Final Impact: A Dystopian Trilogy (BOUND Book 3) Read online

  Contents

  Final Impact

  About Final Impact

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  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  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

  Epilogue

  One More Thing

  Doug McGovern

  Rights & Disclaimer

  THE BOUND TRILOGY

  BOOK 3:

  Final Impact

  By

  Doug McGovern

  Final Impact

  What is to come in a war between humans and aliens?

  In this third and final installment of The Bound Trilogy, Jo Leigh is alone. Only, it won’t be for long. She is building an army fit for fighting the evil that plagues her world. She may not have the strength to fix everything on her own but, with the help of her newfound friends and allies, she is determined to end the chaos.

  At the same time, Mary is a mere shadow of her former self. Shattered by immense personal losses, she simply wishes for the ability to feel again. Still, together with Ross, she fights her way through the cruel world, awaiting a time when the killing will stop and the healing can begin.

  Then there is Hayden. Abandoned by the love of his life, he searches ceaselessly in his quest to reconnect. He will do anything to get her back. Even if it takes his own life, he will find her.

  What will come of our heroes? Can they survive this war against humanity? Can anyone? Can this planet, indeed, be defended? Or will The Szorians conquer all and rule over our planet indefinitely?

  Through the eyes of Jo Leigh, Mary and Hayden we will find out!

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  Chapter 1

  Jo Leigh

  We stare at the wooden box before us, constructed of makeshift plywood and branches from nearby trees. What sits inside the box is the reason we are gathered here. The box itself means nothing to us—though that is what each of our eyes are feasted upon. I am closest to it—so close that through an almost undetectable crack in the woodwork I am able to see a hint of skin, pale as the clouds gathering in the sky above us.

  Ross is the next closest, but on the other side of the box. The hole in which it is placed is strategically positioned in the most beautiful area in the woods, flowers blossoming from nearly every pore in the earth. The pure beauty of the area is breathtaking, making me almost forget about all the ugly and grotesque places in the world.

  Charlie would have loved it here.

  I picked a flower from a different area in the woods, not wanting to disturb this one, and I carry it toward Charlie’s resting place. I bend to my knees and lay it on top of the wood, wanting nothing more than to lift the lid and see her one last time. But another part of me knows that seeing her cold and frail will destroy me more than imagining. “Here you go, Charles,” I whisper. I’m sure the dead silence around us ensures that everyone heard me. My knees soak in the moisture of the dirt beneath me, but I don’t move. “A yellow sunflower—your favorite.”

  I think about her smile, closing my eyes and reminiscing in the faint memory. When was the last time she laughed? Was it while we were gone on the supply run? I wish that I could see her smile just one more time. I wish I could say goodbye just one last time, but I can’t.

  Ross walks forward and drops to his knees on the other side of the hole, not holding flowers in his hands or anything for that matter. He doesn’t mutter a word and I wonder what is going through his head. I know that everyone loved Charlie. She had that effect on people, but nobodies love compares to Ross’s and mine.

  Well, only one creature’s love can defeat our own.

  Bosco lies near me, staring into his master’s hole. A faint whine echoes through the clearing every few seconds, but Charlie’s dog doesn’t move. Bosco could sense when she was going to have a seizure, which occurred more often than it should have due to an inoperable brain tumor. Charlie loved Bosco and risked her own life to care for him. He did the same thing for her, but he failed on his end of the job.

  Mary comes forward and rocks the small child in her arms that has grown to be older and larger than any other baby that has only been alive for a few weeks. In fact, Red looks like she’s about a year old—maybe more. “It was an honor to have ever met you Charlie,” Mary says, staring at the hole in the ground. “You brought light into my life and everyone else’s.” Her gaze fixes on Ross’s sulked shoulders.

  I can’t bear watching everyone else as miserable as I feel when half of them have just met her mere weeks ago. “I need a minute,” I whisper, looking at my folded hands in my lap and the flower on her grave. Is this really the best burial we could have offered her? She won’t have the luxury of even a headstone to call her own.

  Hayden, whom I cannot bring myself to look at, leans over and brushes his knuckle against the top of my head, likely attempting to send comfort through the simple touch. He, unfortunately, fails as he walks away with heavy footfall. Mary follows and Ross doesn’t move. “Ross,” Mary says, turning back in our direction. “Just give Charlie’s sister a few minutes to grieve on her own.” He doesn’t respond or move for almost an entire minute before he reaches forward and strokes her coffin before standing and looking at Mary, nothing but pure misery in his eyes. Is this how the Szorians are forged—with suffering and death? Is this why they are so cruel?

  Once everyone is out of earshot, I lean forward and sit with my knees crossed. I am as close to her hole as possible without falling in. The only creature remaining is Bosco, but he isn’t leaving. “I did everything to make sure you were safe,” I whisper, tears prickling at my eyes once again. Now that I’m alone, my emotions run rampant. Hayden can calm them when he is near, but now that I’m alone, I can finally experience the emotions that follow the loss of my sister.

