Impetus (27 page)

CHAPTER
42
 

Two weeks passed.

King was never seen or heard from again
. Mick assumed he eventually succumbed to the virus, alone in his kingdom of rubble. A just ending for an unjust man.

The remaining scientists formed a committee to decide Phillip
’s fate. Some wanted to throw him out of The Facility. Inject him with his own accelerant. Let him suffer the same fate as King. Sid convinced them otherwise. He told them that it was the wrong foundation to lay for humanity’s new start. If they were going to rebuild, then it should be atop the lessons they had all learned, and not on more mistakes. They would need to build something that they could all proudly stand on. A foundation that would support the great new world they would start.

The security team
’s first effort was to restore the police station to a somewhat working station. Dr. Jones was banished to a lifetime within that station. The committee decided he should not be afforded the comforts of the jail within The Facility’s walls. He would languish in the very cell that Solomon had spent most of his adult life, staring at the same water-stain mouse, dwelling in the same negative thoughts that the world outside brought.

Mick walked into one of the many rooms located within
The Facility. The automatic doors slid open as he approached. They were going to take some getting used to.

“
Hello,” Mick said.

“
Hey, Dad,” Nate said.

“
Hi, Daddy,” Kathryn said.

He wondered how much longer she would call him that. He hoped forever.
It made him feel younger.

“
What did you learn today?”

Sandeep chimed in.
“History. Nate insisted.”

“
Trying to be well-rounded,” Nate said before Mick could ask. “You know, for when I go on job interviews.” He smiled.

“
That’s my boy.”

“
I told you society always found a way to rise from its ashes,” Kathryn added smugly.

“
Yeah, yeah,” Nate said. “You were right. There’s a first time for everything, I guess.”

It was nice to see them back to normal.

“Where are Chester and Laurel?” Sid asked.

Deep said,
“Last I saw of Chester, he was finishing up the touches on his ministry. He seems happy to have an actual room now rather than a corner of the shelter. And Laurel is down in the medical ward. She can’t soak in the information fast enough. She says they have really done some great things here.”

“
That’s good,” Mick said. “I’m happy to know some good came out of this place. And how about you, Deep? How are you feeling?”

“
Much improved. And I must say, sleeping in that bed for the past few nights has done wonders for my happiness. Much better than the cot used to.”

“
Almost too comfortable,” Mick said. “All right. I’ll let you get back to what you were doing. I was just checking in. I’m off to see Solomon’s new digs. Sid said he gave him Phillip’s old room.”

Mick brushed Nate
’s head with his hand. He then kissed Kathryn on the crown of her head and left the room.

Solomon
’s room was at the end of the hall, past the bustling labs that at one time had produced the accelerant but now produced the cure. Solomon’s genes worked beautifully to eradicate the virus. Typically within forty-eight hours of injection, the patient was virus-free. The team of scientists and engineers had worked on a method to introduce the cure in an airborne way. There were too many people to inject. Deep helped to create the air pushers that the security team were now scattering across the city. That would be step one in a long series of steps aimed at getting back what the meteorites had destroyed.

“
C-come in,” Solomon said after Mick pushed the Call button outside his door.

Mick entered to see Solomon
behind a large desk. “What are you writing?”

Solomon smiled.
“Ms. S-Stella t-t-told me t-to write w-what happened so others w-w-won’t m-make the s-same mistakes.”

“
She was a very smart lady, Solomon. I wish I could have gotten to know her better.”

Solomon smiled warmly. He
then went over to the bookcase to his right and removed a small wrapped box. He brought it over and handed it to Mick.

“
What’s this?” Mick asked.

“
Open it.”

Mick tore the thin wrapping paper off
and smiled. “Who put you up to this?” he asked, thinking it must have been one of his kids. “Thank you, Solomon. It’s just what I always wanted. My very own supply of canned meat.”

Solomon reached out and pulled Mick close. He hugged him with all the love he had been robbed of for all those years. He hugged him for a future he’d never dreamed possible and a past he’d helped him escape. But most of all, Solomon hugged him because Mick was now family. And family stuck together.

THE END