The City of Refuge: Veronica Journey Iii

By Juan Rodriguez

After the epic battle with the Shermanites at the end of the previous novel, the Pope Sherman is after them. They have to head out of the country and make it to Australia which is the only safe place.

Their first stop is in Britain where they hold a funeral and collect survivors with no memories. Then they head to Spain and collect more survivors and have to face storms made of ash and soot. They soon head to Peru where they meet Shaddrach’s former lover, Michal. She will be the new villain with her secret power of subtle mind-control. They adventure to Africa where they get trapped fighting Bleeders. Dangerous creatures that bleed a cement-like substance and melt in sunlight.

After surviving all of this, Veronica is betrayed by Michal, and she ditches them to stay in Korea in a giant castle where she has to overcome impossible obstacles, tests and mazes by using her knowledge of religious history and getting inside of the Pope’s head to uncover clues, which lead her to magical gems that she can use to enhance her powers or help the others.

Meanwhile, the rest of the characters settle down in Australia, assuming political roles over this last makeshift excuse for a civilization. The Pope threatens to make his way to Australia to capture Veronica and use her powers to get stronger. Everyone must join together for this epic battle, and their only hope is that they are all left in the dark about the tasks of their friends. The only way this plan works is if everyone is given their assignments in secret whilst being ignorant of the other people’s assignments and missions. If one fails, they all fail and that means Sherman will win.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 19, 2020
• ISBN: 9781796092059

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Copyright © 2020 by Juan Rodriguez.

ISBN:        Softcover         978-1-7960-9197-7

                  eBook               978-1-7960-9205-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 03/04/2020

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Contents

Preface

BOOK ONE

The Last of Celsta

Chapter 1   Coma or Just Sleeping?

Chapter 2   Hidden Secrets of The Past

Chapter 3   My Heart Is Broken

Chapter 4   You Will Always Have My Heart

BOOK TWO

Old Faces, New Allies

Chapter 5   This is My Homeland

Chapter 6   La Isla De Oscuridad (The Dark Land)

