the end pt7
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TheEnd
By: D. Booyer
7Part 7: Redemption
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The EndPt. 7:
Redemption
By: D. Booyer
The Messenger was bored, frustrated and bored. All its
work the four nights before had been for nothing. It had
sneaked through the pit of hell for what, nothing but a few
singed hairs! If the Messenger didn't get to punish these
sinners soon it would go mad. As if that wasn't bad enough it
had to sit and watch as the old one prattled on with the butcher
and the harpy. It was disgusting the way they bantered backand forth about their evil misdeeds.
The Messenger tried to ignore most of the conversation
until a twisted, wiry creature with the forked tongue of a snake
slithered his way up to the group. It prostrated itself before its
master and hissed something unintelligible. The old one and
the butcher conversed with the thing for a while. The
Messenger could not make out most of the conversation. From
what little it could make out there was something wrong with
the old one's pet ogre. Perhaps if it had been injured during it's
recent trip to the corrupted surface world it would be weak
enough for the Messenger to destroy it once and for all. The
group looked to be readying to follow this twisted snake-
creature, so the Messenger took her place behind the old, fat
one. It resented having to push his bulk around, but it was told
to bide its time, it had to blend in.The snake-creature led them to the witches filthy hole
where she performed her hideous experiments on the living
flesh of her victims. A hideous beast lay at the feet of one of
her victims. It was a huge, slobbering monstrosity that growled
at her as she passed. They were led into a small room in the
back of the witch's filthy pit. The snake-creature held the filthy
curtain back for them to enter, and followed behind them.
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There, sitting on a bloody altar was the Sentinel, flanked by his
female counterpart and the witch herself. The Messenger
braced herself as the old one said something to the Sentinel,
who began screaming for It's blood. It had been a trap! Thenerve, the outrage of it made her furious. They would learn
that the Messenger was no easy meat.
Damn you, the Messenger hissed, and pivoted to
drive an elbow into the kidney of the snake-creature behind
her. The snake-creature was not there. Instead the ogre caught
the Messenger's arms and hurled it to the floor before
descending, jaws agape and hungry for It's flesh.
A sharp word from the harpy brought the ogre up short.
A short argument ensued that was again ended by sharp words
from the harpy that sent the butcher lumbering from the
chamber to prepare his tools. It appeared the harpy liked her
meat cooked. With a swipe of a wicked talon the harpy tore the
grimy blanket from the back wall and tossed it to the ogre,
barking an order as she left the room.
The witch and the female sentinel helped the ogre wrapthe Messenger in the filthy blanket and dragged It out of the pit
to the massive stone alter in the center of the chamber. The
ogre held the Messenger still as the harpy spouted profanities at
the dancing minions below. She continued her litany, laying a
talon on It's head and beginning a slow, droning chant that was
taken up by the assembled minions below. As the chant grew
the Messenger could feel the life being leached out of it. God's
voice was loud in her head, insistent and angry. It demandedthat the Messenger free itself and punish the sinners. As it's
life drained away a warmth began to replace it. The Messenger
pleaded with the voice to help her... Wait.. Had it referred to
itself as her? A tingling sensation filled her body as the warmth
grew. Soon the Messenger felt like the fire that burned within
her would consume her very soul.
Memory began to float past as she was burned away.
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Her parents, the horrible things they had done. Wait, the
memory that floated past felt wrong somehow. The true
memory floated past. Her parents, proud, loving, and patient
dealing with a troubled child that was prone to violent fits ofrage. She remembered the voice, and what it had made her do.
She wept inside, her soul screamed with the realization of the
truth. Why? Why had the voice made her see these twisted
things, do these twisted things? The voice had lied to her about
everything, she realized. It was not God whispering in her
mind, far from it. More memory floated past, the truth lay bare
before her until she felt ready to burst. She willed the fire to
consume her, begged the light burning within her for the
release that death would bring.
No, it said in a soothing voice, Give yourself to my
father's love, and have life anew and untainted. Come to the
father through me and have life eternal. She gave herself to
the light, allowed it to consume her.
