The

End By: D. Booyer

9
Part 9: Departure
 The End
Pt. 9:
Departure
By: D. Booyer

Sally leaned over to her husband, and whispered softly

in his ear. She smiled as she pulled away, leaving a stunned
expression on Bill's face that slowly faded to become a smile of
true happiness. Seeing husband's smile, Sally lightly brushed a
kiss on his cheek before she addressed the occupants of the
chamber.
“Excuse me,” Sally announced as she stood up from the
table just as lunch was drawing to an end. Joshua and Bill had
already said their goodbyes and now walked to the side of the
chamber to begin strapping their gear to their backs, “as most
of you know the upper passageway is now blocked, and with it
our only access to the surface. Once this meal is over my
husband Bill and our good friend Joshua will be setting out to
map the surrounding tunnels and, hopefully, find another exit
from this cavern system. With the presence of wild animals
living in the tunnels added to the normal danger of exploring
unfamiliar tunnels their task will be far from easy. I ask all of
you to keep them in your prayers while they are gone to assure
success in their mission and a safe return to us. As they depart
now into the unknown depths of the earth let us thank the Lord
for their bravery, and ask him to bless them with the strength to
complete their tasks safely.”
With that Sally began to pray, her prayers and those of
the others echoing in the chamber. The air felt alive and even
the stones of the cavern seemed to vibrate with the strength of
their prayer as Bill, Joshua, and Rembrandt stepped into the
lower passageway to begin their journey. As they did the scene
became blurry and indistinct, eventually fading away entirely.
Bobbie looked up at Laura with a tear in her eye and noticed

1
the tears running down her cheeks as well.
“Thank you Laura,” Bobbie said, wiping her cheeks dry
with a tissue that seemed to appear out of nowhere, “I wish I
could have been their in person though.”
“I know sweetheart,” Laura said with a comforting
smile, “but right now your body is a little on the broken side.”
“Just a bit,” Bobbie laughed, “though I think I came out
pretty good for having been blown up and soaked in acid.
Don't you think?” This time Laura joined in the laughter along
with a deeper laugh from Bobbie's father. Ron looked like a
young man in his mid twenties, with a ready smile and cheerful
laugh.
“I'm not sure that my daughter laying comatose in a tent
is something we should be laughing about,” The motherly, dark
haired figure said with a worried frown.
“Oh, mother,” Bobbie said, giving the woman a warm
smile and a hug, “I don't feel a thing, I will be fine in a week or
so. My injuries aren't that bad, and besides, they are my
injuries. I can laugh about them if I want to.”
“I know sweetie,” Bobbie's mother said, “but you can't
blame a mother for worrying can you?”
“Very true Karen,” Laura said, “but you should be used
to it by now, people up here joke about their deaths all the time.
Some of them even celebrate it. My great great great
grandmother Mildred from Salem got burned at the stake, and
every year since has thrown a barbecue to mark the event.”
“Really?” Bobbie asked with a stunned expression.
“Yes,” Laura said, “She went to church every Sunday
when she was younger, but her children moved away to start
families of their own and her husband died unexpectedly. A
few years later she became ill and couldn't make the trip into
town anymore. Rumors spread, as they tended to do at the
time, and soon the poor old lady who had once been the best
midwife in the area and now lived alone in the woods was

2
labeled a witch. Ironically she had helped bring into the world
half of those in attendance when they sent her out of it. She
calls it her first official Deathday barbecue.”
“Deathday?” Bobbie asked with a bemused expression.
“Well,” Laura said with a smile, “She is really one of
the only ones who call it that, it is considered more of a coming
home party. Mildred has always had an odd sense of humor.
On this side death is celebrated as the end of a long journey.
All of that solemn mourning and funeral business is more for
the living than the departed. Sort of a way to find closure and
comfort in a sad time. Another example of this is the way
Christmas is celebrated here, but the big celebration is on
Easter. We honor Christmas for the day Jesus went to Earth to
begin his important work, but the day he died on the cross for
our sins is a big celebration for the greatest victory of all, Jesus'
victory over death. Whereas on Earth people celebrate
Christmas in a big way with gifts and lights and food and
fellowship, but many forget about Easter entirely. Its sad
really, I mean the only way into Heaven is through acceptance
of Jesus and the sacrifice he made for us all.”
“He must love us all very much,” Bobbie said.
“Their is no greater love my dear,” Karen said taking
her daughter's hands in hers, “No love could even come close.”

