Kimberly's Run
Chapter 14
Sanctuary or Cathedral
Kim and Ron walked down what seemed to be an old road bed. Most of it was gone but enough was there that they could walk easy across the countryside. They came over a small hill and saw a river in front of them. There was an old bridge crossing the river but most of it had collapsed. They passed a metal sign on the road bed that said 395. Ron pointed to the left.
"Kim! Look!"
Kim glanced in the direction that Ron was pointing. In the distance they could see a tremendous building. It had what appeared to be five sides and had concentric five sided rings. Several parts of the building had collapsed. The two of them continued walking toward the old city. They reached the river and looked out over the old bridge in from of them. There were three spans at one time but now only one remained standing and most of that had collapsed. Gingerly they walked out over the span being careful to step around the many holes that dotted what was left of the bridge. Kim looked down through one of the holes to see the waters of the river rushing against the wreckage of the bridge that used to stand next to the one they were on. She took Ron's hand as they continued across the bridge and back onto dry land; just to their left stood a white stone structure. Ron looked up at the clouds building in the sky.
"Let's take cover in that building. It looks like a storm is coming."
Kim nodded and they headed for the building. As they got closer they could see the white columns of the building holding up a circular dome. A set of stone steps circled the building. They could see straight through so they knew that it would be open to the weather but at least they would be out of the rain. As they entered the building they could see a statue rising in the center. It was a statue of a man dressing in clothes of long ago. Kim noticed the writing on the walls of the building as she walked up to one panel and began to read.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men. We...solemnly publish and declare that these colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states...And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."
Ron came up behind Kim and looked up at the wall too.
"What does that all mean?"
Kim shrugged.
"I don't know Ron. This was written by those in the old times."
Ron looked over the wall again.
"Maybe so but it sure sounds nice."
Rain started to come down outside as Ron gathered some wood that was strewn on the marble floor. He found a place against one of the wall where the wind didn't seem to be as bad.
"You want a fire Kim?"
Kim shook her head.
"We better not. The smoke could give away out position. I know that Will will probably track us here. This is the largest city from where we were."
Ron nodded as took a seat on the floor. Kim took a seat next to him and lifted his arm around her shoulder.
"I guess we can head for the center of the city and hope to find the next stop. That is if we can avoid Will. Who knows how many troops he will call out to help find us?"
Ron snickered.
"I wonder if he will ever realize how close he came to us the other day."
Kim laughed a bit but her laugh soon died.
"That may be funny now, but we have really made a fool out of him several times. I know Will, he can't take that. He'll hunt us as long as it takes and if he finds us. He will make sure we go slow and painfully."
Ron nodded and pulled her closer to him.
"Yeah, let's get a little nap while it's raining. Then we can head out and see what we can find."
Kim and Ron stood outside of the building they had stayed in during the storm. They tried to walk toward the east but saw that the bridges over the water had collapsed. They headed north from the marble building when they came across another bridge that had fallen also. However, over the hundreds of years dirt and silt had filled in where the bridge had fallen and they were able to cross by carefully walking across the soft marshy soil. They were able to climb back up to dry ground and continue around would appeared to be a one time a body of water but was now a swamp. In front of them another marble building loomed among and over the trees. This one was even larger than the one they just left and was square. They walked up the many steps and entered the building. In front of them was another statue. This one was of a lean faced bearded man sitting in a large chair. There was more writing on the walls. Ron approached one section and began to read.
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal"
Ron continued to read the rest of the writing at least as much as he could read. Kim came to his side and took his hand as they both read the wars. He turned to her.
"What is a Civil War?"
Kim shook her head.
"I don't know. I know about when the young took over from the older one and wisely did away with them. They had after all nearly destroyed our world. Maybe it was some type of war where there was no killing or anything like that. After all they called it a civil war. Maybe everyone was nice to each other. Come on; take a look out the front."
