Walking an Endless Path Pt. 03

The General's smile faded as he looked at the man before him. "Joseph, I can't begin to express how sick I feel about telling you to run. After everything you've done for us. It seems... it seems we're very much the barbarians the Assembly fears we are."

Joe looked closely at the man and saw his sincerity in the pain reflected in his eyes. He took the man's hand in his and shook it. "Not everyone," he said, his throat closing up.

The General clenched his jaw, fighting back tears, and nodded to Joe. "It's time. You'd better get moving," he said with a rough voice.

"If you need to reach me, General, speak to the Tik... or to one of my children," Joe said quietly, and MacAvoy's eyebrows went up, and he nodded.

Joe walked over to Sergeant Armstrong. "You keep an eagle eye on my parents, now."

"Sweetest duty I've ever had." Craig grinned and shook Joe's hand.

The SEAL team came forward, and he shook their hands and received a few slaps on the arm and shoulder.

In the distance, a car horn could be heard honking. The sound got louder, and it seemed to be getting closer rapidly.

Joe looked over at the General, who was listening to his earpiece. He looked back and Joe and smiled.

"Make it quick," he said to Joe, which earned him raised eyebrows.

Joe looked towards the road as a black sedan swung around the bend and screeched to a stop. The back door flung open, and Amy jumped out. Her hair was wild, and it looked like she'd been crying. She shrieked in relief when she saw Joe and rushed forward to leap into his arms. He caught her and held her close. The others backed away to give them some privacy.

"I-I-I thought—I thought I'd—I'd missed you!" the young woman stammered as she cried against his chest.

"Weren't you in New Zealand filming your new movie?!?" Joe gasped, his heart overflowing with joy. "We tried, but we couldn't reach you!"

"Yes, th-the location is really remote, but I had a visitor," Amy said, calming at last as she rested her cheek against his chest, listening to his powerful heartbeat.

Joe saw his daughter Zera joining her siblings. She'd been studying art in Vancouver. She would have had to have gone for Amy the moment Joe told his kids he was leaving a few days ago.

Zera looked over at him with happiness in her eyes, and he mouthed thank you to her. She nodded and beamed a smile at him.

Joe caught the General's raised eyebrow and nodded.

Amy looked up at him when she felt the tension in his body.

Joe smiled down at his sister. "I have to go. There is... some urgency I can't go into right now. I'm so grateful you came to see us off."

Amy was more attuned to her brother's body language than anyone. "You're not coming back," she gasped, her face blanching in shock.

Joe sighed. He never could keep anything from Amy. He had a large lump in his throat. He shook his head, and his parents gasped as well. Joe's eyes went to Wendy, but she only looked concerned for him. "I have to go. Maybe the General can explain it to you. I won't be easy to find, but if you need to get in touch, speak with the Tik. Once the Gates are open, maybe you could come visit me? The Tik will guide you." He carried Amy to his parents and gently set her on her feet. She didn't want to let go, so Karl and Clara hugged her close as she continued to stare at him in dismay.

He took Wendy's hand in his. "I wasn't expecting this, but maybe I should have. You don't have to come with me—"

"I'm going!" Wendy said fiercely, and he hugged her. He picked up his duffle and Wendy's and quickly stepped towards the Gate with a final wave. Two Tik were waiting for them.

"Good day, Joseph, Wendy. Are you ready?" Mac asked.

Joe nodded, not trusting his voice.

Tosh went through the Gate, and Mac gestured for them to go first. Wendy eagerly stepped through the looking glass.

Joe looked back at his parents and Amy. He would miss them the most. He realized it was more than that. They were part of him. A piece he wasn't willing to give up. He might not have been born to them, but in every other sense, they were his family. He felt that pull strongly in every fiber of his being. It was an unbreakable link.

While he was excited about finally seeing the worlds of the Assembly, he vowed to himself that he would return. Nothing and no one would get between him and the people he loved. It wouldn't be the first time he disobeyed the General.

He smiled as he held their eyes, and they read the conviction in his. Karl gave him a slight nod with a hint of a smile as Clara smiled back at him with love in her eyes. Amy's look of despair was replaced by hope, and she nodded shakily as well.

He turned to face the man he'd become, reflected in the perfectly smooth surface of the Gate. If they loved him, he could learn to live with himself.

He moved forward, walking through a mirror into the unknown beyond, stepping from this world to the next.

Joe's first steps on an endless path.