by ES Richards
Austin learned the terms of the deal quickly and set out to join his friends, doing what he could to help push the Gov out of Brooklyn for good and force them all back into Lower Manhattan. The fighting continued for another couple of days, but eventually with the added manpower and weaponry that the Rikers brought with them, they were able to cut off the key members of the Gov and force them into a surrender. After weeks of fighting and not knowing which corners of the city were safe, finally the battle came to an end and the skies began to clear. There was a long way to go, but at last, New York had hope again.
***
Bringing everyone back out of the shadows once the guns were put down was a lot easier said than done. Thankfully due to the work Samuel and Walter had done through their radio broadcasts, most of the civilians had learned the truth about what was going on and they understood the root cause of the problem. The radios were the old-fashioned crystal type, using radio waves rather than any battery power to keep them functioning. There weren’t many of them left around the city, but once a couple of people had been able to receive the message, it had spread like wildfire. Any symbol of hope and a different kind of future was one that was easy to hear now, the people of New York desperately searching for a way back to normal life and a safe future.
With one battle accomplished however, another one quickly began and the challenge to provide for those that were left in the city was far greater than anything anyone had faced before.
But thankfully, one man was prepared for this problem. Henry Packham had always had faith that humanity would prevail, and they would once again get a chance at normal life in New York City. In the days following the final battle, he organized clean up teams made up of those from the cave, civilians, Rikers and even members of the Gov who he believed could be trusted. The teams were dispatched all over New York to put out the fires and round up anyone that was unaware of the recent happenings. The Bronx and Upper Manhattan were the least damaged by everything and so the people of New York relocated there, gathering by the hundreds to discover what was going to happen to them next.
While the fires were being put out and the streets cleared of the dead, Henry Packham held what he called meetings – but what many could call interrogations – with those who had played instrumental parts in the Gov’s reign of terror. Philip McManaman, however, was nowhere to be found, never resurfacing after the final hours of gunfire. While no one had reported him dead and his body had not been discovered, he had to be presumed missing in action. Many presumed that he had ran, fleeing from the city as he realized he had lost, but not even the others from the Gov could vouch for his whereabouts, the man truly disappearing without a trace.
For Henry Packham to do his work though, he didn’t need every single member to be accounted for. He spoke at length with Captain Banes and others previously in power and discovered the resources that had kept the Gov functioning, the secret stores of ration packs and the access to water that had allowed the Gov to provide and keep fighting while others starved.
Working together, they were able to share knowledge that helped them permanently reestablish communication lines through radio and even provided power in short doses. The first thing that needed to be secured was a consistent food supply; the farmers and engineers who had established growth in the cave branching out and sewing their seed in the many green areas by the river. The progress was slow, but they had the means to rebuild from the ground up and with the city finally united, people were more willing to pull their weight and the once monumental task of rejuvenation quickly became one that was looked upon with potential, rather than fear.
There were parts of New York which would take far longer to recover – Staten Island was still unreachable due to the bridges which had burned down many weeks ago and the fighting in Brooklyn and Queens had done serious damage to those parts of the city. But they had somewhere to start and for most, that was better than they had hoped for. Everyone moved into new apartments, scattered predominantly across the Bronx.
Samuel began to settle down and lead the life he had always wanted – though he had not truly known it. He was surrounded by his friends and family and through the downfall of the city, he found a future that he was happy to embrace.
Chapter 25
10 years later
“Addi, come on – you’re going to be late.”
Samuel and Lin waited by the front door as their daughter tumbled down the stairs toward them, her schoolbag clutched under her arm. Her long, dark hair sat in braids on her shoulders and framed her small, round face that reminded Samuel so much of her mother. They were both the most beautiful women in the world to him and every day he was thankful for what had happened to bring them into his life.
“I’ve still got two minutes, haven’t I? Addi asked as she tugged on her shoes, glancing up at the clock on the wall.
“One,” Lin corrected her, looking at her wristwatch and then glancing down the road. “They’re just coming around the corner now.”
