After the Ending

by Lindsey Fairleigh

  “More than ever,” I whispered.

  He groaned. “Just knowing that is going to drive me in-fucking-sane.”

  “Good,” I breathed. Minutes later, I corralled all of my courage and asked, “Did you ever think about it…about me…before everything happened?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “No,” I said, assuming I had my answer.

  Jason touched his lips to the skin beneath my ear and whispered, “I did,” before grasping the inside of my thigh and easing back inside me.

  44

  DANI

  I don’t see why you two can’t just ride together…like, share a horse. Then he can boost your power the whole time,” Holly said, sitting directly across the morning campfire from Jason and me. We were all bundled in our warmest clothes—though the winter had been mild so far, we were camping high in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, and the current temperature was near freezing.

  Jason and I had just finished telling the whole group about the previous night’s discovery—that Jason seemed to be able to amplify or nullify other people’s Abilities. We definitely didn’t tell them any of the night’s other developments, but I was pretty sure everyone knew—though we’d tried, we hadn’t exactly been quiet.

  “Yeah, Red,” Jason said, grinning wickedly. “I could boost your power the whole time.”

  I elbowed him gently at the lame innuendo, and he chuckled. “We’d be too heavy,” I explained to Holly.

  “But you’re like, totally small,” Holly said.

  Jason leaned closer and murmured near my ear so only I could hear, “You really are very small…I almost couldn’t fit my—”

  Cutting off his taunting whisper, I blurted, “I may be small, but he’s huge.” My already blushing cheeks flamed as I realized what I’d just said.

  Jason roared in laughter and squeezed my hand while Holly gaped.

  “That’s not what…” I trailed off with a sigh, wishing I could execute a foot-from-mouth extraction.

  “Whenever you’re finished,” Chris said, settling a wry look on each of us, “I have a suggestion.” She looked at me. “Maybe today you could just use your mental ‘observation’ while we’re on the road. If you need to actually use your telepathy, I’m sure Romeo here,” she glanced at Jason, “…will be close enough to touch. That work?”

  Jason flipped her off, and I nodded in agreement.

  Chris added, “Maybe it’d be a good idea for you to not speak out loud at all, to always use your telepathy…it’ll be like intensive training for your brain. It’d be nice if we could get you strong enough that you don’t even need him.” She nodded in Jason’s direction.

  I shrugged and said, “sounds good,” in her head, then turned to Jason. His expression had blanked—a sure sign that he was hiding some strong emotion. Making a wild guess, I said to him alone, “Don’t worry…I’m sure you can give me some other reasons to keep you around…”

  His expression didn’t change, but a mischievous glint flashed in his eyes. “I’m sure I can,” he said, confusing everyone but me.

  Five hours later, we were hugging the mountainside as we rode along snow-covered Highway 50, just south of Lake Tahoe. It was snowing steadily, and we were all hunched over in our saddles, trying to retain as much body heat as possible. All of a sudden, a fairly large cluster of people burst into life in my mind, momentarily destabilizing my control over my Ability. I slowed Wings, which was Jason’s signal to stop the rest of the group. He always rode beside me, especially since being in observation mode made me semi-oblivious to my surroundings.

  “There’s a large group about five miles ahead…they’re either on or near the road. And they’re stationary,” I told him, glad I didn’t have to lower the wool scarf wrapped around my face to speak out loud.

  Jason relayed the information to the rest of our group and removed one of his gloves before reaching for my hand. He gently pulled one of my own fleece-lined gloves off and intertwined his fingers with mine, asking me to communicate with some of the creatures near the group of strangers.

  Surprisingly, Mr. Grayson was the first to comment on the news. “I don’t know what you’re planning,” he said, looking at Jason. “But…I think we should seriously consider staying with these people tonight.” When Jason and Chris both looked at him dubiously, he explained, “I doubt the snow will let up any time soon, and it will be far easier to protect ourselves from the elements in an established camp. We can’t forget that these are the same mountains that defeated the Donner Party so gruesomely.”

