Kyle West

EXTINCTION

Prologue

Makara, Samuel, Michael, and Julian had escaped the Gilgamesh crash site. At the same time, there were certain facts that couldn’t be ignored.

While they had escaped, they were still very much in danger.  They were in the Great Blight, far from water and help, and likely surrounded by Blighters. It would take days, if not weeks, for them to make it back to the Wasteland — assuming they didn’t die on the way. There was no way of knowing their destination, either.

One thing was certain, however — without a spaceship, the Exodus was stranded in Bunker 84 with only two weeks of food left. And unless Augustus rescued them, they would eventually starve.

I couldn’t see any solution other than what Augustus had proposed: to join forces with him. The Wanderer had said we needed to unite, but all the same, it was hard to imagine a world where the Empire, the Reapers, and the Angels worked together.

But, that was what had to happen if we were ever to beat the Radaskim.

Makara, at least, wouldn’t stand for such an alliance, mostly because of the Reapers. Both she and Anna wanted Carin Black dead for his crimes. But what choice did we have? Askala was ready to wipe out humanity, and she wasn’t going to stop with the Wasteland.

Despite discovering my four friends were alive, we were still in the custody of Emperor Augustus. Anna, Ashton, and I had each been locked in separate cabins. If there was a future alliance in the works, as Augustus had said, it wasn’t off to a great start. The Emperor’s first item of business was probably going to Los Angeles to meet with Carin Black and the Reapers.

Augustus and Black held all the cards. I didn’t know what Carin Black was like. All I knew was that he had destroyed both Makara’s and Anna’s lives, not to mention Samuel’s, and countless others as well. Back in 2055, the powerful Reapers overthrew the weakening Lost Angels, killing their leader Raine, and forcing surviving members to flee into the Wasteland or face enslavement. Both Makara and Samuel had been forced to find new lives: Makara as a Raider, and Samuel as a scientist in Bunker 114. Anna’s settlement of Last Town had been assaulted by the Reapers earlier. When her father was killed in the fighting, she and her mother fled into the Wasteland, where they’d survived for years.

Whoever Carin Black was, he wasn’t someone I wanted to work with. I wasn’t even sure if he was even someone I wanted alive, and I definitely knew both Makara and Anna wanted him dead. Samuel had said little on the subject, but his feelings were probably much the same. At some point, Anna, Ashton, and I would have to meet the Warlord of the Reapers.

A change was coming. I didn’t know what it was, but I felt it. It wasn’t just with the Great Blight and Askala. It was with humanity.

Augustus had rescued us, but whose side was he really on? He talked of alliance and friendship, but it was difficult to believe him. Maybe he did want everyone working together. As Emperor of Nova Roma, he was probably used to getting people who didn’t like each other on the same page.

I had a hard time figuring out the guy. In the end, though, Augustus was probably on his own side. His hope was probably to get both the Reapers and the Angels working for him. Assuming we defeated Askala, Augustus could take control of the Wasteland.

I had nothing but questions, questions that couldn’t be answered until I was let out of my cabin. For now, Augustus thought victory was as simple as attacking the Voice and defeating it in open battle. We hadn’t been able to tell him everything else we’d learned, including my own role.

The only way to defeat Askala was infecting her with the Elekai version of the xenovirus, which was something only I could do.

According to the Wanderer, it would cost me my life. He had also said that we must unite. Maybe it was best to follow his advice, regardless of what anyone thought about it. Allying the Reapers, the Empire, and the Angels would be the most difficult thing we’d done.

And none of us had any idea how to do it.

Chapter 1

“Did you hear that?” Julian asked.

Makara opened her eyes. “Hear what?”

The Recon sat alone in a mountain valley coated with xenofungus, sheltered within a stand of xenotrees. The trees’ spindly limbs fell in a silvery cascade, obscuring the Recon from view. The fungus itself glowed in the night, milky and pink. Frail alien trees spiraled from the xenofungal bed, their hanging limbs and tufts and fronds spilling like silk onto the ground. Tall pink tubes rose from the fungus, their bell openings dripping slime that collected in sticky, shining pools. Alien chirps, clicks, and shrieks sounded from distant hills.

“Is there something out there?” Samuel asked.

“What do you think it was, Julian?” Makara asked.

“Hard to believe,” Julian said, “but it sounded like a spaceship.”

Outside, the xenolife chirped on.

“No, it couldn’t have been that,” Michael said, now awake. “You saw Aeneas fall.”

