Out Of The Ashes (The Ending Series, #3) (38 page)

“I am,” Grayson
said as he sat in the center seat on our side of the table. “And you’re looking
quite well yourself, Beth.”

I wasn’t sure,
but I thought Bethany James might have blushed. I eyed Grayson as I took my own
seat between Jason and Zoe, then did a quick scan of the faces of the other
Council Members. I recognized a few others besides Bethany, but at least five
of them were new to the Council, or rather, new to
me
. One of the newcomers
was a middle-aged man who, based on his fatigues, I guessed had to be Colonel
Marshall.

Lance sat as
well, claiming the only other chair, which was located at the far end of the
table, his clipboard and a large, leather-bound journal resting on the table in
front of him.

Bethany’s eyes
moved from face to face, examining each of us for several seconds, just long
enough to make her gaze uncomfortable. Eventually, her focus returned to Grayson.
“You and your people have been through quite a lot, Daniel. I can see it on
your faces and feel it in your hearts.” She smiled a warm, genuine smile.
“We’re glad you’ve made it back to us.”

“As am I.”

I looked from
Grayson to Bethany and back, certain there were sparks floating between them. I
held in a snicker. I was
totally
going to give Grayson a hard time about
flirting with the leader of the New Bodega Town Council…later.

“Well,” Bethany
said, clearing her throat and sitting up just a tiny bit straighter, “we have
an interesting proposal for you and your people, one we hope you’ll be as
excited about as we are—but first, we’d appreciate it if you could share with
us some of what you’ve experienced.” Her eyes shifted to Zoe. “From what you
and the dreamwalker told us, some of you have come all the way from the East
Coast, but you’ve all been as far as Colorado. Most of our people are from the Northern
California coast, and
none
, not even the traders who’ve passed through
New Bodega, have been further than Oregon or Nevada. Not since the outbreak.”
Her gaze settled back on Grayson.

He held Bethany’s
stare, nodding slowly, thoughtfully. “Where would you like us to start?”

“How about the
beginning,” she said, the corner of her mouth curving upward.

“Hmmm…the
beginning is different for each of us, but…” Grayson’s focus shifted, and
leaning forward, he looked at Gabe. “Your story might be the best place to
start.”

Shrugging, Gabe
sat up straighter and rested his forearms on the table. “For me, it all started
when the genetic engineering company I worked for received a DOD contract and
moved to some facilities on Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs. I—”

“That’s the
location of the Colony…run by this”—Bethany glanced down at a small notebook on
the table in front of her, flipping back a few pages—“General Herodson?”

“Yes,” Gabe said
before launching into his personal story, which spanned a several-year period
before the initial outbreak. He explained that he’d started working under Dr.
Wesley on a program relating to heretofore untapped human potential, what we
now knew of as “Abilities,” and had quickly been initiated into the inner
circle of those opposed to the program,
including
Dr. Wesley,
and
had been made aware of the General’s Ability to control the minds of others.

He explained the
moment when he first realized what Dr. Wesley had done, releasing the Virus on
the general population and initiating what was essentially the end of human
civilization—the moment he’d received a call from his best friend, Jake,
claiming that his sister was sick and seemed to be losing her mind. Except
Becca hadn’t been losing her mind, she’d been developing an Ability.

He told them that
the Virus was simply a mechanism to enable the mass spread of the gene therapy
and explained the science behind the mutation every person who was infected
went through. He told them everything he could about the Colony and the people
there—the Re-gens, the T-Rs, the yellow- and black-bands, electrotherapy,
Project Eden, my abduction, and how people with different Abilities were used
as though they were
things
, not human beings—without hinting at Dr.
Wesley’s relation to Zoe and Jason, or at the fact that one or more of our
people were likely working for the General.

“These ‘Re-gens,’”
Bethany started, skepticism written all over her face despite Lance not once
having pointed out an untruth in Gabe’s tale. “To reanimate a corpse—that’s
just…I don’t see how such a thing could be possible.”

“And yet, I am
here,” Becca said, speaking for the first time since we’d sat.

All nine sets of
the Council Members’ eyes snapped to her, and I had to hold back a grin. Even
now, in a world so filled with wonder and the impossible made possible, people
still wanted to hold on to their old, outdated view of reality. Humanity could
be so stubborn; I was hoping
that
would be the one characteristic that
might prevent us from dying out altogether.

“You’re claiming
to be one of these—these
creatures
?” Bethany said, her gaze flicking to
Lance. When he nodded, she returned her attention to Becca, scrutinizing her
face…her not-quite-right eyes. I knew what she was seeing—irises that were a
little too dull, a little too gray, a little too dead. Camille and Mase’s eyes
had the same inhuman quality; it was the one external marker of their
difference from non-Re-gens. Inside, well, that was another matter entirely.

Becca nodded. “I
am.”

“She’s not a
creature.” Jake’s voice was a low rumble. “She’s my sister.”

There was a
prolonged, tense silence. A collective holding of breath.

Finally, Bethany
shot another quick look to Lance, and when he confirmed what Becca and Jake had
claimed with another nod, Bethany exhaled heavily. “Well…I must apologize. No
insult was intended.”

“Jake is the
friend I mentioned earlier,” Gabe said, earning raised eyebrows and opened
mouths from some of the Council Members. “After Becca saw whatever she saw and
killed herself, I did the only thing I could think of. I took her to Wes—Dr.
Wesley—to see if she was a candidate for the Re-gen procedure. It was still
very new then, but we managed.”

“We would love to
know more about this procedure,” the man on Bethany’s right said. “We have a
few biotech people here who—”

“No,” Becca said
resolutely.