*****

Bill and Joshua walked for twenty minutes, Rembrandt

padding along happily behind them, before the sound of the
reverberating prayers faded behind them. Joshua counted his
steps, taking careful notes every so often of distance, direction,
width, height, incline, and approximate curve radius to be
mapped later. Bill was at a loss as to what most of it meant, he
was just glad that Joshua understood what he was doing.
Joshua noted branchings and landmarks that they passed along

3
the way. They stopped briefly to sketch the more interesting of
the latter and to mark the wall of the former with ink from a
bottle. His wife's nervous little assistant Nathan had given him
the bottle while he was visiting his wife at her clinic. He had
simply scurried up to him, handed him the bottle and mumbled
something that sounded like 'I thought you could use this, and
disappeared. Kelly had explained that the nervous little man
had made it out of ash, pine sap, water, and alcohol when he
found out Joshua was going back into the tunnels. The ink was
remarkably good, it had a smooth consistency and dried
remarkably fast. Joshua had even tried it in his favorite
fountain pen, it had worked better than most of the store bought
inks he had used before. Some of the passageways they passed
stank of the acid muck that had choked the upper passageway,
others actually had mud flowing out of them. When they
reached those they were often forced to backtrack and take a
different tunnel. For four hours they made their way through a
labyrinth of backtracking, and tunnels that wound through the
earth like some twisted parody of a theme park ride gone
wrong. At one of Joshua's stops to take his notes he suddenly
barked a laugh, he checked his notes again to be sure he had
been correct and laughed again.
“Hey Bill,” he said, still laughing.
“What's so funny?” Bill asked, leaning against the wall
to catch his breath. He scratched Rembrandt behind the ear as
he looked at his large friend.
“Its nothing,” Joshua said, “just a surprise you'll find
after this next turn.”
“OK,” Bill said.
Ten minutes later they stepped out of the tunnel into a
larger passageway. There on the wall ahead of them was 'A2'
marked in black ink.
“Is this...” Bill stammered.
“Yep,” Joshua said with a grin, “We are about one

4
hundred yards from the generator.”
Bill couldn't help himself, his laughter echoed and
reverberated down the tunnel. When he finally stopped
laughing his side ached, and he had to sit down to catch his
breath. Joshua had taken a clipboard out of his pack and began
carefully sketching a map with the aid of a ruler and protractor.
His papers were held on a pink clipboard with a picture of a cat
on it. Bill grinned, recognizing it as the clipboard that the large
man's wife used to keep notes on in her clinic. Yes, Kelly
really was a romantic at heart, despite her tough facade.
“You know,” Bill said, “that woman really loves you.”
“I know,” Joshua said with a grin of his own, “You
know I found out today that Kelly actually came to town to
find me?”
“Really?” Bill asked.
“Yea,” Joshua said with a grin, “apparently she had seen
me when I took Jim to see a specialist. She said she knew I
was hers the moment she saw me.”
“Yea,” Bill said with a smile, “Sally told me something
interesting just before we left too.”
“Really?” asked Joshua, “what did she say?”
“We had better get moving,” Bill said with a wink, “that
exit isn't going to find itself.”
“Aw come on, you can't just leave me hanging like
this,” Joshua protested.
“I can and will,” Bill laughed, “now lets get going, we
have to find a way out of here.”
Joshua's voice could be heard a s the scene began to
fade, “Could you at least give me a hint,” the answer came
muffled and almost indecipherable, “Nope.”
Bobbie's parents had gone, apologizing for not being
able to stay longer and promising to return soon. She had been
afraid at first to face them, but now that she had gotten to know
them she was sorry to see them go. They had known that it

