Epilogue
Sierra
Six months later, I wake up as Mrs. Kole.
Kole's still asleep beside me, one arm thrown over my waist. I watch him, thinking about how different he looks now.
That constant tension he carried when we first met has faded.
He still watches the perimeter like a hawk, still plans every supply run with military precision, but now there's laughter in between. Smiles. Life.
“Morning,” I say.
“Go back to sleep,” he groans.
"Can't. Radio check-in in twenty minutes."
He groans but pulls me closer. "Ignore it. Let Jim handle it."
"Jim is at Black Peak helping with their new setup."
"Then let Tom handle it."
"Tom's running supplies to Riverwatch."
"Then let the whole network collapse. I don't care. I have my wife in bed and I'm not letting her up yet."
I laugh and kiss him. "Five more minutes."
"I'll take it."
Those five minutes turn into ten, then fifteen, by which time we've gotten distracted by more than just cuddling. We barely make it to the radio station in time for the morning check-in.
"Mountain Station to all network nodes," I say into the microphone, slightly breathless. "Good morning, everyone. This is Goldfinch with your daily briefing."
The responses come back from six settlements now. Old Pines, Black Peak, Riverwatch, Harper's Point, Summit Station, and the new settlement at Clearwater. Nothing huge, nothing formal, just neighbors staying connected.
"Morning, Goldfinch," comes Janet's voice from Riverwatch. "Any change in that weather system you mentioned yesterday?"
"Holding steady. Should hit you by tomorrow evening. Nothing too serious, but batten down for heavy snow."
"Copy that. And congratulations again on the wedding."
"Thanks, Janet. How's the baby?"
"Growing like a weed. He’s already got lungs like you wouldn't believe."
After sign-off, Kole hands me coffee and settles into his chair beside mine. This has become our morning routine—radio check-ins together, then breakfast, then whatever the day brings.
"Tom's asking if we can help train that new communications officer at Summit Station," Kole mentions, reviewing yesterday's messages.
"The one who can't figure out antenna positioning?"
"That's the one."
"When?"
"Week after next, if we're available."
I consider it. The network has grown organically, settlement by settlement, and somehow Kole and I have become the go-to people for communication problems.
"We can do it," I decide. "But we're taking supplies with us this time. Last trip, we ran out of coffee halfway through."
"Agreed. I'm not helping anyone troubleshoot without adequate caffeine."
The day unfolds in a comfortable routine. We check the perimeter, work on repairs to the cabin's roof, and split wood for winter. Simple domestic tasks that would have bored me senseless before the apocalypse but now feel precious.
That evening, we sat on the porch watching the sunset paint the valley below in gold and orange.
"You happy?" Kole asks, arm around my shoulders.
"Deliriously."
"Even though it's not what you imagined? Before the world ended?"
I think about it. "Before the world ended, I was working in a cubicle, dating guys who were fine but not exciting, living a life that was comfortable but not fulfilling.
" I lean into him. "Now I'm married to a man I love, helping rebuild civilization one radio call at a time, living on a mountain with a hell of a view. Yeah, I'm happy."
He kisses the top of my head. "Glad it was me."
"So what now?" I ask. "We just keep doing this? Building the network, helping settlements, living our life up here?"
"You make it sound boring."
"I make it sound perfect."
"What if it gets bigger? The network, I mean. What if more settlements want to join?"
I shrug. "Then we figure it out. Set some boundaries maybe, make sure it stays manageable. But we do it together, on our terms."
"Our terms," he agrees.
The radio crackles inside with Tom's voice requesting a non-urgent check-in. Kole groans but doesn't move.
"You going to get that?" I ask.
"In a minute. Right now, I'm busy."
"Busy doing what?"
"Sitting with my wife. Watching the sunset. Being grateful for every single day I get to spend with her."
"That's very romantic, Mr. Mountain Man."
"I have my moments."
"That you do."
We sit in comfortable silence, watching the sun sink below the mountains. Tomorrow, the network will need us. There will be problems to solve, people to help, threats to monitor. But tonight, we're just two people who found each other in the ruins of the world and decided to stay.
The apocalypse gave us each other.
Everything else is just details.