The Eternal Community

by J Meverington

They searched around the area, but were unable to find him. Terri inspected the ground for clues when suddenly she called out to Damion.

  ‘Over here, I’ve found some footprints.’

  Damion raced over and sure enough, some sandal prints appeared in the dirt.

  ‘Good spotting Terri.’ Damion was nervous about Ethan lurking nearby so he picked up a big stick ready to fend him off.

  Terri followed the footprints, while Damion kept an eye out around them, not wanting to be taken by surprise. The footprints led them to the cliff edge. They both peered over fearing what they might see at the bottom.

  ‘What’s that down there?’ Terri asked.

  ‘Where?’

  ‘In the tree just there, looks like a piece of leather.’

  ‘I think you're right. Do you think Ethan might have fallen?’

  ‘I hate to say it, but I hope so.’

  They both scoured the rocks below for a sign of him, but there was nothing. Damion squinted his eyes to get a better look at the piece of leather in the tree. He must have fallen and ripped his clothing.

  Just them somebody pushed Damion and he toppled over the edge.

  ‘Damion...’ Terri screamed, before seeing Ethan out of the corner of her eye, running away from them.

  As Damion fell, he grabbed hold of a tree branch, almost wrenching his arm out of his socket. Terri yelled out to him.

  ‘Are you ok?’

  Damion managed to find a foot hold and steadied himself while he adjusted his grip and hauled himself up into the tree.

  ‘I think so, thank god for this tree saving my fall. Is he still there?’

  ‘No, he ran away. Are you able to get back up?’

  ‘I think so, I’m just going to wait until my nerves calm down a bit first.’

  Damion waited a few minutes for the shaking to stop, before scaling up the side of the cliff and back to the safety of the ledge.

  ‘Phew, that was close,’ Terri said. ‘I thought you were a gonner.’

  ‘Yeah, me too, thankfully there was plenty of scrub there to slow down my fall. Did you see where Ethan went?’

  ‘He ran that way,’ she said, indicating the rough bush in the distance.

  They returned to camp to report what had happened.

  Keith said the bush in that area was extremely dense and it would be impossible to find anyone in it let alone survive in there. They were better off to stay put and apprehend him if he came back to camp.

  Josh’s foot was still swollen, so they agreed with Keith, and decided to end the search. Josh would then be free to head back to London where he could receive medical attention.

  Damion also decided to go back to London and to take Molly and Ben with him. This place was no longer safe.

  ‘You can take the laptop with you. I don’t want Martin playing God any longer,’ Camilla said, and handed it to him.

  ***

  The next day, Damion, Terri, Josh, Molly and Ben said their goodbyes and headed off over the hill towards the Jeep.

  Ben struggled to contain his excitement over the big metal object that flew up into the sky and over the mountains. Damion had a hard time getting him to relax for the flight. He’d been worried about how his children were going to handle the ‘real’ world. It would be sensory overload for them.

  They landed at Farnborough Airport, and drove back into London. It was time to introduce Molly and Ben to their grandparents and their half-sister.

  ***

  After everyone had gone, the pilot parked the plane on the tarmac and disembarked. After a while a rustling came from one of the locked cupboards. After some knocking and rattling about, Ethan, now Martin, burst out and fell onto the floor of the plane, his legs having gone numb. He lay there for a few minutes, waiting for the feeling to return. He looked out the window to ensure nobody was around, then he exited the plane.

  He found his way to the office and asked to use the phone. When they looked at him standing there in just a leather skirt, he explained how he’d been the subject of stag party joke and had lost his phone. He dialled a number. A man’s voice picked up at the other end and Ethan spoke.

  ‘Hi Rupert. It’s Dad. I need your help.’

  Epilogue

  1 year later

  Matilda

  Matilda has given up on men. Twice now she’d fallen in love and twice they’d left her. She’d had a hard time when Ethan first disappeared from the Community, but after a while she realised how tense she’d been around him.

  Now he’s gone, she’s more relaxed than ever, and so are Zac and Sally. She constantly worries though, that he might come back one day and spoil things.

  Matilda now works full time at the creche. Fenella has aged and feels she can no longer spend the hours at the creche that she used to. Matilda was more than keen to take on the job full time as she loves children. A few babies have been born recently and helping the mothers with their new role has given her life meaning.

  She misses Damion and Leonora more than she misses her own husband. Damion hasn’t been back since Leonora’s death and his quirky personality has left a gaping hole. But life moves on and so does she.

  Alice

  Alice decided to stay in London with her newfound family. She now manages the Community Bar and loves her job. Damion has taken on a few of her cocktails. ‘Hell in a Glass’ is a fine addition to The Crypt’s line of drinks and is up there in popularity with ‘Blood.’

  She’d initially been working in The Crypt, but she kept calling Frederick, ‘Freddie’ and he didn’t like it. So Damion moved her to the Community Bar, which suits her gregarious nature much better.

  She’s gone from having no family, to having a father, two grandparents and a half-brother and half-sister. She adores Molly and Ben, and she spends as much time with them as possible.

  Since being in London, Alice has no interest in going back to the States. She keeps in touch with Jenna and Luke, and organises weekly Skype calls with Mrs K.

  She found out from Mrs K, that Carter is married and his wife (not Peaches) is expecting their first baby. They own a hair salon in Campbellsville, KY where they both work as hairdressers. As much as Alice liked Carter, she’s glad she never hooked up with him as that wouldn’t have been the life for her.

  She’s thankful that she never heard from Charles again. She realises now what a lucky escape she had. While Dave was digging up dirt on him, he found out that three of his ex-girlfriends had all suffered unfortunate accidents. She wonders if that was the meaning behind the three vodka shots, and shudders at the thought, glad her super-hero father had saved her from a terrible fate.

