Sanctum (The After Light Saga) (23 page)

It was so nice to be in a vehicle, not having to walk
through this desert, but the ride was very dusty and very bumpy. We all had to put on our masks to keep the dust from entering our lungs. The noon day sun was unrelenting, blaring down on us, burning our skin.

Dr. Fox had given the injured man a shot, which knocked him out. Thank God, because even in his sleep, he moaned every
time we hit a big bump.

Attempting
to hide my face from the sun, I placed my head between my legs. Focusing on the rusted hole between my legs, I watched the ground pass by.

I
tried to think back to when I was four, before we went down into the bunker. I didn’t do this often, because every time I did think back, I would be transported to one particular scene. We were leaving our home, in a truck very similar to the one we were in now, trying to escape the impending doom. A crazed man came charging at us, but my mother hid my eyes. I heard a gunshot, and as we drove away, I saw the man’s body lying in our driveway, lifeless. My father killed him. I didn’t realize how much of an impact it had on him, and me.

At first, I
refused to touch a gun, and was terrified until my father forced one in my hand and made me shoot. I remembered crying, but he said I couldn’t leave the training center, until I fired every round. It got to the point where I became so frustrated, I raised the gun and pulled the trigger over and over, until every shot was fired. Most of my shots hit the target, and one even hit the bull’s eye. They were shocked, and so was I.

He had been
trying to prove a point, wanting to break my fear, and make me stronger. I took it one step further and became obsessed. That’s when Hellfire became a vital part of my life.

There was a knock on the glass window, and
the truck started to slow until it came to a complete stop. As soon as the dust settled, we took off our masks.

“We’re here,” Dr. Fox said, his eyes scanning the
area to the front. His eyes quickly and deeply furrowed.

“What’s w
rong?” I asked, trying to crane my neck.

“That’s the problem
. There’s nothing,” he said. “What if they left us? What if they aren’t coming back?”

“
We won’t know that yet,” Dr. Banks said, always hopeful.

“But it’s been days. They
’ve probably made all the transfers.” Dr. Fox was starting to lose his calm, collected composure.

“Doctor, if they don’
t come, we will just return to Sanctum with Rhett.”

“M
y wife and my mother are waiting for me at the bunker,” he said, closing his eyes and pressing his temples.

Finn helped me up, and I jumped out of the truck. He followed right behind me.
Rhett opened his door and pulled out his binoculars. He did a quick scan of the skies, and then of the land surrounding around us.

The pick-u
p zone was marked with a hundred long, red poles, wrapped with reflective tape. Each was sticking out of the ground, surrounding two helipads.

“Look,” he exc
laimed, pointing north east of where we were. Behind us, barely seen with the naked eye, were tiny black dots.

“What are they?”
I asked. A rush of fear shot through me.

Rhett handed me the bi
noculars, and as I held them up to my eyes, a gasp escaped my mouth.

“What?” Finn asked, placing his hand on my shoulder.

“Humans! And they’re headed our way,” I exclaimed.

“Are you positive
they’re human?” Finn asked.

“I’m sure,” I said, handing him the binoculars. “Look
for yourself.”

“Yeah, looks like they’re from our bunker,” Finn added.

Dr. Fox started to laugh and cry at the same time. He was relieved and exhausted, like the rest of us.

“Looks like we’ll all be headed home soon,”
Dr. Banks said.

“I think I should be heading back to my family. Do you think you all will be alright now?” Rhett asked.

“Yes, we will be fine,” Finn said. “That group should be here in a few hours, which means a chopper should be heading this way soon.”

“
Great. Well, it was a pleasure to have met you all,” Rhett said, shaking Finn’s hand, then each of the doctors. He then turned to me. “Keep these men safe, Abi,” he winked.

“I will,” I smiled.

“I cannot thank you all enough. You helped save our town, and you will always be welcome at Sanctum,” he added.

“Thank you,” we said
in unison.

“I feel our paths will cross again,” Rhett grinned, adding a bit more fuel to his tank.

“As do I,” Finn said.

We helped Dr. Banks and Dr. Fox carry the injured man and set him up off to the side
, while Rhett jumped back into his truck. Tina was still really groggy, so we set up a place for her to lie down, and she passed out. The medicine Dr. Lee gave her was very strong. A small patch of gray clouds covered the sun, which was a godsend. We would have all been burned to a crisp by the time help came.

“Stay safe, friends! Until we meet again,” Rhett yelled, then started up his be
ast and took off across the desert; a long trail of dust followed him, slowly dissipating in the gentle winds.

We waited for about an hour as
the figures headed toward us. They were starting to become more visible. It would be at least another half-hour before they arrived.

