Rise the Phoenix

by Ely Page

  The ceremony put an end to the hardest forty-eight hours Hope had faced yet. It seemed like the town was going to manage to survive. As he looked at all the fresh graves, it crossed Dylan’s mind that it was up to him to make sure such loss would never happen again.

  A week after the battle, Leah came crying up to Dylan as he was doing some clean-up work at his new military training academy. As soon as Dylan turned to look at his sobbing friend, he grabbed her in a big, warm hug. She was shaking uncontrollably.

  “What’s wrong? What happened?” Dylan asked in the most concerned voice he’d ever used.

  They moved inside the old school, and Dylan helped Leah sit on an old table while he stood in front of her. After a few more minutes of crying, she finally calmed down enough to talk.

  “Can you tell me what is going on?” Dylan asked a teary-eyed Leah as she looked him in the eyes for the first time.

  “I’m pregnant and the dad is dead.” Leah started crying all over again.

  Dylan took the announcement like a shot to the stomach at first, but he quickly recovered and remembered that it wasn’t about him. Just as he was going to move in and hug her again, she wrapped her arms as tight around him as she could.

  Chapter 10

  Cold air was starting to whisk its way over Hope. Dylan had taken to farming, kind of. He helped Ollie and a few others till up some land outside the wall for next spring’s planting. Stan had stocked up on several types of seeds: alfalfa and grasses for livestock, which they had gotten to come in to Hope from nearby farms, as well as corn, wheat, oats, barley, and countless fruit and vegetable seeds, some of which had already been grown in the greenhouse maintained by Nina, who used to be a florist, and Gina, Andy’s new wife. They were working to make sure there was at least some fresh food to make it through winter.

  Leah moved out of the house that she shared with Morgan and into one of the mansions in town, the first of many people to do so for the winter. Dylan, Andy, and Will moved into the same house. Dylan did it so he could be close to Leah. Andy and his wife Gina also chose to move in there, and Will didn’t have much choice but to follow along.

  The first winter in Hope was harsh. The food supply ran low, and fuel for heat was scarce. Snow fell almost nonstop. To save on energy, everyone in town moved into the larger homes, sharing lodging with as many people as could fit comfortably and corporate together.

  It was by the glow of the fire in the giant living room in that old Victorian-style mansion that Dylan fell in love with Leah all over again.

  They were both sitting on the couch facing the fire. They were the only two out of twenty in the house still awake. It had been four months since the battle that took Leah’s husband, Morgan. Since that time, Dylan and Leah had been constant companions and best friends. Leah thought it was sheer coincidence that they both ended up living there for the winter. Everybody in town knew better, but they kept quiet about it.

  It had taken Leah a long time to smile and laugh again. Dylan cracked jokes and told goofy stories to make her happy. The two of them had grown closer than ever before, but they barely ever touched each other. When they did, it was just for a hug now and then. Even a hug from Leah felt more powerful to Dylan than anything else he’d ever wrapped his arms around.

  Leah looked at him. She smiled that beautiful smile that melted Dylan’s heart. He didn’t know what to do or what to say. He was in charge of Hope’s army, but when it came to love, he was clueless.

  Leah moved closer to him. His heart skipped when he felt her shift on the couch. Before he knew it, she was sitting right next to him. He couldn’t move, frozen in shock. Leah grabbed his arm and wrapped it around her waist as she leaned up against him.

  No words were spoken. None needed to be. For Dylan, it was a perfect moment, and saying anything would most certainly ruin it.

  Leah woke in the morning alone on the couch. Dylan quickly came into view when she looked at the fireplace. His back was toward her, so she quietly got up and lightly walked across the wood floor.

  She came up behind him and put her hands on his shoulders, then moved them slowly toward his bare chest. Dylan’s initial reaction was defensive, but he quickly softened as he felt Leah’s breath on the back of his neck.

