The Twelfth Keeper Boxed Set: Books 1-3
Page 66
The screen flickered several times before turning off completely. She hadn’t expected Matilda to disappear that easily, without putting up more of an argument, but she was gone.
Something was wrong. The other lights on the dashboard went out one by one, darkening the entire pod until it was pitch black. She swallowed. If the power was suspended, she’d be out of oxygen soon. It almost seemed as if Matilda left her to die, but she knew that wasn’t true. The android put her life above everything and everyone else. As much as Kennedy hated her for it, there was no way she’d abandon her now.
After several long, terrifying moments in the dark, the dashboard flared to life again, followed by a torturous screeching. Her ears ached at the sound, and she knew where she’d heard it before—the Sae-yers. She could never forget. Like metal grinding against metal, a train scraping on tracks, and nails on a chalkboard, all mushed together. Except a million times worse. Last time her ears bled from the pressure. This time, the noise came to a swift halt, followed by an image appearing across the screen.
Kennedy slowly tore her hands away from her ears. It seemed…it seemed as if they were trying to communicate. Sending a message of some sort.
She focused in on the image, recognizing the achingly beautiful blue and green planet. Earth.
But why were they showing her this?
The camera lens zoomed in closer…until…was that?
No.
Fire. It was everywhere. Great, smoky clusters of orange and black lined the continents.
Earth was exploding.
Epilogue
Daxton: Thank you for joining us, folks. Tonight we have an important broadcast for you. Our guest tonight happens to be our twelfth keeper, Miss Kennedy Mitchell. Now, my audience knows I’ve harbored serious doubts about our keepers for quite some time. I’ve said some negative things on the waves about Kennedy, specifically, and I’m here today to say something that may surprise you. I was wrong. So incredibly wrong.
After meeting with our twelfth keeper, I have not only changed my mind about her, but I’ve developed a deep respect for our planet and the energy it provides as a whole. We are self sufficient, folks. Mother Nature didn’t make any mistakes. Like the white blood cells in our bodies, our keepers are here to fight off invaders. I didn’t understand that until recently. Everyone who watches my show knows I’m a huge skeptic. Well, this skeptic has been convinced. And now, I’d like to help our entire population understand as well. Kennedy, I’ll let you take it from here.
Kennedy: Thank you, Daxton.
I am the twelfth keeper, and because of that, I feel a deeply rooted responsibility to my people. I spent a long time debating what was good for us as a planet; sometimes ignorance truly is bliss. Sometimes I myself, wish I was ignorant. But what good does that really do us? It doesn’t prepare us. It doesn’t make us feel safe. In this case, our people deserve transparency. They deserve to feel safe. Not all my superiors will agree with me, and I’m taking a huge risk just being here in front of this camera today to tell you this. People will call me a whistleblower, perhaps even a traitor. But I am not confidential. I believe I have the freedom to not only stay true to myself, but to allow others to see me for who I am.
You see, someone once told me our planet is essentially a plant. In order to thrive, it needs earth to grow, the fire of the sun for energy, oxygen for a stable atmosphere, and water for hydration.
Well, these are what keepers are. We are water. Air. Fire. And Earth. By some incredible force of nature, keepers have the ability to control these elements. That is how our planet protects itself. Through the use of it’s own elements. Through it’s keepers.
Daxton: Kennedy, would you like to demonstrate?
Kennedy: Sure, Daxton. First, I’ll need a glass of water…
END OF BOOK THREE
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