud poppa is here. I just didn’t wanna forget ‘em.”
Meg had been around enough births to know that it could take some time, even if five hours had already passed, so we settled into a chair on the front porch to wait. It wasn’t long before Angus had produced a bottle of whiskey. He took a swig and then passed it to Parv, who took a drink before passing it on, and I watched as she said something to him that made him smile. He patted her leg and she actually blushed. The expression made her look softer than I’d ever seen her before. Almost happy.
About an hour went by before the door to the house finally burst open and Luke came out, grinning from ear to ear. “It’s a boy.”
Lila burst into tears as everyone cheered, and Al threw his arm around his son. Through her sobs the new grandma begged to see the baby; and seconds later both grandparents were being escorted inside by their son. It was a moment that seemed to wash all the bad things in the world away and give me hope more than anything else had lately. Well, almost anything.
I reached over and put my hand on Meg’s stomach and she smiled.
“I knew you wouldn’t be able to hold off forever,” she said.
“You know me too well.”
Two weeks had passed since she’d told me that she was pregnant, and I’d found myself reaching out to touch her stomach at least five times a day since then. I couldn’t help it. Couldn’t get over the awe of knowing that life was going on despite how hard Star had tried to squash it.
Meg covered my hand with hers. “I think today is a good day to tell everyone.”
“You know they’re going to be furious that you went out today, right?”
She rolled her eyes. “I can still shoot a gun when I’m pregnant.”
Since I knew I wouldn’t win the argument, I didn’t try, but instead leaned down and kissed her.
It wasn’t long before we were all crowded inside. Kelly sat in bed, beaming up at Luke and their new baby as we all gathered around. He had a sprinkle of dark hair on his head and brown eyes, just like his father, and a huge family who couldn’t wait to spoil him.
“What’s his name?” Charlie asked, beaming down at her new nephew.
Luke glanced toward Kelly, and then at Parv. “I want to name him Trey.”
Parv’s mouth fell open and it took a few seconds of shocked silence before she managed to get out, “Why?”
“Dad told me that Trey was his next door neighbor growing up, and that the two of you went to his house looking for his family. They were all dead by then, but because of that trip Dad survived. He was just a teenager and he was alone, and if you and Trey hadn’t taken him back with you, he might not have lived.” Luke’s gaze moved to Lila. “And he wouldn’t have met mom.”
Tears filled Parvarti’s eyes when she looked up at Al. “He would have loved knowing that you remembered him even after all these years.”
“Trey was always nice to me,” Al said. “He was the cool jock and I was the nerdy computer geek, but he always took the time to stop and talk to me. I appreciated him for that, even before you two saved my ass.”
Parv crossed the room so she could hug Al, then turned and did the same with Luke. When he handed the baby to her, she looked like she might break down. I didn’t know the whole story of who this Trey had been to Meg’s aunt, but I didn’t need to. The look on her face said it all.
Trey got passed around for the next hour or so, but eventually started to cry and had to be returned to his mother. It was getting late by then, but we still hadn’t announced our news. I was probably dying to do it more than Meg was, and not just because I wanted someone to back me up when I tried to tell her to take it easy.
I cleared my throat and called out, “We have some news.”
Meg’s eyebrows jumped up at my sudden declaration, but by then all eyes were on her. Color flooded her cheeks and she reached up to twist a strand of hair around her finger.
“Megan?” Vivian’s expression told me that she already knew what we were going to say, and I doubted she was the only one.
Meg held her mother’s gaze when she said, “I’m pregnant.”
The cheer that rose up was loud enough to shake the walls, and so many congratulations were thrown our way that I couldn’t figure out who was saying them, but I was happy. Happier than I’d ever been. Vivian hugged Meg and cried, and Axl shook my hand while Margot looked on with starry eyes that said she was having one of those days where she wasn’t quite connected with reality. It happened from time to time and probably always would, but for the most part she was adjusting well.
By the time we dragged ourselves upstairs to bed, Meg looked beat. Angus and Parv were right behind us, and when we reached the top of the stairs we paused so they could give us yet another round of congratulations.
“You’re gonna need to get your own place,” Angus said, slapping me on the arm.
