Loving Madeline

Hunter's POV

We received all the things we needed while we waited for the day they could finally bring us out, from food to personal needs, and we got a lot of water supply, and for the first time, I realized I missed tooth brushing my teeth. We spent our day talking, and they also sent us playing cards to have some fun.

"I promise to give those people a bonus for helping us. I couldn't imagine dying in this place, Cal, where my loved ones couldn't take the last glimpse of my pretty face." I said, and Cal laughed.

"Of course, me too. I don't want to die here, but when I felt sick, I thought I would die that time, and if you weren't with me, I think I am already dead by now. Thank you for taking good care of me." Cal replied.

"What I did was nothing compared to what to have done for me, Cal. If you didn't bring those goods, I am sure we are not talking right now. We both died in thirst and hunger. Thank you so much, Cal. I owe you my second life." I said.

"Thank me later, Hunter, when we are already in the outside world." He responded, and I chuckled as I shuffled the deck cards before I dealt the cards again.

I hope they will expedite the rescue operation, but as a mining engineer, I know how tricky it could be, especially if it is raining. I miss the office, and everything about living, my mom, Lily, especially my wife, Madeline. I can't stop thinking about her, and it was funny when before we got a contact from the outside world, Cal and I decided to write a last letter to our loved ones. I wrote three letters, one for my mom, for my sister, and of course for Madeline. 

I know it was impossible if Calixto didn't bring a pen and his journal, so when I asked him if he had some pen and paper, he handed them to me quickly. Even if we were about to die, I laughed hard, and I felt so happy that I had him with me, or else I would die in misery. We are now lying on the ground, ready to sleep, and even without asking Cal what time is it, I can tell it is nighttime already since we could no longer hear the drilling, and I can tell it is weekend since they don't do overtime during weekends, and I understand.

For now, we will wait, and I hope there will be no landslide on the outside, and there will be no rain for the time being, or their operation will come to waste. We are facing each other, and I felt glad his flashlight survived, or else we are living inside this tunnel with total darkness.

"What are you going to tell Madeline the moment you first see her?" Cal asked me.

"I don't know, Cal, because as of this moment, there are a lot of things I want to tell her, but I am sure I am going to kiss her for a long time before I will speak to her, and I know there are so many words you can say through a kiss," I said, and he smiled.

"I never thought you could be that poetic, Mr. Divenson." He replied.

"Of course, when the first time you showed me her pictures, there were a lot of words I wanted to describe her, and I think she made me became a poet. Thank you for finding her Calixto, if you didn't bring Madeline into the Divenson mansion, I would never be free from my guilt about Rebecca, and we would not find out that she is still alive. My wife brings not only joy in my life, but satisfaction, and she completes me." I said.

"I know from the first time I saw you look at Madeline that she will be your salvation, Hunter. I thought you would be forever trapped with your past, but I felt so happy when you started to fall in love with her because I saw you smile and be happy." Cal said.

"Yeah, she brings out the best in me, and she taught me how to be selfless when she confessed to me that Rebecca was still alive, even if Maddie was hurting inside because I know how much she loves me. That is why there is no fucking way I will stay in this place, Cal, and I can't wait to be with Madeline again." I said.

"Yeah, but I think you should stop calling her name in your dreams. Hunter, I can't sleep." He said, and my eyes widened.

"What do you mean?" I asked Cal.

"Well, now that we are talking about Madeline, I think I should tell you now, almost every night, you are calling your wife's name in your sleep." He said, and I smiled at him.

"I am sorry, Cal, it only means one thing, I miss her like crazy," I said.

"Don't worry, Hunter, you will be reunited with Madeline." He replied.

"Aren't you excited to see your wife?" I asked him.

"How could you say that? Of course, I miss my wife too. Still, if ever only one of us will be rescued, I will stay behind because my wife and I have been so in love throughout our marriage. We have been married for a long time, and I have a lot of memories stored in my heart that I will never have regrets even if I die, while you still have unfinished business with Madeline, you still need to get her pregnant, and you are still both young." Cal said, and I smiled at him.

"Why it seems you are willing to sacrifice your life for me, Cal? If ever that happened, I will never leave you behind, Calixto. I will never do that to you." I said.

"Hunter, we don't know what will happen to us here while we are still waiting to be rescued, but you have to promise me when things get worse, and you need to save your life. Please don't hesitate to leave me behind." He responded.