The world was fire and light without end. There was
nothing left within her, no voice, no pain, and no memory. Shewas a she, she knew that somehow. She tried to recall a name,
her name. What had she been called? Nothing came. Who was
she? A name floated up from the emptiness inside. Bobbie
Hathoway , that's right, her name was Bobbie Hathoway .
Vision cleared and the world came into focus, she stared
into the eyes of a large, dark skinned man with short stubble
covering the sides of his head. He looked down on her with
concern in his kindly, dark eyes. Another name floated from thesurface, Joshua, and the memory of a kind man helping her
carry her things down to her new home.
Another memory, fuzzy and indistinct like a half
remembered nightmare. This man had stopped her at every
turn, kept her meddling from causing permanent harm to the
group. She loved him for that, he truly was a kind man.
Another memory floated to the surface, a beautiful wedding
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ceremony followed by another wedding where this man
married a beautiful red haired woman. The memory made her
feel warm and happy inside. More memory surfaced, the truth
of what had just happened. There was no detail to it, memoriesof the past seemed to fade away, details lost completely. The
past was like the memory of a deep wound. It had happened,
she knew, but whatever had caused it was healed. All she
really knew was that these kind, loving people had saved her.
She smiled warmly up at Joshua and said, I know you.
I know you, and I thank you for what you have done.
The large man that held her gave an uneasy smile in
return and gently sat her on her feet, she looked down and was
surprised to find them bare. The cold stone of the cavern floor
felt good beneath her toes, which she wiggled experimentally.
Everything felt new and exiting, this world seemed unfamiliar
to her and at the same time she recognized it as if from a long
forgotten dream. Her past was gone now, faded into
nothingness, nothing remained to her but the future.
Bobbie blinked, her eyes adjusting to the dim light ofthe chamber. Someone nearby was speaking loudly, as if
addressing a crowd. Bobby couldn't make out the words, the
sounds foreign to her ears, but they too were somehow familiar.
As the world swam into focus so did the speaker. She was a
beautiful, dark haired woman. She gestured as she addressed
the crowd, her smile and sparkling eyes punctuated her words
as they echoed through the chamber. Her tone and actions gave
the words she spoke an air of thankfulness and praise that wasechoed by those she addressed. Another name floated to the
surface of her mind, Sally. This woman's name was Sally. She
had been married the same night as Joshua to a man... What
was his name? Again a name floated to the surface of the fog
of memories, Bill. Sally had married Bill.
There was someone else that she needed to remember,
someone important. Someone she had to help, to protect at all
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costs. His work was important and she was meant to make
sure he was able to complete it. She searched the fog that was
her memory, reached for the name that was so important. Time
and again she searched, but the name would not come. Bobbiebegan to feel light-headed, the world fading to white around
her. In the light a name flared bright, burning away the fog that
clouded her memory and the remains of her past burned with it
Jim.
Bobbie fell to her knees and raised her eyes to the
heavens. Thank you Jesus! she thought as the world faded
away. Strong hands caught her as she slipped into
unconsciousness, and for the first time in her life she dreamed
pleasant dreams.
*****
Jim lay awake in the early morning hours thinking of
the events of the day before. It had become a daily ritual,
every morning he would spend a few hours in quietcontemplation and prayer. He knew it was early morning, his
watch had just chimed four times indicating the hour.
The watch had been an anniversary gift from his wife,
the last gift she had given him before her memory went.
Where she had found the thing was a mystery, most likely she
found it on some forgotten shelf in a forgotten antique shop
somewhere. Places like that had fascinated her. It was an
amazing piece, some watchmaker's masterwork. It had abeautiful gold face that had sections cut out so the intricate
gears and springs within could be seen. The chime was like the
sounding board of a music box, and could be set to play a
pleasant melody at a given time as well as chiming the hour.
Jim was careful to wind the watch every morning.
Jim finished his silent reflection as the warm smells of
breakfast began to fill the chamber. He gingerly swung his legs
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off the side of the bed, barely stifling a groan as fiery tendrils
of pain shot through him from his broken leg.
Good morning, came a cheery voice from the other
side of the blanket that provided Jim with his own privatespace, Are you ready for your chair?
