Extinction New Zealand Box Set | Books 1-3
Page 63
He slung his AR-15 over his shoulder and held the door open for everyone to file past.
The day was bright and warm for late autumn. Jack breathed deep, taking in the fresh, salt-laden air. One thing about civilization that he didn’t miss was the pollution.
The group skirted the bay and headed inland, climbing the gentle slope of the volcano that dominated the south side of Mayor Island. Jack led them through the thick bush towards the lake where Boss and George had hidden from the Trophy King. Here, on the north side of the island, the land stepped down into the Pacific Ocean.
Finally the group reached their destination and paused at the beautiful carved gate that arched over the path. Hone and his whanau had gifted it to Mayor Island for their assistance in the Battle of Waitawheta Pa.
Jack lifted his eyes to its peak. The place reserved for the tekoteko. Hone had carved two figures there, one female and one male. Carved to look like Eowyn and Aragorn. Hone’s little nod to Jack and Dee. It was a great honour to be memorialised in a carving.
Boss glanced at Jack and began speaking in te reo. Asking the spirits and the ancestors for good fortune and greeting them. He asked them for protection and to guide them in their future. Lastly he asked them to guide those they had lost on the journey in the afterlife.
Jack rubbed his stump and met Boss’s gaze. He gave him a nod. “Well said, kid.”
“Hone has been teaching me.”
“It was beautiful, Boss,” Dee murmured.
After the events of the last year, Jack had gone to Ben, asking that everyone be remembered. Be honoured. A place where they could come and pay their respects.
The names of all the people who had died fighting the Variants, those they knew of, at least, had been chiselled into the sandstone cliff that ran thirty metres before dropping into the ocean.
“Hey, nerd family.”
Jack grinned and nodded at Yalonda. “Morning.”
Yalonda rubbed the stone and gazed at the name. Major Kenneth Hind. A hero.
Underneath were the two names Jack was looking for. Gnr. Anthony Jones. Gnr. Eric Jones.
“Now I know what my grandfather meant.”
Dee held him closer. “How so, babe?”
“He said that he always felt guilty for surviving the war. Why him and not someone else? It tore him up inside for years.” He paused and cast his eyes out to sea, watching the waves break over the volcanic rocks. “The whole time we fought, I was so scared. So afraid, Dee, that I would end up like them. Infected. Feeding on humans. And end up like this, a memento in stone.”
“But you didn’t. We didn’t. We survived because they sacrificed themselves so we could live.”
Jack kissed her and caressed her belly. He still couldn’t get over the fact that he was going to be a father.
“Jack! I see it! The big ship,” cried George, pointing north.
Jack followed the boy’s arm. The large American aircraft carrier was easy to see despite being some distance away. It was heading for Great Barrier Island and the Colonel.
Jack pulled out his binoculars and admired the sheer size and firepower that it possessed. As he watched, a helicopter lifted off from its flight deck and banked towards them.
“There’s a chopper heading this way.”
“To Mayor Island?” Dee said, raising her hand to shield her eyes.
“Looks like it.”
“Ben knows a few Army Rangers. Perhaps that’s why.”
“Maybe.”
“Can we go see the whirly bird?” Leela pleaded, pulling on his sleeve.
He exchanged a look with Dee and Yalonda, smiling with them. “Sure, hun. Why not.”
The Seahawk thundered through the clear autumn sky. Jack smiled as it banked hard around the bay and gently descended. It landed with a slight bump, its three wheels touching down on the new concrete helicopter pad.
Ben stood next to him, stroking his long grey beard. As the engines began to wind down, he nudged Jack and shouted in his ear.
“Well, it’s not the president.”
“No. I doubt it.”
The doors opened, revealing a couple of marines who jumped out before standing to one side.
Jack heard Dee gasp and cry out as someone with blonde hair emerged. It was Alice, who turned to help Becs down from the hold. They both ducked under the rotors and ran towards the Renegades. Leela screamed. Not from terror but sheer joy, and sprinted past Dee, jumping into Becs’s arms on reaching the pair.
Alice hugged Jack and Dee before dropping to her knees. She kissed the ground and stood back up. “I never thought we would see you guys again after what we’ve been through.”
“It’s good to see you, Alice. You and Becs.” Jack glanced at Alice, looking for any hint of Maggie’s fate.
As if reading their minds, Alice smiled. “She’s okay. It’s because of her we lived. She’s home now in Texas, helping.”
“Sounds like we both have some stories to tell. Shall we go up to the house?”
