The Divide: Origins (31 page)

“I
do. I just had to know you were sure about this.”

“I
am. Now, let’s stop talking about this. All I want to focus on tonight is you,”
Max said as he wrapped one arm around Rebecca and gave her a peck on the lips.

Over
the next eight and a half years, Max would see a lot of changes to Norak. They
eventually caught wildlife and raised it so they wouldn’t have to hunt as much,
eliminating his need to leave altogether. Over that time, he also saw the birth
of his son, Sawyer. Life wasn’t perfect, and Lee never did give up power, but
it was as good as they could have asked for. Then eight and a half years later,
everything changed for the entire city . . .

Epilogue

After
eight and a half years and more hard labor than Norak would have liked, their
indoor city was finally finished. Max and his family were among the first to go
inside. It was amazing. They had a controlled environment where the temperature
was always a comfortable 70 degrees. All that was left was to build a home
inside. Max and Rebecca had been assigned a property, and for the first time,
Zoe and Liam would have a place of their own, too. It was a little odd for them
to think about living apart from each other, but their properties were right
next to each other, so it wasn’t so bad.

“It
feels amazing in here. It’s a little empty, though. It doesn’t exactly look
like home,” Zoe commented.

“It
will. I can picture two modest sized houses with turf in the yard, and maybe I
can even find an old above ground swimming pool outside to bring in. I’m
telling you. We’re going to have everything we used to in this place,” Max
said.

“I
think so, too,” Liam said.

“I
don’t know if I like your vision of the future, though. We’ve always been one
family since we met. I was thinking we would build one gigantic house and have
an even bigger yard full of nice vibrant grass. Then you guys would figure out
how to make an in ground pool in here. Yeah, that’s what I pictured,” Zoe said
with a grin.

“I
think I like her idea better,” Rebecca said.

“You
guys would want to stay together?” Max asked.

“Of
course. We survived what should’ve been the apocalypse together. Why wouldn’t
we enjoy what’s going to feel like heaven now?” Zoe asked.

“She’s
right. We should stick together, and think about it. Everyone’s getting the
same amount of materials to build a home. We could have the biggest house on
the block if we combined materials. I’m just saying. If we’re going to start
life again here, we might as well do it in style,” Liam said.

Max
smiled. They had survived the impossible, become a family, and stuck with each
other through everything. They always would. They built that house and lived
together in what truly felt like paradise for them. Eventually, the city began
to fill up, and some people were forced to leave, but Max was one of the
founding members of Norak. His family was safe. He felt bad for the ones who
had to leave, but honestly, it wasn’t his concern. His family was doing fine,
and for once in his life, the pieces had fallen together.

It
wasn’t easy going from a murderer in a prison cell to being a good man who
would do anything for his new family. Some might have thought the divide
between him and any kind of life worth living was too far away, but in the
worst time in human history, Max found his way. They all did, and whatever
divide there was between now and their old lives was just a memory. There was
redemption, and there was still joy in life. Not everything was great, and many
hardships still awaited them in a world of chaos, but crossing the great divide
of Max’s life started in complete chaos. Whatever else waited seemed easy
because he had the people he loved right beside him for it all.

The Divide Origins Notes

The
original Divide’s theme was of class and perceptions we draw about people who
grow up differently than us. The theme of this origin story is very different,
however. Everyone is in the same boat in this book. There’s no such thing as
upper or lower class. There’s only a world full of chaos and people trying to
survive. The true theme of this book and
divide
comes in the form of the struggles these characters find. For a while, Zoe
loses herself and all hope due to finding her parents dead. It’s a deep wound,
but it’s one she’s capable of recovering from. It doesn’t make her lose her
humanity. After losing the people he loves, Liam just wants to die. Those
moments of insanity early in his journey almost creates a wall between him and
everyone else, but when his hand is forced, he finds that there’s still a will
to live, laugh, and love inside him. For Max, the division between him and
everyone else is at the beginning of the story. He’s living a life that only
revolves around the worst thing he ever did. In a way, the most destructive
force in the world’s history gives him an excuse to start living again, and he
never looks back. Whatever divide existed is gone for him. Then there’s
Rebecca. The disaster is really where she starts living just like Max, but when
he’s taken from her, it shapes her into something different than the others.
The love that was once in her is gone. We always think that redemption is
within reach, and the division that’s created between us and other people as a
result of loss and depression is something we can and will overcome. That’s
true most of the time, but for Rebecca, her wounds ran too deep. She had lost
too much, and she almost never found the person she used to be again. That’s
the theme of this. Do we get to go back to the person we used to be, or is the
divide created for us through trauma something that will forever alienate us
from the rest of the world?

Now,
I know that might sound depressing, but keep in mind that it worked out for these
four characters. Max was a redeemed man who found all the things inside him
that he thought were gone. Zoe and Liam found love and a family, too. Sometimes
when you lose too much, though, it does leave you forever changed. When I
started writing this, I was struggling with a question about myself. Will I
ever get to go back to the person I used to be, or have my experiences shaped
me into something completely different? Have they cut me off from the rest of
the world and left me different in mind? Can anyone relate? I wrote this book
themed after those thoughts. Do we get to go back to who we used to be? The
answer is incredibly complicated. It depends on why we’re lost in the first
place. Sometimes as grief, loss, and thoughts of revenge take over we find that
we’re so far away from
who
we used to be that it’s
impossible to go back. At that point, all we can do is fake it for the people
we love and hope that something changes. For me, I found that I could come
back. Sadness, depression, and loss did not take me to a place that forever
changed me. I hope that’s not what readers take from the ending of this book.
It isn’t about hopelessness. It’s about finding love and laughter in the worst
of times. It’s about overcoming the greatest of divides until you just can’t
anymore, and even then, knowing that someday you’ll be in a place far beyond
all the grief, heartache, and pain. It’s about not quitting and closing those
gaps between us and everyone else a little more every day.

For
these characters, those gaps were huge. For someone like
me
or you,
it’s probably not nearly as bad. If there’s one thought I would
want to leave readers with, it’s this. If you find yourself in a dark place
like I was in when I started writing this book, just remember that there can
still be so much more left for you than you ever thought. You’re probably not
too
far gone
, and even if you are, all that means is
that you lived. Rebecca almost lost the person she loved most, and it scarred
her. The fact that it could do that says life was worth living, though. She
lived, and we all can, too. Even in the darkest of times when it feels like
we’re completely alone, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. There’s love,
happiness, loss, and pain still to experience, and all of those things are
proof that we’re still alive - we’re still working our way back to the place where
we used to be. Thanks for reading this installment in The Divide. I hope you
liked it, and I can’t wait to explore more new stories in the future.
 
Just remember that whether you’re trying
to bridge the gap between classes, people, or just who you are compared to who
you want to be,
it all starts with one
action
.