The After Days Trilogy
Page 66
Six months after Brooke’s death, Luke returned. He was different, harder somehow and unwilling to talk of where he’d been or what he’d seen. I’d been worried about how he’d react when he saw Hope — named by Ben in her father’s absence — for the first time. I needn’t have. I saw a familiar spark in his eyes. The same spark of love that had been evident whenever he looked at Brooke.
Luke fell into fatherhood like he was born to it and was careful to include Ben fully in Hope’s life. Later, when Luke agreed to become a messenger for the city, it was never a problem for him leaving Hope behind because he knew Ben and his wife, a girl named Clarissa he had married in our second year in Manchester, treated her just like their own daughter.
He didn’t seek love, although he had no shortage of female admirers and wannabe matchmakers (including Indigo).
“He’ll find somebody when he’s ready,” I used to tell her. But you know what? He never has. Luke’s a doting dad and valuable member of our life and community, but he’s a loner.
To my surprise, the Marauders’ general, Jarrod, did come back. He came back with a list of two hundred and fifty names. We voted to accept all of them, swelling our numbers past the thousand mark after just one year. They settled in remarkably well, despite some of the resentment about their origin and the part they played in our having to flee the Valley.
The first three years were tremendously hard, but slowly we put the pieces together and grew with our city. Indigo and I had another child, a little girl we named Brooke after making sure it was all right with Luke and Ben, and she is eight now and the apple of both of her uncles’ eyes.
Max is sixteen now, older than I was when the world changed forever. He is quite the kid, with more of Indigo in him than me I think, and that’s a good thing. She always was more sensible. He is great friends with Hope, who is just a year younger, and watches over her and his sister protectively.
The Chinese never returned to the East Coast of the United States. We hear tales of them in the west and to the north in Canada and pray every day they will leave us to ourselves. I figure they have enough land and resources to stay away from our ‘dead man’s land’ for many years to come.
In short, we haven’t only survived since we arrived in Manchester, but thrived. Somehow, we managed to build it into something much bigger than any of us had ever dreamed of.
It is something akin to a city state. The Merrimack River forms a natural barrier in the west and the fences and walls we built, protect us on the other approaches. Even now, fifteen years later, we need to protect ourselves, but thankfully with every year that passes, the threat of interference or attack lessens.
We have law and order, fresh water, some power, and a population of over ten thousand souls. Our army is three thousand strong and is well-armed and trained. We take in more people all the time, but are very selective. Luke leads a team of messengers now, and they travel through New Hampshire and beyond, offering places in ‘The City’ to those who measure up and might add something of value to our community.
We still have dreams. We trade with neighboring townships and settlements and want to reunite the whole state of New Hampshire at some point. It’s a grand dream, but one that might have to wait a while however. Just lately we have heard tales of an army in Pennsylvania that is on the move and destroying everything in its path. It’s hard to know exactly how much of the talk to believe though; after all, the army is rumored to be led by the last President’s son, which we all know is impossible ... isn’t it?
Isaac Race
From the Author
Thank you so much for coming with me on my After Days journey. It’s been a bumpy ride, a few lows, and lots and lots of highs. I want to thank those readers who have left me positive reviews and feedback, and also those who left me not so good reviews with constructive criticism. (I will be forever mindful of overdoing foreshadowing or overusing the word adrenalin!)
I am leaving the After Days world for a little while now, but if you are interested in dipping your toes further, The Messenger, a short novella set after the events of the trilogy might interest you. For a limited time, if you sign up to my mailing list for updates about new releases, you will receive THE MESSENGER as a free gift. You can join my list at ScottMedbury.com or After-Days.com
COMING THIS SUMMER
“Sinthetica is like the bastard child of Bladerunner and The Goodfellas, a ripping good yarn!” - BookKitty