Page 1 of The Rejected King
1
Danny
Montana
The Middle of Desolation, Year 2055
Danny pushed his shovel deeper into the hole and threw aside another pile of dirt. Adrenaline coursed through his body with each dig, easing the exertion. Around him, gray ash danced in the air, floating like pillow feathers in the soft breeze—it would have been beautiful if it hadn’t been deadly.
“Danny.” Emily coughed behind him. “Do you really need to do this now?” She buried her face into the collar of her shirt, likely trying to find a small pocket of oxygen.
Danny looked up at his wife. The gray in her hair was almost lost against the smoky sky, but her eyes shone. She was his brown-eyed girl and always would be. Crows’ feet stretched from the corners of her eyes, each line telling the story of their fifty years together.
He smiled big. “It seems like the perfect thing to do right now.”
“It’s just...” Emily looked over her shoulder at the blazing flames scorching the mountain behind them. The orange glow surrounded them, and it wouldn’t be long until it completely overtook their land, their farm, their animals, and them. When she turned back to him, her brown eyes were filled with tears. “It’s just...we don’t have that much time left.”
Danny scraped at the sides of the hole with his shovel. Loose dirt fell into the middle, making it easy to pick up. He tried to give his wife a reassuring smile. “I’m almost done.”
“Danny, the world is ending. What makes you think we’ll be back to find this?”
“We’ll find a way out. The fire can’t burn forever. When it goes out, we’ll come back for it.”
Emily scoffed, her voice rising slightly. “We’re surrounded by flames. We’re not going to find a way out.”
“Hey.” Danny dropped his shovel and wrapped Emily in his arms, hoping to calm her. The rapid movement of her chest against his made his own breath uneven. “We’ve survived so far, haven’t we? We made it through the eruption, the climate reversal, the nuclear war, the natural disasters—”
“I get it.” She stopped him. “But, this is it.” She shuddered and pulled away to look up at his face, tears spilling down her soot-stained cheeks. “We’ll either burn or starve from here. It’s really the end for us.”
“The glass isn’t half empty.” Danny’s voice was earnest. Gently, he took her face in his hands and stared into her eyes. “We’ll make it out, and when we do, you’ll be glad we saved these things.”
Emily breathed deeply then pulled away suddenly as a violent cough wracked her small frame. Danny wrapped his hands around her shoulders to steady her and reassure himself. She was still here, still alive, and still breathing. If only for the moment.
When her cough subsided, she looked up at him and nodded weakly, her voice rough. “Okay.”
Emily reached for her wedding ring. The circular diamond flickered with the reflection of firelight. She sniffed back her emotion and dropped the symbol of their love into the safe.
Danny reached into his back pocket and pulled out his favorite picture of them, the one from their wedding day. He still remembered that moment. Emily had smiled at the camera while he had smiled at her. He remembered thinking that he was the luckiest man alive to go through life with her.
Danny added the picture to the stack of items on the ground then picked everything up and put it into the safe. He locked it, threading the silver key through a zip tie and attaching it to the safe’s lock. Then he rolled the steel box into the hole.
A few minutes later, he scattered the last pile of dirt across the ground and turned to his wife. “Everything important to us will still be here when we get back.”
“I’m scared,” she said. The moisture in her eyes filled to the brim, and fresh tears rolled down her ash-ridden cheeks, marking a trail as they fell.
Danny stood and wiped at her tears, smearing ash and soot across her face. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into a tight hug with his free arm, whispering against her short hair. “I know, baby. I’m scared too.” It was all he could do to stay strong. But he had to stay strong for her. This was the last thing Emily needed from him, and he wouldn’t let her down.
Emily melted into him. Behind her, the flames glowed in the distance, moving in, surrounding them. “It’s time to go,” he said. Danny wouldn’t give up. He wouldn’t just lay down and die.
Davin
The Kingdom of Enderlin
The Year 2250 - 200 Years After Desolation
Davin rested his head against the back cushion of the carriage, letting the events of the last few weeks wash over him. He could breathe easier now that he had participated in his first Council of Essentials. One month ago, Davin’s entire ride to the kingdom of Appa had been filled with anxiety. Would the other six kings accept him despite his youth? Would they see the value in his innovative ideas? Or would they dismiss everything he had to say?
Davin’s eyelids felt heavy, and for a moment, the already dark night went completely black as his lids closed over his eyes. Memories of his presentation on transporters flashed through his mind. He had based his design for the vehicle on pre-Desolation cars, though his designs were a bit more advanced with more spacious interiors, wheel axles that could handle more suspension, and larger tires for the uneven terrain. Davin had been nervous about presenting the concept to the Council, but he had seen a look of respect on several of the other kings’ faces as he began speaking. In the end, the vote on transporters was unanimous. All of the other six leaders agreed that transportation like this was essential, at least for the ruling class.
