The Remnant

Clash of Companions

“I can’t believe we’re stuck here!” Priscilla moaned, glancing at the Davies children, who were now fast asleep in their hay beds. The moonlight streamed through the open window of the barn as she and Caleb sat together near the door, peering out into the vast darkness that lay beyond their concealed hiding place.

Caleb sat back against the wall, staring at the three children, the weight of four people now on his shoulders. “They couldn’t leave the kids alone, Priscilla. Our job is just as important as theirs.”

The young girl let out a sigh of frustration as she rolled her eyes and continued staring into nothingness. “It doesn’t feel that way. Come on, they get to infiltrate Pine Gap and we’re stuck here babysitting,” she retorted.

Priscilla Ward, youngest of five, always seemed to be growing up faster and faster with each day. At an early age she was introduced to 4x4ing, dirt biking, spearfishing and other such outdoor activities, so the magic of dresses, dolls, and pink wore off very quickly. However, regardless her rapid maturing and her constant proving herself to be independent, here she was again, stuck with a job she wasn’t really fond of. Oh, how she hated being left out of the action!

“I’m going to check the perimeter,” Caleb said, getting to his feet. He looked down at Priscilla and could guess exactly what she was going to say. “You need to guard the children and keep them safe. I won’t be long.”

As he turned he could hear her scuffling to her feet and expected another disregard. He was annoyed at her constant stubbornness, so he spun on his feet to face her. “Priscilla, this isn’t the world we used to live in. Things have changed and priorities have shifted. I know you want to feel as if you are doing something useful, but by protecting these kids you are literally saving their lives. We can take turns doing night watch, but right now you need rest. I’m certainly not going to be getting sleep anytime soon.”

Priscilla was taken aback by her friend’s rash outburst, but she backed down without a word, nodding her head in comprehension. “I understand. I’m sorry,” she said nonchalantly as she turned away to sit closer to the children.

Caleb stood there for a little while, regretful of the harshness of his tone, but he needed some air, and he needed to cool down. Walking towards the door he glanced back at Priscilla one last time before slipping out to do his night watch.

Out in the wilderness, everything seemed insidious; every shadow and every slight hustling noise was something that wanted to kill him – a hidden skulking enemy, waiting for the right chance to make its move. The world had suddenly become a lot more hostile and sinister in his eyes. He was starting to understand why his father had turned out so paranoid. His dad was in the military as a computer programmer, installed at the Pine Gap facility to do research. Caleb and his twin brother Jonathan had remained at home with their mother, who had homeschooled them. Caleb had always been the slightly more polished brother, while his twin was willing to push boundaries and take risks.

“It should have been me who was taken, not Jonathan,” mumbled Caleb as he walked around the barn. It was almost as if he thought that if Jonathan was here he’d have the stuff to get through this. At least Priscilla wouldn’t be so stubborn. He was aware that there were things going on between her and Jonathan before the earthquake, mutual feelings of interest and care. Honestly Caleb was happy for his brother, but on the other hand, he was slightly jealous that he had someone who cared so much.

Shaking his head in frustration Caleb tried to purge his train of thought. Thinking like this was pointless. Jonathan was gone, Priscilla was heartbroken and they were both stuck with three little children who were utterly unaware of their surroundings. He needed to be strong, if not for himself then for their little makeshift family. He would be strong.

~~~

Priscilla sat quietly beside the youngest Davies child, Anna, who was 5. Beside her was her sister Eliza, 8, and her brother Joan, 11. Every time she looked at that young sleeping lad she was reminded of the painful hole in her heart that had been there since realizing that her dear friend was missing, along with his parents. She was broken and lost and lonely, with no one to talk to, not even an older sister to confide in.

There had been a time when she had thought of being a mother, of the responsibilities and burden of care that would be weighing on her. At those times she would find herself laughing at the silliness of it all. A 16-year-old thinking of being a mom someday? Now she was 17 and whether she felt ready or not, she had the responsibility of one.

She hadn’t really meant to be so disgruntled with her brothers’ choice to leave her behind. It had just seemed so typical that she was left behind. Even though they denied thinking of her as a kid, she knew that even after all this time both of them still regarded her as their ‘little sister’ – a title she could not be more annoyed at.

Slowly Priscilla laid her head down, with one arm wrapped around little Anna. She slowly started to doze off, the exhaustion of the previous day finally catching up with her, but even as her eyelids began to grow heavy she could hear a quiet humming. For a while, she lay still, half between consciousness and unconsciousness, but the humming began getting louder and louder.

Her eyes suddenly snapped open and her body bolted upright. She saw lights dancing outside. The humming noise was nearly overpowering. Her heart stopped. Her mouth went dry and fear overtook her as the realization sank in – they were back.

