“People of Atlantic Island,” she began, “today marks the end of a long, frightening period in all of our lives and the beginning of something bright, new and promising. Today I can officially say that the forces of Paul Tiberius have been defeated. The country is once more in the hands of its people!”
The crowd applauded heartily. She allowed them their time. When they had once again grown silent she continued. “Next week we will be holding elections, to allow you, the people to decide who it is you want to lead you. We plan to put your newly elected leaders in office within the month so that they can continue the work of rebuilding this island.” She paused. “We fought a difficult war for this independence, and I would be remiss if I ignored the sacrifice of so many. I lost loved ones just as many of you did. I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to make sure that a monument is built on the site where the Palace once stood. A monument that will contain all the names of the brave men and women who died to make a future for all of us.
“I believe in all of you, just as Theo Essex and Sam Lucas believed in you. We have overcome so much and I know that we will all work together to overcome the challenges ahead. It is time for all of us to rise up and make of ourselves a great nation. I know you will make us proud. All hail the people of Atlantic Island!”
Epilogue 2
He had a brief sense of cold water rushing over him, filling his nostrils, pouring into his lungs. The next thing he knew, he was being pulled out of that same water. In the next flash of consciousness, he was on a hard surface, a table, with a bright light in his eyes. Concerned faces all around him. Then there was darkness.
Theo awoke some time later in a small room. He was lying on a cot. He stretched his arms. Stunned, he pulled both arms in front of him. His right arm was completely healed. It seemed his ribs were better as well. All told, he felt great. He sat up and looked at his body. He was dressed in loose fitting grey sweatpants and a white tank undershirt.
There was a knock at the door. A man dressed in some kind of military uniform came in carrying a tray with food: a turkey sandwich, an apple and a glass of water. Theo couldn’t remember having ever been so hungry.
“How are you feeling?” the man asked.
“Great, actually. Who are you? Where am I?”
“I’m Chief Petty Officer Gardiner. You are on a vessel belonging to the United States Coast Guard.”
Theo jumped backward. “What? How?”
“Why don’t you come sit here and eat.”
Theo came over to the little table and sat in a chair that Gardiner held for him.
“That’s better,” Gardiner said. “Can you tell me your name?”
“I’m Theo. Theo Essex.”
Gardiner typed his name into a computerized tablet. He paused for a second, maybe waiting for a response, and then his eyes grew wide.
“Mr. Essex, can you tell me how it is that you were discovered in a mass of debris in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean?”
“I… you found me?”
“We did. You were delirious, ranting about war and an island.”
Theo didn’t respond. His memory was starting to flood back, but it felt cloudy, like a dream.
“Well… Mr. Essex,” Gardiner said, “I’ll let you eat, but there are going to be plenty of people with a lot more questions for you. Some very important people are going to be wondering how a survivor of one of our nation’s greatest tragedies just appeared in the middle of the ocean, not a scratch on him. Eat well, now”
With that, Gardiner left the room. Theo heard the familiar sound of a lock being turned in the door. He sat quietly. Though he was starving, he did not eat anything. The memories washed over him. Kylee. Lucas. Mark. All of his friends. All the people he’d lost. He cried then, weeping for everyone…weeping for himself. He wanted to go home, but where was home anymore? If he really had returned…
Theo sat up with a start. The orb. He grabbed the edge of the metal table with his formerly useless right hand and clenched his fist. The metal bent easily under the strength of his fingers. Theo smiled. He had been wrong to think he was meant only to sacrifice himself for the survival of everyone else. It wasn’t about freeing the people of Atlantic Island to live their own lives stranded in a foreign universe. His purpose was to bring them all home. To do that, he had to find the orb. He had to go back. Theo ate his food then, with a pleasure reserved only for one who knows exactly who he is and what he is meant to do.
Afterword
The book you have just finished reading was originally released in three separate installments. All told, this was a year long project, but it has been in my head for much longer than that. I spent much of my life visiting the New Jersey shore every summer. Two things always fascinated me: the feeling that the shore was completely removed from real life, with barely a recognizable store to be found (this has changed in recent years), and the sense that the ocean could go on forever, at least as far as my eyes could tell. From those reflections grew this idea—what if something happened and the shore was all that was left? The very nature of an event (or Event!) that could make something like that possible moved the book into the realm of science fiction. I ran with that, but always tried to stay true to my characters. This story is as much about them, their thoughts, feelings, worries and fears as it is about the struggle for power on the island or the supernatural things that set all of it into motion.
I’d like to quickly thank my beta readers who helped make this a stronger story by calling me out when the plot needed reworking.
Every good thing that has happened to me since I began self-publishing on Amazon can be tied to another work I did this past year. Angels of the Earth is a novella written in Hugh Howey’s Silo Saga world. This is an extension of his novel Wool which I highly recommend. Hugh allowed authors to write stories in his world without charging us for the privilege. Doing that helped me gain valuable experience as an author, and gave the rest of my work credibility. It also positioned me so that when Amazon made projects in Hugh’s world official through Kindle Worlds, I was able to be signed as the first author in the program.
What does this mean for Atlantic Island? Well, I think it’s only fair that I give as well as I got. I’m happy to allow people to write and publish stories set in the universe (universes?) I’ve created here. Run with it. Expand on it. Reimagine it. Just be sure to let people know about the original story!
Will I revisit this tale with a sequel? Time will tell. I love my characters and this bizarre world. I think the stage is set for a future adventure. In the meantime, I have some other projects I want to explore. You can follow all of that at www.fredricshernoff.com or my Twitter @fredricshernoff, or the Fredric Shernoff FaceBook fan page.
One last thing. If you enjoyed this story, please take a moment to rate it on Amazon, or a few moments to write a review. I love hearing readers’ thoughts on my work, and other readers really take your opinions into consideration. That’s all. Thanks for reading!
ALSO BY FREDRIC SHERNOFF