When the rescue party rendezvous with Karen and Hicks at the desert escarpment, Karen Shaw soon learns that surviving the desert conditions may be the least of her problems.

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Chapter 4

The next two days were more boring than nerve wracking. Even though Hicks told me not to worry, I knew there were no more guarantees with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. And I pondered just how much it was in the balance while I stood guard during the evening hours of the second day. I assumed the worst as I scanned the desolate beauty like it was some Ansel Adams panoramic view come to life.

And speaking of coming to life, I heard Hicks stirring as the setting sun set the mountains alight, revealing layer upon layer of rich hues.

“Hicks,” I said softly. “Come over here and have a look.”

“What is it?” he wondered, shuffling on over, yawning the whole way. “It’s not a patrol in the distance is it?”

“No. Just the sunset.”

He stood beside me and squinted his eyes, apparently trying to see things through my weary yet grateful eyes.

I said, “It sure is something, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Brings back memories.”

“I’m just grateful to be around for another one,” I added. “Never know how many more you’re going to get.”

In that special moment, my right hand seemed to drift on over toward his chiseled body, seemingly of its own accord, wanting to share the moment with him. But I caught myself and withdrew it.

“I think I’ll get something to eat,” I said. “I’m not sure if it’s lunch or dinner considering the hours I’ve been keeping.”

Hicks said, “Breakfast for me I guess. Not that it really matters, what with eating the same food every meal.”

He gazed out across the vast expanse for a little while longer, perhaps enjoying the sunset a little more, or perhaps confirming that we were still indeed alone. He finally joined me in the waning light of evening.

I said, “I wish we could keep the lantern on. I’m normally not one to be afraid of the dark…but in this place…”

I suppressed a shiver.

“What? Are the coyotes getting to you?” he teased. “You shouldn’t worry so much. Not as long as the howling stays as far away as that lightning storm the other night.” He paused for a few moments while he studied my silhouette like some rock formation off in the distance. “You know,” he began, “I have to admit, I’m pretty impressed how you’re taking everything in stride. Most women, if they’d been what you’d been through…I don’t know. Don’t get me wrong though. I’m not talking about how women are the weaker sex. I’m just trying to say that you’re a lot tougher than I thought when I first laid eyes on you.”

“Thanks,” I said. “Maybe it’s the haircut.” I shuddered momentarily. “I can’t wait until it grows back. It’s been a while since…”

“Since what?”

“Since I dressed as a guy.”

Hicks laughed for a few seconds, but his laughter faded as quickly as his smile when he noticed my expression remained as blank as the walls of our little cave.

“Wait a minute,” he began. “You’re not being serious are you?”

“Just forget I said anything. It’s a long story anyway, a chapter of my life I’d really like to forget.”

Observing that the awkwardness between us had almost reached a level where you could cut it with a knife, the protracted silence between us had me wondering if I should give him a rather unpleasant briefing about the history of one Eric Campbell.

I cleared my throat before elaborating further.

“How much did Susan tell you about the project?” I asked.

“Well,” began Hicks, “Enough to make me realize that I didn’t sign up for this shit…pardon my language…I mean I’ll be damned if my team and I rescued you from those religious nut jobs back at the warehouse just to hand you over to people that want to turn you into some kind of lab rat.”

“Lab rat?” I wondered.

The sickening level of deceit was finally beginning to dawn on me and I felt an accompanying surge of anxiety through my heart.

“Hicks,” I implored, “I have to know what happened to the others. You need to tell me everything Susan told you.”

He pursed his lips before speaking. “Are you sure you want to hear this?”

“Yes,” I said, in almost a whisper. “I have to know.”

I could see Hicks fighting anger and disgust as if someone were pouring salt into a deep wound in his psyche.

Regaining his composure, he said, “Susan told me they were impregnating some of the women. She wasn’t entirely sure, but she said she strongly suspected they were injecting them with the virus to see if any immunity would be passed onto the child.”

“Jesus!” was the only response I could manage. “I should have known. I should have known I shouldn’t have put anything past them. Fucking bastards. Goddamn Mengele sons of bitches!”

Now it was my turn to regain my composure.

Fighting back tears, I said, “Sorry about the language.”

“My sentiments exactly,” said Hicks. “At first, I didn’t want to believe it, but then again, why would Susan risk her career to help you get out if something terrible wasn’t going on? Now you know why I had to do what I had to do. The world needs to know the truth about what’s going on in there…what’s left of it I mean. So, to hell with the consequences.”

