Eden's Legacy (Eden Rising Trilogy Book 3) Read online

  Eden’s Legacy

  by

  Andrew Cunningham

  Copyright © 2016 Andrew Cunningham

  All Rights Reserved

  Books by Andrew Cunningham

  Wisdom Spring

  Deadly Shore

  All Lies

  Fatal Lies (coming fall 2016)

  Eden Rising Trilogy

  Eden Rising

  Eden Lost

  Eden's Legacy

  Arthur MacArthur series of children's mysteries (as A.R. Cunningham)

  The Mysterious Stranger

  The Ghost Car

  The Creeping Sludge

  The Sky Prisoner

  The Ride of Doom

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to thank my copyeditor/proofreader/wordsmith extraordinaire, Marcia Kwiecinski, for the outstanding job she’s done on my last two books. She is proof of the value of having your finished product picked apart by a professional.

  And as always, none of my books would happen if I didn’t have the total love,

  support, and enthusiasm of my wife, Charlotte. It means everything to me. Thank you!

  To Mom, with love.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Part One: After Paradise

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Part Two: The Migration

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  An excerpt from Andrew Cunningham’s Amazon bestselling thriller Wisdom Spring

  Prologue

  We called it the great migration.

  It was a joke, of course, always said with a wink and a smile. A knowing understanding among parents. In truth, it was the only way we could deal with our fear. Our lives were about to change forever and we all knew it. We also knew that there was absolutely nothing we could do about it.

  We had been in Yellowstone for eight years—eight of the happiest years we could imagine. The six years we had spent on the shores of Fontana Lake back east had, despite challenges, been a peaceful and maturing time for us amongst the stillness of the forest. But we never realized how lonely we had been. The fire that drove us out was really a blessing. Although the trip to Yellowstone was long and rife with danger—was there any trip in this new world that wasn't long and dangerous?—the result was worth it.

  In Yellowstone, living around other people (but not too close) gave us a sense of community. We made close friends, while also deepening our connection with nature. Discovering that my brother—assumed lost in the event of so many years ago—was still alive filled me with tremendous joy, and over the years a deeper bond had formed than what we had known as children. Our parents would have been overjoyed that we both survived and had found each other.

  For Katie, the move to Yellowstone meant so much more than even we could have envisioned. Our life story was as much about her as it was about Lila and me. Now sixteen—the age Lila was when the world turned upside down—Katie had a fire raging inside her. Her thirst for discovery far eclipsed anything that Lila and I ever felt.

  With her shiny raven hair flowing over her shoulders, and looking like a carbon copy of Lila at that age, she was much more confident and prepared for the world around her than we ever were. After all, she grew up having never known the life we had left behind. She was her own person—smart, capable, aware, ferocious when necessary, a loner to a great extent, but kind and loving beyond imagination. She no longer even went by the name of Katie. I just still called her that from time to time. She was now Cat. Not Kat, short for Katie, but Cat. Knowing who she had become and some of the experiences that had led her to that point in her life, the name certainly fit.

  So when Cat announced one day that she and eleven other teenagers were leaving Yellowstone to explore the country, we weren't totally surprised. We also shouldn't have been worried. After all, Cat was one of the most self-reliant people we had ever known. And she would be surrounded by others who had grown up in this new world.

  But the fact was, we were scared. Because we all knew that there was something terrifying out there…

  Part One: After Paradise

  Eight Years Earlier…

  Chapter 1

  Ben looked down from his position on the hill at the smoke billowing from the town of Paradise, smoke that he was responsible for. He was trying to convince himself that he had done the right thing. Somehow, he had a feeling that for as long as he lived, he would strive for self-vindication. Was he rationalizing the importance of the decision, or did he really believe he was acting in everyone's best interests by destroying what might have been their only hope at ever again living a life with electricity?

  The others had started back hours earlier. They had all offered to stay with him, but he had thanked them and said that he would follow. Lila, his love, and the person who knew him almost better than he knew himself, understood. This wasn't something that could be talked out, at least, not yet. Ben had to work it out for himself.

  His reason for destroying the power plant had been clear at the time. People's obsession with regaining some of the life they once had was, in fact, destroying them. It wouldn't have mattered as much to Ben if the greed had been confined to the town of Paradise, but it hadn't been. It was the source of an evil that had permeated society—what was left of it anyway—well beyond the borders of Paradise. By chopping the head off the evil at the source, he had hopefully put an end to it. He wasn't naïve though. He knew it was never that simple. On the other hand, he had done what he felt must be done.

