Hi everyone :)

Sorry I'm a little late with this one, I got caught up with IRL stuff and just forgot to post. (whoops)

Chapter 7

The day felt cold and fresh down in the tunnel, and when Blue, Calla and Abigail emerged into the light with all the others, they found the outdoors was quite bleak. The sky was dark and grey with low clouds covering the hills and mountains around them while a mist like rain made everything damp and uninviting.

"I hope we're not going out into the forest today" Blue noted.

"I think working the forge would be best for us today" Eric decided.

As the days turned into weeks, Gran made a vain attempt to make the newcomers feel more at home by giving permission for them to spend only half the day doing general work and training. After lunch they were able to choose a task for themselves so they could make their one room home more liveable. Blue decided that although the room was quite spacious, he would work on making it larger even though it would be a long slow process.

To this end, he spent most afternoons pounding away at the rock wall with a large hammer and a sharp chisel. To the people around him, it would seem that he was creating a bigger home because he had become content to stay. Blue was pleased this was what they thought, while in reality he Calla and Abigail simply bided their time till they could escape.

The two girls spent time in the saw mill and carpenters shop adding to their furniture, and also making curtain walls to subdivide their living space. Nancy had told them it could be years before they were able to have their own rooms so hanging cloth seemed to be their only hope of any privacy in the near future. Gran did suggest Blue could be moved into another room shared by some men, but Abigail would not here of it. Being still new to Earth, she did not feel safe or content unless her brother was nearby.

After a very early start, the morning dragged on and on for a small eternity until at last, the time for lunch was at hand. Just as they always did, Blue Abigail and Calla finished up after the morning shift very slowly. They wanted to spend as much time outside as possible because if there were a Meteorite Safety Drill while they were inside, their escape plan would never work. And so they were always among the last people in the tunnel, and were also among the first back out again after lunch; often still eating as they went.

But today fate had decided there would be no lunch for any of them, for just as Abigail hung up the last of the woodworking tools on the back wall, the unmistakable sound of the warning siren filled the air. Everyone else inside the saw mill quickly made for the door and hurried towards the mouth of the tunnel. Calla was caught up in the rush but managed to let the crowd pass her when she was out in the open.

Making her way towards the window, Abigail quickly took in the situation outside. She saw Blue looking for her as he made his way across the compound. Calla soon caught up with him and appeared to tell him where his sister was without pointing in an obvious way. Abigail knew her timing would have to be precise; she needed to leave the building late enough to fall in at the back of the crowd, but early enough so as not to be seen by the gate guards.

"Here we go" she said to herself as she ran to the door at last.

People were running from all directions causing a bottleneck jam at the tunnel entrance. Abigail could now see Blue and Calla arguing with Eric as he tried to get them to go inside with the others. He even grabbed Calla by the wrist and attempted to force her to go but she pointed back to Abigail before breaking his grip. Calla and Blue hurried off to meet their companion, leaving the frustrated Eric waiting with his hands on his hips.

"Good job waiting till the last second" Calla whispered loudly into Abigail's ear.

The siren continued to sound as the crowd near the entrance began to thin out.

"Don't worry, we're coming!" Blue called out to Eric "Go on, we'll see you inside."

Shaking his head in a further sign of his frustration with his young charges, Eric turned and made his way inside. As he walked along near the back of the crowd, something started to bother him. He tried to put his finger on exactly what it was, but he just wasn't sure. Of course Blue and Calla would worry about the missing member of their crew, but there was something more; something odd about their behaviour. Partway down the tunnel he decided stop and wait for them. So he stepped back into the shadows against the tunnel wall being sure to keep silent.

Even though the tunnel lighting was dim, Eric could still identify each person who hurried past him on their way to safety and to his horror, Blue, Abigail and Calla were not among them. When the men who had been checking the list of names at the tunnel entrance passed by, he stepped out of the shadows and called out.

"HEY! What happened to the new kids?"

