okay, idk if this belongs here, since it isnt Sonic related.

this story has been a project of mine since July-ish. considering the story is 60+ pages SO FAR, it takes some dedication. but i luv it, and am very proud! i can email a copy to those who ask, unless someone has a better idea!

a brief summary is comin' up!

This is the cover picture for the story.
http://img440.imageshack.us/my.php?image=poster2copycf0.png

The story revolves around Jim Wiggs. He's a teen living in the remnants of the ruined, desolate city of Levinson. Its few (it would seem) citizens, including Jim's God- fearing mother Abby and naïve little sister Maddie, struggle just to survive. When Jim attempts to save his sick sister, he finds himself in a life or death situation. Just when things look helpless, a mysterious Dr. O'Neill comes to his rescue w/ plans to restore Levinson. What will happen? who knows!

let me know ¡plz! if ur interested!

I'm interested in looking at this story of yours.

alright! it might be a bit b4 i get it on here

I will wait patiently until then.

I will (hopefully) have the story posted from Deviantart next weekend. every other weekend w/ my dad deal keeps me from posting it now. it (maybe) will be 100% written too by then! depends on homework load! (college algebra+composition=no freetime!)

Mansions of Levinson page 1-3
“...tho often tempted, tormented, and tested. And like the prophet my pillow a stone; and tho I find here no permanent dwelling, I know He’ll give me a mansion my own. Don’t think me poor or deserted or lonely, I’m not discouraged, I’m heaven-bound; I’m just a pilgrim in search of a city, I want a mansion, harp, and crown.”


The city of Levinson had no mansions. In fact, Levinson had very few homes at all. Any houses that still stood were condemned. There were no cars, no trains, no planes, or any transportation of any kind. Levinson wasn’t alone, either. The whole world, it seemed, had gone downhill. Of course, none of the people in Levinson knew that. The ones who were left had never ventured outside the city. That was, of course, before Jim Wiggs left.
The buildings that remained had been there for as long as Jim could remember. They seemed to block out the sun they were so tall. A person had to be careful near the skyscrapers since they would crumble and fall from being abandoned. That, his mother had always said, was what killed his father thirteen years ago. Jim had only scarce memories of him, and never really thought about it anymore. Life was about surviving.
Surviving is just what Jim and a group of eight people had in mind as they ran down the dirty highway in the late afternoon sun. The shifty, dark haired man in front know his way about Levinson since he traveled in even the most dangerous areas with ease.
“It’s on the right,” the man reported. A woman with mousy, greasy brown hair approached the man.
“Are you sure? I don’t see anything.”
“Not the building,” the man snapped, “the road.”
“I can’t believe I followed you out here!” a man yelled. He had shoulder length blonde hair it a scruffy beard, and had been the one to invite Jim along. But now the man was unsure about his own decision to come. “No one has left Levinson in years! How far away is this place?”
“Not sure. A mile maybe,” the black haired man replied. He turned onto the street labeled as Oak Drive.
“A mile?!” the woman shrieked. “That’s way outside Levinson!”
“Don’t you know what they do outside Levinson?” a chubby Hispanic woman asked.
“No one knows,” the black-haired man growled.
“There are stories of gangs, and murderers, and cannibals!” the woman exclaimed.
“Cannibals?” Jim asked, bewildered.
“Yes! When all other food runs out, they began to crave human flesh.”
“Abole, shut up,” the blonde man said casually. “You don’t know that.”
“And I don’t wanna either!” Abole said. She flipped her hair out of her face with her hand. “I’m leaving before you people get me killed!”
“Then go back,” the skinny brown-haired woman snapped. “The same goes for all of you!” She said, pointing at the group. Abole shot the woman a dirty look and whirled around to leave. She stormed away, which with her considerable body size became a ridiculous waddle. The skinny woman ignored her and kept talking. “Sid knows where he’s going, doncha Sid?”
“I stopped there a few times,” Sid said.
The pack of people, continued to walk down Oak Drive. Dust from the rubble was kicked up into a cloud as they walked. Jim couldn’t remember a time he hadn’t been around dust; it was just part of the air to him.
“So, how’s your mother, Jim?” the blonde man asked.
“The same,” Jim said simply. “She’s got her hands full taking care of Maddie.”
“How so?”
“Well, Maddie’s pretty sick and has been for a few weeks now. We think she’s just got hunger pains.”
“Yeah it’s rough. But you grow out of it. Just watch out for your mom and sister. They’re all you’ve got.”
“That’s why I’m here,” Jim replied heartily.
“And a good head on your shoulders. You’re blessed,” the man said, patting Jim on the back. Jim didn’t reply, but continued to walk.
“It’s just ahead,” the leader said. He pointed in the distance, but Jim could only see more buildings.
“Sid, this isn’t outside Levinson,” the blonde man asked.
“No Rex, it is outside our portion of Levinson.” Sid said.
“Should we not be here?” the mousy woman asked nervously.
“I don’t think they’d appreciated it, no” Rex joked. “They’ll want us dead Ciara.”
Jim looked all around in the buildings, just as Rex had instructed previously. This part of Levingson looked no different than any other part. The difference was in who controlled the different section. Someone who was aimlessly wandering around the wrong part of town is assumed to be up to no good.
Sid silently signaled to a convenience store on the left. The filthy windows miraculously still stood, but the neon Quikstop sign had been almost completely destroyed. There was no longer a door though: just a doorway.
The store was eerily empty. No one had probably shopped here for many years, and it remained nearly intact, just as it had been left. There was still a surprising amount of food and other assorted things in stock.

pages 4-7

“Bags.” Sid whispered. Everyone in the group pulled out a black trash bag. The bags had seen much use on trips like these. Jim’s bag had no holes, for he had never been on a trip like this before. The group, led by Sid, stormed the store, running through the doorframe. All five people spread out into the aisles. Jim ran to the snack food, pulling down bags of chips and candy, doughnuts, and assorted snack cakes. He didn’t bother to look at what he pulled. He just pulled everything off the shelves and the group headed back to the front.
“Stop right there!” screeched an older woman from behind a vacant counter. Her wrinkled face was contorted with rage. “We have Levy rats!”
Three men charged into the store from doors located in the back. They were all quite large, beefy men who carried baseballs and clubs. They entered slowly, then started a full out charge when they saw Jim and company.
“Dammit! Pull back!” Sid yelled. The group fell back behind Sid, who pulled out a pistol. He shot three times, killing each man. He then proceeded to walk over behind the counter and club the screaming woman with the barrel of his gun.
“Ciara, check the front.” Sid barked. The shaking woman ran to the window and scanned the area apprehensively.
“Clear!” she called.
Sid still stood over the woman. He felt her wrist, which still beat. “Idiot. She killed three men tonight.” he sighed, gazing at the gun in his hand. “Let’s go through the back,” he recommended, looking up over the counter at Rex. “The field is rough, but I think it is quicker. Besides that, no one should be monitoring it.”
Jim didn’t have time to question. He and the group fled through the back door, carrying their bags over their shoulders. The green grass was covered with a light layer of dust. The field continued at a steady incline that dropped off to a rocky cliff. The cliff was only about 15 feet high, but one slip and the whole bag could tear open.
Sid led the way, running effortlessly down the hill. Ciara and a blond headed woman followed after him, but the blond tripped on a large rock and skinned her knee. At the bottom, Rex approached Sid heatedly. “I told you we should have brought weapons! Anything to defend ourselves from things like that!”
“Give me a break” Sid snarled. “I didn’t plan on a woman behind the counter.”
“Bull!” Rex yelled. “I warned you! What’d you think; that they’d just let us walk right in!? ‘Welcome to our store! Please, browse around and help yourself!”
Sid continued walking, paying no attention to Rex by this point.
“We are alive, aren’t we?” Ciara said defensively. “We have our food, and we’re alive. I’d say that’s good enough for one day.”
“Would you shut up!” the blond woman screeched. “How long are you going to defend him? He nearly got us killed back there!”
“You’ll shut up if you know what’s good for ya!” Ciara shouted. They were ready to pounce on each other like irate tigers when Sid conveniently intervened.
“See, we’re already home.” Sid was right; the group was right back at the Oak Drive intersection. They separated, with Rex following Jim home. The bag began to wear on Jim’s arms, making his arms feel as if they were being ripped apart. He wanted to drag it so badly, but the bag was in bad enough shape as he was.
Jim, his mother Abby, and his six year old sister Maddie lived in a small bookstore that, like so much of the city, had been abandoned. The majority of the books had been sold to neighbors, who often offered food in exchange for the books. Jim wearily waved goodbye to Rex and entered his home. His mother, decently tall and black headed, laid on the couch with his frail sister. Abby was still awake when Jim walked in.
“Jim”, she murmured softly, “is that you?”
“It’s me.” he replied, setting his bag gently on a coffee table. The large window at the front door with the tiny squares of glass allowed the setting sun to cast a long shadow over the entire room.
“What’s in the bag?” Abby asked.
“Food.” he said simply and opened the bag. “Chips...doughnuts...jerky,” Jim said, pulling each item out of the bag as he listed them, “Skittles...gum...”
“Where in the world did you find it all that food?”
Mom, I didn’t FIND it.”
You didn’t...steal it?” Abby said dejectedly. She set up slowly, lightly pushing Maddie off of her body.
“Maddie’s sick, and we can’t just sit around-“
“Jim, you know how I feel about that...”
“You’ll let Maddie die then!?” Jim roared.
“God has blessed us, given us life, and we are still here on Earth-“
“Look around Mom!” Jim exclaimed; arms stretched wide. “God is not here. He left us with everyone else!!”
“Mom...” Maddie groaned quietly in the background.
“I didn’t raise you to think like that! I didn’t raise you to steal!”
“Greedy men steal! I am surviving! Jim cried. “I won’t die for someone who isn’t even here, and neither will Maddie!”
“Mom...I feel worse...” Maddie said, louder this time.
“Oh honey.” Abby sighed, and rushed over to her daughter. “Mr. Johnson said he thinks she has the stomach flu. Can’t tell how serious though.” Jim crossed over to Maddie and kneeled beside her. He placed his hand on her burning forehead. She smiled weakly at Jim.
“I won’t have it.” Jim muttered, and he rose up. “I won’t watch Maddie suffer and waste away on this couch.” He walked back to the table, grabbed the jerky, and gave it to Maddie. “I’m sure that I saw a pharmacy outside Levingson. I’m going there, whether it’s right or wrong. With that, Jim stormed out, Abby doing nothing but standing beside her daughter.
Jim headed back down the street from where he came earlier. The sun still stood high enough for Jim to see, its orange glow bathing everything in its color. Although he was exhausted, Jim jogged down the street. He knew that he didn’t want to be outside Levinson at night.
He made the same turn as he did with Sid down Oak Drive. He felt eyes upon him, although no one was around. He crept along the sidewalk, his eyes darting around wildly. At that moment, a rumble in the distance made him jump, but he felt stupid as he realized it must just be thunder coming his way.
Just as he’d thought, the pharmacy was directly across from the convenience store. Quikstop was still in ruins from the break-in, and even stranger than that was the fact that no one was there investigating. It was as if no one cared that their home had been invaded.
Jim glanced around unassumingly before entering the pharmacy. After he was sure he was safe, he opened the door. In the silence, the chime that signaled his entrance seemed to echo throughout the city. Jim cringed, but relaxed after a few moments when no one detected him. He snuck in and began to browse the scarce medicine selection. He assumed it had been already ransacked by this point. All that Jim could see were a few bottles at the far end of the pharmacy. He made his way to the back to see what was left.

sorry for double posting, but i really cant and shouldnt post all of this in one reply...

pages 8-17
“Can I help you?” a slightly agitated voice called. Jim jumped away from the pink bottle he’d been inspecting and whirled around. A pale man stood behind a counter; his flabby stomach hanging over it.
“Do you have...stomach flu medicine?” Jim asked peculiarly. The man smiled strangely at him, with the corners of his mouth creating eccentric hooks.
“I’m afraid I don’t anymore. Not after the last break-in we had. The best I have for you is that bottle of pink antacid you were eyeballing over there.” He pointed lazily to the pink bottle that Jim was inspecting before the man caught him.
“Anything will do!” Jim said excitedly. “What do you want for it? I haven’t got much.”
“Your shoes.” the man replied simply.
“You want my shoes?” Jim asked quizzically. “Why?”
“They are a size ten or so I take it.”
“9 1/2.”
“Good enough.” Reluctantly, Jim slipped out of his shoes and handed them to the man. Jim reached for the medicine, but the pharmacist pulled it away.
“Well...?” the man said impatiently.
Jim watched him with a puzzled expression on his face. “What? I gave you the shoes like you asked!”
“Well, I can’t wear these nice shoes without any socks! It’ll make the shoes stink!” Jim bent over and furiously removed his socks too.
“Here! Here are the socks! Now give me the medicine!”
“Uh, did you hit your head and forget something?” the man accused hurtfully. “I can’t just hand the medicine to you. It must be shipped to your residence. Otherwise, those ****ed Levy rats’ll rob you. They’ll take just about anything!”
Jim began to seriously panic. “I think I’ll risk it.” he said hurriedly, and attempted to grab the bottle.
“Just give me your address kid.” the man said flatly. His green eyes lit up after the words left his puffed lips. “Oh, you must be homeless, huh?” Jim nodded. “Then, where do you stay buddy?”
“...in...the...uh...old...” Jim sputtered, frantically trying to remember what he’d seen along the way. “...the...park.”
“What’re you playin’ at kid?” he spat shrewdly. “We never had one of those!” Then his eyes narrowed, as he unraveled Jim’s scheme. “But...Levinson’s center had one...”
“No...! I didn’t mean that!” Jim pleaded.
“Some central Levy rats broke in next door earlier today too! I bet you were there!”
“I wasn’t!”
“Help!! A rat!!” the man bellowed. Like in the convenience store, men and, this time women, poured in from the back door. Six of them, with two-by-fours and baseball bats chased after Jim. Jim darted down the barren cough syrup aisle, followed by a beefy bald man carrying a two-by-four. He swung at Jim wildly, striking Jim once on the back. The impact sent Jim tumbling into a shelf. The man swung at his head, but Jim ducked the blow and rolled out from the man’s striking zone. He clumsily got to his feet and sprinted for the front door.
Jim was almost there when from behind a corner a woman clothes-lined Jim with a bat. He slipped and landed hard on his back. Another man hot on Jim’s heels before charged at Jim, bat posed to strike. Jim turned enough for the man to miss hitting his chest, but the bat still landed on his foot, crushing it with a sickening crunch. Jim, with a yelp of pain, stumbled up and out the nearby door. The security people followed Jim out onto the street. Jim continued to limp down the street, trailed closely by the mob. He fell over pathetically and attempted to crawl ineffectually.
Just as security was closing in, a sporty white car arrived from around the corner and came to a dead halt behind Jim. Everyone stopped to watch the man exit the vehicle. Jim looked up to see the man looming over him, his faceless silhouette illuminated by the setting sun. His small, square glasses reflected the light, as did his shiny silver pistol.
“Back away from the boy.” the stranger demanded. The people didn’t move at all. They weren’t frightened of this man, seeing as he was fairly tall and lanky. “Do not test me ladies and gentlemen.”
The man who hit Jim’s foot stepped forward and continued to approach the unknown man. “Get the hell out you Levy-“was all he could yell before the man with the glasses lodged a bullet in the other man’s heart. The others quickly stepped back fearfully.
“Anyone else?” he asked smugly. The security people shifted nervously. “I thought not.” He looked down at Jim. He could now see the stranger’s misty grey eyes. “Come with me.” the man said, and helped Jim stand up as the others watched frightfully. The pair of them got in the car, and the man pulled away.
“I take it you’ve never rode in a car before this, have you?” the man questioned.
“No, I haven’t.” Jim replied. He rubbed his foot, wincing silently in pain.
“I may have a roll of wrap for that foot in the trunk of my car.”
“Don’t you need to know where my house is?” Jim asked as his house was passed.
“I was actually hoping you could help me out.” he explained. “By the way, my name is Dr. Adam O’Neill. And yours is...?”
“Jim Wiggs.” Jim responded. “What do you need?”
“I was hoping you might be able to show me around. Give me a tour of the city maybe?”
“Well,” Jim began blankly,” really anymore it all begins to look the same. Or at least what I’ve seen of it. Actually, I’ve barely left Central Levinson before.”
“Why don’t you?”
“You saw first-hand why I don’t, or didn’t, or shouldn’t have!” Jim replied curtly. “I’ve always been told to keep to ourselves. It’s supposed to keep us from fighting or something like that.”
“And who decided that?”
“No one decided it. It’s common sense mostly. There are no rules or rulers here. We just...survive.” Jim said, his voice trailing off as he gazed out of the window of the car. He watched the buildings whizz by him. The doctor said nothing for a short time.
“I’ve decided.” Dr. O’Neill abruptly stated. “Your days of ‘just surviving’ are over.”
“What do you-“
“Where is your house Jim?” Dr. O’Neill interrupted.
“Back the other direction.” Jim said with a slightly annoyed tone. With a grunt of amused dissatisfaction, the doctor whipped around in the middle of the street. Dr. O’Neill pulled out a small cell phone, but Jim paid no attention, as he was still amazed by the scenery.
The doctor dialed the phone effortlessly without even glancing at the device once. “****! No service!” he exclaimed. Jim turned to look at Dr. O’Neill.
“None of those we’ve ever found have had service.” Jim explained.
“The towers are most likely ruined by now.” Dr. O’Neill said matter-of-factly.
“Most likely.” Jim said uninterestedly, returning to his gazing. The sun had nearly disappeared by this point, and the buildings cast an eerie shadow on everything. Very soon they came upon Jim’s home.
“This is it.” Jim said, pointing at the old library. Dr. O’Neill parked in the middle of the street right outside Jim’s home. Jim hobbled out of the car and leaned on its smooth exterior.
“Oh, let me get the first aid kit for you Jim.” Dr. O’Neill said as if pricked by a needle. “So, this must be the first time you’ve ever seen a car, huh?”
“No.” Jim replied dully. “I’ve seen one whole only once when I was younger. Usually, a vehicle like that would’ve been disassembled and the parts stolen. But my dad showed me a truck once. Of course, it hadn’t run in forever.”
“We’ll wrap this inside.” Dr. O’Neill said, taking Jim under the arm and helped him walk across the wrecked road to his house. Abby was waiting at the door.
“Jim!” she exclaimed. “What’d I tell you!? You’ve hurt yourself! And who is this?!”
“Please, ma’am, allow me a moment to tend to your son’s foot.” Dr. O’Neill said curtly. He sat Jim at one of the cushion less oak chairs at the table. He elevated Jim’s leg and gave his leg all the care of a seasoned professional. Ms. Wigg just stood and watched over the doctor’s shoulder as he wrapped Jim’s foot tenderly. Within minutes Jim’s foot was fully wrapped. Dr. O’Neill got up and turned to see Abby looking at him.
“I apologize for being brisk earlier. My name is Dr. Adam O’Neill.”
“So that would explain the wrapping...” she interrupted.
“Actually, I majored in Chemistry and Geology. That is the best I can do for a broken foot.”
“Do have possibly have something for my sister?” Jim asked reproachfully.
“Possibly.” he said, and strode over to her. Maddie still was lying on the couch, a copy of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ resting on her lap. The doctor felt her clammy face and asked her a few questions about how she felt tonight. Jim and Abby observed anxiously as Dr. O’Neill pulled a pink bottle from his first aid kit. He carefully poured the liquid into a tiny plastic cup, which he gave to Maddie. She drank it slowly, her dark brown eyes fixed on Dr. O’Neill’s bright green ones.
“What is this?” she asked quietly.
“Pepto Bismol.” he responded. “It will settle your stomach until I can get you the proper medicine for the stomach flu.”
“Proper medicine?” Abby questioned fretfully. She walked over to Dr. O’Neill, but kept her distance from the strange man.
“Yes, I have more medicine stored up in St. Franc.”
“St. Franc?” Abby asked.
“That’s my city. I live in St. Franc.”
“Then what brings you here, doctor?” she demanded.
The doctor paced to the window. “To return Levinson to normal, and maybe even push it into the future!” he exclaimed, arms outstretched to the city itself. He seemed as though he was presenting his master plan to an audience, but only the Wiggs stood in silence.
“You can’t fix Levinson.” Jim argued flatly. “It’s ruined. Levinson has always been this way and always will be. No amount of medicine and cars will change that.”
“No!! As UN ambassador to the United States, I will not-“
“The United States?” Abby said, puzzled.
“The country where you live...? Doesn’t that sound familiar to you? You live in the United States.” Dr O’Neill said; baffled how they couldn’t know something that simple.
“...no, we live in Levinson.” Jim replied, still confused.
“Levinson is in the United States.”
“Listen, Dr. O’Neill...” Abby began wearily “we appreciate the wrapping and the Pepto-Bismol. But we don’t need anything else from you. You should be on your way back to St. Franc.”
“I can help you!”
“No, no you can’t.” Abby moaned.
“I can prove it!” Dr. O’Neill cried out, and pulled from the kit a glass box. Inside the box was a pallid, purple, circular gemstone that emitted a powerful glow. All at once, every light in the house switched on. The clocks began to chime, the long abandoned coffee pot began to brew, and the television displayed a blue screen. The family jumped up as if they’d been shocked.
“What is this Dr. O’Neill?!” Jim cried fearfully.
“Technology.” the doctor beamed. “And the power of element AK. It reacts almost violently with electric fields. Buried deep in the Earth’s core, we had yet to discover it for centuries. To think, nearly limitless electronic energy was just beneath us for all those years!”
“I don’t understand.” Abby said thoughtfully. “My grandpa told me that when he was younger the lights in this library and everywhere else worked. But I’ve never seen them before! I thought he was just telling me stories!”
“And with more of element AK, I could get Levinson running again. I know that for a fact! Now...I know the city must have an old reactor somewhere...” he said, looking squarely at Jim.
“I haven’t got a clue! I wouldn’t even know where to start searching!”
“When I return here, I will bring more AK, and then Levinson will become one of the greatest US cities to come out of the Great Fallout! Just wait for me here, I will come back in the next few days. Until then, I say good night to the both of you!” Dr. O’Neill declared, and made his exit through the front door. The lights and electronics instantly shut off again as soon as he drove away. Abby moved closer to her son in the darkness.
“Don’t get involved with that man.” she whispered scornfully. “Levinson doesn’t need help from a deceitful, conniving man like him.”
“Just stop!” Jim shouted. “You are so set to just sit here and wait for God to come down and help you Himself that you can’t even see the help he’s sent right in front of you!”
“He didn’t send that doctor.”
“You don’t know that. I think that purple rock is a blessing and I don’t care who sent it! You’ll see!” Jim said excitedly. He left Abby and headed for the staircase. Abby, shoulders stooped with defeat and weariness, just stood in the middle of the room, staring at the bag Jim had brought in before. Maybe he’s right, she thought. Maybe this was all part of the bigger plan for Levinson and her family. Abby grabbed a chocolate bar from the bag and walked over to Maddie.
“Feeling better honey? Abby cooed tenderly. She patted Maddie’s head gently and lovingly. She cupped her hands on the sides of Maddie’s face, feeling for her temperature.
“My stomach feels much better.” she said. “I’m tired.”
“Then let’s go to bed” Abby said, smiling.
“I guess so. I can’t read anymore anyways.” Maddie giggled. Abby grabbed the back of the couch and folded it back, creating a makeshift bed. She slowly lay down beside her daughter, who stroked her mother’s hair comfortingly. Slowly, everyone drifted to a peaceful sleep. Jim could dream of nothing but the doctor and his element AK. He dreamt of a new Levinson, where everyone was united and no one had to steal or defend their home. The library they stayed in was cleaned and restocked with even more books than it ever had. Volumes would be written of his bravery and determination that brought Levinson back from devastation.
When the sun poured back in hours later, Jim wished he could just shoo it away. Soon, he told himself, he wouldn’t be dreaming of a new Levinson. He would be living in it! He rose up, stretching every one of his muscles that had ached from the previous day’s adventure. His foot still throbbed with pain, and he decided standing on it was not a very good idea. Jim folded up the sheet he’d rolled himself in and pushed it aside. Abby would complain if he didn’t put his bed away. Jim grabbed a stick he’d found in the attic a few weeks earlier and propped himself up on it. He hobbled down the stairs, leaning heavily on the stick.
Downstairs, his mother and sister were already awake, and were munching on the doughnuts he’d brought before.
“Hypocrite.” he muttered playfully. He smiled warmly at Abby, who returned the smile.
“You already stole it. I figured we better not let it go to waste. That’d be a shame.”
“Well, with my foot like this, I don’t think I’ll be taking anything else for a while.”
“For a while?” Abby asked crossly. “Jim, you are not stealing anymore! You did it once, and that was bad enough!”
“You’re right! I really shouldn’t...especially when I don’t need to! Once Dr. O’Neill returns-“
“Don’t start.” Abby interrupted.
“But-“
“Just don’t.” Abby said with an irritated tone in her voice. “Don’t rely on him. If he comes back, that’s great. If not, then he was a liar. Either way, I just don’t want you to get your hopes up for some man we met yesterday.”
“Whatever Mom. I’ll believe who I want.” Jim said, and grabbed a small chocolate doughnut. At that moment, a knock rang out from the front door. With a quick glance at Abby, Jim jogged to the door and opened it. Sid stood in the doorway.
“Hey there Jim.” he said, but there was an air of bitterness in his voice. “Is your mother home?”
“Yeah, come in.” Jim said politely, and walked Sid through the front door. Since the library only had one room, Sid knew exactly where to find Abby. He sat in the chair across from Abby at the table where she and Maddie were eating.
“Abby, let me get straight to the point. I don’t mean to sound intrusive, but what happened at your house last night?”
“What do you mean?”
(okay, I'm sorry but Dr.O'neil's eyes are grey, not bright green. and Rex with the TV never happened-- future reasons) Edited by Scitt-- Permission was given