  There would be a lot of anger from many of the remaining residents of Paradise. Of those, there would probably be some who would want revenge. Ben knew he would have to be on the alert for a while—maybe quite a while. For some, the anger would run deep. However, unlike the world he had once lived in, where cars, phones, and the Internet made everything happen almost instantaneously, the revenge in this case, if there was going to be any, would take time. The physical distance alone would be enough to slow the process. Paradise was many days' ride by horseback—now the primary means of transportation for most—from Ben's homestead in Yellowstone. Finding Ben's home would be another obstacle. Ben and Lila, like most others in Yellowstone, lived away from civilization to some extent. Although spread out, the population of Yellowstone—approximately two thousand at that point, was very protective of each other. Someone looking for Ben would discover it almost impossible to find a person willing to share Ben's location.

  He wasn't ready to go back. He'd wait until morning. The flames had long since been extinguished, but the smoke remained. The citizens of Paradise had worked for hours putting out the fire. It was a useless gesture. Ben knew they would find nothing salvageable in the ruins. He had made sure of that.

  His perch on the hill across the river was close enough that he could hear voices from time to time. He he
ard swearing and shouting and, occasionally, his name or his brother's name pronounced in a venomous tone. None of it bothered him. He expected it. It was only when he heard a child crying that he finally broke down himself. His tears didn't last long, but they were cathartic, and he found himself drifting off to sleep.

  He awoke with a start the next morning, looking around quickly to make sure he was alone. He stretched and moved to a sheltered spot to take a last look at Paradise before getting on his way. It would take many hours to catch up to everyone, and it was time to go.

  Paradise was quiet. The residents had all gone back to their homes to mourn the loss of the power and to regroup. It wasn't going to be easy to readapt. It was hard enough to lose electricity the first time, but to suddenly lose it again could send some of them over the edge. Those were the ones he felt badly for.

  It was time. He had been there long enough. He worked his way down the opposite side of the hill to where Moose, his horse, was tethered. He saddled the big chestnut, climbed aboard, and started on his way.

  He had a fleeting memory of the first time he had ever gotten on Moose, the previous year, the winter they stayed with the Monett community in Missouri. It had been a scary moment. He remembered how tall the horse was and how far from the ground he seemed to be, sitting so high in the saddle. Now, a little bit more than a year later, riding a horse was as natural as walking. He started on his way, following the well-defined road Lila and the rest had taken. They had probably rested at some point, so he figured he'd catch up to them by the end of the day.

  It was a cool morning and the riding was pleasant. Two hours into the journey home his thoughts had finally moved on from Paradise and on to his life in Yellowstone. This trip to Paradise was unplanned. Even though he knew that Aaron, his older brother, was living there, it was too important to get settled in their new home before the onset of winter. There was much preparation to do.

  The plan was to visit Paradise and connect with his brother the next spring, but all of that changed when the truck from Paradise kidnapped Katie, her friend Sophie, and Sophie's mother, while on a picnic. What started as a rescue mission became much more, culminating in the destruction of all of the Paradise vehicles and the power plant. Now Ben and Lila needed to get back and tend to their animals, generously donated by a neighbor whose stock had expanded beyond his needs. It had been a lot of work—and would continue to be—but it was all worth it. They loved where they were, the new friends they had made, and old friends they had rediscovered.

  Ben was deep in thought and wasn't as aware as he should have been. Moose suddenly jerked to a halt, breaking Ben's reverie. From behind a grove of trees rode five men, each carrying a rifle pointed at Ben. They formed a semicircle in front of him

  Ben recognized two of them from the night before—residents of Paradise. He was scared. He had run into countless instances of trouble over the years, and had come close to death numerous times, but there was usually a way he could wriggle out of it. This was different. These men wanted revenge, pure and simple. Why hadn’t he gone back home with the rest of the group? What was his purpose in staying behind? It didn't matter now.

  He was contemplating his avenues of escape—which were few to none—when the first man spoke.

  "Can't believe our luck. Thought we were going to have to follow for days before we'd get our chance to kill you."

  "You know that Bolli had to die," replied Ben. Bolli had been the self-appointed mayor of the town. He was a two-bit hood who had taken the name of a well-known Chicago mobster. "He was kidnapping people and bringing them to Paradise against their will. My daughter was one of those people. You don't mess with my family."

  "We don't care about Bolli," said another. "You did us a favor by doing away with him. We care about the power plant. Why? Why did you do that?"

  "Because you were all turning into people just like Bolli. The anger. The infighting. 'Paradise' was a misnomer if I ever heard one. Your obsession with electricity was destroying you."

  "But who were you to play God?" said the first. He was a big man with a full beard and a set of the angriest eyes Ben had ever seen.

  But he asked the question Ben had been struggling with all night: who was he to play God?

  Finally the answer came together in his mind.

