The Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel (55 page)

“
All of this because they thought it was a weapon and it was...immortality?
Perfect health?
”

Dwayne nodded.

“I
’
m going to live forever?” Maria couldn
’
t even comprehend the notion completely. “Have perfect health?”

“And be able to walk among the
Scrags
.”

Eyes widening,
Maria touched her stomach
in awe
.
“
Dwayne, I think my uterus
and ovaries
grew back!
”

He chuckled.
“Is
n
’
t
that a good thing?”

She grimaced. “I have my period.”

“It always appears at the worst time,” Dwayne joked.

Maria playfully glowered at him, then her hand returned to her belly.
The full impact of what the return of her reproductive system meant struck her like a thunderbolt.

Dwayne could see it in her eyes and l
oving
ly
traced his fingers over her cheek.
“
Your scars are gone.
All of them.
And you can be a mother, if you choose to be.
”

Maria struggled to grasp it all.
“
I can
’
t go back because of what I am...
”

He nodded.

Maria
all of a sudden
understood why he had come so far for her. Out of fear that she was an Anomaly, he had come to set her free. Instead, he had found that the mad ramblings of Dr. Curran were true.

“You came to kill me.”

Dwayne sighed softly.

Maria licked her lips and
drew
his hand against her cheek.
“And you weren
’
t planning to go back.”

“There is no life for me without you. I realized that tonight. My kids are grown and happy.
I
’
ve done my best for them.
My
life is entangled with yours
and if tonight I had to…”

She had never seen him cry in all their time together, but a tear slipped down his rugged cheek. Brushing it away, she kissed the wet trail on his skin.

“But just in case,” he said with a soft chuckle, “I had Petra secure everything we would need to escape the valley together.”

“I can walk among the
Scrags
…out in the world,” she said in awe.
“Go anywhere…”

“Yes, you can.”

Maria stared into his eyes, understanding. “What about you?”

“
Kiss me and
I can join you
,”
Dwayne
whispered
, touching her lips with his gloved fingers.

“Do you want that? Eternity?” Maria asked, her emotions making her voice soft.

Dwayne
didn
’
t
hesitate.
He leaned down and pressed his mouth to hers.
She
clung to him as they kissed
.
Her lips parted his and she licked the tip of his tongue.

“Stay with me forever,” Maria whispered against his
mouth
.

Drawing away long
enough
to gaze into her face, Dwayne
answered, “I want nothing more.”

Epilogue

The
Inferi Scourge
at their feet was silent.
As they had slept, it had returned to torpor.
Maria bent and touched its head.
It didn
’
t stir.
Dwayne squatted next to her and laid his hand over hers.
The
Scourge
was silent,
its
eyes staring blindly.

Dressed in the
sleek black
SWD armor Dwayne had
brought her
, Maria ruffled the
Scourge
’
s hair lightly.

“
Goodbye,
”
she said, then killed it with a sharp blow to the head with the butt of her gun.

Dwayne stood and in the light from his
armor
she could see that the gray was nearly gone from his hair.
His scars were now a memory and the lines in his face were diminishing.
After sleeping for nearly twenty-four hours, he looked younger and stronger than ever.
Maria
’
s transformation had been slowed by her being killed before the virus was administered. Dwayne
’
s had been smooth and easy due to being alive.

Stepping close to him, she rested her hand on his chest and he smiled at her warmly.

“
Where will we go? she asked.

“
Anywhere we want, I suppose,
”
he answered.
“
The whole world is ours now.
”

Their helmets tucked into their packs, their wristlets updated and secure, Dwayne and Maria crawled through the tunnel. Stealthily, they
scaled
the
rock face
, moving higher and higher.
The grips on their gloves and boots allowed them to
climb
easily and quickly.
Strong winds
buffeted
them as they
ascended the mountain
, the air growing thinner, but their lungs easily adapt
ed
.

A few times they stole looks at the city far below them.
In the moonlight, it was dark and dreary.
The valley around it
spread out like a vast canvas
waiting to be painted
with
the colors of rebirth.

“
Think they
’
ll make it?
”
Maria asked.

“
With Commandant Pierce busting heads, without a doubt,
”
Dwayne assured her.

When they reached the snowline, they crunched over the icy
drifts. Sometimes they found pathways
, other times
they balanced on narrow ledges
.
At last, they were high enough that the valley and the city were far below, hidden beneath soft clouds.

Not even breathless or tired, they stood together, arms about each other
’
s waist st
aring down at the world they had
emerged from.
The cold wind flecked with ice pellets and snow nudged at their
faces
.

Together, they turned and gazed outward at the world
yet to be discovered
. It spread out before them, white and serene under a vast sea of stars.

“
Ready?
”
Dwayne asked.

A kiss was his answer.

Together, hand in hand, they trekked into the unknown world.

Author
’
s
Final
Note

(Please don
’
t read until you finish reading the book)

I absolutely love
THE LAST BASTION OF THE LIVING
.
I hope you did, too.
I love the power of Maria and Dwayne
’
s love, their individual strength, their ability to stand on their own, and yet come together a
s a powerful team.
When
I wrote the last line, I wept.
I was so happy to have finally completed their story.

It
’
s been a wonderful experience to write a novel that has a complete story contained within its pages. Dwayne and Maria find their peace at the end of the tale and wander off into an unknown world. What comes next? Who knows? I think that is what I love best about the end of the novel
: it allows the reader to imagine all sorts of wonderful adventures for the two.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I.

Rhiannon Frater

May 7, 2012

About the Author

Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of the As the World Dies trilogy (The First Days, Fighting to Survive, Siege,) and the author of three other books: the vampire novels Pretty When She Dies and The Tale of the Vampire Bride and the young-adult zombie novel The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters. Inspired to independently produce her work from the urging of her fans, she published The First Days in late 2008 and quickly gathered a cult following. She won the Dead Letter Award back-to-back for both The First Days and Fighting to Survive, the former of which the Harrisburg Book Examiner called
‘
one of the best zombie books of the decade.
’
Tor is reissuing all three As the World Dies novels. You may contact her by sending an email to [email protected] or visit her online at rhiannonfrater.com. You can find out more about the As the World Dies trilogy and world by visiting astheworlddies.com.

–Author photo courtesy of

Mary Milton