~~~

Abigail stood with a smile on her face, watching David and Peter’s expressions change from fear to astonishment to overwhelming joy.

“Juda!” both yelled in amazement and ran towards him, embracing him in a full group hug, although Abigail ensured that she kept her distance. She was fully aware that if she was caught in a bear hug with all three Ward boys she would be reduced to nothing but dust. Suddenly they both started talking at once, plying Juda with questions, eyes wide to make sure that what they were seeing wasn’t just a figment of their imagination.

Juda just stood still, trying to keep a serious face, but it was not long before a cheeky smile curled upon his lips. It was beautiful seeing a reunion of one who was thought to be lost, and Abigail could not help letting out a deep sigh as tears began welling. She missed her family more than words could express.

“Guys, one at a time,” Juda remonstrated eventually. “I can’t listen to both of you at once. I don’t have two brains.”

David smiled and then looked at Peter, stating, “We thought you had been taken.”

“Or worse,” finished Peter.

Juda’s smile soon faded as he told them that he was never at the house, to begin with. He had seen the choppers a long way off but knew that even if he tried to warn the others, he’d never make it in time.

The boys then filled their brother in on the attack, their escape, the survivors – pretty much everything they knew.

“After David told me of Gwen’s distorted message I knew that the only logical place to go to get answers was Pine Gap,” Juda told them.

The group had now assumed positions around Juda as if they were listening to him tell a campfire story. David leaned up against a rock and Abigail lay next to Peter, her head resting on his shoulder. Juda saw she was exhausted, and could only curse his brothers inwardly for putting her in danger by bringing her along.

“It was then I started my own journey here, and since then I’ve been observing this place’s comings and goings. I found out some pretty interesting things,” he continued. “It appears that regardless of any involvement the Base may have had in recent events, they were not invincible to the earthquake. They are running on emergency power for all exterior defenses. I guess they didn’t expect anyone to be game enough to go anywhere near this place so soon after the earthquake.”

“Hold on a second,” David interrupted. “You mean the electric fence, the cameras, and the motion detectors aren’t activated?”

“That’s just stupid,” Peter scoffed, folding his arms and shaking his head.

“Maybe,” Juda conceded, “but the locks and gates mean any form of entry is still virtually impossible.”

Just then Peter glanced down at Abigail and noticed that she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Looking down at her still soft face, he couldn’t help crying on the inside for everything she had had to endure.

“You shouldn’t have brought her,” Juda’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“She refused – ” Peter started to defend himself, but before he could finish his sentence, Juda broke in again.

“You’re endangering her life even more by being with her. If you cared about her at all you would have made sure she stayed behind.”

Peter forced himself to keep his tone low but his voice remained sharp as he answered, “She insisted that she come, and I was sure that I could – ”

“What? Protect her?” Juda interjected yet again. “Peter, this isn’t a world where you can be inseparable from one another. That might have worked before the earthquake, but not here, not now. This is a world where danger is lurking behind every corner, and there will be some things you cannot protect yourself from – let alone her as well! You’re selfish for keeping her by your side.”

With that Juda stormed off, obviously enraged, leaving Peter and David completely taken aback by their brother’s sudden snap. Peter started to get to his feet but David stopped him, gesturing for him to stay seated.

“Stay here; she needs rest. I’ll find out what’s going on.”

As he followed his brother into the darkness, David could not help but shake his head in wonderment at the sudden change that had come over Juda. He was usually the quiet, peacemaker type, so for him to go off at Peter like that was a rare occurrence.

“Juda, wait!” David yelled out.

Juda did not even glance behind him as he came to a stop.

“What was that back there?” David asked after he had caught up. “Give Peter a break; it’s been hard on all of us.”

He cautiously placed his hand on his older brother’s shoulder, trying to get him to open up to him. There was a long silence between the two brothers before Juda bothered to speak.

“She came to me the morning before they were taken and we spoke for a while.”

David was fairly certain he knew who Juda was talking about, so the question he asked was merely routine. “Who?”

Juda let out a deep sigh and lowered his head before replying, “Lorrain Fall.”