"They're in, we saw them go by" one of them called back.

"NO THEY'RE NOT" but the men didn't listen and kept running.

Eric started back towards the tunnel entrance, running headlong into two of the gate guards.

"Did you see the three newcomers?" he asked them.

"Yes they entered the tunnel ahead of us" they replied.

"No; I was waiting for them and they didn't pass by" Eric protested.

"You probably missed them in the crowd."

"Don't you see, they're trying to escape" Eric declared.

The two gate guards cursed at being tricked by these teenagers and headed back to the tunnel entrance once more, with Eric close behind.

It only took their eyes a few seconds to adjust to the outside light and when they did, one of the first things they saw were three figures running along the road outside of the compound wall. There was no time to go back for more help, so they grabbed some nearby digging tools left abandoned on the ground and ran after the escapees.

There was no doubting Abigail, Calla and Blue were all fit, and they paced themselves well so they could keep running without stopping to rest. Their pursuers though were more accustomed to the area as well as being much taller, so their longer legs enabled him to slowly reign the distance between them and his prey.

"There's someone behind us" Abigail noted after hearing the echo of footfalls.

"Already?" Calla gasped "Well... you know what to do."

"Right... good luck." Abigail replied.

Blue was just about to ask why his sister had wished them luck, when Calla grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him off the road.

"What? Where are we..." he started.

Calla put a finger to his lips and signalled for him to follow her quietly. They made their way swiftly but silently through the forest while behind them, the sound of their pursuers passed by on the road. As soon as he felt it was safe Blue quietly asked his question.

"What on Earth is going on?" he said bluntly.

"Don't worry, it's all part of the plan" Calla replied, not offering any more information.

"The hell it is" Blue declared as he stopped dead and shook his wrist away from Calla's grip.

"What are you doing? We have to get out of here" Calla protested.

"Without my sister? I don't think so" Blue stated adamantly.

"You don't understand; Abby and I planned this" Calla begged.

"Planned what?" Blue huffed.

"Planned our future rescue. Look Blue we may not like it, and personally I find it disgusting, but we all know Abby and I are what Gran and the others back there really want. They see us as part of their future genetic diversity."

"Yes... and that is why we have to all get out of here!" Blue argued.

"But don't you see, they'd never let us get away. They'd keep chasing us until they managed to run us down, and then we'd all be dragged back to the tunnel again."

"So... what are we doing; sacrificing my sister to give you and me a better chance?" Blue fumed.

"No! Abby will lead them off as long as she can but when they catch her, they will soon try and pick up our trail. When it looks like they're getting close to us, I'll do the same thing. I'll lead everyone off in another direction while you escape. I'm really good at evading people so you should have a good shot at getting away clear."

"Then what; I just leave you here? There's no way I'd..."

"You have to" Calla grabbed Blues shoulders and pleaded with him.

"I... I can't" he stated.

"For Abby and I to get out of here before we get forced into an arranger marriage, we are going to need help; lots of help. So we are relying on you to get back to Sumatra and metaphorically speaking, fetch the Marines."

The two of them just stared into each other's eyes for a moment. Blue could see the wisdom behind Calla's reasoning, but he had not prepared himself for the possibility of abandoning these two young women; both of whom he had very strong feelings for. Taking a deep breath, Blue closed his eyes as he plucked up the courage to agree to Calla's request but before he could, they were both knocked down by a massive, deafening shockwave.

Several smaller trees were blown to the ground while the tops of all the stronger pines shattered, raining debris all over the forest. Blue and Calla both raised their arms to guard their faces from the onslaught, barely escaping the larger branches falling around them.

"What the hell was that?" a confused Calla asked.

"The alarm... it wasn't a safety drill, there really was a meteorite" Blue responded "It must have exploded in the upper atmosphere."

He hurried to his feet and offered a hand to Calla.

"Come on" she said dragging Blue onwards when she was back on her feet.

