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Chapter One
I can’t believe what I’m looking at! It is surreal. My friends are standing there, all of them, and they are alive. Why are Ethan and Kirsten holding hands? No, No! This is not happening. My girlfriend, who is the only reason I fought hard to get here, is holding hands with Ethan. I thought we were in love. I thought she was looking for me the same way I was looking for the day we would reunite. Let me not jump to any conclusions. There could be a simple explanation for why Ethan is holding her hand. I stand there, frozen. I can’t move, and neither can they. My whole world is complete and falling apart at the same time. I’m happy to be here with my friends, and my search is over.
Chapter Two
We take a twenty-minute break to figure out what our next move should be and what direction we should go. I know they all want to go to Taylor’s aunt’s farm in North Carolina, but I need to object to that plan. I need to be discreet on how I handle it, or it may backfire.
I sit there quietly, listening to Allie tell them how we met and how we ran into Trevor. Look at them. They are so happy, and I’m about to ruin it with my request. I’m about to ask them to give up a peaceful life to join me in a crusade to help right the wrong my parents created. The question still remains, though: do I tell them the truth, or do I hide it from them? If I tell them the truth, some of them may leave the group, but If I don’t tell them when they eventually find out, they may feel that I betrayed their trust, and I may lose all of them.
Chapter Three
It’s now well into the night, and I’m beginning to feel better from the fight. We are all sitting around the fire we made earlier to keep warm. Everyone seems to have come to terms with my situation. The fact that two strangers like Allie and Trevor are not holding my parents’ doings as my own has helped them reach that conclusion faster. Although, I think they would have gotten there without them. Ethan, on the other hand, is a deferent story. He disappeared after the fight, and he only came back about thirty minutes ago, when Kirsten went and found him. He has not looked my way since he came back. This is a sign that even though he started the fight, he will not be satisfied until I’m out of the way, and I have a feeling he does not care if I die for him to do it.
Chapter FOUR
Chapter FIVE
As we walk through the woods, I turn and look at everyone. They look defeated and tired. We’ve all just gone through a trying ordeal. Josh looks like he is struggling a little bit with Quinn on his shoulder. We need to find a place to stop for a moment so everyone can regain their composure. I thought we were well prepared, but that kid took us off our game. As sad as this may be, now we can’t trust anyone, even kids. We should be at least four to five miles from their campsite by now. We could stop here for a few minutes to rest.
Chapter SIX
The next morning, I wake up and sit at the edge of the bed. I had a good night's sleep, and I feel great this morning.
I don’t know why I did not stop myself or Kirsten, and now I feel bad because Ethan is my friend. She was my girlfriend first, and he took her from me, so why do I feel this way? Why do I feel like I violated Ethan? How am I going to look him in the eyes now and call him my friend? He does not have a problem being with Kirsten, who is my girlfriend, but I’m not him. What I’ve done may cause an even bigger rift between the group and Ethan. This act was irresponsible of me as the leader of this group. I need to be a better leader. I cannot lead if I don’t put the group before my feelings and wants. I’m putting the group in danger by putting myself first. It’s dangerous because the group could fracture because of me. If I’m the cause of the fracture, I will not be able to put it back together. What’s done is done; I need to push forward now.
Chapter SEVEN
Kat and Earl lead us to a well-hidden house on a side road. We see it once we clear the trees on either side of the road leading to it. It is concealed from the nearest road, making it a safe hideout. Once we clear the woods, the size of the house is magnified. It is much larger than the house that Trevor, Allie, and I stayed in when we met Lana. At first glance, it looks like it has enough rooms to house all of us and more. From the looks on their faces, they are stunned and satisfied with it. It seems defendable, too.
Chapter EIGHT
When we get to the house, we park the cars in front of the garage. They all exit the vehicles and get the supplies from the trunk. I sit alone in the car; Cassie is leaning on the car, allowing Kirsten to get her things. Kirsten walks to the car window and says, “Coming?”