“Oh, lots of time then!” Addi grinned and slowed down her haste, “I can probably eat my breakfast rations here.”
“Every morning doesn’t have to start with a race,” Samuel chastised his daughter, though there wasn’t much meaning in his tone. “Let’s go. Out the door – you might not care about being late, but your mother and I have got to get to work.”
“Okay, okay,” Addi smiled, stuffing a small ration parcel that Samuel had left out for her into her bag and flinging it onto her back. “I’ll see you tonight. Bye!”
Without another word she breezed past her parents, knocking Samuel in the stomach with her bag and running off down the street after her walking bus. The gaggle of schoolchildren were not supposed to wait for anyone, but there were always a couple of them that hung back to make sure Addi didn’t miss them completely. It meant the school day rarely started on time, but when public transport was replaced with the stomping of little feet, life had to make room for such allowances. At least the school wasn’t far away, each small area of New Manhattan catering for the children within it.
“Have you got much going on today?” Lin asked Samuel as he caught up with her, waiting for him on the sidewalk while he shouted goodbye to his father upstairs and locked up the front door. Charles was thankfully still with them, but the old man had little life left in him. He’d moved in with Samuel and Lin not long after Addi was born, Samuel happy to help care for his father as well as their young daughter.
“Some,” he half nodded in reply to Lin. “We’ve got that big communications conference at the end of the month, so we’re just getting things ready for that. Think I might have a meeting with Luc regarding the security for it actually, but I’ll have to check my calendar when I get in. How about you?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary,” Lin smiled. “I’ll swing by the market once I’m finished today though, see if I can pick up anything special for this weekend’s dinner.”
“Only if you’ve got time,” Samuel replied. “I’m sure we can make do.”
“It’s a special occasion,” Lin reminded him. “It’ll be nice to have something else to mix with the usual rations.”
“Okay,” Samuel smiled at his wife, the two of them reaching the corner where they had to part ways. “I’ll see you at home tonight then. Have a good day, love you.”
“Love you too.”
Samuel never grew tired of hearing those words, sending him off to work each morning with a spring in his step. Things were busy at the Global Communications Hub where he worked now, leading a team of skilled engineers and marketeers in spreading a message of hope and restoration across not only America, but around the world. The conference at the end of the month would see leaders from around the world come together – either in person or over the newly established video links – to agree on their next five-year focus. Working together they had already reinstated the fundamentals of society, providing food and clean water for all, a chance at education and a justice syste
m where everyone was treated equally and fairly. Communication was the current five-year focus, due to end in just under half a year – so much had been created through it that Samuel and everyone else were excited to see what they could achieve next.
Getting things back to normal hadn’t been easy. After the fighting in New York ended, it took nearly three months to just regain control of the city and its people again. Henry Packham directed with ease and a firm hand, focusing on the key pillars of society first and ensuring his people were safe, fed and protected from danger.
Gradually the people of New York settled into the new way of life and as all people did, they began to wonder what had happened elsewhere. Due to his experience in the industry, Samuel took it upon himself to help establish the GCH and reach out across the country to other cities that had entered the recovery phase of life. Many were still at arms with one another, but those that they could send help to were saved and others were talked through the process of recovery. With everyone working together, the advancements with the radio system came on in leaps and bounds and before long they were making long-distance calls, finding survivors in parts of the world they never thought they would reach again.
Samuel could still remember the first day he spoke to his sister again. It was nearly a year after order was restored and New Manhattan became their home. He had been sitting in the outreach room, sending out his radio message on the universal channels, waiting to see if it was picked up by anyone that day and whether there was a signal he could home in on to make contact. When something pinged in San Diego, Samuel had thought that was the revelation of the week. To then find his younger sister and her family on the other end of it was something else entirely, it was a reunion he had all but given up on by then, the sound of his sister’s voice bringing him such joy it was indescribable.
