After The End Read online

  Hopelessness deflates our hearts.

  “Maybe they’ll come back,” I say. I need Sarah to keep believing. We can’t give up. Not at the first set back. We’ve had heaps of them, if we lay down and be defeated by any of them, we may as well give up all together. In order to survive, we have to have hope.

  Hope is all we can really have. Everything else can be taken from us.

  “It’s not going to work,” she says before stomping away. I let her go. She needs to calm down before she will listen to reason.

  I sit on the sand and keep my eyes on the skies. I would do anything to see another ship. Just a glimpse so I know we are in the right place, like Garlind said.

  What would he do right now?

  He would wait for another ship. There is no way he’d let one thing get to him. Sure, the ship we saw went away. But there has to be more than one and he’d tell me it was stupid pinning all my hopes on that single ship.

  I’m doing the right thing.

  I have to be.

  There is no way I traipsed all the way across several states just to arrive and be disappointed. We had a reason for coming to Charleston and we’re not leaving until we’ve finished what we started. Garlind would approve of that.

  My mind wanders to my friends. Involuntarily, I see all the blood spatters on the road next to Clare’s backpack. It could have belonged to the attackers. River could have stabbed another one of those boys and made him bleed. If he was protecting Clare, that would explain why it was so close to her belongings.

  It sounds plausible but there is that little voice in the back of my head telling me I’m being stupid. It’s whispering that my friends are probably all dead and I’m an idiot for thinking otherwise.

  Every day that passes makes me believe that little voice just that little bit more.

  Focus on the ships, Maisy.

  I can’t let my mind wander, it’s too dangerous. I look back to check on Sarah and see her sitting on a wooden log. It might have been a fence separating the parking lot from the beach a long time ago. Her arms are crossed and her lips are pouting. She’s going to lose patience with me soon. I’ll only be able to keep her in Charleston for a certain amount of time before she gives up.

  I open a packet of chips and hold it out for her. “Come and have something to eat. I’ve opened the packet, you may as well help me to eat them.”

  She looks up and I’m certain I’ve already lost her until she slowly stands. Her arms remain crossed until she plonks down beside me and reaches for a chip. At least I can still rely on her appetite to keep her close by.

  “I’ve seen more ships the closer I’ve got to Charleston. We are in the best place to catch one here. Not all can search for survivors,” I say gently. I hope I sound convincing because I really have no idea if I’m right or not.

  “What if that was the only one and it never comes back?” She has to ask the one question I’m also thinking in the dark recess of my mind.

  “It can’t be the only one. They hang out by the coast. We’re on the coast. There will be more.”

  “So, you say.”

  I throw up my spare hand. “Yeah, I do say. Because this is our only option right now. I’m not going to walk all the back the way we came to hide out in a mall for the rest of my life. Is that what you want to do, really?”

  “No,” she says with attitude dripping from the two letters.

  “So, we’re going to keep watching the sky until another ship comes. If that one doesn’t see us, then we’re going to wait for the next one. And we’ll keep doing that until they see us and send a shuttle to rescue us.”

  She’s quiet for a very long time before she says, “Okay.”

  Okay.

  At least that’s better than anything else she’s said this morning. I don’t want to force the kid to do anything she doesn’t want to, but we really don’t have other options right now. We didn’t come all this way just to turn around and go back.

  That. Is. Not. Happening.

  So, we sit on the beach and watch.

  Nothing happens.

  For a very long time.

  Until another ship comes from behind us.

  This one is lower to the ground. So close I can see the way the sun glints off the side of it. It’s smooth and metallic. I can’t see any windows but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any—my eyes can only see so much detail from this distance.

  “Maybe you were right after all,” Sarah mutters.

  I’m as surprised as she is.

  As if on cue, we both stand and start our jumping and waving all over again. We put even more enthusiasm into it this time. I jump higher than I ever had before and yell louder than I thought possible.

  It’s so, so close.

  Probably still thousands of miles away, but so much closer than I’ve seen before. If any ship is going to see us, it’s this one. I’m certain of it.

  “Hey! Over here!”

  The ship stops moving and hovers silently in the air. It’s amazing how it can stay up there when it doesn’t move. What keeps it there? It surely can’t be gravity. I didn’t know our technology was so far advanced before the world ended. It’s impressive, really.

  “Is that a door opening?” Sarah asks as she points.

  We stop jumping long enough to stare at it. Sarah is right, a hatch on the side of the ship is opening.

  Opening.

  A few moments later, the hatch hangs at ninety degrees and comes to a stop. A much smaller ship smoothly glides out—a baby ship to the mother one.

  I can’t look away.

  I can barely believe it’s happening.

  The little ship makes a sharp turn once it’s cleared the big one and starts heading toward us.

  Toward us.

  They’re sending a rescue ship!

  Happiness bubbles up and makes me want to jump and cheer and holler and scream all at once. This is exactly what Garlind promised. He knew this would happen and he had complete faith his parents were right about the ships.

  We’re going to be rescued.