Yes, thank you, Jim replied. He did not recognize the
voice, though there was something familiar about it. The face
of the young woman who pushed the chair into Jim's blanket-
walled room was easily recognized, however. The young
woman smiled warmly as she walked over to Jim and delivered
a kiss to his forehead.
G-good morning, Jim stammered, Bobbie is it?
Yes sir, Bobbie said, helping Jim transfer himself into
the chair, Now, let's get you comfortable.
Jim was taken aback by the kindness and warmth that
seemed to radiate from the girl. She was completely
transformed from the person she had been just the day before.
Everyone in the cavern had felt the power and warmth of God's
love as he poured his mercy into the young woman as theirprayers echoed through the chamber. The uneasy feeling Jim
had felt around the young woman was gone, replaced by a
feeling of peace and warmth. Even the way the girl dressed
had changed, today she wore a green sun dress instead of the
overalls and plaid shirt she normally wore. Even her over sized
work boots had been replaced with a pair of comfortable
looking shoes.
Well, Bobbie, Jim said, trying to hide hisnervousness, you certainly look nice this morning.
Thank you, Jim, Bobbie said happily as she rolled
Jim out of his room and started toward Bill's kitchen, Would
you believe I found this dress buried in the bottom of my bag.
It was wrapped around one of Bill's good knifes and a box of
rat poison. Bill said the knife had been missing since he and
Josh killed that bear. I have no idea how it got in my bag, but
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Bill was happy to have it back. I gave the rat poison to Dr.
Green, I couldn't think what else to do with it. Most of the
clothing in my bags are nice, but it looks like it was chosen at
random. Some of it is too big, but Sally says she can help metake them in. All of the clothing is new, but for some reason
half of it is men's clothing. It is like someone went into a
clothing store and started stuffing things in a bag. Sally has
been a great help sorting through my things and helping me get
the things I need.
That's nice of her, Jim said as he was rolled towards
what smelled like a great breakfast. He was amazed. Sam had
been quiet and brooding, prone to dark moods. This cheery,
vibrant, and surprisingly chatty young woman seemed so far
removed from the way she had been just the day before. Jim
found Bobbie pleasant so far, but it was hard to look at her and
not remember her as Sam, So, other than the mismatched
clothing did you find much you could use in your bags?
Sadly no, Bobbie said with a sigh, There was just the
clothing and a few things that were just weird, like the knifeand the rat poison. There was a surprising number of knives of
various sizes, a handgun that I gave to John, four cans of
gunpowder, and a large hammer. I have no clue what I would
want things like that for, but there they were.
Yea, sounds odd, Jim said with a nervous chuckle.
He was beginning to feel blessed that they had not seen the full
extent of what the Messenger had been capable of. Jim was a
little surprised when, after getting him settled in his place,Bobbie took a seat next to Sally. Before long the others had
been served and Bill joined them, bringing plates containing
one of his omelets.
Oh, that's SO good, Bobbie said after taking a bite,
she continued eating with every sign of enjoyment. It was as if
she had never eaten before, the tastes and textures exploding on
her tongue. She was surprised when, after the first few bites,
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she looked up to see the others at the table staring at her in
amazement with forks half raised.
What? It's good, The others nodded their heads in
unison.I'm glad you like it, Bill said slowly. Bobbie smiled
and laughed as the others resumed their meal.
After breakfast was over Bobbie prepared to take notes
on the morning meeting. The first eight pages of her notebook
were doodled on and filled with the same phrase repeated on
every line in a harsh, angular hand. 'They have sinned, and
now must fry. The Messenger will make them die die DIE.'
Bobbie looked at the pages quizzically for a moment before
ripping the pages free and putting them on the table, handling
them gingerly as if the filthy words could stain her fingers.
Sally took the pages and crumpled them before walking over
and tossing them into Bills compost barrel.
Thank you, Bobbie mouthed, receiving an
encouraging smile in return. She took careful notes in a neat,
rounded script that seemed to have a soft, feminine feel tothem. It looked nothing like the horrible words that she had
found on the first pages of her notebook. She soon lost herself
in her work. The feel of the pen in her hand, the soft scrape of
the pen as it danced across the paper, it had a sort of romantic
allure to it. She smiled as she found herself making detailed
notes of everything that was said, no matter how insignificant it
seemed to be.