“I’m working on it,” I replied, earning me a look from Meg.
Her uncle nodded in approval as Parv pulled Meg in for a hug.
“Congratulations,” she said. “I’m so happy for you two.”
When she stepped back there were tears in her eyes, but she didn’t bother swiping them away. Angus stood waiting, and when she reached out to him, he took her hand and together they walked into the room they now shared.
In our own bedroom, Meg sprawled out on the bed and let out a sigh. “I’m exhausted.” But she was only down for a second before sitting back up. “What were you saying about a house?”
“I started looking the day you told me you were pregnant,” I said, taking a seat next to her. “The old town’s filling up but there are
still a lot of options available, assuming you’re willing to put in the work.”
“So you found something?”
I grinned. “I did. It’s two stories, three bedrooms. It has a nice backyard that has almost been taken over by azalea bushes, and a swing already hanging from a live oak tree. It just needs some upkeep.”
“When can we go look at it?” she asked, smiling up at me.
“First thing in the morning.”
She kissed me and I found myself doing it again, covering her stomach with my hand. She wasn’t very far along, eight weeks maybe, but already I was counting down the days until we would meet our child. The knowledge that we had created a life together, that it was inside her now, took my breath away. Back in DC when I’d been a prisoner, I’d thought my life was over, and then in a twist of fate everything had changed. I’d managed to win a few fights, and then I’d joined the prisoner release program where I’d been sent to New Atlanta, and where I’d met Meg. None of it should have happened, but it had and I now found myself part of a big, mismatched, happy family. After years of struggling and zombies and death, it was almost too good to be true.
The End
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Acknowledgments
It makes my head spin to think about how far I’ve taken this cast of characters. I’ve enjoyed writing about them so much, and the continued messages that I get from readers raving about the world I’ve created never gets old. Really. I love that everyone is so enthusiastic about this series, and I love that I’ve been able to take a group of misfit survivors and mold them into a family, and I want to extend a huge thank you to all of my readers for loving them as much as I have.
Yes, I had hoped to get this book out to you much earlier than I did, but once again life got in the way when I dislocated my shoulder this past June. To say the injury has been eye opening is an understatement. Three months after it happened and I am still recovering. Thankfully, it only put my writing behind by a month or so since I was planning to get TWISTED FATE out by mid-September at the latest, and for that I am thankful. For your amazing patience, yet again, I am also grateful. I’m not a person who enjoys doing nothing, and the month following my injury it was extremely very difficult for me to take it easy, but it has paid off because I am doing much better despite the fact that I am not yet 100%.
A very big thanks goes to Jan Strohecker for once again doing a great critique on my first draft. This series now spans ten books and twenty years, which makes for a lot of backstory and characters to keep track of, and I really appreciate having someone who pays so much attention to detail on my side. I scrambled to get the first draft done before my vacation (seriously, I had one night where I got up at three o’clock in the morning and didn’t go to bed until ten the next night) and Jan was wonderful enough to read through it twice while I was out of town so I could dive right back in when I got home. It makes a very complicated conclusion to a very long series so much easier.
I’d also like to thank Jennifer Foor, Mary Jones, and Karen Atkinson for taking the time to search for typos. It’s always helpful to have multiple sets of eyes, and you have no idea how much I appreciate the time you put in!
I also need to acknowledge the chant I used in the novel whenever The Church was around. It’s a verse from the Bible, Isaiah 26:14 ESV: “They are dead, they will not live; they are shades, they will not arise; to that end you have visited them with destruction and wiped out all remembrance of them.” It seemed to fit perfectly and taken totally out of context, added a nice creepy tone to the people who worshipped Angus.
I know what you’re thinking: Is this really the end?!
I’ve said it before and changed my mind, but at this moment in my life I don’t want to commit to writing another book in this series. I love this series and the characters, don’t get me wrong, but like Angus, I’m tired. Each book I add becomes more and more complicated because there are so many details to keep track of. When I finished the first draft of this book, I had a whole page of questions I needed to answer, little details from the previous books that I had to go back and search for so I was sure to get it all right. It’s been fun, but part of the joy I get from writing is creating new characters and new worlds, and at this point I’m just adding on to what I’ve already made, which not only takes more time and work, but isn’t as enjoyable. I want to start something new. What? I’m not sure, but I hope readers will give it a chance the same way they did with Broken World.
