This chapter will get a little interesting to say for myself. Enjoy yourself!

Second Home

I coughed hard on the dust as I woke up. I stared up at the jump jet's ceiling. I coughed and sneezed harder as I stood up. I looked across the dark room to the left. Rex was either asleep or unconscious.

I shook him awake. "EVOS!" Rex yelled making my ears ring even more than they were.

"Calm down, it's just me." Within myself I could feel a sort of weakness. I paid no attention to it.

"Ugh, man, that was one heck of a storm." Bobo sat up from a layer of soot.

"We need to get out of here. The soot is going to kill us if we stay in here."

"If we leave, where are we gonna go, green bean? I'm sure the engine is completely jacked up."

I…I couldn't answer that.

After an hour of just walking through the two foot deep soot, I vaguely heard the static of a small radio. Mustering up the strength I had left to race towards the noise. After a few seconds I could see what may be a Park Ranger's post. The small building was blackened as well as the windows.

"What are you looking for…? There's no one in there!" Rex shouted breathlessly. I grabbed at the door only to find out that the knob was broken off. I stood back and kicked the door in. Cautiously stepping in, I looked hard for any sign of life. Then I saw it.

A dirty lab coat. I picked it up slowly. Holiday.

Just to my left, was something sitting on the chair. I slowly walked over to find out what it was. I found out what it was.

It was Holiday's old radio. I'd know it anywhere.

I grabbed the coat and the radio. Looking around the blackened and abandoned ranger's post I spotted the back door.

"Where are you goin' now?" Bobo watched me walking swiftly towards the door. I looked outside. There seemed to be drag marks in the ash blanketing the ground. It was a bit covered up but it was still there. I might as well follow it.

"Six, what in the world do you think you are doing?" It was White. I placed my finger to my ear as Rex and Bobo watched me from behind.

"Searching for Doctor Holiday."

"Don't bother. I'm not going to lose my two most powerful assets for one doctor."

"White , Holiday is just as impor-"

"Get back to base, now." He cut the connection. I took the comm link out and stared at it. At that moment, all the anger and frustration at life itself surged through me. I crushed the link to smithereens.

"Six…are you okay?" Rex walked up to me. I turned and followed the trail in the ashes.

"No. I'm not."

…

A few minutes later, We were under the grey trees. The shadows were almost moving around me even though all the wildlife disappeared. I tightened my grip on the little black radio. She has to be here. She has to be. But if she isn't…I'd –No! She's here! But the chances of her still alive in all of this ash…

"Six, over there!" Rex yelled out through the mask.

That was when I saw her. Ashes were still floating around. Fire off in the distance. At the base of an ancient oak tree, was a dirty and broken Doctor Holiday.

I grabbed Dr. Holiday by the shoulders and sat her up. The extreme sorrow and happiness was overwhelming. I wanted badly to embrace her…but I refrained, ignoring my emotions.

The sudden contact with my hands woke her. She blinked, a bit hazy in the eyes.

"Six…? What are you doing here?"

I stopped the emotions from leaking into my voice. "To get you out of here."

…

I got that jump jet fixed. A bit of advice if you ever get caught in this kind of situation, give up on the airplane once it breaks down! It's hopeless trying to clean all the ash out. But, as hopeless as I can be, I managed to do it.

"Six? Shouldn't we be going back to base?" Holiday said once we were back up in the air.

"No."

"Why not?"

"A toxic ash cloud is heading straight towards our base. Following that would be the acid rain. It would be pointless to go back there. Plus we will not be able to evacuate everyone once the toxic gasses get into the building. We won't be able to lock the gasses, either. I'm positive Black won't help us."

She was dumbfounded. "How do you know all of this?"

"I just do. You should be resting not talking."

I saw her cross her arms out of the corner of my eye. "I'll rest once I know where we are going."

"We are going to Western Africa." Why can't she just trust me?

"Why? What's there?"

"You'll see."

"…We are in a lot of trouble with White, aren't we?"

"… …Yep."

…

"Welcome to West Africa, where it can get very hot and dry!" Rex commented after looking around at the dry earth.

"I hope you brought some sunscreen! You picked the perfect vacation spot." Bobo said sarcastically, shading his eyes. The sky was very clear and blue. I'm sure it's around here somewhere…

"What's around here somewhere?" Whoops. I said that out loud, didn't I?

I answered Doctor Holiday, who came up close beside me. "A safe haven for us."

"Did someone say heaven? Because this place is the exact opposite" Rex turned his face away from the hot wind.

"Not heaven, haven."

"There." I took off my jacket (it was getting unbearably hot) and walked over to a natural crack in the ground. I whipped out my katana and hacked at the hard dirt, turning the crack into a large hole. There was a door the color of the sand around it in the hole. The smell of plants and water came to me through the door. My memory serves me right.

"What's down there?" Rex appeared beside me. I adjusted my glasses, ignoring him, and pulled open the door.

It was pitch leading down but the scent was welcoming.

"In. All of you." For once they didn't argue with me as motioned for them to go. I closed and locked the doors once I was inside as well. I grabbed an old hurricane lamp and lit it.

"You do realize that I can use one of my builds to light the way, right?"

"Yes, but you can't keep a build up for an extended period of time."

Rex opened his mouth to argue but could find none. The rest of the walk was spent going down and in silence. Bobo was strangely quiet. The smell of water grew and the sound of a waterfall met my ears. The dark tunnel is now made of rock rather than pressurized sand. The handle on the hurricane lamp squeaked as my foot hit a large stone. I'm going to feel that in the morning.

A huge sort of land or terrain covered in grass. There was a waterfall off in the distance. It was as bright as day in the huge cave room. The trees here were plentiful and covered with leaves. The grass was a complete, bright green. The ceiling was as light as the sky and there was a gentle breeze. All three of them looked in awe at the underground forest. I motioned my hand towards a pathway leading into the woods.

"Welcome to Nec Terram."

So, what do you all think? I need some fluffy and emotional scenes especially for Six and Holiday. Review your ideas to me. Oh and Nec Terram means means safe land in Latin. See ya in the next chapter!