  After several minutes of discussion, everyone agreed that, for once, approaching other people would be worth the risk. As my companions briefly strategized, I received information from a couple of my scouts. I relayed their intel to Jason and Chris.“The eagle said the two-legs cover an area about the size of the water next to her nest…not a big help, I know, but the bird seemed proud of the size of her lake. Plenty of fish for her young, or something like that. From what I can tell, I definitely think there’s more than a hundred of them, but I’ll be able to tell more when we’re closer. Oh, and the mountain lions said they smell like good meat, not like the bad meat two-legs they’ve been coming across. So…I’m guessing they’re not Crazies?”

  Jason stared at me, unblinking, his face unreadable. I smiled and gave his hand a squeeze.

  “I didn’t know mountain lions ate people,” Chris said.

  Ky moved his horse closer and asked, “Mountain lions? What are you talking about?”

  Seeing his confusion, I included Ky in my next thought. “Sorry Ky. Maybe, maybe not, Chris, but they said they’ve come across a bunch of dead two-legs—not sick, just wrong. They didn’t say anything about eating them, just that they were ‘bad meat’.”

  “That’s creepy,” Ky said silently.

  I shrugged. “They’re predators…it’s what they are. Can you sense anything?”

  He shook his head. “Too far. Maybe in a couple miles.”

  Jason cut in, “Okay, well let’s keep moving. We can talk as we ride.”

  Jason and the others came up with a plan that we would stick to unless Ky sensed impending violence—we would approach the strangers as a group, with Ky and Ben feeding their impressions to me, which I would then share with the rest of our group telepathically. If anyone lied or intended us harm, we’d know. I would pretend to be a deaf mute, requiring Jason to lead me around, and therefore have an excuse to hold his hand, boosting my power the entire time. When touching him, I could maintain constant contact with every member of my group.

  It was late afternoon, and we were nearing the large group of strangers when I sensed two of them start to move directly to the left of us—in our direction. “A couple of them are headed straight for us…I think they know we’re here,” I told Jason as I dismounted, trying not to sink too far into the snow. He followed suit, grabbing for my hand as soon as his boots hit the snow-covered highway.

  “Tell everyone. Remind them not to talk to you out loud. Not ever,” he told me, and I nodded, doing as he ordered.

  The crunch of twigs and crusty snow preceded the pair’s arrival. A man and woman, both exceptionally unremarkable-looking, emerged from between the pines and firs that lined the road. They wore jeans, navy-blue down jackets, and hiking boots.

  “Greetings travelers,” the man said, quickly followed by the woman’s, “We’ve been expecting you.”

  “Really?” Jason asked doubtfully.

  The man gestured to the abandoned highway. “The Prophet Mary foretold your passage along this road.”

  “Ben says he’s telling the truth,” I told my group. “This Mary chick must be able to do something ‘special’ too.”

  Using a significant amount of false charm, Jason grinned and said, “Well, lucky us! We’ve been looking for more people. Gets pretty lonely out here. Are there many more of you?”

  The man and woman smiled beatifically. “The Prophets asked us to welcome you and to show you arou
nd,” said the woman, not answering Jason’s question.

  The man’s words followed as soon as she finished speaking. “I’m Mark, and this is Jen.”

  After introductions were given, I told my group, “They’re giving me the creeps. Anything, Ky?”

  “Nope. In fact,” he added, “they’re the most peaceful people I’ve felt. It’s a nice break.”

  “Lead on, my new friends,” Jason said, motioning toward the woods with his free hand. To me he said, “Wait until they’re a ways ahead, and then put a bridle on your horse.”

  “I don’t have one.”

  “I do,” he replied, rummaging through one of his saddle bags. He handed me the bundle of leather straps once Jen and Mark turned away. We waited a few minutes for our guides and companions to blend in with the trees before bridling Wings.

  “Is there anything you aren’t prepared for?”

  “Us,” he answered, holding my gaze as he reclaimed my hand. “Come on.”