pages 18-27
“Now just wait a minute.” Jim said angrily. “We don’t know any more about the lights than you. So if that’s what you came over here to find out, you’re wasting your breath.” Sid just sat, fuming. He rapped his fingers against the table furiously.
“You are a couple of liars. I will get to the bottom of this. And if I find out you’ve been keeping secrets from me and the rest of the community, I will make you pay.” he threatened, and stood up. He stormed out of the house, slamming the front door behind him.
“That prick.” Jim grumbled. “It's none of his business what we’re doing.”
“We’re not doing anything.” Abby said irritably. “That is just the kind of trouble that is going to be the ruination of his plan.” Jim didn’t respond, but instead took a bite of the melting doughnut in his hand. He licked the chocolate from his fingers, and Maddie chuckled as he accidentally smeared the chocolate on his nose. He rubbed it off with his thumb and, with a sneaky grin, smeared it on Maddie’s face. She squealed and wiped off the chocolate, licking her fingers excitedly.
“Hey Mom,” Jim began “didn’t you say we used to have a copy of your grandpa’s journal?”
“No, that was some metal circle thing with ‘Shawn’s Journal’ written on it.”
“But I thought that we had a paper notebook one too.”
“That was just a big collection of things he’d written way back when. I couldn’t make heads or tails of it, so I didn’t bother to keep track of it.”
“So you threw it away?!” Jim cried.
“No,” Abby said, hands resting on her hips. “I’m sure it’s laying around here someplace. I couldn’t tell you where though.”
So for the rest of the afternoon, Jim searched casually for the notebook. He looked in every cabinet, drawer, and on every last shelf. Even the dustiest shelves didn’t have the notebook he was looking for. He remembered seeing the notebook a long time ago when he and his mom had been rummaging through the library. Jim’s great-grandpa had given the library to his son long ago in his will, and it had been passed down to Abby in the course of time. All of Shawn Wigg’s personal belongings had remained in the library, and Jim used to find remnants of his things everywhere. Jim had learned many things from Shawn’s writing. He learned about how life was back in his day; back before Levinson was nearly destroyed.
Suddenly, Jim heard the thunder in the distance. This time, though, he knew what was coming. He rushed from the attic where he’d been previously searching to the main floor. Abby was reading her Bible when Jim came down the stairs in a hustle.
“What is that Jim?” she asked, not averting her eyes from the page she was reading.
“It’s Dr. O’Neill!” he exclaimed excitedly, running to the front door like a hyperactive puppy.
“Of course it is.” Abby deadpanned.
“The doctor? The one with the medicine?” Maddie asked curiously, who sat on her mother’s lap. She too was reading, but it was ‘Alice in Wonderland’ she was reading instead.
“Yes! Yes, he’s the one! He has your medicine and our element AK.” Right on cue, Dr. O’Neill knocked on the door, and Jim answered it eagerly. Dr. O’Neill stood happily with a small black bottle in one hand and a shopping bag in the other.
“I brought you the medicine you asked for.” he said, and laid the bottle down on the table. “And this bag has some food in it. Sorry it isn’t very much, but I didn’t have very much time to go out shopping for more.” He laid that bag down also.
“Thank you so much!” Jim said happily, and shook the doctor’s hand enthusiastically.
“I can’t stay long, but I do have very exciting news for the pair of you.” Dr. O’Neill began. “You see, as soon as I arrived home I called my people at the U.N. After I explained Levinson’s situation and told them about my plan, they agreed to fund my project. So that means that a complete renovation of the city is going to take place, and the ruined state of the city will be just a terrible memory!”
Jim nodded breathlessly, but Abby paid no attention to what Dr. O’Neill was saying. She had decided that she wanted nothing to do with this plan; that she would just let it work itself out. She didn’t want to be involved, and there was nothing she could do to protect Jim from the doctor’s lies anymore.
“Now for the bad news” Dr. O’Neill said. “We need to be able to power the city or else the crew that is coming here will be useless. That is where you come in Jim. I need you to find the reactor in the city.”
“But doctor” Jim pleaded, “I can’t even walk! Besides, this city is humongous! The reactor could be anywhere!”
“That’s why I brought you a gift.” Dr. O’Neill explained. “Follow me outside.” The doctor led Jim outside to where he had parked his new red truck. Hitched to the back was a trailer that was carrying a blue motorcycle.
“What is that thing?” Jim asked. “It looks like a bike.”
“You’ve never seen one of these?” Dr. O’Neill questioned. Jim shook his head. “This is a motorcycle. It’s like a bicycle, except you don’t have to petal it! You do know how to ride a bike, right?”
“Well, I did ride one, but it was at least eleven or twelve years ago.” Jim explained.
“That’s okay. You never forget how to ride a bike!” the doctor laughed. He hopped onto the motorbike and rolled it down the tiny ramp. He beckoned Jim over to the motorcycle and, as Abby and Maddie watched over him, Jim mounted the bike ever so carefully. Dr O’Neill instructed him on all the basics of running a motorcycle and, after he had finished explaining, told Jim to go ahead and give it a try. Jim started the engine, waved to his mom, and drove about twenty feet before he fell over. Abby and Maddie gasped as he stumbled back up, giving them the thumbs-up.
“I guess it is possible to forget.” Dr. O’Neill muttered to himself.
Jim hobbled back over to the doctor, grinning from ear to ear. The doctor smiled back at him, chuckling silently. “You’ll get the hang of it I’m sure.” Dr. O’Neill said reassuringly. “But I do need you to practice so that you can begin searching for the reactor as soon as possible. It’s very important that you find it quickly, because the U.N. does not want to have to wait on us.”
“You can trust me!” Jim said.
“I have faith in you kid.” he said, and patted Jim on the shoulder. Abby scoffed in the distance. Why does he listen to him and not me? she pondered. Have I failed as his mother? Surely not, she thought. Even though she made a promise to herself that she wouldn’t try to stop her son, Abby couldn’t help but long to protect Jim. A person had to be extremely careful in Levinson.
Dr. O’Neill bid the family farewell and sped away in his truck. Jim just stood for a few minutes; staring at the motorcycle he had just been given. He’d probably never seen such a beautiful piece of machinery in his entire life. Forever he’d always thought how great it’d be to have a vehicle of his own. He only saw the ones that had been taken apart, and even those were so ancient and rusted that they were hardly anything to marvel at anymore.
“So, are you going to practice like that doctor told you to?” Abby asked, breaking the silence.
“Eventually.” Jim replied. “But first I need to keep looking for that notebook.”
“Jim, I really think that it’s not here.” Abby said. “Besides, why are you so determined to find it?”
Jim left the motorbike to approach his mother. “I think,” he began, climbing the front stairs as he spoke, “that Shawn’s notebook may have made references to the reactors, or at least some kind of clues about all this element AK stuff. I still have my suspicions about the AK, but maybe he wrote down some answers.”
“That’s the Jim I know,” Abby cheered, “thinking with his brain and not his feelings.”
“Oh, I’m still thinking with the feelings.” he corrected. “And for your information, I always use my brain!” Jim laughed, and walked past her to the inside of the library. He grabbed a strip of jerky from the bag and resumed his search. There was only one more shelf he forgot to check; the one in the very back by the coffee pot. He rushed over to it, energy renewed! Meanwhile, Abby continued to stand outside with her daughter.
“Mom, is Jim really going to fix the city?” Maddie asked innocently. Abby was taken aback by her question. She didn’t really know how to respond.
“I don’t know honey” she sighed “I really don’t know”
“I don’t think he will.” Maddie said, devoid of any emotion. Abby turned her head and looked at her daughter oddly.
“What makes you think that?”
“Well,” she began, as if she’d been rehearsing her next words forever, “he’s a lot like Alice. They both went to a better world. But Alice’s world was made up. I think Jim’s is too.”
“You might be right.” Abby said sadly. She rested her hand upon Maddie’s head and rubbed it gently.
“Mom?”
“Yes honey?”
“Why didn’t you get me medicine like Jim did?” Maddie questioned pathetically. Abby started to tear up when she heard Maddie say that.
“Oh Maddie, it’s not like that! Don’t think I don’t care about you! I only did what I thought was right!”
“I think Jim was right...maybe he’s right about Wonderland too...” Maddie said aloofly. She walked back inside, leaving her mother alone in the doorway, crying softly.
“MOM!! COME HERE!!” shouted Jim from inside the house. Abby quickly composed herself and ran inside the library. Jim sat in the back by the bookshelf he’d been inspecting. Maddie stood beside him, bouncing with excitement. In his hands, Jim held a leather-bound spiral notebook. Beneath the dust the word “Shawn” could be deciphered. Abby, with arms crossed, laughed to herself in disbelief.
“Sure enough, he left it here.” she said quietly.
Jim took a huge bite of the jerky and handed the rest of it to Maddie. “Now I can get some answers.” he said with his mouth full. He rose swiftly and walked to the staircase. “If you need me, I’ll be-“he began before another loud knock came from the front door. This time Abby rushed to the front door, only to find Sid on the other side again. She reluctantly welcomed him inside.
“Alright!” Sid barked. “First the lights, now the vehicle! What the hell is going on over here?!” Jim began to panic. How could he explain his way out of this one?
“I know you are planning something! Tell me what it is now, before I have to have the whole city force it out of you.”
Jim’s mind was racing as he tried to think of some way to avert the situation. Then his eyes rested on the notebook, and he started to formulate a plan. “Well, you see, I really can’t explain it all to you out loud. It’s just too complicated, and that doctor makes everything so confusing. Luckily, he wrote it all down in this.” Jim explained, and showed Sid the notebook. Sid flipped through the pages frantically.
“This is all gibberish! You know I can’t read!” he exclaimed heatedly. He threw the notebook on the ground in front of Jim.
“I told you, we didn’t even understand him. So we just politely welcomed him in and let him speak. That’s it. We don’t know anything else about him other than what he wrote in that book.” Jim said as he retrieved Shawn’s notebook.
Sid glared at Jim, angry almost to the point of bursting. He was obviously afraid; because the Sid Jim knew would never have been this insane over a visitor.
“Well, just keep an eye on him. Who knows what he wants...” Sid spat, and helped himself out the front door. Jim sighed from relief, and he set the notebook on the table. Abby came over to him and put her arm around his shoulders.
“Jim...” she began, “I just want to say that I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I didn’t believe in you like I should have. I guess that you were right; I’ve been waiting for my life to be instantly fixed for me that I never actually tried to do anything myself. You are my son, and a brilliant one at that. I’m going to follow you through this.”
“Thanks Mom.” Jim said. “But why?”
“What do you mean why? Because you have a plan, and I don’t!” she exclaimed elatedly. Jim laughed softly. He was still shaken by Sid’s outburst. He really wasn’t completely confident in Dr. O’Neill either. Jim didn’t know what the doctor ‘wanted’. Why was he so eager to help? In any case, Jim thought, at least he was helping them out. And no matter what, it had to better than what they were going through now.
Jim rubbed Maddie’s head as he walked past. He grabbed the notebook and more jerky from the coffee table. “Now to return to what I was going to do.” he said, and made his way to his room. He climbed the dusty stairs to the attic, where he crossed the room and sat in the corner by the tiny window. He opened the notebook and began to read the notebook.
Downstairs Abby was putting away the books that Jim had left strung all over the floor. Maddie followed behind her; also replacing books. There really weren’t all that many books, but Abby still liked to try to keep a tidy home anyways.
“Did you finish ‘Alice in Wonderland’?” Abby asked Maddie. Maddie looked at her oddly.
“I didn’t read it.” Maddie said.
“What?” Abby questioned curiously. “I thought I saw you with it.”
“I did have it. But I couldn’t read it that well. Not like Jim could.”
“He read it to you?”
“Yeah!” Maddie replied enthusiastically. “He used to anyways. But then he got busy getting food and saving Levinson. So then I tried to read it all by myself. It wasn’t the same...”
“Do you know how it ends?”
“Jim told me.”
“He did?” Abby asked. “He shouldn’t spoil the ending!”
“I told him to!” she replied defiantly. “I couldn’t wait, so he told me it! I was so happy! It was a really good ending.”
“Really? I would have thought that knowing Wonderland was a dream would have been a terrible ending.” Abby explained. Maddie smiled at her.
“No, Alice wanted to go home the whole time! So it was a happy ending.” Maddie said as she started to return the book that they were talking about. Abby grabbed it as Maddie began to put it in its slot.
“Actually, I think that I want to read it.” Abby said, and set the book aside. “Even though I know the end!”
The sun departed into the horizon as Jim poured over the notebook, taking in every last word that Shawn had wrote. He’d written about all the things that Jim had already heard from his mom’s stories, but Jim found it even more intriguing to read it straight from Shawn’s own writing. Shawn told stories of all the electronic devices and people he’d encountered in his everyday life. Jim found that aspect of the notebook the most interesting; Shawn wrote as if all of these things that Jim didn’t have were nothing. He even complained about how his T.V. didn’t work very well when Jim believed he should have been lucky it worked at all. Some pages had pictures drawn of taped to them. Jim saw photos of Shawn and his wife Tiffany. Shawn was probably about twenty in the picture, his blond hair buzzed to an almost non-existent length. He stood beside a huge tan colored truck that was brand new without a scratch or dent on it. The description beside the photo said that he had ‘finally traded up to a better truck’.
In another photo, Tiffany was lying on a bed with a baby sleeping beside her. This baby, Jim gathered, was his grandma Grace. The description stated that Grace ‘was their first child together, and the love of their lives’. Jim knew that Tiffany had eventually had two other children. But Jim could find no pictures of them. In fact, after the photo of Grace, there were no more photos of children.
One picture that caught Jim’s attention was one of something they called a Labrador retriever. Jim had never seen anything quite like this thing before. It had golden hair, brown eyes without white, and a velvety chocolate nose. ‘Our first dog Alice’ the words said next to the picture. The dog looked very friendly, Jim thought. He was smiling brightly with his long red tongue sticking out.
After the photo of Alice, there were no more pictures. There was no more humor, emotion, or any trace of personality whatsoever in his writing. What remained was the beginning of Shawn’s obsession with the downfall of Levinson. He foreshadowed a ‘catastrophic change in society as they knew it’. Jim knew how that prediction inevitably came true, but the setting sun forced him to stop his research. He walked downstairs where his mother sat on the couch playing a game of patty cake with Maddie. He trotted over to the coffee table, but didn’t see any food.

Okay, I've just read pages 1-7 and must say, this is quite the story here. I will say, that there were few errors, mainly in punctuation, such as forgetting to close the dialogue with an end quotation mark, I've noticed, heh.

"tho" is spelled "Though", to clear things up real quick. It would be nice if you spaced between paragraphs, that way everything in the post would not look like one, huge paragraph. Not good for the eyes, don't cha know?

It's like what I'm doing right now, spacing in between small paragraphs. You do that also between two or more characters dialogue. Other than that, when I have more time, I'll continue to read the rest.

I assume that the 27th isn't the final page?

I actually got that first line out of a gospel book, and it was spelled that way... its not me. Yeah, the technics of grammar like punctuation is not my friend. Also, I have the story written correctly on Word, but when i translated it to Notepad it messed the paragraphing up. I will fix the next versions though. And BTW, thanks for responding so quickly! I appreciate it. Im actually on page 70something, but im not finished yet!

i love your story, i just wish more people would read it! :o

Thanks, I know people will read it soon! it just takes time...unless it turns out like my comic...

Just read pages 8-17; the action and plot just seems to pile up, eh? Heh heh, way to go with the interaction between the characters and their survival. I'll read the next set of pages whenever I've the chance.

I have read all of the pages at RZ's house (we're sis and bro)! I like Dr. Oneil.(is that how you spell it?)

oh, thank you very much Molotov! The beginning is the more boring part actually, but i appreciate it! and no, it has an extra "L" Scit! ^^ (i meant for you to edit the text, but oh well)

Read pages 18-27; amazing how the mother decides to stick with her son, even though she did not want him caught up with O'Neill's 'mess'.

It was funny when Jim got to ride the motorcycle for the first time, xD.

When Jim found that notebook of Shawn's, it's like his hope had been raised highly. Along with Abby's and a little of the daughter's, too.

I qonder how the next number of pages will turn out to be, heh heh. (I was busy, so that's why I couldn't get to this sooner, apologize.)

Oh, I left you on a cliffhanger of sorts, but i cant help it! Plot mysteries are my favorite device! I elaborate more on Abby's decision later too. My personal fav part of that section is the Sid confrontation.

Oh yeah, nearly forgot about Sid's confrontation. Not a bad ally in the first few pages, now he's becoming selfish; I wouldn't blame him for the conditions he's living in, xD.

Really he was selfish; he had all of those people go w/ him so that he wouldnt get killed. [one of those character infers/assumptions] Yep, everyone displays some weird characteristics from the "city life"

pages 24-31
“Mom, where is the food?” Jim asked. Abby looked at him curiously.

“I don’t know Jim.” she replied innocently. “The bag isn’t over there?” Jim shook his head. Maddie stopped patty cake abruptly and nodded her head excitedly.

“I put it on the cabinet over there.” she said, and pointed at a bookshelf against the right wall. Jim walked over and grabbed the bag that Dr. O’Neill had brought. “Some girl kept staring in the window, and I didn’t want her to take it.” Maddie said aimlessly.

“Some girl?” Abby enquired. “You didn’t recognize her?”

“Nope, I didn’t. She just kept looking in.”

Jim crossed back to the table, pulling out a bag of cheesy tortilla chips. “That’s really weird.” he said, and opened the chip bag. He offered some to Abby, who refused. He shrugged and continued to eat.
“So, are you planning on going out tomorrow?” Abby questioned.

“On the motorcycle you mean? Yeah, that’d probably be a good idea.” Jim replied. He put down the chips and grabbed a cola from out of the bag. Attached to the can was a note that read ‘Sorry it’s not cold’. Jim chugged the soda down without stopping to breathe. “I’ll definitely have to tell him to get more of that!” Jim exclaimed happily. Abby and Maddie continued their patty cake game. Jim sat on the ground in front of the couch, watching them contently.

“So, what’d you learn?” Abby asked Jim without even averting her eyes from the game.
"
Oh! Right!” Jim uttered, and proceeded to tell her all about what he had read in the book. She never stopped playing patty cake, but nodded intently as he spoke. She added comments every once in a while as she recollected all the stories she had been told as a child by her parents. Jim spoke the longest and the most passionately about the dog. Maddie was also interested in Alice, and begged for Jim to show her the picture he’d found. He ran upstairs and retrieved the notebook. Maddie stopped the game to admire the photo of Alice, along with the other pictures in the book. It was too dark to make out what the descriptions said, but the photos were slightly visible.

“I vaguely remember these photos now,” Abby said. “My parents had copies of them, but they weren’t in the notebook. I guess he had more than one copy of most the pictures.”

Jim closed the notebook and put it under his arm. “I’m going to bed so I can get up kinda early tomorrow. I’m gonna need all the time I can get to find the reactor before Dr. O’Neill gets here. Good night Mom,” he said, and hugged his mother and Maddie. He slowly climbed the stairs to his room, where he drifted peacefully to sleep.

When Jim woke, his sister was standing over him, a fearful expression across her face. He was still drowsy as she put her small hands on his shoulders.

“She’s back!” she whispered frightfully. Jim stared at her strangely for a moment as he tried to make sense of what she’d just said.
“Who is?” he finally asked.

“The girl! I saw her in the window again!” Maddie exclaimed. Jim sat up groggily. “She was only there for a second, and then she disappeared!”

“Like a ghost?” he asked quizzically. She shook her head furiously.

