---
“And that’s all there is to it?” Danielle asked Gideon uneasily. “We just step through it and we’re back in the warehouse district of Chicago?”
Gideon smiled with a toothy grin. “Yes, that’s right. You’ll show up in a lightning bolt. But don’t worry; as Michael has reassured you, you’ll be fully clothed without a singe.”
Alan chuckled. He had been examining the gate that would return them home; it looked like shimmering water. He turned to the friends who had gathered to wish them farewell.
Large tongues licked his hands, and depressed whines came from his dogs. “I know,” Alan said. “I’ll miss you guys too, but I’ll be back to visit; I promise.”
The dogs looked at him with gloomy eyes and pressed their muzzles against Alan, nearly knocking him over. Each Horseman had already said goodbye to his or her steed, with the exception of Kyle, who had dodged the question.
“You’ll be missed, little brother. Soldiers such as you are in short supply,” Cratos said, siding up to Alan. The minotaur was wrapped in so many bandages, it was a wonder he still stood on his hooves.
Alan smiled as he embraced the forearm of the minotaur, who in turn embraced his own in a firm grip. “Cratos, it’s been an honor,” Alan said. “If it wasn’t for you and your people—well, I don’t know if any of us would be alive today.”
Cratos snorted. “It was the least we can do. I fear our absence from the conflict has resulted in the wrong side gaining the upper hand. Queen Baymore has already requested a talk with Michael and the centaurs as to how our races might help each other fend off the Darkness in the coming years.”
“That’s great news,” Alan said.
“Go now, before sorrow makes us sputter like idiots,” Cratos said, clearing his throat and wiping his eyes.
Alan obeyed, not wanting to embarrass the giant warrior. He turned and caught the back of Danielle and Angelica as they walked through the glass-like surface together and disappeared with a resounding crack.
“Peace be with you, Alan Price,” Esther said with a wave.
“You’ve come a long way … even since you found me and shook an old man from his childish ways,” Raphael said beside her. “You’ll make a great leader.”
“Thank you,” Alan said. He wanted to say more, but Kassidy and Kyle were already stepping through the glass passageway. He continued to walk as if he were in a daze. His stay in the supernatural realm was coming to an end. He always knew it would, but he didn’t realize it would be this hard.
“You’ll be back,” Michael said as Alan reached the Archangel and Ardat.
Another crack lit the air as Kassidy and Kyle disappeared.
“I don’t know how to thank you for what you’ve done,” Alan said, searching for words to say to the Archangel who had saved his life from the top of a building so many years before. “If it wasn’t for you, I would never have had the chance to be the man I am today.”
“There is no thanks needed,” Michael said, embracing Alan in a hug. “Be the leader I know you to be. I’m here if you need me.”
Alan returned the embrace, feeling obligated to say something to Ardat. “If you hurt this guy, I’ll come for you.”
Ardat nodded with a sly smile. “And I believe you would.”
Another loud crack and Tracy was gone through the portal. Alan stood in front of the wall of shimmering glass that would take him back to the human world and the duties that entailed. Was he ready to lead? Would the others listen to him? What if he choked?
“Ready?” Gideon asked beside him as he stood at a panel of controls.
“I am,” Alan said, pushing back the thoughts of doubt and despair. Then an idea occurred to him. “Is this going to hurt?”
“Don’t know,” Gideon said with a shrug. “Never tried it myself. Be strong, Alan Price. Know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.”
“Thanks,” Alan said, not sure how to respond to the angelic inventor’s vague answer, coupled with the parting words. Alan took a deep breath and walked through the shimmering wall.
One second he was speaking with Gideon, the next he was being sucked through space, as if a giant vacuum had power over him. Darkness spattered with millions of lights that looked like stars whizzed by him. Then he was home. His legs hit cement floor, horns honked in the distance with the familiar screams of road rage. Warm sun beat down on his head, and warehouses welcomed him in every direction.
Someone was throwing up beside him. Alan looked around, blinking. Tracy was vomiting while Kassidy held her hair.
Angelica and Danielle both had their arms crossed against their chest as Kyle tried to explain something. “He wanted to come. I couldn’t just leave him there. Look at how cute he is when he’s little.”
Alan wobbled over on shaky legs as steam evaporated off him. As promised, everyone was fully clothed and although he felt warm, none of his clothes were burned.
Alan stopped in his tracks when he saw what the debate was about. Kyle was holding a baby phoenix in his hands. It looked no larger than a baby chick covered in red feathers.