  "Bolli or no Bolli, none of you fought him on his actions, which made you just as bad as he was. I was living in a town last year that your people attacked. Your people were fully prepared to kill anyone who didn't come with them. You lost any rights the minute you did that. I destroyed your power plant to prevent that from ever happening again. So no, I wasn't playing God. I was protecting my family, my friends, and good people I don't even know. I was protecting them from you. If you want to be angry, be angry at yourselves."

  "Nice speech. Sounded real good."

  "I thought so," replied Ben, hoping to talk long enough to scatter their attention. The plan he had was wild and would probably result in the death of Moose, which he would regret deeply. He was going to duck down beside Moose and head for the roadside trees from which the Paradise men had emerged. In the trees he'd at least have a chance.

  However, as he was about to put his plan into action, a shot rang out and a puff of dirt spat up from the ground between Ben and the five men.

  "Hey, Weeks," called a voice from the rocks. It was Aaron! "Why don't you and your boys lower your weapons."

  "That you, Aaron? Stay out of it. This doesn't concern you."

  "Well yeah, it kinda does. You see, that's my brother, and I just found him after a lot of years. It would be a real shame to lose him before we had a chance to catch up. You even attempt to hurt him and I'll mow you down. And any of you I miss—I don't ever miss, by the way—my friend Sean will get. Right Sean?"

  "I might just beat you to it," came the answer from behind Ben in the rocks by the side of the road. Weeks and his crew knew that Aaron and Sean had been active-duty Marines when the event happened, and so there was no question about their marksmanship.

  The five men looked at each other, then as one they lowered their weapons.

  "Good choice," said Aaron.

  "It's not over," said Weeks.

  "It's over," said Ben. "Do what the rest of the world is doing. Learn to live off the land. Get rid of your obsession for electricity. In the long run it would have killed you."

  The five looked at each other and started to walk their horses past Ben, back toward Paradise. As he passed, Weeks said in a low voice, "It's not over."

  When they were out of sight, Aaron and Sean climbed down from the rocks.

  "Thanks," said Ben. "Lucky you were there."

  "It wasn't luck," said Aaron. "We know those people. We knew they wouldn't take kindly to what we did to the town. Even though you've got a reputation as some kind of savior around the country, it didn't seem the smart thing to do to leave you here alone, so we doubled back. We were up on the ridge when we saw you. And then we saw them and knew where they were going to intercept you. The rest was easy."

  He gave Ben a hug. "Y'know, I saved your ass yesterday in Paradise, and now just did it again. How in the world did you survive all those years without me?"

  "I had Lila to protect me."

  Chapter 2

  A brilliant sun shone down, warming up the day nicely as they began their long journey back to Yellowstone in silence, each reflecting on the events of the past twenty-four hours. For Ben and Aaron, it was the emotion of seeing each other after years of assuming the other was dead; for Sean and Aaron, it was best friends reunited after being apart for a couple of years; and for all three, it was the knowledge that the conflict with Weeks and his crew was probably far from over.

  Sean finally broke the silence a half hour into the ride.

  "We're going to have to find you a nice piece of land," he said to Aaron.

  "Right down the valley from us is a beautiful spot," said Ben. "We might be willing to let you obstruct our view."

 
"I know the place he's talking about," said Sean. "You couldn't do much better."

  "If Emily likes it, then it's sold," said Aaron. "I had a chance to talk to Lila before we turned back. She's pretty amazing."

  "You don't know the half of it," replied Ben.

  "When Sean and I made it back home and we were tracking your movements once we realized you might have survived the event, we went to Maiden Farms Dairy. When we determined that some sixteen-year-old girl named Lila might be with you, we figured you didn't stand a chance. Hell, I figured you couldn't even take care of yourself, much less handle having a hysterical teenage girl with you."

  "That hysterical teenage girl saved my life more times than I can count. Hey, did you see a body in front of a walk-in freezer?"

  "Yeah, I think so."

  "He was lying right outside it," said Sean. “Or what was left of him.”

  "That was Richie. We owe that scumbag our lives. He thought he was punishing us by making us work in the freezer. In fact, it saved our lives. We lived. He died. Who can figure it?"

  "Karma," said Sean.

  "Maybe."

  "I also talked to Katie," said Aaron. "She's pretty amazing as well. Unusual, to say the least."

  "Lila told me she killed a man with her crossbow. I'll have to talk to her," said Ben.

  "No you won't. I heard Lila discussing it with her. It's pretty obvious that Katie is different from other people. She doesn't think like we do. She doesn't see a difference between humans and animals. An animal will do whatever it needs to do to protect itself or its family. There's no remorse. And I didn't sense any of that in Katie."

  "So you're saying Katie is an animal," Ben said jokingly.

  "I'm saying," Aaron replied in all seriousness, "that from the little I talked to her—and to Lila—Katie relates to the animal kingdom like nobody I've ever met. I haven't seen her in action, but there was a quality that came through loud and clear."