After another moment, I pulled away, my eyes still closed.
When I opened them, she was looking at me. And smiling.
“So, that’s how you feel?”
I nodded. “Damn straight I do.”
Anna laughed, and nestled against me. Together, we watched the waves and the sun fall, casting the sky and sea in light pink and orange. It was too perfect, and even if I knew such perfection wasn’t meant to be in a world so fallen as ours, that didn’t take away from its beauty. It only made it more beautiful.
It took two days, but we found New America. It was on the Texas coast, as Julian had said, about fifty miles south of Houston — a small, non-walled village in the center of a thick stand of trees not too far from a brown, winding river. On its western side were farms, growing rows of green produce. To the east were the apocalyptic ruins of a massive industrial complex, once silvery towers and tanks shattered and ruined. It could not have been a safe spot to pick the founding of a new city, but I guess home remained home to people, no matter how bad it got.
If anything, it was hundreds of miles from any Blights, which probably went a long way to explain how the town still existed after so many years. But for a town called New America, it was humble. There couldn’t have been more than two hundred people living there, judging from the couple dozen or so buildings it consisted of.
We landed in a field to the south of the town, not even trying to hide the spaceship. Julian walked outside into the warm, muggy air, and we followed him from behind. The sky was mostly clear, though tinted with red. The meteor fallout was not as thick as in the Wasteland, but this land still carried wispy traces of it. The people came out of the wooden buildings, one by one — ragged, dirty, thin, their eyes wide. It was such a stark contrast to the Empire, and it was a sign of how far we had fallen, how low America had been made by Ragnarok. Isolated as it was, it was a surprise this community had survived for so long. And yet, they had survived.
As we walked forward, Julian in the lead, several goats crossed our path. Weeds and tall grass grew thick, and from the low, hanging trees, insects chirped.
Julian stepped into the center of the gathering.
“I am Julian,” he said, tears coming to his eyes. “After ten years, I have finally come home.”
At first, there was silence. Then from the crowd there was a wail. A woman, maybe in her late forties, had fallen on her knees, hands outstretched.
A collective gasp went throughout the crowd. The people stared in disbelief, turning their attention from the spaceship and to Julian, who now ran into the embrace of his mother. She held him tightly. The tiny woman gripped him with such ferocity that it seemed like she would never let him go. Julian was crying like a baby, doing nothing to restrain his emotion. The mother stroked his back, her eyes closed in contentment, tears streaming down her face.
“All these years, Mijo,” she said. “I knew that you were alive. I knew it.”
Another, younger woman came from the crowd, with tears on her face. It was the little sister Julian had spoken of, now grown up. She threw herself on her mother and her brother.
As the crowd marveled and we watched, the women led him toward the town. A tall, lean man with bright blue eyes approached Julian. He was beaming, and he gave Julian a strong embrace. The man wore blue jean overalls and a large, straw hat. All his clothing looked like it had seen better times.
As Julian walked away with his family, the man approached us, extending a hand to Samuel.
“I am Herbert Shaw, mayor of New America,” he said. He looked up at the Gilgamesh, from which Dr. Ashton now emerged. “Is there an America anymore? That’s who you are, isn’t it?”
Samuel shook his head. “It’s a long story, Mr. Shaw. A very long story.”
“Well, it’s a Sabbath day, and we have all the time in the world. Why don’t you come inside the Gathering Hall and sit a spell? We have food and water.”
Julian stopped, turning our way. “These people saved my life,” he called out. “I was a slave for ten years in lands far to the south. It was unspeakable hell and misery. But, they kindly took me here and gave me my freedom.”
“Thank you,” Julian’s mother said. “You have no idea what this means to us. My heart was broken that day, but now it is healed. My son is home!”
All around her, the people of New America cheered and clapped. Judging from their faces, it was the first good thing that had happened to them in a long time.
“We will join you for dinner,” Samuel said, “though we cannot stay long. There is so much that you and your town must know, and it will take hours just to tell you everything. Julian will have to tell you later.”
“I can see you are being very serious,” Mayor Shaw said. “I won’t press you. I’m glad you want to stay and get to know us, humble as we are.” He looked at all of us. “Now, what are your names?”
We told him, and then Mayor Shaw led us inside the town, where everyone was still gathered, crying and celebrating at the reunion. The town was nothing more than a series of cabins, built in several circles. It had probably existed before Ragnarok, but for what purpose, I couldn’t guess. Some other buildings had been constructed — one of which was the Gathering Hall the mayor had spoken of. It was little more than a thatched roof that was supported by thick, wooden poles driven into the ground. Though humble, it was wide, and beneath its awning were a couple dozen tables, at the center of which was a large fire pit.
That night, we dined with Julian, his family, and the rest of New America. His mother, Gloria, was a small, yet pretty Mexican woman, who could not stop smiling. His younger sister, Yasmin, was also very pretty, and was probably in her twenties. She had two children who scampered about, and her husband, a man named Craig, sat with us. The new faces and environment was a bit overwhelming, but there was sense of warm community among everyone here. It was clear that everyone loved each other, even if they didn’t always get along.
Over the course of the day, goat meat had been roasting over the fire. I had never eaten goat before, or much meat in fact, but the smell was tantalizing. When it was finally served, we also had fresh vegetables and bread with our meat, along with coffee and cool water. The water, Mayor Shaw had said, was filtered. He seemed very proud of that fact.
These people didn’t have much, but the extent to which they were willing to share it was humbling. It was clear why Julian wanted to return to this place. And, it was another reason to fight. We couldn’t let this community, and any others like it, fall to the xenovirus. I was glad to see the Great Blight hadn’t extended this far. But how long until it set its sights on this community?
I turned from these dark thoughts when Anna grabbed my hand, offering me a smile. I pulled her close, resting my cheek against the top of her head. She was another reason I was fighting.
After everyone had finished eating, Mayor Shaw stood. He whistled loudly to get everyone’s attention.
“I just wanted to say that one of our own has returned here today,” Mayor Shaw said. “It’s God’s grace that is has happened, and we would do all well to remember that.”
Everyone murmured their agreement.
“I know times are hard. They’re always hard. But we have each other. We thought the Lord had taken Julian from us, but he has been returned. He left us a boy, and has come home a man. God works miracles, every single day. With Julian sitting here, with us, how can anyone deny it now?”