Epilogue
“Who is it?” Silk asked, her hand shading the sun. Wagons approached from Alatus, flying pennants of white cloth. Whoever they were, they weren’t hiding.
I climbed to my feet, slow but steady. In the days since killing Taksa, my ‘bots had gone into overdrive, but the scar tissue was still livid. It would be some time before I was fully healed, and in the meantime, we explored the Free Oasis at a casual pace, making notes of everything useful for our future plans. “Can’t see just yet. Maybe drive out to meet them?” I asked, earning a withering stare from everyone at once. “What? It’s a Mustang. Why not?” Finding the car had been nothing short of a miracle, but finding a 2031 Mustang made my heart sing. I fought the urge to sit in it like a lovesick teenager, finally agreeing to cover it up for protection. Mira and Silk lived with each other, but they wouldn’t live with metallic competition. They already referred to the car as “the other woman”, even if they smile while saying it.
Mira came up behind me, hands behind her back. “Maybe you should greet them from here?”
“What’s that?” I asked her.
Natif shouted from the outer ring of saplings. “It’s ready, Mira.” He stood next to a pole that wasn’t there the night before. A flagpole.
“For the Free Oasis. Made it from what we found in the Harlings’ stashed wagons,” Mira said, unrolling a flag of deep blue cloth. There were five white stars in the middle, all in a row. “We’re the first five. There will be more.”
“Starting with the Harlings,” Silk said, pointing to the approaching wagons. “We’re going to need more stars.”
“Among other things,” I agreed. Lasser began waving, striding across the sands to greet the first new residents of the Free Oasis.
“Can we survive?” Silk asked. It was the question we all lived with, every second of the day.
“We have to. Otherwise, why did I ever bother waking up?” I said, taking their hands as we walked out into the sands. Above, a hawk cried, then swooped to land in the trees. Life went on. The Free Oasis was real. We could live without fear.
Now, for the rest of the world.
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About The Author
Daniel Pierce lives in Wyoming with his wife Marissa and their two dogs. After fourteen years as an engineer, Daniel decided it was finally time to write and release his first novel.
As a lifelong fan of scifi and fantasy, he wants nothing more than to share his passion.
He invites readers to email him at [email protected]
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