Chapter 7   Reunited and It Feels So Good

BOOK THREE

To Samaria and to the Ends of the Earth

Chapter 8   Betrayal Cuts Deep

Chapter 9   Light Overcomes The Darkness but The Darkness has Not Understood It

Chapter 10   Mutation and Annihilation

Chapter 11   The Temple of Light

BOOK FOUR

The City of Turmoil

Chapter 12   Welcome To Your New Home

Chapter 1   Tory Meets Michal

Chapter 13   The Mystery of The Rooms

Chapter 2   The Law of Jabeshi

Chapter 14   Wisdom

Chapter 3   Divulging

Chapter 15   Together Forever

Chapter 4   This Castle of Glass

Chapter 16   You Have Broken The Everlasting Covenant

BOOK FIVE

The Mystery of The Swallowtail and The Tree of Life

Chapter 5   Project Urim and Thummim

Chapter 17   Mercy Over Sacrifice

Chapter 18   The Last Dialogue

Preface

WELCOME BACK. I COULD SEE YOU ARE STILL ALIVE BECAUSE YOU HAVE OFFICIALLY MADE IT TO MY THIRD AND FINAL JOURNAL. IF YOU ARE READING THIS, THEN YOU HAVE SURVIVED LONG ENOUGH TO HAVE READ MY LAST JOURNAL ENTRY ENTITLED THE VERONICA JOURNEY. SOMETIMES LIFE FORCES YOU TO MAKE LIFE CHANGING DECISIONS. WHEN THE CLOCK IS TICKING AND A CHOICE HAS TO BE MADE, SOMETIMES THE WORSE THING YOU COULD DO IS STOP TO THINK. PRECIOUS TIME IS WASTED. IF YOUR HOMETOWN IS BEING THREATENED AND YOU ARE OUTNUMBERED, DO YOU FIGHT OR DO YOU RUN? WHEN YOU ONLY HAVE A YEAR TO LIVE, WHO WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR HEART TO? THE RIGHT DECISION IS ALWAYS THE ONE THAT NO ONE IS WILLING TO TAKE. THE RIGHT PATH IS ALWAYS THE ONE THAT NO ONE IS WILLING TO WALK. UNPAVED AND UNCERTAIN — THAT IS ALWAYS THE RIGHT CHOICE. I HAVE WITNESSED MANY THINGS IN MY MIND AND HAVE SEEN AND FELT THE STORIES BEHIND EVERYONE, BUT I HAVE MAINLY TRIED TO FOCUS MY ENERGY ON TELLING YOU THE STORY OF THE CELSTIANS. IT IS BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME AMAZING PEOPLE FROM THERE. VERONICA AND THE OTHERS ARE REALLY GOING TO CHANGE THE WAY THIS WORLD IS. IN MY LAST JOURNAL ENTRIES, I EXPLAINED TO YOU HOW SHE FOUND CELSTA AND THE OBSTACLES SHE OVERCAME. I BET YOU’RE WONDERING HOW IT IS THAT I CAN BE SO FAR AWAY AND YET SO CLOSE. HOW IS IT THAT I AM DESCRIBING OTHER PEOPLE’S PAIN AND OTHER PEOPLE’S EMOTIONS? I CAN EXPLAIN WHAT THEY ARE THINKING AND FEELING. WHEN SHERMAN KIDNAPPED ME YEARS AGO AND EXPERIMENTED ON ME, HE CHANGED ME. I WAS A NORMAL PERSON BEFORE, BUT ONE DAY, WILSON SHERMAN DECIDED TO INVADE MY COUNTRY AND DESTROY EVERYTHING. LUCKILY HE DECIDED THAT I WAS OF USE TO HIM; SO HE KEPT ME ALIVE AND EXPERIMENTED ON ME CONTINUALLY. FINALLY, I DEVELOPED POWERS. THESE POWERS WERE BEYOND ANY NORMAL POWER THAT ANY SBP SHOULD HAVE. IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW, SBP STANDS FOR SHERMAN’S BIOLOGICAL PUPPETS. THOSE ARE THE UNLUCKY THAT, UPON RECEIVING MUTATION, THEY TURN INTO OBEDIENT LITTLE PUPPETS OF SHERMAN’S PLANS. HOWEVER, I WAS ONE OF THE FEW THAT DIDN’T TURN INTO THESE PUPPETS. MY MITOCHONDRIA DNA WAS DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHERS. I DEVELOPED MENTAL POWERS. I CAN FEEL WHAT YOU FEEL AND THINK WHAT YOU THINK AND EVEN SEE THROUGH YOUR OWN EYES BY JUST SIMPLY PICTURING YOU IN MY HEAD. WHEN I FIRST DEVELOPED THESE POWERS, I FELT LIKE I WASN’T MYSELF. I IMMEDIATELY LOST THE ABILITY OF SPEECH AND MY BALANCE BECAME TERRIBLE. NOT TO MENTION I FELT AS IF I WAS INSIDE OF THE BRAIN OF EVERYONE AROUND ME. EVERYTHING CHANGED WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO ESCAPE FROM SHERMAN’S HOLD AND THEN THINGS CHANGED EVEN MORE WHEN I FELL IN LOVE WITH THE ONE PERSON IN THE WORLD THAT I KNEW I SHOULDN’T HAVE FALLEN FOR. THE SECOND MOST DANGEROUS MAN. NOT WILSON SHERMAN OF COURSE, BUT HIS BROTHER WHO IS NOW KNOWN AS L. SHERMAN. FROM THAT TIME ON, SHERMAN AGREED TO CREATE A TREATY WITH AUSTRALIA, A NEW LAND TO ME. THIS WAS THE TREATY OF THE CITY OF REFUGE. THROUGH THIS TREATY, SHERMAN AGREED THAT IF GLOBAL DOMINATION EVER BECAME A PART OF HIS PLAN FOR THE WORLD, THEN HE WOULD LEAVE AUSTRALIA ALONE AND NOT HURT AUSTRALIA EVER. FOR THE PURPOSE OF HARVESTING FRESH FOOD AND OXYGEN THAT WOULD BE UNAFFECTED BY RADIATION, INFECTION, ETC… BUT SECRETLY — TO KEEP ME STILL BREATHING. AN ELECTROMAGNETIC FORCE FIELD WAS PLACED OVER AUSTRALIA TO GUARD IT AGAINST PESTILENCE AND RADIATION. THIS IS AMONG THE MOST SACRED, ABSOLUTE LAWS THAT SHERMAN HAS. HE WANTED ME FOR A LONG TIME. I KEPT A PROPHETIC EYE ON HIM TO SEE THROUGH HIS EYES AND THINK IN HIS HEAD. JUST TO MAKE SURE HE WASN’T EVER GOING TO DO SOMETHING CRAZY. THEN, AFTER HE DESTROYED EVERYTHING, I NOTICED THERE WAS ONE PARTICULAR GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT HE DESIRED TO DESTROY VEHEMTLY, EAGERLY, THE CELSTIANS. THEN HIS INTEREST IN ME DIED OFF AND FOCUSED ON PROJECT VERONICA. THAT’S WHEN I BEGAN TO KEEP A PROPHETIC EYE ON VERONICA AND THE CELSTIANS. BOTH BEFORE AND AFTER THEY BECAME WHAT THEY ARE TODAY. I BEGAN CHANNELING MY ENERGY AND POWERS TO THEM. SO THAT I CAN DOCUMENT EVERYTHING THEY DID AND HOW THEY FELT AND WHAT THEY THOUGHT. MY FIRST SERIES OF JOURNAL ENTRIES I ENTITLED THE VERONICA JOURNEY AND THE SECOND ONE I ENTITLED THE ARCANUS DOOR. I AM WRITING THIS TO MAKE SURE THAT IF THESE ARE EVER LOST, THAT THEY MAY BE FOUND AND THAT YOU MAY LEARN FROM THE HISTORY OF OUR PAST. WE CAN’T COMMIT THE SAME MISTAKES AGAIN IN OUR HISTORY. WE CAN’T SURVIVE IT AS A NATION IF WHAT SHERMAN DID HAPPENS AGAIN. I AM WRITING MY LAST SERIES OF JOURNAL ENTRIES. I AM CALLING THIS ONE THE CITY OF REFUGE. REMEMBER MY WORDS AND TAKE THEM TO HEART.

