The Horrors Below

Chapter 23: It's Not Goodbye

     2205, 9:34 PM. Sammy held Ashley's hands as she looked into her deep, brown eyes, "I can't believe this is goodbye! I mean...It feels like summer began just yesterday, and now...Now you're leaving the day after tomorrow!"
     Ashley kissed Sammy, "It's not goodbye, We'll see each other again in two weeks. Okay?"
     Sammy closed her eyes and lowered her head, "Ash, people don't visit their friends when they go off to college for two weeks. People will see the writing on the wall, we can't keep this a secret forever, and...I want to be seen with you, I want to date you, being in a quiet, under the radar relationship just isn't enough!"
     Ashley lifted Sammy's head to look into her eyes, "I love you more than anything, but this is just our little secret right now, what if we just go out, we don't have to tell anyone anything about it, let them figure it out for themselves?"
     Sammy smiled, "You're the best, we can go to Chesspeak overlook and have the best time of our lives!"
     Ashley looked down at the glowing city lights below, "We can do better than that! We can go to the Black Truffle tomorrow night!"
     "This is why I love you, you're just so much braver than me."

     2453. Sammy pulled on her suit, "I know what I need to do."
     "What is it?"
     Sammy stepped into the the rover's air lock and depressurized it, "I'm going to die anyway, right?"
     Stitcher corrected her, "Most likely."
     "Well, in that case, I'm going to take my chances with that rusty BS of a nuclear shelter before I meet my maker!"
     Stitcher's gadgetry hummed, "That is, in a word, genius! it has the correct atmosphere and temperature to sustain life, and, which is more,  It's in walking distance!"
     Sammy hesitated at the thought of taking the first step towards the shelter, "Yeah, it can sustain life, all kinds of life."