by Cameo Renae
“Finn, my boy. It’s so good to see you. Thank you, thank you,” my dad sobbed.
This was the first time I’d ever seen my dad cry. He really must have thought we were dead.
“It was my pleasure, Dr. Park,” Finn replied.
“I stayed back with the last group, hoping and praying we would hear something, or find you. Everyone said you were all dead, but I wouldn’t accept it. I’ve never been more scared, in all my life. The thought of losing you two… But you’re here, and you’re alive, and that’s what matters,” he said, wrapping us in a tight hug again.
I didn’t know the others in his group. They looked like they were all soldiers, dirty and tired from the trek.
My dad embraced Dr. Banks when he climbed into the chopper.
“Banks, you don’t know how great it is to see your handsome face,” my father laughed, clasping his face between his hands.
“Stephen, we have some stories to tell you,” Dr. Banks said, patting my dad on the shoulder.
“I have no doubt you do,” he agreed.
We all buckled in, and soon the chopper blades began their whump-whump-whump.
I glanced around at all of the weary faces. Tina and the injured man were still sound asleep, and probably would remain as such through the duration of the flight.
The chopper lifted and we began heading toward our next destination. We were headed to the Black Hills bunker, unaware of what the future held for us.
The past few days felt like a dream. Playing back the moments from the crash, it just seemed so unbelievably insane. But Sanctum and its people did exist, and I still had Finn, right next to me, holding tightly to my hand.
I looked down to the delicate ring on my finger and smiled. The necklace, I'd given him, was still hanging from his neck. Symbols of the promises we’d made to each other.
I glanced over to him and my eyes instantly filled with tears, thankful he was in my life.
He brushed away my tears and smiled.
His words, assuring me that we would be together, rang through my mind and sank deep into my heart.
Where would our new journey take us?
That was for fate to know, and for us to find out.
The End