Captive

Chapter 40

Vincent Matthews woke with dust in his eyes and a ringing in his ears. He was dizzy, and when he stood, he lost his balance, nearly falling to the ground. He found himself surrounded by busted slabs of concrete, broken glass, melted chunks of metal, and random medical supplies. Matthews stood again and limped through the area to find Bridget. He found a dirt covered arm beneath an obtuse piece of a metal table. He moved it, pushing his weight against the object covering the body. When it gave way, an unconscious Bridget lay sprawled atop a slab of exterior wall. He scooped her into his arms and put his ear to her face. Her breath was delicate, but it was breath all the same.

Matthews carried her away from the debris as police officers and firefighters rushed toward the collapsed building. He ignored them when they attempted to take the limp body from his arms, and when he reached the first undamaged vehicle in his path, he placed her in the backseat and closed the door. Matthews climbed into the front seat and reached under the car where he felt for wires. He pulled them out to splice them and start the ignition. When the car purred with life, he hit the road and made his way out of town toward his parent's house. Traffic was tight as emergency services vehicles made their way toward the damaged site. Matthews reached into his pocket to find his cell phone, but the pieces he felt indicated that the device had been destroyed. He would try to call his sister when he got out of the city.

***

Tom and Beth helped Regan serve dinner to the group of recused people from the facility. The former prisoners, some grateful and some frightened, had many questions, which Regan promised would be answered when her brother arrived. Unfortunately, she believed him to be lost among the ruins of the destroyed facility, and she longed to escape to her room to mourn his passing. Her parents were aware that Vincent was supposed to be onboard the truck, and they were also concerned that their son had perished. Freddie worked to keep everyone calm, and through conversation, he came to remember each face that graced his table when he transferred the originals' memories to their copies. He knew that at some point, the replicas may need to be exterminated to allow the originals to take control of their own lives once again. His feelings of remorse could not outweigh the fear that he lost a trusted friend earlier that afternoon.

"One of the buildings on the Algern Pharmaceuticals campus exploded today, leveling the building. Law enforcement is skeptical about the number of survivors. The blast decimated nearly an entire city block. Stay tuned as we bring you more on this development," the television news anchor said from behind his desk. Some of the people watching in the living room cheered when they saw the final end to their torment broadcasted live on the news. Others were stunned that they were even looking at a television—let alone a live news feed.

"Any word from your brother?" one of the survivors asked Regan in passing.

She shook her head, "I haven't heard anything yet."

"I'll pray for him. He helped get us out of there."

"Thank you."

"My name is Joan."

"I'm Regan."

"Your brother will be all right, Regan. God will bring him back to you." Regan nodded and thanked the woman for her kind words. Somewhere deep inside, Regan believed that her brother was too irritating to just up and die. Vincent was a fighter, and his never-give-up attitude always seemed to keep him motivated. She went outside and sat on the porch swing to gather her thoughts. She watched a middle-aged man sitting on the frost-covered grass. He wore no jacket, and the air was chilly. Regan yelled to him, "Do you want a coat, sir?"

The old man just laughed, "I never thought I'd feel the grass beneath me or see the stars again. At this moment, I'm happy I feel nature's air and not the filtered crud I had in my cell." His fingers twirled the crispy green blades between his wrinkly fingers. "We owe a lot to you, young lady."