“How did he die?” I asked.
Ezra shrugged. “His heart just gave out.”
I could also tell when he was lying. “What did you do to him?”
His lips slowly curled at one end but only just so. Ezra blinked slowly.
“I tried to save him,” Ezra said. “The doctor was just so slow getting here. You missed your own father’s funeral. How does that make you feel?”
I shrugged. “He wasn’t our father.”
“What a stupid thing to say.”
“He wasn’t. Want to know how I know?”
Ezra shook his head but his eyes revealed that he was beyond curious.
“I’ve met our mother. In fact, she’s here in the city right now.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Father lied. Not only did he lie about what happened to her, he also lied about how we were conceived.” I crossed my arms. “Turns out Edward Keane couldn’t have children.”
Ezra rolled his eyes. “This all fascinating but I’m getting tired. I think it’s time to call for my guards.”
“Our mother — her name is Lillian if you were curious — has been living with the natives.”
“What the hell is a native?”
“Never mind all that. She’s been living out there surviving with a group of people. Edward Keane needed heirs,” I said.
“The woman you met is lying,” Ezra said.
I shook my head. “That’s what I thought at first too but she’s not. She looks just like me only older.”
“Oh, well then,” Ezra said with a snort.
“She knows about us… about dad, I mean Edward,” I said. “She knew things no one would know unless they’d been here.”
“Maybe she’s just some crazy lady dad had banished.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Seems unlikely. No one else in this entire city knows anything about our family. The only things they know is whatever father felt comfortable telling people.”
“Oh well, dad lied to us about mom having died. I’m sure he banished her for a good reason,” Ezra said.
“You disgust me,” I said between my teeth.
“What did you think telling me all this would accomplish?” Ezra asked. “I have everything I’ve ever wanted now. I don’t care about the past. I don’t even care if what you’re saying is true.”
Ezra was worse than my father. I couldn’t believe we were related.
“I want you to resign. Level one deserves to know the truth,” I demanded.
Ezra started to laugh. He stopped and stared at me for a long moment before laughing even harder.
“I can’t believe you’re serious,” Ezra said. “I’ll never give this up. Did you think this was going to work?”
“No,” I said. “But I promised Lillian I wouldn’t kill you.”
“You don’t have it in you anyway,” Ezra said with a harsh laugh. He took another step toward me and I took a half-step back, stopping short because the wall blocked me from taking a full step.
Ezra reached out and wrapped his hands around my neck and squeezed. His face was inches from mine. There was nothing but evil in his eyes.
“But I have no problem ending people who get in my way,” Ezra said.
I tried to suck in a breath but his hands were too tight around my throat. The back of my head felt like it was starting to go numb as I reached out and clawed at his arm.
“Everyone already thinks you’re dead,” Ezra said squeezing even harder.
My arms weakened and my hand dropped to my side. It brushed against the handle of the blade Hayes had given me.
I didn’t have a choice. If I didn’t do something to stop him, I’d be dead.
I reached behind my back and pulled the knife out of the sheath. His eyes widened as I sliced it across the side of his arm. Even in the darkness, I could see the blood spilling out of the wound.
Anger filled his eyes and he tightened his grip with his other hand. He must have been in some kind of state of shock because he hadn’t even tried to disarm me. I sliced his other arm and he pulled it back.
“I’m going to kill you!” he shouted but I pushed him away from me with both hands. He stumbled over his feet and fell to the ground. “Guards! Guards!”
I pulled my fist back and threw it into his face. His eyes rolled back and his head drooped to the side.
I had knocked him out.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I looked around the room for something to tie him up with. The only thing I could think of was the cord hanging from the curtains.
I pulled down using my weight. It didn’t take long for the cord to snap. My hands shook as I worked quickly to wrap the cord around his wrists behind his back.
Blood was leaking out of the cuts I’d given him. Streams of crimson blood ran down his fingers staining the white threaded rug underneath him.
My feet moved quickly as I dashed into his bathroom, grabbing the first towel I saw. I carefully dabbed at wounds hoping the blood would stop leaking out of his body.
“Dammit,” I said as I stood and gazed at his limp body. He hadn’t lost so much blood that I was worried but I didn’t know what to do.
I grabbed him and pulled him to his feet. He was groggy but he was coming too.
“Well, I didn’t expect that,” he said nearly smiling.
“Me either,” I said. “But I’m ending this one way or another.”
“And how do you expect to do that?”
I shook my head. “I’m going to tell the city everything.”
“And you think that will suddenly just change everything after years and years of our city being run this way?”
“You already made a change and look at how they abide by your new rules,” I said. “You’ve made this easy for me.”
“What are you going to do with me?” he asked concern tightening his face.
“Prison,” I said.
He laughed. “Kill me instead.”
“I can’t do that,” I said pushing him toward the door. I kicked the chair to the side and unlocked the door.
