Vigo's Lament: A Dystopian Thriller (Age of End Book 3) (6 page)

Tears welled up in the young girl’s eyes. “I want to go back home. Please? Can I go back home?”

“She will be safe,” Charlotte said with confidence. She wrapped her arms around Izzy and pulled her in close. “I will make sure that she’s safe.”

Ella shook her head and backed away. “It sounds like you’ve already made up your minds.”

“And it sounds like you have as well,” Vince said. “It was a pleasure knowing you for as long as I did. I can truly call you my friends.”

“Likewise,” Rupert said, sticking out his hand.

Vince took his hand and shook.

Alan watched with eager confusion. “Wait, so that’s it? That’s the plan? We’re just splitting up after everything we’ve been through?”

“We can’t stop them if they want to go back,” Rupert said. “All we can do is wish them the best.”

Alan’s head shifted back and forth between the two parties. “I want to go back too,” he blurted out.

“You what?” Ella said with surprise.

“I want to go back to the City with them.”

Ella’s face held a look of strong concern. “But why? We’re home.”

Alan shook his head. “Everyone we knew here is dead. My wife. Your mother. Martha. Carl. I have no reason to stay. I don’t think I can handle being around this place anymore. Not after seeing the bloodbath yesterday. That image is burned into my head. Every time I step outside, I will see that pile of bodies, stacked up with the dead eyes of the ones I love. Every time I wake up in the morning. Melinda’s side of the bed will be cold.” He looked down to his feet. “No, I can’t stay here. The City may be dangerous, but I won’t be haunted by this place.”

Silence lingered as they let his words settle. Trevor knew nothing of the
massacre
Alan spoke of, but even he had the sense to keep his mouth shut. Clearly, something terrible had happened, and these people were in mourning.

Finally, Rupert spoke up. “We can’t stop them, and we can’t stop you, Alan. If you want to go, there’s nothing holding you back.”

Ella looked up. “Wait, what? You can’t just let him leave.”

“It sounds like he’s put some thought into this. If he wants to go back, that’s his decision. I don’t like it either, but it’s not up to us. This is Alan’s decision, and I respect it.”

Ella stared at Alan with a mix of emotions cycling through her veins. Should she be angry? Sad? Supportive? She knew deep down that she should be supportive, but it was difficult. They were the three remaining people from Snow Peak. There was no one else. It felt wrong to split up.

Deep down, she knew it was not just the three of them. She had other people as well. Of course she did. They may not be from Snow Peak, but Vince and Charlotte were just as part of the family as Rupert and Alan. But they were leaving too. They were returning to a place of certain danger. Why couldn’t they see that Snow Peak was their new home?

These thoughts swam through her head as she stared at Alan. She knew she should say something, but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out. She could not find the words. So instead, she just stood there with tears welling up in her eyes.

Alan walked over and wrapped his arms around her, slowly rocking side to side. “I know,” he said softly. “We just got back. The last thing I want to do is split up again, but I can’t live here. I can’t call this place home anymore.”

“But you can call the City your home?” Her voice was soft and broken.

“In time, maybe. It’s a huge place. We’ve only seen a sliver of it. The rest of the City might not be so bad.” He loosened his grip and held her at arm’s length, looking at her face. “You can come with us. See how it turns out. Home is where your loved ones are, isn’t it? So come with us and find our new home.”

“We don’t need a new home. Rupert and I are here, so why can’t this be your home?”

“I already told you. Home is a place where your loved ones are, not a place where you’ve lost so many. Just come with us.”

Ella backed away and shook her head. “No, I can’t.”

They looked at each other and realized they would not agree. The group would split up, and the Snow Peak community was no more.

Rupert walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Good luck out there. We’ll be thinking of you.” He looked to Charlotte, Vince, and Izzy. “All of you.”

Fred hopped off Rupert’s shoulder and onto Alan’s. She gently caressed her face against his. A final goodbye. He stroked her tiny head. “I’ll miss you too, girl.” She fluttered over to Vince and did the same thing.

“I’ll miss all of you,” Vince said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like part of a community. It was nice. Despite everything that happened to us, I’m glad it was with this group. You make good company. Good friends.”