He shook his head.

I leaned in closer as if I was seeking out warmth from a fire.

“What else did she tell you about me?” I inquired.

“Besides having possible immunity? Not much else.”

“Oh,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief. “I thought she might have…” I cleared my throat. “Never mind.”

Hicks briefly furrowed his brow. “I’ve just got one question. Why do they even suspect you might have immunity in the first place? How can they know considering you’ve never been exposed to the virus?”

“Like I said before, it’s a long story…A very long, complicated, and exhausting story to tell.”

Hicks opened his mouth as if to speak; instead, he simply nodded and gave me my space.

In that moment, I doubted I would ever feel ready to tell him. Considering that I never even told my boyfriend, I figured this was one secret I might end up taking to the grave if I played my cards right, just like Susan was probably going to take her secret to the grave after they found out and locked her up…or worse. I didn’t even want to think through any more of the terrible consequences of her heroic actions.

Hicks finally broke the awkward silence.

“Looks like we both have a complicated past.”

“That and the same barber,” I joked.

And the fact that we both knew what it was like to be able to enjoy the convenience of standing while peeing. I so wanted to say that, but I wisely chose to adopt the versatile “don’t ask, don’t tell policy.”

~o~O~o~

As usual, Hicks awoke before me. While I was yawning and attempting to stretch out all of the soreness in my lower back from sleeping on the dusty and cool rock floor, I noticed Hicks out of the corner of my eye. Just beyond the entrance to our den, he was partially obscured by the shadows but I could see him standing as still as the stale air, binoculars raised and captivated by something off in the dim distance.

Instead of checking my boots for scorpions or snakes-which had quickly become a part of my morning routine-I padded on over in my dingy white socks to join him. I stood next to him for a few moments, waiting for him to acknowledge my presence.

Instead of exchanging the usual pleasantries, he simply handed me the binoculars and directed me where to look. I adjusted the focus and peered into the distance like an astronomer through her telescope at the heavens. I peered intently, but I saw nothing to distinguish this small dusty patch I was looking at from the rest of the unremarkable horizon.

I lowered my binoculars and met his eyes with crinkled brow.

“Hicks,” I began, “What exactly am I…”

He cut me off before I could finish.

“Just give it a minute. Be patient.”

After shushing me like a child, he motioned for me to gaze through the binoculars once more.

Before I could grow impatient, a series of white flashes danced near the horizon like a variable star. Seconds later, they danced again with exactly the same rhythm. I had a pretty good idea what I was seeing and my heart surged with renewed hope after days of painful waiting. The tension drained from my face as I lowered the binoculars and turned toward Hicks once more, this time with a warm smile.

Seeking some superfluous confirmation, I started to say, “Is that what I think it is?”

Hicks reciprocated with a warm smile of his own before his chapped lips parted and he spoke in a raspy voice.

“Mmm hmm.” He savored the last few drops from his canteen before elaborating further. “That’s the signal we’ve been waiting for…She’s come through in fine style…just like I knew she would. Time to return her call.”

He gave me a wink.

I could hear the scraping of Velcro as he pulled a maglite flashlight out of a pocket. He narrowed the beam and flashed away at a different rhythm than the mystery person in the distance. Then he motioned for me to hand him the binoculars. He only stared for a matter of seconds before nodding his head and fixing his gaze upon me, a reassuring smile lighting up his face once more.

“Yep,” he said. “That’s definitely her.”

“Were you flashing some kind of code?”

“Uh-huh…morse code.”

“Did you learn it in the Boy Scouts?”

He stifled a laugh. “God no! At that age, instead of collecting merit badges I was collecting street signs from intersections that really needed them.”

“You weren’t kidding,” I said, giving him a playful shove. “You really were a bad boy! I hope you didn’t cause any accidents.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, “I was quite the juvenile delinquent.”

He shook his head and forced a laugh.

I couldn’t help but laugh as well.

I said, “I can’t wait until I hear some more illuminating stories from your…from your uh…”

“Sissy. That’s what everyone calls her.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at a most unlikely name.

“Well, that’s certainly ironic,” I said.

“Her birth name is Cecelia Anne…but don’t call her that…oh, and you didn’t hear it from me.”