“No!” she cried excitedly. “I know she was real! She’s the same girl that was here yesterday.”

“Well, I wouldn’t worry too much,” Jim said reassuringly. “She’s not hurting anything.” He got to his feet slowly, and Maddie watched as he exited the room. After he had been gone a few seconds, she scurried around his room, searching for the notebook. She didn’t have to search for long though, since he hadn’t made an effort to hide it. She grabbed it from beside his pillow and ran downstairs with it concealed in her shirt.

At the table, Abby sat across from Jim, who had began to eat a strawberry Pop tart. Abby had a Pop tart too, but hers was blueberry. They hadn’t spoken since he came down, outside of a simple good morning from Abby. They weren’t mad at each other; they just didn’t have anything to say to one another.

Maddie waddled downstairs after a little while. The notebook was very obviously bulging from her shirt. Jim shot her a sly look, and she just ignored him. She turned to the side and shimmied to the couch.

“Maddie, what are you doing?” he asked, knowing exactly what she was doing. She shifted uncomfortably. “Is that my notebook?” Again she shifted in her seat.

“I just wanted to look at it!” she finally cried out.

“That’s fine. You don’t have to sneak around like that you know.” Jim told her simply. “Just be careful with it and ask next time, okay?”

“I will!” she cheered. “I just wanted to see the picture of the dog again!” She began to flip through the pages. “What’s its name?”
“Alice is what the notebook said.” Jim replied. He took the last bite of his pop tart and stood up from the table. He looked out the window without any real reason.

“I don’t think O’Neill will be here today. But I don’t plan on being gone long anyways.” he said. “I still need time to finish reading that book.” Jim walked out the door, waving as he made his exit. He jogged down the porch stairs and saw his motorcycle, standing just as it was when he had left it there. Itching with anticipation, Jim mounted the bike and drove slowly down the battered street.

Wobbling slightly, he began to pick up speed as his confidence grew. The road was straight for as far as Jim could see, so he pushed the motorcycle even faster. He loved the wind blowing through his shaggy, dusty brown hair. The sun was sitting in just the right position to cause Jim to squint his eyes from the bright light. Jim glanced at all the buildings he’d never seen before. Jim was right about what he said to Dr. O’Neill; all of Levinson really did appear to be the same as any other part. This was especially true when you were speeding by on a motorcycle.

Meanwhile, Abby cleared the table as Maddie read the notebook. Maddie was absorbed in the pictures and descriptions Shawn had left. She flipped the pages, and even though she could barely read, the pictures were good enough for her.

“Mom?” Maddie called.

“What is it honey?” Abby replied; still busy cleaning.

“Mom, did you ever have a dog like Alice?” she asked. Abby stopped cleaning and flung the dry rag she’d been using over her shoulder. She walked over to Maddie slowly.

“Alice? Like Alice in Wonderland?”

“Yeah, I guess so!” Maddie beamed. “So, did you have one?”

“No, they became extinct around a long time ago honey.” Abby said somberly. Maddie looked from her mother back to the photo of Alice.

“Really? I wish I had a dog like that.” she said sadly. “It seems really nice!” Maddie returned to the notebook, flipping past the Alice page. Then, after realizing there were no more pictures to see, she put down the book down on the coffee table and walked outside to sit on the porch. She enjoyed watching the birds fly overhead on occasion. They were the only sign of life other than people left in Levinson, and they interested Maddie. She could sit out for hours just to watch them; what else did she have to do? Maddie’s mom never let Maddie venture out too far, for fear that she may go to places she shouldn’t. So instead, Maddie just sat on her porch, watching her empty world go by.

Jim had been searching for nearly an hour before he began to give up hope of finding the reactor. He figured he’d better return to the library so he could continue reading the notebook. He spun clumsily around in the middle of road. He sped off, feeling like an expert driver, when suddenly a figure appeared, flying from one of the buildings to the street. Jim pushed as hard as he could on the brake, and he slid sideways down the road in a shower of sparks.

He came to a screeching halt right before he hit the thing that had run out in front of him. “Are you okay?” it asked, and ran over to him. Jim looked up from beneath the motorcycle that now laid on him to see a girl about his age. She had a blonde hair that was in an unkempt ponytail. Her white tank top, baggy blue jeans, and large black wristbands were covered in dust and dirt from years of being worn. She was still very attractive under all the dirt. Her young face wore an expression of worry as she stood over him.

“Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t see you coming!” she said fretfully. The girl helped lift the motorcycle off of Jim’s legs. Thankfully he wasn’t injured; only a little banged up and bruised.

“That’s okay.” he said coolly, dusting himself off. “You probably didn’t expect to see me coming like that.”

“I just heard a loud noise, so I came out to see what it was.” she said, and helped Jim to his feet. “My name is Clarissa Fitzgerald. What’s yours?”

“Jim Wiggs.” he replied. “You live around here?”

“I guess you could say that.” Clarissa said. “I don’t really live anywhere.” She trailed off, looking away from Jim. Then she quickly shifted moods to a happier one. “But that doesn’t matter! I was actually on my way to see if someone could help me with a problem.”

“You mean someone like me?”

“I knew you would! Come on!” she said, and grabbed him by the wrist. She pulled him playfully across the street, leaving the motorcycle where he’d crashed it. She led him to a grey apartment complex. But instead of going inside, they went around to the back of it where a tiny little shack stood. Jim knew that there were many of these shacks all over Levinson; they were designed by people early on in the downfall of Levinson as a cheap home. They, like the one Clarissa took Jim into, usually had tin roofs and shoddy drywall. Clarissa’s was fairly recently built, because the roof was barely even rusted. There were two recliner chairs in the living room, which was also the kitchen. Clarissa took one chair, and Jim took the other opposite from her.

“So, what’d you need my help for?” Jim asked.

“Actually, I was looking for someone to keep me entertained.” she said, and laughed. Jim wasn’t so amused.

“That’s it? You stopped me so I could ENTERTAIN you?!” he shouted. Clarissa looked at him shockingly.

“You didn’t have to stop. You coulda run me over. But you didn’t! I figured it was ‘cause you liked me...”

“‘Because I like you’? No, it’s because I wouldn’t want to run over anyone, no matter if I liked them or not!”

Clarissa looked at him dejectedly. “Oh...that’s depressing...” She sat for a moment in silence. But then she perked up again. “What were you in such a **** hurry for anyways?” she demanded accusingly. Jim was taken aback.

“I need to get home before...well...” he began. He quickly realized he was talking to a complete stranger. “Wait a minute! Why am I even talking to you!? I need to get home!” he said, and stood up. Clarissa jumped up too and put her hand on his chest.

“No, please wait! I...just want someone to talk to. That’s all.” she said. Jim could see the longing in her eyes. He really needed to get back home, but he also felt bad for Clarissa. He could feel that same feeling he got when Maddie did something she shouldn't have, but yet Jim always seemed to feel sorry for her anyways. Maybe it's because they're girls, Jim thought.

“Just for a little while.” he replied, and backed away a step.

“I do have somewhere better we can talk!” she cheered, and ushered him back outside. “But it is a bit scary getting there.” she warned ominously. She led him back outside through the front door. She lifted a finger to her lips and pointed to a fire escape attached to the apartment building. She led the way, climbing up the ladder, and Jim reluctantly followed. There were at least five flights of stairs to the top. Jim had never been that high before, and realized he had a new found fear of heights. He clung to the handrails with for dear life as Clarissa laughed under her breath.

At the top of the building was an unremarkable roof, with the view of the city still blocked by the buildings. The dust settled on the floor like the dirt on the ground, and it was stirred up as Clarissa walked over to the edge. She stood on the ledge, looking over the scenery. Every nerve in Jim’s body tensed up; for fear of her falling.

“Come on! Stand over here by me!” Clarissa called. Jim stared at her blankly.

“Don’t tell me that you’re afraid!” she said mockingly. “Sometimes you just have to live life a little!” Jim bit his lip and slowly approached the ledge with Clarissa urging him on. He looked over the edge at the street below, and he felt his stomach drop to his feet. His legs grew weak and he lumbered backwards.

“Oh, come on!” she said, and grabbed Jim’s hand. He pulled her toward him, and she slipped and fell awkwardly on top of him. They both began to laugh. Clarissa laughed because it was funny; Jim out of relief that she didn’t fall to her doom. They stood up, Jim helping Clarissa to her feet.

“That’s nothing! Wait until you see the real view!” she exclaimed, and drug Jim yet again by the hand. She walked over to the far corner of the roof to get a ladder. She then headed to the left side of the roof that was nearly touching a nearby building. Clarissa stretched the ladder from the ledge of the roof to the open window of the building only slightly higher than they were.

“Come on, I’ll show you MY room.” Clarissa said eagerly, and led him to the ladder. “And don’t worry; I’ve done this a million times!” she said. “I promise it’s worth it. You can almost see the whole city from up here!”

At those last words, Jim’s interest grew. If he could see almost all of Levinson from there, then he wouldn’t have to drive around searching for the reactor! “Alright!” Jim replied heartily, and followed Clarissa across the rickety, make-shift bridge. The legs of the ladder felt like they could give out at any moment. Jim rushed Clarissa across, but she stopped in the middle off the ladder.

“They tell you not to look down...but it’s such a nice view...” she said vaguely. Jim shoved her forward. “Alright, alright! I’ll keep moving...” she said, and continued to crawl to the other side. They slipped through the open window into a tiny room. The room was no more than twenty square feet, and had a huge window. The walls were barren, with no decoration or color.

“It’s not much, but it gives me a great view.” she said, and walked over to the window. Jim headed to the window, but Clarissa stopped him.

“Actually, I can look out the window anytime. It isn’t every day I have a visitor!” she exclaimed cheerily, and sat cross-legged in front of the window. Jim grudgingly took a seat somewhat close to her.

“Sorry there’s no chairs.” she said. “It’s a bit hard to get them up here.”

“I bet.” Jim said faintly.

“So, tell me about yourself Jim.” she said, and put her hand on his knee. “I’m sure you have some stories!”

“Well,” Jim began “I live with my mom and my sister-“

“Oh! That’s your sister!” Clarissa interjected. Then she immediately clammed up.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jim said. “How do you know... oh wait... you’re that girl that she sees outside the house, aren’t you?”

“Well...uh...” Clarissa muttered, avoiding Jim’s glance.

“Why do you keep spying on us, huh?” Jim demanded. “I bet that’ll make a good story too!”

pages 32-40
“This may sound stupid, but I thought that your house actually was a library. Your sister kept running away before I could ask her about it.”

“You wanted a book?” Jim asked. “We don’t have many, but just ask and I can see if we have something you might like.”

“Well...” Clarissa began sheepishly. The confidence she had shown before had drained from her voice. “I was actually looking for a...certain book. But it was stupid for me to think you had it.”

“What was it?”

“Way back in the day, before we were born, your mom and dad used to take books people didn’t want and store them away. My mom was always writing, so she thought she’d give her autobiography to them. I guess she thought someone might want to read it or something. I don’t know; the woman was friggin’ nuts.”

“What do you mean?” Jim asked curiously.

“Well...you remember that roof?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, let’s just say that’s the last time I saw my mom alive.” she said sorrowfully. “After Dad died, she just lost her **** mind. One day, a month later, she told me to stay in the shack when she left. I didn’t listen, and I followed her to the roof. She stood right where we did. She even turned to look at me before she fell. But I never looked down; didn’t want to. Of course, that was eight or nine years ago I bet.”

“That’s terrible.” Jim cooed. “So, you’re all alone?”

“Yeah, but I don’t mind much anymore. I always have wanted to have someone to talk to, but other than that I really don’t need anyone for anything.”

“But about the book...”

“I just wanted to get a peek into what she was thinking in that last month she was alive.” Clarissa explained.

“We sold a lot of the books and possessions we had.” Jim said. “But I can look for you anyways.” That was a lie and Jim knew it. He wasn’t planning on searching; he had way too much to do right then. But maybe once the whole mess he was in straightened out Jim could look for it.

“Thanks.” she said, and hugged him. Jim was a little shocked, but he didn’t say anything. It was only a quick, happy hug; nothing more. “So...” Clarissa started as she rose, “what were you in such a rush for earlier? Did you have somewhere to go?”

Jim had no idea what to say. Should he tell her what he was searching for, or should he keep it a secret? Maybe she could help, he thought. She seemed very smart about Levinson, so she ought to know where the reactor was.

“Would you happen to know where I could find a...reactor?” he asked apprehensively. He had no idea how she’d respond. Her face at first expressed confusion, but it soon turned to amusement and laughter.

“A reactor?!” she chuckled. “I know where one is, yeah. But what would you want with a sci-fi reactor, Mr. Science?” She giggled like a girl as Jim shot her a threatening glance.

“It’s very important!” he said angrily. “But you can seriously show it to me?”

“Yeah, you can see it from the window.” she said, and walked over to it. Jim followed behind, and stood beside her. Outside the window, all of Levinson was visible. All the sameness that Jim saw from below was in perfect view from up in that building. For the first time, Jim felt large in the world. With his whole world sprawled out before him, Jim felt like a king standing before his kingdom. Clarissa leaned over the windowpane, squinting as she searched for the reactor.

“Now...I know it’s around here someplace...” she said as she scanned the horizon. Jim looked at her skeptically.

“So, if you know where the reactor is, then that means that you’ve looked for it before. That must mean that you are looking for it too.”

Clarissa turned to Jim. She put her hands on her hips. “Maybe I have. I didn’t ask why you are so eager to find it!”

“And I didn’t ask you either.” Jim replied with a faint grin.

“Well...” she sighed “I don’t know what you want to know for, but there it is.” she said, and pointed out the window. Jim strained to see the reactor, but couldn’t find it.

“Clarissa...I can’t see it.” he said, continuing his search.

“Well, of course you can’t!” Clarissa exclaimed, and thumped him playfully on the back of his head. “Everything looks the same!” Jim pulled his head from the window and turned his head up to her. She towered over his kneeling body frighteningly.

“Then why’d you try to show me it?” Jim asked crossly.

“You're a guy. All of you have one track minds. If I didn’t go ahead and try to show that reactor to you, you’d be thinking about it the whole time we’re talking!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. “Besides, I figured you just see some building and that’d be good enough for you...”

Jim stood up and walked over to the window they had come in. “You are the most ignorant girl I’ve ever met!” he shouted. He started to step out the window when Clarissa jumped up.

“Oh! Wait! I’m sorry!” she cried. She grabbed the back of his shirt and tried to yank him backwards. “I actually do know where it is!” Jim turned his head around to her with a doubtful expression.

“You do? Why don’t I believe you...?”

“No, I swear I do! I’ve actually been there!”

“Now I really don’t believe you.” Jim said, and turned his head forward again. He started across the ladder with Clarissa behind him. “I really have!” she exclaimed as they were crawling. “I’ve been in most places here.”

“Oh really?” Jim questioned suspiciously. He stepped clumsily onto the roof. “So you’ve been outside Central Levinson?”

“Naturally.” Clarissa said as she too moved to the roof.

“If that’s true, then you’d know where Oak Drive would take you?” he challenged.

“Well...there’s a pharmacy, and a store, and farther down there’s an old police station and-“

“Alright, so you do know your way around.” Jim interrupted. He walked to the edge, and Clarissa followed behind. “So what’s the reactor like?”

“See, I told you!” she shouted angrily. “All guys have one track minds! Don’t you care about why I wander around the town; even in very dangerous spots!?”

“Uhh...we’re friends, not married.” Jim said flatly. “I never really thought about why. That was probably the furthest thing from my mind.”

“You jerk!” she said “Besides, that reactor isn’t even standing anymore, so you should just give it a rest already.”

“Well then, I guess I’d better go. You know, with my one track mind and all...I don’t know if I have anything else to talk about.” he said and headed toward the fire escape behind them. Clarissa whipped around angrily.

“Fine! I liked talking to myself more anyways!” she shouted. He descended the building on the fire escape, and Clarissa sat down in a fury, but began to cry. She pounded the ground with a closed fist. Jim didn’t even look back; he had too much to do. That little detour cost him so much time he could have used studying.

His motorcycle still was lying in the road when Jim returned to it. He lifted it back to an upright position and drove off. The library he called home was only a few minutes away, and when he got there Dr. O’Neill’s car was already parked there. He ran up the stairs to find Dr. O’Neill eating at the table with Abby and Maddie.

“You’re just in time for dinner!” Dr. O’Neill said. Jim sat at the empty chair beside Maddie. On his plate was a T-bone steak adorned with lettuce and pasta. Jim eyed it hungrily since he hadn’t eaten in quite a while. He dug into his food as Dr. O’Neill continued the story he must’ve been telling while Jim was away.

“As I was saying” he began “the U.N. has taken quite an interest in Levinson. They plan to give me all the support I need to make my vision a reality.”

“And what vision is that?” Abby asked.

“The same vision as yours I’m sure.” he said coolly. “I envision a Levinson free from gangs and fear. No one would need to steal and ravage from stores.”

“But according to the stories I’ve heard, even when Levinson was in good condition people still stole and robbed. So that can’t be it.”

“That’s true, but they stole out of greed. I’m sure Jim will tell you that he stole to live. That’s the kind of crime I want to get rid of. I never want to see a family starving because they don’t want to cross that line.”

“What line?” Abby asked

“That’s the point. In Levinson, there is no line. There is the line between life and death. But that’s hardly a line at all, is it Ms. Wiggs?”

“I have a different line.” Abby said defensively. “That line is drawn between what is right and wrong and what I think is your problem is that you don’t share that line with me. What line do you have Dr. O’Neill? What line are you willing to cross to fix Levinson?”

“Any line.” he replied simply.

“Then I want nothing to do with you.” Abby said heatedly and pushed the plate away from her. “Thank you for the meal, but it is the last of the help I want from you.” She stood up from the table and walked over to the window. Jim followed behind her.

“Mom!” Jim exclaimed. “What has gotten into you? I thought you were okay with this?”

“Now isn’t the time.” she said. “Enjoy your visit with Dr. O’Neill, because I sure wouldn’t want you to miss out on that.”

“Mom, don’t be that way.” Jim snapped. “I don’t know what has gotten into you, but it won’t change my mind. And as long as I’m here, he’s welcome here. He hasn’t done anything to you.”

“You’re right; he’s welcome here. But I don’t want a part of this. It doesn’t feel right.”

Dr. O’Neill acted oblivious of the situation, and instead continued to eat his spaghetti. Maddie watched him curiously. He twirled the pasta around the fork he’d brought.

“Why do you do that?” Maddie asked.

“What? You mean this?” he said, and twirled the spaghetti again deliberately.

“Yeah!” she exclaimed. Jim and Abby paid no mind to her talking; they were still arguing. “Is it fun?”

“Well, it’s not that it’s fun to do.” he answered awkwardly. He was never really good with kids; he never understood them. “It just makes it easier to eat.” He took a bite, and Maddie laughed as he slurped a stray noodle into his mouth.

“So, do you have a dog?” Maddie asked from out of the blue.

“A dog?” Dr. O’Neill questioned, puzzled. “I did several years ago.”

“What happened to him?”

“Well, he was given to me as a gift from a friend of mine. He was a one year old Cocker Spaniel, and I named him Dexter.”

“Dexter?” Maddie giggled. “That’s a terrible name!”

“He really liked it, so that’s all that matters.” Dr. O’Neill retorted, grinning. “Anyways, he got very lonely since I traveled around a lot, and I felt bad. So I gave him to a good home so he wouldn’t be alone anymore.”

“I wouldn’t let him be lone-alee” she said cutely. “I’d take him everywhere with me!”

“Have you ever had a dog?” he asked.

“No! Never!” she replied excitedly.

“Tell you what. When I come back, I promise I’ll have one for you. How does that sound?”

“Really!? Oh, thank you!” she exclaimed breathlessly. Jim and Abby turned around as Maddie embraced a stunned Dr. O’Neill warmly. Maddie turned to Abby after she released her grip around Dr. O’Neill’s stomach.

“Mr. O’Neill is gonna get me a dog!” she cheered. Abby stormed over to Dr. O’Neill. She stood over him like an enraged bear.

“How dare you promise a girl something like that!?” she shouted. “There are no dogs!”

“Yeah huh! He had one named Dexter!” Maddie argued.

“You have crossed the line.” she said to O’Neill, fuming. “You had better come back with a dog next time or I swear I will make you regret it. To take advantage of a teenager’s mind is one thing, but an innocent little girl’s? How dare you!?”

“I assure you Abby; I only make promises I plan to keep.” Dr. O’Neill said calmly. He rose from his chair and made his way over to Jim, who had remained at the window.

“So did you find the reactor?” he asked eagerly. Jim looked at him dishearteningly.

“I know where it is, but it is destroyed...” he said miserably.

“That’s fine; just take me to it.” Dr. O’Neill said.

“Really?” Jim asked, surprised. He didn’t expect him to still want to see it. Jim didn’t honestly know where it was. The one who really knew was Clarissa.

“Yes. I just need to see the site of the reactor. That’s good enough for me.”

“Well...uhh....I actually just know someone who knows where it is...” Jim admitted sheepishly. Dr. O’Neill started to appear irritated.

“Okay, as long as I can get to it, then so be it. Let’s just get there.” he said impatiently. He led Jim out the front door to his car. They sped down the direction Jim had just come from. Unlike the first time that Jim rode with an amiable Dr. O’Neill, he was much more stressed and irritated now. Jim didn’t bother to ask; he just figured that trying to rebuild a fallen city must be a lot of pressure for one man to endure. But even with so much weight resting on his shoulders, the doctor remained reserved and strong-willed.

“So, where is this person?” Dr. O’Neill asked Jim.

“Just up ahead.”

“Where at ahead?” he said heatedly. “I don’t want to pass it up like last time.”

“That grey building right there.” Jim said, and pointed at the apartment. Dr. O’Neill pulled up right in front of the apartment.

“They can come along if they want.” Dr. O’Neill stated briefly. “If that is easier for them.” Jim nodded and hopped out of the car. His heart was pounding in his chest. He had just seen Clarissa half an hour ago; she must still be steaming mad at him! He rounded the corner of the building and headed for the shack. Inside, Clarissa was laying face-down on the floor with her face in a pillow. He walked in, trying to make enough noise to get her attention. But she was probably sleeping, he thought. Even when he was a few feet from her, she didn’t even flinch.

He reached out and tapped her on the shoulder. She rolled over lazily, and Jim could see her red, puffy eyes. Her face at first was sedated, but it suddenly turned to an expression of horrified shock.

“What the hell?!” she exclaimed.

“Were you crying?” Jim asked.

“No...I was just...!” she shouted. Then she shook her head vigorously. “Wait! Why am I explaining myself to you?! You should be explaining yourself to me!”

