Chapter 13 Re
Reunion.
“Today we completed the core structure of the Beetle—Jonathan gave it another name, but I have entirely forgotten what. Griffin took one look at the plans two years ago, said it looked like a giant insect, and the idea took root. Now all we can see when we look at it on paper is a beetle on six legs, so I guess that’s what it’ll be—or she will be.
Natasha said that if most ships are considered females, then our new home on legs should be, too.
We started tinkering with the lines of codes for the AI last week.
She’ll be our mother ship, so to speak. I like that.
I hope that she’ll look over Griffin when we’re long gone.
He just turned eleven, but he’s so strong already, I dare say he shall outlive us all.
The least we can do is not only build him a home, but a friend too. ”
Journal entry from Aurora Melbourne, a scientist who worked for the Revival project.
PERRI
The branches balance with the motion of the Beetle, the heavy fruits secured with a net, as I lie on the floor below the orange tree in the greenhouse.
I’ve been spending as much time as I can up there since Helios showed it to me, reveling in the bounties of nature protected behind glass.
When I offered to help Griffin with the subfunction of his greenhouse, I didn’t expect such a marvel.
The hydroponic gardens at the Traveling Market are messy in comparison, constructed from rusty panels, old pipes, and scratched plexiglass.
Griffin’s greenhouse is a large room at the top of the Beetle, protected by the solar panel wings during travel and sandstorms.
Beet gave me a tour of the garden yesterday, proud as a mother with her children.
There are orange trees, apples, strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, peppers, leeks, pumpkins, zucchinis, eggplants, carrots, and so many other things I’ve never see before.
I was allowed to touch and smell and taste them all if I wanted.
I almost cried tears of joy. The trees have all been secured with ropes and nets.
Beet manages the temperature, humidity and sunlight level—when her subfunction works smoothly, that is—and Griffin and Helios handle the manual labor.
Helios pulled a round, purple root from the dirt yesterday and said with a grin, “Look. It’s a beet!”
“Really? Is it good?” I asked.
“Surprisingly, yes. It’s very sweet. Some communities make sugar with it. Just like our lovely Beet: tough-looking on the outside, incredibly sweet and colorful on the inside.”
“How could they name me after such an ugly vegetable?” said the AI through the speakers in the greenhouse. “Preposterous!”
Helios laughed. “I’m pretty sure they called you Beet, short for Beetle, but hey, if you want to get pissy for nothing.”
“I’m a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, Mister, I do not get pissy.”
“Yeah, yeah…” He gestured dismissively.
But then Beet turned the light off and closed the solar panel wings, plunging us into darkness, and we had to make our way back down holding hands and walking slowly between the hydroponic gardens and planters, giggling like idiots.
Helios is a delight, and he’s been very attentive since my panic attack two days ago.
I hope we’ll stay friends once this is over.
But I do miss Stellan so much it hurts, and today should be the day when we finally reach the meeting point.
We made a short detour to visit a hidden community by the coast so that Griffin could trade a few things with them.
I tried seafood for the first time—mussels and oysters—and I’m not a big fan, but no one in their right mind refuses food in the world after the Rise, especially if it’s fresh and full of protein and nutrients.
Helios made sure to remind me as I forced the oysters down with a grimace.
The motion of the Beetle stops, and Beet says, “Arrived at destination, Shasta Lake.”
I scramble to my feet and I almost collide with Helios as he appears from the narrow staircase.
“Let’s go to the rooftop?” he asks.
I nod vigorously and follow him down the passageway and up the ladder.
He opens a heavy hatch and we climb out to the viewing deck.
My breath catches as I behold the view outside.
Beet has stopped on top of a hill overlooking the lake, with the road and bridge below—surprisingly in one piece.
We can’t miss Stellan and Alastair. The lake—unsurprisingly this time—appears to be only a third of what it used to be before the Rise.
The dam broke years ago, destroyed by an old god, and the many reservoirs emptied and flooded the valley.
Now the water travels as it used to down the Sacramento river, and the empty lake left behind appears like a giant wound in the landscape.
Even from afar, I can see giant tracks in the muddy banks, and point at them. “An old god?”
