Several people cheered. Gloria touched her son’s arm, and her sister gave him a radiant smile.
“Life will keep on being hard. I can guarantee that. But God will see us through, to the end. We are lights for each other in the darkness. Today, a miracle occurred, and we would do well to remember that.”
Next, the mayor led everyone in a prayer, thanking God for Julian’s safe return. I had never seen anyone pray like he did, never seen religion practiced the way it was being practiced here. It was startling, yet not unwelcome. There was so much love in the gathering, it almost overcame me and shattered my beliefs. Almost.
Anna reached for my hand, and held it.
“You don’t have to believe,” she said. “I don’t.”
I looked at her. I placed my head against hers.
“I know,” I whispered. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“That they can believe, after everything. I don’t understand how.”
Mayor Shaw continued his prayer. Beside me, I could hear whispers, people ushering their own wishes to the heavens. Whether the heavens were silent, or whether they answered, I couldn’t tell you at that moment. But in the light of that fire, in the collective light of those people, it felt like they did.
“I don’t understand, either,” Anna said. “Maybe someday, we’ll figure it out.”
Shaw concluded his prayer, and a collective amen passed over the crowd.
Soon after that, the people went their separate ways, turning in for the night in their cabins. The dream was over, and tomorrow there was work — working for survival and bringing forth fruit from the land, so that they could work again, and dream again.
Shaw approached us, along with Julian, with whom he had been speaking.
“Thank you for bringing him back,” Mayor Shaw said. “You have given these people hope beyond what you can even imagine. I have no idea what happened down there, but Julian will tell me everything in the days to come.”
“You have decided to stay, then?” Samuel asked.
Julian nodded. “I must spend time with my family. This is my home, and I won’t be parted from it. But when you need me again, I want to be there for the final battle. I will speak to everyone here, and let them know what is going on with the world. If you return, I will be willing to fight for you again, and hopefully, others will as well.”
Samuel nodded. “We will come back, then. We will need the help, when the time comes.”
“So, you’re just going to leave us like that?” Makara asked.
Instead of getting angry, Julian looked at Makara tenderly.
“We will see each other again, Makara,” he said. “This isn’t over yet. There is much I have to do, to help my community.”
She nodded, accepting his answer. “You better remember those words.”
Julian nodded gravely, as Makara turned toward Samuel. “We should go.”
“We appreciate your hospitality,” Samuel said to Mayor Shaw. “I have not eaten like that in…well, ever. But time is short, and we have a mission to carry out. In the coming days, Julian will tell you some very incredible things. Believe every word, Mayor. There is not much time left. Not even for New America.”
The mayor frowned, disturbed by what Samuel said. He looked at Julian, but Julian was now holding out a hand to Samuel.
“Goodbye, Samuel. We will speak again soon.”
Samuel took the hand and shook it. Julian next took mine. He said goodbye to Anna, and went to stand in front of Makara. Even in the darkness, I could see her cheeks redden.
“Take care of yourself,” he said. “I won’t always be there to save you from crawlers.”
Makara gave a small smile. “You have no idea what I am capable of, Jules.”
Julian smiled, and turned back to his family. I was surprised at how sad Makara seemed to see him go.
“Come on,” Ashton said, who had been quiet up until now. “We should get going.”
We turned back for Gilgamesh. After loading up, we lifted off, leaving New America behind. After the warmness of that community, the coldness of the Gilgamesh was a rather strange thing.
Chapter 24
We slept well into the next morning, hovering above the clouds. It was time for the next phase of our mission — going to Raider Bluff, and speaking with Char.
Ashton dropped us off where Odin had been parked. The smaller spaceship was still there, looking as untouched as the day we had left it. It had been sitting there for a week now, even though the sheer amount of events that had happened between now and then made it seem like months.
After bidding goodbye to Ashton and watching Gilgamesh disappear above the clouds, we boarded Odin once more. We had all our provisions and supplies from Skyhome still. All that was left was to set course for Raider Bluff. It was time to meet with Char and tell him about our plan to resurrect the Angels. Samuel had already spoken with Makara about the plan, and he said that she was more than willing to try.
I sat up front with both Makara and Anna as the ship lifted off. Samuel decided to have another nap while he could snag one.
Once we were flying north, I decided to ask Makara a question.
“So, what’s going on between you and Julian?”
From the copilot’s seat, Anna smirked.
“Nothing,” she said, though her reddening face betrayed that answer. “He thinks he’s hot stuff, but he has another thing coming.”
“Right,” I said.
“I think it’s good,” Anna said. “It gives you someone that’s your match.”
“Like I wasn’t?” I asked.
“You better watch yourself, buddy,” Anna said.
“Yeah, what’s going on between you two?” Makara asked. “You were getting kind of cozy on the beach.”
“Look,” Anna said, “we don’t really have to talk about this.”
“Why?” Makara asked. “You’re curious about me, so why can’t I be about you?”
“Point taken,” Anna said.
I decided to change the subject. “So, how do you feel about this Lost Angels thing?”
“I like it,” Makara said. “I actually think it could work. Which is weird, because Sam and I disagree so often.”
“Really?” Anna asked. “I don’t ever see that.”
I smiled. These girls had hated each other’s guts just a couple months ago. Now, they were talking like they were best friends.
“Believe me,” Makara said. “I don’t say anything, but he is always just, mission, mission, mission…”
Anna giggled. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”
At that moment, Samuel walked onto the bridge. Everyone did their best to look busy.
“What’s our ETA?”
“We’re over northwestern Mexico, so just another hour or so,” Makara said.
“Good. I want everyone suited and ready. We can land south of Bluff, a good distance away from the cliff and the road.”
In a little over an hour, we were going to be back in Raider Bluff. It seemed so strange. Char hadn’t seen any of us for two months. As far as he knew, we were all dead, and our mission had failed. We hadn’t made contact with him the whole time we were in Skyhome. That whole time had been spent recovering and planning our next move.
“It’ll be good to be back,” Anna said.
“Yeah,” Makara said. “This place is kind of like my home, in some strange way.”
When we were close, Makara began to pilot the ship downward.
“This whole ‘New Angels’ thing is a mess,” she said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I don’t even know where to start with it. I need to talk to Char. He’ll know what to do.”