EPILOGUE
Sara liked Brad. She decided after only a few days of traveling with him that he would be her first recruit. Despite deafness in one ear (although she couldn’t tell which), a stubborn baldness (he kept himself meticulously shaved—hairless everywhere that she could see), and a gruesome pattern of scars that marred what had probably been a reasonably handsome face, Sara found him attractive. Brad comported himself with wit, grace, and a fierce intelligence—and he hadn’t once made any kind of move on her.
“Brad.” She looked to where he knelt trying to spark some shavings under a meticulous kindling structure. “Brad!”
He looked up, annoyed at first, and then, as if suddenly recognizing his own name, smiled. “What’s up?”
“I think we should start a colony. Recruit some folks. See if we can build up a community.”
“Sounds kinda dangerous.” He refocused on his nascent fire. “People are a risk.”
“Am I a risk?”
“Well, frankly,” he said, not looking up. “Yes.”
“Then why are you here?”
He took a deep breath. “You’re a risk.” His tone was careful as he turned toward her, his eyes focusing at her hips. “But you are the strongest, most intelligent, most focused person I’ve ever met. You also have an amazing nose for canned goods.” He shrugged. “Why would I leave?”
SPECIAL THANKS
TREMENDOUS GRATITUDE to Joon Chang and the cast and crew of the original 4:17 film—especially to Troy Etley, Shelly Lloyd-Samson, Tava Bystrom, Tatiana Shamgunova, Roy Samson, David Reyes, Daniel Sipes, and Angela Muir for inhabiting slim sketches of character and bringing them to life. Thanks also to Jesiah Bell for critical edits and assistance with the original script. The full cast, crew, and list of collaborators can be found in the film’s credits.
Thanks to my beta readers Ian Bone, Martin Gudgin, and Lauren Riley for their time, patience, and insight. Although I stubbornly failed to address all of their concerns, the story would not be as readable, rich, or grammatically correct without their thoughtful feedback.
Profound thanks to my always-first reader and Main Squeeze, Autumn-Marie Sumiko Sakai Bystrom for her confidence, patience, and unwavering support.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BORN AND RAISED IN SEATTLE, Carl Bystrom graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in the Comparative History of Ideas. He has tested computer games, painted houses, banged on drums and other instruments, fathered children, designed websites, taught juggling and sleight of hand, managed software development teams, and served as the Executive Director of a circus school. He lives, writes, and keeps house with his Main Squeeze in the suburbs of his hometown.
Copyright
4:17 Copyright © 2020 by Carl Bystrom. All Rights Reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
Blue Turtle Press
Cover by CAB
Cover Photo by Joon Chang
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, doesn’t adequately represent the complexity and depth of real humans and instead reflects limits of the author’s creativity. Any similarity to businesses, companies, events, or locales is either coincidental, public domain, or used as cultural reference, and the details are made-up or mis-remembered.
Carl A.S. Bystrom
Visit my website at www.carlbystrom.com