They turned and stared out over the area before them. Trees had grown over the years in the area but they could see that it had once been open. In the distance they would see the remains of some obelisk. It appeared to be square in shape and the color of the stone changed at one point. The stubbled top ended just above where the color of the stone changed. Further in the distance they saw another building. Even from where they were standing they could see a large expanse of steps. This had to be an important building.
Kim pointed to the building in the distance.
"Let's head for that place. It seems to be important."
They moved down the steps toward the building and enter the grove of trees that had grown in the large area before them. Soon they came upon the remains of the obelisk, its shattered structure lay spilled on the ground. They passed under the remains of the obelisk that was still standing. Before them was a great hole. Kim and Ron stared for a moment when Kim whispered.
"Teach's hole. I thought it was just a story. This is where it all happened. The blast must have knocked this over."
Kim gestured to the remains of the tower whose shadow they were standing in. They started around the north side of the hole as they continued toward the great building in the distance. They noticed another building in the distance. It was surrounded by the remains of a tall metal fence. Most of it was melted from the blast that occurred so many years ago. They also came across the remains of a large machine lying on the ground. Most of is rusted and there was a strange fan like structure on what appeared to be the top. Ron wiped some dirt from part of it and uncovered a round sign with an eagle in the middle. Around the edge of the sign they could just make out the words.
"The Seal of the President of the United States."
Kim shrugged.
"I guess he must have been someone important. Come on let's keep going."
Soon they arrived in front of the great building and started up the steps. It appeared to be in three sections; a central section and a section on either side. They kept going up and entered the remains of a door of the middle section. Sunlight beamed from the remains of a dome above them. They turned left and wandered through many halls until they came upon a great room. As they walked into the room a voice called out to them.
"Hello, my name is Wade. Can I help you?"
They turned to see a short man with very dark skin standing in a hallway to their left. His face was full of wrinkles and his hair, what little he had, was gray.
The man smiled at them.
"Welcome, it's nice to have visitors."
Kim stepped back, her hand going to her pistol that was now in its holster at her side. She glanced around her to see if Will or any other DS agents would appear.
"We are from the city. We are looking for the next stage of our trip. We are runners."
Wade looked at them funny.
"Runners? If you have been running then you must be tired. Please follow me and I can let you rest. Then I can show you around."
Ron shook his head.
"No, you don't understand. We are looking for the next step to Sanctuary."
Wade looked back at them.
"Sanctuary? The only Sanctuary I know of is at the Cathedral."
Kim and Ron's eyes grew wide.
"Cathedral? There is a Cathedral area here."
Kim turned to Ron.
"Ron the Cathedral back in the city was the first stop for runners. Maybe the Cathedral here is the end."
Kim turned to Wade.
"How do we get to the Cathedral and are there any Cubs?"
Wade scratched his head.
"I can tell you how to get there but I don't know anything about cubs. The only cubs I know of are the animal cubs that are around here. The lion and tiger cubs are just getting grown now. You will have to be careful on the way there."
Ron looked back and forth between Kim and Wade.
"Lions and tigers?"
Wade shrugged.
"Of course, when the animals escaped all those years ago they stayed in the area of the most part. What other kind of cubs are there?"
Ron was about to explain when Kim took his arm and motioned for him to hush.
"Can you tell us how to get there?"
Wade sighed.
"All of my visitors are always in such a rush. Very well, you just…."
"Stay right where you are."
Kim and Ron whirled around to see Will standing at the entrance to the room. His gun was drawn and pointed at them. Kim took a small step to the side. Will shook his head.
"Now Kimberly, don't do that. I know that you draw faster than any DS agent I have ever known. I must say it pains me to say that you are faster than me."
Will's aim changed slightly.
"I imagine you could draw and shoot me while I would have time to fire once. But you see. I would not be aiming at you but your boyfriend there."
Kim's hand moved away from her gun. Will smiled.