“I can’t send him back now,” Kyle was saying.
Angelica and Danielle looked to Alan for direction. Alan just smiled and shook his head. “There’s nothing we can do right now. We have an army to recruit.”
---
With a globe to cover, they decided that the fastest way to rebuild the Nephilim Corps would be to split up. Kassidy and Tracy were sent to Asia, Kyle and Angelica to Europe, while Alan and Danielle stayed in Chicago.
The first few days back had been spent deciding this strategy and setting up their headquarters. Alan and Danielle were sitting behind large monitors, waiting for the other offices to connect for their first meeting.
Alan clenched and unclenched his fists, wondering if his speed and strength had stabilized. He was nowhere near as powerful as he had been while a Horseman, but he could still lift a truck, and when he ran by the security cameras and reviewed it later, he was only a blur.
Most importantly, he had been able to keep his wings. The blue pulsing of the energy hadn’t stopped, and even now, Alan was fighting the urge to spread his wings wide and fly around the large conference room. Danielle’s voice reminded him of his position and the need to discuss other more important events.
“There’s so much here,” Danielle said, scrolling through newsfeeds of events since they’d been gone. “Some kind of elite super-powered humans in New York, a reporter in L.A. who can’t die, and hints of a government plan to restart civilization on a global scale.”
Before Alan could respond, two large monitors clicked to life; Kassidy and Tracy appeared on one, all smiles as they checked in. “This is Archangel Headquarters out of Asia checking in.”
Kyle and Angelica, with the baby phoenix sitting on Kyle’s shoulder, reported in on the other monitor. “This is Guardian Base checking in,” Kyle said as the phoenix pooped himself where he sat. “Ohhhh no,” Kyle said, lifting a hand to choke back the bile in his mouth.
Everyone erupted in laughter. It was during the unexpected moment of outburst Alan knew the right people were chosen for the job. While he laughed with his new family, he understood and really believed for the first time he could be their leader, no matter what came next. Even more than that, he knew he was finally home.
THE END
THRIVE TEASER
“But I just barely missed my goals! What are you talking about? No, no, this can’t be right. What have you done?”
Jordan set her jaw. She forced sympathy from her mind knowing that this was the way that things had to happen. Robert Greyson, her boss, had been given every opportunity, every warning. Despite this he had still fallen short of meeting his designated quota, three months in a row.
“Robert. Robert, please don’t make a scene. You know as well as I do you were warned. We gave you every chance to be a productive member of this society but you have chosen to neglect your duties as head of the physical ed
ucation department,” the man sitting behind the desk cleared his throat. “Robert, you’ve failed to meet your requirements three months in a row now. This cannot be tolerated.”
Robert looked confused, while he was on the verge of what looked like anger and tears. The large man was sitting behind a steel grey desk in the review room. His shoulders quaked gently as his new reality sunk in. “I… I don’t know if I’m going to survive out there. Please, please, Director, just give me one more chance. I can turn things around. I know I can.”
Saul Patterson, the director of the city, adjusted the glasses on his nose. He set down the manila folder he had been reading. Leaning back in his chair he placed pasty white hands into his long white lab coat. “I’m sorry, Robert. I truly am but you know the rules of our society. To survive we cannot afford this kind of failure.”
Robert looked defeated. Still dressed in his physical education uniform; his clean professional appearance did anything but reflect his demeanor.
There was a brief moment where Robert lowered his head into his hands and began to cry. Jordan stood at attention behind her recently demoted superior in shock.
Robert Greyson had always been nothing but positive with a quick smile and a joke to match. She had never seen him like this. It disturbed her to think that one meeting could reduce a man in his physical peek to a sniveling child.
The director looked up from his seat in the chair. Clearly disgusted with Robert’s reaction to the news, he made no attempt to hide the scowl that ran past his sharp features. Director Patterson made eye contact with Jordan who stood across the room. He rolled his eyes behind his steel-rimmed glasses before opening his mouth. “Well, Mr. Greyson. That will be all. The guards will escort you to the gates. May fortune favor you along the road you have chosen to travel.”
Robert looked up through tear-streaked eyes. He started to open his mouth but the director motioned for the two guards standing sentry to move forward.
There was an unspoken question between Robert and the guards. He could either walk beside them obediently or stun batons would be used. A wild look crossed over Robert’s face as he glanced behind him to the door and Jordan standing beside it.
Jordan tensed. She knew if he tried to run she would have to stop him. It would be her duty as a member of the city to uphold the law. Adrenaline ready to flow, Jordan was set to move into action in a moment’s notice.
