Epilogue

After her violent episode with Ellis, Jules failed to remember what had happened, denying what the doctors were telling her. She waited five years before she was allowed to go home in Wales.

Becky made it halfway to Oregon from Louisiana before she was found by the military. She was taken directly to the clinic in Oregon's CEDA camp to treat a fractured jaw, two broken fingers, and one broken rib. She kept Mac's baby and gave birth in New Orleans after Oregon was transferred there. She now lives with her husband and her daughter as well as Ellie, the new addition to the family.

Tatiana's new son always wondered who his father was. Tatiana told Max that his father was someone with a great heart. That was all that mattered. And Max would look up with his blue eyes into his mother's dark-brown ones and smile, hoping he'd have a great heart, too.

Ellis become the first mechanic in New Orleans and become popular among the children with his stories of the apocalypse. Even Nick managed to sit through some of them, and when he did, he was sure to add in his side of the story.

"So there we were, trapped in this mall, an' heard this cryin' sound."

A pair of young blue eyes stared out at the mechanic, wide with awe. He'd heard this story so many times before, and it still gripped his tiny heart every time he heard it again. He heard a whimper.

Little Max turned his head at the faint sound. A girl, about his age, brought her knees to her chest. She had blonde hair tied up in little pigtails, her green eyes peering up at the legendary hick. Max crawled over to her.

"Hi," he chirruped. The girl looked over at him.

"Hi," she replied.

"Are you scared?" the little boy asked.

"No!" the girl gasped. "Nuh-uh!"

"You look scared. Don' worry, he and the others are saved by a guy on a boat."

"You mean it?"

The five-year-olds looked at each other and smiled.

"I'm Ellie," the little girl said.

"Maximus, but you can call me Max. Some people like to call me Maxi, but I think that's a girl's name, so Max is good."

"Where's your mommy?" she asked.

"At home taking care of Winnie's baby."

"What about your dad?" Ellie asked.

"I don't have one," Max replied.

"Me neither!"

"If I had a daddy, though, I'd want it to be him." Max extended a stubby arm and pointed up at Ellis, who flailed his arms around as he got to the climax of his story. Nick sat on top of his car and shook his head. "He's cool, and mama always told me that his eyes were jus' like mine. An' he's pretty much brothers with Nick, so that way I'd get an awesome uncle, too!"

"I want to be Ellis' daughter, then, too. My real daddy was a bad man before he disappeared. Mommy said he hurt her, so I don't count him as my daddy," Ellie murmured. "Ellie sounds like Ellis, doesn't it?"

"I suppose. An' I wouldn't really mind it if you were my sister."

The children gazed upon Ellis through their eyelashes and grinned. If only Ellis was Max's real father. If only he knew.