Again there was a long pause. Juda slowly continued, “What we spoke about wasn’t important, but we both heard the choppers and we both knew where they were headed. I told her it was too late, that we needed to run or else we’d be taken too.” Emotion started to overwhelm the oldest Ward as he swallowed deeply and held back the tears. “She refused to listen. She said she could never leave Michael no matter what and ran back.” He coughed, trying to disguise the pain in his voice. “I ran after her as fast as I could, but I was too late. By the time I reached the house she was on a stretcher, being carried into their ship.”

David sat in utter silence, allowing his brother to say everything that was upon his heart. He could understand the loss that Juda felt, but it was a loss that occurred long before the earthquake. Loving someone who was already taken was a horrible curse he wished on no one.

“You see, David,” Juda continued, turning his head to face him, “it was because of her . . . love for Mike that she was captured. On the battlefield loving someone means sacrifice. Being a part of a family, that sacrifice is automatic, because you don’t choose to be in a family, but loving someone who loves you in return?” He looked down, breaking eye contact with David. “You do have a choice over that. Although separating yourself from the person you love might seem as painful as ripping off your own arm, if it means putting them out of harm’s way then you need to do it. Otherwise, if something happens to them, you’ll be filled with regret, knowing that you could have avoided it but you chose not to.”

~~~

Abigail started and clutched Peter tightly as she slowly woke up, realizing where she was.

“Sshhhh, it’s okay,” Peter said softly, brushing her hair out of her face as he caressed her cheek. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath before sitting herself up beside him, looking into his eyes.

“I had a dream,” she said softly, diverting her eyes as she started aimlessly drawing in the sand.

“What was it?” Peter prompted curiously.

Instantly he could see her entire posture change as a small nervous smile teased her lips. He chuckled slightly. Although Abigail could be very talkative and friendly to anyone, it always warmed his heart to see the unlikeliest thing cause her to be embarrassed.

“Come on, if you tell me yours, I’ll tell you mine,” he said playfully, opening his arms. She slowly eased into his grasp and laid her head against his chest as she started to recount her dream.

It might have seemed silly to some people, talking about dreams, but to Peter and Abigail, it was just one of the many odd and peculiar conversations they, as a romantic couple, engaged in. Another marking of their unique relationship was the constant making fun of one another and calling each other silly names. At least, that used to be their relationship. Since the earthquake had occurred it seemed like everyone was forced to mature, and unfortunately, that playful silly side of their interaction had been buried beneath the pain and sorrow of the losses they had both endured.

Abigail could see the vague silhouettes of David and Juda talking and turned back to Peter. “I heard what Juda said about me.”

Peter was taken aback and opened his mouth to say something but he was cut off.

“It’s okay. I know I’m not much help here, but he’s wrong about you being selfish. I’m not here just because of you,” she said.

Noticing the two boys walking back towards them, Abigail got to her feet. Peter did the same.

“Tell me about your dream,” he pleaded. “I’m curious now.”

“Okay,” she agreed, and then started, “First a bright white light consumed me.”

On hearing this Peter’s mind immediately snapped to his own ‘dream’.

“I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t even move, but I could hear someone speaking to me.”

Abigail looked straight up into her boyfriend’s eyes, wanting to know if he thought she was crazy, but instead, to her surprise, he had an odd look on his face.

“Go on,” he said softly.

Abigail complied, continuing, “I don’t remember much else, but I distinctly remember a voice saying, ‘Find them. Find the elect.’” She chuckled slightly to lighten the mood, but the look in his eyes never changed. Abigail knew that she had to tell him eventually, but regardless her honesty she wasn't going to make him aware of the newfound birthmark on her wrist, for some reason, it made her uneasy and the more she ignored it the more she could forget it was even there.

It couldn’t have been a coincidence. Peter thought to himself. He had stopped believing in that a long time ago, but what else could it be? Was this even possible? Questions were racing through his mind and he shook his head in disbelief, trying to figure it all out.

By now Abigail was slightly concerned. “Are you okay?” she inquired.

Peter snapped back into reality and saw the worried look on her face. He tried to make himself look more relaxed. “I’m fine – but do you want to hear something crazy?” he returned with a nervous smile.

Abigail looked at him suspiciously. “Okay,” she said slowly.

“I had a dream . . . exactly like that, when I was carrying you back after you were taken. But this was more like a vision,” he said.

By this time Abigail was curious. She knew Peter wouldn’t be making this up just to mess with her. She could hear the seriousness of his tone, see it in the stillness of his eyes. “What do you mean vision?” she asked, still trying to comprehend what he was telling her.