When it was over she closed the notebook, and sighedhappily, holding her precious notebook to her breast. She did
not stop when the meeting drew to a close, instead she took
notes in a separate notebook as she pushed Jim around the
chamber, writing down his observations and noting a few of
her own as well. She reveled in the sensation as the words
formed on the paper as the tip of her pen played it's sweet
music on the page. She found herself dancing to the sweet
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sound, her feet moving to the rhythm of the words themselves.
She chose her words carefully, rhyming some words
and choosing others to contrast the words before. She stopped
as Jim's conversation with Joshua about the trees and the manyuses of the various parts thereof.
Are you alright? Joshua asked, a look of concern on
his face.
Of course Joshie, Bobbie said, giving Joshua a sweet
smile, Just taking notes.
But you were dancing, Joshua said rubbing a hand
over his scalp, and humming to yourself.
I was enjoying the work, Bobbie said, I think I like
writing, it has a sort of... intoxicating allure to it.
I think I know what you mean, Joshua said returning
the smile, I feel the same way when I am building things. The
way the parts fit together to make something new is fascinating
to me. I am glad you found something you enjoy doing.
Thanks Joshie, I knew you would understand, She
looked at the wood that was stacked everywhere along thewalls of the upper part of the cavern then looked at Josh
nervously, Josh, I was wondering... Is their any possibility that
you could figure out how to make more paper? From like the
wood chips or something perhaps?
Jim seemed surprised at her question, I hadn't thought
of that Bobbie, that does sound like a good idea though.
Bobbie looked at Joshua with an exited expression on
her face, Well, I hadn't thought about that, Joshua saidrunning his hand over his scalp once more, I will have to put
some thought into it. Perhaps...
Joshua trailed off, deep in thought, pulling out his
sketchpad as he seated himself on a nearby log. As he seated
himself a nervous looking young man with long hair scurried
up to them. Bobbie couldn't remember the young man's name,
but she thought the way he rung his hands as he waited to be
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noticed was cute, and his eyes were a beautiful hazel color.
She offered him an encouraging smile, and surprisingly he
shied away from her.
Hello, Nathan, Jim said, Don't worry, I won't bite.Sorry Sir, Nathan said, and leaned in close to whisper
something in Jim's ear before scurrying back towards Dr.
Green's clinic near the upper passageway and turning to wait
for them to follow.
Well, Jim sighed, it seems we have an emergency of
some sort at the northern passageway.
What sort of emergency? Joshua asked, closing his
sketchbook.
Not sure, Jim said as Bobbie began rolling him
toward the clinic, I couldn't quite hear what he said, but it
sounded urgent. I really wish there was a way to get the poor
guy to come out of his shell a bit.
The three followed Nathan to the barricade that Joshua
had erected to keep the wild animals that had taken up
residence in the upper tunnels out of the chamber. There was athick, black substance oozing under and around it coming in
through the cracks below and six inches up the sides. The
black rain had mixed with the ash outside and was now slowly
flooding the upper passageway. A substantial amount of the
black mud had already pooled in a low spot on the chamber
floor and more flowed in by the minute.
Crap, Joshua said, We forgot about the rain.
What followed could only be described as poetry inmotion. The first thing Joshua did was to run to the nearby
clinic where he ripped down the nearest blanket wall and used
it to staunch the black flow while his assistant's began hauling
some of the stripped logs over to build a more permanent
patch. They used more blankets around the metal barricade
which Joshua described as a gasket to help seal the cracks.
The rest of the day was a flurry of activity as Joshua
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and his assistants rushed to shore up their dam, making sure
that no more of the acidic muck made it into their home.
Bobbie and Jim stayed near the edge of the commotion, out of
the way of Joshua's assistants as they worked, yet close enoughto understand what was going on. She stayed by Jim's side,
sitting on a log and happily taking her detailed notes. After a
wile her work was interrupted as a wet nose forced it's way
under her notebook. She lifted the notebook and Rembrandt
looked up at her with his big brown eyes. Bobbie reached
down to scratch the dog behind the ear and he reached up and
licked her face. She laughed with delight as she played with
the large dog. She looked up to see Joshua and Jim staring at
her in wide eyed amazement.
