by Crist, J. D.
Emily headed to Hope’s room once she was done, and after kissing Hope one more time, she and Marley headed back to her room and climbed into bed. Emily felt at peace as she laid down. She thought about the kiss the night before and pushing Shawn away. She knew she was free of her wedding vows before he had left that night but didn’t say anything. Emily didn’t want to rush into something just because she felt she could. Emily would tell him, but for now, she just wanted to enjoy the freedom she felt. Emily wanted to see what would develop now that she no longer felt trapped by her vows.
Emily allowed closed her eyes and still kept seeing images from the day. Emily didn’t lay awake long and slipped into a peaceful sleep next to Marley.
Chapter 18
Sanctuary moved into the new year with the same sense of peacefulness as it had on Christmas. Emily enjoyed January and watching everyone play in the freshly fallen snow. Hope and Marley were amusing to watch play together. Hope was sad when the last of the snow had melted, and spring began to sneak upon them. Sanctuary welcomed three new calves in early February, and Jacob was already hard at work getting the fields ready for the next season of crops.
Hope was walking strongly on her own and, at times, managed to outrun Emily. Emily was chasing Hope down main street when a voice came over her walkie.
"Emily, we have someone wanting in!" Sarah was so excited she was not speaking in her normal professional tone.
"I'm on my way," Emily replied.
Emily returned the walkie to her waist and scooped up Hope, who had stopped when Sarah's voice had come over the walkie. Emily quickly made her way to the COM room with Hope and Marley. Emily entered to see Margaret at the radio and Sarah standing behind her.
"What do we have?" Emily asked as she walked towards them.
"It's a large group, fifteen in total," Sarah replied.
"Wow," Emily said as she listened to Margaret continue to ask questions.
"There are only three children in the group, and two of them are teenagers," Sarah continued.
"Do we know where they are?" Emily asked.
"They are afraid to say," Sarah replied.
"They are trying to figure us out and have said they have met some bad people out there."
"Haven't we all," Emily half smiled.
"I don't know what else I can say to convince them that it's safe," Margaret said to them.
"Let me give it a try," Emily offered.
"Our town leader is here and is willing to speak with you if you would like," Margaret said into the radio.
"Yes, let me speak to him," a woman's voice spoke.
Emily handed Hope to Margaret and leaned closer to the radio.
"This is Emily, the leader of Sanctuary," Emily said after pressing the button.
"You are the leader?" the woman's voice spoke.
"Yes," Emily replied. "I understand that you have concerns about coming here."
"Of course, we do," the woman's voice rang out. "We want safety, but how do we know you're not going to try to make us slaves or try to eat us?"
"I would think the same thing if I were in your shoes," Emily replied. "And I'm thinking by your comment that you have encountered a man by the name of Jeff."
"You know that rapist?" The woman sounded panicked in her reply.
"I know him," Emily replied. "He took me, prisoner, over a year ago. I managed to escape after stabbing him with a screwdriver. He tried to retake me last year, but my friends here helped to save me from him once again."
"Do you have a dog?" the woman asked cautiously.
"Yes," Emily replied. "His name is Marley."
"Jeff said he killed your dog," the woman spoke.
"He shot Marley, but our doctor was able to patch him up," Emily replied, trying to ignore the knot that was forming in her stomach.
"You have a doctor?" the woman asked.
"Yes, we do," Emily replied as she heard Shawn and Sam enter the COM building.
"It may help if we could see you," the woman spoke. "Can you meet us by the sign you set up?"
"You will have to tell me which one you're at," Emily replied, knowing that the woman was referring to the stations.
"There's more than one?" the woman asked.
"There are four," Emily replied.
"We are in a wooded area, and there is a dirt road of some kind," the woman explained.
"Can you come alone?"
Emily turned to Shawn and instantly knew that something was wrong.
"How many people are in the group?" Shawn asked.
"Fifteen," Sarah replied.
"Why would they think you would come to meet fifteen of them alone?" Shawn asked not hiding his concern.
"They knew about Marley getting shot and thought he was dead," Emily added.
"It's just my opinion, but I don't think you should go at all. It sounds like it may be a trap," Shawn said with concern in his voice.
"I was thinking the same thing," Emily agreed, and she turned back to the radio.
"I won't be able to come personally," Emily replied. "I will be sending out our security team and will be waiting for you if you decide to come here."
"No!" The woman sounded agitated. "You need to meet us. Just you!"
"That's not going to be an option," Emily calmly replied.
"So, you are okay with killing us?!" The woman was screaming now.