Peter replied, “One second I was carrying you, walking back to camp – the next we were engulfed by a bright light that came from this very mountain range. I heard a voice say those exact same words.” He ran his hands through his hair, expecting Abigail to laugh at the ludicrousness of his story, but she did not. Instead, she encouraged him to continue. “What happened after that?”

“The next thing I knew I was a few kilometers from home,” he replied, “and I had no idea how I got there.”

There was a long pause as Abigail attempted to take in everything that her darling had told her. It all seemed so strange. Admittedly, most dreams were strange and had no connection to real life, but this was different. Everything Peter had told her – the light, the voice, every little detail – was exactly the same, and she could only wonder what it all meant. Unfortunately, there was not much time for speculation.

Suddenly Peter noticed something on Abigail’s arm, half hidden by her sleeve. He lifted it gently and stared at a small mark – the exact same mark he had on his arm.

“What’s this?” he questioned curiously.

“I don’t know,” she replied defensively pulling her arm out of his. “I hadn’t noticed it before.” She lied. Then, noticing that Peter was shaking his head in disbelief, she went on quickly, “Why? What’s wrong?”

“I have exactly the same symbol on my arm . . . and I only noticed it the morning after my vision.” Peter broke off suddenly, thinking. Then he continued, “It can’t be a coincidence. It just can’t! I refuse to believe that’s even possible. But what else can it be?”

Abigail just stared at him in confusion. “Peter, I’m not usually one to say this,” she confessed timidly, “but what if your dream was a vision?” By now Abigail was forced into the world of speculation as she attempted to put two and two together. She didn't know the significance of their marks but they had to be connected to something.

Peter’s eyes locked onto her as his brow rose in incredulity. “Abby, visions usually imply something is trying to communicate with you." He guested before continuing. "That would mean there's someone trying to get our attention, something may be beyond our understanding?"

"Like a higher power?" Abigail said struggling to keep a straight face. She shook her head in disbelief as she took a few steps away, covering her mark on her wrist once more. "This is crazy."

She could hear the skepticism in his voice, and honestly, she felt the same way, but she couldn’t ignore the fact that something seemingly impossible had just occurred.

Since the earthquake, she hadn’t thought much about any higher power. If there was one out there, trying to get her attention he wasn't doing the best job of it. All this world had to offer was a pain, and regardless the odd story of visions and strange markings she was going to stand firm on that statement. Maybe she was angry about what had happened. Maybe she was hurt. Maybe she just didn’t know how to start a prayer anymore. She was weighed down with a burden of grief so great that she could never imagine anyone removing it.

“I don’t know, Pete,” was all she said.

Just then Juda and David walked up, interrupting their conversation.

“We’ve formulated a plan, but it’ll require teamwork,” David announced. He glanced over at Peter, expecting him to reprimand him and Juda for concocting a plan without him, but strangely enough Peter remained silent and nodded his head. Subtly he glanced over at Abigail and noticed the hurt look on her face. He could only roll his eyes at the thought that the two of them had had some stupid couple argument, but before he could speculate on it anymore Juda spoke up.

“Abigail, you’ll stay behind.” His tone was one of finality, but Abigail was not one to be dismissed so easily.

She had heard their conversation about her lack of usefulness and apparent selfishness, and she wouldn’t have a bar of it. She was here in the middle of nowhere risking her life for more than just to be with Peter. Sure, it was true that she wanted to remain near him, but she had a greater reason than that.

“I know you all think I am incapable of the task ahead, that I am unable to survive in this world and that I am just someone who needs to be protected,” she retorted. “You might be right about that. Nevertheless, I refuse to stand on the sidelines watching more people close to me die or be taken. You were right, Juda; this is not the world I used to know.” She paused, looking over at the lights of Pine Gap. “I might not be as strong as you guys, and I’m certainly not saying I’m equal because I know I don’t stand much of a chance, but please, I want to be useful.” She backed away slightly, making sure she could look at all three of them.

“You think I’m selfish for being here? You think I’m here because both Peter and I want to comfort each other? No, I’m here because I lost my family in the earthquake and I’ll do whatever I can do to find them.” She let out a long sigh as she looked Juda straight in the eyes.

There was a long silence following Abigail’s words as the cold desert wind continued to howl and the moonlight danced through the clouds. She sat on the ground and stared intently at the three boys towering above her. Slowly a smile curled on her lips as she said something she had wanted to say from the beginning. “So – with all that said – what’s the plan, boys?”