“Sounds good.” Alice squeezed Dee. “I’m so happy you’re alive.”
“Why didn’t you call ahead?” Dee asked as they crunched up the shell path. The children ran ahead, chasing the seagulls, their laughter echoing over the bay.
“I wanted it to be a surprise. From the looks on your faces, it was worth it.”
Jack made them all a cup of tea and reheated some bran and manuka honey muffins he had baked earlier that day.
Alice looked down at his missing left hand. “So. What happened?”
Jack and Dee, with Boss adding in bits, filled Alice in on all that had happened since she had sailed off in June the previous year. After several refills and a meal of fried fish and new season potatoes, they had finished telling each other of their adventures.
“It’s a shame about Glasses. Seemed like a nice kid.”
“He was. Great sailor. Taught us a lot. It was beautiful out there, Jack. Nothing but the open ocean for miles. And the stars. Wow, I’ve never seen them so bright.”
“I bet. No light pollution.”
“So what’s happening now with the mainland?”
“Once we killed the flying beasts and the Alphas, the remaining Variants turned feral, becoming more like individuals than resembling any sort of cohesive unit. The Colonel ferreted out all the collaborators from the area and the army was finally able to secure the supplies we needed.
“Operation Utu is still ongoing. We are taking back new towns every day. Electrified fences are installed and bases set up. We finally have enough fuel and food, with more coming in every day.”
“So we can go home?”
Dee let out a chortle. “Maybe. We hope so.”
Jack left Alice and Dee at the table. He grabbed his rifle and headed up the hill behind the house, leaving the reminiscing and laughter. The embankment rose sharply, but he had never been fitter and leaner. After all these months of running and fighting, he was in the best shape of his life. He shook his head at the irony of it.
It took the apocalypse to get you buff.
The Milky Way stretched through the night sky, shining bright as it had done for billions of years. Jack loved it up here. The serenity. The peace. A time to reflect on everything that had happened over the past thirteen months. His capture and escape from the meat locker. Dee killing the Trophy King. Their missions to find supplies and retrieve the logbook. Meeting Hone and the Children of the Mist.
Looking down at his missing hand, he finally thought of the battle that had nearly killed him. Jack wiped away a tear and gazed over to the New Zealand mainland. The little country that always punched above its weight. Help from the old ANZUS treaty allies, the Americans and Australians, was beginning to make a difference. Jack smiled. It wouldn’t be long now. They could return home.
***
Thirteen months almost to the day had passed since Jack had last seen his house. He stood in the driveway and cast his eyes over the red bricks. Over the concrete tiled roof. Almost
every window had been broken, the glass panes shattered on the overgrown lawn. Dee’s once-beautiful garden was now a rambling mess of weeds and rubbish.
Clean-up crews were busy throughout the inner city, trying to dispose of the tonnes of garbage and refuse. Any human remains were recorded and bones burnt. Already a memorial was being constructed to sit with the war memorials in the park by the river. A wall had been constructed to keep the residents safe. Variants still prowled the land. It would be many years before they would all be exterminated.
Jack glanced down at his uniform and the three chevrons Dee had lovingly sewn on. Staff Sergeant Jack Gee. Ranger. He smiled, remembering the ceremony when Ben had promoted him and put him in charge of the Renegades.
He gazed at the flagpole he had asked to be installed and, along with Dee, Boss, Beth and Yalonda, saluted the New Zealand flag flapping in the breeze. Seeing the southern cross flying once again made him swell with pride.
“Are we going in or not, nerds?” Yalonda asked. “I want to claim my room away from your screaming babies.”
“They’re not even born yet,” Jack replied, grinning. “And you could always get your own house.”
“Yeah, but I like you nerds. Besides, I need to stop you talking about Lord of the Rings. Someone has to save Dee.”
“We love you too, Yomama.”
“Cheeky nerd.”
Jack took Dee’s hand and walked up the driveway, Boss, Beth, Yalonda and the kids following close behind. Max sprinted around the yard, nose close to the ground, sniffing at all the new smells. He stopped and peed on the lemon tree.
“Ewww,” shouted George.
A large green tick had been painted on the door, telling them that it had been cleared of Variants. Jack gripped his battered AR-15 and nudged the door open with his foot.
Dee pulled him back. “We did well, Jack. We did well.”
He gazed into those bright blue eyes that he had fallen in love with and smiled. “Aye. We did. We did, my love.”
Jack looked into the room beyond and stepped over the threshold.
THE END.