What? He's so cute,she said, tacking his head in both
her hands, Who's a good puppy then?
He really seems to like you, Jim said after a moment.
He is such a sweet puppy, Bobbie said scratching the
massive dog between the shoulder blades. She settled herself
on the log once more and Rembrandt curled up at her feet.Anyway, Joshua said, I don't know how long this
barricade will last. It depends on the rain really, if it lasts too
long the weight will eventually break this down no matter how
much wood we use to shore it up. To tell you the truth Jim, I
am worried. When we were out cutting wood the air felt
heavy, I think it was close to being saturated. All those strikes
generated a lot of heat. Any body of water that got hit will
have flashed to steam in an instant. I have a feeling it will beraining for quite some time, and after that it will get really cold
out there.
So, what can we do? Jim asked, concern making him
look far older than he really was.
I don't know, Joshua said with a sigh, short of
collapsing the tunnel, there is really no good way to do this.
That really isn't an option either though. We have the gun
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powder, it should be sufficient to bring the roof of the tunnel
down if we put it in the large crack near the entrance. The
problem is that to get it there we would have to wade through
that acidic muck. Another problem is how we are going to setit off.
I'm sure you will figure it out, Jim said.
The work continued through dinner and into the night.
By the time Bobbie got Jim settled onto his bed and found her
way to her blanket's, she had worked her way through a quarter
of her notebook. As soon as her head hit the pillow sleep
overtook her. Her rest was far from peaceful, she awoke with a
start from a particularly odd dream. It was like a map had been
drawn in her head. She felt an odd sense of urgency. She got
to her feet and, without bothering to dress, slipped out into the
darkness.
*****
Joshua woke from a peaceful dream with a start.Something was wrong, he knew it, he couldfeelit. He sat up
and tried to clear his head. The wrongness was there, pressing,
urgent, and intense. After a few moments Kelly sat up beside
him. She looked into his eyes and he nodded to her before
climbing out of their bed to pull on a shirt. Joshua pushed
aside the blanket and found Bill and Sally waiting outside.
You feel it too? Joshua rumbled in as close as he
could come to a whisper.Yea, Bill said, scratching his head, Something isn't
right.
A few moments later they were joined by John, We've
got a problem, the one-time sheriff said, my gun's missing.
What? Bill asked incredulously, How?
I don't know, he replied, I just woke up and it was
gone.
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Was it loaded? Sally asked.
No, But someone got into my ammunition as well,
John said, Forced the lock on my gun case and everything.
Not sure how without waking me and Jaime. But that is not theonly weird thing about it, whoever it was only took the
revolver and one round. The handgun that Bobbie had in her
bag and a full box of ammo weren't touched.
Oh no, Joshua wailed, rushing over to were he kept
his tools and supplies, Crap! All four cans of gunpowder are
missing.
You've got to be kidding, Bill said, Why w.. a
muffled explosion shook the chamber followed by the cracking
sound of wood breaking from the upper passageway.
*****
Bobbie padded down one of the side passageways
carrying a blanket-wrapped bundle over her shoulder. Loose
rocks on the cavern floor bruised the bottoms of her feet as sheran and she had stubbed her toes on protruding rocks several
times, but she didn't care. She had urgent work to be about,
important work. She prayed softly as she ran that she be able
to complete it in time. So far the tunnel she was in was free of
mud, she thanked God for that.
Bobbie rounded a bend in the passage and suddenly her
feet slipped in the ooze that had begun flowing down from the
main passageway. She slid at full speed into the wall but didnot slow her pace. It didn't upset her, she was not bothered by
this, it was bound to happen sooner or later. She ran on
splashing through ankle deep muck. Her feet burned, her side
ached from where she had slammed into the wall, and her lungs
burned from the long run through the cool air of the side
passageways. The side tunnel Bobbie was in intersected the
main passageway about two feet up the wall, between one step
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and the next she was knee deep in the acidic mud. She
stumbled and once again slammed, shoulder first, into the wall
of the passageway. Bobbie screamed in agony as her right
shoulder dislocated itself against the unyielding stone. Painlaced itself through her arm, hot and sharp like needles in her
bones. The arm itself hung useless at her side. It didn't matter,
the pain didn't matter, the only thing that mattered was doing
what must be done. Bobbie paused only long enough to put the
knotted end of her bundle in her teeth long enough to retrieve
her flashlight. The knee deep mud slowed her progress as she
trudged onward. The mud burned where it touched her skin,
she felt as if she was walking through thick, boiling syrup.
