Sanctum (The After Light Saga) (18 page)

“It’s true, Finn. When I’m out there, I’m strong because y
ou’re right there next to me. Because I know when we complete our tasks for the day, you will be there, to hold me, comfort me, and tell me we’ll make it another day.”

“I understand
,” he exhaled softly, “because losing
you
is my greatest fear.”

I kissed him softly,
then pulled his arms tighter around me. I pressed my ear to his chest, and listened to the soft beating of his heart.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“Longer than forever,” I answered.

The next morning we all had a chance to
sleep in. I was still wrapped in Finn’s arms, and didn’t want to move.

“Hey beautiful
,” he whispered, his eyes attempting to open.

I felt heat rush to my cheeks.
“Hey handsome,” I breathed, running my fingers through his thick, dark hair.

“
You know, after our talk last night…I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” he spoke softly.

“
That’s a little terrifying,” I teased.

He grinned
, then his lips straightened and his eyes narrowed. That was his serious face.

“
I was just thinking about our life in the last government bunker. I barely got to see you, and when I did, it was only for a moment. We trained separately, had free time separately, slept separately.” He popped his eyebrows at me briefly, and sighed. “Abi, they even sent me out on a mission without, letting me tell anyone. I couldn’t even say goodbye to you. It’s just, when we’re separated, bad things happen. And now, we’re headed into the largest government bunker, with thousands of more citizens. Do you think they’ll give a damn about us or our relationship? Will they care that we want to be together?”

“What are you saying, Finn?” I questioned.

“I’m not sure. But what I
do
know is that I don’t want to be away from you. I don’t want to lose you. I want to see you and touch you whenever the mood strikes” He turned to his side, facing me.

“I don’t want to lose you either,” I breathed.

“Well, what if we stayed here? What if we helped Rhett and his people rebuild this town? We could start a life of our own. You could have your garden, I could build us a home, but most importantly…we would be together.”

My emotions
went haywire and my pulse started to race.

“
What about our parents, my grandparents, and the rest of our hive family?” I asked.

“We c
ould help take the others back to the pick-up zone. Dr. Banks could let our parents know we are alive, and tell them we are building a place for them to come and live.”

“
Once we rid the Arvies from this place, it will be livable. Just think about it. Your parents, my mom, Dr. Banks, Uncle Frank and his family… eventually, we could all make a life here. A free life. Not a life stuck behind bunker walls, or slaves to others. What do you think?”

He was really considering this
, but my insides were twisting. I didn’t want to crush him.

“I don’t know,” I whispered. Thinking about
being away from my parents, especially in these harsh environments, made my stomach spin. Even though I hardly saw them in the last bunker, knowing they were under the same roof, helped.

“Just
think about it. I’ll go wherever you go, but I wanted to give you an option. Rhett already told me we are welcome.”

“You
talked to him?” I asked.

“
Yes,” he grinned. “But don’t let that pressure you. Just go with what your heart feels.”

“Right now, it’s torn. I
desperately want to start a new life here with you, but I don’t want to abandon everyone else. They still need us, Finn. Your mom…you are all she has.”

“I know,” he sighed.
“In the end, it will be one of the most difficult decisions we’ll ever have to make.”

I nodded.
The pressure was on. Now my mind would be spinning all day. This wasn’t a simple yes or no decision. This was a life altering one. Yes, Finn and I could make a life for ourselves here, but meanwhile, our families would be waiting for us at the next bunker. Things would be much different if they were here. If that were the case, I would choose to stay without even giving a second thought. But everyone we loved would be in that bunker, and we didn’t know what the rules were about leaving. Our absence would crush our families. Who knows if we’d ever get to see or talk to them again?

“Hey,” he said, brushing a stray strand of hair behind my ear. He rolled onto his back and patted his chest. “Come here.”

I rested my head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms tightly around me.

“Do you think we’ll make it to the pick
-up zone in time?” I whispered. This was bothering me most. They didn’t have fuel to go flying all over, looking for a few survivors. Fuel was a precious commodity these days.

“I don’t know,” he answered.

“What will happen if we get there, and they don’t come. Do you think we’ll survive?”

“I don’t know,” he repeated.

Finn never candy coated anything. If he didn’t know, he really didn’t know.

“Will you still love me when I’m old and wrinkly?”
I asked, throwing him a curve ball.

He turned his head toward me;
his eyes narrowed, and with a straight face answered, “I don’t know.”

M
y jaw dropped, and then he started rolling with laughter.

“Finn.”

“Abi, if we manage to live that long, I will love you, wrinkles and all—except, maybe the one right between your eyes.”

“What? Y
ou don’t like my fret line?”

“Nope. That baby needs a shot of
botox or something to plump it up.”

He always knew how to put a smile of my face.

“Are you ready for today?” he asked.

“As long as you
are out there, I’m far away from Arvy brainwaves, and I have a weapon with ammo, I’ll be ready.”

“That’s my kickass girl,” he said, wrapping his arm loosely around my neck, then lightly grinded his fingers over my head.

“A noogie? Seriously?” I squeaked.

“Hey, you
’re the one who said ‘just because we kiss, doesn’t mean everything has to change,’” he smirked.

“Fine. Just know, when you least expect it
—”

“
Uh-uh…I’m always ready,” he winked.