  They had made love for the first time in the night. It had been Dylan’s first time with anybody. He’d been nervous, but she made him so comfortable that it felt like the greatest thing ever. No words had been spoken until the end, when they both said “I love you.” Leah had cried after that, and Dylan had thought that he’d done something wrong, but Leah had assured him that she was very happy and the tears were of relief.

  “For so long, I didn’t know how you felt about me. You always kept your distance. Even when I tried to get closer, you got further away,” she’d told him.

  As the others in the house began to wake up, the alone time between Dylan and Leah came to an end. Leah broke her embrace of Dylan.

  “Good morning, you two,” Connie an older woman who she shared the house with said as she walked into the giant room. “I should have known you guys would be the first ones to be awake. I am going to start breakfast.”

  “I will help you!” Leah said, following after her. As she walked out of the room, Leah looked back at Dylan and smiled before disappearing around the corner.

  Dylan and Leah tried their best to keep their new relationship a secret, but as the winter went on, the other housemates grew suspicious. Finally, Morgan’s old friend Hank confronted them one evening as everyone was turning in for the night.

  “I know what is going on between you two,” Hank said to Leah in the hallway next to the living room Dylan was sitting in.

  “What are you talking about?” Leah said, acting like she had nothing to hide. She said it loud enough for Dylan to hear, and he quickly got up and went near the doorway where Hank and Leah were standing.

  “I know you and Dylan have a thing going on, and I don’t understand why you guys are sneaking around and hiding it from everyone,” Hank said.

  Dylan came around the corner before Leah could respond. “Please come in the living room and have a seat before this conversation continues,” Dylan said calmly, waving Leah and Hank in through the doorway.

  The three of them sat down around the large coffee table, each on a different seat.

  “It’s true,” Dylan said to Hank after they sat down.

  Leah was shocked that he came out and said it. It took all she had not to stand up and call him a liar, but she knew that she would have been the one lying.

  Dylan looked at Leah and saw her reaction to his reveal. “Look, Leah, we have to be honest with everyone or we can’t be honest with each other. It’s time that people knew. I don’t want to sneak around anymore.”

  Leah was still not happy, but she accepted what Dylan said. Hank also looked relieved.

  “Look, guys, I don’t know why you needed to hide it from anyone in the first place. Is it because Morgan died recently? Is it because you are pregnant with his child?” Hank looked back and forth between them before his gaze settled on Leah. “Morgan loved you, and all he wanted was for you to be happy. You knew Morgan better than me, and you know that the last thing he would want is for you to mourn him and not continue to live your life the happiest that you possibly could. You are carrying Morgan’s child, and since he can’t be here to be a dad, who better than Dylan?”

  Hank put a friendly hand on Dylan’s shoulder, and Leah started to cry. Hank continued. “Morgan never had a problem with Dylan. He knew what you felt about him before you got married. In fact, the night before the battle, he told me that if he didn’t make it, he hoped that you would find your way to Dylan. He knew that would make you happy.”

  After that, Dylan and Leah opened up to the whole town about their relationship. Leah was nervous and wondered what people would think of her now that she was no longer
a grieving widow. Much to her surprise, everyone was happy for them and glad that they had finally gotten together after all the drama between them.

  When Dylan and Leah found Ben and Andy, they both gave Leah a hug and slapped Dylan on the shoulder.

  “Try not to screw it up this time,” Ben said.

  “Yeah, really bro,” Andy added.

  Dylan and Leah decided to get married in the spring, when it was warm enough to move into their own house. Leah just wanted to make sure she was married before the baby was born.

  “I don’t want the whole town to be at our wedding. I just did that last summer, and I don’t want to feel like I am getting married every year. That’s why you are not allowed to die within the next, um . . . thirty years or so,” Leah said, laying out what she wanted to do.

  Dylan didn’t really care if anybody saw him get married. As long as the ceremony was with Leah, the details didn’t matter.

  “Ah, you two have come to see me about getting married, I take it?” Jim asked as he opened the door to his office, which used to be Frank’s, inside the church.

