by Shelly Crane
I felt him sigh and knew he knew that I was telling the truth. I couldn’t lie.
Later a shaken Cain, which was a sight to see let me tell ya, told us what had happened to him and Daniel. After he hugged me long and hard, he told us about how Daniel had went to the store only to find it ransacked. He guessed that was when they took Piper. He told us about going to the vet doctor because Daniel took him there by mistake. He told us about finding the line maps for the broadcast stations and he told us about what Daniel had done to save him. Lillian must've heard the story already because she sat silently in Cain's lap on the floor and clung to his neck.
She looked unsettled….but settled. It was weird and I felt for her. Marissa spoke up and told us about the vision she'd seen. She debated on whether to tell Daniel or not, but to not let someone do the task that was set out for them was never a good thing. Daniel had been meant to switch sides and save us. In the end, he saved all his brothers as well and they all went home, never to return.
Daniel. The Lighter who saved us all.
"I've got a little surprise," Chesser told everyone when we'd all cleaned up as much as we could and sat in the big room together. "I need to check something out first, but if it pans out, you're going to love me."
"What is it?" Jeff asked, his usual Keeper self. Though he wasn't a Keeper anymore.
"I'll explain later. Mind if I take the van?"
"Sure, mate," Miguel spouted and turned on the TV. "Before you head into town let's…"
The town was a mess. Stores had been destroyed, some things were on fire and still burning. The streets were littered with debris and the wind whipped some of it around into the air. The anchorwoman stood in front of the sign that I had defaced. Our Town now blazed behind her as she said what was happening. The sound of yelling could be heard from behind the camera. As she, who was no longer compelled, walked through town and showed the destruction, she also showed the people gathering in the streets. They were…celebrating.
I gripped my husband to me and we all watched enraptured. We'd been fighting here and they'd been fighting there.
Even though we hadn't made it to them last night, they'd fought and stood strong. And when the Lighters had been defeated they knew the war was over. Now in the morning light of glorious victory, even though we still weren't together as one body, we all celebrated together as one human race.
The war was over.
A new life was beginning.
A life without Lighters or Keepers or Markers or Takers. A life of humans who were hell bent on rebuilding a world worth living in.
The rebellion may have been over, but the revolution was ongoing.
This was our world, our town, and we refused to give up.
Happily Ever After
Chapter 32
Lily
I giggled as I watched Mommy cwy. It always made me sad to see her cwy, but this time, she was laughing and cwying at the same time. Daddy kept kissing her neck. He was her prince charming. Well, that's what Aunt Rissa had said.
Aunt Rissa was going to be a good mommy. She was a good teacher. And Uncle Jeff was a good Daddy. He was her prince charming, too.
Calvin and Frankwin, those meany pants, were not prince charmings.
But I was glad the bad man was gone now. I wasn't scarwed. Mrs. Trudy said not to be. She said everything was going to be ok. And now we could go outside and play! Maybe Daddy could build me a swing, and tell Calvin he's not allowed to play on it 'cause he's too big!
Maybe Daddy would build a doll house. A big one. We might need a big one one day, because Mommy didn't know it, but there was a surpwise in her belly. It was a girl and Mrs. Trudy said to tell Mommy to name her Hope.
Because all the world needed right now…was a little Hope.
Epilogue
One Week Later
Sherry
So, the little surprise that Chesser had been talking about was staring back at us as we all stood in the middle of town. It was beautiful. We'd packed all of our things, which wasn't much, and followed Chesser in our little convoy across town.
And there we were.
It was an apartment complex that had been abandoned. It was right near the radio station and where the Enforcement facility used to be, so people had scrammed and moved on to somewhere not so close.
He said he'd scoped it out a long time ago, checked all the rooms, and that it was as empty as it could be. But the glorious thing was that when people fled, they left most of their furniture and 'stuff'. So we weren't sitting on the floor anymore, or sleeping on concrete anymore, or eating off our laps. And the very, very best part? We got to be separated, but still be technically together.
There were only about twenty apartments, but that was plenty for us. We'd divide it up by families and it would be perfect.
We walked into the first one we saw. It didn't matter what it looked like. It was a place to live and be alone. They were all two bedrooms so we had our room and Lily had hers.
I didn't even remember what privacy was like, but when I walked to the back and saw the washer and dryer, I almost cried right there. I heard Merrick call me into the kitchen. "Don't faint," he said.
"What? Why?"
He took my arm and pulled me around to see a dishwasher. I squealed like a little girl and jumped up and down and into his arms as he laughed. Lily hugged our legs and we lifted her up to squeeze between us.
Later as we sat on our couch - our couch - we thought about what we could do to start turning the town back around. Money was a thing of the past. No one had it and no one knew much about what was going on outside of the state except that all the Lighters were gone. We figured there was no point in waiting for the government to come and fix things.
There was no government.
So all of us met in the conference room and talked about it until we decided to invite the town, what was left of it, to speak with everybody all at once and come up with a trade system. We needed to start planting crops again and getting the stores back in order. We needed have limits and rules and regulations that everybody agreed to and we needed to start living them.
