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Perseus lifted off a few minutes later. Our course was Skyhome, which we hadn’t seen since we left for the Empire what seemed ages ago.
Over the next few days, every leader of the Wasteland resistance would be gathered here. Meanwhile, the people in Bunker 84 would be relocated to Los Angeles.
I would be out of action for a few days – Anna and I were to wait here as the others worked to transport Bunker 84’s residents to Los Angeles. Makara said I needed the rest, but really, who didn’t? All this was just to keep me out of action, safe for a short while. When I pointed this out to Anna, she actually agreed with Makara.
It was only for a couple of days, so I agreed. Besides, the break would be nice.
By the second day, though, I was starting to get restless. I ran around the Outer Ring, at distances and speeds far greater than a few months ago. I felt I could run forever, if I wanted to. Anna worked out with me as well. We did pretty much everything together. Anna was basically a glorified babysitter, making sure I didn’t get too bored or restless before everyone else arrived.
I’d often stand in the observation deck in the Outer Ring. Surrounded by the manifold plants and crops that grew there, I’d watch Earth pass by. Each time I saw North America, it was the same story. The Great Blight had grown to dominate almost all of the Continental United States. Before, it had just been the central U.S. – but now that pink fungus stretched from sea to shining sea. Just a thin sliver of coastline remained free of Blight, on the eastern and western seaboards, and also along the Gulf Coast. I wondered if there was something about the sea that stopped the xenofungus.
“There you are.”
I turned to see Anna approach. She had just showered, and her long black hair was damp.
“Looking for me?”
“Maybe.”
She smiled and came to stand by me. We watched the Earth pass in silence. The cloud cover was too thick for me to tell where it was.
“Is this where you go to contemplate the end of the world?” she asked.
“I thought the world already ended.”
“You know what I mean.”
I grabbed her hands, pulling her close. There was a bench, facing the windows for Earth-viewing. I led her there, and we sat. While I sat, she leaned against me, resting her head on my shoulder.
This was the first real chance we had to be together without worrying about survival. We had these two days, at least, before...
“Don’t talk about it,” Anna said.
“How did you know I was...?”
“I felt your body tense up,” she said. “Just...don’t talk about it. If I could, we’d go down there.”
She pointed, where the port gave a view of a dazzling, azure sea, pockmarked with green islands.
“The tropics?” I asked.
“Somewhere that’s not so cold,” she said. “That was my dream; after all this ended, we could get everyone to move somewhere far away from the Wasteland. Somewhere safe, somewhere beautiful, so we could forget the ugliness we grew up with. Maybe, with time, we could all heal.” She sighed. “Everything changed when that Wanderer came around.”
“You really don’t like him, do you?”
“I know it’s not his fault. He just had the misfortune of giving bad news.” She sighed. “Here we are, talking about it.”
“It’s alright,” I said.
She leaned further into me. I wished there was a way for me to take her worry and put it on myself. I didn’t have that power, though.
I caressed her shoulder, and she closed her eyes. We sat like this, for a while, long enough to watch the Earth pass three times. When the third rotation was over, I touched Anna on the shoulder.
“Hey.”
“Hmm?”
I waited a moment, to make sure she was really listening.
“I know we said not to talk about it. But...you’ll still be there with me, at the end?”
She turned to look at me. “What are you thinking? Of course I will. Even if I die.”
I felt a chill at those words. Yes, this was our final battle. People would die, most likely. But Anna...I couldn’t let her die. I would do anything to keep her alive.
“Just...I don’t want you to die,” I said. “There’s no reason for you to.”
“Alex, I’m going with you, and that’s final. If you don’t stay alive until the end, what’s the point of any of this?”
It was a good question, one which I couldn’t answer. Finally, I nodded.
“Alright. We’ll both go.”
“And anyone else who wants to,” Anna said. “We’ll need everyone down there if we’re to make it.”
I pulled Anna upward, until she was sitting in my lap. She faced me, wrapping her legs around my torso, keeping her eyes on me.
“We have a few days, Alex,” she said. “Let’s enjoy life, while it’s here to be enjoyed.”
She kissed me, deeply and passionately. I held her close.
“Anna...” I said.
She pulled back, looking at me. “What?”
The Outer Ring turned, and once more, the Earth came into view. There were no clouds. Only a shining blue sea.
“I...”
I was about to ask her a question that I’d been thinking about for a while – something that had only been in my dreams, since it could never be reality. But if I only had a few days left of life, then I needed to ask her.
Maybe it could be reality. If I could live in a dream, let it be for a few more days.
“Anna...this is going to sound crazy, but...”
I paused. I couldn’t stop now. I couldn’t deny what I felt, despite everything we had to go through.