He learned how Jessie and the people of Kauai had crossed the ocean on a Chinese ship and managed to dock in Los Angeles, finding the once booming city reduced to ashes by fire. From there they had traveled south in search of life and a place to live, settling eventually just outside of San Diego where a small colony of survivors had been set up. Since then, Samuel had spoken to his sister every single week, making up for years of lost time and reestablishing a relationship he had feared would be gone forever.
When he looked back at what he had achieved since Trident’s collapse, finding his sister again was one of his proudest achievements, alongside his wife and daughter.
“Morning,” Samuel greeted Walter as he finally got into work. “You’re in early.”
“Lot’s to be done, isn’t there?” Walter replied with a smile, the two of them firm friends after the last ten years working side by side. “Plus, I thought I might stack up a few extra hours to get out earlier on Friday – your weekend thing still going ahead?”
“Sure is,” Samuel nodded. “Lin is picking up the last few bits tonight. I can’t wait to see everyone again.”
“I know, feels like it gets longer and longer each time. Are Luc and Taggy bringing their babies?”
“Yeah, I can’t wait to see how they’re coping with parenthood. The last time I spoke to Luc I could hardly hear him because of all the screaming going on.”
“Oh man,” Walter chuckled. “It’s going to be a madhouse, isn’t it?”
“Definitely,” Samuel agreed. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The weekend was going to be Samuel and Lin’s eighth wedding anniversary, and everyone was returning to New Manhattan for the party. Of the group of them who had worked together at the cave all those years ago, only Samuel and Walter still lived in the city. Luc and Taggy weren’t far away, living just across the river in a quieter part of town where they were raising two young children. Samuel couldn’t wait to see the babies again, discovering the joy of raising a child himself had lit up a paternal fire inside of him that never dulled, the thought of more children in his house filling him with excitement.
He kept trying to convince Miles and his girlfriend to have a baby, but Felicity was having none of it. She was adamant that they needed to be married first and Miles seemed to be taking longer than most to pop the question. Though they had tried desperately after the fighting ended, Miles had never been able to track down his family. It made little difference for Samuel or anyone else, already having adopted him into their unique unit, but it was still incredibly sad to know he would never see his real parents again.
Like many children across New York, he was left to his own devices and forced to grow up very quickly. Thankfully for a lot of them, Austin and Dante were on hand to guide them through the process. Not wanting to live in the city, the two of them took Bowie and moved further north, setting up base in Poughkeepsie for a while and then later, moving to Camp Placid and establishing an orphanage for children who had lost their families. Mason and Noah – the two young boys that Samuel and Austin had rescued just outside of Poughkeepsie – helped them to run it and Samuel couldn’t be prouder of everything they were doing there. Especially after all that Austin and Dante had been through.
A little over five years ago, Bowie had passed away after fighting with an illness they sadly no longer had the medication to destroy. He had just turned thirteen and though still young, dealt with the illness in a manner well beyond his years, being the rock that his parents needed to get through it. Dante had been heartbroken, but it was nothing compared to how Samuel saw Austin feel. As a fellow father, he finally understood everything that had kept Austin going during their journey in the early days after Trident’s collapse. He saw in Austin the same thing he felt in himself and as he watched his friend grieve, Samuel knew that his life would never be the same.
To come from that and continue fighting to make the world a better place showed Samuel yet again how much of a true warrior his friend was. Austin battled through everything, determined to take his sorrow and pain and channel it into a better future for others. The orphanage thrived in the wild environment, children being taught the skills they needed to survive and grow up, all the while being loved by two incredible men. They would never replace Bowie, but they kept both Austin and Dante happy and, on most days, that was more than enough.
All of his friends and family had played a huge part in turning Samuel into the man he was now. While his work followed a similar pattern to the one it had always followed, the man who carried it out was an entirely different person. Trident’s collapse had changed Samuel in more ways than he could’ve ever imagined, and he was grateful for every single one of them. Only a phoenix can rise from the ashes and Samuel himself felt like the destruction that ravaged Trident had allowed him to be reborn and begin again. This man had always been inside of him, it just took something spectacular to finally let it out.
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