On their way they reached what was once a nest of smaller trees, but had been turned into a clearing full of splintered wood. They made their way through the natural labyrinth by going around or climbing over the piles of timber. While on top of a particularly large log, the two suddenly became aware of a deep and distant rumbling.

"Look... over there!" Blue pointed back to the mountain they had come from.

The shockwave from the exploding meteorite had hit the mountain with the same force as it had hit Calla and Blue, dislodging many tonnes of rock, dirt and rubble which now plummeted down the mountain side in a massive wall of death.

"Oh my God... I hope they're all still deep inside the tunnel; anyone outside would be crushed" Blue gasped.

"I dare say the only ones outside, are the ones chasing us" Calla said.

"I certainly hope so" Blue nodded.

The pair ran on for another fifteen minutes before finally stopping to rest. They only took a short time to catch their breath before continuing; this time at more of a rapid walking pace. Blue could not see the sun through the thick clouds, and wondered how much daylight they had left. Finding their way I at night would be impossible if they failed to get back on the road.

"I wonder if they've caught Abby yet?" he wondered out loud.

"Probably" Calla said in a casual way Blue found a little disturbing.

"I'm not sure I can do this" he admitted "I'm still not used to the idea of leaving you two behind."

Calla stopped in her tracks and turned to face Blue. As he looked into her eyes, he expected to see annoyance and frustration but she instead appeared to be pleading with him.

"I'm putting a lot of trust in you and you need to know that you can trust me too; nothing will happen to Abby while I'm around" she said earnestly.

Her simple words steadied his heart. Blue realised Calla would do anything to protect his sister. But at the same time there was something else on his mind that bothered him, and he knew if he didn't say anything about it now, he would surely never have another chance.

"It's not just Abigail I'm worried about."

Much to Calla's surprise, Blue leaped forward throwing his arms around her and holding her tightly. Her body stiffened as she held her breath.

"For God's sake... make damn sure you take good care of yourself too" he told her "I just can't imagine my life without you in it."

Calla smiled to herself as she began to relax, slipping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest.

"We'll be safe enough here; you're the one who'll have to be careful" she replied.

Even though Calla knew they should continue on, she just couldn't bring herself to break away. All that changed though when the sound of barking dogs drifted into her ears.

"What the..." she gasped as she turned towards the noise "Have they got dogs? I didn't see any dogs! Do you know anything about dogs? Where the hell did They GET DOGS?"

"Oh crap!" Blue sighed "There's no way we could lose them now."

"Yes there is; this way" Calla replied, grabbing Blue's wrist.

She dragged the confused young man down the hill towards the river, desperately hoping that such an old trick would still work if executed correctly. The section of river they came across was not excessively deep but was only about ten meters wide, meaning the flow was quite rapid.

"GO!" Calla shouted, pointing to the far bank.

She tried to look stern and tough, but Blue could see her lower lip quiver and a tear appear in her left eye. There was no avoiding it; this was goodbye and they both knew it. Blue failed to move as he felt his feet anchor themselves to the ground, and he could not force them to budge no matter how hard he tried. In the end, Calla took charge again by reaching up to push him away.

"I said GO!" she repeated.

But Blue reached out as well. Grabbing Calla's wrists, he pulled her towards himself, leant down and kissed her firmly yet gently on the lips. Before she could react, he broke away and ran off into the water. Calla watched in stunned silence as Blue waded out into the deeper part of the river and began to swim. She continued to stare unmoving until had reached the shallows of the other side. He climbed the far bank and disappeared into the forest without ever looking back.

Only then did she take a deep breath and hurry off up the hill again. She knew the dogs would find her, but when they eventually did, she would be a long way from that place.

'

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This was one of those rare chapters that stayed in one place. There was too much to get through here to put in other characters and situations. I must admit though, when I started planning this story, this bit was meant to be in chapter two or three. Guess I've gone back to my old ways of drawing things out (wink!)