“I want you to marry me.”
Her jaw dropped open. She looked at me, in disbelief of what I had just asked. My heart pounded; I was unbelieving myself. Had I really just opened myself up to look like a fool like this?
I waited for her to say no, that it was the stupidest thing that anyone had ever asked her.
“I...” she started. She still looked into my eyes. “Are you serious?”
“Anna,” I said. “I need you by my side. I need you as my wife.”
“Alex, how is that supposed to work? We’d be married for less than a week!”
“I can only tell you what I feel. I love you – deeply. I...want to be married to you. I want to be close to you, as close as I can ever be.”
Anna just looked at me, still in shock.
“I would say yes, but...how could we be married for just a few days? Doesn’t that just make it more painful?”
“I understand if you say no. It’s...asking a lot.”
Anna grew quiet. She didn’t remove herself. She laid her head on my shoulder, and held me.
“I love you, Alex. Even...even if this doesn’t happen, I just want you to know that. You’ve sort of dropped a bomb on me. You can’t expect me to answer without thinking about it.”
“I know,” I said.
She pulled back, looking into my eyes. I knew she would say no, in that moment. She was distancing herself from me. She would still help me, in the end, but why would she add to that pain of it by saying yes?
“Alex...let’s do it.”
I looked up at her, almost in disbelief. I wasn’t sure if I’d heard her right.
“What? Really?”
“Love is enough, isn’t it?” she asked. “Who cares about anything else? Maybe...maybe this could have a happy ending. I know it’s stupid to think that, but if I’m in love, I have a good excuse to be stupid.”
“It’s not stupid. I think.”
“So, we’re really going through with this?”
I nodded. “I’m serious.”
She smiled. “Okay. When?”
“I’ll let everyone know when they get up here. We’ll set up something small.”
She laughed. “They’ll think we’re crazy.”
“Except that we are crazy. I’m serious, though.”
Anna smiled. “I know. I am, too.”
“Good.”
“Well...now that we’re engaged, what should we do?”
I shrugged. “Don’t know. I’m kind of hungry.”
“Ugh. That’s an Alex answer.”
“Aren’t those the best kind?”
“Maybe.”
“Are you saying you’re not hungry?”
Her brow furrowed, as if in deep thought. “Yeah. I guess I am.”
Anna didn’t move. She held on to me tightly, as if pinning me to the bench.
“But give me a kiss, first.”
I pulled her close, pecking her on the lips.
“Like you mean it. Like you want to marry me.”
I kissed her deeply, strongly.
“That’s more like it,” Anna said. “I guess we can go eat, now.”
“After that, we’ll let everyone know.”
***
WE LET THE CREW KNOW about our decision later that day when they updated us on how things were going below.
“You what?” Makara asked.
“It’s true,” Anna said. “We want to get married.”
Shocked silence was the only answer from the other end. I had no idea what they were thinking.
“When?” Samuel asked.
“We were thinking as soon as you guys got up here,” I said. “It wouldn’t have to be anything major, so that it wouldn’t distract from the mission...”
“We’ll do it,” Makara said. “It would be good for morale, and a great way for everyone to let off a little steam.”
Anna and I looked at each other. She was holding back laughter from the way Makara put it.
“One word,” Michael said. “Party.”
“Michael!” I said. “Didn’t you realize you were there.”
“Now you do, I guess,” Michael said. “Congrats, buddy! How’d you pop the question?”
I was thrilled that everyone was so enthusiastic about it. I thought they’d think I was crazy.
“It’s been something I’ve been thinking about for a while,” I said. “We were just watching the world pass by and the time seemed right.”
“Where’d you find a ring?” Julian asked.
“Er...what?”
“Tell me you got her a ring, Alex.”
Was I missing something? Getting a ring seemed a little old-fashioned. The only rings you could get these days were off the fingers of dead people, of whom Jade was a case in point. I definitely wasn’t going to give Anna one of that greaseball’s rings.
“Don’t listen to them.” It was Ruth. “It’s the commitment that counts.”
“Yeah, I don’t really care, either,” Anna said. “It didn’t even cross my mind.”
“We’ll whip something up for you, buddy,” Michael said. “Don’t worry about a thing.”
I was honored, and humbled, that everyone was already celebrating. I didn’t think it would be that big a deal, but apparently, it was. Everyone seemed truly happy about it, which was more than I could wish for.
“I just have to say that you are an inspiration, Alex,” Julian said.
One person who hadn’t yet spoken was Ashton; neither had Char. Maybe they weren’t present. Voices buzzed in the background, and I couldn’t really discern what they were saying through the speakers.
“How much longer until you guys get here?” I asked.