Thankfully the mud grew shallower the farther up the tunnel
she went. After what felt like hours she reached her
destination, the mud only halfway up to her knee's. She
searched the ceiling of the passageway where it intersected
what remained of the parking chamber. The stone and debris
from the cave in funneled the black mud directly into the
passageway.The crack Joshua had spoken of looked like a dark
wedge cut into the stone. To reach it Bobbie had to drag the
remains of the old generator into the mouth of the tunnel. She
untied her blanket and pulled out John's revolver. She used a
pair of pliers from Joshua's tool bag to remove the lead bullet
from the single round she had brought with her and inserted it
into the gun. She opened all four cans of gunpowder and
poured a large amount down the barrel before tying the end ofthe shoestrings she had scavenged from her over sized work
boots to the handle and threading it through the trigger guard.
It only gave her twelve feet, but hopefully that would be
sufficient.
Bobbie pulled the hammer back on the revolver and tied
the bundle together again, making sure the end of the barrel
was partially inserted into one of the powder cans. Balanced
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on the top of the generator. Bobbie wedged the bundle as far
into the crack as she could. She carefully pulled off her plaid
nightshirt, wincing as she pulled it off of her limp arm, and
stuffed it in the crack to help brace the bundle. Bobbie beganclimbing down off the dead generator and backed her way
down the tunnel, trying to get as far from the crack as possible.
She didn't get far, however, before her heel struck something
on the floor. As she fell into the acidic muck Bobbie heard the
muffled POP from the revolver just before the world exploded
in pain around her.
*****
Bill and Joshua sprinted to the upper passageway. The
bottom of the barricade had been pushed outward about three
inches, it's mounts ripped from the wall. The door that had
been set in it's center had been forced open by the pressure, it's
wooden braces broken and splintered on the floor. Dark mud
oozed through the openings into the chamber.Wake my assistants, Joshua said, turning to Bill, we
need to contain this before it becomes a problem. Well, more
of a problem anyway. Joshua rushed off towards his tools
once more, returning momentarily with some plastic bags and a
roll of gray tape. He put a leg in one of the bags, and started
wrapping the tape around it.
Sally, he said working on his other leg, Tell my
assistants to shore this up as well as they can, but be ready toopen the door when I knock.
No problem, Sally said as Joshua ripped holes in the
bottom of a third bag.
What? Kelly said as Joshua applied a liberal amount
of tape to his waist, You can't seriously be considering going
out there. That mud is thick and mostly acidic.
I'll be fine dear, Josh said giving his wife a kiss on the
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cheek before pulling on some thick work gloves and wading
into the muck.
You'd better be, Kelly yelled up the tunnel behind
him, I will make it a point to kick your sorry behind if youdon't Sally did her best to hide a smile as the doctor turned
and stomped off in the direction of her clinic, grumbling as she
went about how she hadto go and marry the most capable man
in the camp.
Joshua was smiling to himself as well. Kelly really did
love him, she just had a funny way of showing it. He worked
his way up the passageway through mud that in some placed
reached halfway up his thigh, in others only to his knees. The
bags wrapped around his legs worked remarkably well to keep
the acidic sludge from reaching his clothing and skin. The mud
made the climb up the tunnel difficult, every step felt as though
he was wearing two hundred pound weights on his legs. The
ooze felt warm through the plastic, and the air in the tunnel felt
heavy and humid with a strong chemical odor. The muck was
just liquid enough to keep him from getting stuck, but it slowedhis progress quite a bit despite his strength and lengthy stride.