“How’d she get the nick-name?”

Hicks shrugged his shoulders before sitting down to the sight of my disappointed face.

“I’m not really sure how,” he confessed. “It all depends on who you ask.”

Instead of indulging in some idle speculation, he indulged his hopeful curiosity by intently scanning the horizon like a radar beam. Without taking his eyes off of it, he motioned for me to sit down next to him.

“Might as well sit a spell,” he urged. “It’ll be awhile before they reach us.”

“They?” I inquired.

“You didn’t think Sissy was going to come without backup did you?”

“No, but…who else is with her?”

“I’m not sure. But she’ll have a couple of guys with her. I doubt there will be anyone else. She doesn’t trust that many people.”

“I can definitely relate to that,” I conceded, acknowledging such a depressed truth with a subtle head shake.

“It’s going to be okay,” reassured Hicks.

“It’s strange,” I began, with a faraway look in my eyes, “I actually believe you when you say that. Thanks.”

A modest half-smile briefly brushed his face. I reciprocated with a forced smile of my own. But my smile quickly drained away after remembering how much of an illusion this feeling of safety was.

“I don’t know why,” I began, “But I feel very safe with you right now Hicks…in spite of everything that’s going on out there. I don’t know why. I know I should be scared. I should be scared out of my mind, but for some reason I’m not.”

“Maybe you’re just too tired to worry,” he added. “I know I am. The brain can only take so much bombardment before it goes into shut-down mode.”

I nodded my head, simultaneously trying and failing to muffle a laugh.

“And speaking of shut-down,” I mentioned. “All this god-awful heat is making my body want to shut down. I mean I’ve never felt this drained before. I’ll tell ya, what I wouldn’t give for a nice walk on the beach with a cool sea breeze right about now. Know what I mean?”

In response to a subtle nod of Hicks’ head, I said, “But I guess that’s not going to happen…just like I’m never going to…”
I fought back tears as an image of Alice with her beautiful and infectious smile and flawless milky-white skin burrowed its way to the surface.

When Hicks delicately asked me to elaborate, all I could manage was the quietly evasive “nothing.”

At that moment, I realized it was the terrifying uncertainty regarding Alice’s whereabouts and more importantly her fate which worried me more than thoughts of failing to avoid capture from our pursuers. “What if” scenarios raced through my mind like the desert mice scurrying back to their daytime hiding places. Sadly, depressingly, I envisioned the best case scenario to be Alice holed up inside her house, held hostage by the virus, as terrified to leave as the military blockade enforcing the quarantine was afraid of allowing one virus particle escape. And as far as the worst case scenario was concerned…Well, I’ll just leave that one to the imagination.

The remainder of the time waiting for our rescue party to arrive was spent in silence. And I suppose Hicks spent as much time thinking about his fiancée as I did about poor, sweet, and innocent Alice.

I saw swirls of dust like mini dust devils before I heard the slow but steady approach of hoof beats. As the hoof beats grew louder, the dust devils became fainter in the fading long red-orange rays of the setting sun.

When the hoof beats subsided and stopped at the base of the escarpment, Hicks put on his night-vision goggles and peered downward. Soon, a smile set his face alight just as the first stars were lighting up the twilight sky.

“Hello down there!” shouted Hicks.

The echo from his voice had barely subsided before a gruff yet feminine voice danced upward and across the walls of the cave.

“Are ya’ll ready to check outta this place now or what?” asked the mystery woman.

“You got that right!” replied Hicks in a jovial tone. “Just give us some light on the slope and we’ll be down A.S.A.P.”

“Amen to that,” I quietly proclaimed.

With renewed energy, we scurried down the slope, inhaling one dusty breath after another. Hicks led the way, but we didn’t even make it halfway to our rescue party before the same weathered female voice bellowed once more.

“Whoa you two!” she cautioned, as if steadying her horse. “That’s far enough.”

“What’s wrong?” protested Hicks.

“Right now…nothing,” she said. “And I’d like to keep it that way. I can’t take any chances on account of the virus.”

“But I’m not sick,” I declared. “And neither is Hicks.”

“Yeah,” asserted Hicks. “We’ve been effectively quarantined here for the past few days.”

In a weary tone, she continued expressing her trepidation.