I look at her and say, “Yes, let me get my things.”
As she walks into the house, I exit the car and walk over to Cassie. I put my arm around her waist and kiss her. She lightly pushes me back and says, “You have a choice to make. It’s either me or her; it can’t be both.” She walks to the trunk, takes a handful of her things, and goes inside. I go to the trunk and take my things, and then I go inside.
Chapter NINE
The trip takes about ten minutes, and as soon as we turn off the parkway’s exit, the mall comes into view. I don’t know this area, so we’re going to rely on Earl to lead us the right way. I turn to Trevor and say, “Stay sharp,” and I continue following the other cars. We drive into the mall, and as we pull into the parking, we see all the empty vehicles there. They have been sitting here since the Burning began. The occupants probably fled the cars and into the mall when they became too hot, or they might have already been inside the mall.
Chapter TEN
Back at the house, we park the cars and go inside. It is getting late in the day, so I go and check on how Kirsten is doing. She is sitting on the couch. I approach her and smile. She puts her hand out and reaches for me. I take her hand, and she pulls me to her. I fall on the couch next to her, and she kisses me. I look up and see Cassie, and I pull away. Cassie looks at me and leaves the house. Taylor looks at me, and she goes after Cassie.
Kirsten noticed that I abruptly stopped kissing her, and she asks, “what’s wrong, baby?”
Chapter ELEVEN
The next morning, I wake up when the door opens. I open my eyes to see Cassie standing at the door. She is visibly upset, pissed off, even. I jump and sit up and see Kirsten lying next to me. Kirsten wakes up, and she looks at me. She turns and looks at Cassie with a nefarious grin. I have a confused look on my face, looking at Cassie and then back at Kirsten. Cassie turns and leaves the room without saying a word. I jump out of bed and race after Cassie in my underwear.
Chapter TWELVE
We’re all downstairs. We’ve had our breakfast, and we’re gearing up to go on our hunt. I stand there, thinking about where we should go first. We have cars, and we can split into two or three teams to cover more ground. The key is going to be to observe and report only, and then we’ll get back together to formulate a plan on how to attack them. I don’t want any of our teams going out there by themselves to take them on. We have to come with overwhelming force to ensure our safety.
My thoughts are interrupted by Trevor when he asks, “Did you hear that?”
Chapter tHIRTEEN
We’re all numb from the battle. None of us expected that we would have to fight the full forces of the Sanctuary when we woke up this morning. The worst part of this is that Ethan has joined the Sanctuary, and he’s brought the insanity to our doorstep. What are we going to do now? I’m standing over the body of Taylor, trying to comfort Cassie. How could he betray us like this? I would understand if he came after me, but what he did to Taylor and the people in this neighborhood is unforgivable? I should have seen something like this happening. Why did I not think about this scenario?
The scene is surreal. Colonel Chao grabs my shoulders, and I snap out of my daze. “We need to set up a perimeter around the neighborhood. I know you’ve suffered losses, but if we do not secure this place, it will be susceptible to more attacks.”
Chapter FOURTEEN
The drive back to the neighborhood is quiet. We reach the mansion and take Taylor’s body to the woods. Trevor, John, and Josh help me dig a grave in what used to be a garden, not too far from the house. We put her body in the grave and cover it. Quinn and Cassie make a cross and carve her name on it. We hammer the cross into the ground to mark the grave.
As the sun sets, we stand around the grave. Emma is sobbing uncontrollably. We are all visibly sad, with our heads down. No one is speaking, so I decide to say something.
Chapter FIFTEEN
The next morning, we wake up early. I spent the night in Cassie's room; we needed each other’s comfort last night, but we were not intimate. We held each other until we fell asleep. Surprisingly, Kirsten did not interfere. We talked for a while last night before falling asleep, and we cleared the air about what’s been going on between us. It was needed, especially after what happened with Taylor and with us going into battle today.