It was exciting to think about a new society.
That night after we put Lily to bed in her new room, we lay in our own bed and looked at the ceiling. The sheets I had washed were soft and smelled heavenly. Merrick and I had taken a shower for a long time, like we couldn't get clean enough. Then without putting on clothes, he'd carried me to bed.
Lily had told me some news this morning while Jeff and Merrick were talking to the Enforcers in our group about setting up some kind of security, just in case. I was dusting and going through the books left in the apartment and she'd let the secret fall sweetly from her lips.
Now, I was about to let it fall from mine and I had barely been able to keep in my excitement in all day.
I twisted my necklace, rubbing the hearts that were made for me, and sighed.
"What's wrong, babe?" Merrick asked, so predictably.
"Nothing. I was just thinking that this apartment is awfully small."
He frowned. "I thought you loved it."
"I do. It's just small."
"Well," he said slowly, "beggars can't be choosers, sweetheart."
I giggled. "I guess not. But the baby is going to be awfully cranky-"
"What…did you just say?"
I sat up and straddled his lap. "I said…" I smiled and cried for about the millionth time in the past week and whispered, "The baby will be cranky."
His mouth opened and he stared. "You… Really?"
"Really. Lily told me, and I don't think it's a good idea to doubt her when she says something. Plus," I shrugged, "a woman knows her body."
"Are you saying…" his eyes filled and the joy was all over him, "we're going to have a baby?"
"That's what I'm saying, Keeper. Not only did you save me more times than I can count, and come for me, and love me, you gave me the one thing I thought I'd never have."
"Bu
t…how?"
"Do I need to give you an anatomy lesson, baby?" I licked his earlobe and kissed his chin. "I think you know how."
He rolled so quickly, it reminded me of the Keeper speed he no longer possessed. He grinned down at me. "Really?"
I smiled and burst. It hurt to have so much joy in my gut. He lay down on me and absorbed my sobs as he stroked and kissed me. It took a while before I realized that he was crying, too.
We held onto each other and dreamed about things of the future. Soon he was tucking me under him in more intimate ways and I arched, and sighed and gave into him.
This was what I had to look forward to for the rest of my life.
And I was one happily content girl.
Ten Months Later
"How's the sign coming along?" I asked.
Merrick and Miguel grinned down at me. Miguel nodded. "It's bloody perfect! Everyone will see this thing from a mile away."
"They better," Billings groaned as he held it up from the bottom. "Are you done yet?" No one answered him and he growled and yelled, "Hey!" at Bones who nipped at his pants legs.
Cain stopped beside me and looked up at it. He whistled. "Looks good." He read aloud the 'In Honor of Daniel. The Lighter whose sacrifice saved us all'. He smiled wistfully, rubbing L's arm as she laid her head on his shoulder, and then smiled down at me. "And how are you doing?"
"Oh, fine," I sighed happily and rocked my hips side to side. "I just don't want you guys to get in over your heads, that's all. There's a lot of people in this town to feed."
"Nah," he shrugged off, "we're fine. We've got lots of help from the other guys in town. And Pap's seeds that he left at the cabin were plenty enough to get us started." He chuckled. "I never thought I'd be a farmer."
Lillian wrapped her arms around him from behind. "Bet you'd look cute in overalls."
He grinned. "I look cute in anything, L."
"True." She smiled at me. "How are you really doing?"
"I'm great!" I laughed. "Everyone needs to stop worrying about me."
"Where's Marissa?" Cain asked.
I nodded my head toward the lounge chair. "She's there." Marissa, Jeff and that gorgeous baby were all snuggled up for a nap in the lounger together. They needed the sleep for sure. The baby was keeping them up at night, I knew.
"You could probably do with a nap, too," Lillian said and gave me a look.
"She's right," Merrick said and glanced at Jeff. "I'm a little jealous of Jeffrey right now."
"Ah," I crooned and kissed Hope's little head. "She's not that bad, are you, baby?"
Merrick smiled gorgeously and kissed her head, then mine. "No, she's not that bad." He took her from me, my arms releasing with the ache of being still so long. "In fact, she's perfect. She looks just like you," he whispered, as he'd whispered a million times since she was born. He held her effortlessly and kissed her forehead again.
"Let us take her for a bit," Lillian said excitedly. "The grand opening for the produce farm isn't for a few hours still." She looked at Cain and he nodded with a grin. "Come on, let us," she pleaded.
I kissed my little girl's head once more and Merrick handed her sleeping form over reluctantly. She was exactly two months old today. Merrick took my hand and towed me upstairs toward our apartment. Calvin and Lana's was right at the end of the stairs. I saw Calvin's sheet tent in the living room. Ellie and Ryan's apartment was on one side of us and Jeff and Marissa's was on the other. Ryan's door was open and they were standing in the doorway.
He must've been heading off to help with the opening because he was giving her one heck of a goodbye kiss. Merrick and I smiled at each other as we passed. We entered our apartment, a nap sounding like the best idea ever right then, to find Lily there. She was brushing out her doll's hair and setting them up for a tea party.
