The Iron Hallway

Chapter 28

A week later, the Sand Dollar touched down on a landing pad in a small, beautifully-built town in Antapeño, right on the Alcontean border. Two days prior, as Aaron informed me, a mysterious Danlashian woman had called my phone while I was napping, and so he'd answered for me. This woman had been quite curt, and ended the call after only two minutes of speaking, but she claimed to have rescued Abigail from the Alcontean imperial palace. After arranging this meeting place, she'd ended the call, and refused to return any afterwards. 

I was washing my face in the bathroom when the ship jolted into its landing position. Most of my bruises had faded away by now, and the swelling had greatly diminished as well, although my cheeks were still noticeably puffy. As for my body, I was still generally achy, and a stab of pain bit me here and there, but Sila had been very efficient in healing me, and Khemera had told me of many natural remedies that alleviated my pain and allowed me to get much more crucial sleep. 

I jumped at a rap on the door. "We're here, Baird! C'mon to the hatch when you're ready!" Hannah sang from the other side. 

I splashed a little more water on my face, quickly patted it down with a towel, and swung the door open. I couldn't help but grin as I locked eyes with Hannah. Her smile had a contagiousness about it. I followed her down the hallways that led to the hatch where Aaron and everybody else but Khemera waited. 

After we'd all exited, I lifted my gaze and spotted Abigail on the edge of the landing pad, standing beside an armored blonde. My heart leapt in my chest and increased its speed threefold. With an ear to ear grin, I sprinted over to her, and she also ran to meet me halfway. She leapt into my arms and nestled her face into my collarbone, sniffling as she did so. 

"It's okay, Abby," I whispered into her ear comfortingly, a tear making its way to my eye as I rubbed her back. "I'm here now." 

My girlfriend was too busy crying onto my shoulder to answer, though I didn't know yet whether it was from sorrow, joy, or both. I closed my eyes and inhaled her sweet scent, the one I'd missed these entire twenty-eight days of our separation. And I hadn't realized until now just how much I'd missed being able to run my hand through her soft, flowing red locks. 

"I love you...Abby...more than even I know." I said, my voice catching in my throat more than once as I spoke. 

Abigail shuddered and turned her head, still in my arms. She kissed my cheek. "I know. I've missed you...so much." she stuttered. 

"I know. But I'm here now, and I'm not planning on leaving any time soon." 

I felt a puff of hot air brush my cheek as Abigail laughed. "You'd better not. What happened to your face?" 

I smirked. "Long story. Let's just say, Dirk Josante and Emperor Pietrovo were...tied up in a neat little bundle, and I dealt with them." 

"I'm fascinated to hear this whole story, but I guess we can save that for later." Abigail remarked pleasantly, sliding down to her feet and taking a step back to study me. "You're...meatier. What's up with that?" 

"Well, I've been doing pushups. And other things." 

Abigail raised an eyebrow and glanced at my friends behind me. "Which one of these rascals held a gun to your head, to make you do that?" 

I chuckled. "Actually, it was the old man who's still inside. But I should introduce you to these guys." I motioned for them to draw closer, and Hannah was first to comply. "Well, this is Hannah. She's a singer, guitarist, and overall awesome gal." 

Hannah grinned and threw her arms around Abigail. My girlfriend seemed a little surprised, but not at all averse to the embrace. "Nice to meetcha! Baird's told me so much about ya!"