OUTLAW CHILDREN A WORLD RE-CREATED
Copyright 2006 by Marilyn Thompson All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Martony Publishing 2007
I would like to thank my husband Tony for all of his encouragement and support and for eating sandwiches for dinner without a single complaint. Without his understanding I would never have been able to do this.
I would also like to thank my children for their support especially Donna who also suffered through many nights of sandwiches for dinner.
EXCERPT:
Jacob Martin is sixty-five years old, although he appears to be about twenty years younger. He sits on a flat ridge near the mountain pass, looks out over the valley, and waits for the sun to rise, as he marks the changes since he first arrived here. He was ten when he and his parents fled New Eden, and came across the desert with a man name Mike Bishop. The valley is still as beautiful as it had been when he first saw it, and that memory, the memory of seeing the splendor of this place the first time brings a smile to his lips, a smile that contains just a touch of sadness.
Today is an anniversary of sorts, which is why Jacob has chosen this ridge to watch the sun as it rises across the valley. He thinks back to that time five years ago when the Outlaw Children of Benjamin won a decisive victory against the Perfects of New Eden. Since then this has been a yearly ritual for him. It is his way of dealing with the loss.
Within the eye of his mind, he watches as it all unfolds before him again.
Jacob sees himself in the bell tower watching the battle in the valley below as the sun rises behind him. Once again, the Ghost Team makes quick work of the Assassins that Morgan Anderson has hired to destroy them. He watches as this mental image of himself looks up at the same ridge where he is now sitting. In the memory, he sees Mike Bishop, a man he had come to love as a father, standing on this ridge.
Mike transfigured during the time Jacob had known him. He had gone from hardened Eraser to loving friend and father, and on this morning that is playing in the theater of Jacob's mind, Mike once again transfigured, and became a legend.
Jacob watches as Mike dismembers Morgan Anderson, leaving him less than "Perfect" but still alive. For Anderson there would be no greater suffering than to be an imperfect. Mike knows this and dispenses justice that is equal to the crimes Anderson has committed against the Outlaw Children.
Jacob continues to watch as Mike finishes handing down Morgan Anderson's sentence, and steps back, but Mike isn’t aware of his position on the ridge. He doesn’t realize that he has moved too near the edge, and as Jacob watches, Mike falls to the valley below.
Jacob closes his eyes upon the tears this part of the memory brings. He can still feel the hard tightness in his chest that threatened to tear his heart out as he watched from the tower that day.
Jacob pushes the memory back and sits there several minutes with his eyes closed. He takes a deep breath, opens his eyes, and looks out across the valley again. Once again, he has tucked the memory safely within the pocket of his heart, but at least this time he has been able to see it to the end.
The sun has made its way over the eastern ridge and shines brightly as Jacob walks across the valley and back toward his home. The valley is now fully awake and busy with the activities of daily life. Jacob can almost taste the sweetness of the air as he walks.
He does not notice the people moving around him. His mind is on the life that he believes will end before the year is over. He is certain he will not be here to sit on the ridge next year, but for him it would be a welcome rest. He is tired of moving through life, and he is just as sure that life is tired of moving him along. Jacob knows that he won't stop moving due to natural circumstances.
The healing serum his brother Zachary had administered when he had suffered a serious injury while ending the life of Logan Anderson extended his life. It was also this serum, which gave him the appearance of a man twenty years younger. No, he is certain that whatever causes him to cease to move it will not be easy or pain free.