"It's your choice," Emily remained calm as she spoke. "If you choose to come to Sanctuary, we will give you a hot meal and explain in detail how things work here. We then give you a choice to stay or leave."
"If you have nothing to hide, then you should have no problem coming out to meet us." The woman was trying to make herself sound calmer.
"I am willing to welcome you into my home," Emily replied. "This is the best I can do. Would you like for me to send out my security team?"
"That's it?" The woman was raising her voice again. "We either say yes, or you are done with us?!"
"We will be here if you change your mind later on," Emily replied. "The choice is yours."
The radio was silent for a few minutes, and Emily thought that the woman might be done talking.
"Fine, we will meet your security team," the woman finally replied.
"Can I have your name, so they know who they are looking for?" Emily asked.
"Mariann," the woman replied.
Emily turned to Shawn and could see the concern on his face.
"Just to be clear, you agree to stay here?" Shawn asked.
"If it is a trap, it's for me,"
"I agree," Sam spoke. "There's at least fifteen of them. It needs to be more than just you and me going out there."
"You’re right," Shawn said. "Let's get Jose, Cole, Jacob…."
Emily could hear Shawn listing names but couldn't focus on what he was saying. This would be the first time she would be sending anyone outside the wall and not going with them. Part of her wanted to tell them not to go. The chances of it being a trap were too high. However, if these were people in need of help, she could never forgive herself for being too scared to try.
"Emily, it's just up the road, so we shouldn't be gone more than an hour," Shawn said, pulling Emily back to the conversation. "If we are not back in an hour, it went wrong, and you have to remember not to come after us."
"I never agreed to that," Emily said.
"You have to," Shawn replied. "They know you will come after us, and you have to stay safe for Sanctuary and our family to be safe."
"How about you all just come home, and then we don't need to have this conversation?"
Shawn breathed loudly, knowing that Emily was not going to agree. Shawn motioned for Sam to follow, and they left together. Emily picked up Hope from Margaret and followed them. Sam took off down main street. Emily presumed it was to gather everyone that Shawn had listed. Emily followed Shawn to the gate and entered the code to open the inner gate. Shawn said nothing as the gate opened and he walked through. Emily stood with Hope, watch
ing as he got the trucks ready to go.
After a few minutes, Sam came through the gate and handed Shawn his weapons. Emily watched as they started to load up in the trucks and walked back outside the gate.
"Julia!" Emily called out after Julia came back through the gate after saying goodbye to Sam. "Would you mind watching Hope for a minute?"
"I'm going to take all the kids to my place until everyone's back," Julia replied as she took Hope. "I'll watch her until this is over if it's okay with you."
"That would be great." Emily tried to smile.
"I'm sure it won't be for long."
"Let's pray everything goes smoothly," Julia replied as she headed down the street.
"Emily! Emily!" Shawn's voice rang out from inside the gate. Emily waited until Shawn walked through and spotted her waiting by the keypad.
"We're ready to go," Shawn said. "We just need you to open the gate."
"You're just going to leave without saying goodbye?" Emily asked.
"I'll be back in a little bit. No need to say goodbye," Shawn smiled at her.
"Well, at least a hug would have been nice," Emily sheepishly said.
"I can handle that," Shawn replied as he pulled her close to him. Emily hugged Shawn and knew that she didn't want to let him go.
"I'll be back soon," Shawn whispered as he kissed her on top of the head and turned to head back through the gate.
Emily entered the code to open the outer gate and watched as three trucks pulled out. Once the last truck left, Emily closed both gates and watched until they were both closed. Once they were closed, Emily walked with Marley to the Armory and grabbed her weapons. Then they headed up the wall to keep an eye until everyone returned. Emily was surprised to find that she would not be on the wall alone. Margaret and several others were already on the wall, armed and ready to go.
"We all stay here until they come home," Ben smiled.
"Thank you," Emily smiled back as she took her position over the gate.
Emily looked to see that the vehicles were already out of sight. Emily kept her eyes on the road as the minutes went by. It felt like it had been hours when Father Nathan approached her.
"It's been over an hour," Father Nathan was trying to sound comforting.
"I know," Emily didn't turn to look at him and kept her eyes on the road.
"Maybe you should try the radio?" Father Nathan suggested.
Emily nodded in agreement and pulled the walkie from her waist, and pressed the button. She prayed that the short didn't happen again as it did last time outside the wall.
"Security team, report." Emily waited but heard nothing in response. "Security team, report."
"Hello, Love," Jeff's voice replied. Emily stared at the walkie, feeling like she was in another nightmare. "Are you still there, Love?"
