Chapter Twenty-Two:
Sam reached for Elvis' hand. Elvis had fallen too far down for him to grab. Sam exhaled sharply. He let go of the ledge. The air blew around him as he plummeted downwards. He reached out his arms to catch Elvis. Elvis felt Sam catch him. He clung to him. "Sam." He whimpered. Sam looked down. The ground was approaching rather quickly. Sam turned himself back first. He kept Elvis clenched tightly against his chest. He noticed there was some wire hanging off of the third floor. He grabbed onto the wire feeling it strain to hold onto them. Sam kept his hold on Elvis' arm. "don't worry Elvis. I'm going to lift us both up." Sam pulled Elvis up. "take the ledge." He instructed. Elvis swung his body to the side a bit. He tried reaching for the edge. The wire gave suddenly. Elvis fumbled to reach for the edge. He managed to grip the edge of the walkway. He dared himself not to look down. "that's it Elvis! Now pull your body up." Instructed Sam. He put his free hand onto Elvis' back giving him a small push. Elvis dragged his whole body up onto the walkway. He turned to then help Sam. The wire snapped. Elvis grabbed his wrist before he fell. He pulled Sam up all the way. The both of them laid side by side panting. Adrenaline coursed through Sam rather quickly. He rolled over to face Elvis. He hugged him tightly.
Annu met up with them on the third floor. She panted. "I'm glad you're okay." She said as she hugged them both. "I've got the artifact. We'd better hurry and get out of here though." Sam nodded. Just then a bolt of light shot at the supports above the walkway they were on destroying it. Sam looked down over the railing to see the horrid corpse belonging to Buck Douglas firing at them. Most the skin on his head had been peeled away to reveal something metal underneath. Buck fired at them again. The bolt hit the wall behind Sam. He herded Annu and Elvis ahead of him. Buck kept firing his gun at them. He took aim at the support ahead of Annu and Elvis. He shot at it causing it collapse. The walkway gave way causing Annu and Elvis to dangle helplessly. Sam slid down to try and reach them. He pulled Annu up first. "Sam look out!" shouted Annu. Buck fired at Sam. The bolt burned through Sam's arm causing him to let go of Elvis. Sam held the stump where the lower part of his arm once sat. He tried to stop the bleeding. Annu reached for Elvis. She struggled to pull him up. Once he was back on his feet again, he rushed over to Sam. Buck took aim at Elvis. Annu saw this and quickly acted. She got between him and the bolt. It went right through her side. She fell to her knees. "Annu!" shouted Elvis. He picked her up. The bolt had gone right through her body. Sam looked at Annu. Anger quickly replaced the sudden bit of fear he had. He got up. "Elvis, get Annu out of here. Tell Finley and Marcelo to start setting up those explosives." Elvis gulped. "no we need to get out of here Sam." Sam shook his head. He kissed Elvis harshly. "let me deal with Buck." He pushed Elvis away. "go! Get out of here!" he ordered. Elvis hesitated looking at him again. Sam backed up. He then ran and jumped down. He landed squarely on Buck's shoulders.
Buck grabbed Sam tossing him off. Sam landed on his feet. He caterwauled before slamming himself into Buck once more. Buck stumbled backwards. He kept hold on his gun. He shot at Sam again. Sam dodged each one of the bolts. He found his axe sitting right at the controls for the trapdoor that sat underneath Buck. He backed up. "what's this? The great hero himself is retreating?" sneered Buck. "well bad news sweetheart I'm not going to let you go that easy!" he shot at Sam. One of the bolts hit Sam right in his shoulder and the other went right through the top part of his chest missing his heart. Sam fell to his knees. He was already losing a lot of blood and could barely stand up right. He knew he had to try. His family, his friends, hell even his whole town was counting on him. "it's over hero!" snapped Buck. He aimed his gun at Sam. "no Buck." Whispered Sam. He looked up. "that's where your wrong!" Sam got to his feet suddenly. He jumped over Buck. He snatched his axe up. He then slammed the blade into Buck's eye. Buck howled in pain. "You little!" he spat. He tried getting Sam's axe out of his eye. While Buck was distracted, Sam pulled the lever opening the trapdoors. Buck fell through them. His ankles hit the lava causing him to call out in pain. Sam smiled. He coughed up blood swaying. He watched Buck melt in the lava. The last of him disappeared into the magma. Sam resealed the trapdoors. He slid down holding his chest. His vision was already beginning to blur.
Finley and Marcelo had set up the explosives. "the boys only have a minute to get out." Murmured Finley as she finished with the last explosive. "Finley! Marcelo!" yelled a voice. Marcelo looked up to see Elvis running towards them. He had Annu clutched tightly in his arms. "Annu is hurt." Finley took Annu from her. Elvis began to turn and run again. "you guys get out of here. I'm going back for Sam." Sam rested his head against the control panel. He could feel his life slip away slowly. The environment around him faded from existence. Elvis tied a rope around his waist. He used the rope to propel himself downwards. Marcelo helped Elvis get down. Elvis landed on the walkway where Sam was. He untied the rope from around his waist. Sam coughed softly. "Elvis." He rasped. Elvis knelt by him. He put an arm around Sam's shoulder. "we have to go." Sam shook his head. "no, Elvis…it's too late. You have to leave me here." Elvis whimpered. "Sam, I'm not leaving you here." He pushed Sam to his feet. He supported Sam over to the rope. "Elvis…go." Rasped Sam. Elvis grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "no! I'm not going to leave you here!" He tied the rope around Sam's waist. He motioned for Marcelo to pull him up. Sam blacked out about halfway up.
Marcelo and Finley pulled Sam up. "this is bad." Whispered Marcelo. "I'm going to have to flag for help. Get him secured to that tin siding, Finley. Once I get Elvis back up again I'll help you pull him safely out of the way of the blast." She nodded. She dragged Sam over to a piece of siding that was laying on the ground. She used twine to gently secure him to it. She then attached ropes through the holes in the siding to be used like a sled. She tucked Annu up next to him. Luckily, Annu's wound wasn't deep. It had healed rather quickly on its own. Elvis pulled himself up without Marcelo's help. "let's get going." Urged Marcelo. "this place is going to blow at any minute." He took one of the cables and slung it over his shoulder. Finley and Marcelo began pulling the siding across the mining yard. Elvis kept pace with them from behind. The ground underneath them buckled as the explosives went off. The ground began to cave in on itself. Marcelo knew they had to move fast. He took off ahead of Finley. Finley struggled to keep pace with him. Her leg was hurting her an awful lot. Elvis came up from behind and lifted her up into his arms. He carried her off into the grass feeling the rest of the dirt fall underneath his heel. They were safely clear of the destroyed facility. All that was left was a gaping hole. Elvis put Finley back down on her feet so she could attend to Sam's wounds. "they're really deep, Elvis. We'll need to flag a helicopter down and soon." She removed her robe. She used it as a sling to lift Sam's broken arm up. She tied a bandage around the end of the stump. Marcelo fished a flare out of his pocket. He slammed the white tip against a rock waving it. The flare flashed a bright green color. This caught the attention of a nearby air patrol. The helicopter moved in closer to their location.
Sam was rushed to a hospital immediately. The EMTs tried to stabilize him the best they could. Sam couldn't keep his eyes open for much longer. Elvis had gone with them. His hand was around Sam's. "stay with us Sam." He begged. "stay with us. Don't do this." Sam's hand relaxed in his.