5
wasn't her that had done those horrible things. Her parents
wouldn't even talk about the dark time. Bobbie was glad for
that, she wasn't sure she could live with herself if she knew
what that dark, evil thing had done with her body. She was
barely able to suppress a shudder at the thought.
“Thank you for letting me look in on them like this
Laura,” Bobbie smiled up at her new friend who sat next to her
on the comfortable couch in her sitting room.
“No problem sweetheart,” Laura said, putting an arm
around the young woman next to her, “it is important to keep
you up to date on events. You still have a Job to do you know.
Don't think you can goof off just because you are in a coma.”
“Heaven forbid,” Bobbie said feigning a shocked
expression.
“Pretty much, yea,” Laura said with a smile, “It is
important for you to learn as much as you can from Jim. He is
a good leader, and you as his assistant, must ready yourself to
follow in his footsteps... Well, tire tracks... Well, I believe you
get the point.”
“What?” Bobbie asked, this time the shocked
expression was genuine, “you can't be serious.”
“Yep,” Laura said with a grin, “once my Jimmy comes
home to me your on the hot seat sweetheart.”
“But why me?” Bobbie asked, “I mean there have to be
others who could do the job better than I can. I mean,
seriously, I have like no life experience. All of my life is a dark
void. Vacuous doesn't cover it, I have a black hole in my
head.”
“Sweetheart,” Laura said with a sigh and a comforting
smile, “that is why you were put so close to Jim. Watch what
he does, and perhaps more importantly what he doesn't do. He
will make mistakes of course, and so will you that is only
natural. Every leader makes mistakes, but it is the capacity to
learn from those mistakes, handle the consequences in an

6
appropriate manner, and the ability to delegate authority
without assigning blame that marks an effective leader. That
and a few other important qualities that I know you have. You
will be fine, I know you will.”
“But all I want to do is write,” Bobbie said, “How can I
write if I am busy learning to be a leader.”
“Don't worry dear,” Laura laughed, “things won't
always be so busy. You will have plenty of time to write. Just
remember to pay attention to what goes on around you and be
patient in your dealings with others.”
“I will be proud to serve,” Bobbie said with a resigned
look toward her library, “I just hope I don't prove to be a
disappointment.”
“You will do fine,” Laura hugged Bobbie once more,
“Just remember what I said and make sure to think things
through.”
“OK,” Bobbie said, “I wish their was a way to send a
message to Jim without him being asleep.”
“Why is that dear?” Laura asked.
“Something you said earlier stuck with me,” Bobbie
said, “and I think it could be helpful to Jim is all.”
“Well there is one way,” Laura said thoughtfully, “but it
is only to be used in an emergency.”
“It can wait I suppose,” Bobbie said.
“Well their may be another way,” Laura said, “I've
never tried it before, but it could work.”
Laura swished her delicate fingers in the air before
them like stirring a pool of water, and like a pool the air
seemed to ripple at her touch. As the air rippled an image
faded into focus in front of them. The image showed Jim
sitting at the table watching the work going on around him,
once in a while he would take a note on a scrap of paper. Laura
appeared to be concentrating hard on something, she faded
briefly and returned. In the image Jim yawned and stretched,

7
shaking his head to try and stay awake. Eventually he bowed
his head, but he jerked it up again before bowing it again and
falling asleep. The image faded once more to reveal a startled
Jim sitting on the chair across from them.
“Um... Hello,” he said nervously.
“Hello dear,” Laura said cheerfully.
“Um... am I?” Jim asked.
“I'm afraid so dear,” Laura said reaching across and
placing a consoling hand on her husband's knee, “You're
napping.”
“Great,” Jim said, “I'm probably sitting up too.”
“Afraid so, yes,” Laura said.
“My neck is probably going to get stiff then,” Jim said
regretfully.
“This shouldn't take that long dear,” Laura said,
“Bobbie just has something she needed to tell you.”
“Oh, OK,” Jim said.
“Um, well,” Bobbie stammered nervously, “I was just
thinking about something Laura said earlier about death and
how funerals are more for the living. Do you think that later
we could have a funeral service for, well, everyone that is
gone? Maybe something like that would help the others feel
better.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Jim said after a
moments thought, “perhaps we can do that as they are
beginning the first planting. I am told that will be in a few
days. Hopefully Bill and Josh will be back by then.”
“OK, great,” Bobbie said.
“OK,” Jim said, “So, um, how do I get back anyway?”
“Like this,” Laura said, with a snap of her fingers Jim
faded away and was gone.
“Wow, just snap and he wakes up?” Bobbie asked.
“Not really,” Laura said with a laugh, “I just thought the
snap added a certain... something.”