“Listen, I’m sorry for before, but I really need your help!” Jim pleaded

“Let me guess...it involves the reactor.” she said, with a sort of grin on her face. Jim rocked back and forth on his heels lightly. He muttered something inaudible, avoiding her glance.

“I knew it! I just knew it!” she exclaimed, almost excitedly.

“Okay, okay, you were right. Can you please just come with us and take us there?”

“Who is ‘us’?” Clarissa questioned.

“A friend of mine.” Jim replied curtly. “He’s waiting outside. Will you come?”

“I guess.” she said simply. “It’s a bit of a walk from here though.”

“That won’t be a problem.” he said as he exited the shack, with Clarissa following behind. He crossed the road to Dr. O’Neill’s car. Clarissa stopped dead in her tracks and just stared, wide-eyed, at the vehicle. Jim had already reached the car before he noticed that Clarissa had stopped about thirty feet away from him.

pages 40-49
“What is that?” Clarissa gasped.

“It’s a car. Don’t worry; Dr. O’Neill is a good driver.”

“What does it do?” Clarissa asked anxiously.

“Have you ever ridden a bicycle?”

“A long time ago I did.”

“Well, you know how it made you go faster? Well, think of this as a big, loud, comfy bike.” Jim said reassuringly. Clarissa, still scared, slowly walked over to the car. She placed her hand tenderly on it, and Dr. O’Neill revved the engine. Both Jim and Clarissa jumped out of their skin, and Dr. O’Neill laughed from inside the car. Jim and Clarissa laughed shakily with him as they got in the car.

“Who’s the girl?” the doctor asked more friendly now that he had a good laugh at their expense.

“My name is Clarissa Fitzgerald.” she replied.

“Fitzgerald, huh? Are you Irish?”

“What is that, some kind of religion?” she asked out of confusion. Dr. O’Neill laughed to himself as they drove off down the road.

“So, where is the reactor Clarissa?” the doctor asked, looking in his rear-view mirror at Clarissa.

“Is that all men ever think about anymore is reactors?!” she exclaimed, aggravated. Dr. O’Neill shot Jim a strange glance, which Jim returned with a shrug.

“I saw that Jim!” Clarissa shouted, almost playfully. “Don’t think that I can’t see you!”

“Well...” Dr. O’Neill said, “where is it?”

“There’s nothing really left of—.”

“I don’t care.” the doctor interrupted. “Just tell me where it was then.”

“It’s to the left in a little bit.” she replied, with a tinge of hurt in her voice. Dr. O’Neill took no notice, and continued driving. Jim stared out the window, just as he did the last time he rode in the car. The buildings went by faster this time though. After several minutes, Clarissa spoke up.

“Go down that street.” she said quietly. He turned sharply down an even more wrecked road, where large hunks of asphalt and concrete were strewn across the road. The potholes were like craters, and Dr. O’Neill stopped his car only a few feet past the intersection.

“How far down here is it?” the doctor asked simply.

“A few minutes.” Clarissa replied. “You can’t see it because of the buildings, but it’s in a huge open field.”

“Good enough.” he said. “We can walk.”

“But this is a really rough part of town.” Clarissa explained nervously. “The people in these parts—“

“—won’t be a problem.” the doctor said as he pulled out his silver pistol. It was the same as the one Jim had seen the first time he met Dr. O’Neill. Again, Clarissa’s eyes were wide with fear. Dr. O’Neill looked at her again in the rear-view mirror.

“What? Never seen a gun before?” he chuckled.

“No...I have.” she said. “I was seven. Do you remember me telling you about my dad, Jim? That’s how he died. He, my mom, and I were walking to the park where the garden is that day. On our way back, a dirty man stopped us. He grabbed my mom and held a gun to her head. My dad thought he was bluffing about the gun being loaded, but the man shot him on the spot. ‘Sorry girls, but that was my last bullet.’ is all he said before he ran away.”

“Well, I’m much smarter with a gun than that. I can promise you that.” Dr. O’Neill said smiling comfortingly. “I will only hurt those who wish us harm.”

“I trust you.” Clarissa said softly. “Just don’t miss.” she added with a grin. Dr. O’Neill chuckled as he led the way down the road. Jim and Clarissa followed closely behind, avoiding the large chunks of debris and the craters left behind from the wreckage.

“Dr. O’Neill?” Jim asked.

“Yes?” the doctor said, without turning around.

“Do you know what...you know...actually happened to Levinson?”

“Do I know what happened? Not really.” he said simply. “I know the rest of the country fell into a deep recession, so I’d imagine that Levinson was the same.”

“That’s it? It looks like someone just ran through it with a huge bat and started smashing everything.” Clarissa said.

“As realistic as that sounds, I don’t think that’s it.” the doctor replied. “But like I said, I don’t really know what happened.”

“Oh...” Jim sighed. “I figured if anyone knew what happened, it’s be you.”

“I would like to know myself.” Dr. O’Neill said. “But all of the records of the events during the United States final years has either been lost or confiscated by the U.N.”

“So they’re trying to hide something?” Jim suggested.

“What is the U.N.?” Clarissa asked.

“No, they aren’t trying to hide anything.” Dr. O’Neill said to Jim. “Don’t forget who you’re speaking to here! And Clarissa, the U.N. is the United Nations. That means that all the countries of the world come together to discuss important issues and solve world problems. After the Great Fallout, they came together to become a kind of umbrella government for all the countries. Not all the countries wanted us, but they get us anyways.”

“Oh! This is it!” Clarissa exclaimed. Several hundred feet ahead of them was a humongous field, with pieces of what appeared to be the remains of a building scattered all around. The wind grew strong in the open field, and threatened to blow the group over. Dr. O’Neill became very excited; his fingers were wriggling with excitement.

“Ohh...I wish they’d taken better care of it, but I still can’t believe it!” he cheered. “It's a real reactor from before the Fallout! I bet the core of the reactor chamber is still here!” He began to run over to the reactor site, when Jim saw something from the corner of his eye. His heart leapt in his chest, and he couldn’t breathe, let alone yell to Dr. O’Neill to stop and turn around. Clarissa started to follow, and Jim had no choice but to follow suit. Finally he found the courage to shout “Dr. O’Neill! Behind you!”

The doctor spun around fast enough to catch the man pulling what appeared to be a gun from his pocket. The man was barreling toward Dr. O’Neill so fast that he appeared to be a blur. But one quick bullet from the pistol of Dr. O’Neill stopped the man in his tracks. Clarissa fell to her knees, her head covered by her hands. Jim dropped down beside as another bullet fired. And another bullet . And another bullet. Clarissa screamed from beneath her arm tent, and by the time Jim looked back up at Dr. O’Neill; five men were lying on the ground dead. Jim helped a shaking Clarissa to her feet, and they walked over to the doctor slowly.

“I’m glad you told me that story Clarissa, or else we’d be dead right now.” Dr. O’Neill said softly, but Clarissa paid no mind; she was even now startled by the gunfire. Dr. O’Neill rested his hand on her shoulder comfortingly, but she jumped away as if she’d been the one who was shot. He kneeled down to Clarissa, who’d reduced to her knees once again.

“I’m sorry.” he said to Clarissa. “But I couldn’t let them screw up what I’ve been working on for all these years.”

“I’ll be okay.” she said, her face still obscured by her hands. “Just go on. I’ll be right there.”

“Well, you can’t walk with your hands over your face...” Jim laughed

“You wanna bet!?” Clarissa exclaimed. She stood up, with hands over her face. “Come on, let’s go!” she cheered. The men followed behind her. She walked surprisingly well for not being able to see, even though she stumbled a few times. The reactor was right before them, and Dr. O’Neill hurried past Clarissa to get there sooner. Clarissa let out a tiny scream.

“Ah! What was that?!” she cried. She uncovered her eyes to see the doctor running far ahead. Jim and Clarissa picked up the pace behind him. The craters were getting larger now, and they were impossible now to go around. Jim was forced to go over the gravel and rocks that covered the inside of the bowls, and that made tripping and falling very easy. The craters grew from fifty to one hundred feet across. Once they reached the other side of the largest crater, Dr. O’Neill was standing there, admiring the structure that remained. It was only a wall that stood about four and a half feet high, but the doctor fixed his eyes on it for the longest time, feeling its rough, dust covered texture with his hands.

“Yes...this was the old style of reactor site...maybe one of the first...” he muttered to himself. He stood up from his crouched position and headed further into the wreckage. It all looked about the same, but Dr. O’Neill checked every last standing object. He even admired different parts of the floor. Jim and Clarissa were not only confused, but uninterested too. Really, Jim thought to himself, if I wanted to see a depressing building, there were a million of them in Levinson. But neither he nor Clarissa said anything, and just followed obediently behind.

Suddenly, a little song played from out of nowhere. Dr. O’Neill stopped, and turned to the group. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the cell phone Jim had seen the doctor try to use before. With a puzzled look on his face, Dr. O’Neill looked at his phone.

“I have...a low battery...” he stated slowly. He stared at the phone for the longest time, with the same confused expression on his thin face. His mouth slowly formed a smile, and he turned to walk away.

“What is it?” Jim asked

“My phone is working.” Dr. O’Neill said. “That means that remnants of element AK may be here still. That means too that it has no half-life like we thought...” he explained, mostly to himself.

“Doctor, none of this makes sense!” Jim whined.
Dr. O’Neill stopped and turned to him. “I wouldn’t think it would.”

“Then explain it!” Jim cried. “I want to know!”

“Jim, I don’t have time now.” he replied, and held his phone to the ground. He waved it around the surface of the ground, and then continued to walk away from Jim and Clarissa.

“Now what are you—“

“This is going to be a long search if you guys keep asking questions.” the doctor snapped. Clarissa, who’d been the one posing the question, shot him a disgusted look. He stood up straight, and then leaned back with his hands on his lower back. “I’m sorry you two.” he said as he stretched. “It’s just that I don’t have time to answer questions. But if you have to know, I figure that if I get closer to the element my phone will gain more battery.”

“That way you can find it.” Jim said, and Dr. O’Neill nodded. He continued walking around with his phone to the ground. Jim just stood beside Clarissa silently. Both of them had their eyes fixed on the doctor, so they hardly noticed that the other was right beside them. It wasn’t until Dr. O’Neill had headed a distance away until Clarissa began to speak to Jim.

“So, this Dr. O’Neill guy is really strange.” she said, one hand rested on her hip as she watched him.

“It’s just because he isn’t from around here, that’s all.” Jim explained.

“What is he even looking for around this dump anyways?” she questioned.

“He wants to find element AK so he restore Levinson to what it used to be.”

“Return it to what it used to be?” Clarissa asked and turned to Jim. “What did it used to be? Obviously, I missed out on that! Levinson’s always been the same for all my life.”

“No, it was before our time. Once, all the buildings were nice, and there were more people. There was more than enough food. And you know all those weird things around the city that don’t do anything? They work and do stuff when element AK is around!” Jim explained excitedly. He was waving his arms around as he explained everything, and Clarissa soaked up every word like a sponge.

“And he can do all of that?” she asked.

“Of course! That’s why we’re here! They used to produce AK here!”

“Then why’d they stop?” Clarissa questioned. Jim stared at her for a while. He actually never thought about it before, although it seemed a very simple question. Why would they stop making it? Did they know it would leave Levinson like this; falling apart, with their people struggling to survive? Surely not, he thought. Then why’d they do it? The question kept repeating over and over in his head.

Suddenly, a bellowing laugh erupted from across the reactor site. Jim and Clarissa bolted over to its source to find Dr. O’Neill sitting on the ground. In his hand was a tiny little stone. It was purple, just like the one he’d shown off at Jim’s house before. Dr. O’Neill just sat his head hanging as he turned the small stone over in his hand.

“This is great!” Jim cried. “There is AK here! That means that we can rebuild Levinson, right?”

Dr. O’Neill turned his head up to Jim. His eyes were swelling up with tears. He was shaking as he tossed the stone away from himself. “No Jim...no it doesn’t...”

“What do you mean...?” Jim asked slowly, fearful of his answer.

“I mean that I am not going to rebuild Levinson.” Dr. O’Neill responded simply. “I was wrong, and I apologize.”

“No!” Jim shouted angrily. “You can’t say that! After all this, you’re just going to give up.”

“Trust me when I say its better this way.” he said listlessly.

“No!” Jim screamed. “Don’t tell me that! You don’t know what it’s like here! Anything is better than this! Especially with the AK! You can make it better!”

Dr. O’Neill sighed heavily and turned his head to the ground. “I thought I could. But this is more than I can handle.” he said, and rose to his feet. “Come on you two, I’ll take you back home. You’ve seen enough.”

Jim stood defiantly, his hands formed into quivering fists. “What happened here Dr. O’Neill!?” he shouted. Dr. O’Neill did not face him, but he acknowledged him by stopping. He said nothing for a while. The wind whipped at their clothes, providing the only sound to be heard. When the doctor spoke, it was quiet and very unlike him.

“I can’t say. I’ve already caused enough damage; I don’t need to give you any more grief.”

“So something bad happened here!?” Jim exclaimed.

“Well, it wasn’t good obviously.” the doctor said, but there was no humor in his voice. All that was left was sorrow. He continued to walk, but Clarissa and Jim just stood in the same spot. Clarissa faced Jim, her face full of sadness.

“So that’s it, huh? He just tells us that and quits?” she said solemnly.

“He said he can’t do it; that he won’t do it.” Jim said. “And that’s all there is to it I guess.” He began to follow Dr. O’Neill when Clarissa grabbed his hand. She pulled him back.

“Even if he gave up, we never should!” she exclaimed courageously. “Just think about it! If that AK stuff could really do what you said, then why can’t we just find some right now?” Jim thought about it, and realized that she was right. Why couldn’t they just find it themselves without Dr. O’Neill’s help? They began to seek out the element through the layer of dust, dirt, and rubble. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that the doctor noticed that they weren’t following him. He’d been so involved in his thoughts that he didn’t notice. When he turned around, they were searching for the AK.

“Hey, I thought we were leaving.” he said, and started to head back to them. Once he was standing right in front of them, Jim looked up at him.

“You can go ahead.” Jim said scornfully. “If you don’t want to help, that’s fine. We’ll just help ourselves.” he said, and turned his head back to the ground in pursuit of the element.

“Listen Jim. I really can’t explain all this to you right now. I hardly can make sense of it myself right now.” Dr. O’Neill admitted. “Just please give this up and go home.”

“Go away.” Jim muttered without averting his eyes. “You may have a better life to go back to, but I don’t.” At this he looked up to Dr. O’Neill. “So maybe it’s best if you just leave us alone.”

“Jim...”

“I know you’re hiding something Dr. O’Neill. You and Shawn, you’re both hiding something!” Jim shouted furiously “I’m sick of it! What is it going to hurt to just tell me what the hell is going on!?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me!!” Jim cried.

Dr. O’Neill pulled out his pistol and pointed it at Jim’s head. Clarissa gasped and jumped back, but Jim remained motionless. The doctor’s face was stone cold as he spoke; “I don’t know how much you know, but I suggest you shut up before I have to kill you.”

“I knew it.” Jim said flatly. “There is something. And it’s so big that you’re willing to kill me over it...”

“Shut up!!” Dr. O’Neill shouted. The gun was shaking in his trembling hand. “No one can know what I’ve found here. The smart thing for me to do would be to blow both your brains out. But I can’t...”

“What? You don’t want to hurt me?” Jim asked condescendingly. “You’ve done that already. What is a bullet through me going to do?”

“Jim!” Clarissa cried. “Don’t say that!”

“Well it’s true!” Jim roared. “What happens if he doesn’t shoot me? I just go home and starve to death! How much better is that, huh!? I don’t want that anymore! So if you’re gonna put a bullet through my head before I starve to death, then so be it! Because you can’t stop me any other way, Dr. O’Neill. I’m just going to keep finding another way to make a better life for me and my family. And if you want to stop me from that, then shoot me. That’s all I have left anyways.”

The wind itself seemed to stop after Jim had finished speaking. He was breathing heavily as the gun continued to rest upon his forehead. Dr. O’Neill’s eyes were hidden to Jim now, but he could hear the doctor’s breathing growing heavy too. Jim didn’t move or change expression. HE simply sat, waiting to see what Dr. O’Neill would do. Clarissa was too frightened to move or else she would have tackled the doctor as she kept picturing. Dr. O’Neill’s face never changed as he thought about what he should do. Finally, he eased his grip on the gun and let it swing downwards on his finger around the trigger. Jim still didn’t move.

“Just stay the hell away from akarock.” the doctor muttered as he left Jim and Clarissa. They just sat by and watched the doctor disappear from view. Neither one said a word to the other as they sat. Then Clarissa spoke to Jim gently.

“I think we should head back home soon. It’ll be dark by the time we get there.”

“You’re right. We’d better leave.” he said as he rose to his feet. He helped a stiff Clarissa to her feet too. They walked close together across the reactor site, over the craters, and to the main highway road. They constantly kept an eye out for any more strange men that may have been lurking nearby. After a while they reached Clarissa’s shack. They shared simple, half-hearted goodbyes as she left and Jim continued on.

Wow...sorry for all the double posting...I have no choice really. Be prepared for more long story posts. We're over half way to the end!

pages 49-55
Maddie was sitting on the front steps when Jim came home. The sun was setting, and the air had grown cool. She had her arms wrapped around her legs that were pulled tightly to her chest. Jim walked over to her, and she hopped up.

“Oh! You’re finally back!” Maddie exclaimed, and hugged him around the waist.

“What are you doing out here?” Jim asked.

“Mom told me to go outside while her and Sid talked.” she explained.

“Sid!?” Jim exclaimed, and ran in the house. Inside, Abby was sitting on the couch, with Sid standing over her. He had his pistol pointing at her head as she lay on the couch, sobbing. Neither of them noticed Jim had walked in.

“Who was that?!” Sid shouted. “You can’t tell me you don’t know!”

“I don’t!!” Abby cried. “He was with Jim!”

“Sid! Get away from her!” Jim demanded. Sid turned around and glared at Jim. He didn’t move the gun from the direction of Abby.

“Perfect timing!” he snarled. “We were just chatting about you!”
“What do you want!?”

“Who is that guy who keeps coming here? You know him; you have to! What does he want?” Jim didn’t respond to Sid. He simply stepped forward. The lights around him began to glow brilliantly. Sid watched in awe as the lights behind Jim turned off as he stepped forward; only to turn on the ones in front of him.

“This is what the doctor wanted Sid.” Jim said. “Now, get out.”

“But...how—“

“I gave you the answer you wanted. Now get out!” Jim shouted, and Sid grunted. He marched past Jim angrily, and stopped when he was right beside Jim.

“Another question for another day.” he muttered to Jim, and continued walking. He helped himself out the door, and Maddie was still sitting on the steps. “You can go in now.” he said, and Maddie nodded. She jumped up and ran in the house.

Jim sat at the table, facing his mother. She sat up on the couch, still in shock. She was shaking from head to toe, and bit at her nails nervously. Jim didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing at all. Maddie, full of smiles, plopped down beside Abby, oblivious to what had happened. Jim continued to watch over Abby, until she spoke at last.

“So...”she began quietly, “how was your trip Jim? Was it worth it?”

“Dr. O’Neill gave up.” Jim said pathetically. He flipped the stone over in his hands absentmindedly. Abby appeared more alert now that Jim had piqued her interest.

“He did...?” she questioned.

“Yeah...he did.” Jim said plainly. “He found the AK, but he gave up anyways.”

“Why’s he quitting?” Maddie asked. “Is he coming back?”

“I...I don’t think so...” Jim murmured, staring at the element AK. It shone purple so brightly for such a tiny stone.

“So...he won’t bring the dog...” Maddie said, eyes swelling up with tears. She turned her head to her mother. “You were right Mom. I should’ve never liked him...”

“Well, it doesn’t matter anymore!” Jim declared as he stood defiantly. He charged to the couch. “I’m going to finish what he started! I’m going to rebuild Levinson without him if I have to!”

“But Jim” Abby whined “you don’t even know what he planned to do. The man was such a mystery...”

“I have the AK, so I’ll figure it out.” Jim said. “I’m sure Shawn wrote about it!” he said. “Yeah, that’s what I’ll do! I’ll just see what Shawn had to say!”

“I set the notebook on the table Jim.” Abby said as she rose to her feet. “We still have this ham meat that that doctor left us. Do you want any?” she asked of Jim.

“No thanks.” Jim said as he snatched the notebook. “I’m too excited to eat right now!” He headed upstairs to his room, where he sat in his corner near the window. The AK lit up the tiny bulb that hung from the ceiling, which emitted just enough light so that Jim could read Shawn’s chicken-scratch. He flipped through the pages that he’d read already, skipping ahead to the more interesting accounts of Shawn’s life. The page read as follows:

‘The world isn’t the same anymore. What happened to the days when the men who were to protect us did so with honor and dignity? Now they are as crooked as the men they scold! Everyone is so busy trying to get ahead that they don’t realize what kind of Hell they’ve created!’

Jim was confused by this paragraph, because it came from nowhere. The picture beside it was of the library in the times Shawn lived in; when the paint was fresh and new, and the customers were smiling families. Even worse was the next three letters.

‘I.E.P.” was scrawled on the last page of the notebook, with nothing else to accompany it. Just those three letters.

“I.E.P!?” Jim exclaimed, puzzled. “What does that even mean?” He threw down the notebook and ran down the stairs. His mother was sitting on the floor across from Maddie, both with legs crossed. They were munching on the ham that Jim had been offered before. He walked over to Abby, who was engaged in a conversation with Maddie.

“Really, did you want a dog that badly?” Abby questioned.

“I just want something that’s...different...like the birds in the sky! I read about them, but to have one for me...” Maddie exclaimed, trailing off at the end as if deep in thought. Jim had finally drawn their attention away from the conversation.

“Mom,” Jim began “have you ever heard of the I.E.P?” Abby looked at him curiously, and Jim stared back at her with an equally confused expression.

“No...I don’t think so. I would’ve remembered a name like that I would think. Did Shawn write it?” Abby asked.

“Yeah, and he didn’t explain it or anything. He just wrote it.” Jim told her. “But I don't like the sound of how things happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“He was complaining about crooked people and the Hell they’ve created. He didn’t say why of course, but it doesn’t sound good.”
“Maybe he didn’t know either.” Maddie suggested.

“That could be.” Abby agreed. “Maybe only the crooked people knew.”

“But what did they know? What did he know that made him say that? It’s just a big never-ending circle!” Jim exclaimed, and plopped down beside Abby. “If he was going to go through the trouble of writing all this, you would think he would’ve kept better track of things.”
“I don’t think he was really writing this for someone like us.” Abby said. “He probably wasn’t worried about being specific. I imagine he wrote it for himself.”

“Well that’s just great.” Jim deadpanned. “Our one source of information isn’t good enough! So now I don't know what to do!”