  We’ll never have to search for shelter again. We’ll never have to eat long-stale food that was left behind and difficult to come by. We can be seen by a qualified doctor if we’re sick. We can find jobs, make friends, have a future.

  It all flashes before me quickly—visions of what our lives will be like soon. It’s going to be a virtual utopia compared to what we’re used to.

  No more worrying about radiation.

  No more worry about anything.

  In just a few more moments, we’re really going to be rescued and taken back to the ship to live with the other surviving humans. There will be so many new people to meet. I’m never going to be lonely again.

  I can’t wait.

  The ship gets bigger as it gets closer. I wonder how many people are on board? Will they send just a few? Will they want to place us in quarantine for a while to make sure we haven’t been infected by the radiation?

  Sarah is going to have other children her age to play with. She’s never had peers before. Her whole life has revolved around her parents and the few other adults they knew. She will be able to finish her childhood as a child. She won’t have to live like an adult anymore.

  That little ship holds so much hope my heart can hardly contain it. I want to burst apart at the seams and let all the emotions out. I can’t take having so much excitement bubbling inside me. I’ve never felt like this before. I’ve never wanted something so badly before.

  I wish my parents were here to see it.

  Wherever they are, if there is a Heaven, I hope they can see me and know that I’m being saved now. That they don’t have to worry about me anymore. They can rest in peace and never have to spend another moment thinking of my wellbeing.

  I’m going to be fine now.

  More than fine.

  The ship is almost here. I try to think of the first words I’ll say to them. Introducing myself and Sarah seems really lame. I migh
t have to impress them so they will be convinced they have to take us with them. Although, they’re coming all this way. They wouldn’t send their little ship if they didn’t intend on taking us with them.

  Would they?

  No, they wouldn’t waste the fuel. They would just keep their hatch firmly closed and stay up there in the sky. Everything points to a good possibility that they’ll take us. If not, I’ll just have to find a way to convince them.

  Hello, my name is Maisy and this is Sarah, I practice in my head. I can’t stumble over my words or they’ll think I’m an idiot. Maybe I should say something funny like What took you so long? Will they think that’s funny, or does it sound like I’m being ungrateful?

  So much hinges on our first impression. Maybe I should throw myself at their feet and beg them to take us with them. At least then they’ll know we’re perfectly harmless and in dire need of their help. Maybe adults will feel protective toward us and be unable to leave us behind.

  There has to only be another minute or two now before it lands. Will it be able to land directly on the beach? Should we move to firmer land to make it easier for them? I guess if they have the technology to build a Generation Ship, they can land wherever they want.

  I’m so caught up in my thoughts that I don’t hear what Sarah says the first time she says it. “What did you say?” I ask.

  “Something doesn’t feel right,” she replies. She’s staring at the ship like I am. Except there isn’t elation on her face but worry lines.

  What does she have to worry about?

  We’re about to be saved.

  All our worries are behind us now. We can rejoice and finally relax. For the first time since my parents died, I can just be a teenager. I don’t have to worry about every little thing anymore. I can leave that up to the adults on the ship.

  I’m about to ask her what she’s worry about when there is a flash of movement at my right side.

  A second later and we’re tackled from behind.

  Chapter 22

  One arm clamps around my waist and the other goes to cover my mouth. Someone much larger than me picks me up from behind and starts running.

  I struggle in their tight grip. I want to shout and yell at them to leave us alone. We are so close to being rescued and they’re mucking up the one chance we have.

  The ship is going to leave without us. They’ll get here and won’t be able to find us. This can’t be happening. Not when we were so, so close to having our dreams come true.

  The hand over my mouth blocks my scream so all I can do is grunt. I put everything I have into getting out of their grip. I need to be free. They are taking me away from the beach and I need to be there to meet the ship.

  I have to be there.

  In all the confusion, I lose track of Sarah. I can hear her yelling at the person to let me go, but I can’t see her. She must be following us but she shouldn’t. She could stay on the beach and meet the ship. Someone has to meet it. She might be able to convince them to stay and wait for me to return.

  Of course, I can’t tell Sarah any of this. If this buffoon would kindly remove their hand from my mouth, I would yell it over and over again until I was blue in the face.

  I kick and claw at the arms around me but I have no effect. The person’s holding me too tightly for me to move at all. They are running now, taking me along for the ride. It’s probably the person who was outside our house last night. I knew they would come back and cause trouble.

  A cold shiver run downs my spine as I realize making us miss the ship might not be the worst thing this person could do to us. Their plans might be far, far worse. They could be from the gang of boys and here to take out the last of the group.

  Sarah needs to get away from here. I might not be able to save myself, but she can. Nobody has her. She only has to run in the opposite direction and return to the beach. She can be saved today, even if I can’t.

  I put everything I have into one final struggle.

  It makes no difference.

  The person takes me through a series of streets before going into a house. All the windows here are blackened and wood has been hammered on to compensate for the broken ones. Everything goes black as they close the door.

