Chapter 22 The Last Goodbye
Finished
When the world was spiraling deeper into chaos, Andrea knew there was only one person left who could truly protect Sibley
-Kiara.
In just a few seconds, Andrea had ran through countless possibilities.
Finally, she pushed herself off the floor, moving slowly toward the window,
“Kiara,” she called softly, stopping Kiara mid–sentence as she tried to comfort Sibley. Leaning back, most of her body already out over the ledge, Andrea’s voice was calm, almost gentle. “From here on. Sibley’s in your care. I know you’ll keep her safe.”
Before Kiara could react, a piercing scream tore from Sibley’s throat as Andrea stepped forward and plummeted from the 32nd floor.
In less than an hour, Sibley had lost both her parents.
She lunged forward, desperate to grab the hem of Andrea’s shirt, but caught only the burning night air.
The instant before Andrea’s body hit the ground, Kiara rushed over, yanking Sibley around and clamping her hands over the girl’s ears. Don’t look, Sibley
Watching her mother jump off the building was already brutal–Kiara couldn’t let her see the rest.
Sibley collapsed into her arms, trembling violently, her grief so deep that no tears would come.
The room fell silent. Kiara’s thoughts a tangled knot,
She had no idea how Sibley’s parents had died in the last life, but this time, this tragedy might have been, at least in part, set in motion by her warnings.
Kiara wasn’t a god; she couldn’t have known this would happen.
And she refused to take all the blame on her shoulders. She forced the dark thoughts away, her eyes clearing as she met Sibley’s tear–swollen gaze.
“Sibley, the heat’s only getting worse. We can’t keep their bodies here for long. Let’s find a place to bury your parents
It was cruel, but the dead were beyond suffering. The living still had to move forward.
She refused to let herself be consumed by grief, and she wasn’t about to let Sibley be crushed by the blow.
Sibley was a science–minded, rational girl by nature. She knew Kiara was right.
Swallowing her grief, she rasped, “Let’s go to Mirfield. That’s my hometown. Dad said just a couple days ago, we should go back to Mount Morton to escape the heat.”
He’d said it more than once, but she and her mother had always stopped him.
If they had gone, maybe she wouldn’t be separated from him forever now.
Tears welled again.
Mirfield. The name gave Kiara pause.
In her memory, it was one of the first places to erupt into chaos, home to a prison for the worst offenders. Even in peacetime, crime can rampant there.
But looking into Sibley’s swollen, tear–reddened eyes, hesitation didn’t stand a chance.
Kiara bent down, hefting David’s stiffening body over her shoulder. “Grab a photo of your parents and a bucket”
Andrea’s body… From that fall, it wouldn’t be in one piece.
Sibley wiped her face and followed.
The drive from the city to Mirfield took nearly three hours
410 AM
Chapter 22 The Last Goodbye
By the time they arrived, the heat had already begun to draw a sickly odor from the bodies.
They found a patch of level ground and began to dig,
Without proper tools, they used wooden sticks scavenged nearby.
y came from..
Kiara could have pulled farming tools from her hidden supplies, but she couldn’t explain where they
It took over an hour to dig two equal graves
The heat was brutal, and dawn came early. By a little after four, the sky was already turning pale gray.
In just a short while, once the sun rose, the temperature would shoot from over 100 F to nearly 160 F.
By then, being outdoors would be impossible.
Finished
Sibley knew it too. Swallowing her grief, she gave her parents a hurried burial and bowed at them three times before leaving
with Kiara
The road out of Mirfield wound through narrow, twisting mountain passes.
Kiara knew this region was dangerous, so she stayed sharply alert, wary of anyone looking to loot them.
Even so, the crack of gunfire behind them shattered her hopes of staying unnoticed
A bullet strucked into the driver’s–side window, making her ears twitch.
Through the rearview mirror, Kiara spotted a man crouched behind a tree, rifle raised toward the Hummer.
Hey hadn’t expected bulletproof glass–after a few failed shots at the windows, he seemed to realize it
Kiara stepped harder on the gas. The man switched tactics, firing wildly at the tires.
Too bad for him–they were bulletproof too.
But pride has a way of tempting fate. Just as Kiara’s guard lowered, Sibley clutched her arm. “Kiara–someone’s blocking the road!”
The warning came too late. A split second later, the Hummer slammed into a rusted–out van across the road, shoving it several yards down the pavement.
