by Cameo Renae
“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 could 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.”
My 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? You 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.
It 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.
Finn 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 gave 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. “He’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 if 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, not seeing anything.
“It 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. He 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 just 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.
We had about five hours before the sun set. Rhett’s men quickly used the last of the gunpowder into the cans, sealing them, and adding homemade fuses.
The rest of us went downstairs to get something to eat.
“We really need to get to the pick-up zone. If we don’t, we’ll be left behind,” Pike said.
“I know,” I sighed. “Let’s just hope we don’t run into anymore problems. If we finish this task, we can leave tomorrow at first light.”
“Sounds good to me,” Pike agreed.
Lunch was rice mixed with herbs, and some chili beans. Jamie, Shelley, and Nely didn’t show, and the atmosphere remained somber. Death was a hard thing to get over, and would loom in and around this place for a long time. Within a short span of time they’d lost a few people who were very close to them.
After lunch, we still had a few hours to kill. This would be our last night here. It had to be. We couldn’t wait another day and risk missing the choppers. The doctors and the injured needed to get to the bunker as soon as possible.
Dr. Banks insisted on giving both me and Finn a check-up. Finn received his dose of antibiotics; his wound was cleaned and bandaged. It was nearly healed, which made me feel so much better.
I was asked a bunch of questions about my head, but kept quiet about the extreme head pain I endured when I came into contact with the Arvies. Also, the fact I was bleeding from my ears and nose. Thank goodness Finn headed to the bathroom, because he probably would have mentioned something. I knew Dr. Banks would make me stay and lie down if he ever found out, and that was not going to happen. Dr. Banks was even stricter than my parents when it came to health issues. Yes, he was our hive doctor, but he also had a hand in raising us. They all did.
He gave me the all-clear, but was concerned I was overexerting myself. I would be fine, as long as I stayed away from the Arvies.
I wondered if the concussion I’d sustained was responsible for me hearing them. I’d had no issues during my first encounter with them, but now it seemed like the pain grew worse and worse. Maybe it jolted something inside my brain that wasn’t supposed to be jolted.
Either way, I’d acquired a curse and wasn’t sure there was a cure, other than finally ridding the world of Arvies. Maybe there was a way to control it? If there was a way, maybe I could learn to use it toward our advantage, like the telepath in the last bunker.
I guess it wouldn’t matter once we reached the final bunker. Being a female, I doubted I would be sent into war.
I sighed.
We still had a few more hours before the sun set. I figured I’d walk around and try and get my mind off of everything. Maybe I could see if the ladies of Sanctum needed any help in the kitchen.
As I made my way down the hall, I could hear their voices talking softly, so I paused right outside of the door, just hidden from their view. I leaned my back to the wall.
“I hope they don’t stay. If they do, others will come and want to take over our town,” Laura said.
“I agree with you, but Rhett already told her boyfriend they could stay,” Peggy Sue whispered, in a bothered tone.
“Well, maybe they won’t, and hopefully they’ll keep their mouths shut about our town,” Laura replied.
“Why don’t you two be nice? I like Abi and Finn. They’ve been nice to us and have been helping us out a lot.” Shelley, the youngest was taking our side. I smiled at her response.
“You like them now, Shelley. But what will happen when they bring others, who will come and drive us from our town? We’ll die out there. We have to make sure they don’t stay,” Peggy Sue noted.
“And that they won’t tell,” Laura added.
I was crushed knowing they thought we would bring them any kind of trouble. It wasn’t our fault we crashed outside their town. We came here only for shelter, and were only supposed to stay for a night. We had no idea there were survivors living here, or Arvies. The only reason we were still here was to help them.
I slowly backed away from the door.
My heart ached. I was hurt, but behind the disappointment I could still empathize. I didn’t blame them for being wary of strangers, or not wanting others to come in and take what was theirs. This was their home before the fallout, and they had planned to rebuild it. Plus, they’d only had each other to rely on over the past thirteen years. We were complete strangers, and I knew it would take a considerable amount of time to break into their circle of trust.
I’m glad I stumbled in on their conversation because I now had my answer. I didn’t want to stay in a place where we really weren’t wanted. And I certainly didn’t want the residents here to feel uncomfortable because of our presence.
I also knew I couldn’t tell Finn until later. If I told him what I’d just heard, he would go straight to Rhett with his concerns. I just didn’t want to stir up more trouble. There was already too much of it surrounding us, and I didn’t want to complicate things any more than they already were.
I quietly backed away from the door and made my way toward the meeting room.
“Why is my girl wandering the hall, look
ing so glum?” Finn called out, rounding the corner.
“Hey you,” I smiled. “Oh, it’s nothing.”
He laughed. “You can’t tell me nothing’s wrong. That fret line is yelling at me from way over here.”
Ugh. Dang fret line. I’d have to find way to make it go away. But fret line or not, Finn did have a way of reading my emotions.
“It’s just, I have so many things weighing heavily on my mind,” I said, continuing to make my way toward him.
“I think I might be able to relieve some of your stress. At least, for a moment,” he said. His eyes locked on mine and his mouth turned up in a crooked grin.
“Oh really?” I challenged. When I finally reached him, my fingers danced over his chest.
He immediately took my hand in his and walked backwards, pulling me along with him into a small storage room, filled with boxes. Once we were inside, he shut the door behind us.
The room was so dark I couldn’t see him, but I could feel the heat of his closeness. His hands reached for my face, gently and thoroughly exploring it as a blind person might. I closed my eyes, letting all my remaining senses take over.
His scent, so strong and alluring, wrapped around me, drawing me closer. I could hear his short breaths, and the quick beating of my heart. Excitement buzzed in the air, as his fingers lightly brushed against the edge of my cheek, and gently paused at my mouth. Then, I felt his lips, warm and wet, as they barely brushed against mine, teasing.
We didn’t speak, but he pulled me tightly against him. Our hearts beating to the same frenzied rhythm.
“Finn,” I whispered.
His hand grabbed the back of my neck and his mouth came crashing down over mine, hard and quick. His lips moved wild and frantic. I let out a moan and he paused.
“Don’t,” I breathed.
“Don’t what?” he whispered.
“Don’t stop.”
His mouth immediately found mine again, his body pressed harder against me, backing me into some boxes. I gasped, and he continued to kiss me passionately as his hands roamed. His lips tasted as sweet as honey. His velvety tongue was perfectly choreographed to the rhythm of our breath and our bodies.
