The Nameless Survivor (Valkyrie) (38 page)

             
Quickly I turned and signaled the driver to stop the truck, however when I looked back the man had vanished from the rock-wall. Only a faint orange glow of the setting sun bled out over the bay, glistening upon the waves that crashed up over the granite slabs, and the pathetic cries of ferociously feeding seagulls echoed throughout the air. Disappointment washed over me, disappointment that we didn't arrive sooner. Disappointment to have never heard Mia's angelic voice, or even learn this man's name. And like most things, they will both be lost in history.

             
In the weeks after, I had ordered random scouting parties to search the neighboring areas; Camden, Owl’s Head, but to no avail. But there was just no sign of him, no trace of which direction he went. Of course, it is understandable that he did not come forward after the incursion, why would he? It was our invitation that brought him there, it was our calling that killed his only love. He was always better off on his own, better off in the arms of Mother Nature. Although I knew before we left Site 8-A that we would never find him, nothing could have held back my smile, the realization that I now had a face.

             
The face of an Unsung Survivor.

THE END