Ascension

'What did he say?' Tricia asked Stewart.

'He's telling them we have to go, that we did the right thing and sometimes the right thing requires a sacrifice. One day they will understand. He's saying that you are their new mother now and Bill is their new father…' Stewart's voice trailed off.

Tricia watched as both children crawled up into seemingly thin air to be held there embracing something she couldn't see.

'Why can't I see him?'

Stewart shrugged, 'Heck if I know. He isn't here for you maybe.'

'Then why can I see you?'

'Because I am?' snorted Stewart, 'We've got to go Tricia, we won't be back. I feel thin, pulled out and worn, like an old set of shoes. It's all I can do just to be here now.'

'Take us with you!' cried Nick in a moment of desperation.

Stewart shook her head and turned away from the scene, 'I can't watch this, bad enough that I have to listen to it. Consider yourself lucky that you don't hear Max. Tricia, take care of the kids. I know I don't even have to ask, but I am anyway. You know, I think I could have been your friend.'

'Of course! I don't…I, Stewart! What's happening?' Tricia pointed at the children. A white light was forming between them.

Stewart turned back to the scene and yelled out, 'Max! What are you doing?'

The light went off like a flash and both kids were dumped on the ground in a crying heap. For a moment Tricia thought she saw Max, a thin pale outline a few steps away from the kids, his arms were held wide towards his children. Stewart rushed to his side and both of them flared briefly before fading from sight. The cries of the kids brought her eyes away from where the figures had disappeared and she rushed to them.

They were a mess, sobbing from the experience with their father and bloody from falling into a thistle patch on the ground when he dumped them.

'Nick, Jessica, c'mon, let's get you inside.'

'Our dad was here!' Nick said, sobbing. 'And he left. And he wo-wouldn't takes us with him!'

'It's okay Nick. I know. I know everything. You'll be okay. C'mon, let's go in.'

— END~

Author's note

Thank you. Really that is all I want to say. More specifically thanks to the supporters who have dedicated countless hours to helping me in all my writing. In no particular order thank you to:

Kirk Allmond, Mike Keleman, Josh Detwiler, Michael Picco, Jessie Masoner, Shabbir Safdar, Anne Clodi, Ricardo Morales, Cassandra Stryffe, Chris Philbrook, Elina Kelley and all the guys on the 'First Eyes' website.

If you see your name up there and don't know why, well, you may have just given me a bit of encouragement when I was down or made me laugh when I needed it. Or maybe you even provided the name for this latest 'The Zombie Chronicles' book (Kirk). Some of the names are old, some of them are new, but to all of you I owe a debt of gratitude. Thank you. Oh and if you think your name should be up there, drop me a line, that is the wonder of digital copy, I can fix things pretty quickly and will do so if I've overlooked anyone!

For the record I started writing this book on August 7, 2010 and finished on April 25^th, 2011. Not too shabby for 8.5 months and 110,700 words. Hopefully you've enjoyed this book; it is the last one that Max and Stewart appear in, but not the last one in the series, not even close.

Mark Clodi

April 26^th, 2011