-LOVE, A. SHERMAN

Book One

The Last of Celsta

Chapter One

Coma or Just Sleeping?

KARISHMA: You have been here for hours, Jessica. Don’t you think you should get some rest or something?

JESSICA: I am not leaving, mom. Not until she wakes up. The streets are a mess, and she saved us. Now she is not even waking up. I am not leaving until she wakes up. I owe her this much, at least. I was so mean to her before, and she saved us from them. The least I can do is sit here and wait for her to wake up.

KARISHMA: It’s been days. The rest of us don’t think she will ever wake up.

JESSICA: She’ll wake up just fine. Go keep Stephen company. Let him know that Veronica is still unconscious — but that she will wake up soon. I know it. I just do.

KARISHMA: Okay. I’ll see you later, then.

Jessica sits by the bed with her face salty wet as her arms grow limp from all the slouching. Veronica lies in the bed adjacent to Jessica. Every three or four minutes, Jessica gets up nervously going to check Veronica’s pulse to see if she’s alive. Despite the fact that her chest is moving up down, and the fact that her face intermittently spasms every now and then, Jessica still frets that Veronica might be dead.

The nerves are getting to her, and I can feel it. Her thoughts are racing and disorganized. She likes to organize her thoughts, make plans, but with all the stress, it seems impossible to put everything into mental groups. Jessica’s feet begin throbbing as she sits there on the chair, squeezing herself with only the sound of Veronica’s breathing and her own panting. I send positive thoughts to her mind so that she feels at peace, but I try to leave her alone for the most part. Sometimes it’s good to mourn or to be angry. God knows I never feel it for myself, only for others.

JESSICA: Come on, V, wake up. What you did was amazing. Please don’t just go into a random coma now. Wake up, V. Wake up, V.

Now she rocks back and forth, continuing to whisper under her breath, Wake up, V. Veronica’s brain is recuperating from all of the mental stress she used when destroying the Shermanites with the water. They don’t understand that this is the first time she has used her powers at full throttle, so she needs to recuperate.

Once she grows accustomed to it, then she will be able to be a master. She will be all right; she just needs to rest. I wish I could tell Luis to explain that to them, but the radio is down.

No matter how many times I send the feeling and idea of fixing it to Shaddrach and Sheva, they don’t seem to act upon it. Actually, they never act upon any thoughts I send them. They are very stubborn — even in that way. Jessica continues to worry, not understanding the situation.

JESSICA: You have been sleeping for days, Veronica, so you don’t know the things that have happened. Life is a sad excuse to live. I can’t believe that we have come this far and still have accomplished nothing. It almost feels like we were running on a treadmill this whole time. I was so sure I had a definite goal in life.

She scratches the grime out of her forehead as she continues talking.

JESSICA: Now, I am not sure what the point is to even be alive. Then you did that thing with the water. Sherman didn’t make it possible for you to be able to do that. There was always something inside of you, Veronica. I refuse to believe that this is a by-product of bio-mutation. I saw the look in your eyes. No monster makes that face.

She takes a deep breath.

JESSICA: There was an expectant confidence in it. Like you knew exactly what you were doing. We didn’t even get hurt — only them. You are special, Veronica. Veronica, I am so sorry. I treated you so wrong for such a long time. I treated you like scum just because I was in love with the man of your dreams. I know that it was wrong, but I just wanted to keep on loving him no matter what. In my heart, I hated you for that, V, but I never meant to. I’m sorry that I hurt you, Veronica. You are such a good person. Even after all of the ways that I hurt you, you still sacrificed your life for me and for all of us. Thank you so much.