Chapter SIXteen
The New Dawn, Kat, and Colonel Chao’s people are all standing in formation. I’m facing them, with Kat and Chao on either side of me. I look to my right at Colonel Chao and then to my left at Kat. We have a plan. We have three groups of soldiers, a single army. We need to integrate them into one, with one leader. I wonder which one of us should address them? Maybe it should be Colonel Chao; after all, he is a military leader. I look at him again and ask, “Do you want to address them?”
Chapter SEVENteen
The New Dawn walks into the complex. I look up at the helicopters, which are hovering overhead. We continue into the compound, and I see Kat’s and Earl’s squads. They are standing over the kids, who are lying face down on the ground with their hands spread out. Chao and his men are also inside with us. It is a big neighborhood. As I walk to Kat, I see a house that has a newly built fence around it. The fence is locked from the outside. I turn to Trevor and say, “Good job.”
Chapter EIGHTeen
I’m in the lead helicopter to the hospital. We have time before the assault, so I decided to go along for the ride. I’ve never been in a helicopter before, and this may be my only chance in this lifetime to ride in one. Being so young when the Burning started robbed me of many firsts. My first ride on a ship, my first ride on a plane, my first visit to Europe. I imagine that if our technology had not gotten thrust into the Middle Ages, we would have had space tourism flights in my lifetime.
Chapter NINETeen
Our forces are in the woods, on foot, on our way to meet Trevor and Kirsten to position ourselves for the attack. I gave everyone instructions to keep out of sight of the guard towers. Trevor is not far from the position where we are supposed to meet up with him. Once he and his troops join us, we will start the assault. Kat and her people are getting into place on the far side.
If we can pull this off, it will put us one step closer to the Sanctuary and to removing the despot. Whether we attack the Sanctuary today or tomorrow, we will defeat him. We will end the evil he’s created.
Chapter TWENTY
We secure the compound, and our troops take defensive positions around the perimeter. The last of the fighters that were hiding surrender without further incident. We have to treat them as prisoners of war. We must lock them up because, until Tyler is defeated, they are a danger to us. If we ask them to join us, they may turn on us and rejoin the Sanctuary. We cannot allow this to happen. The only way to prevent this is to hold them captive until the fighting is over. Only when the fighting ends will we give them the option of becoming part of the new beginning to rebuild the planet.
TWENTY-ONE
I find myself standing in front of a new group of people, making the same speech again. The soldiers are secured; it will take time to deprogram them. Some of the workers are eager to join us, while others are reluctant to fight. However, the speech that I recited for the second time to them seems to have done the trick. Even those who are not going to the front line will contribute in other ways. Their participation is good enough for me because fighters aren't the only people we need. We need a lot of support for our fighters and the communities. Everyone has a role in this war. We didn’t want this war, but Tylor is making it impossible not to fight. His ideology, his sickness, his poison is spreading, and it has destroyed his fighter's minds.
Chapter TWENTY-TWO
We gather at the front, where pieces of the gate are now scattered on the ground. We are ready to move to our next objective, which will bring us closer to Tyler. The helicopters are fueled and ready for action. I stare at everyone with amazement as I realize that we’ve amassed a sizable force. I’m confident that we can overwhelm the Sanctuary’s forces and end this war, stopping the madness.
Chapter Twenty-THREE
Everyone eventually quiets down. I begin to get an ominous feeling. Something does not feel right. As soon the thought runs through my mind, I hear the whistling sound of mortar shells coming at us.
Colonel Chao shouts, “To the tree line!”
Everyone runs into the trees. I stand there, waving everyone to either side of the trees. “Come on, let’s go to the trees!” I shout. “Move it, move it!”
