Dura

Part 11

I tried to say a few words in her language to make her understand. She seemed confused but eventually stopped the truck. There was no time to lose. I pointed at myself and then toward the hill, then I grabbed her arm and made her follow me into the deep forest. We plodded through the snow, almost drowning in it. It would be easy for the soldiers to follow our tracks.

I looked back at the road. Two black spots could be seen in the sky, slowly growing larger. The airships. They were coming for us. I had to find the cave fast, but after all this time, it was difficult to remember exactly where it was. Soon it would be completely dark.

We climbed the hill and went down on the other side. This was close. Fifteen minutes later, I found it. There was no snow near it as if it had been melted away due to the hotter air coming out of it. Dura, understandably confused, looked at the small entrance. My arm ached and my entire body was shivering. If I didn't get back to my world soon, I would die of hypothermia.

To fit in the opening, and especially the second opening inside, we had to take off as much of our clothes as possible. I tried to communicate this to Dura, but I'm not sure how successful I was. I began taking off her heavy cloaks and capes, that she had used to blend in with the guards, while I pointed at the entrance. She just stood there, looking at me with the saddest expression I've ever seen. Her cheeks were red from the cold and her large nose runny. Her clouded breath was rapid, revealing her fear. When one of the last garments fell off her body, her eyes fell on her belly and as I looked down at it I saw why... She was heavily pregnant, carrying our child. There was no way for her to enter the second entrance in that condition.

"No, no, no, no..." I whispered as I began to cry.

A million thoughts went through my head. I knew the airships were getting closer for every second. They hadn't seen us yet. It was imperative that they didn't find, or at least took special notice, of the cave.

I put Dura's clothes back on her. There was no escape for her. She was going to get caught. And I... I was too scared, too weak... This moment is the one I'm the most ashamed of. She had gone through all of this, trying to save the father of her child and herself, even though – and maybe because – she was pregnant. And I didn't have the guts to stay at her side in this defining moment.

I pointed to the right, tears running down my cheeks, and told her to go in that direction, and then I pointed at myself and the cave. After that, I tried to make her understand that she couldn't tell the soldiers about it. I did this by using a few words in her language that I had learned and by pointing at the cave, then making the hush sign with my finger. There was no way for me to know if the understood what I meant. I could only hope.

Perhaps she thought she would meet up with me on the other side of the cliff. I don't know, but after I yelled at her she did as I said and walked away. Luckily, the lack of snow outside the cave meant we didn't leave any prints for the soldiers to discover.

The only thing I heard as I crawled through the small passage was the echoes of my weeping.

I've returned to the cave once a month and there haven't been any signs of anyone coming out of it. I've put a large boulder in front of the entrance that can't easily be moved from the inside and I've leaned some heavy sticks against it to see if someone moves it. So far, it seems like Dura kept the cave a secret.

Oh, Dura... By now – if she survived – my child is one year old. Not a day has gone by without me thinking about them. I regret my decision to return to my world without her. But during this year I've been keeping myself busy. On the table behind me right now, there are a few things that were very difficult to get a hold on. A bunch of automatic rifles and semi-automatic pistols, tons of ammo for them, grenades, a rocket launcher and a lot more. I'm going back. This time I'll be ready. I'm going to show them the true nature of Homo sapiens. They won't know what hit them. I'll give them hell.

THE END

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