  Damion

  Damion loves being back in London, with his family around him. Once his parents got over the fact that he had been hiding a secret family from them, they were over the moon with their newfound grandchildren. His heart still yearns for Leonora every day and he has no interest in getting involved with anyone else. The magic time they shared in the Community is fast becoming a fading memory and he hasn’t been back since, the pain still raw.

  He’s glad he still has a part of Leonora with him in Molly and Ben. They’ve adjusted to the ‘real’ world quickly and are doing well. Molly is now at school and has made lots of friends. After spending most of her life wearing next to no clothing in the Community, she’s discovered she ‘loves’ clothes. At only six years old, she’s a little fashion statement.

  Ben is now four and has been aeroplane crazy since his flight to London a year ago. Damion took him to the Farnborough air show and Ben thought he was in heaven, knowing all the planes off by heart. In his bedroom he has his own little airport complete with hangar and toy planes. One of his favourite things to do is to perform his own little air shows to anyone who cares to watch.

  Damion misses his extended family in the Community, but knows he can never go back. Camilla keeps him updated every so often. Will and Fenella are still Community members. Camilla decided it was best to keep them where she coul
d keep an eye on them. Unfortunately he could never tell Alice her adoptive parents are still alive.

  Since finding Alice, his nightmares have stopped and for that he is thankful. Leonora was right, it had been a spiritual sign, something he was not going to ignore from now on.

  There had been no sign on Ethan since that fateful day, and Damion still shudders when he thinks of the memories that temporarily floated around in his brain. One memory he can’t shake, is why Leonora was at Martin’s place as a teenager? Did that actually happen? Or was it his own memories playing tricks on him? He still had Ethan’s laptop, cables and headphones locked away in a cupboard collecting dust. Maybe it contained the answers he was looking for, but it could wait for another day.

  What Damion had learned in the last year was that life is short, and he wanted to have no more regrets. Material possessions are no longer a priority and all he yearns to do is to spend quality time with his family enjoying the company of his parents and children.

  The End

  Note From the Author

  Thank you so much for reading The Eternal Community. If you enjoyed this novel and it's not too much trouble, a few words on Amazon to say so would be very much appreciated.

  An exciting third book in the series, The Ultimate Community, is due to be released in March 2019. Please read on for the Prologue.

  The

  Ultimate

  Community

  Book Three of The Community Series

  J. Meverington

  Prologue

  Five Years Earlier

  Alice entered the cafe, the smell of coffee beans stirring the hairs in her nostrils. She walked up to the counter and the barista’s smile caught her attention. Their eyes met, sparking an immediate connection. He took her order and asked, ‘Do you want sugar with that?’

  ‘You don’t think I’m sweet enough?’

  He smiled. ‘It’s just better if we stir in the sugar while we’re making it.’

  ‘Ah, no one’s asked that before. No sugar for me thanks.’

  ‘I love your accent,’ he said, ‘American?’

  ‘Yep, but I live in London now.’

  ‘I’m planning my first trip to the States next year and looking forward to it.’

  ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘New York, on a research trip.’

  ‘I lived in New York for a few years, loved it.’

  ‘Hey cool, any chance I could talk to you about it?’

  ‘What do you wanna know?’

  ‘I’m about to take a break shortly, can I join you for a cuppa?’

  ‘Sure.’ Alice found a table in the corner and watched from a distance as he made their coffees, noting how handsome he was with his dark curls, thick eyebrows and dimpled chin.

  He brought their coffees over and placed them on the table, then offered his hand. ‘I’m Ethan.’

  She shook it and a tingle spread up her arm.

  ‘Allie,’ she said, and smiled at him, captivated by his intense gaze.

  ‘So, what brings you out all alone in Oxford on a Sunday morning?’

  ‘It’s my weekend off, so I caught the train up to visit my grandparents. I work in a bar in London. I love working in hospitality, how about you?’

  ‘It’s okay,’ he said. ‘It’s only a part-time job while I’m at uni. I’m in my final year, then I plan to start a business.’

  ‘Oh, what are you studying?’

  ‘I’m doing a double degree in computing and cognitive science.’

  ‘Wow, a double degree, that must be hard. That seems an odd combination though.’

  ‘I want to specialise in recording data from the brain. I believe that’s the key to the future of our planet.’

  ‘How so?’

  ‘Imagine, if we could download knowledge and remove the greed factor and other miscellaneous rubbish from the brain. We could move forward in designing new technologies and a clean lifestyle. It may take generations to fix the damage we’ve done, but I believe we can do it.’

  ‘Wow, that sounds so cool. How old are you? You seem a lot older than you look.’

  ‘I’m twenty-five, same age as you.’

  ‘How do you know my age?’

  ‘Just a lucky guess,’ he said, then flashed her a smile which made her heart melt.

  Click here to purchase, The Ultimate Community

  Acknowledgements for The Eternal Community

  Thanks to Dave M, my developmental editor who ripped my first draft to shreds like a wild beast, showing no remorse, his brutal honesty essential in shaping this novel. He also supplied me with the recipe for garlic prawns.

  Thanks to my awesome partner Mike, who I bounce around ideas with and who puts up with my constant plot twists and turns. He is also my copy editor, so please blame him for any mistakes found.

  Thanks to David C who wrote the blurb.

  Thanks to Mum and Dad for providing the character profiles for Damion’s parents. I love you guys!

  Thanks to Eddie for Ben’s character profile and his obsession with planes.

  Thanks to all my beta readers - Ems, Jean, Kat, Jenny, Lynda, Helen, Mary, and David C. Your feedback was essential and I couldn’t have done it without you guys.