Read Brigends (The Final War Series Book 1) Online
Authors: Russell Krone
Brigends (The Final War Series Book 1) (30 page)
After the battle, Colonel Jessup and his brigend militia returned to completely liberate the U.R.C prison. Standing as a sizeable force, the freed veterans had been retrofitting the prison ship for its return to honorable service. The process was slow going, but after five weeks, they had completed three-quarters of the work. The warship returning to her past glory was an awe-inspiring picture to behold. Stenciled across her port bow, the name Independence was legible from a great distance.
Jessup, also a busy leader, could only confer briefly with her. She had hoped to persuade him to join her group. He respected her mission to reestablish a civilian community, but it wasn’t an avenue he would consider for himself or his men. He was a soldier. For as long as the war waged on, he needed to be on the frontlines. She valued his conviction, but also felt disappointed. She could have really used a commander like him.
As a parting gift, he gave her several crates of procured weapons and ammo. She accepted them graciously.
Zoe returned to the camp late in the evening, sneaking to her living quarters like a naughty child. When she threw open the flap to her tent, she saw Tank sitting on the ground, waiting for her.
“Don’t say it.”
“What?” His bemused smirk forgave her truancy.
While she sat on the footlocker and struggled with the laces of a sweaty boot, he played with the aqua ora. In his oversized palm, the crystal was a diminutive lump on a canvas of brown.
“You know who else had one of these?” he asked.
“I know.”
Tank handed the crystal to her and she placed it on the nearby crate that was her nightstand. There it served as a talisman for warding off bad dreams. With the tip of the other boot, she freed her foot from its oppressor.
From inside the crate/nightstand, she lifted the single metal dog tag by its long, thin chain. Placing the strand over her head and around her neck, she held it to where she could read the name stamped on its flat surface — Zander, John Robert. She kissed it.
“I miss Patti,” Tank admitted.
Zoe waited to respond. She missed the old woman, too, but she missed someone else more. “I miss Max.”
“Oh, really?” a haughty voice said. “I’m touched.”
The shock of hearing him made them jump. They looked at the opening where Max and Marta were standing.
Zoe went to her son, slow at first. She was afraid he would disappear if she moved too fast. Was he really there? A poke confirmed the obvious.
“And where have you been, mister?”
“Oh, you know me, here and there.”
Max offered himself for a hug. Her arms accepted.
If quizzed later on, Max would deny crying, but in truth — he did.
Zoe finally had her son with her. For nineteen years, she had prayed for another chance to hold him. Now, those years of loneliness were fading from memory.
He was home.
To my wife Corina for being my sole encourager, cheerleader, and partner. Without you, I couldn’t have made it this far.
photo courtesy of his wife
Russell Krone was born in Los Angeles, California to nomadic parents. Not long after his inconspicuous arrival, the elder Krones abandoned the transitory lifestyle and settled down.
Growing up in the pre-digital age, Russell spent most of his childhood playing in the great outdoors and getting into adventurous mischief. Lacking the bombardment of today’s entertainment, he was made to rely entirely on his adolescent imagination to keep him entertained.
By the time Russell entered middle school, he was reading at a college freshman level. Literature opened his eyes to the world. Not satisfied with simply reading other people’s works, he began drafting juvenile screenplays with the hope of someday becoming an established writer. Unfortunately, life intervened.
Over the years, his interests and experiences have varied from art, to sciences, and everything in-between. He served in the U.S. Navy, studied Dramatic Theory in college, sold computers, trained in several Asian martial arts, did the stay-at-home father thing, and has worked for more than a decade as an E.M.T./FIREFIGHTER.
Currently, he resides in Northern California with his wife and three kids.
Life has once again intervened and now he has returned to his first love — writing.
Acta non Verba
coming soon...
The Brigend
Book Two of the Final War Series