299 Days: The Restoration

Epilogue

Most people slowly recovered from the Collapse into a somewhat normal life.

In the Cedars, things mostly bounced back. Ron Spencer was a hero for his Patriot gray man work. He had lots of accounting clients because businesses were forming and Ron was a respected man. He had enjoyed the excitement of all the gray man work he did, but he was glad to return to the ho-hum life of being an accountant.

Judy Killmer sold her home in the Cedars and moved away. No one knew where she went. She was ashamed for being a collaborator, but was still proud of the fact that she told Ron about Carlos and the others coming to get them. Overall, though, she was humiliated by the whole situation. Many people moved to different parts of the state or different states altogether. With all the official records of everything in shambles, people would just pick a new name and start a new life.

Joe Tantori became a businessman with his banking and security firms. He was a war hero; Tantori’s Raiders were a legend. He took care of all of his men. Most left to go back home or start new lives. Joe made sure they were paid fairly and had good jobs. He gave each one of them a cigar to remember Tantori’s Raiders by.

John Bennington was the Sheriff and a newlywed. He married Julie Mathers and was nursing her back to a more stable mental health. She’d been through a lot. Julie was helped through all of this by Abby, John’s daughter from his first marriage. John’s ex-wife ran off with someone to Chicago and John was there to take in Abby. Abby and Julie were perfect for each other.

The WAB families were fine. Ben, of course, was the Interim Governor, and then was elected to several more terms. Laura was the perfect First Lady of New Washington.

Tom Foster and Brian Jenkins worked for the Governor’s Office. Their families were fine. In fact, they were much closer after their time at Prosser Farm.

The Prossers just wanted to return to their normal lives, but hiding the future governor during the war was too much attention for them to remain anonymous. The Prosser Farm became a historical monument. Visitors constantly came by. Finally, a wealthy Patriot bought out the Prossers and turned the farm into a monument. The Prossers relocated to a new farm. They liked it; the new place had more equipment and was fancier. They still grew their own food and sold it. Business was good.

Dennis, the Prosser’s cousin, had some tough times. He had met Angie, a “food ho,” which was the Collapse term for a “food whore,” or a woman who would live with a man in order to be fed. Angie was gorgeous and a genuinely nice woman. She seemed to be in love with average-looking Dennis, but when the war was over and the economy was better, she left him. It was heartbreaking. Then again, lots of Collapse relationships were ending as things switched from collapse times to normal times.

The EPU agents out at Prosser Farm were heroes for all they did. They gained high positions in the new State Police and provided security details for the new Governor and his family and staff.

Things at Pierce Point turned out well. Rich Gentry was a hero and became the de facto mayor of the community. No surprises there. He and his wife, Amy, finally had the kids they wanted.

Dan Morgan finally got to retire for good. He, too, was a big hero at Pierce Point. Dan trained his dogs and fished. He was very happy.

John and Mary Anne Morrell finally got to retire, too. They had grandkids and Mary Anne still gardened and canned. She was showing young women and a few men how to grow and store their own food. People had learned their lesson about just-in-time inventory. They weren’t going to let that happen again.

Special Forces Ted also got to retire. He avoided the limelight. He was a famous war hero, but was done with war forever. He got a homestead about thirty miles from Olympia and tried to forget all the things he’d seen. The highlight of his year was the annual reunion of the 17th Irregulars. Members of the unit started having kids and they often asked Ted to be their kids’ godfather.

Sap didn’t retire. He stayed in the State Guard for almost two years after the Olympia operation. He then went home to rural New Wisconsin, which was now getting back on its feet like New Washington had. He owned several businesses and did very well.

Chip had found his family at Pierce Point. He married his girlfriend, Liz, and they settled down there. Chip received one of the few Patriot pensions from the Legislature. These were monthly payments for donating property during the war. Chip’s basement full of ARs was much appreciated. People in Pierce Point always brought over food, too. Chip couldn’t sit still, though. He opened up a gun store in Frederickson where he would tell and retell all the stories from Pierce Point. He didn’t sell too many guns but he had a hell of a good life.

Gideon went back to Philadelphia to try and find his family. Things were a mess back in the FUSA and his family was gone, so he returned to Pierce Point and settled down. He started a trucking company there with Doug Smithson. As a hero of Pierce Point—the story about the semi-trailer was told and retold until it was completely exaggerated—Gideon had no trouble getting business. Doug, too, was a hero for driving the semi full of the 17th Irregulars into Olympia.

The Team did just fine. They all married their Team Chick girlfriends and started families. Pow became the SWAT team captain for the Olympia Police Department. Scotty was Pow’s first sergeant on the SWAT team. Bobby went into business with his cousin in a construction company. Bobby’s war hero status helped with business. Ryan joined the State Guard and trained new soldiers. He, too, was a hero and received a lot of well-deserved respect. Someone from the Team spent every New Year’s with Kellie and the child who Wes never got to meet, telling her stories about Wes’ bravery.

Tammy Colson was not doing well. Mark was still insane. He kept thinking Paul would be coming back. Tammy was encouraged to divorce Mark and get on with her life. She couldn’t think about that. She would go visit him as often as she could at the mental home run by the local church. She would come back and cry.

Missy Colson was doing better. She was starting to talk again. Cole was helping her by being the quiet autistic kid who could relate to her need for silence.

The more Cole helped Missy, the better he was getting at talking. He was growing up, too. He was a teenage boy now. His voice was changing.

Lisa realized that Cole and Missy were inseparable. But Lisa and Cole and Manda (until she got married) had moved back to Olympia. Lisa thought that Cole needed her fulltime care.

But he actually didn’t. He was so independent and talking so well that he didn’t need fulltime care. He didn’t need his mommy anymore, which was hard for Lisa. Grant, on the other hand, was thrilled that Cole was pretty much independent now.

So Lisa and Tammy talked. They came up with a plan that was good for everyone. Cole would stay out at the cabin in Pierce Point with Manda fulltime. That way, Cole could be with Missy for as long as she needed it. Tammy would oversee them most of the time, but others would help too. Gideon was out there, as were the Morrells. There were plenty of good people who could keep an eye on Cole.

Grant would come out, too, as often as he could with his new job on the state Supreme Court. His ReconComm job had wound down and now, two years after the war, Grant, ironically, had a government job. A justice of the New Washington State Supreme Court.

In fact, coming back to the cabin and relaxing was his favorite thing in life. And so he would come out and check in on Cole.

Lisa still preferred Olympia to Pierce Point. That was okay. She had come out to the cabin at the right time and done quite a bit of good out there. She had earned the right to stay in Olympia if that’s what she wanted.

Grant hadn’t heard from the outside thought since right after the war. The last time when he heard from it was when Grant thought one time, “Wow, I did a lot for people.”

You?