Running his hands over his face, he knew he must look like a mess; maybe he should have stopped to clean himself up first. He detected the steps behind the door. The knob turned. The door opened and he saw Laura standing feet away from him. She looked at him hard then her eyes filled with tears as she lunged at him, embracing him in a tight hug. Jacob held her back burying his face in her soft hair.
“I’m filthy,” he whispered to her.
“I don’t care,” she whispered back.
She pulled away, taking his face in her hands and locking eyes with him. “I can’t believe you’re back.” She stopped and hugged him again, crying. He held her until she stopped. Then held her even longer. She backed away and took his hand, leading him into the house. Jacob looked around the small space. It was nicer than he thought it would be. A quaint two-bedroom townhouse. A small living room and dining room off the kitchen with two bedrooms on the second floor.
Jacob saw an M4 rifle on the wall with a stack of thirty-round magazines on top of a bookshelf. Jacob pointed to the rifle. He smiled, remembering a time when Laura refused to handle a firearm.
“All of us have one. A man from your unit took us to the range and taught us to shoot,” she said. “The unit has been great. They upgraded our housing and the other wives helped us settle in. Katy is in school, and I have been helping at the hospital. All of us have a job here.”
Hearing tiny footsteps on the stairs, Jacob turned to see Katy running at him. He smiled and bent down. She jumped into his arms and held onto his neck as he lifted her high. Jacob smothered her with kisses and hugging her tight.
“Daddy, you stink,” she gasped, pushing away.
Jacob grinned, looking at Laura. “Dear, it is pretty foul,” Laura said, laughing, tears once again forming in her eyes.
Jacob, taking the hint, retreated to the shower. After shaving and changing into fresh clothes Laura laid out for him, he felt his body crashing as the exhaustion settled in. He moved back down the stairs and found a fine meal ready for him in the dining room. He stepped to a chair and stopped short, smiling. Suddenly, he felt as famished as he was tired.
“I wish there was more,” she said.
Jacob sat at the table and smiled when Katy pulled up a chair beside him. “This is fantastic; it smells amazing.”
“We're all on ration stamps. This is probably three days’ worth of food,” she said, feigning laughter as she sat across from him and filled his plate with meat and potatoes.
After dinner, they put Katy to bed. Laura made a pot of tea and they dressed in warm, comfortable clothing. She led him by the hand to the backyard, moving to a wooden bench on the patio. It was cold. The temperatures had dropped rapidly, but they didn’t care sitting close together, nestled tight with a blanket wrapped around them. The sky was dark, but clear, the stars shining brightly and a full moon high in the sky. Far off, they could see plumes of oranges and yellows, followed by rumbles of thunder.
“It goes on all night,” Laura said, looking at the flashes of orange light. “The explosions from bombs and artillery; the sound of battle in the distance.”
Jacob didn’t speak; he pulled her closer and held his head against her. “What did you do out there, Jacob?” she asked.
He stayed quiet, starting to speak once before catching himself. “I… I don’t know,” he said.
“It’s okay; we can talk about it when you’re ready.”
They sat close together under the blanket watching the stars, Jacob not wanting it to end. He didn’t want to tell he had to return to duty the following day. For the night, he just wanted to be alone with her. To forget about the war.
She saw it first. The shooting star. She pointed at it as it swiftly passed overhead, shining bright, leaving a trail of silver in its path. More followed it, until suddenly the sky was filled with them. “Jacob,” she whispered, her amazement turning to fear, the fright building in her voice.
He watched the shooting stars as he held her tight, both of them knowing that it was a meteor shower that first brought The Darkness to Earth. He was terrified at what this might bring. The meteors seemed to be orbiting, not falling or getting closer but looping overhead as they were joined by hundreds more, their color changing from the silver sparkles to bright gold as they slowed down. They continued to shoot past, so many of them that they filled the sky. They slowed until they were hardly moving but still passing overhead, floating above them high in the sky.
Then suddenly they stopped.
The Light BOOK III
Chapter Fifty-Four
Jacob sat beside her, trying to imagine the world being peaceful again; no more killing, no more monsters. A place where he could shower, watch TV, enjoy a good meal, and sleep in a warm bed. A dark night sky, the crisp winter air, the backyard’s green grass coated with the light dusting of early snow. He forced his eyes closed, exhaled a long stream of white vapor, and felt her warmth against him, the blanket tight over their legs. Her body pressed against his on the bench, he wanted nothing more than to pull the blanket over their heads, just sit peacefully in his