  “I did everything in my power to keep you safe. I traveled across states in the middle of a goddamned apocalypse to find you and make sure you were okay. I did everything for you,” I mutter. I allow the tears to fall freely and I wonder what I could have done differently. If I would have left her at our house, would she have been safer? Moving her out of her house and putting her on the run seemed like a smart idea to remove her from the Szorians’ path, but could I have done something different?

  I knew something was wrong with the camp, but why didn’t I do anything? Why didn’t I retrieve my sister and leave? Thinking back, I realize it was Hayden who talked me out of my doubt. Hayden kept me from barging into the room and finding the truth. “I won’t let this happen again,” I promise Charlie. I imagine her sitting by my side, rubbing my back in comfort. When I close my eyes, I can almost feel her touch, but as my mind catches up to my hallucinations, it eliminates her t
ouch completely.

  I reopen my eyes and stare at the pale white crack in her box. Why don’t you just watch your sister’s hole a little longer, Jo? Watching over her now won’t bring her back, I think. I grab the roots of my hair and yank, trying to clear my head. She was everything to me and I have nothing left. I don’t have a reason to survive without her. I have nothing left but my faint memories of her.

  Breaking through my foggy mind, one name brings my devastation to a temporary halt. It breaks through my self-pity. Hayden’s name, no matter how devastated I may be, brings me out of my trance for a brief moment and I know what I must do. I can’t lose him the way I lost Charlie. I can’t survive losing him, too. I bring myself to my feet and stumble over an overturned root. When I find my balance, I look at the gaping hole in the earth once more.

  “I don’t know if you are watching over us or not, but things aren’t going to get much better. We have a shit ton of emotionally damaged Nectorians who we released, an entire camp of dead people and a hole with the body of the one person that held our group together.” I shake my head and turn away. “I love you, Charles. I’ll see you when my time comes,” I whisper. I thought we’d grow old together and she’d be the cool aunt to my children, but things change.

  I begin walking in the opposite direction of the rest of my group. I can’t watch another one of them die, even if I know one of us will die in the very near future. I need to avenge Charlie on my own and the only thing anyone else will do is slow me down—especially Hayden, who will be concerned only with my safety on a mission that is anything but safe.

  I make my way down the mountain quickly, hoping that the group whom I have come to love will give me enough time to get away. I can’t put them in danger.

  “Hey, who are you?” I hear from behind me. My hand instinctively encompasses the Glock in my waistband as I continue walking, not turning to look at whoever stands behind me.

  “I am none of your concern,” I respond without even a glance in his direction. The male voice is unrecognizable, and another accompanies it.

  “You’re coming from the direction of a group massacre—our group’s massacre. That makes you our concern,” one of them says nearer to me. I halt in my tracks.

  “Your group?” I ask. Were they survivors? Did they know what their camp consisted of inside the locked building that once guards could access.

  “In a way, yes. Once again, who are you?” The one that has yet to speak says.

  “Once again, I am none of your concern. If you know what slaughtered your group, just know that I am going after them. Stay out of my way and you won’t get hurt.” I finally turn and look at the men behind me. They are almost identical looking—definitely twins. Light brown hair falls from their heads, unruly and overgrown. They have the same squinty eyes and cute faces.

  “If that’s who you are going after, we’re helping, the more serious one says. I turn away from them and continue on my way, not willing to waste time.

  “Then you’d better be prepared to face some serious shit,” I explain, cocking my gun and carrying it in my right hand. “Because I don’t plan on living. I plan on taking out as many of them as I can before I die.”

  *****

  Chapter 2

  Mary

  Mary tries her best to yank both Hayden and Ross from Jo. She had never seen Jo so distraught, but she knows—likely better than anyone—how it feels to lose a close sibling. It seemed that Jo’s entire life revolved around Charlie, much like mine did around my sister. It is hard to admit that Jo was impacted more than Mary could have imagined. After all, in this world, death is more common than life.

  Hayden practically demands to remain in the forest line to watch over Jo, and Ross is making it physically difficult for Mary to move them. She wanted a few moments of alone time when her sister was killed, but it was impossible for her to receive such a gift, so the least she could do is give Jo what she needed.

  “If I have to shoot both of you in the leg to get you out of here, I will do it. Give her ten minutes. That’s all I’m asking,” she pleaded with the tall men before her. Each of them could easily push past her relatively small form, but something held them back—almost like an invisible force for which Mary could not be more grateful.

  “I can’t leave her out there to grieve on her own. Charlie has been her entire life since I met her—even before the rains. She can’t be alone right now,” Hayden argues, somehow persuading himself to turn back toward the clearing.

  “She needs time to say goodbye,” Mary explains. “If you are there, she won’t feel as personal about her message. It’s a psychological fact that…” For once, she cut herself off, realizing that that time was not appropriate for a randomly construed fact which her mind had somehow retained. She is a genius, but she isn’t oblivious toward the fact that everyone around her is grieving.

