Nathan Hystad: The Survivors: Books 1-3

I lowered the heavy pack to the dirt floor, thankful for the reprieve from its weight.

“Let’s set them down the hall a way too,” I said. Mary grabbed a few of the small bombs from the pack and lined the hall with them, one every three yards. They each packed a punch, but we wanted to make sure the portal was gone for good.

Once we emptied the bag of them, Mary took the detonator and slid it into her breast pocket. I tried to roll the door closed, but it didn’t matter. None of it would survive the coming explosion.

“What about everyone we didn’t remove?” I asked, feeling the guilt weigh heavily on me.

“We don’t have the time or resources.”

I nodded and moved to the center of the room where the table sat, its gemstone glowing now. We’d run this portal ragged, but it didn’t seem to have any limitations. That was good to know for other planets. I’d have to fill Sarlun in on my findings. He’d be saddened to hear we’d destroyed one of them, but I hoped he’d understand why.

With the icon loaded for New Spero, Mary slipped the detonator out.

I grabbed the communicator that was linked to the one we’d left behind on the Bhlat ship housing the Empress and tapped it.

“Empress,” I said into it.

“Dean Parker.” Her voice sounded stronger than the last time we’d spoken.

“It’s done. Earth is yours.”

“Thank you.”

“Remember our deal. Our conflict is over. When the dust settles, I’ll contact you with the locations I promised you.” I held my breath, half-expecting a retort.

“Our conflict is over.”

With the communicator back in my pack, Mary set the detonator timer to twenty seconds.

“Goodbye, Earth,” she said quietly.

I pressed the icon, and everything went white.

“I do,” Mary said through a beautiful smile.

“I now pronounce you man and wife.” The officiant clapped her hands together.

I leaned in, taking Mary’s hands in mine, and I heard the words “you may kiss the bride” after we were already deep into our first kiss as a married couple.

Our friends cheered us on. After a few seconds, I pulled back, not wanting to overdo it.

Mary was so gorgeous, wearing a contemporary wedding dress, her hair in an updo I hadn’t seen before. I wore a tuxedo, the dark pink accents matching her flowers, but it all felt a little out of place on our acreage on New Spero. We’d discussed swaying from tradition, but in the end, elected to follow the old ways from Earth. We couldn’t lose those types of conventions, not with the loss of our home so fresh in everyone’s minds.

We turned to the crowd. I spotted almost everyone we knew, and then some. The day was warm, the planet’s summer season in full effect, and some of the guests were using handmade fans to cool themselves.

Natalia stood beside Mary, acting as her maid of honor, with Magnus at my side as my best man. I glanced and smiled at the front rows, spotting Slate sitting with Clare and Nick, all of them smiling widely. I waved and got a thumbs-up from Slate.

“Time to party!” Mary yelled, getting another cheer. Music came on the speakers, and we walked through the crowd again, stopping to chat here and there. I saw Isabelle and James talking with Leonard, who looked great in his new suit.

Suma and her Gatekeeper father Sarlun were there too, beside Leslie and Terrance. They’d all traveled here for the event via the portals.

“I’m really happy for you two lovebirds,” Magnus said, wrapping his big arm around my shoulder. “I knew we’d make an honest man out of you.”

Natalia was fixing something in Mary’s hair, and little Dean ran up to his dad; Magnus scooped him up in his arms.

I felt something on the back of my leg. I turned to see Carey, holding a toy and pushing it against my calf. I knelt down, so happy to see the aging dog still with so much energy. He accepted my incessant petting and eventually rolled over to let me rub his stomach.

The younger pups found their way over when they saw this, and soon I was playing with them all, tossing a ball while they ran after it. After a few throws, Carey slumped his butt down on my shoe, and watched the more exuberant dogs keep chasing the object.

I loved that dog so much, and he knew it. I could feel Magnus’ gaze on me.

“I’ll be fine. He’s your dog. I only selfishly wish that had worked out differently,” I said.

Maggie trotted over, and Magnus’s son handed me a small bag. I opened it and found a leash, a dog dish, and some food.

“What’s this, Dean?” I asked the boy.

“Maggie’s going to live with you, buddy,” Magnus said, while his little boy shyly hid behind his dad’s leg.

“You don’t have to do that,” I said, looking at the cute dog rolling in the grass.

“Believe me, we have enough going on, and she’s never happier than when she’s over here with you. Don’t say no. You need it as much as she does.”

I didn’t argue. I just picked up Maggie and got a faceful of licks for my trouble.

As I looked around, surrounded by so many familiar faces, I struggled to remember the man I’d been before the Event.

Magnus set up, chasing Dean and the dogs, and everything felt right.

“We did it,” Mary said in my ear as she wrapped her arms around me from behind.

I spun around and kissed her again, this time not caring about first-kiss protocol. I heard James yell, “Get a room.”

He had the right idea, but we had the reception to get through first.

T he night wore on, and soon there were only a handful of us left outside our house. Isabelle and James had gone to our guest room, staying with us while they visited from Terran Five.

Clare, Nick, and Slate all sat down at the outdoor fire pit, where embers were glowing hotly in the night air. So much had changed, but so much about us had stayed the same.

“I need to get Suma to bed soon.” Sarlun wore what must have passed for formal wear back home and was as colorful as a flowerbed. He wore it with dignity and grace befitting a man of his stature.

“Thanks for coming. I’m looking forward to spending our honeymoon in your hot springs,” I said, amazed that such a spellbinding place existed. Sarlun had offered his second home there to us, and when he showed us images of the area, we couldn’t say no.

“Dean.” His translator said my name after he spoke. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” His eyes narrowed, and his extended nose twitched. He was nervous about something.

I took a pull from my beer bottle. “No better time than the present.”

“The Theos may be back.”

I spit out the beer I’d sipped and wiped my mouth with my shirt sleeve. “How do you know?”

“One of the Gatekeepers found something,” his speaker translated.

“What is it?”

“I cannot tell you. Only Gatekeepers may know.”

My stomach clenched, and I looked around at what I had: a wonderful small home on a large piece of land on New Spero, with a newly-wed wife, and a dog that followed me around everywhere I went. That was the dream. It had always been mine.

“We’ll do it,” a voice from beyond the fire pit’s light said. Mary walked over, her dress traded for something more functional. She had a beer in her hand too, and she clinked the near-empty one I was holding.

“We will? He hasn’t asked us anything.” I wasn’t sure we should be rushing into this, but our path had already been forged.

“I will ask you. Dean and Mary, will you join our ranks as Gatekeepers? My daughter was right about you. You are special.” He looked me in the eyes without breaking the gaze.