I gasped loudly in shock at the sight. Emma hadn’t even reached them yet and they just fell. The reanimated corpses were no longer. A sizzle began in the air, almost like static electricity forming along the earth and then a loud bang from across the lake. I turned to look at Lou who was coming outside, her mouth hanging open in surprise. It had stopped just like it began, from the east coast to the west coast, like a wave across the country.
“The powers back on,” she said blankly.
“What?” I asked as I ran inside the cabin to inspect. Sure enough the lights turned on and off and the water ran through the spouts. The world had come alive as the dead had died, again. We were able to finally breathe again. Emma switched on the radio and we listened to the first broadcast in months. A recovery of electric had been happening all over the country, starting in the lower east coast; the only part to survive. The president was safe and the power came back on for everyone. The threat was over.
We drove through the mountains searching for more Lifeless, but those that were once up, were now lying along the ground. There was no life to them at all; just as it should have been. We found the people who lived across the lake and they too had power. The lights in the small town down the mountain were lit again and people were walking around in a daze, just like we were. We survived the Great War against evil but we had millions and millions of tragic losses. He had destroyed many families and shocked our world, but we would regain our composure and we would live on.
Now many months later, we no longer feared the dead rising from the ground. Most of the bodies had already been cremated and those that weren’t were going to be soon. We wouldn’t take any chances after this. We had started living again, going back to work. Survivors had come out of the wood work, not having to hide anymore. Children played in the parks again and laughter did fill the air once more despite the fact that many of them lost everything and everyone.
Lou started work at a local school. Teaching was her passion and she was truly gifted with it. She was back doing what she was good at. While Lou taught, Emma helped rebuild the community. She had put her Marine boots away for a clipboard and started helping people reestablish their homes and their lives. She never knew that she’d actually like helping people and organizing the town.
Emma stayed in the cabin and Lou moved into town only thirty minutes away to be closer to the school. I tease her and say that she moved there to be closer to the cute PE coach. She of course didn’t deny it because she knew I was right.
As for me, I started writing the book I always wanted to write. I realized, after the power came back on and life went back to semi-normal that my purpose Doug had mentioned was to be a scribe. My duty was to write about what happened when the dead arose and the demons came upon our earth. That’s why I knew so much about why they had risen. For some reason God had seen something in me and chose me to tell the tale. So that was the book I was currently writing. It was important for those who followed after us to know exactly why it happened. Many nights I wondered where Doug was now. He was smart and I didn’t doubt that he survived. We all had a role to play, and without my friends, I wasn’t sure I could have survived to tell the story.
I sat at the house that I called home now, in Maple Grove not far from my friends, and looked out the window staring at the lake before me. It wasn’t as beautiful as Lake Crescent but it was still peaceful. The house was empty when I found it and I had claimed it as home because it was everything I ever wanted.
Snack barked and I jumped. I still did that from time to time; I think we all did. We might have survived but we were intensely scarred for life. We just wore those scars on the inside.
I got up from my desk and saw that someone stood right outside my door. I opened it to find Brock holding a bouquet of wild flowers and fresh eggs.
“You come bearing gifts do you?” I asked with a smile.
He smiled back, causing his eyes to soften around the corners. I had begun loving when it did that, just like I did the dimple in his chin. “Bertie sent the eggs, of course. But I picked the flowers myself on my way up here.”
He walked in and kissed me softly. I had let go the tragedy of the past and began welcoming my future, our future.
You see the survival pact was for all of us; the whole world. It may have started with three young girls, but it grew into something way bigger. The pact was that we, as a people, could survive such chaos and fear, and thrive no matter what. We had risen up against evil and we had become a nicer, gentler race of humans. Emma says that she thinks the Devil likes it this way because we’re softer, but I think that he knows what he did to us, and we aren’t weak. Instead of making us less evil, and more susceptible to his charms and tricks, he hardened us. We won’t stand up and let him hurt us. In the end, we won.
The End
Author Bio
Christy Sloat resides in New Jersey with her husband, two daughters, and her Chihuahua, Sophie. Christy has embraced the love of reading and writing since her youth and was inspired by her grandmother’s loving support. She loves adventurous journeys with her friends and can be known to get lost inside a bookstore. She is the Best Selling author of twelve novels including, The Visitors Series, The Past Lives Series, and Slumber.
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