What Remains

Den stirs. As he does he becomes acutely aware that there is a bright light shining at his closed eyes lids. He doesn’t dare to open them. He isn’t sure why but he doesn’t. He guesses he must be alive, but he can’t be sure. To know that I’ll have to open my eyes, he hears a voice in his head say. Not yet, he fires back silently as in slip the last thing he remembers. He instantly regrets keeping his eyes shut as he gets flashes of the cannibals swarming Sasha, how he couldn’t save her, how he, Lena and Cal left her to sacrifice herself. The memories make his heart sink. That means I must be alive, he tells himself as he hopes that Lena and Cal are OK. Lena’s leg was becoming an issue. Well if you want to find out you’ll have to open your eyes, the voice in his head states. He curses himself but knows it to be true as he takes several deep breathes and then carefully opens his eyes. Immediately, the bright light burns through the tiny gaps between his eyelids and reflexively he scrunches them shut again to avoid any more pain. He already has bright spots in the otherwise black canvas of his vision and that was after only a split second.

“Bit too bright for you is it?” Den hears a familiar voice say. It sounds like Enrique, but it can’t be. The last thing he can remember is being at the entrance to the bunker. He must be dreaming. This can’t be real, but as he thinks that the light dulls. At first he does nothing in response to the change. He still isn’t sure that it’s real. But he needs answers. He knows that. But he fears the worst if he does open his eyes.

After a while, he doesn’t know how long, he finally dares to open his eyes. He does so slowly, ready to bolt them shut again if needs be. But the light levels are much better now. He feels no pain as his eyes come back into focus and he takes note of what is directly in front of him. The wall of a cabin, a piece of cloth hung over what he guesses is a window beyond it. Then he realises that he’s lying down, on a bed no less. He lifts his head and looks around, but somehow even that movement is too fast and it sends his vision into a blur as he suddenly feels light headed and dizzy.

“Steady.” The voice that sounds like Enrique’s says. It sounds like it is coming from off to his left. He turns his head but his vision is still blurred. He can’t make out the figure, only that there is a figure there. But there is something else as well, past the blurred figure. Eyes focus, Den angrily says to himself but they pay his demand no mind as they slowly come back in focus. When they do he realises that the figure really is Enrique and that he really is in a cabin. The elder of Haven smiles. He’s pleased to see the head of the patrols awake. He had feared the worse when he, Callum and Yelena had been brought back to the town. They had all been in far from good shape. All were suffering concussions, dehydration and exhaustion. Though, Yelena’s injuries were the worst because of her leg.

“What happened?” Den asks still feeling foggy. He hasn’t even realised that what lies past Enrique is another bed on which Yelena is lying and past that one which is occupied by Callum.

“We survived.” Callum says with a smile as he looks at his old friend. There is a bandage wound tightly around his head. It sits across his forehead was sliced open by a rock when he was thrown by the blast.

“Cal.” Den utters surprised. He is sure the voice is in his head, but he doesn’t know why. In fact, it takes Den a few moments to realise that Enrique and he aren’t alone and that Yelena and Callum really are present. When it dawns on him he smiles as their presence gives him a small sense of comfort.

“You’re both OK?” Den asks worried about them.

“Yeah Den.” Callum answers.

“We are.” Yelena confirms.

“H-how did we get here?” Den then asks.

“We heard the explosion and I sent several patrols squads to investigate. I feared the worst. Thankfully you survived.” Enrique explains.

“Cal and Lena have already filled me in on what happened. It’s a miracle any of you made it out alive.” Enrique continues softly.

“How long have I been out?” Den asks with a sigh. Three people are dead and that weighs heavily on him. He wonders now if he really is a warmonger like Enrique said.

“Three days.” Enrique advises.

“Three days!” Den exclaims as he suddenly remembers the wound on Lena’s leg. He hates himself for having forgotten about it.

“Lena, what about your leg?” Den asks now that he has remembered.

“On the mend. Don’t worry.” Lena replies grateful that she didn’t lose her leg as she smiles.

“We also found Tom.” Enrique adds. He takes no joy in telling Den, but he did see what was left of the young man with his own two eyes. It made him understand why Den did what he did.

“Oh.” Is all Den can bring himself to say as his shoulders sink. He regrets that they left the young man’s body like they did, but it gives him some comfort to know that it was recovered.

“We gave him a proper burial.” Enrique assures. He wishes he’d listened to Den when he’d had the chance. Maybe if he had they wouldn’t have lost the number that they have. And what’s worse is that Enrique can see that Den blames himself. He needs Den to know that this was not his fault and that he did the right thing. He did what Enrique should have done months ago.

“Den, it wasn’t your fault. You saved us all. All of you did. Haven will never forget that.” Enrique says trying to reassure Den, but he doesn’t believe the elders words. He got people killed. It is his fault.

“No, you were right.” Den declares.

“Right about what?” Enrique asks curious.

“About me. I’m a warmonger. I wanted this fight so bad I didn’t consider what the cost might be.” Den clarifies. He can’t look at Enrique, Callum or Yelena. He simply feels too much shame to bring himself to do that.

“If you hadn’t those things would have killed us all. I was wrong. Not you. The deaths are on me. All of them.” Enrique assures Den with a solemn look on his face. Enrique means those words. He really does.

“The deaths are on that AI Sapphire. No one else.” Yelena spits angrily. Her anger isn’t directed at either of the men. She only wishes she could have choked the life out of that AI with her own two hands. However, she knows such a thing isn’t possible.

“Yeah, Lena’s right. Neither of you are to blame for this. And it’s over now. We can look to the future.” Callum adds.

“Yes, the future. And speaking of said future. I have something I want you all to see.” Enrique says after a long silence during which he contemplates his mistakes. He believes Den is likely doing the same. They will both have to live with the decisions they have made. He just hopes that they both can.

“What?” Den asks feeling detached.

“Come with me.” Enrique asks before he calls for aid.

In response to his call a number of Haven citizens shuffle in and aid Callum, Yelena and Den out of their beds.

Yelena is given wooden crutches so that she can keep weight off her leg while it continues to heal. Cal is simply helped to his feet. While Den on the other hand, is helped into a wheelchair. He hasn’t moved in days and there is no way he is going to be able to walk yet. Enrique takes control of the wheelchair which he wheels out of the cabin with Yelena and Callum on either side.

They move slowly down the length of the cabin. Haven is very active Den notes, but he makes sure to keep his eyes low. He doesn’t want to meet anyone’s gaze, at least not for now. He needs time. The deaths of Tom, John and Sasha are still very fresh, though he is thankful that Callum and Yelena survived. But as they round the corner of the cabin Den hears Callum’s sharp inhale of breath and Yelena exclaim in surprise. Den lifts his head and looks at what should be a view of the shore, except it isn’t the view he is used to, it’s different. His eyes are wide as he stares at a floating city which is maybe a quarter mile from the land they are on.

“It’s real!” Den exclaims. He, like many others in Haven, heard stories of a floating city but they were of sightings years ago. No one had seen it since and Den had concluded that it wasn’t real. That is was instead, wishful thinking from those wanting there to be more than just a collection of towns like Haven scattered across what remains of the landmasses of the world. But now he can see that not only is it real but that it is glorious. He can think of no better way to describe the floating city than to call it magnificent as he studies every surface and angle it has to offer. He can barely believe what he is seeing as his mouth hangs agape. The technology required to make such a thing even possible will change what remains of humanity and its future forever. And that makes a smile creep across his face.