This Would Be Paradise (Book 3)

Epilogue

1 Month Later

"Make one more comment about me bein' Mexican and I'll skewer you," Rose growled at Lucas.

They were at it again. I would have thought after everything we had been through that we could all get along, but alas, that wasn't the case. Rose was trying to heat up a can of refried beans with some camping gear and Lucas was giving her a hard time.

I found myself still surprised that Lucas had stuck around. Out of all the people we had met, I figured him for the runaway. Too bad that damn cat had stuck around too. It had scratched up my leg more than once while trapped in the truck with it for hours on end. Colin threatened to eat it once and whatever Rose had said to the teen had him staying miles away from her afterwards. I had eventually gotten the chance to have my talk with Colin about his sickness. He told me that he just wanted to live what was left of his life without being treated like he was dying.

"Do I look like Augustus to you?" he joked, then on a more serious note, he continued, "I don't want to be known as the sick kid who people pity. I want to be the funny kid with the blue hair. I want to go out like that."

It was a hard thing to hear from anyone, let alone a fifteen-year-old boy who was supposed to have a full life ahead of him. I struggled with what to do, but in the end I went against my better judgement and let the subject drop—not that there was anything I could even do for Colin. I would honor his request. That much I could do.

We were currently hunkered down for the night in an abandoned field with our vehicles surrounding us, protecting us from the blustery night and any wandering infected. Of course we still had people on look out, but with our smaller numbers it was impractical.

Once we had returned to the castle-themed motel with less, yet more faces, we had a decision to make. Did we stay or did we go? After Ethan and Leo were put to rest properly, with a side service for Roy, Mac, and all the others we'd lost at Hargrove, we decided to seek out our new life. A new start.

The directions to Wesley's little paradise burned a hole in my pocket. They didn't aggressively sell us on the place like the welcome committee at Hargrove had done. This was the real deal. I could feel it.

I looked over the fire to see Chloe and Amanda sharing a plate of food. I was just glad Chloe was eating again. After we came back with Ethan's body, she had gone into shock. She wouldn't eat or talk much. She wasn't sleeping at night. She just stayed away from everyone. Slowly, she had come around, turning back into the kid I remembered, the one who was too big for her shoes. Kids are resilient.

Zoe too was mostly back to normal, but she never talked about what happened while the mercenaries had her. I didn't push her on it. She didn't force me to talk about Ethan or what happened at the hospital either. It was an uneasy truce. Not a very healthy one either. I knew you weren't supposed to keep things bottled up, but I just wasn't ready. My time at the hospital, Ethan's death—they were still fresh wounds.

I took out the folded piece of paper and re-read the directions for the hundredth time. I had long since memorized the words, but it was more like a ritual at this point. John noticed me reading and leaned over from his spot beside me, his finger pointed at the creased paper.

"That paper ain't long for this world."

Maybe I had taken it out one too many times.

"Don't worry, I got it all up here." I tapped a finger to my temple.

"That don't make me feel any better." John grinned at his joke.

I sighed. "Sure, I forget to pick up one magazine and suddenly I'm senile."

John had asked me two weeks ago during a quick run to pick up an Old Farmers Almanac and I had completely forgotten. He would have come but his leg was still recovering, the muscles having been torn up pretty bad. He'd more than likely have a small limp for the rest of his life.

"A very important magazine," he said with no real anger.

I shook my head and returned to staring at my paper.

"You think this place will be okay?" he asked conversationally.

I shrugged. "Who knows? They could've already moved on for all we know. Or maybe they're actually a commune that worships lizard gods."

John rolled his eyes at that.

I smiled into the fire, the flames dancing before my eyes and whispered, "Or, this would be paradise."

THE END