LAND of the FREE
Page 31
Jansa went to Sinaye and reached down to sit beside her to hug her. The women all sat and watched the fire starting to glow against the night sky.
Sinaye, after a brief period of just watching the crackles and sparks of the fire, suddenly got all choked up. She bust out in tears, and for her, this was not something which occurred very often. Zaey, sitting near her, helped the scientist to regain her composure so Sinaye was able to talk, be it with a little stuttering.
"I don't know how much longer I can fight." She struggled to get the words out.
"I’m the one with the attitude, always tough-skinned, distant, but every time we take a huge step forward, we lose so much."
Mahira put her arm around the scientist. "We are all very tired, and this feeling of dread and loss is sucking the life out of us. But, we have to finish what we started."
The resilient gladiator got up and went to her cooler. She passed out a much needed beer to each girl sitting around the fire. She came to little Sun, the fiery red headed child they had kept with them, and paused. "Nope, none for you," she smiled.
The lingering memories of those loved and lost, were now being blown all about by the evening wind. The air was cool, yet not cold, and the sea crashed into the shoreline as a backdrop for Mahira to speak to them all.
"Our fight is not over! We just tore apart the tyrannical leaders of divided America. They hardly have any footing left to stand on." She then clenched both her fists before her friends. "I say for everyone Chaya just named, among the many others that have fallen . . . we need to kick some serious ass, give it all that's left, and bury the Corporation once and for all." She brushed the windswept hair from her face. "Then we can rest . . . if that’s even possible."
Raegan tried to talk, but she just could not. Mahira went over to her, and together they sat for a while and just watched the water.
Zaey found herself able to open up to her friends. "There are some Y-Wood branches about the states and others abroad still, but really, none of them have anywhere near as much power as the Corporation headquarters which is now buried in a heap of rubble." She took a drink of her beer and looked over at the fire. "I wanted to quit too, guys, but I could never live with myself. It’s not what this sisterhood represents. The people can stand up to these remaining smaller fractions on their own. Hope is all they need. We, however, can still change the world."
The ladies seemed to agree with the little Australian woman. Jansa urged Raegan to give her thoughts on it all. "Say something, Rae, we need you with us!"
Raegan finally stood up and began, her face was soaked with the tears of horrible pain. She wiped them aside as best she could and began. "You five are unbelievable. I just wanna quit all of this, but you crazy-ass women just won't stop." She could not hide the pain on her face and almost lost it as she grabbed both cheeks to stop the rush of despair coming back over her. She took a few deep breaths.
"This grief, I am already learning, is really just love. All this love is gathered up in my eyes. It’s in my throat and in the hollow part of my chest." She tried to smile for her friends, bit was too difficult. "Grief is just love with no place to go." She ran her fingers through her hair. "The scars we all carry are not destined to be a reminder of these horrible wounds; they will become the marks which signify our healing."
"The entire Corporation has been knocked back on their heels, and without their main stronghold and their top leaders, they are fit to fall."
The women around the fire could feel Raegan gaining in strength for the first time in many days.
"My heart is heavy, and I don't know if my soul has enough left to motivate you guys to carry on, but with everything you're all saying, I don't even know if you need me anymore." The women all voiced their insistence that they certainly did need her. Raegan tried to smile.
"It's going to take all of us to rally the people of this once great nation. I believe it’s time to bring out all the United States flags which we have secretly been creating." She nodded her head up and down, along with the rest of the group. "I'll say it for our Mother: That flag shall wave again! I want to also see that lady liberty statue up again, back where she belongs. I want the United States of America to not only be free, but once again, to prosper."
Raegan went around the bonfire to each sister and reached out to hold their hands in turn. She began to see that sparkle in their eyes. "As we know, that was no virus sent out into the world; it was a reawakening of the spirit. His spirit." She then held her arms to the sky. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but shall have eternal life!" She looked about at her sisters and finally smiled.
The amazing women gathered together on the sandy beach, nodding their heads in unison. Their leader now yelled to the universe, "The world needs us more than ever!"
She then walked over to all the memory items which were hanging from poles by the water, dancing in the breeze. "Let us all now pay tribute to the fallen. Gather all the items we have here and place them in the fire." As the Mystical Slayer grabbed the personal items of her beloved Lomax, and her dear son, Johan, she almost fell with grief, but somehow found an amazing amount of inner strength to stay standing.
Looking about at her friends, she caught the brown eyes of the little one. Little Sun. "I can’t give up, the future depends on us. We will remain the hope bringers for the children of tomorrow, like this little one." She went to the girl. "One day, you too will be very special; I saw it in a vision. It is your destiny!" She padded the child on the head.
"I don't believe in funerals," she announced, "so, tonight we shall celebrate! We celebrate the lives of these people, those who we love so much, those who gave so much, the ones so dear to us, and those who made a difference in our lives." She placed her items of memory in the fire.
"They may be gone in the physical form . . . but they will live forever in our hearts!"
The End
About the Author:
Michael W. Huard is a dreamer, a lover of words, a dungeons & dragons fanatic, a long-time martial artist, and simply a human being on a voyage in time.
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My upcoming releases:
Hellcat– A Mystical Slayer's novella, coming in 2018
Rising– A Mystical Slayer's Prequel, coming in 2018
Hope Bringers– Book two in the Mystical Slayer's Trilogy, coming in 2018
Sisters of the Dawns Early Light - A Mystical Slayer Novella, coming in 2018
Glossary
Albarto: An associate leader for Y-Wood Corporation.
Arn Marcou: President of Y-Wood Corporation
Ashman: Y-Wood Corporation photographer
Barlow: NYC arms dealer
Berlin Purcell: Military Field Commander / General for Y-Wood Corporation
Blu: a Mystical Slayer, the Sky Captain, the one with blue hair highlights
Brock Jones: a silver-haired west coast representative & lawyer
Chancellor Tessa: the tall refined secretary of
Y-Wood Corporation
Chadwick McArthur: the sea boat captain from Maine
Chaya: a Mystical Slayer, spiritual speaker of the sisterhood
Deimos: a moon on planet Mars
Delve Marcou: the former CEO of Y-Wood Corporation
Ella Von Stybeck: west coast state representative
Enceladus: a moon on Planet Saturn
Envy: a Mystical Slayer, the wildcat, and a master spy
Galax: a sleek, powerful super robot of the Y-Wood Corporation
Hale Valdosta: an assistant to President Marcou
IHF: instant healing formula
Jansa Davin: a Mystical Slayer, the new age doctor / healer of the sisterhood
Johan: the young son of Raegan and Lomax
J-Rail: an elite, mercenary bounty hunter
Kalina: Mahira’s nightclub lover
Kanya: A Mystical Slayer and prison guard on Planet Mars
Kron: Chaya’s robotic companion
Lomax: R-Bel news reporter and Raegan’s husband
Mahira: a Mystical Slayer, gladiator and little spark plug
Malice: Mahira’s Puerto Rican nightclub lover
Martian Worms: Big ugly critters on planet Mars
Massaki-Mi: Sensei (teacher) to all the sisterhood
Mars: the red planet
Metaya Valteese: the founding mother of the sisterhood
Mr. Derringer: a politician on Mars
Omagus: a super hologram robot of Y-Wood Corporation
Paka: a Mystical Slayer and Afro-American prison guard on Mars
Parkis Dell: the top lawyer for Y-Wood Corporation
Phobos: a moon on planet Mars
Q-Jin: meaning freedom fighters in robot language
Raegan James: a Mystical Slayer, R-Bel news reporter, and leader of the sisterhood
Resin Cador: the top assistant to President Marcou
Ruthys: ruthless, all black robot killing machines
Saturn: the ringed planet
Seidons: aquatic fish people from inside a moon on planet Saturn
Showerheads: robotic spider snakes of Y-Wood Corporation
Sinaye: a Mystical Slayer, and top robotic scientist of the sisterhood
Spitters: cobra-like metal robotic snakes of the Y-Wood Corporation
Starigen 6280: the sisterhood’s highly guarded, secret drug formula
Sun: a young trainee in the sisterhood
Supreme Justice Tartilla: a virtual judge
Suzy-Q: a cyborg bounty hunter
Tallis Merrill: Jansa’s medical / reiki master and teacher
Tyne Gem: a Mystical Slayer, a cyborg with sparkling blue eyes
Wormholes: time bending space connecters
Wraith: Mahira’s step dad
Wycliffe: a hip hop drug lord from NJ
Wynne: a Mystical Slayer, an expert markswoman for the sisterhood
Zaey: a Mystical Slayer, and lawyer from the land down under