“Son, I really do love you.”
I don’t stop him from pointing the gun at my chest and pulling the trigger three times. The pain is unbearable and my mouth hangs open, blood dribbling out. I look down and know that I will be dead in seconds. When I look back at my father, I don’t see a man who is glad that he has killed his son, but a man full of remorse, but also a man that will not let anything stand between him and his mission.
I helped make everything possible for Jeremiah to take over Shadowface’s position. Part of me never meant for it to happen, but another part of me is glad. I’m happy that I was able to do something for my father. I never meant for the day to end like this, but I suspected this would happen. I haven’t stopped him from gaining power, but perhaps it isn’t my place.
I suppose now it isn’t.
Jeremiah stands in front of me, watching as I gasp for air, though my lungs fill with blood. Here I am drowning and all I can think about is what my father is thinking. Does he hate what he has done? Does he feel sadness?
As I slump in the chair, I think about what I have planned all along—to make my final command. I am supposed to order him to take the gun and shoot himself in the head so we can die together as father and son.
But the command will never reach my lips. I take my last gargled breath.
The bright room suddenly goes dark.
Evie rests on my hip as I stumble forward down the street. It’s mostly empty but for a few greyskins lurking after something else behind us. The sounds of gunfire and screams haven’t stopped, nor will they for some time, I suppose.
For what feels like hours, I’ve done everything I can to try and get Evie out of here, but everywhere we turn there are either more greyskins or soldiers fighting greyskins. For the longest time, she and I hid inside the building where I shot Paxton, but I knew if we were going to get out, we needed to find a vehicle.
My leg feels like it might fall off if I go any further, however. I set Evie on the ground next to a dumpster, the two of us temporarily hidden from the action in the streets a block or so away. I rest my head against the wall and wish I could just fall asleep.
Evie crawls up next to me and hugs me tightly. I rub her soft hair with my fingers. I think for a second that she actually falls asleep amid all the chaos around us, but she stirs a little when a blast goes off just down the street. She doesn’t cry. It’s almost as if she has seen this so much that she’s getting used to it. It breaks my heart because this is nothing for a three year old to get used to. What kind of person will this make her later in life?
What kind of person has it made me? This storm of greyskins has changed us all—made us all do things that we thought we would never do, good or bad. Events shape people and our actions make us who we are. I think about my actions over the past three years. My actions have made me a survivor.
A loud screeching echoes through the city streets causing me to reach for Evie’s ears to cover them. It sounds like feedback from a microphone, and I discover that I’m right when a voice follows.
“Attention. Attention. I sit here gathered with the surviving settlement leaders,”
the voice says. I’d recognize the voice anywhere. Jeremiah. The realization sends a shock to my heart. That means Waverly wasn’t able to kill him. And if he isn’t dead, he might have killed her! I lower my head and close my eyes, hoping, praying that Waverly is all right.
“This is Shadowface. But that name no longer means anything, for I am lifting the veil that has concealed my identity for so long. It was necessary for my protection. But as you can see from tonight’s events, not even secrecy will stop my enemies from trying to kill me.”
I wish I was there. I wish I could stop him right now. I look down at Evie. If He’s alive, then that means Evie will be…
Her survival now is more important than anything.
“My name is Jeremiah. I started this network for the betterment of mankind, and will continue to grow it in order to maintain a peaceful existence. Enemies, such as the ones who have attacked us today, cannot be allowed to prosper, for they impede the search for a cure, and prolong the life of the virus that plagues humanity.”
“Who is that?” Evie asks me.
I shake my head at her. “Just some jerk, kid.”
I start to listen to the rest of the speech, but something else grabs my attention. I can hear my name. Someone is yelling it out.
“Remi! Remi!”
I close my eyes, scanning the entire city for the location of the voice. The more I search, the further away it seems, but finally, I can hear it clearly.
It’s Gabe.
“Remi! We’re waiting for you!”
Gunshots. The groaning of greyskins. They won’t be able to wait for me much longer.
I grab Evie in my arms and start running despite the shooting pain from the gunshot wound in my leg. I try to focus my ears on the voice as Gabe keeps crying out. He knew I would hear him. He knew it would work. We run for several blocks until two greyskins stumble out in front of us, their limbs flailing. I lift my pistol and shoot one of them in the head. The other I miss completely. I take another shot and hit it in the brain, but not before it’s too close and falls down on top of us both. Evie lets out a cry as I try to push the greyskin off. It rolls to the side, but there are ten more greyskins chomping their jaws at us, running toward us. I let off as many rounds as I can, but by the time I run out of bullets, there are still five of them left.
I hold to Evie tightly. I wish I could run away, but these are too fast. Is this it? What did I change to make the future different? I thought I was supposed to survive this. I thought Evie was supposed to survive this.
I close my eyes and hug the little one, expecting nothing less than teeth and claws to sink into my flesh and rip me to pieces.
But that never happens.
Instead, I hear loud gunshots blasting away. When I open my eyes, the greyskins are lifeless and on the ground, and I’m about to cry when I look past them.
“Get in the SUV!” Gabe yells. When he helps me up I can see Ethan in the driver’s seat, Waverly in the middle, and Stephen in the back. The rest is a blur to me. I don’t notice the other greyskins that come up, but it doesn’t matter because I’m in the car before they can get to Evie. I feel Waverly hug me tightly.
“I failed,” she said. “I tried to kill him but I couldn’t!”
“It’s okay,” I tell her.
“It’s not! I had a job to do!”
“It’s okay,” I say over and over.
Jeremiah’s speech is playing out over the radio in the car. I want to tell them to turn it off, but then he says something that sends a jolt to my heart.
