The next morning, the old RV belonging to Arlo had disappeared before sunrise. The people living under The Alderman's control all woke up to a letter slipped inside of their tent.
The letter contained a simple message that asked if they were happy living how they were. The letter suggested if they weren't happy, there were other ways to live, other than with The Alderman.
Ultimately, Arlo, Madd, Relle, and the kids had no idea if the people in the desert took back their lives from The Alderman. They hoped that the people could see what Madd had seen, but perhaps they were happy living under his rule.
"Where are we going?" Madd asked sleepily as he poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table across from Relle.
"We've never seen the ocean," Relle said.
"And we're about to change that in just a few hours," Arlo said over the sound of the engine.
"Ocean!" Sage cried from the passenger seat.
That evening the old RV sat on the sandy shores of a once-busy beach. A raging bonfire danced on the shore. Together, Relle, Sage, Cedar, Arlo, and Madd stood beside it, gazing at the twirling flames.
Madd pulled his pack of cigarettes from his pocket.
"My mom used to tell me that fire is the ultimate cleanser," he said suddenly. "She used to say that anything you wanted to remove from your life, you should write it on a piece of paper and burn it. You know, greed, jealousy...all that." He paused; the flames reflected in his dark eyes. "I don't really know if I believe that, but I think I'd like to get rid of something."
Relle reached into her pocket and felt the letter. "I think I would too," she said.
Madd met her eyes from across the fire and nodded. Madd tossed the pack of cigarettes into the flames. "I want to let go of the...past."
"I want to...let go of the person my parents wanted me to be," Relle said as she dropped her parent's letter into the flames.
"Screw The Alderman and his lies," Arlo said, throwing the notecard with The Alderman's coordinates on it into the fire rather unceremoniously.
Cedar stepped close to the fire, "no more instant meals!" He tossed a piece of driftwood into the fire as if it signified canned beans.
"I don't think that's what Madd meant," Sage said to her brother. "I think it's like...I'm going to make more paintings!" She tossed a handful of sand into the fire. Relle gave a small laugh.
The sun sank behind the deep blue tides and the millions of stars reemerged in the skies above. After the end of the world, life still continued.