Love Among The Ruins-Chapter 125

NADINE’S P.O.V

The bunker was honestly a mess.

The lights were flickering and everyone seemed to have been ransacked and turned upside down.

We knew the soldiers had all left so we headed for the medical wing first but found it empty. We grabbed whatever supplies we found left and headed for the nursery and the rooms next.

That was where we found Ezekiel.

There was a woman leaning onto him for support, and a little child in his arms. He did a double take when he saw us.

"You came back for us."

"You didn’t think we were going to leave without you, did you?" I asked. "Is this everyone?"

"That we could save, yeah. Some didn’t want to risk being out there."

"We can convince them."

I tried to step past him but he stopped me. "They’re as good as dead, Nadine. We have to go, now."

I knew he was right, and even though my mind screamed at me that I was abandoning them, I forced myself to go. We ran through the halls as fast as we could, heading past the medical rooms and past the soldier’s quarters when something caught my eye.

It was movement, and it came from the soldier’s quarters.

I stopped.

"Nadine, we have to go," Rowan tugged me, but I jerked my hand out of his grip and headed to the right.

"Is anyone here?"

There was silence.

"Nadine, let’s go-"

"Caine?"

We both stilled at the voice.

It was soft and innocent, gentle even. A little boy walked out of the shadows with dark hair and bright hazel eyes and I swear my heart stopped because the boy in front of me had to be a ghost, he had to be dead.

"Can you see him or am I going crazy?" I asked Rowan who nodded.

"I can see him."

Amy’s son looked weak and underfed, but he was here, and he was alive.

I could only imagine how she’d react to finding him.

"My mum told me about you," he said, not looking away from Rowan. "She said you’re good. Where’s my mum?"

I held out my hand to him. "Come with us, we’ll take you to her. We have to go now."

He stepped back. "I have to go back."

"Go back where?"

"The others. They’re in the room. I snuck out."

I turned to Rowan.

There were more of them? How many people did this bunker house?

Before we could say anything, a sound blared through the air.

"SELF DESTRUCT IN ONE MINUTE"

The loud sound had my heart hammering in my chest.

I turned to Amy’s son. "Please, we have to leave now."

He turned to bolt but Rowan was faster. He wrapped his arms around the little boy and threw him over his shoulder. He kicked and screamed, but we just kept running as fast as we could.

The countdown had begun and each second felt like a lifetime.

FIFTY

Amy’s son had stopped screaming, but he was still sobbing.

FORTY

We got to the stairs and began to climb out. The woman went first, followed by the child. I went after and Rowan handed Amy’s son to me. He climbed up next with Ezekiel in the rear, but just as Ezekiel reached the top, a hand grabbed his foot.

"Ezekiel!" I screamed, reaching out to him, but Rowan pulled me back.

The timer was already on thirty.

"Go," Ezekiel whispered. "Now!"

Before I could say anything, he shut the bunker.

I heard screaming, but I couldn’t tell if it was from me or not.

"Nadine, we have to go!" Rowan yelled. "I can’t carry them all. I need you with me right now."

My heart was broken for Ezekiel, but I knew he was right.

I muttered a curse as I picked up the little girl that Ezekiel had saved. She wrapped her arms around me instantly.

"Where’s the nice man going?" she asked, her voice innocent and soft.

I couldn’t stop the tears that gathered around my eyes.

"He’s saving us."

We ran as fast as our legs could carry us, and when the bunker blew, the blast nearly deafened me.

It went sky high, and I felt the heat searing the back of my neck, but I didn’t stop moving.

We ran back towards the site. We’d definitely used up more than fifteen minutes which meant we didn’t have much time before the monsters came for us. If we could just save the kids-

"Nadine!" I heard someone yell, and I looked up to find Jen and Joshua running towards us.

"Fuck, you’re alive. I thought you were both dead." Joshua ran up to me. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "We need to go, now."

"Where’s Ezekiel?" Jen asked. "Is he on his way?"

The words choked me.

I couldn’t get them out, no matter how hard I tried.

"He saved us," Rowan said finally. "He’s the reason we got out."

I saw the words hit Jen straight in the chest, but she didn’t yell, she didn’t scream like I expected, she just nodded.

"Then we can’t him die in vain. Camden is with the others. They’re trying to load them into the trucks so we can run."

"Trent will find us. The implants-"

She shook her head. "We took them out while were waiting. They’re safe."

We ran as fast as we could through the woods.

There was no sound save for the pounding of our feet against the floor. I could only pray that Camden wouldn’t just leave without us.

By the time we got back to the trees, Camden seemed to be piling people into the trucks. He was barking orders like crazy and Amy was right next to him, helping him.

There had to be at least seventy people that we saved. It wasn’t a lot compared to how many were in that bunker, but it was something.

"Thank goodness, you guys are-"

"Mummy!"

Amy’s son broke out of Rowan’s arms and jumped to the ground.

Amy stood there like she’d seen a ghost, staring at her son’s face. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come out as he ran and buried his face into her legs.

So many emotions flashed in her eyes: confusion, sadness, relief,

It would’ve been a beautiful reunion, if we didn’t hear a faraway growl.

"Everyone inside! We need to move!" I yelled out. I turned to the woman next to me. "Take the girl and get into the truck."

She nodded, grabbing the girl as she piled in with the rest of the people.

Camden slammed the doors shut but Amy still hadn’t moved.

"Amy!" I screamed. "We need to go now."

That seemed to break whatever spell was cast over her because she nodded.

I grabbed her by her arm and pulled her and her son into the car with us. The growls were getting closer now.

"Drive, Rowan!"

The car sprang to life, and we were off.