Chapter Twenty Three
Every
sound had her on edge, the simple rush of wind through
the trees outside had her gripping the gun tighter. Her eyes were glued to the
outside windows and front door, while she sat next to a small crib, holding
Hayden’s baby.
The
cabin was cast in complete darkness, only aided by the surrounding forest.
Sandra’s nerves doubled as a soft drumming of rain ran against the windows and
roof. It wasn’t long before the soft rain turned into a thunder storm, shooting
bits of hail onto the ground below.
Still,
next to her the baby slept uninterrupted, his tiny face completely at peace.
Sandra’s heart softened and her mind relaxed a bit at the sight of him. She
wondered if she would ever be able to have a baby, to have a life grow inside
her. She dared not to hope and instead walked to the kitchen, drinking a glass
of water to calm her mind.
She
hadn’t eaten in awhile, only concentrating on feeding the baby and keeping
watch outside. But the wariness from lack of sleep and food was starting to
wear on her and she had to fight vehemently to keep her eyes open.
Sandra
had hit the button on the coffee machine, heating up another cup of coffee,
when she heard a noise at the back door, next to the kitchen. She took the gun
out of the waistband of her jeans, holding it ready at her shoulder and rounded
the corner, coming face to face with a dark clad figure and a gun.
********************************
“How
much of a chance so we have in finding them?” Alex asked, wrapping his gun
holster around his ankle.
Hayden
slipped another gun into his shoulder holster, “It won’t be a problem finding
them, they’ll be looking for us, to get to Sandra.”
Alex
stopped packing his arsenal and stood to face Hayden, “If they find her,
they’ll kill her,” he swallowed the lump in his throat. “And if she dies, we’ve
got no hope stopping Colonization.”
Hayden
stared long and hard at him, “This will be the first direct rebellion against
The Puritan’s. From here on in we are fighting them directly and full-on. No
more back-hand deals, no appeasement. This could be our end or our victory. But
none the less, I doubt we’ll live to see the results,” Hayden ended with a
smile.
Alex
threw his duffel bag over his shoulder and slapped Hayden on the back, “Well,
if we’ve got nothing else, at least we have our optimism.”
*********************************
Sandra’s
heart was beating so loudly, she could barely hear the man tell her to drop the
gun.
“Drop
yours first, “She responded, regaining as much composure as possible.
“I
don’t want to hurt you but I will.” Sandra could hear an Irish accent in his
voice.
“Who
are you?” She yelled, despite her attempts to keep her voice calm.
The
intruder took a step closer to her but Sandra held her ground. “You don’t
recognize my voice?”
Sandra
stared hard at his face, which was covered by a black ski mask. The voice and
the eyes seemed so familiar but she couldn’t quite place them.
He
took another step towards her, his face barely inches away from hers. He lifted
the bottom of his ski mask, revealing a grin, “You’ll remember this,“ he said before his lips crashed down on hers.
Even
though the kiss only lasted seconds, there was no doubt in her mind, “Carter?”