Robert locked eyes with her. His look could only be described with one word: defeat. Robert turned back to the director and eyed the two guards beside his chair.
Without a word he slowly rose. Flanked by the two silent guards, Robert shuffled toward the door.
Robert’s adam’s apple bobbed as he nodded a good-bye to Jordan. Jordan knew she should feel more, maybe she even wanted to feel more but she just didn’t. This was the way of their world. Robert had known the rules. He knew what was expected. Despite this he had still failed.
Jordan was wondering if her lack of emotion was the correct response. If there were any other emotions she should be feeling as Robert and his guards left the room.
“It’s sad to see a grown man cry,” the director said from his seat.
Jordan snapped back from her internal debate about emotion, nodding towards the city’s director. “He was a good supervisor but he knew what was expected of him. He failed.”
The director nodded in approval of her response. He motioned Jordan to walk forward and take the seat previously occupied by Robert.
Jordan’s long legs crossed the bare room in seconds. She sat in the rigid chair in front of the city’s leader. “You must be wondering why you were asked to this meeting. I know it is anything but protocol to have anyone present except for the party at fault during a review.”
Jordan nodded. She had been summoned from her morning training class to attend the meeting. She could only guess why she had been included in Robert’s review.
The director picked up another manila folder from the table and rifled through the papers inside. “Jordan Shepherd, you have been with the physical education department for eight years now. Is that correct?”
Jordan nodded again. She now had an idea why she had been summoned to the usual private review room. Hope sprang in her heart.
“In that time you have never failed to meet your goals. You have always risen to the task. As a result you have climbed the ranks rather quickly.”
Jordan hid a smile at the praise from the director, “Yes, sir. I’ve been able to meet the goals the city has set for me. I want to make sure we have a long future together as a community. It has always been a priority of mine that I pull my own weight as we work towards that goal as a society.”
The director lowered the folder. He nodded approval, once again sliding his pasty hands inside his coat. For the hundredth time Jordan tried to guess the man’s age but it was impossible. His thinning hair and the wrinkles around his mouth and eyes told her one thing while his slender shoulders and wit told her something entirely different.
“Jordan, if you haven’t guessed it yet, you were invited to attend this meeting because you have been chosen as the new head of the physical education department.”
This time Jordan couldn’t help but smile. It was a title she had been working hard towards for years now. She almost felt guilty at her good fortune when Robert had been dismissed just moments before. But she deserved this. “Thank you Director I—I don’t know what to say. I’ll make sure the department hits its goals. You can count on me.”
“I know I can, Jordan. That is why you were chosen. You understand the importance hard work and dedication brings to our city.”
Jordan was tingling with excitement. She had done it. She had to physically restrain herself from jumping out of her chair. She could feel the heat in her face as she tried to stop herself from smiling.
The director must have noticed all of this because he smiled as he rose from his chair. “Well, I’m sure that you will want to start right away. You’ll have a new office and you’ll need to meet with your staff of course.”
Jordan jumped to her feet. “Oh, yes, sir.”
Jordan turned to go, sensing their meeting had come to an end.
“Oh and, Jordan?”
She stopped mid twist to look back at the director. He was standing now a full foot shorter than she was. His glasses were sliding down his large nose. The director pushed his spectacles up with a pudgy finger as he squinted at her. “I would like you to accompany myself and the crew that will be releasing Robert past the city walls tonight.”
Jordan’s eyebrows shot up. No one besides the director and a small group of soldiers accompanied anyone who was going to be released outside the city walls.
“Sir?”
“Oh, it’s something that we thought should start being done with all the new heads of the departments. If you are going to lead a group of men and women we feel it’s best you know what you are leading them away from.”
Although Alan’s story has come to an end, there are other worlds to explore including Connor’s journey with The Elite Series and joining Valeria in her quest to find the lost city of Atlantis in The DeCadia Code.
To show my appreciation for you, the reader, you can also get my dystopian/survival novel, Thrive, free by visiting www.jonathan-yanez.com and signing up for my Readers Group.
The Readers Group will keep you updated on release dates for upcoming projects, give you access to exclusive excerpts and even provide you with free ebooks.
Jonathan Yanezis also the author of The Elite Series, Thrive, The DeCadia Code and Bad Land. His books have been optioned for film and are available in ebook, print and audio book. Although leaving a review may seem minor it helps other readers decide whether or not to take a chance on a new book. Jonathan would forever be in your debt if you left a review after reading Alan Price and the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
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