by Andrew Gates
Only seconds after sitting down, Selena placed a roasted goose on the table. Grey’s mouth watered in excitement. Perfect timing!
“Oh, me first!” Kaitlyn said, standing up and reaching for the carving knife.
“Uh, uh! No, Kaitlyn. We have guests. Please be polite and offer our guests a serving first,” Selena said, passing her a serving plate.
“Okay,” Kaitlyn responded in a discouraged tone.
The girl carved a few slices of meat and began serving the guests first. Each of them graciously accepted their serving and when they were all served, she carved her own pieces next. Only then did she serve her parents and sister. Classic Kaitlyn, Grey thought with a smirk.
“Where did you get all these plates and silverware and stuff?” Jallah asked.
“The Chiefdom had it all specially made for us in human-style, same with this cabin and the furniture you see,” Selena answered. “It’s a perk of knowing the Supreme Chieftain and Under Chieftess.”
“Well, it all looks great!” Margery remarked.
“We brought you a gift,” Dan said as he set his plate down. He leaned down to the floor and grabbed a wrapped item from a bag. He handed it to Grey.
“What’s this?” he asked, accepting it.
“Open it.”
Grey undid the wrapping. Inside was a tube of clear liquid.
“What is it?”
“It’s a drink. The Kholvari call it makaj. We got it from a vendor in Rakhaan. It’s alcoholic and very strong, so be careful.”
“You’ve been to Rakhaan?” Grey asked, surprised.
“We’ve been all over. We’ve seen a lot of the world. You should come back to it. We’re something of celebrities in Kholvaria now,” Dan explained.
Grey shook his head.
“Thanks, but I’ll take a pass. I have everything I want right here.” He smiled as he said the words.
“I want to be a celebrity!” Kaitlyn said.
“Maybe some other time,” Grey responded. He turned and looked at the drink in his hands. “Well, what do you say we open this up?”
“Fine by me, so long as Selena and Margery are alright sitting it out,” Dan said.
“It’s okay,” Selena said.
“Yeah, it’s alright,” added Margery.
Selena gathered some cups and set them down on the table. Dan laughed as he saw them.
“Ha! Flat cups! I never thought I would see those again!” he remarked. “It’s all pointed cone-cups in the cities. There isn’t a flat cup anywhere to be found.”
“One of the joys of visiting us,” Selena joked. “You should come more often!”
“I forgot what those looked like,” added Ophelia.
“You do the honors,” Grey said, handing the tube of makaj over to his brother.
Dan accepted it and slowly started pouring some for everyone. He handed the portions out.
Grey accepted his pour and set it down beside his plate. He was not planning to take a sip just yet. He wanted a bite to eat first. He stabbed a piece of goose on his plate, then brought it to his mouth.
“Mmm,” he muttered as he tasted the savory meat. “Delicious!”
Selena blushed.
“So… how’s life out here? I’m dying to know,” Dan asked.
“Life is good,” Grey said, nodding. “The island is secluded, so it’s quiet. The hierarchs granted us the full protection of the Chiefdom, so if anyone were to ever trespass, they have to answer to Kho Ikharus himself. But, as you can guess, that’s never actually happened. There are no zombies here, nor any visitors of any kind. We haven’t had any trouble.”
“That’s great. You’ve been here how long now? A year?”
“A little more than a year, yes,” Grey answered. “We settled here shortly after we returned from the battle with the Hive. A lot has changed since then, not that I have been around to see it, but I get updates on world affairs from the traders who visit from time to time. They’re happy to share the news with me.”
“There’s a lot of news to tell,” Dan said.
“I admit though, I was surprised to hear Kho Ikharus’s appointment of Under Chieftess. I thought he would pick Kal Flokh,” Grey said.
“He loves Kal Flokh dearly, but that doesn’t mean she will make a good leader. Personally, I stand by his choice. Kal Jakhu is strong and smart. She’s been an excellent Under Cheiftess so far. She knows a lot about how to lead.”
“That’s good to hear,” Grey replied, taking another bite of his meal.
“And what about you?” Selena asked, keeping the conversation going. “It sounds like you four have had quite the adventure since we last saw you.”
“We’ve been kept busy, that’s for sure,” Dan responded with a chuckle. “But that doesn’t excuse us from not coming to visit you sooner. We really should have gotten together earlier.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m glad to see you at all,” Selena said.
“Well, anyway, to answer your question, we’ve been helping with the cleanup effort mostly. There’s a lot to do. The world is in bad shape. It’s… uh… it’s honestly pretty terrible, Selena. Places like this were left untouched, but the cities… well, you can’t believe what they look like.”
“I’m sure it must be hard to see,” she said.
“It, uh, it is definitely hard, yeah. I think it’s almost worse having lived through what happened to the Atlantic Station and then seeing the devastation in the cities all over again.” Dan paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. He stared at his food for a moment and cleared his throat before continuing. “It’s been over a year since the Hive attacked and even now, there are places were layers of dust still cover just about everything. Most of the Kholvari buildings are made of metal and you can see them warped or splintered in every way imaginable. The streets are congested with layers of glass, dirt, metal, feces, you name it. Cleaning up the bodies was the first thing we had to do. That took months. The bodies are mostly all cleared now, but every now and then, we’ll still find more. These days we’re mostly moving rubble now.”
“I’m sorry. That sounds horrible,” Grey said, placing his hand on Dan’s.
“It’s… it’s fine. It’s part of life for us now. It’s become normal.”