“Hey do you hear that?” Finn said, cupping his ear.

We all stilled, but as I glanced into the sky, I saw it before I heard it. Way in the distance, behind the other survivors, headed toward the pick-up zone, was a chopper.

“Oh my God! They’re coming.
We’re going to be rescued,” Tim exclaimed, jumping up and down. He was so excited it made us laugh. It was funny how our laughter started to feel a bit foreign, or even out of place, with all we’d come through. It felt satisfying, but not completely.

We all gathered our things and pulled back a ways from the landing pads.

“Put on your masks,” Dr. Banks said. “The radiation is in the dust. You don’t want to breathe it in.”

We did as he said. In a few minutes, the chopper hovered above us,
its blades swirling dust, like a tornado. It was a huge chopper, one with double blades.

“That’s a Chinook. That baby will be able to take all of us home, with no problem,” Tim noted with a large smile. He was ready to leave.

As soon as the chopper landed, a soldier dressed in camouflage, wearing a helmet and goggles jumped out. He was holding an M-16 rifle.

“Are you from the bunker?” he asked.

“Yes,” Dr. Banks answered. “Our chopper went down a few days ago, and we are all that’s left.”

“You’re
all from the lost bird? They finally sent out a search team today. It takes time to get those things approved. Come aboard. We have cold water.” The soldier alerted the pilot, who radioed in an affirmative as to our whereabouts.

The soldier then jumped out, slung his weapon over his shoulder and helped Finn carry the injured man onto the chopper. Finn offered me his hand, and helped me in. Tim carried Tina, and helped her buckle into her seat. She was slurring
and her eyes were heavy, and then passed out again.

The group heading toward us was very close. It looked like there were eight in their group.

“Ya’ll are lucky. This was our very last pick-up. Everyone from the Montana bunker has been transported to the Black Hills.”

“Wow, I guess fate was guiding us,” Finn said.

“Yep, looks like fate is not finished with you yet,” the soldier added with
a grin.

We sipped on some water, and as I turned to check on Tina, I heard a voice call out.

“Abigail?”

My head snapped up.

“Dad?” I knew his voice. I knew the way he said my name. Tears flooded my vision.

I blinked rapidly,
then saw his face. My dad was running toward the chopper. I quickly unbuckled from my seat and ran toward him. As soon as I reached him, he wrapped me in his arms and began weeping.

“I thought we’d lost you. I thought you were gone,” he cried. He cradled my face in his hands and stared at me, like he was looking at a ghost.

“I’m here dad,” I assured him. I could hear footsteps behind me and knew it was Finn. “It was all Finn. He is the reason why I’m still alive. I would be dead if he wasn’t with me, protecting me.”

My dad looked back over my shoulder, then reached out his left arm and pulled Finn into our embrace.

“Finn, my boy. It’s so good to see you. Thank you, thank you,” my dad sobbed.

This was the firs
t time I’d ever seen my dad cry. He really must have thought we were dead.

“It was my pleasure, Dr. Park,” Finn replied.

“I stayed back with the last group, hoping and praying we would hear something, or find you. Everyone said you were all dead, but I wouldn’t accept it. I’ve never been more scared, in all my life. The thought of losing you two… But you’re
here
, and you’re alive, and that’s what matters,” he said, wrapping us in a tight hug again.

I didn’
t know the others in his group. They looked like they were all soldiers, dirty and tired from the trek.

My dad embraced Dr. Banks when he climbed into the chopper.

“Banks, you don’t know how great it is to see your handsome face,” my father laughed, clasping his face between his hands.

“Steph
en, we have some stories to tell you,” Dr. Banks said, patting my dad on the shoulder.

“I have no doubt you do,” he agreed.

We all buckled in, and soon the chopper blades began their
whump-whump-whump
.

I glanced around at all of the weary faces. Tina and the injured man were still sound
asleep, and probably would remain as such through the duration of the flight.

The chopper
lifted and we began heading toward our next destination. We were headed to the Black Hills bunker, unaware of what the future held for us.

The past few days felt like a dream. Playing
back the moments from the crash, it just seemed so unbelievably insane. But Sanctum and its people did exist, and I still had Finn, right next to me, holding tightly to my hand.

I looked down to the delicate ring on my finger and smiled
. The necklace, I'd given him, was still hanging from his neck. Symbols of the promises we’d made to each other.

I glanced over to him and my eyes instantly filled with tears, thankful he was in my life.

He brushed away my tears and smiled.

His words
, assuring me that we would be together, rang through my mind and sank deep into my heart.

Where wo
uld our new journey take us?

That was for fate to know, and for us to find out
.

The End