Chapter 168 - New Hope

Hunter's POV

I shouted and got down on my knees the moment I got out from my encloser, and I kiss the surface when the solid soil fell after my last hit. I almost lost my hope because it took us two weeks to till the ground separating us until I was able to get out, and I felt my tears fall on my face. I saw Cal standing with his boxers shorts, and I am wearing the same thing because it is getting hotter, especially that we kept working from morning to dusk, even if Cal asked me to stop once in a while, but I want to get out from this hell and meet my wife and family again.

"Oh! Hunter, I am not a hugger type of person, but this time, let me hug you. At last, we met again, and I can see and touch your face, and this is the longest time I haven't seen your pretty face since you started working in the company as my boss." He said after he helped me got up on my feet, and he embraced me, and I hugged him back as I cried my tears.

"Cal! I have never been so happy to see you again." I said after he released me from his arms and he helped me get my clothes, and I followed me to his favorite place, and at last, I felt so relieved that I could finally stand up straight. I stretch my arms and legs, and then I put on my inner shirt, and I throw my suit jacket, long sleeve, and trousers on top of Cal's bag. And I am surprised when he handed me a clean shirt.

"Cal, please, allow me to apologize for laughing at you when we were on the elevator. I never thought something like this would happen to us. I am aware we don't know what the future may bring to us, but so far, this is the worst that ever happens to me, but I still feel lucky because I have you." I said, and he smiled at me, and I felt so delighted to see Cal.

"And I want to let you know that I am so grateful to you, Calixto. You have been my guardian angel ever since, and you were always there during the worst moments of my life. When I saw Rebecca got hit by the car, I thought that was the worst thing that would ever happen to me, but when Madeline left me, I realized that was the most horrible thing I ever experienced. And I don't know how to call this incident that happened to us. I don't know what I have done why I need to suffer this way. All I ever wanted is to come home and have dinner with my wife, but why is destiny so cruel to us, Cal?" I asked him, and he was looking at me with sympathy.

"I know why you felt that way, son. You miss your wife terribly, and because you just got back together after she left you, you want to be there for her. You want to enjoy sharing your love for each other, but it seems like time is testing both of you on how strong your love for each other is, but believe me, Hunter, you will be together again. Why do you look so devastated now when we finally have the chance to get out from here?" He asked, and I looked at Cal as I let out a heavy sigh.

"It is okay if I will suffer alone, Cal, but not Madeline. I can't imagine what she is feeling now that we didn't communicate to the outside world. They all think that we are already dead, Cal, and I only got out from being trapped with the rock out there, but the reality is we are still trap, and we don't know where to start to dig again, base on our location I don't exactly remember where we could be." I replied.

"Yeah, I understand, but other people will think we are dead, but not the people who love us, Hunter. Do you think Madeline, Leticia, and Lily will accept that you are dead? I don't think so, and you know how much they care about you, Hunter." He said, and I know Cal has a point.

"You just got out of from your space, and I was expecting you will be excited to see me, but it feels like you became more down the moment we see each other again," Cal said, and I can tell he is a slight disappointment with me.

"I am sorry, Cal. I am just devastated about our situation, but I am so happy that you helped me, and I know I should encourage you, but instead, I sounded like a desperate person," I said, and he smiled.

"It is okay, Hunter. I understand. On the first night after the explosion, I cried because I thought I was the only one who is left, and I know I am going to die alone and it would be so lonely, but on the third day when I heard your voice, I felt so happy that at least I will not die alone, and I realized we would die together." Cal said, and I cocked my head at him, but I know Cal's words are true, it would be a big possibility that we can't get out alive from this place, and our body will rot on this underground. But knowing we will die together, it could be less lonely.

"But I trust you, Hunter, and I have faith in you that you will save me from this place. You will take me out from here because I know that you will always find a way." Cal said, and I felt so happy that he trusted me that much, and I don't want to dishearten Calixto, and I don't have the heart to tell him we can't get out from here. And knowing that he draws his strength from me, I should be more positive from now on, and I need to get my wallet and look at my wife's face. And I can't stop smiling.

I felt so glad his flashlight is still working all else, we will be groping in the dark. I got up and pulled out my wallet from the pocket of my trousers, and I looked at our wedding picture, and I couldn't stop myself from tracing my wife's beautiful face with my fingers as I started at her. It feels like Madeline is asking me to come home, and just like that, my confidence is back, and I realized every time I felt so down, I only need to remember I have a wife waiting for me.

"Cal, thank you for trusting me, but don't worry I will do everything I can to find a way to let them know we are still alive and don't worry from now on, I will never think of giving up again because I don't want my wife to be miserable forever," I said, and Cal smiled at me.

"That is my boy, and now that we are reunited with each other, it means we need to have a little celebration, we will not eat crackers for tonight, but we will have some beef jerky and canned juice, I brought two cans for special occasion only. And as a bonus, we can also have some dried fruits tonight." He said, and I shook my head, and I couldn't believe Cal will think such away, but I felt so glad he did.

"Wow! You really should be appointed as the father of the boys' scouts, Calixto, and you made me so proud of you for always being ready." I said in disbelief.

"We are just lucky that I found a cooler filled with bottled water, and I think it belongs to the miners, and I can tell once we leave this place, we can find more goods, but base on my inventory, we can still leave for another month." He said.

"You already told me that, on the first day, you found me. Are you sure with your calculation?" I asked.

"Yeah, I reduced our solid food since we got water supply. What is important is we are hydrated to survive. We can eat a little during nighttime except for tonight." He said, and I nodded my head, and I felt so glad his camping bag is full of granola bars, crackers, nuts, dried fruits, and I never expected he also brought multivitamins aside from the first aid kit. 

The following day we woke up early, and we started walking through the tunnel. Still, we couldn't find anything we can use to communicate with the rescuers because we found another debris made by the explosion, and it only means we need to do another digging, and I am not sure how wide the blockage is.

"Wow, we need to dig out this thick soil, Cal, so that we can pass through, but the problem is we do not know how thick this could be," I said as I assessed the condition of the earth in front of us.

"Well, we don't need a choice, Hunter; there is no other way," Cal replied.

"Of course, if we want to be rescued, we need to do this again. And let us start digging now." I replied. And we spend the following days digging again, we only rest for one hour during lunch break, and we agreed to have over time until eight or nine in the evening. The soil is soft since it only covered the surface during the explosion, but it took us a long time to remove the dirt mixed with rocks since we only have one shovel. If I used my hands, Cal would use the shovel, and then if I used it, he would use his hands.

We helped each other in everything that we do, and we both prayed there would be no more explosion, or else I don't know we will be lucky enough to survive another blast. We almost lost hope when we realized we are still trapped, but on the third week when we heard the sound of drilling everything changed for us.

"Did you hear that sound, Cal?" I asked, and when I looked at Cal, I found him kneeling on the ground, and I saw the tears pouring down his cheeks.

"I told you, Hunter, they will never abandon us." He said as he wiped his tears away, and I could no longer stop myself from crying too as I realized the rescuers didn't stop looking for us, and I can feel that our recovery is near, and I smiled as I think of my wife, and I can't describe it in words how much I miss Madeline.

"I want you to wait for me, my sweet Madeline, and I will come home to you soon; hold on to my promise that I will be there with you until our hair turns gray." I whispered in the air, hoping that my wife is thinking about me as of the moment, and I am smiling as I helped Cal stood up from the ground, and we walked back to our campground with new hope in our hearts.