“Now, young lady,
I understand that this may be a sensitive subject for you, but I don’t see why
you’d deny the rest of us the chance to eliminate death as a—”

“You do not
see
,
because you do not know what
I
know.” Becca turned her sharp, gray gaze
to Gabe. “You cannot teach them this. You
must
not. It’s imperative, Dr.
McLau—Gabe.”

I watched Becca
and Gabe stare at each other for several heartbeats, until finally, Gabe
nodded. “But I may be able to offer something else,” he said to Bethany. “If
you have any people with Abilities like Jason’s, specifically the Ability to
nullify others’ Abilities completely, I can teach your biotech people how to
make a ‘neutralizer’ that will protect whoever is injected from nearly
all
Abilities—including mind control—for up to a week. It wouldn’t be something
you’d want to use all the time, but it would be useful as a backup plan…just in
case.”

Again, Bethany
exchanged a look with several other Council Members. “That’s very generous of
you.” She tilted her head to the side. “What’s the catch?”

Gabe offered her
a chilly smile. “We’ll do whatever we can to keep as many people as possible
out of the hands of Herodson and the others like him.”

“The
others
like
him?” Bethany said, furrowing her brow.

A heavy silence
descended over the room.

Carlos cleared
his throat. “Yeah,” he said, speaking for the first time since we entered the
Town Hall. He rubbed the back of his neck as he started telling his own story,
first captivating the Council with his tale of leaving Central Washington with
his two siblings, then horrifying them with details of what happened when he
arrived in South Lake Tahoe, of being forced to worship Mandy, a woman whose
Ability stripped all around her of their will, leaving behind only mindless,
adoring husks.

Bethany, as well
as all but two of her peers—Colonel Marshall and the man on her right—were
covering their mouths with their hands by the time Carlos finished. Most had
unshed tears shining in their eyes as well, at least, those whose tears hadn’t
already escaped.

Bethany had to
clear her throat several times before she could speak. “What happened to them,
to Vanessa and Annie? Did you look for them after…once you were freed?”

When Carlos
didn’t show any sign of answering, simply stared down at his hands gripping his
jeans, I jumped in. “We found them on our way back here. They’re at the ranch
right now.”

“She’s one of the
Lost Ones.” Colonel Marshall’s voice was accusatory. “You can’t keep her here.
She should be put down.”

Carlos didn’t
raise his head, but he did glare at the Colonel, and a faint crackling hum
filled the air. The Council Members looked around the room, their eyes a little
wild, and Zoe’s breath hitched as emotions spiked.

I looked at
Jason, alarm widening my eyes, but he only stared back at me, his expression
placid. For whatever reason, apparently he wanted to let this play out.

Fine…that’s
just fine.
But we
couldn’t let Carlos electrocute the rest of us in a dominance display, either.
“Vanessa is one of us,” I said. “We’re a package deal.”

I stared at
Colonel Marshall, refusing to lower my eyes, and still the air tingled with
electricity. The tiny hairs on my arm stood on end, and I could feel the
flyaways floating around my head.

It was Bethany
who interrupted what was turning into one hell of a staring contest. “In which
case I think you’ll find our offer very appealing.”

The Colonel broke
eye contact, shifting his gaze to Bethany, his features tense with irritation,
or possibly anger, and the electric hum slowly faded away.

Bethany paused
long enough to meet Colonel Marshall’s stare, her own seeming to say “Yes? Did
you want something?” before looking at Grayson. “The ocean is our main—and
really, our
only
—source of food. Before your people made contact a few
days ago, we were in the process of discussing what type of team might best be
suited for establishing an agricultural satellite settlement nearby. We’ve been
held up on trying to put together a group of people with the most effective
combination of skills.” She shrugged. “It would do us no good to set up an
operation like this only to have it unable to defend itself, but the Colonel’s
ranks are stretched thin as it is—the more people we bring in, the more people
we need on the town watch.”

Grayson nodded
slowly. “Interestingly enough, we came here intending to propose something very
similar, so I think I speak for everyone when I say we’re all ears.”

Bethany smiled.
“Based on everything you’ve told us”—she glanced at me—“and on your unwavering
loyalty to each other, I can imagine no better group to take on the task.” She
scanned each of us quickly. “Do any of you have farming or gardening
experience?”

I raised my hand
partway. “Some. My grandma was a skilled gardener and herbalist, and I know a
lot about animals…obviously.” My eyes hardened. “I won’t raise animals to be
slaughtered, though. If you want someone to do that, you’ll have to look
elsewhere.”

Bethany frowned,
but didn’t argue.

“I worked on a
farm during my early adulthood,” Grayson said. “I was a bit of a drifter.” He
tossed me a sideways glance. “Though not
that
kind.”

Jason emitted a
moderately interested grunt. “My dad was a carpenter—taught me most of what he
knew—and Jake’s good with anything mechanical. I think we can manage.”

“It’s settled
then,” Bethany said with a definitive nod. “You’re the right people for the
job, and I think you’ll enjoy being autonomous, considering how long you’ve
been out there, away from a society with hard-and-fast rules.”
She
paused. “
We’re willing to provide
you with the provisions you’ll need to get up and running so you won’t have to
waste any time or energy procuring your own, so long as the majority of your
crop, when ready, comes to New Bodega. You may, of course, reserve some for
your own sustenance and trading purposes…”

“You’ve been
thinking about this for some time, it would seem,” Grayson said. “Do you
already have a location picked out?”

The young woman
sitting to the left of Bethany piped in with, “We actually have several
possible spots: one in the Russian River Valley, near Healdsburg, one in the
Carneros area, and one a few miles west of Petaluma.”

Jason exchanged a
look with Jake, then with Grayson. He was smiling.

“Petaluma sounds
perfect,” Grayson said.

“Wonderful.”
Bethany scanned each of us again. “And are there enough of you to run this new
settlement, or do we need to provide additional workers?”