Spirits of the Earth: The Complete Series: (A Post-Apocalyptic Series Box Set: Books 1-3) by Milo Fowler (paper ebook reader .TXT) 📕

my eyes shut and take a deep breath. I killed them both, along with everybody else in the bunker. Will the rest of them be visiting me too? Is this my punishment, my hell? God knows, I deserve it.

God?

I glance over at Jackson. It was all his fault, and I killed him for it. Do I have it in me to do it again? I don't know if I can, or even if I'd be able to. How do you kill a ghost, anyway? Make it say its true name backwards? Something like that, I bet.

"I'm not finished with him. We're not finished." Jackson shakes his head slowly. "You two can go and play house all you like, but you'll get the idea eventually. There's only one thing for him to do, and you've given him the ability to do it. You can't take it back now."

"C'mon." She tugs at my sleeve as she slides off the boulder, ignoring Jackson. "We'll leave him here and go have our own fun."

She's just like I remember her, so full of life. She loved me for me, not anything I could do for her, and I never understood it. How does anyone love like that? But I loved her back because of it, or regardless of it. All we ever had was each other, all the way to the end.

Her end. At my hands.

Yet here she is again, coaxing me off the boulder, giggling at my reluctance. I wish I could see her smile, her sparkling eyes, those thick locks of golden hair, smooth as silk. Her skin, firm but soft, and delicious. I swell as scenes of our love-making play through my mind.

Apparition or not, I'll go with her wherever she leads me, even if it's to my death. That would only be fair, right?

"Don't wander off too far," Jackson mutters, rooted.

"This way, Milton." She leads me by the hand, our gloved fingers intertwined. We climb up the grade toward the plateau above, the gravel shifting beneath our boots. "You're going to love this!"

I love her. More than anything. I always have. I don't care if she's dead or if I am or if none of this is really real. It doesn't matter right now. We're together again.

I glance back at Jackson, his broad figure a dark, motionless silhouette against the rising sun. Why is he here? I don't want him to be. I thought I was finally rid of him.

"Here we are." She sighs, releasing me as we reach the top. Hands on her shapely hips, she turns and tilts her head, her face shield glinting. "Want me to go first?" Another giggle, one that makes her shoulders bounce a little.

"Where?" I step toward her.

She points, and I follow her finger aimed across this barren plateau to its abrupt end, maybe fifty meters ahead of us.

"Off the edge?" I sound like a stupid kid.

She spreads her arms out from her sides and backs away from me. "Watch and learn."

She runs away, her laughter filling the moment. I watch her backside as she takes off, faster, gaining momentum. A grin stretches my face. I'll let her have a head start, but I'll overtake her easily. With each stride she takes, I feel a tug, a yearning for her. I can't let her go.

I dash after her, coming abreast of her in an instant.

"What took you so long?" she says.

"Had to make it seem fair."

"What?" She tilts her head.

"Aren't we racing?"

"Are we?" She reaches out to touch my shoulder. "Look down."

I don't know how or when it happened, but the ground has disappeared. It's still there, but it's not where I left it. Now it's hundreds of meters below us. We're soaring...through the air.

Flying?

"Ho!" My stomach seizes up, and my limbs flail wildly.

"Relax, you're doing great." She pats my shoulder. Her movements are effortless, like an angel, a dove. "You'll get the hang of it again."

Again? I beat the air with my arms and pump my legs, fighting to stay afloat. Being up here is a fluke. I'm going to fall at any moment, plummet back to the earth and break every bone in my body. My heart pounds crazily as adrenaline floods my system. How is this happening?

"Try to float, like you would in a pool. You don't have to fight to stay in the air. Just let it happen naturally."

Easy for her to say. It's obvious she's done this before. "H-how…?" I manage.

She giggles. "Close your eyes. Imagine yourself drifting on a cloud. You wouldn't punch your way through a cloud, would you?"

Point taken—not that I've handled many clouds in my day. Gritting my teeth, I force myself to stop thrashing my limbs.

"Take a deep breath now. Just relax, Milton. It's not about effort." She turns over onto her back and stretches out her arms and legs. "Enjoy it."

I try letting my limbs go limp. Oddly enough, I don't drop instantly. I don't sense any change in altitude at all. She's still beside me.

We're not floating on air here. The wind rushes against us, flapping the baggier portions of our jumpsuits. We're moving, flying fast. But where to?

I swallow, then lick my dry lips. "How is this possible?"

"Doubts from the fastest man on earth?"

"That's a...gift." It's what they told me. From who? No idea, but they had gifts, too—special abilities. Luther, Daiyna, Plato. So long ago and far away from here.

I used to want to fly, back when I was a kid. I had recurring dreams where I could swoop over the heads of crowds, and they'd look up and gasp, amazed at my superhuman ability. Some kind of psychological complex, probably. But I never made it this high, and never this fast.

"I...always wanted to do this." My voice is barely audible.

She nods. "I know."

"How?" I never told her. I'm sure of it.

"I know you, Milton. I was with Daiyna for a time, but now I'm with you, and I know all about you. Everything, both good and bad. I know