  After twenty minutes of weaving the horses and goats through the seemingly endless forest, artificial colors came into sight. They filled every possible clearing between the evergreens. We seemed to have arrived in a city of tents—bright fabric spreading as far as the eye could see. Which, considering we were in a forest, really wasn’t that far, but the sight was odd enough.

  “You may stay here for the night,” Jen said, indicating a small clearing near the edge of the mass of tents. “The Prophets will send for you in the morning.”

  “Explore as you like, but please don’t approach the Temple until your morning escort comes for you,” Mark added. Abruptly, Mark and Jen turned and waded into the sea of tents. Empty tents. Where the hell are all the people?

  As the pair walked away, we converged in a huddle. There was a lengthy discussion about the potential benefits and dangers of staying the night, and then we voted. Everyone agreed that one night wouldn’t be too big of a risk, and it would allow us to mingle and gain some valuable intelligence. That is, if the people who used all those tents ever showed up.

  “You’re anxious,” I told Jason hours later as we huddled together on a fallen log beside our campfire. It was well into the night, and we were alone, having been assigned the task of “guarding our shit.” Our friends were making nice with the natives, who had returned to their campsites after sunset in a massive wave of bodies.

  Jason tightened the arm he had draped around my shoulders and kissed my temple. “No…I’m alert.”

  “How late do you think everyone’ll stay out?” I asked, yawning as I finished the thought. With every passing minute the fire’s warmth was lulling me closer to unconsciousness.

  “No clue,” he replied. “But I’m guessing late.”

  Hoots and joyous screams and raucous laughter had been echoing throughout the forest since the campers had returned from wherever the hell they’d been. I felt like a parent waiting up for her teenagers to return home, wondering if they would miss curfew. I also felt tired, which I emphasized by yawning, again.

  “Go to sleep, Red. I’ll stay up.”

  I shook my head against Jason’s shoulder. “I’m staying up with you.”

  A quiet chuckle rumbled in his chest. “We’ll see.” About fifteen minutes later, I was nodding off under the cozy safety of Jason’s arm.

  I woke in our tent, glued against Jason’s side. He was already awake, staring blankly at the nylon roof. It was, after all, well after sunrise, though that fact was barely noticeable from the light seeping through the cloudy sky. Jason always rose with the sun.

  “Hey! I said I was going to stay up with you!” I complained.

  He shrugged. “And I said ‘We’ll see.’ It’s time to get up. We don’t know when they’re coming to take us to these ‘Prophets’.”

  “When did everyone get back?” I asked, ignoring the whole “getting up” thing. I kissed his bare chest and gently bit down.

  One of Jason’s hands slipped under my t-shirt, teasing the sensitive skin below my belly button. “Careful, Red. If you start this, everyone here’ll know you’re not really a mute. The noises you make…,” he said, groaning softly.

  “I’m not that…” I trailed off as he slid his fingers lower, over the thin cotton of my underwear. I moaned softly but involuntarily. “Okay…point taken…” He didn’t stop but instead caused me to make a few more throaty noises. “Jason!”

  His fingers stilled. “Sorry.”

  “You’d better be!” Even my mind voice sounded frustrated. He’d done a good job of getting me worked up, and I couldn’t do anything about it. “Dammit!”

  Removing his hand from my nether regions, Jason planted a soft kiss on my lips and met my eyes. “I’ll make it up to you tonight. Promise.”

  I squeezed my eyelids shut, blocking out my view of the desire burning in his eyes. “That’s so not helping.”

  Jason laughed softly and kissed my neck. “Back to your question…not everyone came back last night. At least, not by two o’clock, which is when I carried you in here. Holly kept watch…said she hasn’t been sleeping much anyway.”

  “Oh, that’s…um…very…um…would you stop that!” My breath quickened as Jason continued to pay attention to my neck.

  “Nope. Not until you get up.”

  “Fine,” I mentally huffed. I shoved the sleeping bag lower and scooted out, slapping Jason’s hands away as he continued to find sensitive bits of flesh to tease. “You are such an ass!”

  Smirking, Jason propped himself up on an elbow and watched me dig around the tent for the long underwear and jeans he’d stripped off me the previous night. “We’ve already established that.”