“Still, normal doesn’t make it easy.”
“No, I guess not,” Dan said, nodding. “You know, it’s funny. Every now and then when I’m going through the cities, I’ll see something untouched. There will be a building or a vehicle that looks brand new. When I see that, it really stands out, like it’s not supposed to be there. It’s almost worse seeing something so pristine because it reminds me of what the world is supposed to look like.”
“I’m sure the Kholvari appreciate your help though,” Selena said.
“Oh, they do, and like I said, they regard us as heroes,” Dan replied, motioning to the others. “As far as they’re concerned, we don’t have to work another day in our lives. They want to give us the royal treatment, and from time to time, we indulge them.” Dan motioned to his cup of liquor. “But helping with the cleanup is important. We all pitch in because it’s the right thing to do.”
“So you move from city to city?” Grey asked.
“We go where we’re most needed. There’s work to be done everywhere but depending on where and when, some places need help more than others. Like I said, we’ve been just about everywhere,” Dan replied.
“So you’re not living in one place?” Grey asked.
“No, not really, but sometimes we settle down for a few weeks,” Dan answered. He paused for a moment, then smiled as he looked to his brother. It seemed something had abruptly changed his spirits. “And speaking of settling down, you’re not going to believe this, Grey,” he said, changing the subject.
“What?” he asked, instantly curious.
“There’s a city, well, more like a village in Kholvaria full of humans.”
“What?” he said again, this time in disbelief.
&nb
sp; “How can that be?” Selena wondered.
“Where?” asked Kaitlyn.
The giddy faces of Jallah, Margery and Ophelia lit up, as if they were excited to see their first reaction to this news.
“We didn’t believe it at first either,” Dan started. “The Kholvari didn’t even know about this place until a few months into the reconstruction.”
“But… how? Where? Why?” Grey continued, still so confused.
“The people living there call it Cassidy City, but like I said, it’s more like a village. There are easily less than 100 people there, but it’s enough. The village is along the coast, not too far from T’Dakho, a little bit east of the city. The people who live there are survivors from the station. They came from the Atlantic just like us.”
“But… how is that possible? Only three escape pods left the city and we know everyone who got out,” Grey said.
“These people didn’t come from the escape pods,” Dan said. He leaned forward. “When the Kholvari attacked the station, they took prisoners. Some of those prisoners escaped and then they formed a commune. They settled on a part of the beach and built a settlement there out of logs and stones. Now they have standing structures and everything, even a wall to keep zombies out. It’s amazing what they were able to build. That’s not all. Ophelia’s uncle is one of the survivors.”
“Uncle Damien,” she added with a smile. “I couldn’t believe he was still alive. I never felt so happy to see him. I thought my family was… well… you know. First dad, then Iris.” Ophelia sniffled and wiped her nose. “It was just good to know that someone from my family was still alive, that not all was lost.”
A village full of humans. Cassidy City. Amazing, Grey thought.
“Seeing Cassidy City gives me hope, a lot of hope. If those human survivors can thrive, then so can the rest of the world. This is not the end for us, for humanity, for Kholvari. There are few of us left, but at least we’ll go on. There will be more of us,” Dan said with conviction. “We survived extinction. The Kholvari survived extinction. Our people were enemies, but now we live in peace, not just here on this continent, but across the world. The Kholvari and Sorrevahni are talking again. There is global peace between everyone. It’s a whole new world and although things are bad now, the future is bright.”
Grey smiled at those words and looked at those seated around this table today. The eight of them had shared an adventure that would define their lives forever. It was good to have the group complete again. Well… not entirely complete. One was missing among them, the one who had first brought this entire group together.
“To Iris,” Grey said, lifting his cup. He could not help but feel a knot in his throat as he said the words.
One by one the others raised their cups.
“To Iris,” they repeated, bringing the cups together.
They all took a sip, or at least, those who were able to drink. Grey felt the warm, powerful drink as it raced down his throat, not prepared for how strong it was.
“None of us would be here today if it weren’t for her,” Dan said. “She brought us together. She gave us courage. To some she was a lover or a mother-figure, but to all of us, she was family.” Dan sniffled and lowered his cup to the table. He closed his eyes and bobbed his head. “We will miss her.”
“To Iris,” they said in unison one more time.
As they repeated her name, a glimmer of light shone in through the window outside. The sun was beginning to set, already painting the vista outside in an array of vivid oranges and reds, but the natural tone of the sky was strong and the cool blue still shone through, not to be outdone.
For years, that color was foreign to him, but now Grey knew it all too well.
The color of water and sky.
Note from the Author
I want to thank all the fans of the series, whether you’ve been there with Iris from the beginning, or whether Hive is your first foray into this world. It’s great to have such a passionate community that cares about these characters. If you are looking for more, be sure to check out the companion story, Cassidy.
If you enjoyed reading Hive, a review on Amazon.com or Goodreads.com would be greatly appreciated.
For more, follow The Color of Water and Sky on social media:
Facebook: @thecolorofwaterandsky
Twitter: @TCOWAS
About the Author
Andrew Gates was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware. He now resides in northern Virginia, but frequently revisits his hometown.
Andrew has enjoyed writing since high school but did not start writing seriously until college. He enjoys writing anything from short stories to full-length novels. His favorite book is The Lord of the Rings.
When he is not writing, Andrew is also an avid runner. He works for a local Virginia-based running company and participates in a variety of races from 5Ks to Marathons.
He hopes to one day share his love of running with his future dog, yet to be named.