  “Let her go!” Sarah demands once more.

  I’m placed back on my feet but their hand still covers my mouth. The person leans in close to my ear and whispers, “Maisy, it’s me, Garlind.”

  Everything in my body completely stops.

  My heart thuds loudly.

  “Maisy, I’m going to take my hand away from your mouth. It’s really important you stay quiet. Okay? Nod if you understand.”

  I can hardly believe it. I recognize his voice. I don’t want to get my hopes up but it sounds so much like Garlind. He knows my name. Surely, maybe, impossibly, it’s him.

  I nod.

  He takes his hand away and I spin around quickly. I need to see him with my own eyes. I have to know if it’s really him. My ears might be tricking me. He might be tricking me. I might still be asleep and this whole thing is merely a dream.

  It’s really dark but in the spaces between the shadows where the light stubbornly streams in through the windows, I can see his outline.

  I would recognize him anywhere.

  Garlind.

  My Garlind.

  It’s really him.

  I leap into his open arms and hold him so tightly I’m probably cutting off his airway. I never want to let go of him. Nothing else matters except the fact that he is alive and he is here.

  He found me.

  All those times I wrote on the walls along the way, every time my heart physically hurt because I missed him so much, it’s all brought me to this very moment.

  I’m never going to let him leave my sight again. He’s stuck with me now because I’m going to be glued to his side. Forever and then a day longer.

  “I can’t believe it’s really you,” I mutter.

  “You said keep going,” he replies. “I kept following the signs and I knew you were headed toward Charleston.”

  “I didn’t know where you were. I couldn’t find you after that night. I hid and everybody was gone.”

  “That gang, they caught up with us and took everyone. I got away after a few hours.”

  “What about Clare and River?”

  He hesitates and I know the answer already without him needing to say it. Still, he says the words anyway. “They didn’t get away. Clare, she was hurt really badly. That’s the last I saw of them. I tried to follow at a distance but they had a car and I lost them. I really tried.”

  “I know you did. It’s not your fault.” Their deaths make my heart hurt all over again. They didn’t deserve to die. Especially not like that.

  Sarah pipes up for the first time. “Uh, guys, I’m sure this reunion is great and all but what about the ship?”

  Of course. We shouldn’t be wasting so much time. We can catch up once we’re safely on board. “We need to get going. The rescue ship will have landed by now. We have to get to it before it leaves again. We don’t have much time.”

  I take a step toward the door but Garlind grabs my wrist and stops me.

  “We have to hide,” he says seriously.

  “They’re rescuing us. We have to get back there,” I insist. I don’t have any idea what he’s talking about right now but I do know we’re running out of time. The ship isn’t going to hang around forever. It’s not like they’re obliged to wait for us. We’re at their mercy, not the other way around.

  “They aren’t here to rescue us.”

  “What are you going on about?” Sarah asks.

  Garlind uses his grip on me to pull me closer to him. Sarah steps in too, so he can continue to keep his voice as quiet as possible. “There aren’t any humans on that ship.”

  What on earth is he talking about? “Of course, there is. They’ve sent a rescue ship down to save us. We can go up and live on the Generation Ship. Just like you told me would happen.”<
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  He shakes his head. “The ships, they aren’t what we thought they were. I watched one yesterday. I saw the whole thing. My parents were completely wrong.”

  “No, you’re joking, right? This is what we wanted. We need to be saved by the ships. That’s the whole reason we came all this way. It’s what you’ve wanted your whole life.”

  “I didn’t know the truth then. I do now.”

  I’m so confused. Garlind was so sure before. What has happened to him to change his might like this? Nothing is making any sense and the urgency I feel to get back to the ships is almost unbearable. We’re wasting time when we could be being rescued right now.

  Maybe he hurt his head? Garlind has to be the one confused right now. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. That has to be it. If we can get back to the beach, I can show him how silly he’s being. The people on board can convince him he’s wrong.

  Sarah replies before I can. “What is on the ships then?”

  Garlind looks at her as if he only just realized she is here. He takes a deep breath. “Aliens.”

  Chapter 23

  Now I know I must be dreaming. “Aliens?” Sarah and I say at the same time. We both have the same level of incomprehension in our voices.

  “Yeah. They aren’t from here. They’re not humans,” Garlind replies, as if he isn’t speaking something that is complete nonsense. He’s deadly serious.

  There are several questions spinning around in my mind. Most of them all end with multiple exclamation marks. I choose the least offensive one. “How do you know?!”

  He lets go of my arm, satisfied I’m not going to run off in the next few seconds. He looks me dead in the eyes. “When I first got here, I watched the ships. My plan was to monitor them until you arrived. I knew you’d come soon. So, I was getting prepared and working out how best I can get their attention so they’d send a rescue ship.”

  It definitely sounds like a plan he would think up. Garlind, always the one who knows what to do.

  He continues. “I saw one come down and I was going to go and talk to them. I would explain that you were on your way and we’d have to wait. I didn’t think that would be a problem because they’d be reasonable people.”