“Find a new way.” Maddie interjected.

“Say what?”

“I think I know what she means.” Abby said. “Just because he didn’t tell you what happened before doesn’t mean you can’t do something now. You have that AK, so find a use for it!”

Jim said nothing for a while. He was busy thinking about what he was going to do about Levinson. Despite what Abby and Maddie said, he didn’t think he could really help Levinson without the know-how of someone who knows exactly how Levinson got the way it was. Dr. O’Neill had left him, and Shawn’s notebook wasn’t all that helpful. Unless...

“Mom!” Jim exclaimed. Abby jumped from shock. “Do we have anything else of Shawn’s?”

“I couldn’t tell you. We sold so much when I was a kid that even if we did have anything else of his that it’s hard telling where it is now.”

“Well, I’m going to look around anyways.” Jim said, and commenced his search. Abby just shook her head and returned to talking with Maddie. Jim searched into the night, but to no avail. He looked through each book, flipping through its pages in hopes that he might find a piece of paper with Shawn’s writing on it. But he couldn’t find even a scrap of paper in any of the books. He rummaged through the books all night, and when he woke up the next morning he returned to his search. Still yet he found nothing, and by the time lunch rolled around he had checked each book twice.

Abby was busy putting the beef jerky that the doctor had sent on fancy blue ceramic plates. She set them neatly on the table, as if they were eating a gourmet meal. Jim, as usual, wasn’t hungry. Just to make her feel better, he decided he would sit down and eat with her anyways. He took a seat beside her at the same time she sat down. She shot him a strange look as she picked up her strip of jerky. Jim said nothing, and continued to eat. After a while he became frustrated with her constantly glancing at him with the same peculiar expression.

“What?” he finally asked quietly.

“Oh, nothing.” she uttered dismissively.

“No, seriously. What do you keep giving me that look for?”

“Well, I’m just wondering to what I owe the honor of your presence.” she said sheepishly. “I mean, I never see you much anymore...”

“I was in my room for one night...” Jim muttered.

“No, that’s not what I mean! I mean that ever since Dr. O’Neill stuck his nose in our business, I’ve been seeing less and less of you!” Abby exclaimed, her hands expressing her anger and frustration. She moved them like puppets to her words, throwing them up when she got angry. “You hardly ever eat with us, and we never see you during the day unless you’re looking for O’Neill!”

“Well I’m sorry that I’m trying to help us!” Jim shouted.

“No, it’s not that.” Abby said. “I’m not getting on to you again. I’m one hundred percent behind you. I just think you should take a break. You’ve been at this for over a week, and you’ve gone through a lot lately.”

“I guess you’re right.” Jim agreed slowly as he took another bite. He rose up from the table and stood next to his mother. Abby also stood up, but much more slowly. “Maybe I’ll give it a few days” Jim continued. “You never know, I might find a whole new idea!”

“No, no you won’t.” Abby said abruptly as she waved her index finger at him threateningly. “You won’t even think about it. I want things the way they used to be; for a little while at least. Is that so much to ask?”

“No, I guess not.” Jim said. “I’m sorry I’ve been sort of ignoring you two...I’ve just been so busy, and-“

“I know, I know.” Abby cooed. “I only ask for a few days. It’s for your good and ours.” she said, and embraced him warmly. She never let go as she whimpered “Dr. O’Neill left so much to you. It’s so much for one kid to take in all by himself, so I just want to protect you. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. But I realize that I’ve been standing back lately and waiting for God to come, but I know now that it’s wrong. I have to do some things for myself.” She let go of him and held him by his shoulders at arm’s-length from her body. “And you taught me that Jim. Thank you so much.”

“I thought you were against everything Dr. O’Neill was doing?”

“No, I was against Dr. O’Neill.” Abby explained frankly. “He was a bad man, and I could see that from the beginning. But I did appreciate him for motivating you to do something for Levinson.”

pages 55-60
Neither Jim nor Abby could find any more to say to one another, so they simply stood for a little while, trying to find the words to say. Finally, Abby just gave up trying to say anymore, and began to pick up the dishes from the table. Jim wandered away from the table and paced around the middle of the room as his mother put away the jerky into the rotted cabinet. He soon came to the realization that he really had absolutely nothing to do. He had never noticed it before, but after what had happened over the course of the past few days, his life previously had been very dull. So for the remainder of the day he did what he had always done before, which was nothing. He walked outside and watched the birds with Maddie for several hours, talking about them much of the time. Occasionally a pigeon would land on the road, unassuming of any danger. Then Maddie and Jim would creep up on the oblivious bird like two cats, and just when they were about to tackle the pigeon, it would fly away. Maddie and Jim would fall to the ground, laughing every time.

As the sun set that evening, the three of them would gather by the couch and play the card game that Abby had been taught when she was young. They called it Ramni, which may have been called Rummy before, as it was played exactly the same as Rummy was. She still had the tattered Bicycle playing cards that her grandma had given her all those years ago. The family played the game quite often before, but Abby’s grandma had designated Abby as the ‘Queen of Ramni’ because of her skill and luck, even when she was younger. They played several rounds of the game, and Abby won every round but the one round that Maddie had bested her on by only five points. The Wiggs played and laughed late into the night, and were exhausted by the time they finally went to sleep. Jim didn’t even bother trudging up to his room. He instead just slept on the cool, hardwood floor.

The three of them slept peacefully throughout the night and into the early afternoon. They were awakened by the sound of someone rummaging through the house. Jim woke up in a sleepy haze, but quickly snapped out of it when he saw the three men searching in his home. They were dressed up in heavy armor and carried large guns; much larger than the small pistol Dr. O’Neill had carried around. While still lying flat, Jim discreetly nudged Abby awake. She too was groggy, but her eyes opened wide with shock when she saw the men. Frozen with fear, the pair of them just lay on the floor as the men delved through their books and cabinets.

Suddenly, one of the men whirled around and pointed his gun near where Jim and Abby were laying. The other men followed suit, and aimed their guns at the same spot.

“Halt! Who are you!?” one of the men bellowed.

“I’m Maddie.” Maddie replied calmly. Jim’s heart leapt in his chest when he heard her. He so desperately wanted to yell to her to get down, but he couldn’t. “Who are you?” she asked innocently.

The men, without averting their guns, said absolutely nothing. They held steady, uncaring of the fact that they pointed their rifles at a small child. “Those shirts look really hot! Don’t you know it gets very hot here?”

“Those two on the ground,” one of the darker-skinned men yelled at Maddie, “are they dead?”

“Dead?! No! They’re just sleeping!” she exclaimed, and Jim’s heart skipped a beat as he felt her tiny hands tug on his shoulders. “Jim! Come on Jim! Wake up!” Reluctantly, Jim opened his eyes and slowly rose up to a seated position as Maddie awakened Abby.

The darker man grabbed a black phone from a clip on his belt and held it to his mouth. “Sir, we have more civilians inside the library.” the man said. The static was illegible to Jim, but the man simply responded, “Yes sir”. All three men lowered their weapons as a man walked through the front door. He was a husky, muscular man around 220 pounds. He had an air of confidence and grandeur about him, and his piercing blue eyes expressed it. His blond hair was buzzed to an almost non-existent length. He strolled in, carrying a somewhat large brown box and another more colorful tiny box.

“Good afternoon ladies and gentleman.” he said, not even looking in the family’s general direction. He instead glanced around the room. “You have a very nice place...” he muttered, mostly to himself.

“Can we help you?” Jim asked impatiently.

“Actually, you might be able to.” the man said. “Do you know the Wigg family by chance?”

Maddie began to speak when Abby quickly interrupted her. “We are...but what do you want with us?”

“Well,” he said slowly, coming closer to them. “One of our U.N. members has been kind enough to supply one young girl named Maddie with a gift.” he said, and handed the big brown box to Maddie. Her name was scribbled on the top. With a smile stretching across her petite face, she opened the box excitedly. She ripped the lid off, but when she looked inside, she stopped moving. The smile suddenly vanished from her face, and she dropped the box. From inside the box, a tiny puppy rolled out; not moving. It was dead, and Maddie had seen enough dead birds to know when an animal was gone. Her eyes welled up with tears as she clung to Abby.

“Oh,” the man said “I guess he didn’t make the trip here.” His tone was callous, with no regard to the sobbing little girl. “Okay, well whatever.” the man said gruffly. “We will be surveying the area and conducting research on the city, so stay out of our way. It is for your safety and our own that we ask you to comply with our demands.”

“Now hold on just one second!” Jim exclaimed heatedly. “Who exactly are you?!” he demanded as he stepped closer. The men held up their guns and pointed them at Jim. The man waved for the men to lower their weapons. He then scoffed under his breath.

“My name you mean? My name is Dr. O’Neill.” he said plainly. Jim’s hands balled into fists as he tried not to knock the man out.
“You aren’t Dr. O’Neill!!” he shouted. “I know Dr. O’Neill, and you aren’t him!!” Dr. O’Neill said nothing for a moment, but then a twisted smile formed where a frown had been.

“You say you knew Dr. O’Neill huh?” he asked. “Was he Dr. Adam O’Neill?”

“Yes!”

“Now that is strange...” Dr. O’Neill said curiously. “...because so am I.”

“You can’t be!” Jim cried furiously. “You aren’t him!”

“No, kid. He wasn’t me.” Dr. O’Neill said. “I don’t know who you met, but he must be very confused. I am Dr. O’Neill, and you should remember that name.” he said bluntly, and turned toward the door. “You can go back to whatever you were doing.”

Jim could feel himself pushing to exclaim the question he so desperately wanted answered. He, with no control over it, shouted to Dr. O’Neill. “Do you know what happened here?!” The doctor stopped in the doorway, and so did his group. He didn’t say or do anything for a moment.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Dr. O’Neill questioned angrily without turning to face Jim. “Nothing happened.”

“Now I know you aren’t the real Dr. O’Neill!” Jim exclaimed. “The real Dr. O’Neill knew exactly what happened! I know he did!” Jim used every ounce of his strength to keep from tackling the man. He wanted so badly to just beat the answers out of the imposter. He knew better than that though. So he instead stood firmly in place, fuming. Dr. O’Neill turned on a dime and stormed toward Jim. The men with the doctor quickly jumped out of the way of the man. The doctor approached Jim until he was only a couple feet from Jim.

“You don’t know anything.” Dr. O’Neill snarled menacingly. “I don’t know why you are playing games with me, but you had better stop before you regret it. Stay out of way and let us work.” At this point the doctor was inches from Jim’s face. Dr. O’Neill had his eyes narrowed, as if he was inspecting Jim very carefully. “The next time we meet,” he began, and pulled a silver pistol identical to the other Dr. O’Neill’s from a hidden holster, “this will be against your head.” He held the gun to Jim’s forehead and pulled the hammer back. “So you don’t want to see me again. If I so much as hear that you’ve been spreading stories about me, then we will have a very big problem. Do you understand?” he growled.

Without waiting for a response, the doctor stepped back from Jim and marched out the front door with his men following immediately behind him. The Wiggs, all breathing very heavily, didn’t move for several minutes. What a way to wake up, Jim thought. Not a single word was spoken for the longest time. None of them really knew what to think now.

Finally Abby spoke up, but her voice was feeble. “He can’t be Dr. O’Neill...can he?”

“No, there’s no way!” Jim retorted. “He must have stole Dr. O’Neill’s name and is using it!”

“Why would he want to do that?” Maddie questioned.

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.” Jim replied. “But I’m not getting involved in that. He can do what he wants to do with Levinson. If he can fix it, then that's good for him. I’ll figure it out by myself.”
“I just don’t know what to do or think anymore.” Abby said. Maddie slowly walked away from Jim and Abby. She was headed toward the box with the puppy in it. Jim and Abby watched as she picked the puppy up from out of the box and just held it. She gently stroked its fur as if it were alive, feeling its paws and ears. Tears rolled down her rosy cheeks as she laid the puppy back in the box.
“I don’t like the new Dr. O’Neill.” she said, speaking so softly that it sounded almost like a whisper. “I don’t want him to fix Levinson. He doesn’t care like the old Dr. O’Neill did.” She lifted the box and held it tight. “He let the puppy die, and he’d let me die too. The old Dr. O’Neill never would have let me die.”
Abby, moved to tears by Maddie’s words, rushed over and embraced her daughter. Jim watched over them as they held each other tightly. Abby rested on one knee as she rocked Maddie back and forth comfortingly.
“You’re right.” Jim said. “I don’t want him to fix Levinson either. If anyone will fix it, it will be me.”
“But how do you plan to do that all by yourself?” Maddie asked. “I want to help you!” She hugged Jim joyfully, and Jim returned the hug warmly. He pushed her to arms length and looked her straight in the eyes.
“I don’t want to involve you or Mom in this mess.” he told her. “Maybe Rex can help me out. He’s always been willing to get me out of a sticky situation.” Jim walked casually to the door and opened it before Abby called out to him.
“Jim!”
“You can’t stop me Mom.”
“I know that.” Abby replied with a smile that had scarcely been seen before on her sullen face. “I just want to make sure you say hi to Mrs. Kendricks for me!”
“I will,” Jim said with an air of relief. He had gotten sick of explaining himself to her every time he decided to help Levinson. He began to feel as though she understood his passion, and why he had to fix the city. The strange thing, though, was that Jim didn’t really understand himself why he had such a desire to improve Levinson. Sure, he did live there. Jim didn’t think that was the reason though; he preferred to think that maybe it was a higher calling. Perhaps that is why his mother had finally come on board too; perhaps that higher calling had also told her that this was Jim’s time to shine!

More to come soon!

Read 24-31; I like Clarissa's personality, so full of spunk, hahaha! I found it amusing when her and Jim met for the first time, then the climax arrived and finally figured out that she is the girl that's been pulling the "houdini" tricks at his home.

All in all, this story continues to reel me in. The characters, their reactions to the environment and others, the storyline, it's original to how I see it. Another original piece I enjoy reading.

Thanx! Clarissa was one of those characters that I wasnt sure how people would react. But the conflict and story only gets better! ^~^

Just got through 32-40; uh-oh, Clarissa is stunned by the shiny car perhaps, xD. It's cool how they're getting close to the reactor, going to try and read more when I can.

Ooooo shiny things....LoL not quite! :) I LOVE the next part of the story (one of my personal favorite parts!) so hope yo us see it soon!

Apologies for the extreme tardiness; anyways, I have finished reading pages 40-49. I must say, the tension just expands! Now I'm really curious as to what the element AK is truly capable of, though I may have already some ideas, and they tell me they ain't good, XD.

I'll be sure to get back to this ASAP.

Oh that's okay! Lol! thanks for coming back to it, though! Yep, the AK is capable of some truly great things...and everyone knows that great can mean MANY things...

Read 49-54, I think it was, heh.

That crazy Sid, who'da thunk he'd be there? XD. It is nice to see Jim with his mom and sister, the nice renuion...even if they're torn apart slightly from him trying to find a way to bring Levinston back, heh.

Once more, awesome. I might be saying this word constantly the next time I read another section, XD. But I mean it.

The next part is really really good! I've actually finished the story, I just need to post the last of it up! It is about 106 pages altogether!

When I did some editing, I deleted nearly two pages of text, so that's why it says 62 instead of like 60 or 61.

pages 62-70

Jim slipped the element into his pants pocket slyly as to not draw attention to himself. He left the house and walked across the street to Rex’s house. Rex lived in an abandoned clothing store which had ugly plaid curtains hanging in the massive display windows, blocking the view of the inside of his home. Jim had only been to Rex’s house once, and that was when Rex had invited the Wiggs’ to dinner one night. It was one month previous to Jim’s first excursion with Rex on their runs through Levinson.

He slowly approached Rex’s house and knocked on its large glass door. A doorbell was placed beside the door, but no one had used those in a long time; so long, in fact, that most had forgotten what they had done. Rex never forgot, though. Rex studied up on the past in his spare time in an effort to understand it. He was a lot like Abby in many regards; they both felt that preserving the past and the way things used to be was one of the most important priorities they had as survivors.

“There’s so much we can learn from them” Rex always said. “Everything but how we got stuck in this goddamn mess in the first place.” If anyone knew what Jim needed to know, it would have to be Rex.

A woman opened the door for Jim as a smile stretched across her face. She had blonde and gray streaked hair that was pulled into a messy ponytail, and her overall frame was very bony and skeletal. Without a word, Mrs. Kendrick’s welcomed Jim inside their home.

“Rex will be glad to see you.” she said joyfully. “He’s been a little stir crazy this week, so a little company will do him some good I think.” Jim inspected the room, taking notice of how it was exactly the same as he remembered it last time he visited. There weren’t any clothes in the store anymore; they’d been sold for food long ago. The clothes that were left had been given to some of the friends of the Kendricks, like the Wiggs. It was the reason why Jim’s clothes were in such better shape than most of the people in Levinson. He actually had multiple outfits, whereas most people were lucky to have one. The room only had one sofa, a tiny table that was half the size of Jim’s kitchen table, and a television that Rex constantly tinkered with.

“Let me just get Rex out of his reading room.” Mrs. Kendricks told Jim.

“Reading room?” Jim questioned.

“Oh, it used to be the changing rooms, but now he decided he wanted to make it his reading room. ‘It has better lighting’ is what he always told me. He can be so strange sometimes.” she chuckled to herself as she walked to the back. There was another room in the back of the store that Jim had never been in before that he assumed must have been the changing room. Mrs. Kendricks walked inside, and emerged with an animated Rex. He strode over to Jim and put his arm around him warmly.

“Hey there Jim!” he exclaimed, shaking Jim a little. “It’s good to have someone over for a change!”

“It’s good to be out of the house too.” Jim added with an uncomfortable grin. He was never very comfortable with close personal contact like what Rex was doing by putting his arm around Jim’s shoulder.

“I can only stand just the Mrs. and me for so long before it gets to me!” Rex said.

“I love you too, honey” Mrs. Kendricks said with a playful smile. “Would you like anything to drink, Jim?”

“No, that’s okay.” Jim said. “I’m not really that thirsty. Thank you anyways.”

Rex let go of Jim and plopped down on his sofa. He looked up at Jim, who stood in front of the door, rocking awkwardly on his heels with his hands in his pockets. “You can have a seat on the couch if you don’t want to stand all day.” Rex offered. “You can make yourself at home!”

“Thanks Rex.” Jim said quietly as he took a seat beside Rex. They were still a foot or so apart on the couch, but Jim still felt weird sitting beside him. Rex was an intimidating man whose stern face didn’t often display emotion. For Rex to be smiling told Jim that Rex was obviously extremely happy, so he loosened up slightly.

“So what brings you over to my house today?” Rex asked. “Or did you just get bored?”

“Well, I did kind of have something to ask you.” Jim explained. “That is, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Of course not,” Rex declared, “To be honest, I’d be willing to talk to anyone about anything right about now. You wouldn’t believe how boring it can get around here...”

“I’ve actually been busy lately. I’ve discovered some really interesting things too. That’s the reason I came over here. I wanted your help with this, and you’re one of the only people I know that might be able to help.”

“I’ll do my best.” Rex said as he turned to face Jim. He looked at Jim and smiled warmly, eager to hear what Jim had to say. He placed his hands on his knees, a gesture Jim always remembered his mother using when she was listening intently to what someone had to say.

“Okay,” Jim began, taking a deep breath, “I know this is going to sound strange and you might not even believe me, but just give me a chance.” He stopped talking for a moment and waited for a sign from Rex. Rex simply nodded as if to tell him to continue. “I think I may have found the missing pieces to the puzzle of what happened to Levinson.”

Rex’s eyes grew wide when Jim told him this, and he tensed up considerably. “You...you know what happened??” he exclaimed.

“Well, not exactly. I have the information, but I don’t know how it all fits together.”

“You have to tell me how you found this out.” Rex insisted seriously. Jim nodded and proceeded to tell Rex every facet of the experiences Jim had had from the time he met Dr. O’Neill to the events surrounding the current Dr. O’Neill. Rex listened in awe as Jim explained his extraordinary tale to him. Jim grew in confidence as the story progressed, and by the end he seemed to enjoy telling the story. Rex simply stared, wide eyed, as Jim described both of the Dr. O’Neill’s.

“Jim, that is incredible.” Rex said simply. “But what do I have to do with any of this?”

“You know a lot about the past and our history. I thought maybe all of this would make sense to you.”

“It might have.” Rex explained as he rose to his feet. “But it’s been so long since I read those kinds of things that I’ve forgotten most of it by now.”

“You have to know something!” Jim pleaded. “I mean, you borrowed all of those books on history from us. Surely you remember something!”

“That actually reminds me of something.” Rex said, scratching his scruffy chin. “Amy, can you get that giant history book for me?” he shouted to his wife with his head turned in her general direction. He returned his attention to Jim though. “I keep forgetting to give this back to your mother, but I think maybe you could get some use out of it now.”

“You do believe me though, don’t you Rex?” Jim asked; his voice strained.

“To be completely honest, the only part that confuses me is that whole element AK business. I remember the name vaguely from what I read. I do know that it became a big deal before the Great Fallout, but I don’t recall all that much.”

Jim thought for a moment about the best way to explain something as farfetched as the AK. He then thought of how Dr O’Neill had shown him the element AK. Dr. O’Neill had demonstrated its power first-hand. That was exactly what Jim had planned, but as he glanced at the ceiling above him, he noticed that Rex’s home had no light bulbs. He instead shifted his focus to the dusty television in front of the sofa. It hadn’t been touched for a while, and Jim figured that if he could get Rex’s television to work with the AK, then Rex would be convinced.

“How do you turn on the TV?” Jim asked. Rex shot him a confused glance before walking to the television set. He kneeled down beside the TV and scanned the control panel on the front with his eyes. Finding the button he was searching for, he pressed it effortlessly and turned to face Jim.

“If it actually worked, that would’ve turned it on.” Rex said. “It has no energy source though, so it would never work. I’ve read all the books you have on the subject, and they all said the same thing.”

“Today is your lucky day, Rex.” Jim said coolly as he approached the television. He was only a few feet away when the screen flashed on with a brilliant blue screen. The entire room, and Rex’s face, was illuminated by the glow of the TV in contrast to the darkness of the room. Jim pulled the element AK from his front pants pocket and held it up for Rex to see. Rex stared at the stone, frozen with amazement. After a few moments, he turned his attention to the screen.

“I can’t believe it Jim.” he whispered. “I never in my life thought I would see a television work right before my eyes, and yet here I am! It just blows my mind. I spent so many years trying to figure those things out, but I never really thought...”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Jim began, staring now at Rex, who hadn’t looked from the screen yet, “why were you so determined to figure out the TV in the first place?”

“Well,” Rex explained, “for one, that particular television has been in my house even before I was born, or my parents for that matter. It was just natural that I would be curious as to how something like that works. But more importantly,” he said, turning now to face Jim, “my son Daniel drove me to keep looking too.”