“I know that,” she said, in a weary tone. “But from what I’ve heard on the news, I also know this damned virus can linger in the body for quite some time before rearing its ugly head. So for now, if ya’ll wanna travel with us, you’re gonna have to travel downwind of us…No offense ma’am.”

“None taken,” I said. “Can’t be too careful.”

In fact, all of the sudden, I didn’t take offense, for God only knows what I was secretly exposed to other than a makeshift X chromosome and lies, lies, and more lies.

Hicks’ “mom” continued on.

“Now, I was only able to bring one extra horse given the short notice and all. So it’ll have to do for the both of you for the time bein.’”

“That’s fine,” replied Hicks.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Besides, I don’t know how to ride anyway.”

“Well,” she said, “Now’s as good as any other time to take some lessons. Wouldn’t you agree Hicks?”

“Yes ma’am,” he said.

Just then, Sissy made a clicking sound with her tongue, followed by a firm slap on some substantial flesh, which preceded a clip-clopping sound.

Sissy said, “There ya go. Go ahead and saddle up now. We’re burning moonlight!”

“Wow!” I exclaimed, studying the magnificent beast in the pale moonlight. “She’s beautiful!”

My moment of reverence was interrupted by some chuckling coming from the direction of our rescue party. Then, Sissy corrected me.

“I think Max might object to that,” she chided.

“Right,” I said. “I guess preferred gender pronouns apply to horses as well as people.”

“That’s a new one on me,” said Hicks.

Hicks patted the horse as if they were old friends before smoothly and easily mounting it with one determined grunt. Then he offered his hand. But even with his help, it took more than one determined grunt and several failed attempts before I was able to climb on board behind him in a less than fluid and even less lady-like straddling maneuver.

“We’re all set,” announced Hicks. “About how far do you want us to hang back?”

“About thirty yards is fine,” said Sissy matter-of-factly.

Once we were on our way, I finally asked, “Where exactly are we headed?”

“Hey Sissy,” began Hicks, “Are we still headed towards the same place?”

“Yep,” was her simple reply as if answering between mouthfuls of tobacco. “Sorry ma’am, but the accommodations aren’t much better than your previous address. But at least it’ll be cooler…much cooler.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, for whoever said the heat is more bearable in the desert southwest because it’s a dry heat is an idiot!

“So where exactly is this air-conditioned place?” I asked.

I could envision an ironic smile on Hicks’ face when he said, “An old abandoned mine.”

“Cool,” I said. “Literally!” I chuckled. “By old, do you mean like back-in-the-day “wild west” old?”

“Not quite,” he said in a cowboyish kind of drawl. “It closed right before the Great Depression when it stopped putting out.”

“Huh,” I began. “What a coincidence. That’s when my grandfather was born. Talk about a bad-luck time to be born, huh?”

“Yeah,” agreed Hicks. “But at least he was able to be born. Who knows if there’ll even be any women left in a few years to bring anybody into this world. At least the upside is there won’t be anyone left to remember the bad times…all of the pain.”

He sighed. Apparently the weight of what he had let slip out sunk in, for he quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry Karen,” he said. “Don’t pay any attention to me right now. I’m just exhausted…just exhausted.”

I grasped his hand, fighting back tears the whole time. “It’s okay Hicks. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t had similar thoughts.” I paused as thoughts of project Eve 2.0 and the slim possibility of having my own child sent a surge of energy radiating outward from my weary heart. “Maybe things aren’t as bleak as you think…as everyone thinks right now. I for one think life will go on. I imagine that one day, old-timers will tell their grandchildren of the time when we almost checked out from this world, yet somehow managed to make it through to the other side, just like we made it out of the Great Depression.”

Hicks said, “I hope so. I really do.”

His less than optimistic reply had me suspecting he perceived my optimism to be synonymous with delusional thinking, or at best, a kind of naivety that went beyond the garden variety kind of looking at the world through rose-colored glasses, a naivety borne of wearing a partial blindfold. At that moment, I so wanted to convince him that it wasn’t. But I couldn’t, because convincing him would require telling him the truth about me. For now, I’d just have to silently bear my burden, just like our horse was quietly bearing its burden.

We rode the rest of the way in silence, with his eyes keenly focused on every inch of the “road” ahead, just like that fateful “no more looking back” night in the jeep all those nights ago. I just let him concentrate. And I just kept my arms wrapped around his rock solid body, not wanting to abandon that feeling of safety that warmly suffused throughout my body. Soon, that warm feeling began lulling me to sleep. I found myself nodding off as if I was in the back seat of my parents’ car on a long trip, being soothed by the never ending monotone drone of the engine, reassuring me that we would make it home safely.