Jessica now grabs Veronica’s arm and caresses it tenderly like a younger sister admiring her older sister.

JESSICA: V, please wake up because we need you alive and active. We are fixing the ship and heading to Australia. Celsta needs you, V. We need you as a leader, as a defender. Wake up, V. I can’t do this by myself, please.

I send some of Jessica’s positive energy into Veronica because she could use some of that in order to recuperate. Suddenly, Jessica feels tired and drained; she doesn’t know why, but that’s because I transferred her energy to Veronica’s.

JESSICA: V, if you don’t wake up, I will be very pissed because I have worked so hard for this and now that I actually, for the first time, ask for your help, you deny me and lie there. For God’s sake, Stephen’s heart stopped beating, and we had to bring him back with broken machines. It was almost impossible. His heart is like useless now. And Amanda lied to you about Stephen dying so that you can get angry enough to trigger your powers. Don’t you just wanna wake up, so that you can strangle her, at least?

Veronica’s face is blank, empty, like nothing’s there. She just lies there, remaining motionless. Jessica is screaming at the top of her lungs with her thoughts so loud I can’t even focus on what’s going on in Peru. I just try to cope as best as I can. She gets up and paces back and forth around the room restlessly. She’s biting her nails, looking at Veronica anxiously as if she could wake up any moment and jump out of the bed like a super hero, but that’s not the case here.

JESSICA: I think she could be in a coma now. That’s probably what happened. Maybe a chunk of her brain fell out in the process of her doing all that bending, magic stuff and now a big chunk of her brain is just missing. She’s going to be in a coma for the rest of her life because of us. Oh no!!

Jessica jumps on the bed and begins shaking Veronica, hoping that she’ll wake up. Jessica places one hand on Veronica’s shoulder and the other hand on the other shoulder. While shaking her, she attempts to lift her from the bed. However, Veronica’s head just flops back like a dummy or a cadaver even.

JESSICA: It’s been two days, Veronica. Wake up already. My goodness.

Finally, Jessica decides to sit on the chair. Suddenly, a thought of Mikey pops into her head. The thought of how he was taken up away from her by Sherman’s AGL. I didn’t send her this thought. I’ve actually been suppressing it so she won’t be depressed, but every now and then the invisible dam I’ve set up to block those thoughts lets it escape. Mikey’s face stays imprinted in her mind, and she tries to focus on Veronica, but everything seems so overwhelming.

JESSICA: Come on, Veronica. Wake up, please. Do it for Mikey, at least. Wake up for Mikey’s sake, please.

After much distress, Jessica leaves and wanders off to the desolate wasteland that was once Celsta. The Celstians walk around dirty, seeing the blood on the floor and the rubble that is spread all around. Jessica sees the ship over on the ground; it’s nearly turned upside-down. The ship won’t fly, but they managed to half-drive it back to the outskirts of town. Sheva comes over, approaching Jessica.

SHEVA: Hey, Jess, how are you feeling?

JESSICA: I’ve been better, Sheva. Really, I have.

SHEVA: I believe you.

Soon Shaddrach walks up to them as well.

SHADDRACH: What’s going on with Veronica?

SHEVA: Way to go with the small talk, brother.

SHADDRACH: We don’t have time for small talk, sister. Sherman and his little minions are probably on their way here to dissect us or worse.

Jessica bites her lip, and she looks down at the floor nervously.

JESSICA: We can’t afford to get caught, Shaddrach. If we get caught and Sherman finds us or worse, if he manages to get his hands on Veronica, he could kill everything and everyone. I never realized how powerful she was until two days ago. She grabbed water and made a wall to block all of the bullets, and then she made the bullets fly back and kill all of them. How do you even describe that? It was crazy. I almost still can’t believe it.

SHEVA: Well, it was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.

JESSICA: Sheva, you might think it’s cool, but it’s horrendous.

SHADDRACH: Very, very scary. If Sherman in any way gets his hands on Veronica, it’s over. She’s our best weapon and the most dangerous one, too.

SHEVA: Yeah, but Sherman doesn’t really think that she knows how to use her powers. He probably thinks that we’re dead or something.

Jessica looks around, and she drags her feet as she walks toward the Aargon ship to lean on it. She looks at the structure and notices the dereliction and brokenness.

JESSICA: It’s too damaged right now. There’s no way we could fix it now, can we.

SHADDRACH: That’s not true.

He walks up to Sheva, and he chuckles arrogantly. I feel he’s almost too confident to even accept defeat.