“And who knows?” Alan said. “Maybe we’ll come back. Maybe you’re right, and the City sucks. And if it doesn’t, and we end up staying, we can come back to visit. It’s really not
that
far.”

Ella sniffled and smiled. “That would be nice.”

Alan mirrored her smile, and then looked at Vince and Charlotte. “Shall we?” They both nodded and gathered their bags.

Ella and Rupert walked with them to the edge of the woods, where they hugged and made their final goodbyes. Rupert supplied them with food for the trip. Alan raised his hand and waved. “Don’t get too cozy without us.” And with that, the four of them turned around and entered the woods, leading back to the snow plains. Back to the cave. Back to the boat. Back to the City.

TEN

TRISH LOOKED OUT at the square, surveying the surrounding area. The place was big and spacious, with lots of room for a stage and large audience. Birds flew across the clear blue sky, and a cool breeze ruffled her hair. She turned to Warren, who was busy posting fliers on the wall. “I like it. This is a good place for the ceremony.”

“I told you,” Warren said, breaking off a strip of adhesive and sticking it to the wall. “My buddies did a good job. They found this place for dirt cheap.”

“How did they manage that?”

“The guy volunteered the square for us to use. He said he liked what we’re doing. He believes the ceremony is good for all of us. They tried to offer him at least some money, but he refused. It just goes to show you how much this event means to people. All we need to do is rent the stage and speakers, and we’re set.”

“Do you really think people will come?”

He nodded. “I’m certain people will come. You’ve seen all of the people on the streets. They’re all from the Spire. A ceremony like this will be important to all of them. They’ve lost loved ones, their homes, and they’ve lost Mr. Greene. This ceremony will honor all of those and bring hope for the future.” He glanced around the square. “Honestly, I don’t know if this place will be big enough.”

“Are you kidding me? This place is huge.”

“And so is our audience. If all goes well, I hope to fill this entire venue. If this place is too small, that would be the best problem in the world. It means we have more support than I expected, and more people to take back the Spire. That’s why we’re putting up these fliers. We want as many people to know as possible. Here, help me put them up.” He split his pile in half and handed one of them to Trish.

She studied the one on top and read the large text.

      REMEMBER THE FALLEN
       Join us in honoring the lost souls of friends and loved ones. There will be a special dedication to VICTOR GREENE, the man who helped us all. Hear inspiring words from speaker TRISH BEAUMONT, who worked closely with Mr. Greene before his untimely passing.

She followed Warren’s lead, sticking strips of adhesive to the wall. “This will get the word out, but what if Simon sees them? Are you worried he’ll try to stop the ceremony?”

“It’s something I’ve thought about, and no, I’m not worried. Similar memorial events have been popping up in other districts. Right now his men are located in the Eastern District. They have no reason to hop over to the west when there are plenty of other places in between doing the same thing.”

“What if you’re wrong?”

“That’s a chance I’m willing to take. This cause is too important to flake out just because we’re scared. Fear is never a good reason to give up.”

Trish nodded and peered back out at the empty square. “How big is the stage again? Where will we be standing?”

Warren placed the stack of fliers down. “Let me show you.” He walked to the center of the square and took a few steps back. “The stage will be here. We’re on a tight budget, so it’s not the biggest stage ever, but it’s good enough.” He pointed out to the empty space in front of him. “The rest of this area will be for the crowd. Everyone is welcome. We’ll have speakers set up there and there.” He pointed to the sides. “And along the front of the stage as well. We want to make sure everyone can hear us.”

“You really have this all planned out,” Trish said, crossing her arms.

“I’ve never organized something like this before, but I’ve seen plenty of Mr. Greene’s conferences. I’ve seen Simon’s rallies too. They all have the same setup, so I figured I would copy it. If it works for them, it’ll work for us. The only thing I’m missing is the jumbo screen above the stage, but like I said, we’re on a tight budget. We were just barely able to afford the speakers.” A look of panic hit his face. “Or maybe we should get a jumbo screen. But how in the world am I going to afford it?”