"That's a nice little girl. Now Ronald, I don't know where that little creature of yours is but unless you want your Kimberly to take a round in the face I would suggest that you have him with you so that I can see him."
Rufus crawled out of Ron's pocket and stood on Ron's shoulder. Will stepped to the side of the door and leaned against the wall. He waved the gun at Wade to move aside. Wade motioned for Kim and Ron to back up with him under a balcony.
"Now then what shall I…."
Before he could finish his sentence there was a spitting roar and a tiger leaped into the room from the balcony. Kim grabbed Ron and pulled him out of the room. Wade waved to them up one of the halls. He handed them a piece of paper that Kim recognized as a map.
"Here, I have marked where you need to go. Right now you need to head west as fast as you can. There is a place on the other side of the river where you might find a place to hide. The bridge is down, but you can cross over the river on the wreckage. Now go. I knew the tiger was there and it jumped in at the right time."
There was a pulse of Will's DS gun.
Wade shook his head.
"He will have his hands full for a little while. There are two more in the room. Now go."
Wade pushed them out one of the front doors and the two of them started to run back the direction they had come.
Kim and Ron were out of breath when they finally stopped on the other side of the river. There had been more bridge this time than the one they crossed before. They had passed the square building where the statue of the man sitting in the chair when they spotted the bridge. Running into a grove of trees off of one of the old roads, they kept going into some trees. They came upon a small clearing where they stood there for a moment staring at the sight before them. It was another statue, but this one was of several men. They all had on uniforms for some type and had weapons slung over their shoulders. All of them seemed to be trying to put a flag pole up in some rocks.
The two of them continued on through the trees and brush. They came upon a forest and moved into the trees. There they were surprised to see what appeared to be flat stones standing up all over the place. Kim noticed that they were in perfect rows and aligned from all directions. They continued up uphill until they came upon an area where there was another building and there were more stone markers but these were a lot bigger and stood in an area of stones on the ground. Kim walked up to one and read the inscription.
"Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God."
Ron turned to face Kim and she saw his face turn white. She spun around to see Will standing there. His uniform was torn and his face was scratched, but he held two DS guns both loaded with homers.
"Okay, no more playing. Raise your hands and get down on your knees, if you don't I shoot you in the knee. Now MOVE!"
Both of them knelt on the ground. Will settled his stance.
"Okay, Kimberly, very, very slowly, reach down and pull your weapon from your holster and toss it over here. One wrong move and Ronald will pay for it."
Kim lowered her hand slowly and pulled her gun from her holster. She gripped it tightly then tossed it at Will's feet. Will nodded.
"Very good, both of you place your hands on your head with your palms up."
Both of them complied and waited for Will's next move. Will flipped both of his wrists and they heard the sound of the homers charging up to fire.
"Any last words Kimberly?"
Kim shook her head. Will turned to Ron.
"Oh well no matter, I do have a message for Ronald here. Now Ronald, I want you to listen very closely. Do you understand?"
Ron nodded.
Will smiled.
"Okay Ronald. Now listen carefully. Queen's Bishop to Queen's Bishop 5."
Kim thought that Will had gone crazy until she turned to look at Ron. He was staring back at her, his face had turned a pasty white and sweat poured down his face. His eyes had dilated wide open. Kim knew that Ron was scared out of his mind.
"Ron, what's wrong?"
Kim glanced back to Will then back to Ron. Ron spoke with a quivering voice.
"Kim, he….he ….he has……"
Well everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Kimberly's Run. Sorry it took so long for me to get it our. Work has really increased lately to the point that I am doing twice to almost three times the amount of work I was doing six months ago. While that is amazingly good for my wallet, it is not so good about finding time to write. Updates may be a little slow for awhile.
It looks like Will has finally caught up with Kim and Ron. He has the homers charged and ready to fire then tells Ron what he did. What did he mean? What is going on? Why is Ron so scared? Stay tuned for the next chapter and find out.
This is the Captain
Roger and Out.