SHEVA: Brother and I can fix it.

JESSICA: You really think you could fix the Aargon ship?

SHEVA: I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that right now.

JESSICA: If there is a way that you guys can fix the ship, then you guys need to do it fast because one of these days Sherman is going to find that the ship is still viable, and then he’s going to realize that the Celstians are still alive. He will come for us, and it’s not going to be pretty. Remember what happened to Celsta last time?

Sheva grabs Jessica by the arm and drags her over to where there is destroyed concrete and blood spatters along with the broken down Aargon ship.

SHEVA: You see that ship, Jessica?

JESSICA: Obviously I see it, Sheva. What’s your point, Sheva?

SHEVA: Who destroyed that ship?

JESSICA: Technically you did. Because you were so impatient that you crashed it into the other one and because of that noise, the other, other ship found us.

SHEVA: Exactly, I don’t break things and not fix them. I will certainly fix the ship, Jessica. Now, no more questioning our abilities, it’s insulting.

Jessica looks behind her, and she sees Shaddrach catching up to them. He is furious all around, and he can’t understand why Sheva is in such a relaxed mood.

SHADDRACH: I don’t understand you. The people are ready to stone us, and they want to leave to The City of Refuge now. We need to get working on this darn thing now, sister.

SHEVA: Brother, go round up everybody that is even slightly good at fixing technology and get them here fast. We are fixing the ship as best as we can. We’ll see what we can do. But you should know its collateral damage won’t be easy.

Shaddrach goes running off to get the people. As Sheva is ready to walk into the Aargon ship to see what further damage has been done, Jessica grabs her by the arm forcefully. She jolts backward with her curly hair swishing in the air. Sheva looks at Jessica right in the eye and wonders what her desperation is.

JESSICA: Sheva, how is he doing?

SHEVA: I told you that he’s fine. His heart rate is slightly abnormal, and his skin has never been so cold. However, he is stable, lucid, and breathing just fine. I think he’ll last long enough to get in an Aargon ship and fly to Australia just fine. Karishma doesn’t think his body can handle the rapid change in altitude and that his heart might collapse. As soon as we get him more stable, he will be able to fly-

Jessica interrupts Sheva’s rambling and anxiously asks her again, this time with sincerity in her eyes.

JESSICA: No, Sheva, how is he doing?

SHEVA: He’s been asking for you. I won’t be bias this time. He’s been asking for you more than Veronica. I don’t know if it means anything, but I’m sure that’s what you wanted to hear, isn’t it.

JESSICA: Sheva, it’s not like that.

SHEVA: It is how it is, Jessica. I know the feeling. Trust me, I know the feeling. I have to go fix the ship. See you around.

Sheva attempts to walk away, but Jessica doesn’t let go of her arm. Jessica yanks her back to the same position.

JESSICA: Sheva, you have no idea what it feels like when you take care of someone, and you have to watch them be taken away. You have no idea what it feels like when your heart is yanked out of your chest and destroyed right in front of you. You have no right to judge me.

SHEVA: I have every right to judge you because I know exactly what you feel. You’re still in love with him, aren’t you?

I’m in her head now, and I think Sheva misunderstood the whole conversation.

JESSICA: Sheva, I was talking about Mikey. My heart has been torn because of my son. I wanted to know if Stephen was crying or upset about Mikey. He’s always going to act tough around me because he doesn’t want me to break down. I’m over Stephen.

Jessica stomps away insolently to go catch up with Stephen who is being comforted by many people. In the burnt, dilapidated, broken-down house, Stephen lies in the bedroom with the door fully exposed since it was ripped off. It should take Jessica no time before she gets there, since she must have taken a short path along the woods. Jessica being absent has caused Karishma, Amanda and Caophe to cater to Stephen.

KARISHMA: Is there anything else that you think you might need, Stephen? I don’t desire for you to be in want.

STEPHEN: No, it’s fine, Rishy. You’ve done enough already. Have you heard from Jessica and Veronica? Has she woken up yet by any chance?

AMANDA: No, she still hasn’t. She’s been sleeping ever since that little stunt she pulled. I have to say, that was some pretty amazing stuff back there. My God.

Stephen coughs, and Amanda runs to him. She bends down over him and sympathetically pats his head.

AMANDA: I’m in no rush for Veronica to wake up any time soon.

STEPHEN: That’s not very nice to say, Amanda.

AMANDA: No, well, you see. She said she didn’t really know how to properly trigger her powers, but she said that anger and pressure causes them to trigger. So I may have done something terrible to her. I feel bad, but it was the only way her powers were going to stimulate. It’s the reason why she was able to save us.