“We should be another day,” Makara said. “And don’t worry. We’ll take care of everything.”
I almost felt tears come to my eyes at their level of commitment.
“Thanks. I can’t say that enough.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Michael said. “We’ll do this first thing. Like Makara said, we need something to celebrate. We’ve been working way too hard!”
“We can find some beer in Los Angeles,” Samuel said. “Or maybe Augustus has some wine we can use.”
This was becoming real. It was a bit overwhelming.
“Where are we having it?” Julian asked. “I know by New America, the beach is not so far away.”
“Yuck,” Makara said. “I’ve seen that water, and it looks like a giant Behemoth took a dump in it.”
“This is my homeland you speak of,” Julian said.
“Just telling you how it is,” Makara said.
“And where would you suggest, Makara?”
“Easy,” Makara said. “Why not Baja California? It’s beautiful, with that beach and those waves, with water so blue that you wouldn’t even believe it’s real. Besides, it’s warm, and not far from Nova Roma. Augustus might be willing to part with some food and beverages. For the sake of morale.”
Makara was right. The one time we did go there, to refill Odin, Baja was very beautiful. It was also where I’d kissed Anna for the first time, and told her how I felt.
“That’s perfect,” I said.
“I feel the same way,” Anna said. “I thought we were just going to do it here.”
“Skyhome?” Makara asked. “No way. There’s nothing romantic about that place.”
“I don’t know,” Samuel said. “You’re sort of among the stars, and all that greenery in the Outer Ring? It’s like something out of a dream.”
“I hope you’re kidding.”
“They could get married in front of the viewing deck,” Samuel went on, “and kiss right when the Earth passes!”
“Well,” Makara said, “it’s a good thing you’re not planning this wedding, brother.”
“I like Baja,” Michael said. “It should be warm enough if we go far enough south, like Makara said. The beach is a classic choice.”
Everyone murmured, apparently agreeing with Michael’s decision. I didn’t know how he nominated himself for the wedding planner position. It seemed like it should be more of a female role, but I trusted Michael to know what he was doing.
“Gus might be able to help out with flowers and stuff as well,” Makara said.
“Let’s keep it simple,” I said. “Let’s just see what we can throw together in a couple of days and go from there.”
“Alex, my lad,” Michael said. “It takes many weeks to plan a wedding.”
“Really? How long did yours take?”
Michael went quiet. “I don’t know. Five minutes, I guess. This is different, though. Everyone’s eye will be on you, and it has to be perfect.”
“Michael,” Anna said, suppressing a laugh, “I’ve never seen this side of you before. I think you’ve missed your calling.”
“We’ll see what we can cook up,” Michael said. “We’ve got the location down, and that’s half the battle.”
The others talked amongst themselves for a while, hammering out details. I heard Julian say something about getting Augustus on the line.
“Look,” I said. “We have to go.”
“Wait, we have questions to ask,” Michael said. “Who’s invited?”
“Anyone who wants to come!” I said. “This is your baby, now.”
“We need music,” Michael said. “And food.”
“New America can help with both!” Julian said. “My sister plays the guitar and sings. And she has friends that play guitar as well.”
“I’m glad,” I said. “Let us know what you guys come up with.”
Anna took me by the arm. “Alex, I know this isn’t your thing, but we’re going to need your input. Okay?”
I knew Anna was right. I nodded. “Alright.”
For the next hour or two, we planned. Food. Music. Invitees. We could use the ship’s galleys to cook, as well as make fire pits for roasted pork. If Augustus agreed, we could get some wine, food, and flowers from him. Maybe even a dress for Anna.
The only thing that wasn’t mentioned was that this marriage could only last a few days – and from the way they were throwing together this celebration, it was as if they planned on its lasting a lifetime.
When most everything had been settled, Michael spoke.
“Alright. All we have to do is get Augustus on the line and confirm that we can use his resources. We’ll have to get everything to the wedding site. And there are cooks to find, people to raise the pavilion, chairs, tables...”
“It sounds like you’ll be busy,” Anna said.
“All of us will,” Julian said. “There’s so much to do.”
I was grateful to have friends like these, who not only supported my decision, but were going to do everything they possibly could to make it unforgettable. The most important part, though, was that I was going to marry the girl I loved. Even if it wasn’t going to be forever, we were showing the world that it mattered. That we mattered, even if our mission demanded that we make the ultimate sacrifice. It would be the last thing people expected, to defy the tragedy of our situation.
The fact that we would all die made the living all the more important. Life was sacred because it was so easily extinguished; it was also sacred because of its uncanny ability to endure, no matter what. We had the power to be happy, even in the midst of pain. We could celebrate, even if there was no real reason.
We celebrated because we were alive, because that was what we did.