by Roberts, EM
“I’ve always felt guilty that we couldn’t let more people inside, but we didn’t know the door was on a timer and would automatically close. Your father and I had planned on bringing more people in,” her mother sighed.
“We have to go out there, mom. I have to go out there,” Sara said firmly, “Dad and Eli have been working on this vaccine for twenty-five years. I have been helping them the last five. You’ve seen there are still strains of the vaccine. We have to get the medicine out there.”
Ella smiled at her daughter and saw parts of both Parker and herself in the young woman. She’d gotten interested in medicine at the age of sixteen, and as smart as she was, Eli and Sully had started her in an apprentice program. The facility had contained a medical center and a library in its vast confines. Sara had studied like a fiend, using every minute she could to soak up all and any information related to medicine and science. Ella had confidence in her daughter’s abilities, but as a mother, she was afraid. She wondered if her own mother had felt this way when she’d gone off to war back thirty some years ago.
A few hours later around a huge dinner table in the common area, Ella stood and cleared her throat.
“It looks like our time here as we know it is coming to an end. We’ve multiplied and grown in this place, and I feel like we’re really an extended family. I’d like to thank the members of the council for all of their hard work over the years to make this place run efficiently. Eli, Jem, Amos, Jax, Sully, and Izzy, y’all have been the very best at making this a fair and wonderful 25 years.”
Ella looked around at each of the faces. Twenty-five years had taken its toll on the lot of them, but they’d persevered. Eli had found love again. His wife, Allie, sat beside him holding his hand. He’d lost some hair and had gone gray during his time in here, but he was still the same obnoxious kid he’d been in their youth. His two sons sat to his left, and they were the spitting image of him when he’d been a teenager. When Ella had realized that Eli was alive and had survived the Outbreaks, she’d wept with joy. Any animosity between the two had disappeared that day.
Jem was still as sassy and wild as ever. She’d been through two husbands during their time in the facility, the first one passing away from a heart condition. The second one had ended in a separation. Jem was the type of woman who couldn’t be tied down, and sometimes she and Ella still talked about the day they’d found each other—with Jem sitting naked in a field of grass. She’d been an asset to the community, providing comfort and healing through her skills as a psychologist.
Amos-Amos-Amos---Ella thought as she looked her friend. He still worshipped her, but he also worshipped Sara because he’d been there when Ella’s daughter had been born. Everyone loved Amos and accepted him as he was. He’d taken over the greenhouse section of the facility and had made it his home. Amos almost felt like her son even though she was only a few years older than him.
When she looked at the next person at the table, she couldn’t help but feel her heart swell with pride. Jax had come such a long way. She barely remembered that drugged out rock star she’d been imprisoned with all those years ago. He’d stayed sober and clean during his time here, and he’d started a music program, mentoring young musicians. Although, Jax had never found the love he was looking for, he’d remained true to himself, and everyone accepted him. Ella assured him there was still time to find love when they went out into the world.
And then there was Izzy. Another of her children. Izzy had turned into a beautiful woman. Even in her forties, she still had that edgy, punkish look. Her hair was now its original color, but it had one white streak in the front of it. She’d still maintained that short, choppy look except her long bangs were swept to one side. Although she’d given up the skinny jeans since she said she was older and could no longer pull it off, she was still dressed like a rebel. She’d stayed with the young man she’d met 25 years ago, and their daughter, Alice, was her own daughter’s best friend. Izzy and her husband had become teachers in the facility. Izzy taught humanities and her husband taught sciences.
The last person Ella made eye contact with was her own husband, Sully. She guessed she could call him her husband. They hadn’t really had a ceremony or anything, but for the purpose of record keeping, she’d listed him as her husband. She remembered that day when Parker had freed her from the trunk and had gone off to lead Hector away from her, Sully and a group of survivors had come rushing up to the rescue. . He’d changed his mind after all after a group of the Infected had attacked his family’s trading post. He’d realized that the Outbreaks were too out of control. He’d also confessed to Ella that he knew his wife was dead that he’d been unrealistic in expecting her to come home.
They didn’t have the undying love that some people had, but it was a relationship built on respect and desire. She loved Sully, but she also still thought about Parker and how much she knew she could have loved him. Even after twenty-five years, those feelings were still there. She knew Sully felt the same about his dead wife. She wondered if he still held out hope that she’d somehow survived and was alive out in the world. She thought he might. They didn’t let these thoughts deter them from their relationship, however, and they’d built a life and family together.
The facility had been everything they’d hoped for and more. It had reached for miles and miles underground. The whole nuclear waste idea had been a hoax. Although, the people working here had thought they’d been building a radioactive waste facility, they hadn’t. It had been fitted out with a hospital, a greenhouse, and at least 100 living units, a fully stocked library holding so many books and materials that it took up several football fields. Everything one could imagine that he or she would need to survive a nuclear fallout had been provided.
But, it wasn’t enough. They were missing the earth. The real earth. The residents would talk about how much they missed the sun, the rain, and the feel of the wind on their faces. Although, they were provided with food and shelter, it just seemed that something was missing. That something would be recognized tomorrow with the opening of the door.
As for politics, there was no one leader. They’d decided they would let the people truly lead. A council of seven had been elected, and of those seven it had been Ella and her friends who’d been chosen. The people had been so grateful to them for leading them here, and they’d placed their trust in the council. Ella felt the council hadn’t let the people down. They’d had to make decisions that weren’t always popular, but it had been with the people in mind. All in all, it had been a peaceful twenty-five years.
“Tomorrow, a group of twenty-five will make our way to the surface. We’ll attempt to find survivors and inject them with the vaccine. Hopefully, we’ll be able to make an outpost of sorts close to the facility. I don’t know what we’ll find, but I’m excited about it. I’m excited that we’ll have a chance for a new world—a new beginning.”
The End (?)
Coming later in 2014. Catharsis: Evolution Z
Dr. Sully Cooper’s wife was in New York City when the outbreaks began. Why did she never show up at Sully’s family farm? Book two will run parallel to Book One with whole new characters. Meet Dr. Kat Cooper, who eventually makes it to her husband’s farm only to find it empty. Also, meet Jasper Jones who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome. How will he manage to survive the outbreaks when it is hard for him to even leave his own home? These two will meet and join others on a trip westward that will have them evolving from every day, almost ordinary people into strangers who will do almost anything to survive.
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