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Glossary
Haka: Tribal war dance performed to intimidate an opponent. Famously performed in modern times by New Zealand sports teams. Each tribe has its own version of the dance.
Heke: As in Team Heke. Named after a famous Maori chief.
Hongi: Translates to “The breath of life.” A greeting where the two greeting each other touch noses and foreheads at the same time. Serves a similar purpose as a handshake.
Iwi: Translates to “People” or “Nation”, but has come to mean tribe. In pre-European times, Maori identified more with a hapu or sub tribe. Iwi can also mean a confederation of tribes.
Ka Mate: Translates to “’Tis death”. Used as a war cry during a haka.
Kai: Translates to “Food”.
Kaitiaki: Term used for Guardianship of the Sea and of the Sky. Kaitiaki is a guardian, as well as the process and practices of looking after the environment.
Kaumatua: Elders in Maori society, held in high esteem. They are the storehouses of tribal knowledge, genealogy and traditions.
Kawakawa: Small tree endemic to New Zealand. Used in medicines and traditional practices.
Kehua: Translates to “ghost”.
Kina: A sea urchin endemic to New Zealand. Considered a delicacy.
Koru: Translates to “Loop”. Used to describe the unfurling frond of the silver fern. Signifies new life, growth, strength and peace.
Kumara: A species of sweet potato grown in New Zealand. Traditionally a staple food.
Maori: Indigenous population of New Zealand.
Manuka: Small flowering tree. Famed for its oily timber and, in more recent times, for the honey produced from its flowers. The honey has many beneficial properties.
Mere: Traditional Maori weapon best described as a club. Can be made from a variety of materials. Maori chiefs had mere made from a hard semi-precious gemstone called pounamu.
Moa: Large flightless bird endemic to New Zealand, now extinct.
Moriori: A peaceful indigenous people of the Chatham Islands to the west of New Zealand. Thought to have populated parts of the South Island as well.
New Zealand flax: Endemic grass plant found throughout the country. Used for a variety of reasons, mainly for weaving traditional Maori objects. Europeans used it as a source of fibre to make ropes, etc.
New Zealand heading dog: A breed of dog used primarily for cattle and sheep work.
Pakeha: White or fair-skinned New Zealander. Specifically of European descent.
Paua: Endemic species of abalone found around the New Zealand coast.
Pohutukawa: Species of large coast dwelling tree. Often found clinging to cracks and to the side of cliffs. Called New Zealand’s “Christmas tree” because its red flowers bloom in abundance during December.
Powhiri: A Maori welcome ceremony involving, singing, dancing and, finally, the hongi.
Paka: An expression of annoyance or anger. Can be used in reference to a person. Heard in the film Whale Rider.
Rewera: Devil or demon.
Taiaha: A traditional Maori weapon. A close-quarters staff. Made from wood or whale bone. Used for quick, stabbing thrusts and strikes, with fast footwork by the wielder. Often found to have intricate carvings near its tip.
Takuta: To practice medicine. A title for doctor.
Tangi: A traditional funeral held on a Marae (Meeting Place).
Ta Moko: Traditional facial tattoos of the Maori.
Tekoteko: Maori term for a carved human figure or head. Sometimes attached to the gable of a house.
Te Reo: The Maori language.
Ute: Short for utility vehicle. Called a pick-up truck in the USA.
Weta: An endemic cricket-like insect.
Whakapapa: A line of descent from one’s ancestors.
Whanau: An extended family or related community living together in the same area.
About the Authors
Adrian J Smith is the author of the Extinction NZ trilogy; The Rule of Three and its sequels, The Fourth Phase and The Five Pillars.
He has had a couple of careers, He started his working life as a Painter before switching to Landscape design and construction. He switched back again, and for the last decade he has run his own successful Painting and decorating business.
Adrian lives in Hamilton, New Zealand. A self-confessed book and movie geek. He admits that he is obsessed with Star Wars, Aliens, Lord of The Rings, Harry Potter, Studio Ghibli, and Game of Thrones.
When he isn’t working his day job or writing, Adrian can be found wandering the mountains, hiking, swimming, quizzing, watching movies and of course reading.
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Nicholas Sansbury Smith is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Hell Divers series. His other work includes the Extinction Cycle series, the Trackers series, and the Orbs series. He worked for Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management in disaster planning and mitigation before switching careers to focus on his one true passion—writing. When he isn't writing or daydreaming about the apocalypse, he enjoys running, biking, spending time with his family, and traveling the world. He is an Ironman triathlete and lives in Iowa with his wife, their dogs, and a house full of books.
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