by A. R. Wise
“I miss her,” he said. “I miss her every day.”
“Me too.”
The moment was interrupted in the best way possible as the whine of a baby called out from the hallway. Hero let go of me and tried to sit up.
Jill walked over to us and I moved so that she could be next to Hero. She placed her hand gently on his chest and said, “No, you lay there. Just lay there, Hero.”
“Bring me that boy,” said Hero, and I’d never heard him sound prouder.
Clyde came in with Mark in his arms. The baby was crying, but not hysterically. He was reaching out and grasping at the air, and his legs were pushing up one by one with tiny blue socks to warm those wiggling toes.
Jill helped guide the baby to Hero’s side, and nestled him in his daddy’s arms. Hero’s illness almost seemed to vanish as I saw the sparkle in his eyes when he first gazed down upon his son. “Look at you. Look at those eyes. Oh man, you’re your Daddy’s son, aren’t you?” Mark grabbed at his father’s thumb and held it. “Look at that grip! You’re my boy. You’re my boy.” He repeated the phrase several times, each succession a little quieter, until he was whispering it to the cooing babe.
Hero laid his head back, a smile as wide as possible across his face. He looked around at us and said, “Look at this, guys. Five days ago I thought I’d die in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines that were barely keeping me alive. But now I’m here, surrounded by people I love, and holding a dream come true. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
We stayed with him for the rest of the day and into the night. Hero’s breathing became more labored by the hour, and we all knew the end would be here soon. None of us were willing to leave. Seeing him in the bed with his son at his side would be something I would cherish for the rest of my life.
When the end came, Hero had his boy in his arms, and I heard him whisper his last word.
“Mark.”
I don’t know if he was saying his son’s name, or greeting his brother in heaven.
I like to think both.
Epilogue
Annie Conrad
The High Rollers carried on, as we always had and always will. Winter’s last gasp gave us an unexpected respite as the Tempest Strain hibernated for a few more weeks before the onset of spring. The people and animals infected by The Electorate’s new apocalypse were weakened by the cold, exactly as had been promised in the transcript of a communication that I’d found in Jerald’s vehicle when I saved Mom out on the highway. We took advantage of the cold, and fled to the mountains where Jerald had sent the rest of his men and their families.
We all expected another war, and were prepared for it. To our surprise, the military refugees had no interest in another battle. In fact, they were in desperate need of our help when we found them. The Rollers knew how to survive in this new world, but the former soldiers that had been living in the underground facility at the airport were now struggling to survive in the Red world.
We fortified the town, and worked together to protect our families from the world outside our walls. We forged new friendships, and before long it seemed unthinkable that our two groups had ever been at war.
Celeste and the other Dawns proved to be indispensable allies, far stouter and healthier than any other member of our new settlement. They were eager to learn about the surface, and thankful for the new freedom they’d been given. However, I don’t think Celeste ever truly got over the loss of Hailey. A year later she disappeared from our new town, and Elise told me that Celeste was headed to Juniper. I still don’t know why, except that Celeste had said something to Elise about seeing Griffin’s sunrise. Whatever it was that she was searching for, I’ve got no doubt that she found it. She never made it back to us, but I have a feeling she’s doing just fine out there, wherever she went.
Mom and Zack wed shortly after we merged with Jerald’s former soldiers, and the reception has often been remembered as the best party any of us had ever seen. At that time, we still hadn’t settled on a name for our new town. The refugees of Vineyard asked Laura and Zack to come up with the name at their wedding, just as Bonnie and Beach had done at the founding of their old town. I expected them to name it New Vineyard, but was pleasantly surprised when they settled on Hero’s Rest.
Billy’s back healed some, but he was never quite the same. His final fight to save Hero had taken its toll, but he rarely complained. Instead, he reveled in his role as Uncle Billy, and made sure Mark was well-studied in the movies his father loved. There were more than a few times when I heard Jill yelling at Billy for letting Mark watch Tarantino films.
Clyde helped keep Jill from screaming too much at Billy. He was a calming influence on the fiery woman, and no one was surprised when their friendship blossomed into romance.
My relationship with Ben grew stronger, and he admitted his uncertainty about his past to me. Whether or not he was a clone or the real Ben Watanabe was something that he’d been struggling with, but then told me that he’d come to terms with it by remembering something Harrison had told him about satellites and shooting stars. Sometimes it’s better to believe in what makes you happy, and leave it at that.
Ben was a constant companion for me, and he was there every day as I struggled to deal with my mother’s declining health. I felt helpless as she grew thin and weak. Despite everything we tried, there was nothing that could heal her. The strongest woman I’d ever known succumbed to an enemy none of us could see.