The hallway was empty but at the bottom of the stairs, Davis was standing there with his arms crossed.
“Sadie?” he said his eyelids popping open as I bravely walked toward him.
“Why aren’t you doing anything?” Ezra screeched. “Stop her! Look what she’s done to me!”
He tried to show his arms but they barely moved. I swallowed and my shoulders relaxed.
“Did you hear me call for you?” Ezra said worry radiated from his voice like a beam of morning light.
“Yes, sir,” Davis said. “Sadie, what are you doing here?”
“I’m putting an end to all of this. There is a whole world out there where people can be free and live however they like. There doesn’t have to be suffering. People can rebuild. We can have the world we once had. All the things we were told about in school we can have that all again even with the storms.”
Davis blinked several times. “How can I help?”
My heart pulsed so strongly I thought I was going to burst into tears. Ezra realized he was in much deeper trouble than he thought. He wiggled and squirmed, trying to break free of my hold.
“Wait here,” Davis said.
“Dear sister,” Ezra said. His mouth moved as if he was trying to swallow a piece of marshmallow. “I hate you.”
Davis disappeared for several minutes and when he returned, he wasn’t alone. Six guards stood next to them, each of them where the same expression. They looked at me as if they were seeing a ghost.
“How is this possible,” one of them said.
“We hoped this day would come,” Davis said. “We are at your service.”
They all dropped to their knees and bowed their heads.
“Jesus Christ,” Ezra said.
“President Sadie Keane,” Davis said raising his eyes to meet mine. “We are at your service.”
It was over.
I hadn’t ever wanted to be president.
In fact, it was the last thing I wanted even now but if I needed to accept the role for the city to be free, I’d do it.
In the morning, even though I was exhausted, Davis organized a meeting for the entire city on level one. The guards protected me and all of my friends.
Boone’s eyes nervously darted around and he looked like he was ready to pull out his sleeping darts at the slightest movement he considered threatening.
Gina and Grayson beamed as everyone looked up at us on the platform. Hayes and Trixie stood next to me while Lillian watched from the side of the stage.
The crowd was completely silent as they stared at me. When my mouth opened, they all listened to my story with great interest.
I told them everything.
About the other people. The storms. Lillian. That my brother Ezra was locked up and that was where he’d stay indefinitely.
When I finished… everyone cheered.
The city would remain as is but a doorway would be constructed. People would be free to leave. They were told about the beasts and about the other people but the choice was theirs.
No one would go hungry. There was plenty of land to farm.
It felt like I was walking on air as Hayes took my hand and led me away from the crowd. Everyone I passed shouted their thanks and wanted to shake my hand but I couldn’t wait to find a place to have some peace and quiet.
I invited my friends to join me at my father’s house. There was plenty of room and everyone was welcome to stay as long as they liked.
At the house, Boone approached me before we stepped inside. He placed his hand on my shoulder.
“Sadie,” Boone said looking down at the empty space between us.
“Yes?” I said the smile dripping off my face.
“It’s time for me to go,” he said.
I shook my head. “You can stay. There is more than enough now. Things are different. You’ll be happy here again.”
Boone forced a thin-lipped smile. “I’ll visit, okay? This isn’t my home anymore.”
“But you can make it your home again,” I said turning at the sound of the door opening behind me. Trixie stepped out, closing the door behind her.
She stood next to Boone and swallowed hard. There were tears welling up in the corner of her eyes.
“I’m going to miss you, my dear friend,” Trixie said.
“You’re going too?” I asked. “But—”
“Oh, Sadie,” Trixie said wrapping her arms around me. “I know you’ll make this a great place. Or whatever you do, I know it will be wonderful. Don’t be a stranger, okay?”
I squeezed her tightly. “We’ll never be strangers.”
“Here,” she said slapping a piece of paper against my palm. “Guard this with your life.”
“What is it?” I asked as I unfolded it.
“So, you can visit us,” Trixie said. “Please do. Oh, and don’t forget to invite us to the wedding, okay?”
“Of course,” I said wiping at a tear that managed to escape.
It felt like I was losing them again but at least this time I could find them. I couldn’t blame them for not wanting to be part of the city after everything they experienced on the outside.
“Good bye,” Trixie said.
“Good bye, Sadie,” Boone said with a glimmer in his eyes. I knew in my heart they’d be okay. They’d be happy. “Come back anytime.”
Boone’s head bobbed a single time.
“If you need us,” Trixie said pointing at the paper.
I swallowed hard and held the paper tighter. “I will always need you.”
We exchanged another hug before they turned to go. No one stopped them as they walked down the street.
“Oh, wait!” I called out and they both stopped. “One second. I have something for you.”
I disappeared back into my father’s, err rather my house, and ran up the stairs to my old bedroom. There wasn’t time to look through the books so I just grabbed six of them and ran back down. I handed them to Boone and he smiled.
“There’s more. Lots more,” I said.