8
 *****

Bill and Joshua continued winding their way through

the dark and winding tunnels of their new home, carefully
mapping their route as they went. Twice they were forced to
double back when they found the tunnel they were in choked
off with acidic muck, several times they took a turning only to
find nothing awaiting them but a dead end at the end of a long
walk.
They continued their cautious pace through the
unfamiliar depths. The passageway they were in seemed
promising, a cool breeze bringing them the acrid stench of the
world above.
“I really hope this one is the exit,” Bill said as he
probed the darkness with his flashlight, “It would be great to be
able to go back and tell the others we found it after only a day
looking.”
“Yea,” Joshua said, taking yet another note in his
notebook as they rounded a bend in the tunnel, “but even if we
do find it I would like to come out again to finish mapping
these tunnels. I think good map of the area could be useful, we
are going to be down here for generations and we will
eventually need to expand.”
“Expand,” Bill said turning away from his friend, “Yes,
good idea.”
“Something wrong?” Joshua asked.
“No nothing,” Bill said, “Nothing at all.”
“Going to give me a hint now?” Joshua asked hopefully.
“Nope,” Bill said with a smile, “Lets keep moving.”
“Hey,” Joshua said suddenly, “What happened to
Rembrandt?”
Bill looked back down the tunnel the way they had
come. The large dog was nowhere to be seen. Bill called for

9
him but he didn't come like he normally did.
“I don't know,” Bill said at last, “I don't know how we
didn't notice him slipping away. Should we go back and look
for him?”
“I think he is much better equipped to find us then we
are to find him, to tell you the truth,” Joshua said, “I think he
will catch up to us when he is ready.”
As the two men walked on the harsh, chemical stench
continued to grow. Soon the damp, acrid air began burning
their noses and irritating their lungs. Coughing, Joshua pulled
out a pair of handkerchiefs ripped from one of his old shirts
and wet it with water from one of the bottles that hung from his
belt. He passed one to Bill before tying one so that it covered
his nose and mouth. Bill did the same with his, and though the
air still felt damp it no longer burned his nose, and after a few
minutes his coughing had subsided.
“Hint?” Joshua gasped as his coughing subsided and the
two men stopped to catch their breathes.
“Nope,” Bill wheezed.
“Come on,” Joshua said horsely, “Why won't you tell
me.”
“Gives you...” Bill stopped to clear his throat, “Gives
you something to look forward to, doesn't it?”
“I guess so,” Joshua said, “but a hint wouldn't hurt.”
“Normally, yes,” Bill said as he got to his feet, “but you
are a sharp one, any hint I give you would give away enough
for you to figure it out.”
“Oh, come on,” Joshua said, “Just a little one.”
“Sorry,” Bill said, “no can do. Anyone smart enough to
figure out where we are just from those notes you are jotting
down could figure this one out with the slightest whiff of a
hint. I'm half convinced you know what it is already and are
bugging me for hints just to keep me going.”
Joshua smiled to himself, Bill was sharper then he gave

10
himself credit for. He had figured it out, that and the reason
Bill refused to drop any hints. There was enough of a hint in
the conversation he had walked into after visiting his wife to
figure out what Sally had whispered in Bill's ear. He was truly
happy for Bill and Sally's blessing. The timing was a little off
for this sort of thing, but from what he had seen it often was.
The two men continued to wind their way up the
passageway. The tunnel had a slight uphill grade that seemed
promising, and there was no mud trickling in their direction. It
seemed to them that they had found the exit at last. After a
particularly sharp turn the uphill grade became steeper, and dim
flashes of light came from ahead accompanied by a sound like
falling water. Bill and Joshua resisted the urge to run ahead,
instead they forced themselves to keep their careful pace,
running the beams of their lights over the ceiling and floor of
the passageway.
When they finally reached the end of the passageway
they were glad for their caution. The floor of the tunnel fell
away to reveal a chamber with steep walls and a floor several
hundred feet below. In the roof of the chamber was a large
fissure, through which came the flashes of light from the
surface world along with a steady stream of black muck. There
did not seem to be any other exits to the chamber and the muck
had gathered to form a large pool at it's bottom. The acrid
stench was strong in the chamber, irritating their noses despite
the wet rags and forcing them to retreat further down the
tunnel.
“Well, now we know why Rembrandt didn't follow us,”
Bill said.
“Yea,” Joshua replied as they made their way back
down the tunnel, “he probably smelled that stench long before
we did and decided to stop.”
“I'm surprised he didn't try to warn us or something,”
Bill said.