Trish shook her head. “Relax. It’ll be fine. We don’t need one. Mr. Greene and Simon are all about showmanship. They go over the top with their conferences and rallies. They’ve been trying to outdo each other for ages. We have no competition. We just want to get our message across. What we have already will do just fine.”

Warren sighed with relief. “Good. This whole thing is very stressful. Everything has to go just right. The fate of the City depends on it, after all. With stakes like that, there’s no room for error.”

“Don’t think of it like that. I have no doubt it will be a success. People need a way to grieve, and this is the perfect opportunity. Not much can ruin that.”

“You’re right,” he said, walking back to the fliers. “I’m overthinking it. Everything will go smoothly, I’m sure.” He pointed to the wall across the square. “Go put some fliers on that wall. We have enough over here.”

ELEVEN

ALAN PEERED AT the City wall, a distant relic that was slowly approaching. They had been gone for no more than two weeks, and now they were back. Vince saw him deep in thought and walked over to join him by his side.

“Do you think she’s mad at me?” Alan asked.

“No, she’s just confused. We all are. With everything going on, it wears on you. We all handle these situations differently. She wants to keep the group together. That’s understandable, respectable even, but we all have different visions of the future. Ours isn’t in Snow Peak, it’s back in the City.”

“She still has Rupert at least.”

Vince nodded. “There’s no doubt she’s mad at me.”

“With good reason,” Alan said, turning to face him. “I know you were put in a difficult situation. I know Greene is the real one to blame, but everyone we know is gone, and you’re the one person who could have stopped it.”

“I could have tried, but the odds were unlikely, even if I
did
tell you.”

“Yeah,” Alan said, looking back to the wall. “You’re probably right. It doesn’t make it any easier to forgive you, though. I’m doing my best, but Ella is a tough nut to crack. It’ll take some time for her.”

“Maybe it’s good we’re splitting up. She needs her space from me, at least for now.”

“But not from me,” Alan said. “If anything, she needs me even closer now.”

“It’s not up to her. You couldn’t stand being in that place anymore, just like she couldn’t stand to leave it. It’s unfair to ask each other to go against that instinct.”

“It is strange. I surprised myself when I said I wanted to come back with you. There’s something about the City. Our time there wasn’t peaches and cream, but it wasn’t all that bad either. The wonders of technology. The promise of a longer, happier life, with medical breakthroughs we couldn’t even imagine.”

Vince nodded. “If I had to choose one word to describe the City, it would be potential. For both good and bad.”

“I guess we saw a bit of both.”

“With Greene gone and Simon on top, who knows where that potential will swing?”

“Simon isn’t trying to lead, though. He doesn’t want power. He just didn’t want Greene to have it.”

“That’s what he says, but will he change his mind? There’s no one to get in his way now. He has an army of followers and everything else he needs to take Greene’s position. Only time will tell if he takes advantage of that power. Personally, I don’t know what’s worse. The City under Simon’s rule, or the City with no ruler at all. Either way, things will be different. They’ll be complicated.”

“And we’ll be prepared for anything,” Alan said. “We’ve already endured so much. There’s nothing he can throw at us that we can’t handle.”

“I hope you’re right, but I suspect otherwise. With a man that crazy, it’s hard to predict anything.”

“Hey!” Charlotte shouted from inside. “Izzy’s having another seizure! I need your help!”

They ran back inside, where Izzy was convulsing on the bed. This episode seemed more violent than the first. Her spine arched up and down, her arms flailed at her sides, and her head shook at a frightening rate. An unsettling moan rose from her lips in sporadic waves.

Charlotte looked to Alan in a panic. “What do I do?”

“Why are you asking me?” he asked, trotting over to help.

“What did you do last time?”

“I just held her head, I think. I was a little distracted by the boatload of soldiers shooting at us.”

Charlotte gently held Izzy’s head in place.

Vince walked over and secured her legs. “Just make sure she doesn’t fall off the bed. The seizure should pass soon.”

“You’re right,” Alan said. “It only lasted a few minutes last time.”

“Is she in any danger?” Charlotte asked. “There’s nothing we can do to make it better?”

Alan shook his head. “As long as she doesn’t hit her head or fall, that’s all we can do. Last time she was completely fine once it was over. I think she’s used to having these things.”