The Rift

Chapter Twenty-Five: Rescue Mission

Hidden in the shadows, Cody Samson pulls along an unconscious Grace through the darkness of the night.
To Cody' surprise, Grace is not that heavy. He drags her body towards town hall, where only a few lights are on.

It wasn't easy for Cody to avoid the paths of the guards out on patrol.

Bringing Grace down to the basement, he grabs a ring of keys and walks down to Lisbeth's cell.
She's already waiting there, awake.
"Never thought that you'd wake up in time", she says to Cody as he unlocks her cell.
"Yeah, well can you give me a hand with her?", referring to an unconscious Grace.
Lisbeth walks out of the cell and takes a hold of Grace's arms while Cody grabs her legs.

"We should just get to the armory and get the hell out of here. He'll be waiting", Lisbeth says.
"Okay then, let's hurry."

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(David POV)

In my dreams, I see my past.

The first is when I'm four years old, playing in the backyard with Dad and two year old Anthony during the hot summer.
There's Mom sitting at a table, watching the three of us run around. I remember the green grass, wet with the water from a nearby sprinkler.
I then remember being so happy when Aunt Maya showed up for dinner. Aunt Maya was my father's younger sister, but only by a few years. She had short, black wavy hair, with eyes so brown and dark you could almost see stars. She had a beautiful smile, always showing it whenever she was with me when I was young.

The next memory I see in my dreams is us at a lake.
I was maybe seven at the time, with Anthony being five.

We all watched the sunset together, eating Popsicles.

Then that's it.

I wake up just before the dawn, when there is still darkness. I sit up from a thick blanket set on the ground near the fire, which is now a pile of smoldering embers. I rub my eyes and look towards the east, where you can barely see the light from the sun just around the corner of the earth. It's freaking cold out, I don't know how I dealt with it last night with a thin jacket such as mine.

A man out on duty stands just outside of camp near the road, keeping watch. He lifts a hand to his mouth and yawns.

Seeing a chance to get a little more sleep, I lay back down on the blanket.

Then thoughts start pouring into my mind like a flood of water.
I feel as if something bad is happening back at Haven, and I'm not there to stop it.

That could only mean one thing: I have to go back to Haven.
I run a hand over my shaved head, stand up, then start packing the blanket into my backpack. I put on the backpack and head for the road. The man out on watch glances at me but says nothing.
I can get to Haven in ten minutes maybe.

I take out Grace's diamond necklace from my front pocket, thinking of her.

From behind me, I hear someone awaken from their sleep, then I hear Paul's voice ask, "You leaving?"

I stop walking and turn around to face him while staring down at the necklace.
"I have to go back. People need me."

"Are you sure, though? I thought you told me you were supposed to be hanged. Won't the people have it out for you?"

I breathe and answer, "Frankly, they can kiss my ass."

Paul chuckles, then says, "If that's you want to do, go for it."

I nod and tell him, "If we ever meet again, which we probably won't, I hope it's under good circumstances."

"Same here. Good luck, David."