  “That’s why we’re here,” said a very pregnant Leah as she and Dylan walked into the office and sat down.

  “So when would like to do this? In a couple of months?” Jim asked as he sat behind his desk.

  “How about right now,” Dylan stated, shocking Jim.

  “But—but what about gathering everyone for a ceremony?”

  Jim didn’t understand, so Dylan laid it out for him.

  “We don’t want everyone here. We don’t want a fuss about it.”

  Jim looked back and forth between Leah and Dylan.

  “I can’t handle another big wedding, not twice within a year,” Leah added.

  Jim had to think about it for a moment. “OK, but you will still need a witness.”

  There was a knock at the door and then it opened. Rodan came in.

  “Already thought of that,” Dylan said. “What better witness then someone who knows God on a personal basis?”

  Jim started the impromptu wedding after Leah, Dylan, and Rodan all signed a piece of paper making it official. When Jim was done and Dylan and Leah embraced each other, Jim asked, “Where are you guys going on your honeymoon?” They all got a laugh out of the joke.

  Leah let everyone know that she and Dylan were married as she saw them, but she made sure that she told her best friend Hanna first.

  Dylan immediately went to work in the fields, helping Ollie prepare for planting the crops and putting a new fence up to allow the cattle and pigs to graze. Between that and working on the training academy, Dylan was hard-pressed to find much alone time with his new and very pregnant wife.

  After Dylan finished helping Ollie till and sow the fields, he worked on creating a proper military structure. Putting himself at the top as a general, he then picked one person from each of the original seven tribes as his top lieutenants.

  He spent an entire day in the old school, working out all the details using a couple of military books he found in the library as reference points.

  Leah spent her time as a seamstress. Her mom had taught her how to sew, and she was good at it. She and a few other ladies in town made all the clothes, blankets, towels, and curtains. Materials were scarce. They recycled and reused as much as they could that was already in Hope, but with all the manual labor going, on clothing was ruined fast and with all the recent weddings more and more couples were getting pregnant and fast.

  Porter came walking up to Dylan with a huge smile on his face.

  “I’m a daddy!” Porter shouted a little too loud and close for Dylan’s sake. “Jenny gave birth to a baby boy.”

  Dylan smiled and slapped Porter on the shoulder. “Congratulations, what’s his name?”

  Porter smiled. “Tank,” he said.

  Dylan raised an eyebrow. “Tank?”

  Porter nodded his head. “Yep. It’s the only argument I’ve won with Jenny, and I am glad that it was that one.”

  Tank was the first baby born in Hope, and the town was very elated. Just three days after Tank was born, Hanna gave birth in the home she shared with Ben. A newly pregnant Chris oversaw the midwives as they helped with the birth.

  Just as Leah was unpacking and settling into the new house she shared with her husband, she started to go into labor. Her problem was that she was all alone, and she didn’t know if Dylan was at the academy or outside the gate helping Ollie with the fields.

  Before she could panic, Leah calmly walked onto the front porch holding her belly to see if she could get some help. A contraction came just as she was about to step down onto the top step. She almost fell but managed to hold on to the railing.

  “Leah?” Joan, their neighbor on the left side, noticed that Leah was in pain and ran over from her front porch. “Are you OK?” she asked, grabbing Leah’s hand to steady her better.

  “I think I’m in labor,” Leah said.

  Joan turned her head toward her house. “Glenn, get out here now!” she shouted so loud that Leah thought her eardrum was bleeding.

  Glenn, Joan’s husband, came rushing out of the house with only one shoe on. “Yes, dear?” he said, not leaving his own porch.

  “Go to the clinic and get Chris here now. Leah is in labor. Then go find Dylan,” Joan shouted her order to her husband, who in the meantime had managed to put on his other shoe. Glenn took off running toward the town square without a second thought. “At least he is wearing pants,” Joan said, watching her husband run before turning back to Leah. “C’mon, we need to get you inside and lying down.”

