G Hopf: Sanctuary

Sebastian gave in to her desires and kissed her passionately. He could think about logistics later—all he wanted to do now was enjoy the company of his beautiful wife.

“No, no, no!” Haley screamed. She turned away from Samantha and slammed the door of her bedroom.

Samantha stood staring at the closed door. She didn’t know what to do with Haley. It wasn’t long after they had arrived in Idaho that she had begun to act out. Without her father there, Samantha had felt alone in her ability to parent. Nelson and a few of the others in their caravan had helped, but nothing could take away the pain of Haley losing a brother, then her father.

After burying Hunter, their group had proceeded toward their destination, Idaho. When they crossed over the state boundary from Utah, others cheered and celebrated. For Samantha, there was no longer a cause for celebration. Her only son was gone and her grieving was made all the more difficult by Gordon’s inexplicable abandonment of the family. She had been with him long enough to know that he was a helper, not a runner, during a time of crisis. She oscillated between feeling sympathy and anger toward her husband. She was angry with him for not coming back when she and Haley needed him. But during the sleepless nights, her anger would melt to empathy. Did he witness what happened to Hunter? Her mind constantly filled with horrific visions of Gordon being forced to watch the murder of their beloved son. She imagined that he found himself responsible for Hunter’s death, and that he probably felt he could not face her until he served justice for Hunter. That was Gordon’s way. But above anything, though, she wanted him to be there, with her and Haley.

The group had made it to Idaho, but not to their planned destination of McCall. The snowy mountain roads caused them to stay put in the town of Eagle, at the base of the mountains. Without maintenance services to clear the roads, they wouldn’t be able to continue toward her cabin until late spring. Samantha had worried that if Gordon was on his way back to his family, he wouldn’t be able to find them. This thought only added to her depression.

Nelson had taken charge of the group for their journey, and for that, everyone was grateful. He was a calm leader, and full of good humor. When they realized they couldn’t move on to McCall, he quickly set out with Eric to identify a spot in Eagle for them to stay. Fortunately for them, they found a group living in a small community who were willing to take them in. The leader of Eagle’s Nest, Scott Welk, encountered Nelson and Eric looking around the community fence line. After a brief, tense moment, they were able to convince Scott of their intentions, leaving him feeling confident that they weren’t a dangerous group. Nothing came without cost, though—some of their ammunition, food, and Nelson’s medical skills were bartered in exchange for a home to squat in.

Only a dozen homes were inside the gates of Eagle’s Nest, half of them vacant. Scott let them come in and take over two houses. The integration had proven to be a success, and besides some minor personality conflicts, no problems had arisen between the two groups. The biggest conflict that was noticeable, though, was between Samantha and Haley. Nelson, who shared a house with Samantha and her daughter, bore the brunt of this tension. He understood that Samantha was grieving, but her short temper with Haley and her subsequent depressive moods often put him in an awkward position. Haley would often gravitate toward Nelson, which only seemed to irritate Samantha more. Such was the case now, as Samantha attempted to get Haley out of the room.

Samantha stood staring at the thick alder door; Haley’s screams reverberated through it. A touch on the arm jolted Samantha.

“Is everything okay?” Nelson asked.

Samantha snapped at him and said, “Does it sound like it’s okay?” Frustrated, she turned on her heels and went into her room.

Nelson walked up and placed his ear against the door. Haley’s screams had given way to sobbing. Nelson knocked.

“Go away!” she screamed.

“Haley, it’s Nelson. Can I come in?”

“Leave me alone!”

“I’m coming in, but don’t throw anything at me,” Nelson said, then slowly opened the door.

Haley was curled up in a ball on her bed, crying. Nelson walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. Haley kicked at him and yelled, “Leave me alone!”

“Haley, I’m here because I need your help.”

Her crying had subsided but her face was still buried in her pillow.

“Macintosh needs you.”

Macintosh, a palomino quarter horse, lived in the barn of the house they occupied. Haley had grown attached to the horse and spent every day caring for him. But now Macintosh was sick; he had developed an abscess in his left front hoof.

Haley lifted her head out of the pillow and looked at Nelson. Her eyes were swollen and red from the crying. She wiped away the tears with her hand and used her sleeve to wipe her runny nose. The mention of Macintosh broke her tantrum. “Is he all right?”

“He’ll be fine, but he and I both need you to help me. I’m going down there now and I can’t do it without you,” Nelson said gently.

With purpose in her eyes, Haley jumped out of the bed and ran out of the room. Watching her take off, Nelson smiled.

“Here, take this,” Nelson ordered Haley, handing her a bag of Epsom salt. “Dump in few scoops’ worth.”

Nelson was preparing a salt bath for Macintosh’s hoof. Scott told him this would help draw out the abscess. Haley carefully and diligently did what he ordered.

“Good, that’s enough. Now let’s get Big Mac,” he said to Haley.

She unlocked the stall and opened it. “Hi, boy,” Haley said to Macintosh.

Nelson got Macintosh up and placed his hoof in the tub of water. “Thank you for helping,” Nelson said.

Haley petted Macintosh softly. “Everything will be fine, we’re taking care of you,” she whispered to him.

Nelson watched their interaction. He was happy she decided to come down. He wasn’t sure if what they were doing would help Macintosh—he was just doing what Scott had recommended. Having never cared for a horse before, he was skeptical. He wasn’t a religious man, but he prayed that Macintosh healed. If what he and Haley did became instrumental in his rehabilitation, she would have a renewed confidence.

“Nelson, do you think my daddy will come back?”

Struck by the question, he answered carefully. “Of course he’ll come back. He’s out taking care of all of us right now.”

“I don’t know if he will,” she said flatly, still giving Macintosh her attention.

“I know he’ll come back. He just has to finish up some things.”

She looked up at him. “You said that Hunter was coming back. And he died.”

“So, what are we doing?” Conner asked calmly.

Baxter and the other officials in the room watched him with uneasiness.

Conner had only recently come from his own self-imposed sequestration. After his return from captivity, he was met with the news of the suicide of his beloved wife, Julia. He had only survived his ordeal at the hands of the rogue group by staying strong with the hope he’d see his wife and new child someday. When Baxter broke the news, he locked himself in his quarters and didn’t come out for two weeks.

After he emerged, he was ready to get back to work. He was presented with endless reports of mass deaths, more nuclear attacks, utter chaos, and an almost complete unraveling of any governmental control on all levels. The news of Cruz being held captive specifically hit home. It seemed to him that all the people he cared about were being taken away from him.