A/N: I wrote this in middle school for a contest called "Read, Write and Win" at my local library. It's my version of how the book should have ended. I have never read the People of Sparks or the rest of the series, so this will probably have nothing to do with how the actual books end, but it won first prize, so I figure it must be good. :) Enjoy! Feedback is welcome and appreciated! ~Alaya
The last rays of the late afternoon sunlight streamed through the window reflecting off great-granny's glasses, making it impossible for the children to tell if she was still awake. The young ones glanced around at each other, their eyes wide and expressions intense as only the delay in the end of a story could cause.
"Granny?" asked Susan tentatively. At ten she was the eldest, and never let anyone forget it. "Granny, are you awake?"
The old lady coughed. "Yes, Susan, I'm awake. What are you all waiting for?"
"We want to know how the story ends!" cried Daniel, the adventurous one. Two years ago, when the town's seven- and eight-year-olds were on a tour of the ruins of Ember, he had taken three steps outside the city limits and into the unknown regions—without a torch! The children considered him their ringleader.
Granny frowned in mock severity. "You kids have heard this story before! You know how it ends. Don't you have something more interesting to do than sit in school all day long? Go home. Don't forget your homework." The tiny old woman looked down with a stern scowl at the seventeen disappointed faces of the children sitting cross-legged at the foot of her rocker.
Aria, who was seven, spoke in a horse whisper. "1…2…3…," and then all the children moaned at the same time: "Ple-e-e-e-ease!"
Granny's sternness melted into a smile. "All right," she sighed in submission. "Danny, the sun's setting. Go light the candles." As the boy rushed around with a box of matches, the old lady told of how Mrs. Murdo had found their message and led the people out of the darkness just as the sun was rising over the new world. She told of how they had trekked for hours and finally reached the walls of a great city. It was deserted, but the houses were still intact. She told of the excitement of finding the city archives and the sadness of discovering that they really were the only ones left in the world. The others had all died out from the pollution in the air. She said how at first they had been terrified that it was not safe to live there, but had finally confirmed that the air was pure and the water was sweet and clear. The pollution had dispersed long ago. She spoke of how the people of the city had elected three mayors to ensure that no one person could gain too much power.
"And that is how our people made the greatest exodus of our age," she finished grandly. "The city we found was called the Citadel of the Four Winds, but we did not know what that meant until much later."
"Oh my! Look at the sky!" she exclaimed suddenly. "It's nearly six o'clock! You lot had best hurry home or you'll miss your dinners. Kitty dear, go to my desk and get the notes would you?" The children stood up and began stuffing the colorful sketchbooks they had been drawing in during the story into their backpacks, while the little black-haired girl named Kitty passed out signed notes to all of their parents, explaining that they had been kept late in history class. Great Granny was a wise enough old soul and had been teaching that subject long enough that she knew to keep a stack on hand.
"For homework today draw a series of pictures that you think might have happened during The Egress. For extra credit, make up a character and describe how you think they might have felt if they were there," called Granny over the hubbub. The students filed out the door, turning to bow before they left to show respect to the knowledge they acquired there. Kitty stayed.
"My parents are out tonight, is it okay for me to stay for dinner, Granny?" she asked.
"Of course dear," Granny said as she hobbled into the kitchen.
"Oh, please Granny, can I cook?" the bright-eyed girl asked breathlessly. The old woman chuckled. "You can help. Go chop up those vegetables and get a tomato from the window garden." A few minutes later the two of them were busy preparing a tasty soup.
"Something's troubling you, otherwise you wouldn't have told that fib about your parents," said Granny suddenly. Kitty did not seem very surprised that Granny knew she had been lying.
After a few moments of awkward silence, she blurted out, "Do you know who my great-great-great-uncle was?"
Granny laughed wheezily. "Is that what you're worried about?" Kitty nodded solemnly.
"Well then, Katherine, yes. I know one of your ancestors was Mayor Cole. What of it?" she asked.
"Do you think I'll end up like that someday?" she inquired tremulously. Granny put down her knife and wiped chicken grease on the front of her apron.
"Not if you don't want to be," she replied firmly. Kitty sighed in relief and began chopping again.
"I wish there was more to the story," she said brightly. "It's one of those stories that I don't ever want to end."
"End?" exclaimed Granny. "Goodness no! That wasn't the end. That was only just the beginning."
"The beginning?" said Kitty. "Will you tell me the rest someday?" Granny eased herself into a chair. "No, Kitty. Someday you will tell your grandchildren. The rest of the story is your tale, to carry on your whole life. Your generation is the last hope for our newly revived world." The girl nodded gravely as she sat down opposite Granny. After dinner, Kitty left with a handwritten note of explanation to her parents.
Granny sat down and sighed. "If only Doon could have heard that," she murmured as she gazed at the picture over the mantelpiece of her deceased husband. Then she smiled. The moon had risen over the city of Inferno. All was well. The oldest woman in the city, ninety-seven year old Lina Mayfleet-Harrow, was content.