Chapter 10
After discovering that it was Lily who accidentally caused the man’s vehicle to crash into the ravine, Sam and I suited up and went to tend to disposing of the body and camouflaging the wreck so no one would be the wiser. Sam and I discussed the possible uses for the parts that we would come back and retrieve in a few days when we were certain no one had discovered the accident. Sam came to the same conclusion I had.
“They’ll send someone else. They obviously know we’re here.” He laid large pine boughs over the bumper, cooled the burnt vehicle with mud from the stream, and laid out dark green foliage so no one would see it from the air if the Industry sent out drones to search for the agent and his vehicle. Sam removed the tracking device and destroyed it. Then we buried the body, the two of us solemn as we dealt with the gruesome remains.
“What are we going to do?”
Sam eyed me thoughtfully; his face red from exertion and sun exposure. “Don’t worry about it. I’m working out a plan. Trust me.” He continued to work at a slower and slower pace. The heat was taking its toll on him.
I stepped up my pace to take the brunt of the hard work off his hands. “Will we have to move on?” The thought of us losing everything we’d worked so hard to build on the farm made my stomach sink like I’d stepped in quicksand. A desperate longing for things to stay exactly as they were rose up from somewhere deep inside me.
Sam laid a hand on my shoulder. “I don’t want you to worry about that. If we have to move on from here, I’ll make sure we find a good place. I promise I’ll keep you and your sister safe.”
Lines were etched across his features, the worry and stress mounting a secondary assault to the cancer. I wanted to take that burden away from him, but I knew there was nothing that I could say or do to make the situation any better. If it came down to it, maybe my leaving and going to the Western Desert would be better for everyone.
When we’d finished our task, satisfied that we’d buried the charred body deep enough and concealed the vehicle well enough to buy us some time, Sam and I drove the Crawler, a modified old ATV Sam had built, up the timber trail road and arrived at the house late in the afternoon.
Lily, filled with regret over having caused someone’s death, moved sullenly, as if she was awaiting a hangman’s noose. While I, who wanted nothing more than to syphon the man’s energy off her hands like some vampire, reveled in the fact that he was dead and that I had time to think…and plan. Our lives might have been in more danger than ever, but part of me couldn’t let go of the idea that I could somehow make this disaster work in our favor. And now more than ever, I needed to find a way to use my ability for good.
When Lily took off to go out and check the traps, I snuck upstairs and pulled out mother’s journal from between the mattresses on Lily’s bed.
Medical Journal Entry-03132043
Dr. Hope Greyson, Geneticist for Industry Laboratories
Seven months into this pregnancy and I’m barely able to stand anymore. Holding a pen to keep up my journaling is enough of a challenge these days. The latest sonogram clearly shows a healthy baby boy. I’ll call him Timothy John after both of his Grandfathers. With the whole of our previous generations wiped from the earth through these terrible times of tribulation, I want to give my boy something of his history so that our elders are never forgotten. It’s only in remembering where we came from that we can go boldly forward to face the challenges ahead.
Winter winds and heavy snow has given way to raging spring storms, causing flooding in the lowlands. We’ve heard that whole towns have been swept away. The south has become a wetland. People are flocking to the major cities looking for aid from the government and seeking protection from solar radiation.
Maybe it’s for the best that I not survive to see another day on this hellish planet, so obviously bound to eradicate the human species. Whatever we have done to bring this upon ourselves, I pray that God will have mercy on us. Our only hope is in the next generation. Will they have learned from the mistakes of the past? Can they, even with their genetically enhanced minds and bodies, survive the cruelty of Mother Nature’s wrath?
As the child within me kicks and squirms with life, anxious to be free from the confines of my womb, I hope for his salvation. He will need to be strong, fearless, and brave to confront the challenges before him. Whatever his gifts are, I pray that he will find it within himself to use them to make the world a better place. I have faith that he will be the best of Carl and me. If he has his father’s dark hair, loving nature, and creative brilliance, he will only need to follow his heart to know what’s right. As for what he might have of me, perhaps it will be my love of science and my willingness to explore the unknown. Whatever happens, and whoever he turns out to be, may he carry my love in his heart and know that he is precious to us.
I flipped through the pages, letting the words play in my mind. Tears burned for release, but I held them tight. Sam was right. It was time for me to grow up and take responsibility. What exactly that meant was anybody’s guess. All I knew was that I wanted to make my parents proud, and I would do anything within my power to protect the family I had left.
THE END-FOR NOW
I hope you liked Zeph’s story and found it thought-provoking and entertaining. To delve deeper into this story, join Zeph, Lily, Sam, and a young drifter named Will, in WANING MOON, the first book in THE CHRONICLES OF LILY CARMICHAEL trilogy. Continue the journey with book two, WESTERN DESERT and book three, HEALING WATERS. Books and buy links available on PJ’s website @ pjsharon.com
PJ Sharon is author of several award winning contemporary young adult novels, including PIECES of LOVE, HEAVEN IS FOR HEROES, ON THIN ICE, and SAVAGE CINDERELLA. She is currently working on completing the CHRONICLES OF LILY CARMICHAEL trilogy.
Writing romantic fiction since 2007, and following her destiny to write YA…because every teen deserves a hopefully ever after, PJ is mother to two grown sons and lives with her husband in the Berkshire Hills of Western MA.
If you enjoyed SOUL REDEMPTION, please add a review and check out PJ’s other books. Buy links available on her website. Visit her @ https://www.pjsharon.com.
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