Celebwen Telcontar: This is the last chapter. I hope you like it. It was very painful to write, since I usually deal in happy endings. I own nothing save Martha and the Chandlers.
Ian crushed her against his chest, feeling completely hopeless.
"Before He takes me into His eternal kingdom to be with Him, I want to have an adventure, at least. The only adventure I've had was the foreign exchange year, and falling in love with you.
"This looks to be rather exciting," she said, eyeing the tunnel. She grinned at him, her teeth white against her dying face. Her eyes, once so full of life they seemed to bubble over, barely held a spark. Ben looked horrified at her.
"She's dying," he whispered. Ian glared daggers at him, stroking her wig.
"Well, who goes down the dark scary tunnel first?" Riley asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"You four" Ian said to Ben, Abigail, Riley and Ben's father. They sluggishly squirmed through the hole, followed by Ian's men, Martha, and Ian himself. Martha sneezed on the other side, and Ian looked horrified.
"It's a sneeze, nothing more!" she laughed. Ben looked concerned to say the least, and Abigail gently touched Martha's arm. "I'm fine!" she said, exasperated.
"Except that you're dying," Ian whispered, holding her close.
"Somebody got a lighter? Or a match?" Riley asked, holding up a cold torch. One of Ian's men tossed him a lighter, and the passage was flooded with flickering torchlight. The flames seemed to catch Martha's face and make her look even less alive and more like a walking corpse.
Ben led the way down the tunnel, holding the torch aloft. Martha felt safe and secure with Ian's arm over her shoulders. Then the place was filled with light as Ben lit a large chandelier and they began the trek down the stairs.
As they went lower, the air made Martha's heart labor, and she became even paler. When one of Ian's men fell off the stair and into the darkness, Martha jumped, and her heart gave a painful spasm. Her left arm hurt like she had been shot, then it went cold and numb.
"Martha?" Ian asked.
"I'm… fine," she managed.
"Look at the elevator," Abigail called.
"It's in dumbwaiter style," Ben answered. Suddenly, the stairs began to creak. Ian gripped Martha in his arms; fireman's carry, and leapt onto the elevator. Martha's heart gave another spasm, and Ian helped the others on.
"When they reached a landing, Ben's father found an eye etched into the wall. He pushed it, and a wall slid back, Martha was still on the elevator, so the blast of stale air didn't affect her all that much. They went in, and Ben cursed at the empty room.
"It's much… too small… for such… a big… treasure. There … has to… be… another… room…" Martha gasped.
"Could it really be that simple?" Ben asked, facing a wall. He drew out an ivory pipe, disassembled it, and inserted it into the wall.
The door opened, and they filed into another room. Martha bent, the air being too much.
"To everything… There is a season…" she gasped, sliding to the floor. Her heart gave a third and final spasm. "Love… you… Ian…" she managed, and then her eyes grew glassy and sightless.
Ben felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. His father knelt and felt for a pulse, then closed Martha's eyes. He looked at Ian, and shook his head.
"Gates," Ian said his voice filled with disbelief. "I need you to promise me something."
"Yes?" Ben said; his mind overwhelmed with the shock of having a woman die in front of his eyes from the stale air and her illness.
"Promise me that whatever you may get from the treasure goes to the American Cancer Society. The first family that should receive money from this is the Chandler family, Mr. and Mrs. Zechariahs Chandler. Promise me!" Ian said. Ben nodded.
"It will be done."
"Burry Martha and myself on a plot of land, in a small valley, underneath an oak tree. It's what Martha wanted." Ben nodded, not comprehending what was happening. Then, before his men could react, he grabbed a pistol from one of the cronies and put it to his temple, and pulled the trigger.
You would have given your life for this woman… aPresence whispered in his brain. The words were made of pure meaning, no specific language. They wereencompassed simply by the feelings,smells, memories, senses.Ian nodded. Or at least he thought he did. He didn't have a body to nod with, though.
I would, Ian thought in reply, as he couldn't speak.
So you haveearned yourreward. All eternity is not a lengthily time, not with My Son, the woman you love, and Myself, the Presence said. Ian felt joy envelop him as a familiar soul came near him; and when he saw what they 'looked' like together, he 'smiled.' They fit like two pieces of a puzzle, the only two pieces. He 'nodded' and took Martha's soul into his 'arms,' and 'smiled' at the Presence.
The day was bright and sunny, contrasting the feelings of despair and hopelessness that everyone felt. Elizabeth Chandler stood at the podium, describing how her son-in-law would have wanted the treasure to be used.
"And in this 5-K run/walk, even more money will be raised for cancer patients," she finished, and looked out at all the survivors rallied in running clothes. Ben, Riley, and Abigail were also participating in the run/walk, as were all the remaining Chandlers. Abigail was sitting down, holding her small son in his carrier, the straps like a backpack cris-crossing her back.
"Hush, settle down there, Ian. Don't worry. We'll be at the end of the race in no time."
"You know, Abigail, they're trying out a new intravenous medication, it has high hopes of success. We paid for that with the treasure."
"I hope this is the last generation to get cancer."
"Probably not, but you never know. How's Martha?"
"She just kicked." Abigail smiled at her husband as people cheered and the event began.
In later years, the new drug, commonly called Freemason after the Free Masons who kept the tradition of the treasure alive, would save thousands of lives. It was the most successful cancer-fighting drug ever developed, and was a revolutionary discovery in the world of medication. Ian and Martha Gates, the children of Abigail and Benjamin Gates, would be known as the two people responsible for many records in the medical field, and Ian and Martha Howe were put down as the two people who made it possible for the drug called Freemason to be found.
Celebwen Telcontar: Yes, I did cry when writing this final chapter. I won't be doing a sequel, since this was about Ian and Martha, and both of them are now gone. Please review and tell me what you thought, even if you yell at me for killing off both Martha and Ian.
Balrog: Oh, poor Ian, poor Martha! (Tears hiss in the flames.)