We stopped. She'd been so good about sharing us with the baby and all the stuff that needed to be done to get things right in the town again. We both looked at each other at the same time. Even without his Keeper talk, I could practically hear his thoughts.
We both sat down across from her. I picked up one doll and Merrick picked up the other. I laughed at him, because I knew what was coming. He held the Barbie in one hand and the other held out like a diva and said in a high voice, "So girls, what's been going on?"
Lily squealed and moved her Barbie closer. "Nothing, just buying a new fur coat. Wanna see?"
"Do I ever!"
We laughed and played with our little girl until it was time to go meet up with everyone at the opening of the produce store.
The men in our group had gotten together with a few others and started a garden. Pap and Margaret had gone back to their cabin on the hill to live instead of staying with us. But not before he told us about his farm supplies, seeds and tractor included. As far as we knew, we were the only farmgarden in the state. No one else had seeds and we planned to start spreading them around when our first big crop came in. And it was in. Today we were open for business, but not for money. We traded things or services with everyone and it worked out perfectly.
And let me tell you, Merrick, shirtless in the blazing sun as he worked in the garden was a sight to see. You thought chocolate made your toes curl…
They were getting a school ready, too. Marissa was going to teach along with a couple of others. It was going to be laid back. Marissa was taking the baby with her and we were starting off with half days. I had agreed to start teaching piano and music once the baby was a little older.
The town wasn't perfect by any means. We'd had a few run-ins with trouble, someone who wasn't too keen on having to go back to the following the common laws of a society, like no stealing. The Enforcers, who were mostly a bunch of cops anyway, had kind of started to keep the peace again. The town clean-up had been massive, but we'd gotten so much done in the last ten months.
Marissa and I had our babies within three days of each other. That had been eventful, but so worth it. Merrick was the best coach ever. We thought Jeff was bad. Merrick turned worrying into a sport for those months, but I loved every minute of it.
Ryan and Ellie were stuck in the lovey stage. The sweet one where all you wanna do is touch and be touched. Miguel and Rylee were still love-hating on each other. Miguel never walked around with anything but a smile though, so I assumed it was working for him. Celeste and Danny lived across the hall from us and were still the same old, same old. He was a great uncle and husband. When kids of his own were brought up, he and Celeste both wrinkled their noses.
Cain and Lillian were as happy as ever and lived down the hall from us. They were the biggest baby hogs of the bunch.
Calvin had grown two more inches. Franklin hadn't and was brooding and irritated. Two teenage boys running around… But Calvin had become extremely protective of Lily lately.
The radio transmissions had been turned back on, but we only had one station. Some older man who used to run one decided he was taking it over. He only played songs from the forties, but it was better than nothing. The news continued to play daily because there wasn't much else, but they talked about actual news and not just Lighters anymore. They did start to play some old movies and re-runs, but again, we only had one channel, so it was that or nothing.
This was our life now. We lived our separate lives in our apartments and then lived together, one big family and community.
Later that night the whole town gathered for the grand opening and listened to Chesser give his speech on the importance of equal giving and taking. We all needed to work together to make this new world work.
They cut the ribbon and everyone went inside the big field for our first time with fresh produce in more than a year. Lily went right to the watermelons.
Afterwards, they held a get together and had live music and dancing in the street. I rocked my hips side to side to keep my Hope asleep and felt Merrick's arms go around me from behind. "Still sleeping?"
"I'm surprised with the loud music that she is, but yeah."
> He kissed the side of my neck. "Wanna dance with me?"
I looked out at our family who was already dancing. The band was playing a wonderful acoustic version of Howie Day's Collide. It was a perfect song, to a perfect day, to a perfect new life.
The dawn is breaking,
a light shining through.
You're barely waking,
and I'm tangled up in you.
Yeah.
I'm open, you're closed.
Where I follow, you'll go.
I worry I won't see your face light up again.
Even the best fall down sometime,
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme,
Out of the doubt that fills my mind.
We'll somehow find, you and I collide.
I held Hope between us as Merrick took us in his arms and swayed us. He kissed my forehead, his lips warm. Human warm. I let him guide me with his hands on my hips.
"I love you, baby," he said to me and closed his eyes. "I could stay right here all night."
So we pretty much did.
Life wasn't perfect, but we found our perfection in it. Our new life in this new world was going to be hard and rough and beautiful. I couldn't wait for my kids to grow up and see what they helped to literally build back up from nothing. This was worth fighting for.
I looked up at my husband and even after everything had happened I couldn’t help but be grateful that our worlds collided.
"I love you, too, Keeper." He laughed. He always laughed when I said that. I didn't care what anyone said.
Merrick would always be my Keeper to me.
The Very End
Playlist
(Theme) Collide : Howie Day
(Merrick's flashback) Open Your Eyes : Snow Patrol
(Sherry's dream) Touch This Light : House of Heroes
(Plotting) Angel With A Shotgun : The Cab