Julian paused. “Maybe it was nothing. I was just sleeping, and thought I heard it. I must have dreamt it.”

Satisfied at this answer, everyone closed their eyes once again. Bunker 84 was far, but Samuel had estimated that the group could get there in a few more days. For some reason, Julian doubted that assessment.

They’d be lucky to get there at all. Three days after Samuel’s estimate, and they had crossed over into Nevada. They had expected to find desert, but instead found more Blight. It had expanded farther than any of them would have thought.

Julian closed his eyes. Even though he was exhausted, he couldn’t fall asleep. It was Samuel’s turn to be on watch, as Julian had done it last night, which meant sleep should have been coming easy. But he couldn’t stop thinking about the others. Alex, Anna, Ashton — all dead, crashed into the mountainside. They had driven by the wreckage of Aeneas first thing, before Gilgamesh itself had become a burning ruin. Aeneas’s hull was so disintegrated that it was impossible to explore the ship on foot, much less check for empty escape pods.

They had searched a full day throughout the valley, but it became clear that they couldn’t search forever. It was far too cold and dangerous to go into the mountains out of the Blighted valley. Besides, a pod could have landed anywhere, and the Recon had very little in the way of emergency supplies — supplies they couldn’t stretch on a fruitless search. Already, they were rationing, eating half as much as they should.

In the end, Samuel had made the final decision. They were to return to Bunker 84 and try to save everyone there without spaceships. Assuming they actually made it to the Bunker, this would involve a journey south over mountains in the dead of winter. Assuming anyone made it, Samuel planned to offer the New Angels’ services to Augustus and Carin Black. Not a satisfying ending, but the only ending, nonetheless.

During their journey southwest, the Great Blight had been surprisingly empty of threats. Makara guessed that Askala was gathering her swarm in one place, for one final attack…which had emptied much of the Great Blight. Perhaps they hadn’t run into any crawlers, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t at some point.

If, against all odds, they reached Bunker 84, then what? The New Angels would only freeze and starve in the mountains on the perilous journey south. Many would rather stay in the Bunker, even if there wasn’t enough food to go around. By the time they reached Los Angeles on foot, the New Angels’ dead would probably outnumber the living. Their numbers would be too few to have leverage with Augustus or Black.

Maybe the number of Angels would be as few as zero.

Maybe that was why Julian had heard the spaceship. If not wishful thinking, then maybe it was wishful hearing. But Julian couldn’t shake the thought. What if it was a spaceship? There were two left — Perseus and Orion, both locked away in Bunker Six. There was no way anyone besides the New Angels could access it. Bunker Six was not too far north of Bunker One, and was even deeper in the Great Blight, making it more inaccessible than the former headquarters of the United States government. There was no way either of those ships could be flying around. There was no one on Earth that could pilot them besides Makara, Ashton, and Anna.

Again, Julian’s thoughts turned back to Alex. If he was really dead, they had to find another solution. That meant talking to the Wanderer. But how, without having the speed of a spaceship?

No one had explicitly said that all hope was gone in the two days since the crash. Samuel had merely ordered everyone to head back to Bunker 84. Julian was sure, however, that he wasn’t the only one being haunted by these thoughts.

The only solution that Julian could see was for the Wanderer to select a new person to fill Alex’s role. But maybe that wasn’t possible. After all, hadn’t the Wanderer prophesied that Alex was the only one who could defeat the Radaskim?

In the passenger seat, Samuel adjusted his legs.

“Still awake, Julian?”

Julian nodded. “Yeah.”

“I’m stepping outside.”

Makara stirred as the door opened, but didn’t wake. Michael opened a single eye, then fell right back asleep.

Julian opened his own door, stepping onto the padded xenofungal surface of the Great Blight. The air was warm and moist — both water and heat rose from the organic growth below. A gentle wind blew, warm. It seemed strange that the Great Blight, the most dangerous place in the world, had the mildest weather.

A few steps ahead, Samuel swept hanging tree limbs out of the way, revealing an incline of a few feet, ending at a high precipice. Blighted plains stretched below. At the end of the plains, about three miles distant, rose glowing, jagged mountains. They reminded Julian of teeth; the broken, rotting teeth, of a broken, rotting world.

Samuel went to stand at the edge of the cliff, and Julian stood a short distance to the side. Above, the skies had somewhat cleared, a rare occurrence in the Great Blight. A small window to the heavens had opened, a black void filled with a swath of bright, shining stars. A purplish band of light streaked across the small opening in the clouds.