“The enemies today are the Starborns. They have ascended from the shadows to bring down a society that has already seen hard times.”
“No,” I hear Waverly. “We ascended so we could bring people like
you
down.”
I reach for her hand and squeeze it. “We did our part.”
“I hope so,” she says.
My eyes go wide, but Waverly squeezes my hand this time. When I look at her, she’s shaking her head. “Jeremiah will never find us,” she says. “We will go into hiding. He never finds us.”
“How do you know?” I ask.
She simply holds my hand and squeezes again, letting me know that she has seen it.
Of course.
“But what about Evie?” I say. “She can’t live like this.”
Gabe speaks up next. “When we were separated, I found Mike and Jenna.” He turns back to look at me. “I explained everything to them. Even about the future. They are going to meet us outside of Orick at dawn.”
I look down at little Evie. Her eyes are closed and she’s already asleep, oblivious to the important role she plays in the future. I wish I could keep her—stay with her forever. But that is not our part in all of this.
“We did our part,” I whisper to myself. “We did our part.”
Evie is barely awake in my arms as Gabe stands next to me. Waverly keeps her distance for some reason, turning to look toward Orick every couple of seconds. Ethan and Stephen went in to Orick to make sure our vehicle was in good shape and that we had enough fuel to make it to wherever we would all go next.
The sky is a mix of orange and purple hues as the clouds shadow the rising sun. I can’t help but smile a little at the thought. Waverly had been sure that the sun was setting in her vision, never knowing it was actually a sunrise instead. I mention this to her, but she just shrugs, telling me that that is the nature of her Starborn gift—that the future is not always predictable, despite what we see.
I try to tickle Evie’s back when I see an SUV pull up in the distance. I think I can see Mike in there, and maybe someone else in the back. But when Jenna steps out, my heart starts to pound harder. I don’t feel ready to give Evie away, but I know it’s what has to happen. Mike and Jenna are from a safe place, though no place will be safe forever. She will be more secure with them than with us. At first, Gabe had said that we should all go with Mike and Jenna, but our presence would only bring uncertainty. Jeremiah will want us dead for our betrayal. The best thing we can do is hide away in the shadows forever.
We’re wanted people, though Waverly has assured me that we will never be caught. I don’t know if she’s just telling me that to make me feel better, but I will let it stand as it is.
Gabe rubs my back and I can feel tears in my eyes. I look at Waverly again, knowing the answer to the question I have before I even ask it. “Is this it? Is this what you saw?”
She nods at me. “It’s the only way,” she says. “This isn’t a future we should try to change. Evie has an important job to do.”
I wipe the tears from my cheeks with my left hand, and in my right arm, Evie stares at me with her big eyes.
“Why are you crying?” she asks me in her sweet voice.
“Because you have to go away.”
“No!” Evie cries out, clutching me, not wanting to let me go.
“Oh, kid.” I hug her, wanting nothing more than to just take her with me. But her destiny is more important than my wishes. And yet, I want her to fulfill that destiny.
Jenna approaches, but keeps her distance as I say my last goodbye to Evie. I don’t know how long I hold on to her. I don’t want to let her go. I
can’t
let her go.
Finally, I look at Jenna. “Swear to me that you will do everything you can to give her a good life.”
Jenna takes a step forward, reaching out to Evie’s hand gently. “She will be protected, and I will raise her as my own. As long as I am alive, Evie will be cared for, and will know only love.”
With another tight squeeze, I look at Evie again. “You’re going with Jenna now, okay? You’re going to have a great time. Can you be a strong girl for me?”
“I can be strong,” she says.
“Good.”
“Strong!” Evie says, this time she’s smiling.
Letting Jenna take Evie from my arms is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. As I cry, I bury my head into Gabe’s chest and he wraps his arms around me.
“You are providing a better future for her,” Gabe whispers into my ears. “Because of you, she’s going to save us all someday. You did your part.”
I don’t watch as Jenna drives away with Evie. My eyes are set on Orick, watching for Ethan to return. I’ve taken the liberty to look into his future. After the week we’ve had—the month we’ve had—I needed to make sure. The future is bright, though not without its hardships. Few details passed through the vision, but I saw enough to know that I don’t fear the future. I don’t fear it for him or myself. I don’t fear it for Remi or Gabe either. All of us will continue to live in our own way. Jeremiah will not conquer us. The greyskins will not conquer us. That’s enough for me.
Where do we go from here? I don’t know. This new journey begins as they all begin in this world—with hope. There will be many enemies to face, and many trials to bear, but life will go on as it always has.
Jeremiah will build his empire, but that is not for us to worry about. We did our best. It’s up to Evie now. Though it may happen sixty years from now, the world will be better for it. Through Evie, an uprising will emerge, and we will be brought to peace. And maybe when I’m an old woman, I can help rebuild the world when the revolution has finished. But that’s a long time from now.
Now, our job is to hide away and live as we can. To survive.
A car in the distance kicks up dust as it drives toward us. My heart surges because I know it’s Ethan. For a time, I thought I had lost him forever. Now, my heart feels love again. It will be enough to get us through.
When I turn to look back at Remi and Gabe, I see them holding each other silently. We will all survive together, no matter what it takes. We will travel with a new purpose. With a smile, I say the words that will move us forward.
“It’s time.”
The saga continues in book one of The Starborn Uprising:
Out Of Darkness.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jason D. Morrow is the author of The Starborn Uprising series, The Starborn Ascension series, and The Marenon Chronicles. He enjoys playing guitar, making fun videos, and spending time with his lovely wife, Emily, and their dog, Winnie.
Books by Jason D. Morrow
Prototype