The Giver - Epilogue

Epilogue

The Giver Epilogue

As the sled gradually came to a stop Jonas could hear a faint noise. It sounded almost like a plane. He turned his head, but all he could see was snow. The noise grew louder as Jonas pulled his sled up the hill. Gabe pointed a small finger towards the empty field of snow behind them. "Plane, plane!" the young boy said. Jonas's heart dropped. There was no way, it was not possible. How could the Searchers have found him out here? Jonas slowly turned around to see, nothing. There was no plane in sight.

"Gabe silly, there is nothing there," Jonas cooed. Gabe kept waving his finger at the space. Jonas was confused, he saw nothing. He looked up at the sky, but all he saw was the soft snow falling towards him and Gabe. The noise he had heard before got louder. Jonas tried to block it out of his head, he kept thinking about the sled, the soft snow, the rush that going down the hill gave him. Gabe continued to point at the barren land. He squirmed out of Jonas's arms.

"Gabe!" Jonas yelled as the little boy fell to the floor. He hit the snow with a loud smack. Jonas reached out to grab Gabe, but he was gone. Jonas could hear the boy's cries, but could not see him anymore. Snow fell around Jonas as he stared at the ground, where Gabe once was. He reached out and touched his hand to the snow. For just a moment the snow felt hard and rough, like concrete. Jonas could hear the faintest sound of Gabe's cries. Emotions swirled in his head, for he had just lost Gabe. Tears trickled down his face, and he felt his nose grow cold. The snowy landscape Jonas once saw turned into an icy plain. The sky turned a dark purple. The sled disappeared leaving Jonas with nothing but the cold. Fear crept up his back and he felt the chilly wind prick at his face. Jonas was scared. His hands shook and his face went numb. It felt like there was no escape from this horrible memory. He thought back to his first time with The Giver. The sunburn he had gotten was nothing compared to the freezing coldness he now felt. Panic surged through him. Jonas was all alone in this cold wasteland. He felt the air go warm.

And then he was back on the sled at the top of the hill. The sky changed back to its original light blue color and Jonas felt calm again. He forgot about Gabe, his parents, The Giver, and everything in his past. It was only him, and the sled. He pushed off of the ground and went gliding down the steep hill. The frigid air brushed against his face, whipping his hair around. Jonas closed his eyes, taking in a breath of the frosty air one last time.

Jonas's peace was interrupted by a bright light shining through the trees around him. He rubbed his eyes, trying to make an image out of what he was seeing. Warm hands pulled Jonas's arms away from his eyes. "Hold still," said a raspy voice. Jonas looked around, trying to perceive where the voice was coming from. The white snow fell on him, but he could not feel it. Jonas no longer felt anything of his memory. The snow below him began to transform into concrete.

"Where is Gabe?" Jonas asked, still trying to understand what was going on. The world slowly morphed with his snow memory. Jonas could see bits and pieces of where he was, but not enough to fully understand the picture.

"The new child is gone," the voice stopped itself, "Safe, I mean."

"Can you see me?" Jonas asked.

"I can," said the voice, who Jonas now could understand clearly. "We've been looking for you. You got out very far," it said. Once again Jonas felt a panic rise in his chest. The world spun around and Jonas then saw where he was. On a road. The same road he biked on days ago.

"H-how did you find me!" Jonas cried, trying to get out of the hand's tight grasp. He kicked and thrashed around on the floor. The voice Jonas had heard cleared a bit and he could tell it was a man.

"Hold still!" a woman yelled. Arms appeared from all sides and grabbed Jonas. His mouth was clamped shut by another hand. More fear crept over Jonas like a spider, coming to attack. He felt like it could not get any worse, then he thought. Gabe. Jonas had been so focused on his well-being, he had forgotten about Gabe. A surge of energy pulsed through Jonas's vein. He ripped away from the hand's grasp and leaped up into the air. His eyes scanned the area around him. A plane stood behind Jonas, where Gabe was pointing. How could he have not seen it? The plane was huge. Probably taller than three dwellings on top of each other. It was all black, except for big red letters that spelled out "Community 35." The people that had held Jonas down jumped into action, trying to catch the boy. "Get back here!" a Searcher shouted.

"Wait wait wait!" another woman yelled. All the other Searchers skidded to a stop.