“The Milky Way,” Julian said, stepping up beside Samuel. “We’d see it at night, in New America. Here, not so much. Too cloudy.”

Samuel gazed upward, saying nothing. Julian scanned the valley below. According to the Recon’s navigation, there should have been a highway down there, running east and west. There was no sign of it, now. First, buried by years of dust. Next, buried by the xenoviral incursion. Likely, it was buried forever, just as all the Old World would one day be.

“Even if we make it in time,” Julian said, “will it make any difference?”

Staring out at the alien landscape, Samuel took time before he answered, as if weighing the unexpressed feelings behind the question itself.

“You never know. You should never give up hope as long as you’re breathing. You never know if salvation is beyond the next rise.”

Julian was about to respond, but found he had no words.

They stood another moment before Julian spoke again.

“What about Alex, though?” Julian asked. “The Wanderer said…”

“Alex cannot be dead,” Samuel said.

Julian’s eyes widened. “How do you know that?”

“It all depends on the interpretation of the Wanderer’s prophecy,” Samuel said. “The Wanderer said that Alex had to be there for the final battle. Therefore, he has to be there. I refuse to believe that he is dead.”

Julian didn’t know how to respond. Samuel’s belief was not based on logic — a rarity for someone so rational. Then again, his reason did have a certain logic to it. As Samuel said, it all depended on the interpretation.

“They have their course,” Samuel said. “We have ours.”

Something about Samuel’s words struck Julian.

“Wait. Their course?”

“If they made it…as I believe they have…then they are doing what they have to do. They must have made peace with the fact that they’ll never see civilization again.” Samuel turned to Julian. “Ragnarok Crater isn’t too far from the crash site. Maybe two hundred miles. It can be done.”

That gave Julian pause. Could they really be trying to walk to Ragnarok Crater? To travel through the mountains and the Great Blight, without food and water, seemed impossible. Then again, maybe not. If Alex was alive, he could summon his dragon friend and be rescued. If that was the case, Alex would have found them by now. It had been three days, after all, and no sign of any dragon — Elekai or Radaskim.

“I choose to believe because I cannot accept the alternative,” Samuel said. “If Alex is dead, then there is nothing more we can do. But until we see it with our own eyes…we fight.”

The two friends gazed into the silent valley. Julian could only wonder where Samuel found his hope. Perhaps he was still young enough to have it. Not that Julian was much older than Samuel’s twenty-three.

Twenty-five years I’ve lived, Julian thought. Would two more years make such a difference in my outlook on life?

Maybe hope was a choice. Julian wondered what it would be like to believe Alex was alive. That Anna and Ashton were both alive.

And suddenly, he realized that what he heard earlier made sense. It wasn’t just a dream.

“I did hear a spaceship.”

Samuel turned, raising an eyebrow. “You’re sure?”

“At least, I think I did,” Julian said.

“Who would fly it?” Samuel asked. “If there was one, it came from Bunker Six.”

“And yet, you guys made it as far as Bunker One.” Julian looked at Samuel. “It’s not impossible, is it?”

“Yes, but what would that mean?” Samuel asked. “Who would be flying it?”

“I don’t know,” Julian said. “But if someone had a spaceship, where would they go?”

“Skyhome, perhaps.”

As if he had received some sort of answer, Samuel turned back for the Recon.

“Where are you going?” Julian asked.

“Makara can try contacting Skyhome,” Samuel said. “It’ll mean waiting until it’s overhead, but Skyhome can track the spaceship for us. If it exists, that is.”

Julian nodded. It seemed like a long shot. It would mean watching the night sky nonstop until they saw Skyhome streaking across, like a massively bright star. They could send out a message every few minutes. Hopefully, someone from Skyhome would answer.

If there was another spaceship, it would change everything. They could track it down and find out who was flying it. Maybe that ship had rescued Alex and the others — the escape pod would have given off a signal that could be tracked by any ship in the U.S. Space Fleet.

But if that was the case, would that ship have found the others? And if so, where were they going?

Chapter 2

The dream faded and I awoke aboard the Orion. I had seen them alive, figuring things out. I had no idea how I’d seen them, but it seemed real enough. Julian had heard the ship and Samuel had thought it worth investigating.

However, if what Augustus said was true, it would be impossible to track the ship. Jonas Sparks had disabled the tracker installed on Orion, meaning it couldn’t be found. If Orion couldn’t be found, Julian would be proven wrong, and that would be the end of it. They would still head to Bunker 84.