Chapter Twenty-FOUR
I stand up to lead the charge forward. Motioning for everyone to go, I make my way around the vehicle I’m using for cover. Colonel Chao grabs me by the arm and prevents me from moving with the crowd. I jerk my arm to get away, but the colonel pulls me back down behind the car.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
We take the field, but the battle rages in the community. It took us over an hour to take the field, causing us to lose countless people. The Sanctuary has fallen back into the neighborhood, and they are fighting bitterly. They are not willing to surrender, and we are losing a lot of fighters. I had to leave Josh and Kirsten behind, and Allie promised to take them back to camp. I’ve had two near misses so far. Twice, these maniacs almost took me out.
Very soon, we have almost finished clearing out of the neighborhood, and we only have a few holdouts.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Colonel Chao and I, along with the squad leaders, are standing around the table. Everything is quiet, and there is no sound of gunfire. Colonel Chao suggested that we deploy the Marines to scout the Sanctuary and to be on the lookout for reinforcements. He does not believe it is likely, because the last group of prisoners we captured is the reinforcement. We are optimistic that we can take the Sanctuary with minimal casualties. If we can take the Sanctuary, then we will end this war and finish what we started.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
The squads are settling down for the evening. We stand around the table, going over our plans to take the Sanctuary in the morning. We have to go in fast and hard to overwhelm and take out their forces as quickly as possible. We will outnumber them three to one, which gives us an advantage over them. We have to use this advantage and bring as much force to bear before they know what hit them and before they can react. It is the only way we will reduce our casualties and theirs. If we overwhelm them, they may surrender, which will save lives. However, if Tyler is there, they may fight to the bitter end, making this large force necessary.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
I’m lying on the couch, watching Cassie scramble to put on her clothes. She buttons and zip up her jeans, and then she puts her shirt on. She puts her hair in a ponytail, looks at me, and smiles. She picks up my pants and shirt and walks over to the couch. As she kisses me, I pull her, and she falls on top of me. I put one arm around her waist, and I put my other hand behind her neck. We slowly stop kissing, and she tries to get up. I pull her back to me, and she says, “You better go before they come looking for you.” She pushes my clothes to my chest.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
We found a house with a raised porch in the front, one that was high enough that we could stand on for the crowd to see us. Kat, Earl, and I are standing behind the railing. Everyone gathers around the house. This is it, our first trial. While I don’t want this to be a show trial, we all are eyewitnesses to the prisoners’ guilt. However, it does not mean that Kat and Earl will vote to convict and condemn them. Staring at the crowd, it seems that they all are looking for justice; I can see it in their eyes.
CHAPTER THIRTY
After the cheerful reunion with Cassie and Jeremy, I go into the house for our meeting. It’s taken me longer than fifteen minutes to get there due to the reunion, so everyone is there waiting for me. I walk into the house, and the leaders are occupying a kitchen table. There is a lamp on the table. The power is out because of the metal rain that fell on us earlier. I walk into the kitchen and take a seat at the table.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
I wake up in the morning and sit up on the bed. I turn and look at Cassie. She is lying on her side, sleeping. I stand up and put on my pants. I sit back on the bed, and Cassie wakes up. She stretches and wipes her eyes. I turn and kiss her on the forehead and say, “Good morning.” I pick up my boots and put the first one on.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
We have finished resupplying and packing for the next leg of our journey, our fight for freedom. Everyone has been accounted for and is now in the squad. We have gathered in front of the complex. We’re standing not too far from a small smoking creator that was formed when a satellite hit the ground there. I normally do a pep talk at this point, but this time, I do not. They've heard it enough, and I don’t want it to become stale to the point where it demoralizes them.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Everyone breathes a sigh of relief. The war is over, but we still need to stop Colonel Pavlov and destroy the weapon. Everyone is walking around, kissing, and hugging each other. I know I have no time to stop and celebrate; I have to get to the weapon before Pavlov. We are going to have to use the chopper, and I hope Colonel Chao is up for it. Using the helicopter is the only way we are going to beat him there.
I walk over to Colonel Chao. “Sir, we need to a lift in the helicopter to the facility where the weapon is. We have to get there before Pavlov.”
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