“Daniel?” Jim questioned amazedly. “I didn’t know you have a son! Why haven’t I ever met him?”

“That would be because he died long before you were born.” Rex replied solemnly. Jim was taken aback, and was instantly sorry that he had asked the question the way he had. Rex pressed on talking as if Jim had said nothing. “In many ways you and Dan were a lot alike. He wanted nothing more than to get out of Levinson and become more than just a regular guy scraping by. The strange thing was that he had no reason to be driven to do anything at all. I mean, some people were still convinced at that point that Levinson could be restored, so I guess he bought into all that. That motivation that he possessed got him up to his neck in trouble, and he ended up drowning in it.”

“He drowned?” Jim asked, shocked. Rex laughed half-heartedly.

“Not literally, no. He was convinced that the answer to Levinson’s problems were outside the center of the city; to the parts that we have now made a habit of robbing. So he decided one night to venture out into the unknown territory outside our little section. I don’t necessarily know what exactly had happened over there, but the next morning we found him. He had been shot and then drug to the sandbox. I remember how badly he’d bled in that box; his blood...” Rex told Jim, but his voice trailed off as his mind wandered to the surely horrific memory that he had. Rex came back to reality after a few moments, and returned to staring at the screen.

“The left a message in the sand that said”:

‘Stay in your city and we’ll stay in ours.’

“We knew what that must have meant. They didn’t want Dan there, so they just killed him.” Rex said painfully. Jim could feel a lump form in his throat as Rex spoke. “I suppose that’s what drove me to figure out the television, and to steal from the rest of the city. With Sid leading, I felt like maybe I was redeeming myself for what I allowed Daniel to do.” Rex again allowed an awkward silence to come over the pair of them, but it didn’t last long.

Rex intensely spoke his next point as if he was attacking Jim with his ideas. “You have to promise me something Jim.” he said. “You have to promise me that no matter how strongly you feel about this that you never let your mother feel the way I felt about Dan again. No one should ever have to feel the way I did; the emptiness, anger, sadness, regret, and every other damn emotion that we chase away.

But I could never chase it away, Jim. That kind of pain can’t be drowned out by anything. And just like I used my television obsession to fill the void, your mother turned to religion. Your father left such a deep hole in her. I used to come over almost every other day just to keep her company, or to watch over you kids as she cried alone. After a few months, she found that Bible, and it gave her a new strength I’d never seen in someone who had been through what she’d been through. If anything ever happened to you, I don’t know if she could find anything to keep her sane again.”

Jim, numb with such a wave of intense emotions, thought back to his mother. Jim watched her wipe the kitchen table with a wet yellow rag, and for the first time he examined her closely enough to see the sadness in her eyes. Oddly enough, it seemed to reside in the brightness in her irises. The feeling she expressed in her eyes couldn’t be explained, but one could just see it. Like a beacon, it now called to Jim, begging him to think twice before he did anything.

“I think I should go home now.” Jim said distantly. He stood up painfully from his legs falling asleep as he was sitting. Rex helped him to his feet and walked him to the door. He reached for the door handle and began to turn it when he stopped.

“Oh, I almost forgot your book!” he exclaimed. “I guess Amy didn’t hear me earlier. I’ll be right back, so sit tight for a moment.” Rex pranced into one of the other rooms near the changing room. Jim looked outside the window to see the setting sun losing its light. Only the orange and red radiation of color could be seen in the sky high above him. He was careful to only open the shades a small amount for fear of Dr. O’Neill spotting him.

Rex entered the room, grinning, only moments later. The book he was carrying was one of the largest books Jim had ever laid eyes on. The spine was at least three inches wide, and even though it was a history book, it still appeared to be brand new, as if it was written a few days earlier.

“It looks brand new,” Jim marveled, accepting the book from Rex.

“I always make sure that anything I borrow from the Wiggs is in the same shape it was when I borrowed it!” he replied, smiling brightly. “It’s only fair.”

“Thank you.” Jim said to Rex as he extended his hand to him. Rex shook Jim’s hand enthusiastically with an iron grip. Jim could feel his callous hands; signs of a life that Rex worked hard to live. Jim bid farewell to Mrs. Kendricks, who stood in the doorway of the changing room, as well. Jim peeked out of the curtain one final time to make absolutely sure Dr. O’Neill was nowhere to be seen before he sprinted across the street in the waning sunlight.

Upon entering the house, he noticed Abby and Maddie fast asleep on the futon. He crept in the front door like a mouse, making sure to close the door gingerly behind him. Fatigue grew like a fog over Jim, and he trudged sluggishly to his room and fell asleep. He was so exhausted that when he awoke, he felt as though he’d died as he slept. He didn’t recall any dreams or even that he’d fallen asleep at all! But Jim awoke more refreshed and energized than he’d been in a long time. He bounced down the stairs in a light-hearted way, as if his sleep had caused all his problems to just float away from his mind. His mother and sister were sitting at the kitchen table as usual, eating the last bit of chocolate cereal that Dr. O’Neill had left them. The noontime sun hung high in the sky and brightened the room more than it had been lit for the better part of a month. Jim sat beside Abby on the long side of the table.

Abby’s face was drooping with weariness from having to listen to Maddie complain all morning. It was true, Jim thought, that every time Maddie got excited about something she would never stop talking about it until the excitement wore off. She would sometimes go on about one subject for days without stopping.

“Mom?” Maddie asked.

“If you’re asking about that book, please for the love of God just read it to her Jim!” Abby replied curtly. Jim whipped around to glare at Maddie.

“Did you steal my book?” he questioned angrily.

“I...Uhh...” Maddie mumbled.

“How many times do I have to tell you to quit sneaking off with my books? If you just ask, I’ll let you look at them.” Maddie looked from Jim to her mother and back to Jim again. Deciding that she didn’t like the expression on Jim’s face, Maddie turned again to her mother.

“Mom, how come there aren’t as many kids around here as there are in the book?” she questioned sheepishly, eager to switch topics.

“Well, that’s because we decided at one point that we didn’t want anyone else to be put in the same position as us.” Abby replied; still irritated.

“Who decided?” Jim asked.

“Everyone did.” Abby replied simply. “And it isn’t like we all did at the same time. It just kind of happened. We all just stopped having kids. I mean, what’s the point if you are just going to bring your kids up in a miserable place like this?”

“Well I for one am glad that you decided to have us.” Jim said joyfully.

“Me too!” Maddie chimed in.

pages 70-79

Abby just laughed to herself at the pair of them. “I am too.” she said sweetly. “But it does get a little lonely for you two, doesn’t it? I don’t think there is another kid under twenty-five in this city.”

“Clarissa is about my age.” Jim said.

“Clarissa?” Abby and Maddie questioned at the same time. They looked at one another strangely, and then returned to looking at Jim.

“Clarissa Fitzgerald. She’s a girl I met while I was searching for that reactor. I thought that I’d told you about her before, Mom.”

“I don’t think so. But I do remember her from when her mother brought her to the library way back when. Clarissa was just a little girl back then; probably a little bit younger than Maddie.”

“Isn’t that weird?” Jim contemplated. “I met her all those years ago, and only met her again once.”

“Where does her family live now?”

“Well,” Jim began, his tone becoming serious, “her dad died, and then her mom killed herself. Clarissa is the only one left in her family.”

“Oh my gosh!” Abby cried. “That’s awful! Does she have a place to stay, that poor girl!”

“She lives by herself in a shack behind an apartment.”

“That won’t do!” Abby exclaimed, standing up from the table. “Jim, you need to go find her and bring her over to our house. Living all by herself is no way to live! I was very good friends with her mother, and there is no way I’m going to let her daughter live like that!”

“She’s pretty bull-headed; she might not want to come.” Jim warned.

“I’m sure she isn’t nearly as bull-headed as I can be.” Abby replied. “Just be careful when you go out. I don’t want that other Dr. O’Neill to think you’re up to no good.” Abby ushered Jim out the door and Jim just looked back through the skinny windows on either side of the door. Abby stared back at him with an unpleasant look on her face. Jim reluctantly continued down the stairs onto the street before him. He scanned the street up and down to ensure that the doctor was nowhere to be seen before he dashed onto the crumbling sidewalk. His heart was racing as he ran to Clarissa’s home, and his lungs could hardly keep up with the demand of his body. Everything around him blurred as he sprinted as fast as he could to his one goal.

Suddenly, the towering apartment complex stood in front of Jim, and he sharply turned to it. Little did he know that the doctor was on the other side of the street, taking notice of Jim’s odd behavior. The doctor stopped examining the front of what appeared to have been an antique shop in order to observe Jim as he walked down the alleyway beside the apartment.

“Isn’t dat da kid from the library?” one of the men asked Dr. O’Neill.

“It looks like it.” Dr. O’Neill said.

“Do ya think we should follow ‘im doctor?” the man questioned.

“No.” the doctor replied simply. He turned to the man with a blank expression across his face. “He isn’t that important. We have to focus on the AK.” Dr. O’Neill turned on his bulky heels and returned to his inspection of the building. “But do keep an eye out for him.” the doctor continued. “Make sure he isn’t getting into trouble.”

Meanwhile, Jim was at the front door of Clarissa’s unsightly shack. He, ignoring any manners his mother had taught him, barged through the front door. Clarissa was sitting in the corner with a piece of paper and a pencil in hand. She glanced at Jim briefly, and then returned her attention to the paper. Jim approached her, watching over her shoulder.

“It’s rude to look over an artist’s shoulder while they’re working.” Clarissa said flatly as she continued to write. She turned her head up to stare at Jim hovering over her. “You shouldn’t look until its finished.” she said with a playful smile. Jim returned the gesture with the same smile.

“Can I at least know what you’re doing?” Jim asked.

“I’m drawing.” she replied simply. “It’s actually a great way to waste time.” Clarissa set the drawing down on the floor beside her. “God knows I have plenty of that.” she sighed. She stood up, using the wall to prop herself up. Jim watched from a distance as she stumbled a bit, laughing awkwardly.

“Are you okay?” he asked, edging closer.

“Oh, I’m fine.” she exclaimed, waving him away. “My legs fell asleep since I’ve been sitting for so long!” She walked strangely to the tattered green recliner chair a few feet from her and plopped down in it. Jim walked over to her, but didn’t take a seat.

“Clarissa, I need to talk to you.” Jim said hurriedly. He rocked back nervously, and Clarissa took notice.

“Why don’t you just sit down?” she asked abrasively. “You’re stressing me out moving around like that!”

“I’m sorry, but I really can’t stay very long.” he said, before Clarissa jumped in to interrupt.

“Can you at least give me one good reason why you’re in such a hurry? Is it about the reactor again?” she said with a teasing grin.

“For once, it’s not.” Jim said jovially.

“Okay, then I am all ears.” Clarissa replied.

“Well,” Jim began as if a giant weight had been thrust on his shoulders, “you remember Dr. O’Neill, don’t you?”

“Jim, that wasn’t that long ago.” Clarissa snapped impatiently. “I remember him.”

“Anyways, some new guy has come to fix Levinson, and he says that he’s Dr. O’Neill, and that there is no other Dr. O’Neill.”

“How can that be?” Clarissa asked, puzzled. “Are you sure it isn’t the same guy?”

“Of course it’s not!”

“Well, you never know!” Clarissa retorted, slightly hurt by his abrasive tone. “He could be incognito!”

“Incognito?” Jim questioned curiously.

“Yeah, you know...in disguise!” she explained. “My mom read a lot, so I picked up on some really strange words!” she added, taking cue from Jim’s strange expression.

“I really doubt it.” Jim replied simply. “He’s a completely different guy. He’s threatened me if I tell anyone what I know about the AK or the real Dr. O’Neill. So in other words, I shouldn’t be here, and you shouldn’t be alive right now.”

Clarissa stared at Jim, wide eyed. She’d had guns pointed at her face and men who gave her death glares, but never had she had someone who actually wanted her dead specifically. She shuddered at the thought that someone she didn’t know wanted to kill her, and for such a ridiculous reason. She sat in stunned silence as Jim continued speaking.

“So, my mom wants you to come to our house to stay. She says that she doesn’t want you to be lonely anymore.” Jim told her. He looked into Clarissa’s vacant eyes. “And...I don’t want you to be alone either.”

Clarissa said nothing and displayed no emotion. Then tears began to form at the corner of her eyes as she burst up from her chair and into a warm embrace with Jim. He held her shaking frame as she sobbed into his shoulder. Jim was confused; he had never seen Clarissa act this way before. She was, from what he’d gathered, so flamboyant and lively, but now she was a crying mess.

“Th...Thank you so much...” she whimpered. “I never thought...I’d ever find someone who’d...who’d-“

“I get it.” Jim interrupted softly. She pulled away from him slowly, and they stared into each other’s eyes. “We had better leave right now. The less time that I’m out of my house, the better it is for me.”

“Let’s get out of the hell hole then!” Clarissa cheered excitedly. She grabbed him by the hand and they sped out the doorway. Clarissa didn’t even look back as they left the alleyway that had once been her home behind. Out on the street, Jim stayed close the walls of the buildings that lined the road in an effort to not stand out.

Jim’s efforts were in vain, as Dr. O’Neill took notice of the fact that Jim was not alone. He watched as Jim led the mysterious girl into the library. Dr. O’Neill rubbed the wall angrily as the group of three men closed in on him.

“Now should we pay attention?” the tallest man asked. Dr. O’Neill turned on him, a snake-like vein bulging in his neck. The man nervously took a step back from the doctor.

“Yes.” Dr. O’Neill replied. “We cannot risk having a little monster like him screwing things up for us!”

“Are we gonna follow ‘im, sir?” the dark-skinned man questioned.

“Oh, we’ll do more than that.” the doctor threatened. “I will make absolutely sure of it.” The doctor stormed past the taller man, who followed loyally behind. The other men took up the rear, still apprehensive of the quick tempered Dr. O’Neill. They stalked Jim to his home, where he and Clarissa had already entered. They watched as the four in the house took a seat on the couch, laughing.

“I’m so happy that you’re okay!” Abby said joyfully. “After I stopped hearing from your mother, I was very worried about the three of you.”

“Well, I’m fine at least!” Clarissa replied with a smile. Maddie could hardly set still from the excitement of having a new person to talk to.

“Oh, this is so cool!” Maddie squealed. “You’re like the sister I never had! We’re gonna have so much fun! We can watch the birds together, and play patty-cake together, and talk forever!”

“I bet you can!” Clarissa laughed, and Maddie laughed right along with her. Maddie hugged Clarissa around her legs, since Clarissa was at least a head taller than Jim. Jim and Abby watched admirably as Maddie showered her affection onto Clarissa. She soaked in every bit of Maddie’s love, since she had gone for so long without any real appreciation from anyone. But to be adorned with all of the Wiggs’ love was a welcome change from her usual empty life.

The mood quickly shifted when Dr. O’Neill charged through the front door, knocking it down with his sheer strength. The Wiggs and Clarissa all jumped as the men stormed the library. All the guns were aimed directly at Jim’s forehead. Dr. O’Neill stood before them like an angry grizzly bear with his mighty chest heaving. He whipped out his pistol, which was similar to the other Dr. O’Neill’s, although this gun was duller silver. He rested the muzzle against Clarissa’s head.

“Okay Jim, I’m not messing around here.” the doctor spat. “I want to know the truth, and I want to know it now! Who is this girl?”

“My name is Clarissa Fitzgerald!” Clarissa exclaimed defiantly. “And who are you?”

“I am Dr. O’Neill.”

“Must be a pretty common name.” she replied sarcastically. Jim’s stomach dropped as he realized what her comment meant.

“Oh really...?” Dr. O’Neill said, pushing the pistol harder against her forehead. “You know a lot of Dr. O’Neill’s do you? Do you care to elaborate?”

“I don’t have to explain myself to anyone; least of all to a moron like you.” Clarissa spat. “The real Dr. O’Neill would never have shoved a gun in my face like you are, and he sure as hell would have been man enough to talk to me without barging in like some senseless bulldozer!”

“Man enough?” Dr. O’Neill repeated slowly and strangely. “You don’t think I’m as manly as this other Dr. O’Neill? Need I remind you that this other Dr. O’Neill left you, didn’t he? Well, Miss Fitzgerald, I don’t plan on leaving Levinson. In fact, I won’t leave until I complete what that Dr. O’Neill left behind! And I will begin with you.” he said snidely. He summoned the tallest man to his side with a simple waving hand motion.

“Carrying capacity” was all that the doctor said to the man. The man nodded, his long black hair bobbing forward in a funny fashion. He grabbed Clarissa by the wrist and pulled her to the front door.

“What are you doing?!” she screamed as the man led her out the door.

“What is this?!” Jim exclaimed angrily. He became increasing anxious as he heard the sounds of Clarissa screaming and struggling outside.

“Carrying capacity-“Dr. O’Neill began, pausing briefly for a gunshot, “is defined by the maximum amount of living creatures that can live in one area. One of my goals is to reduce the numbers in Levinson to satisfy the carrying capacity.” The doctor smiled cruelly as Jim realized what had just happened. Dr. O’Neill’s wicked grin made Jim completely lose control. His fury burst forth, and he clenched the doctor’s meaty neck with his hands. The doctor hardly flinched as Jim attempted to strangle him.

“You *******!” Jim cried as he shook the man’s neck. Dr. O’Neill simply laughed as he thrust Jim aside. He hit the wall with enough force to knock the picture of a field of flowers from the wall. Why didn’t he shoot me Jim asked himself as Dr. O’Neill stood, still laughing at him. The doctor approached Abby and Maddie, but his gun was still resting at his side.

“You’re lucky you have a guardian angel watching out for you Ms. Wiggs.” he snarled. “If you didn’t,” he said, lifting the pistol to her forehead, “I wouldn’t have given putting a bullet through you and your kids’ heads a second thought.” He turned from her towards the door and marched to his exit. “Do not make me come back here.” he threatened menacingly. “You aren’t THAT safe.”

On the front porch, the doctor walked down the stairs triumphantly, holding his head high in the air. His egotistic walk was short-lived as he looked to the street. The tall man that he had ordered to kill Clarissa was lying on the ground and bleeding from his chest terribly. This is what happens when I rely on other people to do my job, he thought as he approached the man.

“What happened Bagolly? Where is the girl?” he asked the man staunchly.

“I don’t know!” he sputtered painfully. “It all happened so fast.” He coughed on his blood as he spoke. The dark-skinned man took a closer look at Bagolly.

“He’ll live I think.” the man stated. “It looks like the shot missed his lungs.” He turned his attention to Bagolly. “She wasn’t trying to shoot you, was she?”

“I remember...she fought me for the gun...and the trigger was pulled and I let go of the gun...she ran away I think...”

Jim walked clumsily to the front door as the other two soldiers carried their wounded partner by his arms and legs. “Feywood, I want you to search the city and find that wench as soon as we find a safe place for Bagolly.” the doctor barked at the dark man. Jim watched as they headed back in the direction that they had come from. Jim honestly hoped that Clarissa was smart enough to not go back to her shack. But now she couldn’t stay at his home either. He stormed back into the library, his mind full of hatred and frustration. All his thoughts were fighting inside of him, and his head was throbbing from the strain.

“Jim, we have to get out of here.” Abby said listlessly. She held Maddie tightly to her as Maddie sobbed.

“Clarissa is fine.” Jim said. “She didn’t get shot.”

“But, I heard-“Abby began before Jim interrupted.

“You heard the sound of her and the soldier fighting over the gun. She accidentally shot him. But she ran away, so hopefully she’s safe.”

“Jim...” Abby said, pulling herself away from the sedated Maddie. She stood in front of him and rested her hands on his shoulders. “I know how badly you want to help Levinson.” she said lovingly, looking straight into his eyes. “But we can’t stay here any longer. I don’t care what that man says; we are not safe.”

“You’re right Mom.” Jim said dejectedly. “I still think that God has left us.” Jim pulled from his mother and turned to the window. “I think it’s time we left with him. But I won’t leave everyone else to live here with that man.”

“What are you saying?” Abby asked curiously.

“I will find out what the doctor is so interested in, and we will take it with us. We’ll take it so far away that Clarissa and Rex and everyone else will never again have another Dr. O’Neill come and ruin their lives!” Jim exclaimed passionately. He paced back to Abby and looked her directly in her eyes. “I just need a little bit more time.”

“We have to hurry.” Abby warned. “Who knows how long the new Dr. O’Neill will be willing to spare our lives.” She and Jim stared at one another for the longest time with no words coming to their minds. They were both too busy sorting out the twisted mess of a situation that they had placed themselves in to themselves silently.

Jim had no idea where even to begin his search. He didn’t know what the fake Dr. O’Neill wanted, and he obviously couldn’t read his mind. He mentioned finishing the other Dr. O’Neill’s job, so he must be searching for element AK too. In the ruined reactor, there were bits of AK, but how had this Dr. O’Neill not have known that already? In any case, Jim couldn’t approach the site since Dr. O’Neill had his wrathful eye on him. What could Dr. O’Neill be looking for? Jim asked this question to himself over and over again. Why were both of the doctors fascinated with the element? Jim couldn’t understand why, and his brain hurt from trying to figure it out.

“Jim,” Abby began, breaking the silence that remained in the air, “I’m really worn out from everything that happened today, so I’m going to go lie down for a little while. Could you make sure the front door is locked before you go to bed and keep an eye on Maddie for me?”

“I’m tired too.” Maddie interjected, embracing her mother listlessly. Abby rubbed her head affectionately and whispered “Okay” to her. They walked slowly to the futon where they slept, but Jim didn’t move. He began to flip through the pages of the “Contemporary History” book that Rex had given to him. These people lived long ago; they were all long gone, but their work remained. Even in a place like Levinson, their impact could still be felt. That kind of power is what Jim was looking to have; the power to have his effort in fixing Levinson resonate throughout the city and the world. When he thought about it that was exactly what the first (and according to Jim) real Dr. O’Neill wanted too. He wanted his work to be shown to the world so that they too could feel his joy and bask in his glory.

Snapping back to reality, Jim read the book more in depth. His eyes scanned each page, soaking in every line about far away countries and people he’d never seen or heard about. He noticed how every event had a number attached to it, which the book referred to as a year. He had no idea what it meant, but it seemed to stop counting around 2000 or so.

Jim deduced that if he was going to uncover the answers behind what had happened to Levinson, he would most likely find his answers towards the end of the book. He flipped to the final twenty or so pages and began reading intently. The chapter was entitled Fall of an Empire and Birth of a New World. Jim read over the page briefly before gasping from shock and jumping down the stairs. Although the sky was darkening, there was still ample lighting in the room and plenty enough for Jim to read.

pages 79-88

“Mom, I have to show you something!” he exclaimed as he sprinted to the futon where Maddie and Abby were laying. She sat up groggily, pushing her lethargic daughter off her shoulder and sitting up straight.