Whatever the case, there wasn’t much we could do about our current situation. We had been locked in our cabins for three days. Of course, we had been disarmed. The Praetorians brought food and water three times a day, and gave us the option to use the lavatory thirty minutes after each mealtime, and before bed. The point was, we wouldn’t be getting out until Augustus said so. Our cabins were right next to each other, but I still hadn’t seen Ashton or Anna in three days. Any attempt to talk through the bulwarks was futile — not only could we not hear each other, the Praetorians could hear us from their posts in the corridor.

I was starting to go crazy. We had to wait until the ship landed to get out — wherever that might be. So far, Augustus had revealed nothing. I hadn’t even seen him since he’d locked me in here.

We made one landing in the middle of day two, but we just took right off again, heading somewhere different.

I checked my watch. It was 16:42. There were no ports in the cabins, and the lights had been shut off forty-two minutes ago. They would be turned on again in twelve hours.

I thought about the dream I’d had. I needed to share it with Ashton and Anna, but unfortunately, I had no way of doing that. Even when we were escorted to the lavatory, we were led out at different times, so there could be no sharing of information.

It all depended on whether or not they knew about Orion. Julian had a hunch, but what would happen if they contacted Skyhome, only to learn that there were no signals from a spaceship? Skyhome, I realized, was completely stranded without spaceships. Only Augustus had access to it, and surely he knew about it. The space city was so large that he couldn’t fail to notice that impossibly bright star, roving across the night sky. The question was, when would he visit it? And what would he do about it? If Makara and the others contacted Skyhome, would Augustus eventually figure out they were still alive?

I was roused from my thoughts when I heard a light tapping emanating from the bulwark, just to the left of my bunk. The tapping was extremely light, yet intentional. Loud enough for me to hear, soft enough that it wouldn’t catch the Praetorians’ attention.

I didn’t know who was in the cabin next to mine. I reached for the metal bulwark. It felt cold against my fingers. I gave a few light taps, so tiny that I could barely hear them.

The tapping from the other side stopped…

…and began a couple feet to the left of where I’d heard it last.

Someone — either Ashton or Anna — was definitely trying to get my attention. I rose from my bunk, following the direction of the sound. I knelt by the head of my bunk, placing my ear against the wall.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

I responded with my own three taps. Again, the tapping ceased, beginning again from the corner of the compartment, as far as possible from the door. There was little risk of getting caught; dinner wouldn’t be served until 18:00, so we had a little over an hour.

Two more taps came from the corner. I waited for more.

After a long pause, a few more taps came: three, all from different places in the wall. Someone was directly on the other side.

“Hello?” I said, softly.

Of course, there was no response. There was no way the other person could hear me, and I didn’t want to speak any louder.

The three taps came again, from the same locations — one directly in front of my face, followed by two more at the level of my waist.

“Aston? Anna?”

There was no way either of them could hear me. Not unless I spoke louder. Whoever this was, they were trying to communicate something without speaking. I focused on the taps, realizing the key was there.

The same three taps resounded, at the same locations. There was a pattern here if I could just figure it out…

They were making a triangle, for some reason. What did that mean?

I realized then they weren’t making a triangle. They were making the letter “A.”

Ashton, or Anna. That didn’t really help me.

I made my own “A,” at the same three spots I had heard them come from. I quickly followed this with an “L,” which consisted of a tap in front of my face, one near my chest, and one to the right of that.

There was a short pause before I heard a single tap, a series of taps in an S shape, followed by another tap, lower and on the opposite side of the first one. This person had made an “S”.

“Ashton,” I said.

Of course, the brilliant scientist would be the one to devise this method of communication. In case the point wasn’t clear, he began spelling out the rest of his name with a capital H-T-O-N. I spelled mine start to finish as well, so that he would know for sure who I was.

Over the next minute or two, he spelled out a message to me:

Anna on other side.

I wasn’t sure if he was talking about the other side of the ship, or on the compartment opposite of Ashton. I assumed the latter. I didn’t want to waste time asking for confirmation. So, I just wrote: O.K.

This was a surprisingly efficient way of communicating, so much so that it was a wonder we hadn’t thought of it earlier. Morse code would have been easier, but none of us knew that. Maybe Ashton had been trying to do this for a while, but the taps had just been too soft for me to notice.

I paused, thinking of what I might ask next.

Where are we going?

The response was quick.

L.A.

I wanted to ask how Ashton knew, but then again, I didn’t want to waste any time. I decided to take his word for it. I wanted to ask Ashton why we had been in the air for three days, but instead I tried to think of a message that wasn’t too long. Another message came through the wall.