Caophe sits in the corner crumbled up in a fetal position, whispering something under his breath while Karishma paces back and forth with a countenance of curiosity.

KARISHMA: What did you do that was so horrible?

AMANDA: I thought that one way to get her emotional enough to cause a hurricane of powers to rain hell on those Shermanites was to tell her something concerning Stephen.

STEPHEN: What did you tell her, Manda!

Stephen lunges forward from the bed in a horrible attempt to get up.

STEPHEN: What did you tell her, Amanda!

Filled with emotion, Stephen continues to exclaim violently.

AMANDA: I may have told her that you were dead . . . or something.

Caophe’s whispering gets louder that they could hear him in their conversation. Karishma goes up to Amanda and pats her on the back sympathetically.

KARISHMA: You did what you had to.

STEPHEN: No, I can’t have V thinking even for one second that I’m dead. It’s gonna hurt her enough when I actually die. Not to mention the fact that she probably cried when she thought I was dead. Don’t make her go through this, Karishma. You need to leave now, Karishma.

KARISHMA: Why are you kicking me out, Stephen? No offense, but Amanda is the one who lied, not me.

STEPHEN: Stay with her every second of every minute and make sure that when she wakes up, the first thing she hears is that I’m alive.

Caophe hears something slam, making him jumpy, almost ready to grab his knife to stab someone. Despite the post-traumatic stress disorder he developed, that no one knows about, it’s just Jessica that walked in.

JESSICA: Don’t worry, Caophe. I’m not a Shermanite.

CAOPHE: Shermanite my butt!! I thought you could have been John.

JESSICA: I see you still have your sense of humor. Just try to relax. Why don’t we get him on a vegetarian diet?

CAOPHE: Karishma said it won’t work. When you eat animal protein, your body turns it into high levels of Tryptophan, Glutamic Acid and Tyrosine. Once those Aminos go through B-Vitamins, then they turn into Dopamine, Serotonin and Gamma-aminobutyric acid. Those are important neurotransmitters that will keep his brain working. All human brains function better on meat and B. It’s a fact.

JESSICA: You do pay attention when mom home schools you. I thought we were designed to eat only vegetables.

CAOPHE: Our Pancreas wouldn’t produce Trypsin. Only animals meant to digest animal flesh and gelatin produce that. We produce that enzyme and even have molars because we are genetically designed to consume meat.

JESSICA: Well, there goes Seventh-Day Adventists and Hindus. Preaching vegetarianism when such teachings are false and scientifically inaccurate. I forgot Karishma was a vegan for like twenty years.

Stephen’s face lights up when he sees Jessica, and he holds out his arms to welcome her in.

STEPHEN: Jess, get over here.

JESSICA: Hey, Stephen, how are you feeling?

STEPHEN: I’ve been healthier in another life but definitely not in this one. How are you holding up?

JESSICA: I’m freaking out over Veronica because she doesn’t want to wake up, and I am mad at Sheva. It’s nothing serious, but she said something that shocked me.

STEPHEN: What?

Jessica bites her tongue and refuses to let it out.

JESSICA: Oh, it’s nothing, you know. Just one of those things.

Amanda interrupts, and she addresses all of them.

AMANDA: I can’t wait anymore. I wanted to wait until all of you were here, but I want you all to be very careful with me because I am pregnant. I’m sure the pregnancy is going awry because of my diabetes. I especially want this baby.

STEPHEN: Is that another lie?

KARISHMA: No, Stephen, she really is pregnant.

Amanda looks at Stephen with a disgruntled face, almost wishing that Stephen understood that she doesn’t just randomly lie. She was trying to help the rest of them from the situation they were all in. Caophe stands up, and he randomly panics — shouting.

CAOPHE: No, they’re coming for us!!!

JESSICA: Who?

CAOPHE: Nobody.

He leaves the room abruptly and slams stuff as he exits. He’s just trying to get his head together, since it is spinning.

STEPHEN: I’m not feeling too good, Rishy. You can’t find any Superantiretrovirals out there or even just regular Antiretrovirals?

KARISHMA: No, I’m sorry, Stephen. We are all out of resources, but I’m gonna go get some Selenium, Green Tea and Zinc for you. Maybe some B-vitamins for your blood, too.

Jessica becomes alarmed by what Karishma just said and she nervously answers back.

JESSICA: Selenium. Isn’t that the powder base in Pselecum? Why would you give him that; isn’t it bad?

KARISHMA: No, silly. That’s like saying Inositol is bad for your health. Selenium is a natural mineral, and it works together with Zinc and immune boosters as a natural ARV. It’s the closest thing we have for him, my love. It’s nowhere near as effective, but it’s all we got.