11
 “He may have,” Joshua said, running his hand over his
scalp, “I was just too busy bugging you for hints for us to
hear.”
The two continued on in silence for a few moments
before Bill asked, “Is it me, or was the muck falling from the
roof thinner than it has been?”
Joshua thought for a minute, “I would guess that the
rain has washed away most of the ash and dust from the lower
atmosphere. Which in a way is a good thing I guess. Soon it
will just be regular rain falling outside. Regular rain would
wash the mud away and dilute the acid, but it will also cool the
ground faster.”
“Oh,” Bill said, “I take it that is a bad thing?”
“Yep,” Joshua said, “ever see snow in July?”
“Um, no,” Bill said with a laugh.
“Wait a few weeks and you might.” Joshua said darkly.
“Well,” Bill said, “I guess the picnic is off for the
fourth.”
“Yea, well, the fireworks came a little early this year,”
Joshua said, stopping to stare sadly at the floor in front of him,
“and they were the fireworks to end all fireworks... literally.”
“Yea,” Bill said sadly, “I suppose they were.”
The two men continued in silence until there, waiting at
the intersection of two passageways, lay Rembrandt. He
picked his head up at their approach and barked happily in
greeting to his errant companions, tail thump, thumping on the
tunnel floor. He stretched and got to his feet and, not waiting
for the others, started off down the next tunnel in the
intersection. Bill and Joshua felt an odd sense of déjà vu as
they were, once again, given no choice but to follow the large
animal. He led them down the low, winding tunnel for what
seemed like an hour. At the next intersection Rembrandt led
them down a narrow side passage which ended in what, at first,
looked like a dead end. The large dog waited for the two men

12
to catch up before disappearing through a low crawlspace. Bill
looked at Joshua and shrugged before getting down on his
hands and knees to follow Rembrandt's lead.
The crawlspace opened into a small chamber, about
eight feet wide and twelve feet long. There was a small spring
that trickled out of a crack in the far wall and fell into a fissure
in the floor that plunged deep into the bowels of the earth. The
chamber was cool, and the water pure. Joshua and Bill decided
that this was a good place to stop for the night, which seemed
to be Rembrandt's idea in the first place. As soon as Joshua
had followed Bill through the crawlspace the big dog lay in
front of it. It was getting late anyway, and the two were
hungry, stopping seemed like a good idea to both men.
Rembrandt had proven himself trustworthy on several
occasions, once even saving their lives, and the two men
trusted his judgment.
Bill portioned out some of their bear jerky for the three
of them and refilled their water supply from the spring, testing
it first to make sure it was pure. Joshua busied himself with his
notes and his drawing pad. Using his notes as a guide he
carefully began sketching their route through the tunnels. He
measured everything carefully and double checked his
measurements before making a mark on the map. Bill tore off
a bite of the dried bear meat as he watched his large friend
work. The meat was tough, but that was to be expected. He
regretted that he didn't have the proper seasonings for the jerky,
but the taste was passable, if a little heavy on the pepper.

*****

Jim sat at the table, watching as the group that had been
sent to the terrarium returned. They looked tired, but all of
them seemed to be in high spirits. They laughed and joked
with one another as they came to dinner. It had been a busy

