Read Vigo's Lament: A Dystopian Thriller (Age of End Book 3) for Free Online

continued digging. “I haven’t been normal in two hundred years.”
    Rupert sighed. “What I’m saying is, it’s okay to feel bad. To be depressed. Sad. Lonely. We all go through it, but we don’t stuff it down and hide it. We embrace it. And once it passes, because it always does, the good times are that much better. If you let it fester, only more grief can come of it.”
    Vince stopped digging again to glare at Rupert. “Trust me. I’m fine.”
    Rupert shook his head. “Okay then.”
    The cabin door squeaked open, and Alan stepped out. Ella, Charlotte, and Izzy followed. Fred wobbled along Alan’s feet as he stepped through the snow. They wandered over with curious looks. Alan peered at the holes and then at the people lying next to them.
    They were all familiar faces. A neighbor. A friend. A loved one. Martha. Horace. Mary. Tamara. Carl. Melinda. Melinda’s face was as beautiful as it had always been. Her hands were placed across her chest, covering her wounds. He knelt down and kissed her forehead one last time.
    Ella stood next to Vince, staring straight ahead. “What you did was wrong. I want you to know that. When I hit you, I meant it. I wanted to break your nose. I wanted to hurt you because you hurt us. I still want to hurt you.” She looked to the hole by her mother’s side. “But thank you.” She left his side and walked over to join Alan.
    A somber grin crept onto Vince’s face. He picked up his shovel and continued to dig.

SEVEN
    THEY STOOD AROUND Snow Peak’s new cemetery, looming over the tombs that were now occupied. Izzy counted the holes and pointed to the one on the end. “There’s an extra hole. That one’s empty.”
    Vince shrugged. “I miscounted.”
    Alan stepped forward. “I suppose we should say something, right? I’ll start.” He cleared his throat. “Today is a sad day.” He paused. “No. Sad is the wrong word. It doesn’t capture even a fraction of what I’m feeling right now. Today is a horrendous day. A dreadful day. A tragic day. Yes, I think we can all agree that what happened here was a tragedy. Our friends and family were executed. Shot down. Murdered. However you want to put it. There are many ways to describe what happened, but it doesn’t change the outcome. So none of that matters. What does matter is what we do next. How we remember them. I will remember Melinda as a loving wife. She was a caring person with a beautiful soul. She was nice to everyone, and she showed endless love for me. Now she is gone, and I will miss her greatly, but I will never stop loving her back.” He bent down and drove a wooden plank into the ground. Melinda Trotter was carved into it. He bowed his head and stepped back in line with the others.
    Next was Ella. “My mother was the best anyone could ask for. She did a wonderful job raising me. She had morals and principles, and she passed them on to me. Her heart of gold would never melt. And whenever things got hard, she was tough as nails. I owe her the world, and I know I can never repay her.” Tears trickled from her eyes. “Maybe things could have gone differently.” She glanced at Vince and then looked away. “Maybe this whole thing could have been avoided, but now she’s gone. I will carry her legacy. I know that would make her happy.” She bent down, just like Alan, and planted a plank into the ground. This one read Tamara Weaver .
    Rupert spoke next. “I want to start by saying that all of these losses are tragic. Every single person here deserves kind words. Every one of them deserves this ceremony. None of them deserved what happened. They did nothing wrong. And we may be tempted to blame certain people.” He glanced at Ella, who shot a disgusted look at Vince. “It’s natural to do so in times like this, but that’s not what we need right now. Now is a time to stick together. To support each other. These last few days have been a crazy mess. We’ve all lost people. We’ve all experienced pain and sorrow.