Marcel, Sarah, Jackson, and Kevin walk up to the gate. Their transport vehicle ran out of fuel halfway back to the city. So they walked the rest of the way with all of their supplies. The trip took a total of four days of walking through the hot sun, sands, and clay banks. Marcel pulls his I.D. from his pocket, the same one Johnny prepared for him and the others months ago. He wonders if it will even still work. Of course, it doesn't have his actual name, but the team reasons that the gate guards probably won't know that. In truth, Sara is convinced that even if it did have his actual name, then depending on the state of Oasis King's remaining hero group after his death, then the gate guards may not even care.
"With King gone, his influence will become meaningless. If there's no one to suck up to, the sycophants will find a new person to cozy up to." Sara had explained days ago. Marcel agreed with the logic, hesitantly.
"It wasn't really Hero Corp we were hiding from, it was King's influence in it. With him gone… we should be able to go home." Kevin suggested. With that, they all agreed to try.
Now, they approach the gate, which opens slightly. It's just enough to walk through in a single-file line. Two guards stand at the other end of the gate's opening. One holds an aura rifle, and is pointing it at Sara, who is first in line. She scans her I.D. at a data pad on the wall, the light turns green and she is allowed past. Next is Kevin, then Jackson, both of whom are also allowed past without issue. Finally, Marcel steps up to the pad, scans his I.D., and waits. To him, that momentary wait spans hours. But the instant the light flicks green, he breathes a sigh of relief and is welcomed in. Marcel rejoins his friends past the gate, and once again inside the city's walls.
"Welcome back." One of the guards says, lowering his aura rifle. "You one of the stragglers from the attack a few days ago?"
"The attack? The one with Oasis King?" Marcel asks.
"Yeah. We've been getting people trickling in since it happened. Not nearly as many as what left… but at least a couple a day." The other guard says.
"Yeah, we were part of their attack group." Sara lies.
"Which unit?"
"Oasis Prince's." Marcel says, a lump catches in his throat with the words. Days later, he still held out hope that maybe somehow Johnny had survived. "Did he…?"
"No. Sorry kid. You're the only survivors of that team." The guard says, shaking his head. "What about the rest of you?"
"Wasteland General's." Kevin lies.
"I was with Prince's team as well." Jackson says.
"We'll let your hero group know you're coming. I'm sure they'll be happy to know your okay." The guard without the rifle says. "You all need a lift?"
"No, thank you. We'll make it back on our own." Marcel says. With that, the group of four survivors of King's hunt are home.
"What do we do now?" Marcel asks.
"We should go home for a while. Rest, recuperate." Kevin says.
"Feels like it's been years." Jackson says, looking out at the city.
"First things first." Sara says, throwing her bag over her shoulder. "A hot shower."
"A potpie." Jackson says, mouth watering just picturing it.
"A long nap." Kevin says.
"See my family." Marcel says.
"Let's meet at the Margrave Center in two days. We can figure out what to do about anything King may have prepared from there." Sara suggests. The rest agree, and hop on the next city bus. One by one, they all part ways for the first time in two months. Jackson goes to a restaurant he likes in town. Sara and Kevin each go to their own homes. And Marcel goes to his parent's ranch.
His father is dead. He had been for seven months. Died of a heart attack in the field while taking care of the sheep. Marcel knew already, but as he walked up the long driveway to his family ranch, part of him felt like he might see his father out tending to the sheep. He hadn't been able to go to the funeral. A while back, Marcel did visit the gravesite. He was laid to rest in a small plot by his grandmother Ruth, Marcel's great grandmother, who'd been a massive inspiration to Jesse, Marcel's father, growing up. After seeing his mother and brothers, he plans to visit the grave again.
Marcel stands outside the door, hand hovering in a balled up fist. The moment he knocks, he knows exactly what will happen. So, he does. Marcel hears movement from inside the house, as well as his mother's voice call out, "No solicitors!" Marcel laughs. A big belly laugh that he hadn't managed in years. He keeps laughing until his side cramps and he almost falls over. He knocks again, and the door swings open. There on the other side stands his mother, Audrey, holding a shoe like a weapon in one hand. She looks ready to kill until the moment she realizes who it is. She drops the shoe and starts to cry and wail as she hugs her baby boy for the first time in two years. His brothers, Nathen and Eli, hear the commotion and rush to see the problem, only to end up getting dragged into the scene themselves.
Audrey, after she manages to stop crying for a moment, tells Marcel how skinny he looks, and makes him sit at the table while she cooks a meal. Nathen and Eli sit with him.
"How have you been?" Eli asks.
"Where have you been?" Nathen asks. "You smell like crap."
"He's right. Maybe you should go get a shower. You can borrow some of my clothes." Eli agrees.
"Yeah… it's been a while. I've been out in the wastelands for two months." Marcel says.
"The wastelands? What were you doing there?" Eli asks.
"Hiding. Oasis King found me in Keliah, so we hid in the waste for a while."
"We?" Nate asks.
"Me and a few friends." Marcel says.
"Well, from what I hear, no one will have to worry about that King guy ever again. Not him or any of his sidekicks." Nate says, clearly still upset. "They all deserved what they got."