  Hayden must receive the message because he finally follows her out of earshot and eyeshot of Jo. In about ten minutes they will go back and give her the group therapy that a person needs at a time like this. Mary isn’t a fool, though. She knows nothing will help but time and acceptance. Hayden sits against a tree and Ross lays on the ground, looking more defeated than ever.

  Red stirs in Mary’s arms, asking to be let down and given permission to play, which seems almost like a foreign concept to Mary. Red is another undimmed light, and her purity and beauty are unlike any other that Mary has seen. Circumstances would have typically won out on a child born in such a devastating time, but it’s almost like Red doesn’t see the evil in the world.

  Red rushes around the small area, finding sticks and twigs to build a small fort. Mary keeps an eye on her like a hawk to ensure she doesn’t place anything in her mouth or take any harsh falls. Red may have been warned numerous times about the dangers of the world, but she is still a child and still has adventurous thoughts and actions.

  Ten minutes comes and goes, but she orders Ross and Hayden to wait. Mary knows that they each have a deep emotional bond with the two women in that clearing—one dead and one alive. Neither of them can help their soul mate, no matter how hard they try. Mary watches Red throw an acorn back and forth with Hayden, but he doesn’t get into the small game. He instead continues looking in the direction that Jo was left.

  “I’m going to get her,” Hayden says, handing the acorn back to Red gently. No matter his problems, he has always been kind to Mary’s little girl.

  Instead of holding Hayden from his bound human longer than she already has, she allows him to continue forward with meaningful, unhesitant strides. She reminisces on her mate’s caring gestures and determined strides. Ruby was and always will be a part of Mary’s life, even if now only a piece of her remains. Mary’s eyes find their way to Ruby’s birth child and she smiles, pride in her heart. Even though Ruby was gone, she left a piece of herself with Mary—the fast-growing child whom Mary tends to as if it is her own.

  “Red, come here, sweetie,” Mary calls, stretching a hand toward the small child. Her steps are still wobbly and unbalanced at her appeared age of a year old, but she gets around rather quickly and efficiently. It is a shock that she looks to be one when she is merely a few months old. Mary believes that it’s because the baby is not human, but rather a Nectorian, much like her beloved Ruby. “Honey, is your fort almost done? We have to leave very soon,” Mary coos, preparing the child for their next endeavor. The child has grown up on the move, so she doesn’t seem at all impacted by Mary’s words. Red simply smiles and nods, placing a smacking kiss on Mary’s right cheek and filling her heart with the love she hadn’t thought she’d ever feel again after Ruby’s death.

  Mary has something left to live for, unlike most other people remaining in the world. For that, she is grateful.

  She waits a few moments for Hayden’s return, but he doesn’t come back. Mary begins worrying, but doesn’t make a move to retrieve him. She doesn’t want to worry Ross or put the baby in danger by jumping into a situation headfirst. Ma
ry believes that that is what got Charlie killed, and she can’t leave Red alone in the world. She has to be smart, which has never been a struggle for her in the past.

  It is minutes more before Hayden finally comes through the brush that leads to Jo and scowls at Mary. “She’s not there,” he snarls. Mary’s eyes widen and she follows Hayden toward Charlie’s burial site, needing to see it for herself. The last thing Mary would have ever expected is Jo’s departure, but the girl never ceased to surprise her. She and her sister were both curveballs, but that seemed to be the reason Charlie ended up in a casket. Mary could only hope the story would not be the same for Jo.

  “What can I do?” Mary asks Hayden, feeling useless in the situation. It was her idea to leave Jo. In fact, Mary encoura=ged it. She bounces Red on her hip nervously. Charlie became a good friend in no time, spreading her positivity and joy to all around her, but Mary grew close to Jo, as well.

  “You’ve done enough,” Hayden states viciously, turning and heading in the direction Jo must have gone. Mary stays behind, knowing he doesn’t want her to come along on the journey. If Jo is in danger, Mary doesn’t want another death to fall on her shoulders. There have been far too many already.

  She looks down, not at the casket, but at the dog lying alongside it. Bosco wouldn’t leave Charlie when she was alive, or even now that she is dead. Nobody and nothing have gotten through to him. Mary attempted to bribe him with food, but he wouldn’t eat. He won’t drink or complete other necessary tasks to survive. The dog will die alongside Charlie unless something changes, and at this point, Mary is almost sure that nothing will.

  Nothing can ever change for the better in a world-wide disaster like this.

  *****

  Chapter 3

  Jo Leigh

  I walk in silence for a day, tracking the troupe of Szorians from a slight distance. Sometimes bodies are found in their wake and sometimes just stomped down in the ruined ground. They seem to leave a wake of disaster behind them and I wonder what caused such a destructive, evil nature. But though the thought crosses my mind, I don’t bother feeling sympathy for whatever may have happened to them. They deserve death after all they have caused, not even an ounce of sympathy or pity.