JESSICA: But it’s not dangerous, right? Any side effects from that stuff?

Jessica becomes nervous, and so he holds her forbearingly.

KARISHMA: The only side effect we’ve experienced so far is rectal bleeding and abdominal discomfort.

STEPHEN: It’s been keeping me alive this long, Jess, I think it is okay, don’t worry.

KARISHMA: I’m going to get two-hundred mcgs of Selenium and fifty and five mgs of Zinc. I’ll be right back, Stephen. Keep your heart beating until I come back.

STEPHEN: I will.

Karishma smiles and then winks right before she leaves.

KARISHMA: You promise.

STEPHEN: I promise, Karishma, now go get my fake ARVs.

They all laugh as Karishma leaves the room. Amanda stands there awkwardly staring at Jessica and Stephen.

AMANDA: You guys okay?

STEPHEN: Yeah.

Stephen says almost gaging as he chokes the words out. Jessica kindly handles Stephen’s hands as Amanda pretends not to see.

AMANDA: I think I should go. I got to do something with Karishma. She needs to prepare my multivitamin. I need to make sure this pregnancy doesn’t get worse. I’ll see you guys later, okay.

JESSICA: Alright. I’ll see you.

STEPHEN: By the way, thanks for everything.

As soon as Amanda leaves, Stephen pulls Jessica in closer, and she sits on the bed next to him.

JESSICA: Isn’t this a little bit too close. We aren’t a thing anymore, Stephen. Remember that, please.

STEPHEN: We’re not doing anything wrong. Friends sit this close to each other all of the time. If we’re gonna be friends from now on, then we have to act like we weren’t lovers before, alright.

JESSICA: I guess you’re right.

Jessica sits on the bed adjacent to Stephen, and she just casually holds his hand, pretending to be playful and not intimate.

STEPHEN: You know I feel like crap. I can’t believe that I’m just sitting here, and I’m not doing anything. I was a doer before. I actually did things before. I got up, and I was involved in revolutions and battles and you know. Do you know how many times I picked up a gun and I shot somebody? Do you know how many times I pinned people down in fights? Now, if I try to tackle somebody, all my bones would probably shatter.

JESSICA: You’re sick, Stephen. Physically ill and no one is blaming you for not being able to be helpful. No one is mad that you can’t pick up stuff and deliver messages or walk around without support. No one cares, Stephen. We only care about you.

STEPHEN: My conscience cares. I am utterly useless.

JESSICA: No, Stephen. There are people that depend on you and that care for you, Stephen. People have hope in you. If you could make it through this, Stephen, then that means that any of us could make it through anything. You are giving these Celstians hope for something new. And you may not see it because you only want to get better, but it’s true.

STEPHEN: Just tell me how I can be useful.

JESSICA: Stay alive and don’t die. That’s the only way that you can be one hundred percent useful. I mean it. I already lost Mikey and my parents, and I don’t want to lose you too.

Stephen leans over and tries to sit up, but Jessica gently pats him back down to his original position.

STEPHEN: Does anybody else know besides me, Jessica? You were raped repeatedly and your parents disowned you and you haven’t ever told anybody. It’s gonna eat you alive living with people that don’t know.

JESSICA: I have told people.

STEPHEN: You told three people ever. The first person was Karishma, and she is not exactly your peer. She’s old and your new mom. The second person was me, and I am dying. The last person was Reuben, and he’s actually dead.

JESSICA: I have you, Stephen, and I always will.

Stephen’s face becomes stern, and he looks to Jessica intently.

STEPHEN: Be real, Jessica. What if I die? This will eat you alive inside.

JESSICA: You will not die!!

STEPHEN: You can’t guarantee that, Jessica.

JESSICA: Yes, I can. I will see to it that you won’t. No matter what it is I have to do, you will not die. If I have to travel to Mars and get special fairy dust to cure you, I will. If I have to bleed and have you drink my blood, I’ll give it to you. You don’t understand when I say that I will do anything if you are on the brink of dying.

STEPHEN: What if I try to kill myself?

Jessica looks at his face because in her heart she knows that he has thought about this a thousand times before. They avoid this conversation because Jessica will feel hypocritical if she says anything.

JESSICA: If you try to kill yourself, then I’ll chop off your hands so you won’t be able to hurt yourself. For the life in me, Stephen, I’m telling you that you will not die. You think I’m joking or just some crazy girl, don’t you?

Stephen holds her hand and looks her in the eyes. He feels tortured inside that he can’t have Jess the way that he wants to, but he’s never been so happy with Veronica. Confliction is just a natural part of human life, I guess.

JESSICA: Stephen . . .