  I snorted and glanced at him over my shoulder.

  He slid out from the sleeping bags, looking like an underwear model who’d just finished a photo shoot, and joined me in the search for warm clothes. Eventually we found everything we needed, including thick down jackets, boots, gloves, and wool hats, and we stepped out into the blessedly snow-free morning. Jason glared at the sky, like his menacing scowl alone could frighten away the chance of snow. Everyone except Ky was already sitting around the campfire, looking…nothing. Not hungover. Not laughing. Not talking. They were blank.

  “They look weird to you?” I asked Jason as he spat toothpaste onto a low shrub. He nodded. I continued brushing my teeth beside him, pondering the reason for my friends’ odd behavior. Maybe they’d discovered something really disturbing about these people. Or maybe they’d all participated in an orgy and were too horrified to admit it. I didn’t know, but I was sure as hell going to find out.

  “Where’s Ky?” I asked everyone after I’d stowed my toiletries.

  “Oh, Ky?” Chris replied. “I think he’s with—”

  “The Prophets are ready for you,” Jen, the eerie woman, unknowingly interrupted. “You’ll need to leave your dog here,” Jen said.

  Mark explained, “The Prophet Cole has outlawed dogs from the camp entirely.”

  “Jack comes,” I growled in Jason’s head.

  “He’s a service animal,” Jason said, holding up my hand. “You see, she’s a deaf mute, and he’s her hearing dog. Either we all stay out here, or the dog comes with us. The Prophets are more than welcome to—”

  “Mark,” the woman said. “The Prophet Cole is reasonable. I’m sure he won’t mind.”

  “Lie,” Ben told me, and I shared the information with the rest of my people.

  “Does she have a leash for him?” Mark asked while I smiled at him dumbly.

  “Make sure he sticks to you like glue,” Jason told me. “I’ve never seen her use one, but I’ve also never seen him leave her side. It’s unnecessary.”

  “Very well,” Mark stated. “Follow us.”

  While we meandered down a narrow, zigzagging pathway between tents, I asked Chris, “What’s up with you guys. You’re all acting sort of zombie-ish.”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” she said. “Everyone here was really welcoming last night. I’ve n
ever felt so free…so at peace.”

  I didn’t say anything more and just looked around at the others. Free? At peace? Now? As nice as it sounded, it was one of the most ridiculous things I’d ever heard. I passed my concerns on to Jason. He agreed.

  I wasn’t sure what I was expecting—maybe not a step pyramid or a colonnaded Greco-Roman temple—but definitely not a yurt. Resting on an outcropping of sand near an expansive lake, the rough, octagonal, log structure had a steady stream of smoke rising from its center. It didn’t really have a roof, but instead was more dome-shaped, and was maybe thirty feet in diameter.

  “This is the Temple of the Prophets of the New World,” Jen proclaimed, holding her arms out wide like the yurt was a magnificent sight to behold.

  Mark urged us forward, shooting a surprisingly irritated look at his companion. It was the first show of real emotion I’d seen on anyone besides Jason all morning. “Come. It is not good to keep the Prophets waiting.”

  As we followed our guides through the structure’s arched entrance, we were wrapped in unexpected warmth. A substantial fire burned in the fire pit in the center of the yurt, and three oversized, rough-hewn chairs were arrayed on a small platform beyond it. Their occupants—a man and old woman on either side, and a short, rotund woman in the center—sat in the chairs like they were thrones.

  The man, evidently the Prophet Cole, was an attractive, middle-aged gentleman of average height and build. In the previous world, I would’ve marked him as a lawyer or a corporate businessman. The far woman was so elderly and frail-looking that I couldn’t believe she’d survived the Virus.

  The middle chair was larger than the other two, as was its occupant. She was obese, or what Grams used to call ‘dumpy’ out of kindness, and had a splotchy face that was simultaneously round and saggy. Her sheer unattractiveness was at odds with the two gorgeous, shirtless men kneeling on either side of her chair, petting her arms, hands, legs, and whatever else they could reach.