Page 87 of Once Upon an Apocalypse

Once my mom lies comfortably at my side, she explains how a patrol unit had seen a fleet of vehicles—Amos’ red Honda among them—heading for Hershey, the danger zone. “They followed as closely as they dared and stopped once they reached the quarantine signs. The patrol then split up, half heading straight for The Wall and the other half back to The Valley. It took the military a day or so searching the area before they found your location. The Giant Center. Where hundreds of living people were fleeing.”

The timing couldn’t have been any luckier, I think.

“The military swooped in with their helicopters and raided the arena,” my mom continues. “Looking for Dr. Tuwile, and perhaps they were also hoping you’d still be alive. I know they value Amos, but I doubt they brought their forces in to rescue all of you. You found Dr. Tuwile’s super secret lair. And they wanted it.”

“Makes me even more furious that they refused to assist us in our search and to help guard The Valley when we thought our community was in danger,” I say. “Twats.”

“Twats they are.”

“At least they arrived in time to save us. Most of us.”

Kyle. I didn’t know him very well, but he and Amos were so close. He was Amos’s right-hand man. He was a good guy. He deserved better.

I can’t help but believe that it’s all my fault. Doctore wanted me. Capturing me with my friends must have been a dream come true for him. A way to punish me for escaping. Closing my eyes, I soak in the memory of his soulless eyes losing their wicked spark as his life drained away.

The sight should cause me to feel remorse. Some kind of human reaction to killing another human. But Doctore was the devil incarnate. He is the one responsible for killing billions of people, for creating this nightmare world. Maybe he deserved to live in his creation, but I couldn’t let him continue his work. Even if it was through the command of someone on the side of humanity.

“You’re awake.”

I lift my head up to see Amos standing in the doorway of my room. If I hadn’t known all that’d happened, I would have been able to guess from the state of him. Black hair askew and those once lively golden eyes have turned a dull, muddy color surrounded by red that tells me he’s been crying. But he’s cleaned up, wearing fresh clothes that aren’t those horrid gray uniforms of death. My mom rolls off the bed as he approaches.

“I should reprimand you and tell you to go back to your room for more sleep,” my mom says with a false motherly command in her voice. “But I know you’ll get more rest with each other. Just promise me youwillsleep. Both of you.”

“Yes, Mom,” we both say with a laugh.

Amos locks his eyes on mine as he makes his way over to my bed. A tether hooked to my heart. I pull on it, urging him to me faster, and he quickens his pace. The bed dips just before Amos grabs me firmly by the skull, smashing our lips together. His kiss is hard and fierce and everything I need.

When he pulls away, his warm breath tickles my chin. I yearn for more, but our bodies are so tired. Still healing from the battle we endured. I wrap my arms around him, holding him close as I press my head against his chest. The thumping of Amos’ heart grounds me as my mind replays all the moments I thought I was going to lose him.

“I’m so sorry about Kyle,” I say, needing to get the worst of it all out in the open.

Amos squeezes me, holding back a sob. “Me too. He was a good guy. A great friend. A hell of a fighter.” Amos kisses my forehead. “Now let’s go back to our room, shower, and sleep in our own bed.”

“Are we allowed to leave the medical building? Don’t we have to get discharged?” I ask with a smile.

“Nah. If anyone tries to stop us, I’ll just punch them with my new superhuman strength.”

“You have superhuman strength?”

Amos shrugs as I hop off the bed, the cold floor shocking the warm skin on my feet. Then I think about the combat boots I had been wearing when I got captured. Those were great boots and not so easy to come by in my size. But I don’t want to think about that just yet. I don’t need to fight. I need to rest. I need to live. At The Valley, with Amos, I can live. If the world will let us.

Epilogue

4 Months Later…

“Happybirthday,Lori!”acrowd of people shout in front of me. I nearly punch the closest person in the crowded cafeteria in my shock at walking into my surprise party. It’s been years since I celebrated my birthday. Last year, my mom and I had a special dinner, but I told her I didn’t want to make a fuss. This year was Amos’ doing. And Jonah’s, apparently. And well, I guess the entire community here because they see me as some kind of hero.

Amos pushes me through the doorway with a huge smile on his face. A rare sight in these last four months. Not that Amos and I aren’t happy together. We are so in love and happy it would feel like we were in some cheesy rom com if it weren’t for the whole zombie apocalypse thing.

Losing Kyle was very hard for Amos. Still is. He misses his best friend. He misses his arm, even though he has a new metal one. He’s worried about what Doctore did to us when we were held captive. I’d be lying if I said I’m not worried too. Both of us have lost so much to this world. We’ve changed so much because of it. But we’ve been able to keep something precious through all the horrors we’ve endured. Humanity.

I can see the celebration of human life all around me as Amos walks me through our friends and neighbors. It feels a little surreal. Like we’ve been transported to an alternate reality where everything is back to normal. A place where Amos and I could raise a family. We’ve talked about having kids, but first want to build a safer world. That is what we are fighting for now. A future.

It took countless sessions with Alison to push past my fears and look to a future where dreams can come true again. Maybe not all of my dreams I had from the before will come true, but I have Amos, my mom, Cal, Mina, Jonah. We have never been safer here at The Valley and Norman is working tirelessly on a true cure. One that will wipe away the virus from the world. It can’t bring back those already lost, but it has the possibility of bringing the world back to what it once was. Perhaps even better.

Sometimes I catch myself thinking about Amos holding our baby in this better world. The thought makes my heart do a little happy dance. One day.

“Honey, you are glowing!” my mom squeals as she pulls me into a hug. “Twenty-four. That’s how old I was when I had Hayden.”

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