"What?" someone questioned.

"Use the ---," said the woman. Jonas could not hear what they said. A man ran back over to the plane and pulled something out of a bag. Jonas's eyes filled with tears. A gun. The man had pulled out a gun. Jonas remembered the memory of war. Millions dead, some clinging to life with just an arm. Guns were the weapon of choice. Jonas tried to run away, but the gun was faster than him. He got only a few feet away when he felt a prick on his arm and the world blurred once again. His body crumpled onto the hard floor. The Searchers instantly ran over to Jonas. What felt like thousands of hands pinned him to the ground. His whole body began to shake violently. He heard distant voices talking, but he could not hear what they were saying. Slowly the shaking stopped and Jonas slipped into unconsciousness.

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The first sense to return was smell. Jonas's nose filled with a strange scent. He couldn't quite place it, but it smelled clean. A blinding light hung above, limiting his vision. There was a ringing in his ears, but it slowly faded. "I am so glad to have you back Gabey Wabey!" said a voice. Joans's eye widened, for the voice was Fathers. Jonas choked on his words, "F-Father?"

"Hello Jonas, glad to see you. I was worried you would never make it home," Father replied in a monotone voice, "I tried to get someone else for your release, but on such short notice it was easier for me to release you and Gabriel at the same time."

"W-what?" Jonas stammered. He was so confused about what was happening, "Release?!"

"Would you like to go first?" Father asked. He turned to Gabe and said in a sweet voice, "Or should little baby Gabey go first!"

"Wait, wait!" Jonas cried, "Don't hurt Gabe!"

"I'll take that as you wanting to go first," Father said while cleaning off a needle. He walked towards Jonas. There was a small table beside Jonas's cot. "This won't hurt a bit," Father claimed, and for a second Jonas could almost see a smile across his face. Jonas pulled at the ropes tying him down.

"Please Father!" Jonas wept. Tears began to fall down his face. Father gave him an icy stare and continued to prepare the needle. Jonas kept on tugging at the ropes, trying to break free. All at once, the emotions came back. This would have never happened if Jonas had not left. If he could have just lived normally, Gabe would have been okay.

"Goodbye Jonas," Father said. Jonas tightly shut his eyes as Father lined up the needle. He felt a sharp pain in his forehead, then everything went black.

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Dead. He's really dead. Father staggered away from the cot where Jonas's body lay. Feelings and memories rushed over him like a tidal wave. The new child, Gabe, started to cry. Color filled the room as Father looked around. His head was pounding with different emotions. Father collapsed to the floor in a huff. Outside he could hear screams of horror as the people got their memories back. A voice came over the loudspeaker, "EVERYONE PLEASE REMAIN CALM. WE HAVE THIS LITTLE SITUATION UNDER CONTROL." Under control? This is what they call under control? Father's body hurt as he limped outside. People's screams echoed in the streets. Children rolled on the floor screaming for help. Men and women Frantically darted around the community, trying to get their bearings. Mother ran up to Father while cradling her side. He could see there was a huge gash running from Mother's neck to her hip.

"JOHN PLEASE HELP ME!" she cried. A person came running up behind Mother and hit her in the back of the head. Father pulled Mother off of the floor and dragged her body to a nearby bush. He continued to monitor the streets. A man banged his head against a wall, until blood spurted from his forehead. Another man was ripping hair off of his head, not caring if it hurt. Father felt the same intense desire to feel pain again, amongst other emotions. His hands made their way up to his eyes. One hand reached down to grab a stick that was on the floor. In one swift motion, Father had picked up the stick and stabbed it into his left eye. He groaned from the pain but also enjoyed the feeling of, being able to feel. Happiness pulsed through his body like warm lemonade. He slowly pulled the stick out, relishing in that sweet feeling of misery and pain. Father's happiness high slowly faded and he started to cry. A mix of blood and tears rolled down his cheeks and onto the ground below. Sadness filled him and he now wished that he couldn't feel anything. A knife flew past his ear and banged onto the wall behind him. Slowly Father walked over and picked up the knife. Father adjusted his grip on the knife and slit his throat. His body collapsed onto the floor near Mother. "Goodbye," he said in the sweet voice he used on Gabe.

THE END