~o~O~o~

I wish I could tell you I enjoyed a respite from the burden of reality. I wish I could tell you that I found refuge for a few short hours in luxurious dreamless sleep, but I wasn’t that fortunate, for it didn’t feel like a dream. The nightmare felt as real as my first night on the streets a lifetime ago. I don’t remember much now, but I do remember standing in front of Alice’s grave on a frosted winter day.

When I was jolted back to the land of the living, I was sobbing. Hicks instinctively put his arms around me, just like I imagined my fiancé would.

“It’s okay Karen,” he reassured. “It was just a dream. Shhh…It was just a dream.”

“But it felt so…so real,” I said, in between gulps of air during my remnant dry sobs.”

“What was it you saw that’s gotten you so shaken up?” he asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” I managed, wiping away a wayward tear. “Like you said, it was just a dream.”

“You sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

I forced a smile.

“No. It’s fading fast anyway,” I lied. Looking skyward, I added, “Soon it’ll be gone just like those last few stars.”

But what I wanted to say was “soon it’ll be gone just like everything else in this world.” But I bit my tongue.

Just then, realizing we had fallen a little too far behind, I heard Sissy’s booming voice, amplified by the “cool” morning air.

“Everything alright back there?”

“Yeah,” said Hicks.

“Good,” replied Sissy. “We’re almost there. Just a few more clicks.”

At that moment, I hoped that when she said “clicks,” she meant kilometers, not miles.

~o~O~o~

After three kilometers, we arrived at the boarded up entrance to the mine.

Sissy was the first to dismount, flashlight in hand. Everyone else stayed on their horses. After she briefly pierced the darkness with the bright beam, she turned her attention to one of her two companions.

Sissy gave her first order.

“Jack, give me a hand with this.”

“Sure thing Sissy,” obeyed the man.

Jack dismounted with the same ease as Sissy, but I doubt the horse even noticed considering he was as stringy as the beef jerky he was chewing on. He rummaged through one of the saddlebags and pulled out a crowbar.

The wood creaked like an old rocking chair as they went to work. Once the last nail squeaked its way out, Sissy pulled her gun out of its holster. Flashlight in one hand and gun cocked in the other, she waded into the darkness.

When she was out of sight for more than a few seconds, I whispered to Hicks.

“What’s with the side arm?”

Hicks replied, “The boards may keep the coyotes out, but the snakes can still wriggle their way in.”

To which I joked, “Remind me never to move to the desert southwest.”

“It’s just for the night,” he assured. “We’ll just have to tough it out…together…You don’t have a phobia do you?”

“No,” I said. “It’s not the snake I’m afraid of, it’s the venom…not to mention the fact that the nearest hospital is…” I made a sweeping motion with my arm along the rosy horizon. “God only knows how far away it is.”

“Farther than a coyote’s distant howl as far out as we are now.”

I immediately recognized the owner of the raspy smoker’s voice. I peered over my shoulder to the sight of Sissy’s shadowy petite figure emerging from the entrance.

Then I heard Jack speak up. “Not to worry ma’am. I’m sure Hicks wouldn’t mind sucking out the venom for you.”

The huskier member of our rescue party finally broke his silence with a laugh reminiscent of sandpaper scraping against his vocal chords. But both of them piped down when Sissy cast a withering glare in their direction.

With an expression as soft as the leather of her old well broken in saddle, she returned her attention to Hicks and me.

“Good news,” she began, “No snakes or any other pesky critters for that matter for half a click.”

“You’re positive?” I inquired.

“You didn’t hear me discharge my firearm did you?” was her cool reply.

“Good enough for me,” reasoned Hicks.

Sissy motioned for the two of us to dismount. Then she said, “You can set up camp in this passageway. But don’t let your guard down,” she cautioned, the wry smile draining from her face. “I highly recommend for the two of you to sleep in shifts.”

Hicks and I nodded.

Continuing on, Sissy said, “We’re gonna hit the sack about half a click north. You’ve got plenty of supplies to last you a few days…just in case we have to go our separate ways.” Tipping her hat, she added, “Sweet dreams.”