Laura remained courageous all through those last few months, but her illness finally sapped her of the strength that had made her a legend among the Rollers. When her final day came, she was surrounded by people who loved her. Instead of a funeral we had a celebration, and it was a day of feasting and revelry that became a new yearly tradition for our town. It was our new Mother’s Day, because there’d never been a better example of a perfect mother than her.
Zack built a statue of Laura in the center of town. It was made of twisted steel rods, bent and hammered into the shape of a tall, strong woman holding the hands of her two children, and every year on Mother’s Day it was adorned with overflowing mounds of flowers. I sometimes found Zack out by the statue at night, sharing a drink with his love, and telling her stories about how David was doing.
Hero’s Rest expanded its walls over the years to allow safe pasture for a number of animals. Ben and I got our little, secluded farmhouse on a hill, overlooking the town that we’d helped establish. I spent plenty of nights sitting in a rocking chair by our fire, a warm cup of tea steaming beside me. This would be where we would raise our family, and our children would never suffer the trials we’d been forced to overcome. That made me smile as I sat with my feet by the fire and my hand resting on my pregnant belly. I could finally relax. The war was over.
We never knew what became of The Electorate, but I think the more important thing was that we didn’t care. They never returned to bother us, and we were better off without feeling a need for retribution. As far as we were concerned, the war was over. It had been a long, tough journey, and we’d lost too many heroes along the way.
We worked hard for our peace and happiness, and we’ll enjoy both.
THE END
Author’s Note
Deep breaths.
Just take a few deep breaths, and then say it.
The End.
Oh, that’s hard to accept, but it’s finally time. The Deadlocked series has come to a close.
It was November, 2011 that I published the very first book (barely a novella) in the Deadlocked series. If you’ve been reading the Author’s Notes in this series then you already know that first book was inspired by my mother’s battle with cancer, but what you don’t know is how that’s been the prevailing theme of the entire second series (books 5 – 8) as well.
After finishing the fourth book, I knew that I wanted to start the next series 20 years in the future while adding in some unexpected new story elements. At the same time, I wanted to draw on the overall theme tha
t had started this whole journey. Before typing the first words of the fifth book, I already had an ending in mind. More specifically, I had a couple of lines that I knew would define the series for me:
I don’t know if he was saying his son’s name, or greeting his brother in heaven.
I like to think both.
What I hoped to accomplish with this final book was to present a character who could exemplify the idea that not all heroes die in an epic fight or ultimate showdown. On the contrary, a lot of our heroes die quietly in bed, after a long battle with an unforgiving disease.
So many of us have lost loved ones to cancer or another similarly vicious disease. We’ve watched these once strong, vital people weakened by unseen forces tearing them apart, and we’ve marveled at their strength of will as they face each new day. To me, that’s what this story’s been about since the very beginning. It’s always been an allegory to disease, the struggles our heroes endure, and the families that carry on after.
And now it’s all over. But just like how a deceased loved one never truly leaves us, I feel a sense of comfort knowing that these characters will always be there for me too. There are moments in this series that will stick with me for as long as I live. I’ll always be able to think of Annie and Laura in the back of the Range Rover, laughing and crying together. Hero will always be chastising Billy for his plans before going ahead with them anyway. And Celeste will always be out there somewhere, on her own path, fighting her way through the world on her own terms.
I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: The Deadlocked series changed my life. These characters, and the struggles they went through, helped me achieve my dream of being a full-time writer, and I’ll always remember them for that.
They’ve earned their peace and happiness.
One question I’m sure I’d be asked if I didn’t say something about it here is, ‘Are there going to be more books?’
While I’ve learned to never say never, I currently have no plans for another book in the Deadlocked series. I feel like this has been a satisfying end, and I don’t want to risk ruining it by dragging it forward.
There’s always a chance that I’ll be plagued by a desire to explore where Celeste ended up, or how the Rollers are doing in another twenty years, but it would take a really great story idea for me to be enticed back into this world.
For now, I’m content letting these characters have their peace and happiness.
You’ve more than likely heard my shill about my other books before, so I’m not going to add them here. I’m feeling a bit too somber for that at the moment. Right now I just want to warm my feet by the fire, enjoy a steaming hot cup of tea, and fondly remember a few heroes I’ve lost along the way.
Table of Contents
PART ONE – Setting Out
PART TWO – Locked In
PART THREE – The End Begins
PART FOUR - Games
PART FIVE – A Good Team
PART SIX – The Coming Storm
PART SEVEN – All Good Things
Epilogue