Her voice gets lower and lower (more serious).

JESSICA: Would it be wrong if I asked you for a hug?

STEPHEN: No. I guess it really wouldn’t be wrong because you are just my friend now, and friends do that kind of stuff with each other. I can hug you as a friend.

JESSICA: You are also dying, so you could use the sympathy.

STEPHEN: Also, I haven’t been hugged in a while so I could be in mental distress because I haven’t received affection.

JESSICA: I don’t think it would be good for you to be in mental distress because you could go into an episode or a seizure.

STEPHEN: I think the wise thing to do would be to hug me just to be safe.

Jessica leans over and hugs him. She wraps her arms around him going in from the side. She reaches all around to his back and just lies there. She can feel the warmth of Stephen’s chest moving up and down as he breathes. Stephen feels as her soft skin brushes against his face. Time stops, and it’s like they can breathe again. I can feel what they feel for each other, and it is very powerful.

STEPHEN: Would it be wrong if you stayed here for a while.

JESSICA: How long?

STEPHEN: Forever.

JESSICA:…

Jessica doesn’t know how to reply to that so she just pushes her face against his shirt and feels his cold skin through the thin shirt right underneath her nose. She takes one deep, cool breath, catching his sickly scent, and then she gets up reluctantly.

STEPHEN: That was good. I feel better.

JESSICA: You’re committing adultery in your heart, Stephen. No more hugs, Stephen. I really do wish things could have been different. If I would have never fallen in love with you, I would not be feeling this pain. Why is the pain the only thing that feels real?

John and Caophe walk in with the damaged radio.

JOHN: We got a problem right here.

JESSICA: What’s going on, guys?

STEPHEN: I think they’re trying to fix the radio.

JESSICA: I can see that . . . clearly.

Caophe walks up sluggishly — filled with much stress (poor guy). If only he knew what his mind was really going through. I’m holding it all back so that he doesn’t become overwhelmed with it. Still, it is too much for him to bear.

CAOPHE: We need to find a way to communicate with Luis and Ally. We still don’t know if they’re traitors or if The City of Refuge is even real.

How dare he!!!? Does he even know the pain I am going through for him, and he calls me a traitor. I am experiencing his PTSD, too. Only because he can’t handle all of it so I absorbed some. I am not a traitor!!! Not to them, anyway!!

JESSICA: Caophe, right now we don’t have time for that, okay. We can’t start questioning things. Do you really doubt whether or not we should go to The City of Refuge? Then you should know that our only other option is to stay here in a broken-down, exposed Celsta like sitting ducks. God knows Sherman likes his ducks dumb and sitting.

JOHN: Luis is Sherman’s brother. Not metaphoric brother, not Motherland treaty brother, and not even church brother. Luis and Sherman are physically and genetically related. They are biological siblings. The evil world leader and our so-called savior have the same mitochondria and blood.

CAOPHE: And this he failed to mention to us. Don’t you find that a little bit funny?

STEPHEN: We don’t have a choice. It’s the only place that might have a cure or that might have safety. Where else will we go?

If Celsta wasn’t gone, they wouldn’t even try coming here. It breaks my heart that the only reason they plan on coming here, The City of Refuge, is that they have no other choice. Where did all of their faith go?

That’s why I didn’t warn them too soon about the bombing. They don’t understand the full story, and my husband isn’t evil at all. I think I did a well enough job portraying the man that he really is in my first two journals. I know what my problem was.

I didn’t prove myself enough because I was being humble. The next time I get to talk to them, I am going to forsake humility; at least for just a fragment of a second. Still, I refuse to praise myself. Now, Caophe is still worried and doubtful. Even though none of them have faith anymore, they decide to fix the radio in order to make it here.

STEPHEN: How’s Veronica doing?

It almost breaks Jessica’s heart that Stephen asks for Veronica. But she is forgetting that they are all on the same team. Just for a second though, she almost wants to forget. Jessica almost wants to go back to the fighting because at that time, she could have Stephen all to herself.

JOHN: I just came from there. She is knocked out. I don’t think she’s waking up any time soon.

CAOPHE: Any suggestions, Jessica? We have tried for hours to fix this damned thing, and nothing is working. Seriously, I wanna throw this piece of garbage away.

STEPHEN: Check the interface in the back; maybe you can fix it like that.

CAOPHE: Alright, I’m there.

STEPHEN: The harness should have a cord hooked up to it.

CAOPHE: It’s damaged.

STEPHEN: Is there a wire sticking out by any chance or is it gone completely?

CAOPHE: It’s adios.

Jessica becomes frustrated, and she takes a look at the radio herself.

JESSICA: