Page 90 of The Final Storm
“They’ll take the children,” Sam tells us. I don’t know how to react or what to say. I lift the tarp that carries Morgan, and Sam holds out his hands. “We don’t have a lot of time.”
“They’llonlytake the children or the children first?“ Lori asks.
“They have to clear us all, so the children are first. They’ll come back for us.”
I wrap Morgan in the battered fabric, kiss her wet cheek, and hand her to Sam. A lump forms in my throat, making it impossible to speak words. He takes her and looks at BeLew, and I crouch down.
“You n-need,” I stutter and swallow, collecting myself. I force a smile that I don’t know if they can see through the wind and rain. “You need to go with these men. I’ll be with you soon.”
They look over at the three men with guns and then back at me. “Go, boys. Now.” I push on their backs, and they stumble a bit, craning their necks back to see my face. Their blonde hair whips in every direction, hiding their worried eyes, and I wave with a fake smile plastered on my face. “I’ll be right after you.”
It’s so close.
Their steps slow until they almost come to a stop. “Go,” I yell to them, louder than I mean to. “I don’t like repeating myself!” I stand up and put my hands on my hips. I feel so empty without my children. My arms should hold someone or a hand, and it’s just me telling them to leave.
“I love you. Watch over your sister,” I say, and they drag their feet toward the men, Tank following, looking back at their mother. “We’ll be right behind you,” she yells. “I love you.”
Sam hands the baby to one man, and the other goes with him and the children. They disappear into the dark mist, breaking my heart more with every step. I refuse to think about the possibility of never seeing them again, but I know they’ll be safe.
These are the sacrifices a mother makes.
This would make my sister proud.
They give Sam a radio, and he speaks our names and ages into it. It’s a frustrating process, waiting for the static on the other end to ask questions, and validate we have a right to go below.
A right to live.
They clear Luke and Lori first. Their backgrounds are the least muddy. Both military with honest identities.
I have to pry Lori off me and shove her toward the men that come back to retrieve her. She begs and pleads for them to take us too, but it’s no use. They don’t listen to her or acknowledge her pleas. One drags her by the waist at Luke’s order, while he holds her arms to the side so she won’t claw away.
“Nico Rivera, you’re cleared. We’ll be up,” the radio spits.
“I’m not leaving without my wife.”
I shake my head. “They’ll never clear me,” I scream. “Fake name, not military. You need to go.”
“Not a chance in hell,” he bites out. He grabs the radio again. “It’s under the manifest as Ashley Rowan Lawson from the Thalassa. I understand she’s reported deceased. Isn’t it possible your records are wrong? No, she doesn’t have my last name, but she’s my wife.”
I show up as married to Samuel Lawson on the Thalassa, but Ashely Lawson is dead and her middle name was never Rowan. We’ve already given my false identity, so going back with my civilian name would only confuse the matter. The Thalassa has no comms to validate my existence, not that they would. My heart sinks as the minutes go by.
They’ll never let me in.
Three men walk in our direction and Sam grips my arm tighter. I wince from pain and pry at his fingers.
“You have to go with them,” I beg. “Please. BeLew and Morgan won’t have anyone.”
I slap his chest, but he keeps yelling into the radio.
“Sam, please, please listen.” I grab his face, pinching his cheeks and jerking him to look at me. “You have to go with them. You can’t leave our kids as orphans. BeLew can’t go through that again. Morgan needs a father.”
He’s shaking his head, holding my arm tighter. The radio is silent, and the men are here.
“Make him go,” I scream at them. The wind blows my hair across my mouth, sticking to my face, wet with rain and tears. “Take him!”
One of them, clearly in charge by his stance and presence, cocks his head at Sam and then back at me.
“I’m not going without my wife,” Sam argues, taking a step back.
