Post-Pandemic: A New World

Chapter Twenty Three: Memorial

Everyone had lost someone in the Fall: friends; family; loved ones. Everyone had someone whom they had lost to the either the Virus, or to the chaos that ensued thanks to the Virus. Now, it was September 1st. The one year anniversary of when the Governments of the world all went into hiding and the world fell into full blown anarchy, suffering and chaos. It had been an eventful, nightmarish and horrific year for everyone. Most people now just wanted to survive and try to build something for themselves in this broken world. But others had taken advantage of the chaos and brought nothing but suffering. In truth, everyone had lost someone in the Fall and now was the time to say a final farewell to them. Gathered at the Highland Bridge of Denver, in the darkness of night, were over fifty thousand people and assembled at the bridge was General Thorn and His family. There were plenty of people on the bridge as well, including the Phoenixes. Who had been lucky enough to get close enough to the centre of the bridge. Everyone had a lantern in hand, a little something that they could use as a send off to their deceased loved one. General Thorn's wife, Mei, had come up with the idea of lighting sky lanterns in honour of those lost in the Fall. Since it was Her idea, She had been chosen to start.

Mei's sky lantern was decorated with traditional Chinese art, appropriate, considering that the one She had lost was a deeply religious woman. With Her sky lantern in hand, Mei said "When I was but a few months old, My parents died in a horrific car accident and I grew up in an orphanage in Beijing. I never experienced the love of a mother...until I was twelve years old. When my Aunty Shu, who had moved to America years before I was born, finally found Me after years of searching and took Me in. She was the most loving parent I could ask for and She lived a long and well life". Mei smiled at the memory of Her Aunty, but then she said "Then the Fall came and everything changed. She was one of the first people in Colorado to get infected and while She had always been there for Me in many important moments of My life, such as My first day at my new school, My entry into womanhood and My first date....I could not be there for when She died". A tear rolled down Her eye as she let her sky lantern out of Her hands and it began to fly up into the night sky. As it did so, Mei said "Goodbye Aunty Shu, may We meet again".

The crowd remained silent as the lantern flew up into the sky and General Thorn stepped forward with his lantern. It had been painted blue and had a photo of Him and Mei at his sister's wedding. His sister was wearing a lovely dress and was the happiest She had ever been. Thorn was a lot younger and didn't have His beard. Thinking back to the memory of His sister, Thorn said "When I was a kid, Me and My sister, Chloe, didn't have the best of parents. Our parents argued all of the time, over the tiniest of problems and She was my ray of sunshine in Our broken family. We did everything together, We loved watching movies with each other, We loved going to school with each other and We loved one another as siblings usually would. When She finally got married, My own wife was the bridesmaid and I was Her husband's Best man. She looked more beautiful than anything in the Universe and I couldn't be happier for Her". Thorn smiled at the memory of Chloe's wedding and at the memory of when Chloe made Him an uncle. Thorn then said with a sad look on His face "Then the Fall happened and She got infected. The Virus slowly but surely killed Her and it was all thanks to the terrible conditions Royce had put Her and so many others in. I couldn't be there for Her when she died and now my grand niece, who has eyes as bright as Her mother's, is going to grow up without Her. Goodbye Chloe, the next time I see you, I'll bring your favourite fizzy drink". Thorn then let His lantern into the sky and many soldiers placed their berets on their chests in respect.

Thorn then said to His people "Would anyone else like to speak?" Anna then stepped forward with Her own lantern in hand. It was a bright green and had a photo of Her with Her father Ivan. It was at a local science fair and Anna had won first place with Her hand made model of the human anatomy. With the lantern in Her hands, Anna said while refraining Her tears "When the Fall happened, My Mama was one of the first victims to go and Papa put all of work into finding a cure for the Virus". The people could tell that Anna was Russian due to Her accent and some had looks of disgust on their faces. Anna then explained "Papa ended up being assigned to the U.S to help with the development of a cure and I came with Him as moral support..... He got infected and the Virus began killing Him from the inside". Anna wanted to recount how Ivan had created the Antidote that saved them all, but She knew that now was not the time....not yet at least. Anna then grieffully said "Papa had been a virologist His entire life, He worked to create cures and treatments for lethal diseases and dreamed of a world without disease. A world where every child could grow up without fear of catching a cold, or cancer.....or a super Virus that kills thousands in weeks". Those who had shown disgust towards Anna, quickly realised that Ivan was a great person, who sought to help create a new era where there was no illness. Anna then said with a tear rolling down Her right eye "When Papa got better, like so many others, I thought that He would now live a long life and would live long enough to see Me raise my own family....but that wasn't the case. The Virus progressed too quickly and He never got better...... He died a mere few weeks ago. I only hope that Mama is up there with Him, wherever they are". Anna then let the sky lantern out of Her hands and it flew up into the sky. Tears rolled down Her face and so did many of those who had lost loved ones during the Fall.

Bridge then got to the centre of the, well, bridge and said "I didn't speak at My brother's funeral, but I'm going to speak now. When I was a kid, I always looked up to My older brother, Tommy. He was strong, kind caring and the guy everyone wanted to be around. One day, long before the Fall, We were out at the zoo and I fell into the gorilla pen. Tommy jumped in after Me.... and He perished trying to protect Me. He was seventeen and I had known Him my whole life....literally and He was gone. Just like that". Many people felt sad at the fact that Tommy had died at such a young age and many more found it unfair. Bridge then explained "He was like an elder brother to everyone in my home town and after He died, everyone blamed Me for it. Even though it was a stupid accident.....But everyone still blamed Me, even My own parents. So I moved to America for a fresh start and I carry on Tommy's memory to this day. Knowing that even though I had only twelve years with Him....He changed my life. But now it's time to say farewell to Him". Bridge then let his lantern up into the sky and said "Good bye Tommy, I love you brother".

As Bridge's lantern went up into the night sky, everyone could see the photo Bridge had taped onto it: It was Him and Tommy at Bridge's tenth birthday party, fifteen years earlier. Tommy had bought Him a Lego Batman Batcave and had spent an entire afternoon helping Him build it. Bridge had loved that Lego set, but He loved building it with Tommy even more. As Bridge's lantern went into the sky, many other people let their lanterns into the sky as well. It was truly a sight to behold and for a few minutes, it felt like the Fall had never happened. It felt like there were no raiders, criminals, or anything of the sort. It felt like all was right with the world. But the Phoenixes knew that they had to get the Antivirus released. They hadn't yet told their new members, but they would and they knew that time was running out. For like the lanterns, showing a light of hope in the darkness, the Phoenixes had to bring that same hope to the world, as hope was more powerful than any fire and could never be extinguished.