Family
Page 19
“Maybe teach you some science? Maybe you’d like that?”
Kate now looked away.
It was so weird, to stand here, talking of a future.
Making plans.
When not all that long ago, the idea of making plans seemed ridiculous.
“I think I’d like that. I mean, if I’m smart enough.”
Sam laughed. “You are. Don’t worry about that. Maybe get you working with the hydroponic teams. We’re doing well now… but we need to keep doing well.”
“Until someday, things are normal again, hmm?”
“Normal?”
He laughed. “Yeah.”
Sam turned back to the hill. The sun slowly setting. A ritual: sunset, something to be noted.
Another day here.
Another day when things were better.
“Or let’s say… closer to normal. Yeah, that’s the goal.”
Kate took a breath. “Simon still over at the gardens?”
Sam nodded. “Saw him a while ago. He’s got the touch, too, you know. Smart kid. Been teaching Ben things as well.” He took a breath. “Good, smart kid.”
Another nod. “I’m going to go over. Check up on him.”
Funny after all these months, Kate still felt the need to “check up.”
Make sure her brother was there, was safe.
Her promise to her mother.
“Sure. See you later,” Sam said as she walked the rocky trail that led to the eastern slope of the hill, past the row of buildings where plants could be started, sprouts formed, tested… and finally moved to a valuable space on the terraced fields in spring.
Kate waited for the gate to open, then started the rocky drive up the hill.
Matthew Costello
www.mattcostello.com
Matt Costello’s award-winning work, across all media, has meshed story, gameplay and technology.
He has written and designed dozens of award-winning and best-selling games including The 7th Guest, G-Force, Just Cause and Pirates of the Caribbean. Time Magazine said of Doom 3, which he scripted, ”The story is delivered with unusual art.” Rage, which Matt also wrote, won the most Game Critics Awards at E3, including ‘Best Console Game’. He continues to write and help create ground-breaking projects games world-wide.
His novels, spanning horror, suspense and mystery, have been published all around the world. His classic horror novel Beneath Still Waters was filmed by Lionsgate. His post-apocalyptic novel, Vacation, was a major release from St. Martin’s Press and is being developed as a film. St. Martin’s/Macmillan also released the sequel, Home as well as his SF epic novel, Star Road.
His short story, “The Last Vanish”—featured in the just-released 13Thirty books anthology, Uncharted Worlds—was filmed by Tripp Avenue Productions and has been featured in over a dozen film festivals and is a finalist in the Dramatic Short Category at the Central Florida Film Festival. His mystery series, Cherringham, co-authored with Neil Richards, has sold over 250,000 copies.
Matt has also written episodes and created TV formats for PBS, Disney, SyFy, and the BBC. He consults on story, games and multiplatform projects around the world, and has also created interactive installations for The British Museum, The Brooklyn Museum, Disney and Buckingham Palace. He is currently helping write and design an hour-long VR Experience tied to a very major film release in 2017… about which he cannot say anything… yet.
Other books from 13Thirty Books
Never Fear Series:
Never Fear
Never Fear – Phobias
Never Fear – Christmas Terrors
Never Fear – The Tarot
Never Fear – The Apocalypse
Uncharted Worlds: Xeno Encounters
Lights End – Mathew Kaufman
More Than Magick – Rick Taubold
The Third Hour – Richard Devin
Punctuation: Period! for Fiction Writers – Rick Taubold
Heather Graham’s Christmas Treasures
Heather Graham’s Haunted Treasures
On Two Fronts – Lance Taubold (with Sgt. Adam Fenner)
Ripper A Love Story – Lance Taubold (with Richard Devin)