Down

31

A celebration was held at Ward Mountain a month after Ash made his broadcast to the world. It would have occurred sooner, but Project Eden forces had fought back in several locations, trying to retake what had been lost. Ash had felt it necessary to stay at NB016 so he could help coordinate efforts and ensure that those left fighting for the Project didn’t gain a toehold they could use to rise again. After things settled down, he had left Powell in charge and returned to his children in Nevada.

The day was surprisingly pleasant for midwinter in the desert, so the festivities began with a barbecue outside. Not only were all the base residents there, but the survivors living in Ely — those from Isabella Island and several other groups that’d joined them in the past few weeks — were bused in.

“I suggest the corn bread,” Brandon said as he, Josie, and Ash worked their way through the buffet line. “Had to go all over the place to find enough boxes of mix.”

“You went?” Ash said, raising an eyebrow.

“Sure, why not?” Brandon said.

“Bonnie and Jim from supply went with him,” Josie said.

Brandon frowned at her. “Only because no one’s supposed to go out alone.” He glanced at his dad. “I could have done it by myself, though.”

Ash had no doubt his son could have. Though both his kids still had several years to go before they reached eighteen, what they’d lived through since the night their mother had died had forced them to grow up fast. He’d like to think that now Brandon and Josie could go back to being children again, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Just because they no longer had to worry about the Project didn’t mean life was suddenly going to be easy. In fact, Ash was pretty sure it was only going to get harder.

Chloe had saved them seats at one of the picnic tables that had been set up. Also there were Rachel, Pax, Robert, and Estella.

Food was eaten, toasts were made, and alcohol consumed.

“I talked to Sanjay this morning,” Rachel announced. “He wanted me to tell everyone that he and Kusum and their friends wish they could be here with us.”

“How’s he doing?” Ash asked.

“Still a bit weak. But the doctors expect a full recovery.”

“Glad to hear that. I’d, um, I’d like to go see him.”

Josie’s fork paused midway to her mouth as she turned to her father.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere without you and your brother.”

“You’re not the only one who wants to go,” Rachel said. “We’ll get something arranged soon.”

The rest of the meal was accompanied by stories, all greeted with laughter and nods and moments of quiet reflection. At some point, music began playing and people danced.

“Come on, Dad,” Josie said, pulling at Ash’s arm.

“I don’t know, sweetie. I’m not a very good dancer.”

She motioned at the crowd on the makeshift dance floor. “Neither is Pax, but he’s out there.”

“Go on, coward,” Chloe said, pushing at his back. “Dance with your daughter. In fact…” She stood up and grabbed Brandon’s hand. “How about you and me showing them how it’s done?”

As Chloe and his son walked off, Ash relented, and was glad he did.

Sometime later, as the sun neared the horizon and the air cooled, Ash was standing alone, looking out into the vast nothingness, when he heard people approach.

“Dreaming of winning the lotto?” Chloe said.

“Always.”

When he turned, he saw she was with a younger woman of twenty or so.

“Wanted to introduce you to someone,” Chloe said. “This is Belinda Ramsey. She’s one of the people who escaped from the Chicago survival station.”

Ash held out his hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”

As they shook, she said, “It’s an honor to meet you, Captain.”

“Belinda’s a writer,” Chloe told him. “She’s volunteered to document everything that’s happened.”

“Ah, right,” Ash said. “My kids told me about you. Said you asked them a lot of questions.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of the job,” Belinda said, with an embarrassed smile. “They were very nice to put up with me, and very helpful.”

“So you’re going to write the history, is that it?”

“Pretty much. I was, um, hoping I could schedule some time with you?” she said.

“You should talk to Chloe. She knows more than I do.”

“She’s already hit me up,” Chloe said. “We’re talking in the morning. That does not get you out of it, though.”

“Okay, okay,” Ash said. “I’d be happy to talk to you, Belinda. Can you give me a couple of days, though?”

“Of course. No problem. Whenever you can. I can’t tell you how much I’d appreciate that.” She turned to walk away as if she feared staying there longer would give him time to change his mind, but then she stopped and pulled a flat manila envelope out of her bag. After a few hesitant seconds, she held it out to him. “Here.”

Taking the envelope, he asked, “What’s this?”

“After talking to your kids, I had an idea of where to start the story. It’s still a rough draft, but if you have time to read it, that would be great. You can tell me if it’s even close. If not, don’t worry about it.”

This time she left without stopping.

“She’s got a lot of enthusiasm,” Chloe said once they were alone.

“I can see it,” he agreed.

She looked at him. “You all right?”

“No. Are you?”

She shook her head.

She took his hand and squeezed it, then let go and walked back to the others.

He had no doubt she was experiencing the same feelings he was. There was a lot of work ahead, hard and difficult work. At least in the fight with Project Eden their mission had been straightforward — destroy or be destroyed.

Restarting a civilization? There was no simple roadmap for that.

His mind was starting to spiral into the same worried loop it had been in before Chloe and Belinda walked up. To stop it before it consumed him, he opened Belinda’s envelope and pulled out a small stack of paper from inside.

He looked at the top sheet, intending on reading only a paragraph or two, but as he began, he knew he wouldn’t stop until he read every word.

A cry woke him from his sleep.

A young cry.

A girl’s cry.