13
day for them, they had pulled up most of the plants that had
been in the terrarium and were well on their way to preparing
the ground for planting. Joshua's assistants had the parts cut
out for the terrarium's stove and were planning to assemble
them after dinner. Greg had been working with Carl most of
the evening and had drawn up plans for a small forge that they
intended to set up in a small chamber they had found not far
down the passageway to the terrarium.
Jim's day had been busy as well, he had dealt with two
disputes over who slept where in the cavern. Those had been
simple enough to solve, he simply had the parties involved in
each dispute move to separate corners of the chamber. Then
there was a problem between two young men over a toothbrush
of all things. The two young men, brothers as it turned out, had
both brought the exact same toothbrush. One of the brushes
turned up missing and Barry, the brother that had lost his
accused his brother Don of stealing it. Jim had Barry empty
his pack and the toothbrush was found at it's bottom. Jim
advised both of them to ask Sally to find them something to
make better use of their time. They did, and were sent to help
in the terrarium. Jim watched the two as they entered the
chamber, joking with one another and laughing. Apparently
they had enjoyed the work as well.
Dinner turned out to be a thick stew that was rich and
flavorful, the meat was a bit stringy, but Jim had never eaten
bear before. The talk around the table was of the day's events
and Bill and Joshua's journey. They all wondered how the two
were doing. Surprisingly, Rembrandt had returned to the
chamber briefly, he had spent some time with Jason then
visited Bobbie in the clinic before returning to the tunnels.
Jim still had a hard time thinking of her as injured,
especially since their talk earlier in the day. Jim had been
surprised at his impromptu nap, he had not felt tired or
anything, he had simply fallen asleep. Jim had awakened

14
refreshed, even though he had not felt weary before, and
surprisingly his neck had not been stiff. He smiled thinking of
her, he still felt wary of her at times, but she seemed to be a
completely different person. Wary or not Jim couldn't help but
like the young woman the way she was now, she was so
vibrant, so alive. Her every word seemed truthful and sincere.
Her dream world reflected her inner warmth, it felt comfortable
and safe. Jim had been surprised at first, but the place seemed
to fit the young woman as she was now, and were those books
he had seen through the only door in the room?
After dinner Jim watched as most of Joshua's assistants
carried the stove parts down to the terrarium. Jason stayed
behind, however, talking with another young man and one of
the young women not far away. The young man was thin with
a thin featured face and shoulder length red hair worn back
under a purple beret. On his chin he had a neatly trimmed
goatee. The young woman had skin like rich coffee with a
touch of heavy cream, her long black hair was neatly braided
and tied off with a bow that matched her green blouse. Jim
was curious at first, but soon the whole group walked over to
where Jim was sitting and Jason cleared his throat nervously.
“Um, Jim, Sir?” Jason started.
“Just Jim,” he replied with an encouraging smile,
“Please sit, and for goodness sake relax.”
“Thank you,” Jason said as the group took seats across
the table from Jim.
“So...” Jim said, “What's up?”
“Well,” Jason said, tapping his foot nervously, “Heather,
David, and I were sort of wondering.. we were all in band
together in school and we were wondering if it would be alright
if we took some time to practice together.”
“Wow,” Jim said with a laugh, “now I know the world
is at an end. You are actually asking me permission to start a
band?”

15
 “I told you it was a bad idea,” Heather whispered to
Jason.
“What are you kidding?I think it is one of the best ideas
I have heard in a while,” Jim said, “This cavern is downright
gloomy at times, a little music would do us all good. I don't
really understand why everyone seems to be so nervous about
talking to me. I mean, I don't bite and I have had all my shots
and everything.”
Heather giggled, Jim had never actually heard anyone
giggle before, but that was the only word to describe the way
she laughed.
“Well, I don't know about the others,” the young
woman said, “but you seem so busy most of the time, and Sally
made it abundantly clear that you were off limits.”
“Off limits for marriage, yes,” Jim said, “I am already
married, but I am allowed to have friends.”
“So,” Heather said with a smile, “tell me about your
wife, I never see you with her.”
“Well,” Jim said, pulling out his wife's letter and
fiddling with it while he continued, “I first met Laura at a gas
station when I was twenty four. Joshua and I had stopped for
gas on our way to our favorite fishing hole for weekend
outing. Her car had broken down, I forget what was wrong
with it, and she asked us where to take it to get it fixed. She
was beautiful, she had just moved into town and just finished
an interview with one of the local law offices. She was dressed
in this sharp looking blue dress suit, she looked absolutely
gorgeous in it. I swear my heart stopped the moment I saw her,
and there I was wearing a threadbare plaid shirt and overalls
with my goofy looking fishing hat covering my unkempt hair.
We talked while Joshua took a look at her car, I was ready to
cuss at him when it only took him ten minutes to fix her car. I
was surprised when she asked if she could come with us to our
fishing hole, and even more surprised when she pulled a pole

