Cascade box set 2, p.74
Cascade Box Set 2, page 74
She almost said “What’s over”, but then realized what it must mean. Feelings of relief mixed with her sadness, but the last part confused her. “Is he—” She realized the soldier was ignoring her completely and his gaze was fixed on the sky above her. She then also realized the darkness which had blocked out the setting sun, and had cast a shadow over both of them was not a cloud like she presumed. She looked up at the huge ship floating in the sky above them, and the smaller version of it descending towards her.
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A week had passed since the Hulathen onslaught, and building and reconstruction had started at a furious pace in the capital. Even the outpost, which had been renamed ‘Camp Brad’ was starting to return to some form of useful halfway point for exploring the rest of the north-east. Once Erin had died, his influence had started to wane and general Mitchell stepped down from being in command of the Boston bunker network, saying that a Cascader should never be in military command again.
It was a late afternoon on a Saturday, when Zach and Abbey’s guests started arriving at the hastily organized get together in their home near the lake.
Zach opened the door to Sam, Mary, Tyler, Addison and some of the foster kids they care for, looking back at him. Somebody else could be heard swearing trying to get out of the car, while carrying a box of beer.
“Isaiah okay over there?” said Zach looking over Sam’s shoulder.
Sam and the others walked inside. “Meh, he needs the exercise. All that bed rest is making him a bit—” Sam puffed out his cheeks and one of the small children giggled.
Abbey appeared from the kitchen and gave hugs to everyone, ushering them including Isaiah who was hobbling with the box, into the living room.
Over the next hour more people arrived, until the house was alive with laughter and tales of how they had survived. Eventually Fiona arrived with her tall blue skinned companion. Raj said he can’t determine if this really was Cal as they did not understand the Hulathen biology well enough, but Fiona didn’t need the confirmation. She knew it was him. Once things had settled down, he had told her about their time together before he died on top of the roadside sign. It was all in broken English, but the facts he relayed to her left her in no doubt that inside this strange looking alien was the man she escaped the New Mexico jail with. Others though looked at him like has the enemy still. She and he knew they had a long way to go before that would change.
Zach leaned back on the kitchen counter. Standing nearby was the other general and Cole Bower. Music was playing somewhere else in the house, and children outside in the backyard were laughing. Mo picked up Megan, flying up a few feet into the air then gently brought her back down. Michael looked on and laughed as she pleaded with Abbey’s pet to do it again.
“So you’re going up there to find Diaz?” Zach said to Bower.
The older man nodded, holding his beer in his hand. “No man or woman left behind. She’s out there somewhere. The Ultor’s have told me she’s probably in one of the facilities somewhere, and they will help us find her. They also said the other Cascaders, the ones that were taken might be out there as well.”
“The Ultor’s were pretty grateful when we offered them their own embassy here,” said Trow.
“They deserve that and more. We wouldn’t have won without their help,” said Zach.
“They also said the Gorion’s are going to want their warship back, but I told them that we have a whole planet of stuff to trade for it. They said they will make the offer to them and let us know,” said Trow.
“Yeah, we need to hang onto salvation,” said Zach.
Bower smiled. “Salvation?”
“That’s what everyone calls it.”
Bower nodded. “It’s a good name.”
Zach lifted his bottle in reply.
Eventually day became night and once the drink, food and conversation was exhausted the house returned to silence.
Zach and Abbey sat together on a blanket, on the lake shore, each with a drink in their hand and looked out over the ripples to the twinkling lights of the nighttime construction happening in the capital.
“Is it really over?” said Abbey without looking away from the city.
Zach sighed, taking a sip from his drink. “We defeated monsters and then aliens, I think we deserve a break.”
She smiled.
He looked at her and realized tears were running down her cheeks. He put his arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder.
“It’s good to be home,” he said.
The End.
And so Zach, Abbey, Fiona, Cal’s and the others journey comes to an end, for now… I hope you enjoyed the series as much as I have writing it, but what about how the Cascade started? The first in a prequel series is available here ‘Encounter’ on Amazon.
Do you think the Cascade series would make a good TV show? I do! If you agree, please mention that in a review on Amazon or in a Tweet with the hashtag #CascadeTVShow.
Another of my post-apocalyptic series is also available called ‘The Scourge’. The first book in the series is available here, ‘The Dead Don’t Turn’ on Amazon.
If you would like news on my latest releases, special offers or a free book, you can sign up to my mailing list on my website at www.philmaxeyauthor.com .
Thank you again.
Phil.
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About the Author
Phil Maxey is an author who resides in the UK. Formally a game developer he now spends his time putting his love of sci-fi and the paranormal into words.
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Acknowledgements
Book cover design by www.starbookcovers.com.
Phil Maxey, Cascade Box Set 2