“What are you talking about?” Abby questioned drowsily.

“Just listen to what I found in this book.” Jim told her as he opened the book open to recite the chapter.

“Alright Jim, I’m all ears.” she said.

“‘The twenty-first century could be summarized as the period in which a demand for a new source of energy had driven the entire world insane. The fossil fuels that had become the common source of energy for everything from transportation to heating homes had suddenly become obsolete. A new wave of fear had swept the world on the heels of a discovery that these fossil fuels had been causing global warming. Global warming was often associated with the theory that mankind was causing the globe to heat up at a rapid pace.

In an effort to prevent a disaster, many countries frantically searched for an alternative to fossil fuel. While many alternatives; such as wind, solar, and in some cases nuclear, were approved for use, none of the forms of energy proved to be efficient and worthwhile. None of the energy substitutes could stand alone as a dependable source like the coal.

In the first half of the century, a scientist named Dr. O’Neill led his team on the path to one of the most important and devastating discoveries of all time.’”

“Is that our Dr. O’Neill?” Abby wondered. “Or is it the new Dr. O’Neill?”

“I don’t know.” Jim replied simply. “Maybe it will tell us in here.”

“‘Dr. O’Neill, the world renowned chemist and geologist, was famous for his findings on stones and elements found deep below the Earth’s surface. The new technology available enabled him to drill deeper into the layers of the Earth; further than any man had ever travelled before him.

On one of his journeys, he came across a small portion of what is now known as the element AK, or akarock. This purple element is similar in structure to diamonds, but has the unique ability to manipulate and create electricity through the air. The ecstatic doctor rushed to the surface; having thinking he had discovered a new addition to the Periodic Table. Instead, he had ascertained the renewable energy source the world was hungering for.

The president rushed the tests on the element. According to The Washington Post, ‘the president surely wanted to improve his plummeting approval ratings for the upcoming election where [was] to be running for re-election’. But in his memoir, Dr. O’Neill claims that he ‘warned [his] superiors that rushing the project would be catastrophic.’ Despite his warnings, the building of akarock reactors and akarock distribution was commenced mere months after the elements discovery. The organizations responsible named Dr. O’Neill their head spokesperson and CEO of sorts.

‘I reluctantly agreed to their proposition,’ Dr. O’Neill wrote. “I had no spine, and I gave in to their demands. The government can be an extremely frightful place when you dive into its depths; down to where the snakes slither and the barracudas strike.’ Dr. O’Neill served as head of the International Environmental Protection Committee in the U.N. as it spearheaded one of history’s most controversial experiments.

As many as twenty cities were selected as “real world experiments”; ranging in population and climate, among other factors. The experiments were carried out in haste, and according to another anonymous source near the project, “we completed in two months a task that should have taken at least seven.” The entire country rejoiced as America took its first steps towards a brighter tomorrow.

But controversy was about to undermine the operation when-‘”

Jim stopped speaking suddenly as if someone had grabbed his throat and began to squeeze. He simply stared at the page in front of him in disbelief as Abby eagerly waited for him to finish. He pressed the book closer to his face make sure he wasn’t reading it incorrectly.

“What is it?” Abby questioned impatiently.

“‘But controversy was about to undermine the operation when Dr. Shawn Wiggs, one of the head scientists in charge of the experimental testing, resigned from his position. He published his journal and urged people to fight against ‘the stupidity’ of the I.E.P. The book was quickly pulled from the shelves on the grounds that it revealed ‘classified information intertwined with blatant lies’. People paid little attention to Wiggs, and instead accused him of slowing the process of the experiments. People were urged to dispose of the books so that they wouldn’t be confused. ’”

“Do you think that we have the original copy of that journal in the notebook?” Abby pondered.

“I don’t think so.” Jim replied. “It didn’t seem very official to me. But in any case, I bet they didn’t want what he did write in the notebook spreading around either.”

“Maybe that’s the reason this new Dr. O’Neill knew who we were.” Abby pointed out. “And that could be the reason he won’t kill us. We have that notebook, and he might think that it will come in handy.”

“That could be,” Jim said, “but I don’t see how we could possibly be the only ones with information on the experiments.”

“Maybe there’s more. Keep reading.” Abby told Jim.

“‘After the dust kicked up as a result of the Wiggs scandal cleared, the experiments pressed on at an even quicker pace. In two weeks, the date for the tests was set. The president wanted to make a spectacle of the event, so he requested that all of the tests be performed at one time. On September 17th of that same year, the test was executed. The resulting catastrophe would test the might of what was once the greatest country on the face of the Earth.’”

“That’s...the end of the book.” Jim said flatly as he shut it slowly.

“It can’t be!” Abby whined. “Surely there’s more than that!”

“No, there isn’t,” Jim replied listlessly. “The chapter ends, and we still don’t know what actually happened. But at least we have an idea of how it happened.”

“And obviously Shawn was more involved in all of this than we’d thought.” Abby thought out-loud.

“It doesn’t matter now.” Jim said definitely. “We’re getting out of here; no question about that. This whole ordeal is much bigger than I thought it was, and much bigger than I am. There’s nothing we can do anymore but run.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want to do Jim?” Abby asked soothingly as she rose from her seat.

“Yeah,” Jim replied impassively, “I know now that it’s what’s best for you, me, and Maddie. We can’t fight it any longer, and we have to get out now before it’s too late.”

“Oh Jim,” Abby said tenderly as she embraced her son, rubbing his back comfortingly, “you have grown up so much. Have I told you that lately?”

“No, actually,” Jim replied, “I guessed that much though.”

“Well, I would say that you remind me of your father, but bless his heart, I don’t think he would have done what you’re doing for us now in a million years. You would make him proud. I know it.” she said, smiling up at him. “And I mean every word of it.”

“Thanks Mom,” Jim replied breathlessly. They stood holding each other for a few minutes before Abby finally extended her arms to hold Jim at arm’s length from her body. She stared up at him peacefully, her blue eyes shining with a thin layer of tears.

“Will you at least do me one more favor in Levinson before we leave?” Abby asked.

“I think I know what you’re going to ask, but go ahead and ask anyways.” Jim replied.

“I know it’s dangerous, and normally I wouldn’t ask you to risk yourself like this, but I really would feel terrible if we didn’t go find Clarissa and bring her with us. I feel like I would...I don’t know...not be able to live with myself knowing we left her all alone here with no one to protect her from Dr. O’Neill. God only knows what he’d do if he found her.”

“He’d shoot her; that’s what he’d do.” Jim said. “And you’re right Mom. I have to go find Clarissa before they do. I think I’ll need this in case she needs to be convinced.” Jim commented, grabbing the notebook from the table. “Wait for me here. If I don’t get back by nighttime, then leave without me.”

“Jim!” Abby exclaimed. “How could you say something so...so stupid!?”

“It’s not stupid Mom,” Jim replied hurtfully, “I’m being realistic. If I don’t make it back by night then something would have happened to me. I don’t want you to sit around waiting for me if I don’t show up.”

“I don’t know that I can do that Jim.”

“Then I don’t know if I can trust you while I’m gone,” Jim told her scornfully. “I’m sorry Mom, but if you won’t leave, then none of us will. You have to do what’s best for Maddie while I do what’s best for Clarissa.” He marched to the door angrily as Abby watched sadly. For a moment, she regretted having mentioned Clarissa at all. She had no idea he would make such a huge ordeal out of the situation. Of course, she thought, this was Jim she was talking about: the same Jim who makes a habit of blowing all situations out of proportion.

Jim exited the bookstore heatedly without looking back. Why did his mother always have to care more about him than Maddie? She would rather sit and risk Maddie’s life sitting in Levinson and waiting on Jim than escaping to freedom. He didn’t want her favoritism and he sure as hell didn’t want her sympathy. He had no use for it. Maddie’s still young and scared; she’s the one who needs the sympathy. Jim pushed the thoughts from his mind as he sprinted down the cracked sidewalk to Clarissa’s shack. His eyes darted apprehensively all around him; searching for any sign of Dr. O’Neill or his militant men. Dr. O’Neill was now Jim’s enemy, and a ruthless one at that.

Rainclouds formed overhead as Jim rounded the familiar corner around the apartment. The rain drizzled lightly on Jim which was only enough to give Jim a slight chill as it beat against his bare neck. He carried the notebook close to his chest to shield it from the misty air. He didn’t want to risk ruining the most solid piece of evidence he had against Dr. O’Neill and the I.E.P.

Jim didn’t bother knocking before he burst through Clarissa’s front door. He was surprised to find that she wasn’t in her shack, and he instantly worried that something terrible might have happened to her. He ran outside frantically, searching for any trace of where she might have gone. His eyes rested on the fire escape. He remembered climbing to the top with her and gazing out over the city. Maybe she’s there, he thought.

His heart began to beat violently against his chest as he approached the ladder as if it were screaming at him to turn away. Jim took one quick glance to the top of the ladder before he gripped the step right above him. He was still afraid; there was no doubt about that. His fear was dampened by his desire to save Clarissa and it drove him to climb.

The cold metal of the ladder had begun to collect condensation from the mist, which made the steps slippery. Slowly and steady Jim climbed, making sure that he had a proper footing on each of the steps before trusting his weight on it. When he had reached the halfway point of his ascent, the rain increased its intensity and pounded against Jim bitterly.

Jim continued to scale the ladder even through the pouring rain. He was too far up to quit now anyways, he thought to himself. He refused to look down as he remembered what happened the last time he did. Jim was several feet from the top of the ladder when a bullet ricocheted violently off of the metal of the ladder below Jim with a deafening clang. Jim instinctively glanced below to see the blurry figure of a large man standing on the ground far below him.

Jim scaled the ladder more quickly, and in his rushed climbing his hand slipped from the step above him. His heart skipped a beat as he frantically gripped the bar for dear life with the hand that hadn’t failed him. Regaining his composure, he continued his climb until he reached the roof. He kneeled on the side for a moment in an effort to catch his breath and calm his pulsing heart. Jim’s breath grew heavy as he gazed over the dreary horizon. He hated the rain; it made Levinson even more depressing and bleak than it already was, and it was always followed by a cool breeze that chilled Jim at night. His experience on the ladder was another reason he could add to his list of reasons why he hated the rain.

Jim braved a glance over the edge of the building and down to the ground below. To his horror, he discovered that the man with the gun had decided to chase Jim up the ladder. The man was still a good distance away, so Jim hurried to the makeshift bridge. He found instead that the ladder was no longer placed across the gap. Jim became frantic as he realized that he had no escape. The ladder was being scaled by a man with a gun, and then he couldn’t get to the apartment since the ladder was missing. With his mind racing, he shouted to the apartment where he hoped he would find Clarissa.

“Clarissa!” he cried, “Are you in there Clarissa? Please answer me! It’s Jim!” Jim listened closely for any sound to come from the building. After a few moments, he heard a tiny utterance from the room across the gap.

“Jim...I’m in here.” he heard her call to him gently. It was difficult to hear her voice in the pouring rain. “You’ll have to jump across, Jim.”

“Are you nuts??” Jim exclaimed. “It’s a long shot!”

“Take your time.” she said. “There’s no other way across.”

“I don’t have time!” he shouted anxiously.

“Then don’t take it!” Clarissa shouted back. “You have to jump! You can do it! I trust you!”

Reluctantly, Jim approached the edge of the roof facing the other apartment. He didn’t look down, and instead judged the equally frightening distance across. He glanced back to see that the man hadn’t reached the top yet and looked forward again to the open window. The window was plenty large enough to jump through; it was a matter of jumping across the gap that worried Jim. He balled his fists as he set his mind on the goal before him.

After a few moments of mental preparation, he took several steps backwards. Jim collected all of his courage and ran as fast as he could, and when he reached the ledge, he jumped with all his might. The rain splattered against his face; blurring his vision as his body flew through the air. His legs caught on the frame of the window as he entered the room. His feet caused his body to flail wildly as he made an unwieldy landing, crashing into Clarissa. He lay for minute in a blur, still reeling from the scary jump he’d made. Finally, Clarissa shoved Jim off of her fragile frame, gasping for air. Jim rolled over to look at her before jumping to his feet like a frightened animal.

“Clarissa, we have to move.” he demanded.

“What is going on, Jim?” Clarissa asked fearfully, her voice tinged with a slight tone of irritation.

“I came here to take you with me out of Levinson, Clarissa, but Dr. O’Neill is right behind me! He shot at me while I was climbing, and I think he’s out to kill the two of us!” Jim exclaimed. “I don’t have time to explain more, so we have to get out of here now.”

“Alright,” Clarissa said, “I think we can get down to the bottom of the apartment through that staircase,” she explained, pointing to the door a few feet to their right. “The exit door is locked from the inside, so we can get out, but not in.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Jim cheered as he heard footsteps on the rooftop outside. In the blink of an eye, he saw Dr. O’Neill leaping the gap like Jim had done before.

“Run!” Jim cried as he and Clarissa dashed to the door. Jim turned his head back to see Dr. O’Neill climbing through the window; he had obviously not quite fit through the window frame as easily as Jim had. Jim and Clarissa didn’t stop as they bolted through the door and began their descent down the staircase. The worn metal of the large stairs creaked and moaned as they ran. Stairs were sometimes missing from the frame of the stairs and made Jim watch his feet carefully as he sprinted.

After they had gone down about thirty or forty stairs, Jim glanced behind him and saw the image of Dr. O’Neill gaining on them. He could run fast for being such a beefy guy, Jim thought as he picked up the pace. Jim’s shorter legs were no match for Dr. O’Neill’s, and in a matter of moments the snarling doctor had a grip of Jim’s collar. The doctor flung Jim around sharply so that they were facing one another. Dr. O’Neill’s brown eyes burned with anger as he pressed the pistol to Jim’s forehead. Jim clutched the notebook tightly and shook as the doctor pushed the gun harder into Jim’s head.

“Wait!” Jim cried. He stretched his arm out and dangled the notebook over the edge of the banister. Dr. O’Neill released Jim and stood back, grinning.

“What is that, Jim?” the doctor questioned; a note of playfulness masked by his rage.

“You know damn well what it is!” Jim shouted with a triumphant smile spreading across his face. “This is the notebook of Shawn Wiggs. This is the entire reason you came after me so much...you must have known that I had this.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, kid.” Dr. O’Neill stated simply. “What would I want with some notebook you dug up in that hellhole of yours?”

“You’re a doctor for God’s sake; I figured you wouldn’t be a complete idiot!” Jim shouted. He was so furious that he lost control of his temper and yelled whatever he thought without consideration of the consequences. “This is Shawn Wiggs’ notebook! It contains all of the secret information that was hidden after the Great Fallout! If you so much as **** that pistol, I swear I will drop this notebook and all of the pages will scatter everywhere!”

Dr. O’Neill laughed cruelly at Jim. “Is that so?” he teased, and cocked the gun slowly. True to his word, Jim dropped the notebook down the many flight of stairs below.

The penultimate section of the story! Hoorah!

pages 88-96

“Nooooooo!” the doctor screamed sarcastically before bursting into maniacal laughter. “Are you joking with me, kid? You honestly thought I cared about that thing? Hell, we have libraries devoted to that kind of information! I know everything there is to know about all of this I.E.P. garbage that went down, got it?”

“How can you?! The other real Dr. O’Neill didn’t know anything!” Jim shouted angrily as Clarissa stared helplessly over his shoulder. “He said all of the files and books and information was stored away by the U.N.”

“How much of what Dr. O’Neill didn’t tell you do you think he really knew?” Dr. O’Neill questioned. “Who do you think the I.E.P. is associated with? We are a part of the U.N. We have all of the files that the U.N. has; your Dr. O’Neill knew that as well as I did. It was all a matter of trust that he was willing to place in you.”

“He probably had a good reason.” Clarissa spouted.

“Heh, I wouldn’t hold your breath.” the doctor spat. “It’s not as if you really know him. How can you judge a man’s character when you don’t even know him by his true name? He didn’t bother to share that with you either, did he?”

“Are you willing to?” Jim spat hatefully.

“Of course I am. I have nothing to lose; you’ll all be dead in a matter of time anyways. The name is Craig Bradley.”

“Then why do they call you Dr. O’Neill? Why don’t they call you Dr. Bradley?” Clarissa asked.

“It has nothing to do with my name. Since you read the notebook, you outta know that there was a big cover-up after the Great Fallout. All the fingers were pointed at good ol’ Shawn Wiggs and he was sent to prison for the rest of his life. The I.E.P decided that, in order to continue the research and avoid any further risk of creating another Wiggs fiasco, every person involved with the project would be referred to as Dr. O’Neill. That way, when someone screwed up, all fingers would point at...Dr. O’Neill.”

“So there are even more Dr. O’Neill’s than the two we know?” Jim implied.

“Yes, and to make things even better, the Dr. O’Neill you know isn’t even Dr. O’Neill anymore. When he returned to the U.N., he admitted what he had discovered here, and they dismissed him.”

“Dismissed? What did he discover?”

“You,” Dr. Bradley replied with a twisted grin. “He was sent here with one purpose; to make sure that there were no people and that there were no traces of akarock. And before you say a word, I know you’re gonna ask ‘Why is that Dr. Bradley’?” he said, mocking Jim with an insulting, high nasal voice. “It’s all a result of more cover-ups. The I.E.P lied and said that it was a series of unforeseen mechanical failures that caused the reactors to explode like they did.

I won’t bother going into the scientific mumbo-jumbo behind the Great Fallout, but basically certain chemicals reacted in a way that caused a deadly wave that leveled buildings and destroyed the towns. If the general public knew that, they would have never let the I.E.P. continue its research. In order to keep the truth quiet, they covered up the whole situation and said that the machines failed; not the akarock. That way, they could keep studying up on the akarock without questioning.

I think that they must have worked on the research for around twenty years before they decided it was time to try again. The U.N. took charge and demanded that one Dr. O’Neill had to check each city that was devastated and make sure there were no people or akarock in any of them. The Dr. O’Neill that you know was sent to all of the other cities and didn’t find a single trace of people or akarock. Of course, that was until he got here and found you and the akarock. He made the situation worse by fighting with the heads of the U.N. and begging that they give up on the akarock and instead work on new methods to restore Levinson and the other cities that were destroyed. He was obviously outnumbered and they removed him from the I.E.P and discredited all of his work.”

“How much did he know?” Jim asked, amazed by everything he had been told.

“How should I know? I’m not him.”

“But he is you.” Jim replied. “You said it yourself. So you should know what he was up to.”

“I told you; he was sent to investigate everything that happened. I don’t know or care what else he was doing.” Dr. Bradley said heatedly. There was silence for several moments with the only sound being that of the rain pounding on the roof high above them. The echo bounced around against the metal of the stairs to create a strange tin can symphony.

“So, there’s nothing left you for you to explain I take it?” Jim asked condescendingly. “You’re going to shoot us now, aren’t you?”

“Right here?” Dr. Bradley asked, grinning. “No, I’m not going to shoot you right here.”

“So you’re going to let us go?” Clarissa cheered.

“No, I’m not.” the doctor replied curtly. “You see, I didn’t share the same goal as Dr. O’Neill. He wanted to rebuild Levinson. My goal is simply to empty out Levinson. I have to remove all traces of akarock and life in the city. The last thing I wanna do is drag two dead bodies down a flight of stairs. So let’s just walk down the stairs and take care of rest when we get to it.” A wicked smile stretched across Dr. Bradley’s face as a devilish thought crossed his mind. “I think I have a better idea,” he said, lifting the gun again.

“What are you-?” Jim cried before a gunshot reverberated throughout the building. Clarissa fell to the ground, badly bleeding from an area that Jim didn’t bother to investigate.

“You *******!!” Jim screamed as he rushed to her side. “How could you!?”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic Jim. Everyone will die soon; including you. I’m simply taking care of business ahead of schedule. I figure while I have someone to carry a body, I might as well make good use of it.”

“You’re sick!” Jim shouted. “I’m going to kill you!!” Jim ran at Dr. Bradley and tried to wrestle the gun from his grasp. The doctor grabbed Jim by the throat and lifted him into the air with ease.

“Jim, do not make me kill you right now.” Dr. Bradley said flatly. “Dragging both of your bloody corpses down the staircase is going to take twice as long. Just carry your girlfriend down the stairs and you may live to see your mom and sister one last time.” The doctor released his grip from around Jim’s throat and set him on the ground roughly.

Jim, with his eyes full of tears, walked to Clarissa’s immobile body and looked her over. Dr. Bradley, having been merely feet from Clarissa, was able to land a perfect shot at her chest. Jim grimaced as he reached around Clarissa’s waist and hoisted her onto his shoulder. Her frail frame hung limply over him as he reluctantly continued down the stairway.

Dr. Bradley’s pistol never moved from Jim’s head as they continued to descend the further down the staircase. No one said a word for at least 150 to 200 steps. The tense air cut through the damp and warm wetness and sent a chill down Jim’s spine. Clarissa’s body was beginning to wear Jim down to the point that his legs wobbled uncontrollably. In an instant, his legs failed him and he collapsed, sending Clarissa’s body tumbling down the staircase. Jim lay on the ground; Dr. Bradley hovering over him expectantly.

Suddenly, a low rumbling emitted from below the group. The building shook slightly as Jim jumped up. “What’s happening?” he shouted.

“The building is going to crash!” he exclaimed. He nearly knocked Jim over as he flew down the staircase. Jim was frozen with fear as he remembered the fate of his father long ago. He gave Clarissa’s body one final glance as he chased after Dr. Bradley down the stairs. Jim skipped the steps nearly four at a time as if he was floating on air. The building rocked violently again and Jim could fell the steps beneath him rock back and forth. Jim swayed with the building as he ran, which caused him to slow down.

From below, Jim saw a light shining from the ground floor. He jumped the railing and landed on his feet roughly, sending a shockwave up his legs. He ignored the pain in his legs and bolted out of the front door into the storm outside. Dr. Bradley was nowhere to be seen; not that Jim could see much of anything in the blinding downpour. He continued to run as he looked behind him at the building that began to sway even more. Jim ran in the direction of his house as he watched the building break about thirty feet from the base of the apartment and come toppling down into the street; crushing not only the antique shop across the street from the apartment, but the two other buildings behind the antique shop. Jim watched in horror as dust and debris spewed from the impact in every direction.

Jim lost all control of his mind and fell to his knees in the middle of the street, sobbing hysterically. He wept for Clarissa and the hope that had been lost not only for her but for his family too. Jim couldn’t escape now; Dr. Bradley would surely hunt him down until Jim was dead. Jim didn’t care anymore; he just wanted to be alone in the middle of the street. He wanted to be left to grieve for all that he had lost. All of the pain and fear and sadness he’d felt for weeks overwhelmed him, and he could do nothing but sob. The feelings of emptiness and loneliness that Jim had felt before Dr. O’Neill ever arrived bubbled back to the surface of Jim’s mind and brought him back to the memories of helplessness that consumed his life only weeks before.

