Fear the Empire
Page 25
Connor looked down at her with excitement, and with renewed energy, she hurried her footsteps. When they stepped out from the foliage, she saw the temple that Wesley had been searching for all that time ago.
The House of Psi.
She found its simplicity quite beautiful. Carved from the very rock that made the mountain, it looked not only sturdy, but nearly impenetrable. There was a coldness to it, yet it did not seem to lack decoration, it was as if the designer was simply uninterested in it. Lucy could relate to that.
“I still wonder if we should have continued on toward Gaia,” Connor said, staring up at the massive structure.
Mickey turned around with a smile, his wrinkles folding against each other. “In this political climate, with civil wars breaking out all over the world, and new rulers popping up everyday... If your choices are between a domain ruled by a pacifist that holds most of the world's food resources, or a hidden temple full of women whose lives have been devoted to raising children... where do you want Lucy to give birth?”
Connor looked down at Lucy, who shrugged her shoulders and said, “He has a point.”
Connor shook his head. “I've just... heard things about this place. I'm not sure I want to raise our child in a cult.”
Mickey looked back at the temple and kissed the forehead of the glowing red child in his arms. “When I was stuck in time, I spent months here. Watching Wesley. Watching them all. It may have its own set of issues, but Wesley is a good man. He won't let anything happen to us. Any of us.”
Lucy tugged on Connor's arm and said, “He's right. Wesley is a good man. And... I like the idea of being around friends. We need to stick together. Now more than ever.”
Connor nodded reluctantly.
As they stepped up to the giant front doors, Mickey grabbed a hold of the rope attached to the bell, and gave it a strong tug. The bell rang out, echoing against the wall of the mountain, and cascading down the forest trail.
Lucy leaned over and rubbed the forehead of the child in Mickey's arms. “This baby is going to be powerful.”
Mickey glanced down. “It already is. Every time it grabs onto one of my fingers, I'm afraid it's either going to melt my skin or break my bones.”
Lucy hugged her belly and said, “I'm glad our child will like... have someone. I'm glad they'll grow up together. You know?”
Mickey put his hand on Lucy's shoulder and said, “We'll all have each other. We're going to do this together.”
“I know. It's just... this world is going to be dangerous. I'm glad they'll have each other. To protect each other at least.” Lucy shook her head. “Sorry. I'm just overwhelmed. I don't know what I'm doing. I feel all this responsibility and I have no plan. Like... what do we do from here?”
Mickey smiled down at the child in his arms. “We're going to do the same thing every parent does. We're going to do our best. We're going to succeed at some things and fail at others. But we're going to try our hardest to raise the next generation to be better than us, to learn from our mistakes so that hopefully they can live in a greater world than we did.”
Connor placed his hand on Lucy's belly. “He's right. All this time people with powers have been satisfied that their children would be more powerful than they were. They never worried about them being better than they were.”
Mickey's smile was larger than Lucy had ever seen it before as he said, “With parents like you two, that child will be amazing.”
As the wooden door of the temple creaked open, a woman stuck her head out and studied them, looking them up and down skeptically. Mickey stepped up to explain to her who they were and how they knew Wesley.
“You know the God-King?”
Lucy let Mickey do the talking, resting her tired head against Connor's shoulder and letting out a deep breath. She knew Mickey was right about raising their children. The world would always be a scary place for a mother to release her child into, full of dangers and pitfalls, but that same world was full of possibilities that could enrich them. She hoped her child's life would lead them to meet people like Connor and Mickey. Like Carmen and Andre and Wesley. Maybe even Victor. She hoped they would have friends that would do anything to protect each other, to help each other.
All she could do was raise her child right. She would tell them what it meant to be a good person. She would tell them the difference between right and wrong and even that gray area in between the two. She would tell them stories about the people who gave their lives to make sure there was a world for her child to live in. She would tell them about her friends and family. She would tell them about her teammates. But beyond all of that, the thing that excited her the most, was the moment she could tell her child about superheroes.
Jaron Lee Knuth was born in western Wisconsin in 1978. Suffering from multiple illnesses as a young child, he was forced to find an escape from his bedridden existence through the storytelling of any media he could find. Science fiction and fantasy novels, television programs, films, video games, and comic books all provided him with infinite worlds for his imagination to explore. Now he spends his days creating stories and worlds in the hope that others might find somewhere to escape as well.
He would love to reply to any questions or comments you may have for him at jaronleeknuth@gmail.com. You can also check out his news and updates at facebook.com/jaronleeknuth or follow @jaronleeknuth on Twitter.