“I have assimilated Scarlets’ DNA, it was how I was able to make the jump. I am closer to being human than I have ever been.”
“If I choose, I can age.”
“If I choose, I can cease to exist.”
“If I choose, I can die.”
Jessie nodded, understood and felt her warmth, the smoothness of her skin against his. She might look like Scarlet but she wasn’t. She had her own personality, her own life that she had lived, her own stories to tell.
He was glad.
Ever since he’d left the locket at the foot of the Mona Lisa, he’d let the other Jessie have Scarlet. He tried to shut the door on those memories, she was the girl who got away but she was happy so he was happy for her. Late at night when his mistakes haunted him and wouldn’t let him sleep, abandoning Maddy loomed huge in those remembrances.
“And if I decide I’m finished? I don’t want to go on?” Jessie asked
“Then I will join you.” She said. “I no longer have a duty; I have fulfilled my purpose. I have waited many thousands of years, crossed the galaxy and searched for decades. Now that I have found you, I will not be leaving again.”
They leaned back in their chairs, watched the sun as it dipped into the ocean and painted the world in an amazing palette of colors. He would think on it. He had time. For now, he wanted to enjoy the simple pleasure of an ocean breeze, a contented heart and being close to someone he had missed.
He reached for her hand and held it as the oranges faded to blues.
Afterword
Man, what a journey.
This concludes the main Zombie Road series of books. There will be other tales to tell but like the Feral Children spinoff’s, the stories will be standalone books set somewhere in the long timeline the story encompasses. Zombie Road started with Jessie remembering things, some that happened and some that didn’t, and ended with him an old man who had lived an interesting life. It may be over, it may not. It’s up to him to make that decision.
I doubt Maddy will tell him some of the things she learned during the centuries he was gone. If she told him that the Queen of the Outer Reaches had been alive for as long, maybe longer, than her, it might influence his decision. If she told him she was one of the Anunnaki pilots that had waged war against the galaxy and had killed hundreds of billions he may decide to try to do something about it. He certainly would if he found out she had been sending her ships through time portals to get back to his solar system to repair the jump gate. Like his jumps, they were hit or miss. They’d been coming since shortly after his visit with her and she learned that planet earth still abides. The gold was still there and she still needed it to repair her home planets damaged atmosphere. The Anunnaki and the Reptilians had enslaved mankind before, they could do it again.
Her ships, the ones that survived the perilous jump, first started showing up in the earth timeline in the late 1940’s and were scattered through the decades. The first one crashed near Roswell, New Mexico. Some of them left warnings and instructions for others in the vast fields of crops. Sharaal told her that so far, they hadn’t been successful in repairing the jump gate, they didn’t know how, but they were relentlessly trying to figure it out.
She had brought all the knowledge they needed to build a space worthy craft but he had saved his world once. I don’t think she would pressure him to do it again. I think she will keep her secrets until he makes his decision.
In other Zombie Road news that actually deals with zombies and not ancient aliens, Wesley Norris is writing a series of books based on his character Rye that we met in the Feral Children’s tale. It’s set in the heyday of the Zombie Road world when retrievers are retrieving, Hell Drivers are driving and although Horowitz had a tragic accident and fell off the roof, he still has his devotees.
For all the latest info, join the David Simpson Fan Club on Facebook. I’m on there all the time.
Thanks for reading and leave a review if you have time. They really help us out.
Have fun, be safe and don’t get hit by a bus!
David A. Simpson
March 10, 2021
Also by David A. Simpson
Zombie Road: Convoy of Carnage
Zombie Road II: Bloodbath on the Blacktop
Zombie Road III: Rage on the Rails
Zombie Road IV: Road to Redemption
Zombie Road V: Terror on the Two-Lane
Zombie Road VI: Highway to Heartache
Zombie Road VII: Tragedies in Time
Zombie Road VIII: Crossroads of Chaos
By David A. Simpson and Wesley R. Norris
The Feral Children: Animals
The Feral Children 2: Savages
The Feral Children 3: Nomads
Coloring Book
Zombie Road: The Road Kill Coloring Book
Anthologies
Tales from the Zombie Road: The Long Haul Anthology
The Zombie Road Fan Fiction Collection
Undead Worlds: A Reanimated Writers Anthology
Undead Worlds 3: A Reanimated Writers Anthology
Treasured Chests: A Zombie Anthology
Trick or Treat Thrillers: Best Paranormal 2018
Trick or Treat Thrillers: Best Horror 2018