16
and tackle box out of her trunk. The three of us spent the
whole weekend fishing and telling each other stories by the
fire.”
Jim took a drink of water before continuing, “It was like
we had known each other forever. She was quick to laugh and
had the sweetest smile, I couldn't help but fall in love with her.
A couple days later I was getting ready to meet Joshua for our
weekly chess game when she knocked on my door. As soon as
I opened the door she kissed me, handed me a slip of paper
with her phone number on it and a time, then walked away
while all I could do was stare blankly in her direction. I waited
all of five minutes before calling and leaving a message on her
machine. Something to the effect of, 'I couldn't wait to call
you, I know we barely know one another but I think I love
you.' When I got to my van to meet Josh there was a note
under the wiper that said 'I love you too Jim.' We were married
a year later at our favorite fishing hole.”
“Wow,” Heather said, with a dreamy look on her face,
“it sounds like you really love her.”
“Yea,” Jim said, “Laura and I were made for one
another.”
“Were?” Heather asked, “So she's...”
“Yes,” Jim said in answer, “But I still see her every
night in my dreams.”
The three youths stayed and chatted for a little while
longer then went off to practice, and he smiled to himself as the
music began to fill the chamber. As he began to relax Jim's
eyes fell on a plump young woman with shoulder length, blond
hair and an odd bundle in her arms walking toward her pallet.
He recognized her, she had been carrying the bundle when they
had picked her up. Jim was surprised when, as he watched, the
bundle moved!
Jim wheeled his chair in the direction the young woman
had taken, and found her cuddling a young child in her arms.

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The baby was small and bald and looked up at Jim with the
most beautiful blue eyes and a cute little smile.
“Oh, hi,” the young woman said, looking up from the
baby.
“Hi, I'm Jim,” he said smiling down at the child, “you
have a cute baby, how old is he?”
“She, actually,” the girl said, “her name is Shelby and
she is seven months old. I'm Allison, by the way, and she is my
younger sister. I couldn't leave her behind, there was no one
else around and she is my sister,” Shelby had a panicked
expression on her face and tears in her eyes as she held the
child close.
“Hey, its alright,” Jim said soothingly, “you did the
right thing. I was just wondering, I didn't know she was here is
all. I haven't heard her cry or anything, is she doing OK?”
“Yea, she is fine,” Shelby said with the start of a smile,
“I made sure to stop by the store on the way to meat you, and I
pretty much cleaned them out in the baby department. That's
why I had so many bags with me.”
“Good,” Jim said with a smile as he tickled the precious
little girl, “if you need anything just let us know. Oh, and
perhaps you should introduce this sweet little lady to Sally. I
am sure she would love to get to know you both.”
“They've met, actually,” Allison said, “I asked her not to
say anything though, she and Kelly check up on me almost
every day.”
“I see,” Jim said, “you seem to do good with her.”
“Thank you,” Allison said, finally giving Jim the smile
he was hoping for, “I love working with children.”
“That's great,” Jim said as Shelby cooed up at him, “I
have a feeling we will soon be needing someone who is good
with children. I would like it if you got with Jason and have
him help you set up a proper nursery so Shelby, and any
possible additions could play safely. Perhaps Sally and Kelly

18
would be willing to help too.”
“OK,” Allison said, she seemed genuinely exited by the
idea, “I will do that. Thank you Jim.”
“Hey,” Jim said as Shelby played with his fingers, “you
both deserve to be happy, just like the rest of us, especially her.
Just one more favor though if you are willing.”
“Sure what?” Allison asked.
“Bring Shelby by to visit me once in a while,” Jim said,
“and keep up the good work.”
“I'm sure she would love that,” Allison said gratefully,
“thank you again.”
“Just take good care of this little princess, she is
precious,” Jim made his way back to the table, listening to
Jason's music and daydreaming about a bright, new future
filled with the sound of children at happy play.

To Be Continued...

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Stories in this series:

Pt. 1: Storm-front
Pt. 2: Madness
Pt. 3: Marked
Pt. 4: Darkness and Light
Pt. 5: Guidance
Pt. 6: Salvation
Pt. 7: Redemption
Pt. 8: Preparations
Pt. 9: Departure

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