Zoe. | Recharged. | Book One.

Sam Bryan. | Underwater.

September 5th, 2011

For five years, I feel like I've been screaming underwater. Like I'm drowning with cement blocks on my feet, unable to reach the water's surface. The moment I hear Marissa utter the name of our son, I suddenly find myself being able to breach the water's surface and come up for air.

"What did you just say?" I ask, even though I heard Marissa say his name clear as day.

"I said Jake's alive, dad," Marissa repeats, looking at me with tears rolling down her cheeks and smiling.

I find myself squatting on the floor to my knees and sobbing as if my son were just born. I feel the presence of my wife, daughter, Rodney, and Ben provide comfort for me. My wife kneels next to me as I feel her squeeze me tight and kiss my forehead. I look over at her and notice that all her makeup has dissipated because she's crying. I can't believe he's alive. I can't believe my son is alive. I mean, I know we've always said that he still alive for the sake of our sanity, but I never actually thought it to be true.

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"... After called Zoe's phone, I switched them and came here," Marissa says, her voice straining as tears continue to roll down her face.

"Are you insane? You took Zoe's phone? You do know that she's not stupid, right? She's going to notice that the phone that she has is not hers." Ben scolds my daughter as he begrudgingly loosens the tie from around his neck, which gives permits to the collar of his shirt to open a bit. Ben steps closer to Marissa, getting in her face. "How could you be so reckless?"

I step forward and put my hand on Ben's shoulder, pulling him back slightly. Ben turns his head to look at me; a scowl is evident on his face. "What?" Ben asks, his voice is curt.

"Hey, Dunham," I Interject. "Watch your tone. That's my daughter you're talking to." I warn him while my hand is firmly gripping his shoulder.

"Get your hand off of me." Ben jerks away from my grip, he walks around the room and protest of my warning. been liens against the wall in the back of the room as a smirk appears on his face. "And technically, when you beg me to adopt her and take her in as my own, she became my kid."

"Excuse me?" I reply, shocked by Ben's statement. Heat rises on the surface of my cheeks.

Ben puts his hands up in defense. "With all due respect, man, all I'm saying is that you asked me to adopt Marissa almost immediately after Zoe's accident, so she's just as much as my daughter as yours."

My wife, Devin, places her arm around my shoulder for comfort and pats my chest. I look over at her and see a small smile on her lips. "Maybe we should go find somewhere to talk, just the two of us, yeah?" My wife calmly suggests after she playfully winks at me.

I exhale and nod. I kiss my wife on her forehead. "Yeah," I agree. my wife and I turned to walk away from the bunker, slightly content. However, in the short distance it takes to reach the bunker's exit, Ben stops us with another one of his snide remarks.

"That's right Devin, keep your husbands' macho complex in check."

I turn around almost instantly when I hear him question my livelihood as a man. I squint my eyes at then. "What did you just say?"