“You really weren’t trying to do this all by yourself, were you?” Mason Henry asked, as he got closer to Chuck.
Chuck was startled and almost dropped the wrapped body.
“Don’t do that man,” he told him. “I didn’t even hear you coming.”
Silently, Mason Henry took the other end of Antonio’s body, and together they carried him to the open grave.
“Set him down for a minute,” Mason Henry said.
Gently they lowered him to the ground next to the grave.
“Why are you doing this alone?” he asked him. “We always have a small ceremony.”
“It didn’t seem fair,” Chuck replied. “His was the only body we could recover. We couldn’t bring anyone else home, no one else to bury. I thought it would be harder on their families.”
Mason Henry smiled, “But they aren’t in those bodies. You know that. They’re here with us; like they always are.”
“He’s right.”
Chuck turned at the voice. It was Joe. Sheila was holding his arm, both their eyes bloodshot and swollen from crying, “We would never think that.”
“And Antonio will be buried with their memories,” Tamar said as she walked up.
Before anyone realized it, all of Salvation, except for the guards, were standing there. Chuck look around and they all nodded to him.
When he looked back at Mason Henry, he saw he was kneeling by the wrapped head of Antonio and was tilting his head at the grave. Chuck hooked his arm under Antonio’s legs and they lowered him into the grave. Tamar and her ex-Imperials came forward first. Not only had they saved morsels from their meal for Izik, they had also saved them for Antonio, Edd, and Paul. Reverently they stepped up and dropped them in the grave along with little personal items, as was their tradition. They stepped back as the other members of Sabaton, and family members, stepped up next with their own offerings. When they finished, the rest of the crowd came up in groups to toss in their own contributions.
Epilogue
Weeks passed and Salvation returned to some semblance of normal routines. Life had changed and would never be the same, but everyone agreed that they lived on for those that died. As long as they kept those lost in their memories, no one was truly dead.
Tamar and Jim were walking outside, their hands clasped together.
“I’m sixteen tomorrow,” said Jim, “I think. No one is really sure of calendar dates anymore.” “Happy Birthday, I guess,” she congratulated.
None of the assassin kids remembered their birthdays and it wasn’t something any of them celebrated. To hear others at Salvation talk about it—well, she personally thought it seemed silly; it was just another day.
“It means I’m technically old enough to get married,” he added, stopping and taking both her hands.
Tamar looked back at him and smiled, “You do remember how young I am, don’t you? I may seem older than my actual age but Chuck has been treating me like a daughter lately. I think he might kill you if you asked for a child bride.”
Jim looked shocked then laughed when he saw Tamar grin, “If I thought you a child, and though of you that way, I’d kill myself.”
“So what do we do?” she asked as they began walking again.
They passed a fence sentry who waved to them. They waved back and continued until they reached the garden. Tamar and Jim saw the strawberry plants and went up to them. Jim hadn’t had real fruit in years and Tamar had never had a strawberry before. The fruit was red and bright, and after checking to see if anyone was looking, Jim pulled one off and bit it in half, quickly putting the other half into Tamar’s mouth. The smiles they wore turned into frowns as they spit out the bland fruits.
“I thought they were supposed to taste better than that,” she said.
“They normally do,” Jim countered. “They aren’t ripe yet. They’ll be sweet and juicy when they’re ripe.”
“Then we’ll just have to wait until they’re ripe,” she said, looking into his eyes.
“Yes,” he said as he kissed her, “We can wait.”
Chuck watched them sneak the fruit, laughing quietly when they spit it out, their faces scrunched up at the taste.
Strawberries suck if they’re not ripe, kids.
He began feeling more protective of Tamar ever since they got back. He had turned his guilt into protectiveness but maybe that was a good thing. He’d never try to turn her into Jeri and he’d never try to replace the father she barely remembered. He knew Jim was a good man and he’d never do Tamar wrong. He still wasn’t sure about the age difference thing. She was young in years but older than most in maturity. He’d have to discuss this with a few people, Shirley first, and see what others thought of it. He knew they were in love.
He was old enough to remember reading Romeo and Juliet when he was a teenager. He thought Juliet was around Tamar’s age, and didn’t think Jim was much off from Romeo’s age. Back when he read it, kids that age didn’t get married, let alone have any kind of relationships beyond childish crushes.
He sighed. Times were different now; and the circumstances, and the people. Especially a girl like Tamar, who was so much different. Maybe he should wait; let them wait. The problem with that was no one knew if this day could be their last, how short their lives could be. Maybe he should push them. Or maybe, just maybe, he should simply let life happen.
Survive (Book 1): Salvation Page 24
