Previously:

     "Hands in the air!" The male voice said again, closer this time.

     Sam put her arms above her head and responded. "Please, I don't mean any harm. Just trying to help the kid." She was hoping to plead her case as she was surrounded.

     "Bullshit," A different, younger, man's voice responded.

     Three men surrounded Sam, She noticed they were wearing clothes head to toes and sam could only see their eyes. While she was on her knees they pointed their guns at Sam as if waiting for her to do something. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea Sam thought just as the guy to the right of her raised his gun and hit her in the side of the head with the butt end.

Present:

     Cold. Cold and sandy.

     Sam opened her eyes and was met with darkness, she tried sitting up but felt her muscles stiffen up. Blinking for a minute, her eyes started to get accustomed to the darkness. She was in a small dome, so small she wouldn't be able to stand up without hitting her head. The walls and floor felt like they were made out of stone. It was wide and long enough that four of her size could lay down comfortably.

     Sam tried to scuffle around but felt a weight tug at her wrist. Feeling what was keeping her from moving around, she felt cold metal shackles go from each wrist to a bolt in the middle of the dome. Sitting on her butt Sam let out a breath and recapped what happened in her head. Am I surprised? I shouldn't be... but... somehow I thought it would've gone better than this.

     Rubbing her arm against the cold all she could feel was a layer of dirt and sand on her skin. It went from her legs to the top of her head, speaking her head, Sam winced as her fingers ran over her jaw and she felt a large welt with a cut. "That sucks." She said to herself and was surprised by how horse she sounded. Looking around she could see what she guessed was a door. There was light seeping in from the bottom, but there was no way she could reach it with the chains.

      Getting as close as she could to the door, she tried calling out as much as her voice would let her. " Hello?"

No response.

      Sam strained her ears to see if she could hear any movement at all but couldn't. She tried calling out again, a little louder, and still nothing. I guess nothing to do but wait. I hope Marco is Okay. Sam thought about how far she'd gone in the last few days for this boy. She didn't regret it by any means, but wondered if there could've been a better way to go about things. A way that would've let her stay in the tower.  I can't believe I did that Don, I hope he's not too hurt, I hope Robin's Okay.

     Sam just sat in the darkness for what felt like forever, trying to scratch and rub the dirt off. All the while humming to herself a tune that her dad used to sing to her. It kept the silence away, Sam had no idea how loud the tower was until she was outside it. She kind of missed the constant noise and humming, as the silence just seemed to suffocate her.

     A light tapping noise outside the dome interrupted her self cleaning and she stopped humming.

"Hello?" She tried again.

"Good day to you, well, probably not good exactly. But I am here to make it better." a man's voice called in.

      Sam could hear the german accent in his voice and thought it was strange. Most people didn't have accents as they faded with time being among a large variety of people in close quarters.

"Are you letting me out now?" Sam asked.

"In my opinion, you shouldn't be in there in the first place, so yes."

     Sam anxiously waited to see how she would get out. Would he just open the door and crawl in or maybe something else? However, she heard scuffling along the dome, and looking up she saw a hatch that she hadn't seen before. Covering her ears against the loud screeching, whining, of the hatch being opened, bright sunlight flooded the dome and blinded Sam.

"Ah, please move back little Hasi. The men here won't let me help you if they fear my life is in danger." The gruff voice of the german said.

     Sam tried to scuffle back on her hands and knees, too blind to see correctly yet. All she could do was wait as she heard her chains clanking around and squint at the blinding light. Sam could make out a lean figure bending down in the hole and reaching for the bolt, while another figure was standing over the hole watching.

"There we go, all free. Need help out?"

     "No thanks, I got it." Replied Sam as she crawled to the hole and stood up. The top of the dome came to Sam's waist and she put both hands on the side of the opening to lift herself up. Using her arms she got her butt on the side of the dome and took a look around. What she saw left her speechless.

     She was in a large Cavern that had been transformed into a civilization. The red sand had hardened to create the walls and ceiling. Craters in the ceiling were large enough to let in plenty of sunlight and the floor was covered in farmland. Crops planted from wall to wall with a few shacks spattered about. People were walking all around, of all ages, even older folks which caught Sam off guard. Most of the older generation of the tower died off during the first wave of the sickness so to see everyone walking around, with food growing, was a stunning sight.

      Sam was on top of just one of a few stone domes on top of a plateau overlooking everything and looking up at the men who had freed her. One was crouching on her level his tanned skin matched his chestnut hair and he had dark brown eyes that seemed genuinely happy, like the smile he had on his face. He must be the german man The other man had ebony skin and was bald, he was glaring at Sam with a deep hatred and kept a gun pointed at her all times.

The german must have noticed Sam flinched and quickly spoke up.

"Please forgive my friend here, it's just a precaution for everyone involved. My name is Miles and this is Jamir, your....?" Leaving a pause for Sam.

"Samantha."

"Welcome, Samantha. We would like you to come with us so we can ask you a few questions." Stated Miles as he offered a hand to Sam.

     Sam didn't take the hand a stood up herself, most of the people around had stopped walked and stared at the top of the dome where they stood. She didn't understand but it looked like the were glaring, even at a distance, she could tell that much.

"Okay, I'll follow you."

"Good. Please try not to make too much a scene on the way. Jamir here is looking for any excuse to shoot you and just be done with the whole matter."

     Sam glanced back at the man with the and he had a smirk on his face that confirmed what Miles said and said more. Just do what they ask. Keep safe maybe you'll get out of this okay. Sam followed Miles who tightly gripped her chains while Jamir was behind with his finger on the trigger. The people who they passed all glared at Sam, a woman even spat at her. grunting an "Outsider" under her breath. Sam was deeply confused by the pure animosity she felt. Don't they still go to the tower? Sounds like they need us

     Rows and rows of crops lined their sides, some tall and some barely popping out of the ground. Sam wasn't able to tell what they were but she wanted to go investigate, though the constant tugging on her chains reminded her of her situation. They were nearing a small tunnel that had light shining in from the other side and upon reaching the other side of the short tunnel she saw a large opening in the sandstone that looked carved out and through it, she could see the whole canyon and on their side, there were hundreds of carved out holes with people in them.

"Are those what you live in?" She timidly dared to ask.

"Yes, you were kept in our farming area but we live on the side of the cliff, it keeps us protected from the weather and predators. " Replied Miles.

"Ugh, Miles, you don't need to tell her why we do things. It's not like she's going to be around to understand." Taunted Jamir with a sneer.

     Sam sped up her walking to put more distance between herself and the man behind her. Not going to be around?