“We’ll see each other again,” he said. “I promise.”
I couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks. My head bobbed rapidly but nonetheless, it felt like it was the last time I’d see either of them.
After a minute they were out of sight and my spine turned into jelly. I buried my face into my hands and cried my heart out.
My body jerked when arms wrapped around me. “Hey,” Hayes said softly. “You okay?”
“They left,” I said with a sharp gasp between my words.
“I know, Trixie told us,” Hayes said. “We’ll visit them, though. She gave me a top-secret map.”
I chuckled as I felt the paper in my hand. “It feels like I only just found them again.”
“This isn’t their home,” Hayes said.
“I know,” I said. “It doesn’t feel like mine either.”
“They need you,” Hayes said and he wasn’t talking about Trixie and Boone. He was talking about everyone in the city. “You’re the president now and they are so happy it’s you. You are going to be amazing.”
Hayes held me until the hot tears stopped and left my cheeks raw. There was so much work we had to do but at least I wasn’t alone.
Gina was my vice president and Grayson was my personal guard. Hayes went back to helping his family and Lillian stayed in the city. She wouldn’t live in my father’s house but she wanted to stay close to Ezra and me.
She visited both Ezra and me often. Lillian wanted a relationship with both of us and even though Ezra refused to believe she was his mother, she said he often smiled during her visits.
I hoped that one day we’d be close like a mother and a daughter should be. And I hoped it wouldn’t take long.
Mister Paul brought the girls back to the city. He shook my hand for nearly five full minutes grinning the entire time. Each of the girls thanked me after being reunited with their families.
I couldn’t remember how long it had been after I’d taken over as president before I ventured back to the outside to have a talk with Michelle. We talked for days before we came to an agreement. The natives would join forces with the people of the city if they followed their rules when they were outside of the wall.
The rules were simple… take care of mother earth. Do her no harm. But still, Michelle and her people were obviously apprehensive. After time, they’d see that there was no need to fear the people of the city.
After a year, Hayes and I were married in front of the entire city. Boone and Trixie came back and she’d changed quite a bit since I’d last seen her. Trixie had a round belly and she glowed with a brightness akin to the sun.
A large opening had been carved through the wall and a door was constructed. It’s guarded all day and all night but people were free to come and go as they pleased.
Many didn’t leave. Some did but they’d be gone for a few hours and come back before night. Change was difficult but everyone was doing their best to adjust.
People on level one were apprehensive at first but it didn’t take long for them to walk around the city with their family doing whatever they wanted. They were allowed to go to level two if they wanted.
Gina and I had put plans into place to start building outside of the wall. The buildings would be constructed similar to the wall around the city so that they’d be strong enough to withstand the storms.
It was a week after our honeymoon. I opened the bedroom window and stared out at the city. I still couldn’t believe that things had gone far better than I could have ever hoped.
There were laughs coming from a party down the street. Hayes stepped up behind me and wrapped his arms around me.
“Can you believe this?” Hayes asked kissing the side of my neck.
I shook my head. “I really can’t.”
“This is all because of you. You did this,” Hayes said turning me to face him.
“Everyone did this,” I s
aid. I didn’t want to take the credit. Maybe I’d gotten the ball rolling but everyone was working together.
He wrapped his arms around my waist. “I’m the luckiest guy.”
“And I’m the luckiest girl,” I said staring into his gorgeous eyes.
His warm lips pressed against mine. “We should do it too.”
“Do what?” I asked shaking my head slightly.
“Have a baby.”
“Are you serious?” I asked wide-eyed.
Hayes smiled. “Absolutely serious.”
I still wasn’t entirely sure it was a good idea to bring someone into our world. Things might be on the right track but they weren’t there yet.
We didn’t know what the future would hold for any of us.
“Give it some thought,” Hayes said and I nodded as I turned away from him to stare back out at the city.
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tight against his body. It felt good. And for the first time in my entire life, I felt like things were going to be good. I felt safe and I hoped that those from level one felt the same.
I wasn’t sure I could see myself as a mother but I would give it some thought. There wouldn’t be anything cuter than a little Hayes running around our new home.
Things were good.
Life was good.
And we were happy.
The entire city was happy.
Books By Kellee L. Greene
What Remains Series
Sickness - Book 1
Outpost - Book 2
Book 3 Coming Soon!
Red Sky Series
Red Sky - Book 1
Blue Cloud - Book 2
Black Rain - Book 3
White Dust - Book 4
Indigo Ice - Book 5
Yellow Heat - Book 6
Ravaged Land Series (1)
Ravaged Land -Book 1
Finding Home - Book 2
Crashing Down - Book 3
Running Away - Book 4
Escaping Fear - Book 5
Fighting Back - Book 6
Ravaged Land: Divided Series (2)
The Last Disaster - Book 1
The Last Remnants - Book 2
Outpost Page 14
