Page 25 of My Apocalypse Trader
The ring is simple: copper wire wrapped around a piece of jade. Made by a craftsman in Old Pines from traded materials. Practical enough to wear while working, small enough not to catch on things. Durable.
Perfect.
"Hazel Cooper," he says, "will you marry me? Keep me from taking stupid risks and occasionally save my life when things go sideways?"
I laugh, and it comes out half-sob. "Only if you keep me from spiraling and remind me that living isn't betraying the dead."
"Deal." He slides the ring on, and it fits perfectly. "I already talked to Tom. He says he can do a ceremony any time we're in Old Pines."
"You were that confident?"
"I was that hopeful." He pulls me close. "There's a difference."
The crew erupts before I can respond. Jess whistles loud enough to make my ears ring. Ken grins and slaps Travis on the back. Patricia wipes her eyes. Eric pretends he's not emotional and fails completely.
"Fucking finally," Jess says, pulling me into a hug. "I've been watching you two dance around this for months."
"It's only been three months."
"Like I said.Months." She grins. "I'm claiming maid of honor, by the way. Non-negotiable."
The radio crackles—Tom at Old Pines must have his scanner on, because his voice comes through congratulating us before I even reach for the handset. Then Sierra from Mountain Station. Then Rebecca from Hope Tower. Word travels fast when you're connected to half the territory.
"About time," Sierra says. "Congratulations, you two."
Travis takes the handset. "Thanks. We'll be in Old Pines in four days if you want to make the trip."
"Wouldn't miss it."
I look around at the crew packing up camp, preparing for the day's run. The ATVs loaded with medical supplies, tools, seeds, ammunition—everything the northern settlements need to make it through winter. The routes we're building that connect isolated communities. The network that keeps people alive not through force, but through cooperation.
This is what my crew died protecting. This exact thing: the idea that we're stronger together than apart.
Reggy would've liked Travis. Would've made terrible jokes at the ceremony and given long-winded advice about marriage that nobody asked for.
Susan would've insisted on braiding my hair, probably would've managed to find flowers somehow even in late fall.
Tommy would've asked a thousand questions about convoy operations and wedding logistics and whether we'd have cake.
They're not here. That still hurts. Probably always will.
But I am. And I'm done apologizing for it.
Travis squeezes my hand. "Ready?"
"Ready."
The engines start up one by one. Eric's already a quarter-mile ahead, scouting the route. Jess rides with Ken today, giving Patricia a break from his complaining. The medical supplies are secure, the weapons loaded, the maps marked with the safest path north.
The road ahead is dangerous—always will be. There will be more threats, more losses, more nights wondering if we'll make it through. Winter will be brutal. Raiders are never really gone, just scattered. And the dead keep walking, no matter how many we put down.
But we're not alone. We're not just surviving anymore.
We're building something that matters. Something worth protecting.
And some days, that's enough.
Some days, it's everything.