Right on cue, her companions commanded their tired horses forward with a gentle nudge. Soon, all three figures retreated back into the shadows before disappearing around a bend.

As Hicks led his horse over to the passageway, I was still preoccupied with our brief and succinct conversation with Sissy.

I asked him, “What did she mean by ‘…in case we have to go our separate ways?’”

Hicks simply shrugged his shoulders. “What can I say? She’s a realist.”

“Well,” I said, “She’s gonna feel bad when I don’t fall ill…when she realizes she was wrong.”

“Don’t expect an apology any time soon,” said Hicks. “She’d sooner go to the doctor for a voluntary exam than utter the words ‘I’m sorry. I guess you’ll just have to wait a little while longer until you get to listen to some of her stories around the glow of the lantern in the evening…I mean morning.”

I couldn’t keep from yawning. “I know what you mean,” I said. “My body has no idea what time it is either.”

Prepared to go in first, Hicks turned on his flashlight.

“Here,” I offered, with outstretched hand. “Allow me.”

“I’m not sure ‘ladies first’ applies to this situation,” said Hicks.

“I’ll be fine,” I assured, with a dismissive wave of my hand.

I waited for Hicks a clever retort from Hicks, but his only reply at that moment was a restrained grin.

Arms akimbo, I asked, “What’s up?”

“You’re just full of surprises Karen…and a lot braver than I initially gave you credit for.”

“I don’t know about that,” I said with genuine modesty. “I think Sissy is more deserving of the title ‘brave’ than I am. After all, she was the one who went in first in search of things that go rattle in the night.”

“Don’t sell yourself short Karen. Most women, if they’d been through everything you’ve been through, wouldn’t be taking things in stride like you’ve been doing.”

“Maybe,” I conceded. “But then again, I’m not most women.” In response to Hicks’ furrowed brow, I added, “God definitely broke the mold when he made me.”

Hicks nodded in response to my rather cryptic reply.

With me ‘bravely’ leading the way, we navigated our way through a winding passageway whose eventual man-made course was dictated eons ago by a random distribution of veins of ore, long since ripped out. All that was left were ugly scoured walls and cool stale air smelling of rusted dust.

After passing exhausted section after exhausted section of wall, we came upon an exhausted section of ceiling. The rubble on the floor was piled up three-quarters of the way to the top.

Looking back at Hicks, I said, “I hope to God this collapse happened a very, very, long time ago!”

“Probably before Sissy was born,” noted Hicks. Fighting through a yawn, he said, “Do you want to…”

Before he could finish, I interjected.

“Sure. I’ll take first watch. I got plenty of sleep on the way here anyway.”

“Are you alright Karen?” worried Hicks. “You’re voice seems a little raspy. Do you need some more water?”

I shook my head.

“It’s probably all of the dust,” I reasoned.

But my body seemed to disagree with my assertion, for it couldn’t help but compensate in the only way it knew how.

Cough! Cough!

“Here,” said Hicks.

I reluctantly grabbed the canteen from his outstretched arm.

Gulp! Gulp!

“Ahhh,” I uttered. “That’s better. Like I said, it’s just all of the dust and everything making my throat sore.”

Politely refusing to consider the possible entrance of the elephant into the room, so to speak, Hicks quietly started setting up our gear.

As I stood first watch near the entrance to the mine, it wasn’t the military, or snakes, or coyotes that I was afraid of; instead, I was petrified at the very real possibility of Sissy’s earlier concerns playing themselves out. Now I felt like a hypochondriac as the lines became blurred. Symptoms of prolonged living in a desert environment were being confused for symptoms of the virus. And I couldn’t stop myself from asking obvious questions:

Am I feeling so drained because of the heat alone, or is it something else? Is my cough just a temporary annoyance or an early warning of things to come? And, has my forehead warmed up because of the minor exertion involved in traversing the narrow passageway, or…

I didn’t even want to finish that what if. But even though I didn’t, I felt a chill shoot down my spine. And instantaneously, the feeling of safety and the feeling that everything was going to be alright left me as quickly as the miners abandoned the exhausted mine.

In that moment, I wondered if the unforgiving desert landscape was the last thing I was ever going to set eyes on. I also wondered if God existed. And if he did exist, I wondered if he was as indifferent as the blazing desert sun that was soon to be overhead.

I cried and prayed, but I cried more than I prayed. I had never been this scared.

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To Be Continued...