Final Chapter:

"Barbie. Barbie. Barbie?" A soft moan was the response. "Barbie?"

"I think I died."

"Don't say that."

"But I'm looking up at an angel." Julia laughed and cried at the same time. "It's okay, Julia." Barbie took her into his arms and kissed her deeply. "It's okay." He held her tight. "We made it."

"Where are we?" Norrie sat up from the ground.

"I don't know." Joe sat beside her. "How did we get here?"

"Where is here?" Hunter was the first to stand. "This looks like the Great Plains."

"With Colorado mountains?" Junior stood beside him. He finally looked at Barbie and Julia. "My dad?" They glanced at each other and then shook their heads. "I see." Junior looked away to hide his tears. "Maybe, it's better that way."

"Where's Don Barbara?" Barbie looked hurt at Hunter's words. "Where is he? I don't see him."

"He didn't make it." Barbie stood up from the ground.

"I'm sorry," Norrie said.

They were all standing now. They looked out at a sea of green before them. The mountains in the distance were crested with what looked like snow. The sky was a deep blue. No sun was seen. The wind was gentle, caressing their wounds. They were alone, stranded, and there was no sign of life anywhere around them.

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," Joe said, but nobody laughed. "Where's Sam?"

"Sam," Julia exclaimed. "I thought… Hunter, didn't you help him here?"

"I did." He looked down at his shirt. "I still have his blood on me."

"He couldn't have gotten far." Barbie hurried out in front of them, soon breaking into a run. "Sam! Sam!"

"Sam," the rest yelled. "Sam!"

"Here!" Barbie saw a man lying on his side on the ground. "Sam!" He knelt down beside him, but the man wasn't moving. "Sam." He gingerly reached for his pulse, worried that he would find none. "Sam?"

"I was dreaming," Sam muttered.

"Damn it! Don't do that!" Sam laughed and then coughed. "You scared me half to death, Sam."

"Sorry, Barbie." He continued to lie on his side, though, not looking at him. "When Heather blindsided me, I saw something. I saw myself melt into white and then walk through a valley of green. What did you see, Barbie?"

"Let me see your wound, Sam."

"I asked first." Barbie remained sitting behind him. "What did you see?" The others stood a short distance away. "Did you see anything?"

"My father," Barbie finally said. "I was a kid, and he was holding my hand." Barbie tried to fight the tears back, but one slipped down his cheek. "He sacrificed himself for me."

"He loved you." Sam struggled to his feet.

Barbie helped Sam stand up. He was wobbly, pale, and there was a lot of blood on his shirt. Sam looked at everyone nearby, and Barbie followed his gaze. His eyes saddened as they fell on Junior, and Barbie nodded to Sam as if answering an unspoken question.

"Sam." Barbie slowly lifted up his shirt. "Sam." He finally look down at his stomach, and Barbie pointed to the smear of blood left on his skin. "There's no bullet wound. How is that possible?"

"I remember stumbling out of the white. Hunter fell down behind me. I kept walking. I kept moving until I fell here." Sam stared at the ground. "That's all I remember." He touched his unbroken skin. "I should be dead."

"It's a miracle," Julia said.

"Where are we?"

"I don't know." Barbie stepped away from Sam. "I…" Something caught his attention.

"Barbie, what is it," Julia asked.

"No. It can't be." Barbie took off in that direction. "It can't be."

"Now, where is he going," Norrie whined as they followed him.

"What can't it be," Hunter asked but got no response.

"Is that a ship?" Sam now stood beside Barbie. "How the hell did that get here?"

"It's the USS Cyclops," Barbie said as he looked at those standing around him. "306 people disappeared on that boat."

"Where are they now," Joe asked.

"I don't know," Barbie answered.

Giggling drifted across a breeze. All eyes turned in multiple directions. More giggling. Nobody was seen. The green grass bowed back and forth as if keeping more secrets, and the giggling continued.

"Mister." Someone tugged on Sam's shirt. "You dropped this."

Sam looked down to see a light brown-skin girl pulling on his shirt. Her eyes were unusually large. They were a deep green. In her tiny hand was a bullet, and she placed it on Sam's palm. "You dropped this."

"Thank you." Sam looked at the bullet for a long moment and then slowly pocketed it. "You are?"

"Veren."

"Veren." Julia slowly knelt down before her. "Where are we?"

"Home." She grabbed Julia's hand, surprising her with her strength, and she started to pull Julia in a direction away from the ship. "Come on!"

"To where?" Julia tried to keep up with her, but the child was too fast. "Where are we going?"

"Home, silly. We're going home." Veren let go of Julia's hand and broke out into a run. "Catch me, if you can."

"She's not human," Norrie whispered to Joe.

"Maybe, half human," Joe whispered back.

Sam walked in-between Hunter and Junior. He noticed that Junior stared down at his feet. Hunter did the same. "We're not dead," Sam said to them, and they finally looked at him. "We made it."

"But my mother's dead," Junior said. "My father too."

"We all lost someone," Sam replied. "But we have each other." He put an arm around Junior and his other arm around Hunter. "We're not alone." Hunter finally smiled, and so did Junior.

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

"You said that already, Joe." He didn't answer Norrie. He just pointed at something in the distance.

"Is that a city?" Julia was surprised by Veren landing on her feet. "Is that your city?"

"Our city," Veren corrected her. "You'll like it there," and she took off again.

"I guess we will." She was surprised by Barbie taking her hand in his. "I guess we're off to see the wizard?"

"After you," Barbie laughed.

"Follow the munchkin," Sam replied.

They continued to walk through the sea of green. A gentle wind rested on their backs. The sky remained a deep blue, but not a cloud or sun was seen. Whispers of the past remained behind, and the white of future beckoned ahead. They were home.