"I will only promise you if you do the same if I have become trap again, and you need to save your life. Don't come back for me, save your life, and don't think about me." I declare, and he looks at me for a long while before he speaks again.

"Fair enough with me; good night Hunter." He said, and he switched off the flashlight after I said good night to him.

We waited for many more days until they could finally bring us to the outside world using a capsule. Calixto got out first even if he insisted I go out first, but I realized I owed him a lot, and he deserves to be rescued first. I put a white cloth to blindfold his eyes. After all, we need to be blindfolded because we have been trapped in the tunnel for so long, and we need to adjust to the light first before we can open our eyes to the sunlight. When it was my time to go, I could feel the excitement. I cried when I heard the cheers of the people who helped us got out of the tunnel, and I shouted thank you to the rescuers even if I couldn't see them all because of the blindfold, and I could tell there were media around the vicinity. Finally, I am back to the outside world.

I can tell right away that the Operation Manager was the one who assisted us, and he led us to the ambulance. And I wanted to go home right away, but I understood Cal, and I needed some laboratory tests to assess our physical and mental condition.

"Mom!" I exclaimed the moment I opened my eyes, and I realized I was in a hospital bed, and it felt so lovely to sleep on a soft bed.

"Hunter! You scared me so much." She said while she was crying, and she was caressing my face.

"Where is Madeline?" I asked, feeling so nervous if something happened to my wife, and I was confused why only mom was here.

"I want to surprise her, Hunter, and don't worry because she didn't know anything because she stopped watching the news because it only does us no good, and I also briefed her best friend, Gina. Besides, I want you to look handsome and back to yourself before Madeline will see you." She said.

"Mom, cut the crap, I know you are hiding something from me, and you are making me so nervous. I want to know if Madeline is fine, and please, mom, tell me the truth." I demanded because I could feel it. My mom is hiding something from me.

"Okay, I didn't allow Madeline to leave the house since your father has been harassing us lately, and without you, he became so frantic, and your brother, Parker, left the Divenson mansion, and he warned Madeline that your father is planning to kill her." My mom said, and it made me got up from bed, and I felt so angry with my father that I pulled out the needle of my IV, and it shocked my mom.

"Hunter, what are you doing?" Mom asked.

"We need to leave now, mom. I need to see my wife.

I said as I picked up my phone from the side table, and I felt glad someone let me borrow a charger before I slept last night. 

"Hunter, you need to have a clearance from your doctor to get out from here. You are still weak, but I am sure you can be discharged tomorrow since your laboratory tests were all good. It would help if you had some time to rest. Please listen to me, son. Roman is there with his men, and they are guarding the entire house twenty-four-seven until you will return. Madeline is safe." My mom said while she took my hand, and she pulled me closer to the bed.

"I need to go to the office now, Hunter. I don't have a choice but to take your place, or else your father will take over the company but don't worry, I handled everything, and when you go back to your office, everything is in place." My mom added.

"Thank you, mom," I replied.

"Your welcome, son, welcome back." She said and smiled at me.

"I love you, mom," I said to my mom, and I know I took her off guard, and I saw her tears fall, and I realized it had been a long time I told my mom I love her, and after what happened to me I realized life is too short not to tell our loved ones how we feel.

"I love you, too, Hunter, and I missed you so much, son, and as your mom, I was scared if we were going to lose you, and I was overjoyed with happiness when I learned they finally got in touch with you. I wanted to go there at the mining site, and Madeline begged me to go there too, but I was scared for her safety, and I asked her to stay at the house the entire time. She wanted to go there and ask the rescuers never to stop the rescue operation." My mother said while she was still crying, and I hugged my mom, and I caressed her back.

"Mom, I am here now, and I am still alive, so please stop crying now," I said, and she looked at me as I released her from my embrace.

Mom already left, and when my doctor made his rounds, I begged him to release me right away, but he explained everything, and he promised me that I could go out tomorrow. I felt so excited after I talked with my doctor, and I wanted to pull the time so I could finally see my wife, and I wanted to call her. Still, my mom was right, I wanted to surprise my wife too, so instead of feeling so anxious, I opted to watch her pictures on my cellphone, and I was smiling the entire time as I watched my wife's beautiful face. I felt so excited that tomorrow we could be together again, and I could finally kiss Madeline's sweet lips.