“Definitely,” Helios says, squinting against the afternoon sun. “Although I’m not sure who. Beet is keeping the cloak function active, so no one will see us from below.”
Now, we wait.
Helios keeps me company the first hour, and we talk about our lives until a truck crosses the bridge. I perk up, but end up disappointed when I realize it’s only a rusty camper speeding down the road at breakneck speed before disappearing.
Eventually, Griffin joins us with snacks—incredible pastries called cinnamon rolls—and they both wait with me as we eat and drink tea.
The sun lowers on the horizon as the day comes to an end, and I’m jittery.
Helios finds his way into Griffin’s arms, and I try not to look at them longingly, thinking about Stellan.
At last, when the dark has fallen over the lake, headlights appear on the other side of the bridge. I hang on to the railing, trying to make out the vehicle.
“Can you see?” I ask.
“Large truck with a camper shell,” Griffin says, his red eyes glowing.
My breath catches, and I’m already climbing down the ladder. They’re here!
Helios and Griffin are right behind me, and the Beetle shakes as she climbs down the hill.
I fall twice along the passageways, losing my footing in my hurry, and almost collide with the closed hatch when I reach it.
Then I’m standing in front of it, clutching the handle, knuckles white, as I stare through the small observation window.
I can only see the ground, so I know we haven’t reached the road yet.
At some point, Helios and Griffin come to stand behind me, but I can only focus on the window.
Until finally, we stop, and Beet says, “Arrived at the end of the bridge.”
Griffin puts his hand over mine to help me open the hatch and I’m jumping off the Beetle.
My knees buckle under the impact, and my wounded leg hurts, but I’m immediately running.
The truck has stopped three hundred feet away, and two people are coming out.
A strangled sob escapes my lips as Stellan starts running towards me, too.
I’ve loved him since the day he pulled me out of the sinkhole and spent all night holding me tight, whispering sweet promises. Promises from a child, and yet he never broke them.
My love never wavered, even as the years passed and we grew up.
It only deepened until I stopped knowing who I was without him.
We breathe as one, and I don’t care if some people find it strange or unhealthy.
He’s mine, and I’m his, and I curse the day I left him behind to venture in the wastelands without him.
He reaches me and sweeps me into his arms. I hook my legs around his waist and bury my face in his chest, crying, crying… His embrace is tight enough to mold my body to his—we’ve always fit perfectly. And he’s warm, warm, warm…
Stellan kisses my wet cheeks and eyes, whispering my name fervently. We have an audience and we don’t care—it never mattered. There is only us, and the world fades to nothing as we are reunited.
“I’m sorry,” I sob.
“It’s okay baby. It’s okay. I love you so much.”
“Oh fuck, Stellan… I’m so fucking sorry.”
And I kiss him, my lips wet, and we taste like salt. He’s crying too.
“Don’t ever do that again,” he warns, threatening even as he’s licking my tears.
“Yes… Never again. I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
“Your leg. How’s your leg? Jesus fucking Christ, Perri.”
“It’s fine, I’m fine…”
I came really close to death—close to losing him forever.
And I know it would have killed him to lose me, and I’d have caused his end, too.
When our day comes, it’ll hopefully come for the both of us, together.
There is no other acceptable possibility.
But for now, we’re alive, and life is fucking beautiful.
“I love you,” I whisper against his lips.
He holds me for a while longer, until we both make sure the other one is really here, safe, and we have calmed down.
Then at last, Stellan turns on his heels and walks to the truck.
Helios and Griffin are standing under the Beetle, waiting for us, and I give them a thumbs up over Stellan’s shoulder, my legs still hooked around his waist as he carries me like a child.
Then he does something I wouldn’t have expected from him in a thousand years: he hands me over to Alastair like a precious package, and says, “There’s someone else who’s happy to have found you.”
Stellan always tolerated my lovers, at best, or straight up ignored them, and he certainly never enjoyed handing me over to one of them. He was never jealous. He just dislikes most people.
“Oh,” I say as I let go of him and land in the King’s big arms.
Alastair’s beautiful smile is the first thing I see, teeth pearly white, as he looks down at me. “Hi, Perri.”