  Dylan had taken a break from revamping of the training academy. That night was going to be his first class, but it was only going to be with the lieutenants. He thought about heading home to check on Leah but got distracted when he saw Ollie with a mule pulling a cart filled with seed bags.

  “Hey, Ollie, ready to do some planting?”

  Ollie smile an old farmer smile. “About as ready I’m going to get.”

  Dylan started walking and talking with Ollie, forgetting to go home.

  Chris and Becca, Andy’s ex-girlfriend, came running into Leah’s house, finding her laying down on the living room couch.

  “Oh my,” Chris said as she looked at Leah’s situation. “Looks like I am going to have a busy day.” She pulled out her medical bag as she talked. “Brittany as well as April and Lisa are all going to pop at any second.”

  Leah couldn’t believe that her child plus three others could have the same birthday.

  “Dylan! Dylan!”

  Dylan heard his name being shouted, and the tone of the voice making hair on the back of his neck stand up. He was standing by the cart, refilling his bucket with more seeds. He put the bucket down calmly and looked up; it was his neighbor, Glenn.

  What is he doing out here, Dylan thought to himself. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks—if his neighbor was coming to find him, something had happened to Leah. Dylan didn’t wait for Glenn to reach him; he ran right past Glenn at full speed, through the gate and out of sight. Glenn bent over and rested his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

  “Looks like you are a little out shape, Glenn.” Ollie came up to Glenn’s side with a full bucket of seed.

  Glenn looked up to Ollie.

  “You ever sow a field before?” Ollie grinned and handed Glenn the bucket.

  “I’m here, what can I do to help?” Dylan said as he walked into his house. He quickly noticed that Chris, Becca, and Joan clearly had the situation under control.

  “Where were you?” Leah asked through clenched teeth.

  “I . . . I was out helping Ollie, ah, yeah.”

  Leah almost turned beet red. “And you didn’t bother to check in on me.”

  Just then, Leah groaned with another contraction.

  “Hold on, girl
,” Chris said. “You aren’t quite ready to push.”

  “What do you mean?” she screamed “Get this baby out of me!” Leah was not happy.

  Dylan moved toward the doorway, slowly walking backwards. He froze when Leah’s neck snapped almost unnaturally; locking eyes on him.

  “Get out!” she shouted.

  He was all too happy to oblige her. “Jeez, if being pregnant makes women act like that, I don’t know if I want Leah to have any more kids,” Dylan said out loud as he left the house. He went to the school, grabbed a broom, and started to sweep the gym floor. He didn’t get very far before he decided to go back home and wait on the porch.

  Only a few minutes after he sat down on the porch swing, he heard a baby’s cry. At first he didn’t know what he felt. Something came over him, but he couldn’t explain what it was. He got off the swing and walked back into the house. When he stepped into the doorway, he saw Leah holding the baby and looking like she had just gone through Hell, but she also had the biggest smile on her face that he had ever seen. He finally figured out what that feeling he had was: joy.

  “Come here and look at our son,” Leah said when she saw Dylan standing there. She sounded tired but happy.

  Dylan didn’t quite take the “our son” part wholeheartedly. The little baby was and in his mind would always be Morgan’s son. It was Dylan’s job to be the best dad that he could to the innocent child.

  “What do you want to name him?” Dylan asked as he held the baby boy’s hand for the first time.

  “I don’t know yet, but I am leaning toward John. It’s simple, and it was my father’s name.”

  Dylan didn’t spend a lot of time at home with Leah and the baby before he had to get back to work. He met with Rodan at the academy to talk about what might be coming next.

  “I have not had much communication with Heaven lately, and nothing about any possible attacks,” Rodan said.

  Dylan was hoping for an idea of what to expect in the future, so he could prepare those in Hope who were able to fight. “I will just start to train everyone based on how the wambei attacked last year, then,” he said, reliving the battle in his mind and feeling a little disappointed in himself after remembering that he threw up on the battlefield.