CHAPTER 136: THE RETURN HOME.

Owen put his hand over Dwayne’s mouth. He looked back at Doctor Godwin, hoping that the man was far enough not to have heard what Dwayne had suggested.

The doctor was on the receiving end of a loud tongue lashing from Soraya. It was impossible for him to have heard Dwayne’s words.

Dwayne ripped Owen’s hand away. "What? Did I say something wrong? My duty here is to assess and analyze risks to the base. What he did is risky. If he keeps it up, he will create a disaster. What if these were mutated tigers or lions?"

"Why would we keep mutated lions and tigers on the base?" Owen was confused.

Dwayne shrugged. "Maybe because they have grown some useful wool too. I don’t know Owen, think of a reason."

Hades’ jaw tightened. He looked at the sheep, their twisted forms pacing relentlessly, bleats echoing like mournful wails mixed with starving growls. As fierce as they were, he did not think the sheep should be killed just yet.

Dwayne was right about the problem being the vet who decided to make a move on his own. Hopefully, the sheep would remain stable until Sunshine returned and looked at them.

"Double the guards for now and put up blockades just in case they manage to break the paddock." Hades ordered finally. "Any sign of them attacking anyone, you have my permission to kill. I will not have soldiers or civilians torn apart because of negligence."

The soldiers saluted quickly and spread out, rifles ready, their nerves taunt.

As Hades walked away, the bleats followed him, loud and unsettled, sounding less like animals and more like restless spirits.

His chest arched with unease. Like any leader, he hoped that he had made the right decision for those he led, human and animal.

****

After hiding in the space for two whole days, Sunshine finally returned to the real world. It was her hope that the ice wall in Nimo’s heart had thawed, and they could go back to being Suni and Neems.

She observed Nimo’s face and noticed some tiredness which was a result of driving for many hours. The vehicles had not stopped on the return trip.

She noticed that half of the coconut beans she had left for Nimo had been eaten. All the drivers had been provided with at least three fruits to help them keep their energy up.

"Knock knock." She said softly, tapping on Nimo’s left arm.

Nimo scoffed. "We are not ten Suni and I am not a door."

"Knock knock." Sunshine tried again.

Nimo sighed. "You are just going to keep on doing this until I ask who is there, aren’t you?"

"Knock knock." Sunshine repeated.

Nimo groaned. "Fine, who is there?"

"Your best friend who is very sorry." Sunshine answered.

Nimo sighed. "I did some thinking while you were gone, and you have nothing to be sorry for. We both know that I would have handled the situation the same way if I was in your shoes, in fact I would have taken the secret to the grave.

So, thank you for telling me Suni and thank you for insisting that he return early so that he could have a chance to live. Alive or dead, you tried to help him and that is what matters."

"Does that mean that we are good?" Sunshine asked

"Of course we are you dummy; we are always good." Nimo stretched her left hand out and placed it over Sunshine’s. As she squeezed Sunshine’s hand she added, "We are Suni and Neems, best friends since the age of six. We have survived worse."

Sunshine exhaled loudly. Relief coursed through her bones and settled in her blood.

"Now I have a question. Has nobody stopped to pee? Are you all wearing diapers or something?"

Nimo laughed and Sunshine followed. They did not pay attention to the fact that the acid rain had reduced. The heavy drops had become lighter. It was turning into a drizzle.

As the vehicles sped along the familiar road, Sunshine reached for her walkie-talkie and asked, "Siegfried, where are those jokes?"

And so the the priest jokes were restarted, making Father Nicodemus sigh while the soldiers laughed.

After the jokes, songs followed and the closer they came to the mountain, the broader their smiles grew. It was coming to 10 p.m., when the gates of Fortress Four came into view.

The guards at the watchtower spotted their convoy first, then alerted those at the gates. A bell was rung and walkies-talkies in every wall lit up as the same message was spread, "They have returned, the team has returned."

The gates were opened after Sunshine’s face was seen on camera. As they drove inside, Major Elio leaned out the vehicle, waving his cap and hooting.

O’Toole laughed with relief, Siegfried’s head stuck out of the vehicle’s opening at the top and he yelled at the top of his voice.

Even the newcomers were caught up in excitement. They could feel it that they had arrived somewhere safe. People had already started to gather outside the information center of the first wall.

They waited anxiously as the vehicles and those who arrived went into the decontamination area before being allowed to meet with anyone.

In ten minutes, the soldiers started to come out of the decontamination area. Siegfried was the first and he was bellowing. More followed behind him. People rushed forward some crying, others slapping the weary soldiers on the back.

Some clenched their hands as two people were transported away by medics to the medic bay. Their family members followed, worry lining their faces.

It was a huge crowd, and a lot was going on, but all Hades could see was her. He froze. For a heartbeat, he doubted his own eyes. She was not supposed to be back for at least another two days.

Dwayne nudged him. "Boss, what are you waiting for?"

Hades laughed and jumped up, yelling her name. "Sunshine?" His voice broke across the noise

He hovered in the air for some seconds, waving his hands and calling for her attention.

She turned, and when their gazes locked, the rest of the world blurred. She smiled faintly, exhaustion tugging the corners of her mouth.

"Hades." She said his name grinning from ear to ear.

He touched back down and strode forward, unable to hold back. When he reached her, he fiercely pulled her into his arms. For a moment the Fortress disappeared, the voices vanished. She was real, a bit cold, alive.

She held him tightly, as if she was afraid that she was dreaming and when she opened her eyes, he would be gone.

"I thought..." He couldn’t finish. His throat closed, his hand trembled at her back

"I came back," she whispered into his chest. "I promised I would."

Around them, people looked on, some smiling, other touched by the reunion. But the couple hardly noticed.

Owen shook his head gently from side to side. "Our boss is utterly smitten" he told Dwayne.

Sunshine leaned back and looked up at him. "Let’s go home."

Hades nodded. Ignoring all the people trying to talk to them, he carried her through the crowd to another car and drove straight to the first wall.

Hand in hand, they walked to the building, got into the elevator and went to their apartment. Some of the lights were still on, Rori was watching an old movie in the living room.

She gasped when she saw Sunshine. Her mouth opened widen and a scream of excitement started to form.

Sunshine hushed Rori. She wanted to surprise the children.