Jim was abruptly ripped from his sadness by a brutal Dr. Bradley. He yanked Jim by the arm to his feet and drug Jim down the street and away from the rubble. Jim was still in a blur from his depression and not in a stable state of mind as he was forcefully led by the doctor. The doctor didn’t say a word the entire time they walked. Jim did happen to notice that Dr. Bradley was limping slightly and relying heavily on his right foot to balance himself. He must hurt himself running out of the building, Jim chuckled cruelly in his mind.

Dr. Bradley guided Jim up a tiny set of stairs that Jim recognized as his front porch. The door was already open when Dr. Bradley barged in. He threw Jim onto the floor in front of him. Jim had only a moment to see his mother and sister seated unconsciously on the couch with black cloth bags tied around their heads. Two men were standing beside them with guns, watching the proceedings.

“Tie him too.” Jim heard the doctor commanded of the men. Jim was grabbed gruffly by the two men and he had a black bag forced onto his head. Without warning, Jim was clubbed on the head by a blunt object and he was knocked out cold. Dr. Bradley ordered that the men pick up the family and carry them with him.

After several hours, Abby slowly awoke. She was startled, having thought that she was dead. She felt her body first, and after she realized that she was real and that she wasn’t dead, Abby felt around her. She felt several other bodies. None of them stirred, and that could have meant only one of two things. Abby shuddered as she thought about it.

Her motherly instincts caused her mind to flash instantly to her children, and her mind raced as she wondered where they were. The handkerchief stuffed in her mouth prevented Abby from calling out to her kids. She instead emitted her frustration and worry through warm tears.

Abby prayed to God that she had done the right thing in allowing Jim to go through with Dr. O’Neill’s plan. She begged that He forgive her for letting her faith fade, and she admitted her shame at coming to Him in desperation. She prayed that he protect her family so that they could be reunited and she thought of Maddie and what she had told her before the men stormed her home:

“Mom, where is Jim?”

“He went to find Clarissa so that she can come with us.”

“Where are we going?”

“We have to leave Levinson, Maddie. It isn’t safe anymore.”

“I thought we were going to fix Levinson and everything would be okay. We were going to have big mansions and new clothes, and a dog.”

“We are going to have them. We won’t have them in Levinson, but we will elsewhere.”

“I’m going to miss Levinson.”

Abby choked as she recalled the last words she had heard her daughter speak. Was it as horrible in Levinson as we thought Abby questioned silently. Please God, she pleaded, don’t let what Jim accomplished be in vain! She felt powerless in her prayer; she had felt the same way when she had prayed for her sorrow to end when her husband died. The grief never truly faded, and this worried Abby and rattled her faith. Has God really left Levinson like Jim said?

From in front of her, Abby heard a man speak up. “Do you see that one lady moving?” he asked.

“No, I didn’t see anything. I’ m a bit preoccupied with driving at the moment, in case you hadn’t noticed.” retorted another man’s voice.

“She did! I swear it!” he protested. “Dr. O’Neill told us to shoot anyone who woke up!” Abby froze at his words. She couldn’t see anything but faint outlines and shadows through the cotton bag over her head.

“Oh, hold your horses.” the second man snapped. “They’ll all be shot soon enough. You’ve got a whole city of people to shoot and you’re itching to shoot one pathetic woman?”

“Sorry mate, but I’m listening to the doctor on this one.” Abby heard the man stand up from his seat and **** his gun. Abby tensed up in anticipation for the shot as her thoughts scattered frenziedly. The man didn’t fire his gun for several seconds, even though Abby saw the man aiming his gun straight at her.

“W...What are you doing?” the armed man staggered nervously.

“Sorry mate, but I’m the doctor now.” the second man said as a gunshot cracked. Abby flinched wildly before realizing that the shot was not for her. She sat, shaking uncontrollably out of fear. She saw the dark outline approach her swiftly and in the blink of an eye, the bag was untied and removed from her head. Abby batted her eyes rapidly due to the sudden brightness that greeted her.

Once she regained focus, Abby was shocked to find the smiling face of Dr. O’Neill right beside hers as he untied the ropes that bound her hands. She stared, wide-eyed, at the doctor as he gently removed the handkerchief that was shoved in her throat.

“Dr...O’Neill...?” Abby gasped from lack of oxygen. “What are you...?”

“Give me a minute.” the doctor said as he glided over to the body across from Abby. When the bag was removed, Abby recognized the familiar face of Rex. She smiled brightly as she took it upon herself to offer the good doctor some assistance. She began to remove the bags from the faces of many of the other bodies. There were some faces that she recognized, and others she did not. No one else had awoken as she pulled the last bag off to see the comatose face of Jim.

With renewed vigor, Abby waltzed over to where Dr. O’Neill was standing. She tapped him on the shoulder lightly. He turned around slowly and was greeted with a loving embrace courtesy of Ms. Wiggs. They separated with smiles spread across both of their faces.

“I found Jim!” she beamed. “Did you find Maddie or Clarissa?”

Dr. O’Neill’s smile faded quickly from him as he spoke. “I was hoping that you would say that you did.” Abby stared at him longingly as she brought a fist to her mouth. Her eyes started to swell with tears.

“They could be inside another van, in which case we will have to save them too.”

“Do you have more men on other vans?”

“Well, no,” the doctor admitted pathetically. “I’m actually a one man army here. But I promise you that we’ll get to them before it’s too late.”

“What do you mean too late? Where are we going anyways?” Abby questioned anxiously. The doctor’s response was interrupted by the muffled voice of Dr. Bradley on the van radio.

“Van Four! Why have you stopped?” Dr. Bradley barked.

Dr. O’Neill sprinted to the radio receiver in a flash. “I’m having some engine trouble, doctor.” he replied. “Do you think you could send one of the vans over to help me out?”

“I guess I’ll send one,” the other doctor spat. “But if it’s really serious, radio back and we’ll stop there instead. O’Neill, out!”

“That man is an idiot,” Dr. O’Neill grumbled to Abby.

“Why are you sending a van here?” Abby questioned.

“There are five vans. I figure that we have a one in four chance of finding the van that has Maddie in it.” Dr. O’Neill explained. He turned his attention back to the radio. He adjusted the knob on the front to a different frequency with great concentration.

“Van One, is this you?” he asked.

“No, this is Van Two.” a deep-voiced man replied. “Who is this?”

“This is Van Four. I have a quick question for you. Do you have a small girl aboard?”

“We do, yes. Why do you want to know that?”

“Actually, I was curious if they even had kids in that city. I never saw any. I don’t have any of my own, so I thought...oh, never mind! I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” he said, grinning. “But the real reason I called was to ask for your assistance. I am experiencing engine trouble and could use your help.”

The voice on the other end did not come on for nearly a minute. The booming voice of the other man spoke abruptly, “I will be there shortly.” Dr. O’Neill replaced the radio on its stand and approached Abby yet again. They both smiled big toothy grins at one another. A smile like the one Abby was giving Mr. O’Neill was a smile that had been sorely lacking from her face for the longest time. If only her husband could see her face now. He always was telling her to lighten up and enjoy life a little bit more. It was a shame that he would miss out on her newfound reason for living: hope.

Meanwhile, Jim was slowly regaining consciousness. With his vision still blurred, Jim tried to make sense of his gray and blue-tinged surroundings. Fuzzy images and outlines of immobile bodies were scattered haphazardly on the hazy seats. He lifted himself up slowly; head swimming. His attention focused on the woman and man standing in the middle of the area. After a few seconds, Jim recognized the face of his mother. His heart beat rapidly as he summoned the strength to stand.

pages 96-106

“Mom!” he shouted, staggering to where she was standing. Abby looked from Dr. O’Neill to see her son approaching her. He had the saunter of an undead zombie who had just risen from the grave. Abby rushed to her disoriented son and hugged him tightly.

“Oh Jim,” Abby cried, “I was so worried that something had happened to you! I would have never forgiven myself if anything would have happened! I don’t know what I was thinking, sending you out like that!”

“I know exactly what you were thinking,” Jim replied, “and I was with you 100%. Whatever trouble we’re in, we created it together!”

“Whoa, we aren’t in trouble.” Dr. O’Neill disputed. “It’s quite the opposite, really. We are on a one way trip to civilization. Once we find Clarissa and Maddie, we can leave Levinson behind once and for all.”

At Dr. O’Neill’s words, Jim’s heart sank as he recalled Clarissa’s fate in the apartment. A lump formed in his throat, and tears formed at the corners of his eyes as his mind made sense of what had happened. The situation was too hectic for him to completely react to what had occurred, but now that he was in a van and safe from harm, he began to realize the tragedy that took place. Abby turned to Jim when she didn’t hear him speak.

“Jim, what’s wrong?” she asked comfortingly. “We will find them. Dr. O’Neill just-“

“We’ll only find one of them.” Jim replied in a monotone. Abby and Dr. O’Neill focused more on Jim now as Abby put her hands on his shoulders.

“What does that mean?” she questioned, her voice a mixture of concern and anxiety. Jim shifted his glance from Abby’s, staring hopelessly instead at the floor to his left.

“The building Clarissa was in...collapsed. Even worse was that, we were inside it while it was crumbling. But that wasn’t what killed her.”

“She was killed!?” Abby cried. “How could that happen??”

“It was the other Dr. O’Neill, who is actually Dr. Bradley. He shot her...point-blank in the chest.”

“Dr. Bradley was here?” Dr. O’Neill exclaimed. “Was he the one leading this operation, or was he just a member of the research team?”

“He seemed like a leader to me. He was barking orders and pissing me off.”

“Sounds like Bradley. He was one of the men who, like me originally, were obsessed with furthering research into akarock. He didn’t care what line he had to cross to make it happen as long as it benefited him in the long run.”

“Both you and he were willing to cross any lines. That is what you told me, isn’t it Dr. O’Neill?” Abby mentioned, smirking.

“That is true,” Dr. O’Neill said playfully, “because I’m crossing lines right now to save all of you. The difference between he and I is our ability to decide what lines to cross, and more importantly, what lines to not cross.”

At that moment, the sound of multiple motors could be heard. They were quickly approaching Van Four, and Dr. O’Neill ordered Jim and Abby to put their masks back on their heads and lay down in case the men came into the van. Dr. O’Neill then stepped outside the van into the muggy air of the outside. The gray, overcast sky cast a dark shadow over the entire field of dirt.

Three other vans parked beside the fourth van in a style that resembled the wagon trains of the Western Expansion. An observation like that one would have been lost on the Wiggs, but not on Dr. O’Neill, who knew exactly what the men planned to do. He ran back inside the van and thrust his glasses from his face. Without his glasses, the doctor was hardly recognizable. He sprinted to Abby and Jim and told them to play along. He promised everything would turn out alright while he rewrapped their wrists with rope. Then Dr. O’Neill sat the dead body of the driver in the passenger’s seat of the van.

Dr. Bradley, without even knocking, burst into the van from its back door. He thrust the doors open wide and entered, glancing over the bodies briefly as he walked. Dr. O’Neill rushed up to Dr. Bradley to greet him, but the larger doctor’s appearance was not one of a man who had patience for such formalities. Dr. O’Neill simply offered a simple head nod and mumbled the false name Bradley had been given. Dr. Bradley ignored the gesture and instead looked past Dr. O’Neill with his focus solely on the driver.

“What is your driver doing?” he questioned.

“He is sleeping.” O’Neill replied quickly.

“Well, he shouldn’t be sleeping on the job, that lazy-“

“No, no!” Dr. O’Neill insisted, pushing the other doctor away. “He’s alright. As long as he wakes up before we leave, then I don’t care!”

“In any case, I guess it’s better to have a well rested driver than wake him up now.” Dr. Bradley agreed, holding his massive head high. “Anyways, we decided that this is far enough to go ahead with the operation. We need to get all of the people out of the van and lay them on the ground outside.”

“What operation are you talking about, Doctor?” Dr. O’Neill replied curiously. “I thought we were transporting them out of the city?”

“Where have you been for the past few weeks?” the other doctor replied insultingly. “We found akarock, so any plans of carrying capacity have been thrown out the window. We must now follow the other rulings of the I.E.P.”

“And what is that, exactly?”

“We have to remove the human traces.” Dr. Bradley said casually. “Luckily, Dr. O’Neill said nothing about any people in Levinson when he officially addressed the U.N. a while back. Therefore, no one even knows these people exist.”

“You don’t plan to kill them all, do you?”

“It’s really the only option.”

Dr. O’Neill wanted to argue the fact with Dr. Bradley, but he decided that doing so could cause him to become suspicious. Instead, Dr. O’Neill simply nodded in agreement. The two doctors proceeded to drag bodies out of the back of the van and onto the ground outside. The other men in the additional vans followed suit and unloaded their people from their vans. Once every last person was removed from the vehicles, the men arranged them in a circle as Dr. Bradley ordered. Each man, including the two doctors, had been given pistols previously, and they pulled them out instinctively.

Dr. O’Neill’s heart and mind were racing as he frantically struggled to find a solution to the situation. He knew he was outnumbered by a decent amount. Time was running short as his mind cycled through his scarce options and the men cocked their weapons. His brain suddenly jumped to the only available option he had.

“STOP!!” Dr. O’Neill shouted as loud as he could. All of the men turned to face Dr. O’Neill. “You heard me. I said to stop what you’re doing.”

“What do you think you are doing?” Dr. Bradley spat.

“This is a huge mistake. I can tell already that we are really going to regret this.”

“Who are you to be suggesting stuff like that to us?” a soldier barked at O’Neill.

“My name is Trent Cambrio, also known as the Dr. O’Neill who got away. I’m sure you all remember me very well.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I could forget a deceiving cockroach like you, Dr. Cambrio.” Dr. Bradley groveled, his face turning red.

“Trust me when I say that you do not want the blood of all these men and women on your hands; especially when it will do you no good.”

“How do you figure?” Dr. Bradley questioned.

“Think about it realistically for a moment. If you were to kill all of these innocent men, women, and children and bury them here, the city could be rebuilt and fixed. But do you think they will stop there? No! The city will expand in every sense of the word. Eventually, the expansion will stretch to this exact spot. My concern is simple: how does one go about explaining away a mass grave of nearly one hundred people?”

“Who will have done it?” Dr. Bradley questioned, spinning in order to address everyone in the surrounding circle. “Dr. Cambrio will have done it! It won’t be me! It won’t be you! It won’t be any of us!”

“Yes, you will have done it. I don’t question whether you will care that you murdered innocent people; I already know that answer. The ones I am concerned for are the men that surround you, Dr. Bradley. They are not Dr. Cambrio, and they will be punished not only by multiple governments, but by the mighty grace of God.”

The men looked at one another, exchanging expressions of fear and uncertainty. One man even went as far as to drop his weapon. Several other men followed his lead until every man but the two doctors were unarmed. Dr. Cambrio was the last to drop his pistol on the ground, which sunk in the brown, soupy mud. Dr. Bradley stood alone with his pistol pointed directly at Dr. Cambrio.

“This is my point, men,” Dr. Cambrio said coolly. “Your leader is willing to shoot me because I am talking. But he knows better than to do that I would hope, because I don’t think you would live much longer Dr. Cambrio if these men had anything to say about that. No one can trust a deceiving cockroach like you, Doctor.”

“Then what do you suggest, Dr. Cambrio?” Dr. Bradley asked spitefully. “What is your peaceful, happy solution to this?”

“I say we stop the suffering of these people, take them to the U.N. headquarters, and allow them to speak for themselves.”

“But no one will fund the akarock research knowing what these people know.” Dr. Bradley insisted.

“Then that is a sure-fire sign that this program needs to be ended, and that akarock needs to be abandoned. Levinson is proof that sometimes we need to simply move on and start over.”

“We can’t just abandon this!” Dr. Bradley shouted. “This is the greatest scientific breakthrough since the atomic bomb!”

“And look what that gave us.” Dr. Cambrio stated. “We aren’t fighting a war against an energy crisis, Doctor. We are finding alternate sources for energy. We can keep searching for another source; akarock should stay underground where it belongs. Surely greater means of power exist in the world; we simply need to keep searching.”

“No!” Dr. Bradley exclaimed, pointing his pistol at Dr. Cambrio’s head. Before he had a chance to fire a shot, Dr. Cambrio hit the doctor in the hand with a precisely aimed bullet. Dr. Bradley dropped his pistol and pulled his bleeding hand to his chest. The other soldiers did not move, but instead watched over the proceedings with an unwavering interest. One soldier rushed to the fallen doctor’s aide, only to be brushed aside by the beefy doctor.

“Don’t help the man,” Dr. Cambrio snapped, “apprehend him.” Another soldier to the left of Dr. Bradley rushed to him and put his handcuffs around the doctor’s hands forcibly. The doctor let out a yelp of pain as the man not-so-kindly lifted his boss up by the wrists and led him to one of the vans.

“Undo these people’s restraints,” Dr. Cambrio ordered. “They aren’t prisoners; they are refugees. Escort them to the vans and we will transport them to the capital at once.” All of the men saluted and began to do as they were instructed. Dr. Cambrio walked to Jim and removed the bag from his head first. Jim looked up to see the mass of bodies that were lying on the ground. He then glanced up to Dr. Cambrio, whose face beamed down at Jim. Dr. Cambrio carefully cut the plastic restraints that bound Jim with his pocket knife.

Jim stood slowly, his legs having fallen asleep after not moving for some time. Jim assisted the men in removing the bags from each of their faces. The first person Jim came across was Sid, who glared back at Jim angrily. Jim backed away as Sid sat to an upright position. Sid then walked to Jim and placed his hand around his throat.

“I knew you would do this!” he shouted. “You have been working with this doctor all along, haven’t you?”

“Sid, what are you talking about?”

“You heard me, you lying scumbag!” he cried, tightening his death grip around Jim’s slender throat. “You led the doctor and his army men here so they could kill us off and you could get out of here by yourself!”

“No, that isn’t it Sid,” Jim gasped, “We are all getting out of Levinson!”

“That is a lie!” Sid screamed. “I won’t be fooled into another scheme of yours!”

“Put him down!” Dr. Cambrio demanded from a distance. He lifted his pistol threateningly.

“You’ll have to shoot me first!” Sid shouted. “I’ll just be put out of my misery faster!”

“Please don’t!” Jim pleaded. “We are almost home!”

“Damn you!!” Sid exclaimed. “How dare you talk about home!!?” Sid shook Jim violently back and forth by his neck. “You ruined our home you piece of ****!”

“That is enough!” shouted Dr. Cambrio furiously. “Put him down now, or I will open fire!”

“All I tried to do was help our city!” Sid roared. “Is this how the heroes are treated!? Are we left behind and shot so that a smooth talking brat like this one can mess it all up again? I’ve done all I can do; I’ve saved as many lives and fed as many families as I could! Now I will do my final deed as the hero and kill this brat, so that the world will never be ruined by him again!!” Sid squeezed as hard as he could around the suffocating throat of Jim. Jim’s face turned red as he struggled to stay awake.

Dr. Cambrio froze for a moment, unsure of what to do. His pistol shook harshly as he fought with himself over his decision. He couldn’t harm either one of the civilians. He fought with himself over the decision for several moments, until another shot was fired. Sid fell to the ground in a mangled heap. Jim dropped to his knees and scuttled away from Sid’s body. Rex stood near Abby, holding the pistol of the older soldier beside him.

“He would have killed him,” Rex explained, “I wouldn’t put it past him for a second.”

“Thank you Rex,” Jim said breathlessly. He was still shocked by the site of Sid lying on the ground, blood soaking the back of his plaid blue and gray jacket. Jim rose to his feet and stood beside his mother, who scanned the crowd with her eyes for any trace of her daughter. The people of Levinson began to stir as they each awoke at differing times.

“Men!” Dr. Cambrio called. “Load these people in to the vans immediately! They are to be treated with the utmost respect, and any more outbursts like the one of the man before you are to be dealt with swiftly and professionally.” Dr. Cambrio looked over his men confidently. “Let’s move!”

The citizens that were already conscious stood by themselves, while the others were lifted by the soldiers and escorted to the vans. Abby rushed through the crowd, frantically searching for her daughter. Maddie can’t be that hard to find, she thought. She’s the only little girl in this entire city as far as I can tell. Suddenly, something small grabbed Abby from behind and wrapped itself around Abby’s stomach. She turned to see the tear-stained face of Maddie staring back up at her.

“You are still here!” Maddie cried. “I couldn’t find you anywhere, and I thought you left without me!” Abby grabbed her daughter and lifted her off the ground in a loving embrace, squeezing harder and with more strength than she had ever mustered in her entire life.

“I would never leave you behind, Maddie!” Abby sobbed. “Nothing in the entire world could keep me from you!” Abby held her daughter closely as Jim watched, smiling. He turned his attention to Rex, who had been reunited with his wife. They kissed passionately in a way that appeared as if they hadn’t seen each other for years. Jim stood in that moment, a wave of joy crashing over his body. After all the terrible events that had occurred, and all of the pain that was suffered, it had felt like eternity since Jim had truly been happy. He had always been hopeful, but never had hopefulness been replaced with happiness.

Jim could feel a person’s hand resting upon his shoulder. He whirled around to see Dr. Cambrio looking over him contently. “Come on, Jim. The vans are almost ready to go.” Jim glanced back at the faint outline of Levinson, which was shrouded in a thin layer of fog. He couldn’t help but let out a small, almost inaudible laugh as he turned away from Levinson for the last time in his life.

Please PLEASE tell me what you think, whether good or bad! :) I know its long, and I thank you (especially Molotov and Scitt!) for reading all the way through this! But just think; the typical novel is almost 50,000 words, or 170 pages! I didn't have that much, but it was pretty darn long! Hopefully you enjoyed it, and stick around for my next project, [Open Mind], to be coming soon!

Read through the short 55-60; a second O'Neill? Very odd, heh. It sucks what happened to the puppy...and how Maddie's reaction was to it, then again, when it's to politics, **** always has to happen, XD.

I'm just glad I made it through the halfway point; this has got to be one of the best stories I've read ever, and on here by far.

Heh, just read 62-70 right now. Think I'll just put the final pages on here so that I won't be double posting or take up much space, heh. So yeah, I'll just give my final outcome on this entire story once I'm done reading this story of yers.

You just keep looking at this post of mine for when I keep editing it, showing which of the final pages I have finished reading. Either way, I already have a good outcome of this story, so yer good, heh.

{Pages Completed}
-----------------------
Pgs. 62-70
Pgs. 70-79
Pgs. 79-88
Pgs. 88-96
Pgs. 96-106

STORY COMPLETE