"No. Not all of them. Johnny, Oasis King's son, he helped me escape. Kept me hidden from King for years. Let me know whenever…" Marcel gets choked up thinking about Johnny, and stumbles over his words.
"Oh… I'm, uh, I'm sorry Marcel. I didn't realize." Nate says, placing a hand on Marcel's shoulder.
"Nate, go check on Mom. Come on Marcel, let's get you a shower and some clean clothes." Eli says, and stands up. Marcel follows him. They walk past his Mom, explain what they are doing, and she tells them the food will be ready in twenty minutes. Nate offers to help.
Marcel hops in the shower and makes it as hot as he can get it. For the first time in months, he soaks in the water. He scrubs every inch of dirt off his body, out of his hair, and resumes soaking again, until Eli knocks on the door telling him that the food is ready. Marcel gets dressed and makes his way to the dining room with the clothes from his brother. For the first time in two years, Marcel gets to sit and have a meal with his family.
At the table, there is an empty chair where Marcel's father always sat. No one sat there, no one talks about it, and everyone pretends not to notice when Marcel keeps looking at it.
"Have you been good, Marcel?" Audrey asks.
"Yeah." Marcel says, in between shoveling real food into his mouth and drinking fresh clean water by the glass.
"He's eating Mom's food like that, he must have had it rough. Ow!" Nate jokes and is kicked under the table. "I just meant that he probably hadn't had good food in a while. Ow! Stop kicking me!"
"It's really good, Mom." Marcel says between bites. "It's been two long months since I ate this good."
"Well now that you're home you can eat this whenever you want. I'll make it every day." Audrey says.
"Where have you been for the last two years. I know you said the wastes outside the city for the last couple months, but what about before that?" Eli asks.
"I had an apartment in Keliah. Got a job working at the Margrave Center. The people there hid me from King. They're good people. I'll need to go back and thank them. I don't know if my apartment is still available, or my job. So, I'll have to figure all that out later." Marcel says, scooping another helping of food onto his plate.
"But you will be staying home for a while… right?" Audrey asks.
"Yeah. For a few days at least. Longer depending…" Marcel says.
"Well good. You should stay here for as long as you want." Audrey says.
"But that King guy, he's gone right? So, you don't have to hide anymore?" Nate asks.
"I think so. But honestly, even if someone does come… I'll be fine. Realistically, there aren't many people in the city who even knew King was searching for me. I am going to meet with those friends I mentioned earlier in a couple of days though. Just to sort everything out." Marcel says.
"I remember when that guy came looking for your two years ago. I wanted to clobber him. He had such a smug, punchable face." Nate says.
"You should have seen Dad. He looked about ready to kill that short guy when he called you a traitor. He never doubted you." Eli says.
"What even happened?" Nate asks.
"Boys, please. Just… let's talk about something else." Audrey asks. The boys stop eating for a second, and change the subject.
"So… what do you plan to do now? Come back to the ranch? We could use the help." Eli says.
"You're just saying that because you hate shearing the sheep." Nate says.
"No, I don't. They hate me. There's a difference." Eli says. "They keep biting my legs. They freak out and then I have to stop."
"And then I have to do it." Nate laughs.
"I lost three pairs of pants to them last year." Eli smiles, but his dead-eye stare reflects that of tormented pain.
"I don't know. Maybe. I haven't thought about it yet." Marcel lies. In truth, he had thought about it a lot over the last few years. He knew what he wanted to do, but didn't know if it would be possible.
After eating, the sun is fully set. Marcel spends the night in his old bedroom and sleeps deeper and more at peace that he had in years, but only for about two hours at a time. For the last two months, he had destroyed his sleep schedule, and got used to sleeping in bursts. But each time he woke up, he would force himself back to sleep. The next day, he helped his family around the ranch. It was a familiar feeling, doing chores like he did years ago. But it felt wrong… like he'd given up. That afternoon, he went to his father's graveside at the old abandoned Hebron Funeral Home's cemetery.
Now alone, he sits by his father's side "Hey Dad." He says. "I'm back." He spends a few minutes talking to his father, catching him up on everything that happened. He tells him about his time in the wastes, about Johnny's death, about the voice he keeps hearing, about how he spared King even when he didn't deserve it, and about his plans for the future. "Am I crazy?" He sighs. "I mean, after everything, I still wanna be a hero. I'm still all in. Shouldn't I want a break? Mom wants me to stay home. Maybe you would too… but that isn't what you'd say. You'd say, 'You do what you gotta do, and let us worry about ourselves.' But I don't even know if I still can be a hero. Maybe I'm worrying over nothing. Who knows what King did during those two years, or what will happen. I could be working myself up over a pipedream." Marcel places his hand on his father's tombstone. On it is written, Here Rests Jesse. Though I am but a stump, my shoot and branches bore glorious fruit. It was Jesse's favorite line from a poem about a tree that was cut down but did not die. "I can't stop, can I?" Marcel says. He stands up. "Thanks Dad. I'll see you later." With that, he leaves; ready to meet his team again, and continue his path as a hero.