Chapter 53: Chapter Fifty-One

Alex did not hear it, but in the distance was the sound of hope. A large rescue pod hovered twenty feet over the ground and came to a halt directly next to her craft on the beach. Mara was the first person to jump out. She rushed over to the pod calling out Alex’s name, but there was no answer.

Mara and her small crew came across the path that had been carved out in the forest. She led the way through the tall trees and thick bushes, following the blinking light on her access pod. When Mara was less than one hundred metres away, she spotted Alex and began to run toward her.

“Alex!” Mara screamed out in a panicked voice.

She ran over to her dying daughter and cradled Alex in her arms. She checked for a pulse. It was faint, but it was there.

“Come on, let’s get her in the vehicle,” Mara demanded. Three men rushed over, picked Alex up, and carried her limp body into the craft. Once onboard they immediately hooked her up to a TPN intravenous drip, which consisted of vitamins, salts, glucose, lipids and essential amino acids.

“Hang on, Alex. I’m here to bring you home.”

The craft lifted off the ground, displacing a small cloud of sand as it pivoted in place. It then accelerated across the Atlantic and back to Megalopolis.

On board the craft, Alex’s status was monitored by a team of medical experts. Mara did whatever she could to help, which included holding Alex’s hand and speaking to her. When they finally arrived at the Megalopolis hospital, Alex was immediately transferred to her own room and a team of the best doctors in the world attended to her.

After administering several medications to her, Alex was placed inside a special hyperbaric chamber that enriched her body with oxygen and nutrients.

Over the next few days, Alex remained unconscious as her body recovered. She was still frail, but was slowly regaining weight. The whole time, Mara, Milo, and Aris did not leave her side.

After being in the hospital for nearly a week, Alex’s eyes slowly peeled open.

“She’s awake!” Milo shouted.

Mara jumped to her feet, rushed toward the chamber, and pressed her face against the glass dome. When she saw Alex’s eyes flutter open like a newborn baby, Mara immediately began to cry. She knew Alex could not hear her, but through the glass she signed a message that caused Alex to smile. Everyone else in the room hovered over the glass and Alex made eye contact with each of them.

“Can I hold her?” Mara asked the doctor.

The doctor reviewed Alex’s stats and then permitted the request. The glass dome slowly opened, allowing Mara to hold Alex’s hand.

It took a moment for Alex to fully register what was going on, but Mara explained it to her.

“Where am I?” Alex mumbled. “Am I dead?”

Everyone in the room could not help but chuckle.

“No honey, you’re not dead. You’re safe inside the Megalopolis hospital.”

“You are very fortunate that someone came along and found you,” the doctor said. “Had that not happened, you would have likely died within the hour.”

“How did you find me?” Alex inquired.

“You sent me a message.”

Alex looked puzzled.

“We had no idea where you were until one day your voice came flooding into my head with such clarity. You described your surroundings, told me about the plants and trees, the positioning of the sun, moon, and stars. Based on that information, we determined you were somewhere in Southeast Asia.”

“That doesn’t exactly narrow it down much,” Alex said.

“You’re right. We were searching random beaches in the Southeastern hemisphere for days. Most of the crew thought I was crazy, but somehow I knew you were alive and trying to reach out to me.

“The next time your voice came to me, you were expressing your reluctance to eat a small lizard. You described the markings on the back of the critter, which identified it as the Kwam Vallen salamander. We looked it up and that lizard happens to be indigenous to one very specific region of Thailand. Once we were close enough, we could track you using your chip. We were very lucky to have found you in time.”

“I don’t think luck had anything to do with it,” Alex said. “After the events that have transpired in my life, I’m convinced I was put on this Earth for a reason.”

“I agree, just promise me you won’t put yourself in so much danger next time.”

“Sometimes I feel like danger has a way of finding me.”

“You inherit that from your mother,” Milo joked.

“You’re truly a remarkable person, Alex and I’m so proud to be your mother.”

“Thanks, I feel the same way about you. I’m glad you’re my mother. And as soon as we get arrested and thrown back in prison, we can get back to that quality mother-daughter time that we’ve grown accustomed to.”

“Something tells me you won’t have to worry about going back to prison after what you’ve done. I still can’t believe that you, my daughter, are responsible for such a monumental moment in human history. It feels so surreal and I couldn’t be more proud of you. I love you, Alex.”

“I love you too, mum, but what about you? Do you think you’ll go back to prison?”

“We’ll see. So far nobody has come looking for me and this place is swarming with guardians.”

Alex decided to change the subject. “Mum, I’ve been literally dying to ask you a very important question.”

“What is it honey?”

“How do you like the new sky?”

“It may take me a while to get used to it, but I like the blue sky better.”