"I'm here," Emily replied. "Where is my team?"
"They were not much of a security team," Jeff replied. "Only one stayed to talk. The others disappeared into the woods."
"Are they…" Emily couldn't bring herself to finish the question.
"Dead?" Jeff finished for her. "They are all alive as far as I know. They took a good beating, especially the big guy."
Emily felt herself wanting to ask if Shawn was who Jeff still had but knew she couldn't. If Jeff knew what Shawn meant to her, he would kill Shawn or use him to get Emily to surrender.
"If you want, I can bring the big guy home. We will just need you to open up that shiny gate, Love."
Emily went to reply but caught movement on the road below. After a closer look, she saw Sam and the others running towards the gate. Emily ran to the control room and entered the code to open the outer gate. Once everyone was inside, Emily quickly closed the gate and opened the inner gate. Doc took off down the stairs to help those who had returned.
"I'll even help you find the ones who chose to run away." Jeff's voice rang out once again.
"And I'm just supposed to trust that you are honest, and it's not another trap," Emily replied.
"That hurts, Love," Jeff answered.
"What can I say, husband? I need you to prove to me that you're honest." Emily had made sure to call him husband because she knew it would make him feel in control.
"Anything for you, Love," Jeff replied.
Emily waited as the radio went silent.
"Talk!" Jeff yelled as the walkie came back to life. "Talk, you son of a bitch!"
"Is this supposed to prove something," Emily spoke, hoping it would get Shawn to say something.
"No one worthy of Sanctuary," Shawn spoke with no emotion.
Emily knew what he was trying to tell her. He was saying that there was no one there to save, just the trap by Jeff.
"Your daughter will be worried," Emily replied. "Do you have a message for her?" Emily was trying hard to hide who Shawn was to her.
"Tell her I'll find my way home as I promised."
"That's enough," Jeff interrupted. "I proved the big one is alive, and I'm willing to help you find the others instead of hunting them down and killing them."
Jeff was growing irritated that the attention was no longer on him.
"Are you going to let me in or not?" Jeff was growing impatient.
"No," Emily said with as much strength as she could muster.
"Even if this big guy means nothing to you, sure, some of the cowards are worth saving." Jeff thought he was going to use the others to get her to open the gate.
"Doc is seeing to them now," Emily smiled as she answered. She knew that Shawn could hear her now and knew it would make him feel better to know they were safe.
"So, you are willing to let this guy die?" Jeff asked.
Emily fought the urge to scream no. She wanted to yell at Jeff that she would personally kill him slowly and painfully if he hurt Shawn.
"He knew the risk," Emily replied. "But perhaps we can reach another agreement."
"I'm listening," Jeff responded.
"You bring him back, and I will let you in," Emily said.
"You will let me and my people in if I bring him back?" Jeff asked.
"No," Emily replied. "I will let you in. Once I know, I can trust you. I will let the others in."
Emily knew that if Jeff came, he wouldn't survive the walk through the gate. She knew it was risky trying to use his trick against him, but she had no other choice.
"Sorry, Love," Jeff replied. "But now that the big guy knows you are willing to let him die, maybe I can get him to help me find a way in. I'll see you soon."
"Jeff?" Emily called into the radio, and silence was the only response she received.
"Shit!" Emily said as she slammed the walkie down on the control panel.
"We will get him back." Father Nathan tried to comfort her.
"Damn right I will," Emily replied. "Tell Sarah the walkies are not secure and to stop using them immediately."
Emily turned and left the control room before Father Nathan could respond. Emily made her way down the wall with Marley closely behind her. Emily walked through the open gate and couldn't help but be shocked as she looked at each of the men who returned. They were all hurt, some worse than others. Doc was making his way around to those that were shot first.
"Can I help, Doc?" Emily asked as she forced herself to move forward.
"I have them setting up the clinic to treat those that need stitches or surgery first," Doc began. "Cole seems to be the worst off. We need to get him there immediately, but I can't get him to try to walk."
"Come on, Cole," Emily said as she pulled Cole's arm over her shoulders.
Cole looked up at her, and Emily could see the pain on his face. "We have to get moving now," Emily said as she helped him to his feet.
Emily walked Cole to the clinic and helped him onto the surgery table. Time flew by as Emily helped Doc and the others get everyone patched up. The sun was down by the time they finished, and Emily had just finished making sure that Jacob made it home and was resting. Emily looked down at her hands th
at were covered in blood. She tried to wipe it off on her jeans, but there was too much. Emily made her way home and went straight to the study.