“Whatever,” I laughed
, gave him a kiss, and then headed for the bathroom.

After breakfast, everyone who was part of the mission met up in the sanctuary. There were twenty cans filled with gunpowder, and ten one-gallon containers filled with oil.

Ten
of us were selected for this mission. Finn, Pike, Tim, Rhett, Revek, and five more of their men. Each would be carrying two gunpowder bombs and one oil container. They were all given specific areas to place their bombs, and where to pour the oil for maximum effectiveness.

Each
of their cans would have to be easily seen from one of the windows at the top of Sanctum, where I would be shooting to set them off.

I
t all seemed so easy. But things here were never easy, especially with those monsters out there. We weren’t even sure how many of them were left.

Rhett didn’t
say a prayer, and it made me wonder if he blamed God for not keeping his brother safe. Out here, there were no guarantees.

Fi
nn walked over to me. He had his two bombs in a small bag slung over his side, the oil container in his left hand, and his shotgun in his right.

“Please
, be safe,” I said. My stomach twisted knowing he’d be heading back out into danger.

“I will. You’ve got my back,” he said.

“Always.”

He gav
e me a quick kiss and then joined the rest of the group. I quickly made my way up to the tower, where Billy was sent to assist me.

I took my seat
and checked the rifle. It was fully loaded, and the second clip was already filled, laying on a small crate next to me. Billy had a pair of binoculars and would be watching the others through the adjacent windows.

“
You’ve got this, Abi,” Billy said.

“Thank you,” I returned
. “I’m really sorry about Reed.”

He nodded. “H
e’s in a much better place than we are right now.”

I smiled. “I’m sure he is.”

I was ready, and waiting for Finn and the others to head out. Right now, my job was to make sure they were all safe. The sun was directly above us, and its heat made the tower feel like a sauna. There was no wind, which worked to my advantage, but a little breeze would be nice.

Adjusting the scope, I looked out over the town. It
was silent and dead, and I hoped it would stay that way.

“How’
s the back looking?” I asked.

“It’s
clear, so far.”

“Let me know i
f you see anything.”

“Oh,
believe me. I will,” he chuckled.

Suddenly I heard a
door open, and watched the men head out. Finn was third and went northwest. Finn, Pike, Tim, and Rhett were directly in my view. I was glad, because I could easily cover them from this spot. I watched Finn intently, checking to make sure his areas were clear.

I did a quick scan to check the others
in my range. The whole town was dead.

When
Finn finally reached his first destination, he quickly set the first can, pouring a line of oil from its base and trailed it to an adjacent building, then quickly and quietly moved on to the next.

I
anxiously waited and watched. A trail of sweat dripped down my brown. My hands were hot and sweaty, but I stayed focused on the dark spaces. Still, no movement.

Finn placed his last can and trailed the oil to another building and then to two more across the street. When he was done, he lifted his rifle and headed back. Relieved, I exhaled, but I wouldn’t relax until he was back
within the walls of Sanctum.

He met the others at the front, and
I quickly counted ten. All were accounted for.

Now, we would
wait.

My job would be to shoot the cans right before sunset.

As the men made their way back to Sanctum, Billy cursed.

“Something moved! I just saw it,” he said.

I ran over to his side and looked out his window.

“Where?” I asked, n
ot seeing anything.

“I
t took one of the cans,” he said. “Second building to the right. See the oil? There was supposed to be a can there. It’s gone.”

He handed me his binoculars. H
e was right. The mark from the oil was there, but the can was gone.

My pulse started to race as I ran back to the front window and checked where Finn had placed his first can.
“Dammit,” I gasped. It was gone too.

I quickly
moved the scope to the next one. It was still there.
Thank God.

Suddenly
a flash of white flew in front of the can, catching me off guard. When I refocused, the can had disappeared.

Terror
struck every nerve. I focused on each area that was supposed to have a can.

“Billy, get Rhett. Quick,
” I exclaimed.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“We’re in trouble,” I said.

Billy ran toward the stairs and called for Rhett. Soon
, I heard footsteps quickly pounding up the stairs.

“What
’s wrong?” Rhett asked.

I turned to him. “They’re gone. The
Arvies have taken all the cans. I have nothing to shoot.”

“What?” he asked. He grabbed
Billy’s binoculars and focused out the window. “Dammit!” he cursed. “How the hell are we supposed to get rid of those damn monsters?”

“We’re going to have to go out there and light up the town ourselves,” I sighed.

Rhett cursed. “I didn’t want to send the men out there near dark, but I won’t risk giving away our position with all the smoke during the day. I’m not going to send up a smoke signal and invite anymore creatures. They and the government aren’t allowed here. The only people who know we exist right now, are the Arvies of this town, and your team.”

“Is there any other way? A safer way?
” I asked.

“I say we j
ust make more bombs. We should have enough gun powder to make at least five more. We light them, and have our men throw them into specific buildings. At least we can get things started with a blast. Once the buildings start burning and the Arvies are running, we come out with guns blazing, setting the rest of the town on fire. Hopefully, the smoke will shield us.”

“
It’s risky, but at least it’s something,” Finn said, reaching the top stair.

“It’s something we have to do. I’m sick of this crap.
We are ridding this town of those Arvies, even if I die in the process,” Rhett said.

“No one will have to die if we do it right,” Finn said.

Rhett nodded.