So, for now, this is goodbye to Axl, Angus, and Vivian, as well as all the characters who has joined them along the way. Hopefully, it’s a satisfying end for everyone.
~ Kate
Also by Kate L. Mary
The Broken World Series
Broken World
Shattered World
Mad World
Lost World
New World
Forgotten World
Silent World
Broken Stories
The Twisted Series
Twisted World
Twisted Mind
Twisted Memories
Twisted Fate
The Oklahoma Wastelands Series
The Loudest Silence
The Brightest Darkness
The Sweetest Torment
Angus: A Broken World Novel
The Far Series
Far from Home
Far from Safe
Far from Lost
Zombie Apocalypse Love Story Novellas
More than Survival
Fighting for a Future
Playing the Odds
The Key to Survival
The Things We Cannot Change
Surviving the Storm
No Looking Back
Finding A Future
The Blood Will Dry
Collision
Tribe of Daughters
The Book of David
The Outliers Saga
Outliers
Uprising
Retribution
The Species Traitor Series
Species Traitor
Species Savior
When We Were Human
Alone: A Zombie Novel
The Moonchild Series
Moonchild
Liberation
Redemption
The College of Charleston Series
The List
No Regrets
Moving On
Letting Go
Anthologies
Prep for Doom
Gone with the Dead
7 Sins of the Apocalypse
Undead Worlds 3
About the Author
Kate L. Mary is an award-winning author of Adult, New Adult, and Young Adult fiction, ranging from Post-apocalyptic tales of the undead to Speculative Fiction and Contemporary Romance. Her YA book, When We Were Human, was a 2015 Children’s Moonbeam Book Awards Silver Medal winner for Young Adult Fantasy/Sci-Fi Fiction, and a 2016 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal winner for Young Adult Science Fiction. Her book Outliers was a Top 10 Finalist in the 2018 Author Academy Awards for Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fiction, a Finalist in the 2018 Wishing Shelf Book Awards, and the First Place Winner in the 2018 Kindle Book Awards for Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fiction. Most recently, her post-apocalyptic novel, Tribe of Daughters, was the 2020 RONE Award Winner for Sci-Fi/Time Travel Fiction, an Honorable Mention in the 2018 SPR Book Awards, a Bronze Medal Winner in the 2019 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards for Science Fiction, and a Semi-Finalist in the 2019 Kindle Book Awards for Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fiction.
Before starting her writing career, Kate was a stay-at-home-mom for over ten years to four amazing kids - two boys, two girls - and the wife of an Air Force pilot. Her family moved around quite a bit during their eleven years of active duty, and she’s gotten to experience many different parts of the country, and it isn’t uncommon to find some of the places she’s lived as the setting for her books. She’s lived in Geo
rgia (When We Were Human), Mississippi, South Carolina (The College of Charleston Series), California (Broken World), and Oklahoma (The Loudest Silence), but has recently returned to the Dayton, Ohio area (The Blood Will Dry, Collision). Military life has had its up and downs, but Kate has made some pretty incredible friends along the way who have been amazingly supportive of her writing.
Before starting her writing career, Kate was a stay-at-home-mom for over ten years to four amazing kids - two boys, two girls - and the wife of an Air Force pilot. Her family moved around quite a bit during their eleven years of active duty, and she’s gotten to experience many different parts of the country, and it isn't uncommon to find some of the places she’s lived as the setting for her books. She’s lived in Georgia (When We Were Human), Mississippi, South Carolina (The College of Charleston Series), California (Broken World), and Oklahoma (The Loudest Silence), but has recently returned to the Dayton, Ohio area (The Blood Will Dry, Collision). Military life has had its up and downs, but Kate has made some pretty incredible friends along the way who have been amazingly supportive of her writing. She loves zombies (especially The Walking Dead), Coffee, Wine, and Daryl Dixon.
For more information about Kate, check out her website: www.KateLMary.com
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Twisted World Series Box Set | Books 1-3 & Novella Page 101