Joshua kept a steady pace as he went, but his legs were
getting tired from dragging them through the thick mud. The
farther up he went the shallower the mud seemed to be,
however, and soon it was only ankle deep. He quickened his
pace as much as he dared, and soon found himself staring at a
wall of rock and rubble where the passageway had once opened
into the parking chamber. He ran his flashlight over the barrier,almost afraid to find what he sought. Lying curled next to the
chamber wall and covered in black mud was a small, still form.
Fearing the worst, Joshua hurried to Bobbie's body and rolled
her onto her back. The young girl was almost naked, wearing
only her underclothes, gripped in her hand was what looked
like the burnt end of a shoestring. Joshua could not find a pulse
and their was no sign of life in the young woman's small body.
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Joshua ripped a hole in the bag, just above his chest
pocket to retrieve the handkerchief he kept their. He carefully
wiped the mud from her face and tilted her head back. Joshua
pinched Bobbie's nose and breathed gently into her mouth.Nothing happened. He pumped her chest four times then once
again gave her breath. Still nothing happened. Joshua repeated
the process twice more, on the third breath he gave her, Bobbie
coughed and rolled onto her side, breathing raggedly. Joshua
sat back against the tunnel wall, relieved. Bobbie was still
unconscious, but she was alive.
Joshua wiped as much mud off the rest of her as he
could before gently picking her up. Bobbie's skin was red and
blistered, and she hung limp in his arms. Her right arm hung at
an awkward angle, the shoulder bruised and discolored. He
carried her down the tunnel, careful not to jar her too much.
By the time he reached the barricade his lungs were burning
from the fumes and his legs ached as if he had just ran four
miles. He kicked at the door with his foot three times, after a
few seconds he heard the scrape of wood being pulled awayand the door swung open. He nearly lost his balance as the
mud began to flow through the open door. He stumbled into
the chamber, gasping for breath but didn't stop moving until he
reached the shower.
Without bothering to hang the blanket that served as a
shower curtain, Joshua pulled the rope that caused the
lukewarm water to flow over them growing warmer as the
cooler water was replaced by water that had run through thenew stove. He began gently scrubbing the muck off of the
young woman and was soon joined by his wife. Kelly pulled
the curtain closed and took over the washing with a fresh
towel, removing the girl's undergarments and discarding them.
Bobbie's hair came away in clumps when Kelly tried to wash
the mud out of it, her eyebrows too were gone. The Girl's skin
was bright red where it wasn't covered in bruises. Kelly
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8/8/2019 The End Pt7
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inspected Bobbie's right arm, then with a sharp movement
popped the dislocated limb back in place. Bobbie moaned
weekly as Kelly inspected her for other broken or dislocated
bones.She's going to be in a lot of pain when she wakes up,
Kelly said, shutting off the water and opening the curtain where
Sally waited with a soft blanket to cover the young girl in,
Nothing is broken, but her skin looks pretty bad. Her legs and
feet are the worst, but I don't think there will be any permanent
damage. Come on, let's get her into bed.
Joshua followed his wife to her clinic, as he gently lay
Bobbie down she managed to get one eye open, Did it work?
she asked feebly.
Yea, it worked, Joshua answered, you did good.
Thank God, Bobbie said, and slipped once more into
unconsciousness.
To Be Continued...
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8/8/2019 The End Pt7
20/20
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
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http://www.scribd.com/doc/35749698/The-End-Pt-1http://www.scribd.com/doc/36223255/The-End-Pt-2http://www.scribd.com/doc/37883137/The-End-Pt3http://www.scribd.com/doc/38906216/The-End-Pt4http://www.scribd.com/doc/40020457/The-End-Pt5http://www.scribd.com/doc/44244474http://www.scribd.com/doc/45877869http://www.scribd.com/doc/35749698/The-End-Pt-1http://www.scribd.com/doc/36223255/The-End-Pt-2http://www.scribd.com/doc/37883137/The-End-Pt3http://www.scribd.com/doc/37883137/The-End-Pt3http://www.scribd.com/doc/38906216/The-End-Pt4http://www.scribd.com/doc/40020457/The-End-Pt5http://www.scribd.com/doc/44244474http://www.scribd.com/doc/45877869