Anna okay.

I had assumed that already — it probably would have been the first thing Ashton would have told me if she wasn’t.

Does she know?

I hoped Ashton knew what I meant: whether Anna knew about our destination.

Yes.

Remembering my dream, I knew I needed to communicate it to Ashton.

Had dream. Others are okay.

I paused, giving Ashton the chance to respond.

What else?

Julian knows about ship.

Ashton responded quickly.

Good.

That wasn’t the complete truth; Julian had a hunch about the ship, but it was too late to take the message back without confusion. They would contact Skyhome, but Skyhome probably wouldn’t be able to track Orion and confirm Julian’s suspicion — unless Augustus revealed himself from there. I couldn’t explain all that to Ashton through the wall, though.

I was trying to think of something else to ask when the door slammed open. I turned toward the light, never looking more suspicious in my life. Maxillo himself stood in the doorway, Chief Praetorian of Nova Roma. He glowered as his eyes narrowed.

“What are you doing? You are talking?”

“No,” I said, walking to the center of the cabin and facing him.

“It doesn’t matter,” Maxillo said. “We will land soon. You can explain yourself to the Emperor then.”

Outside in the corridor, more doors opened. We were all being taken out to prepare for our landing. For the first time in three days, I would see my friends.

Maxillo nodded his head toward the corridor, indicating that I should exit the cabin. Beyond Maxillo, Ashton walked by, a Praetorian right behind him. The scientist looked in at me, his white hair and beard a wild mess. He gave me a sly wink. As he walked past the door, I went toward the doorway. By the time I reached it, Anna walked by, escorted by her own Praetorian. She cast me a quick glance before she was hidden by the bulwark.

I stepped into the hallway. Maxillo gave me a light push, forcing me toward the wardroom.

We were all made to sit at the table. Maxillo left us with three stone-faced Praetorians and headed for the bridge.

“Stay quiet,” he said. “We will be in the city soon.”

As instructed, none of us spoke. A moment later, the ship changed trajectory, angling downward. I held on to the edge of the table to steady myself.

A few minutes later, we sunk vertically toward the ground. The ship gave a sudden lift before it settled onto the surface outside.

At long last, we had arrived in Los Angeles.

* * *

The blast door opened, revealing the sky burning fiery red from the setting sun. Buildings had crumbled onto one another, though most still stood. The decayed skyline, distant, was lost in reddish haze — not from the pollution of the Old World, but from the dust of the new.

We stood on the roof of a large, long building. Orion had perched on a helipad, its three struts barely fitting on the landing site. A cold, dry wind blew. Though cold, the breeze was warmer than I was used to. I had read something about oceans keeping coastal regions warmer than inland areas. Maybe that was why it was warmer.

I didn’t know why I was thinking such things when the situation was so dire. I stared at the decayed cityscape, the twisting towers, the crisscrossing streets clogged with the rusted shells of cars and trucks, low-lying buildings stained with thirty years of dust and debris.

A hand pushed me down the boarding ramp toward the tarmac. Ashton and Anna were right behind. No one spoke.

The Praetorians made us stand at the bottom of the ramp, facing out. As more feet clomped down, I looked at the fallen city. The crimson sky cast bloodlike light on the buildings. To the east, mountains marched north to south, making a natural wall. Far to the north, even more mountains crisscrossed east to west. I even saw buildings in the eastern, lifeless hills, despite how far they were. Trees stood, but most were long dead. Maybe all. In the thirty years since Ragnarok, Los Angeles had been reclaimed by the desert.

A line of rubble rose within the inner city, cutting that section off from its outskirts. This was the wall that Raine built; Makara had told me about it. There were hundreds of buildings — maybe thousands. It was hard to imagine millions of people going in and out of them, hard to imagine that chaotic stream, each person making his or her own choices, millions of them every second. If it were that chaotic, surely everyone would have gotten stuck down there. Maybe they did. I guessed that was why they made traffic lights, highways, lanes on the road. Maybe they had ways to control the chaos, but even all the control in the world couldn’t stop certain things.

Like death from the sky.

There were thousands of buildings, for sure. Some were tall, like the ones in Vegas, but there were more of them here. Blocks of these towers stood to the north, in the center of the city. I thought Vegas had been big, but it didn’t compare to this fallen monstrosity. The buildings, small and large, stretched as far as the eye could see — north, south, and east as far as the mountains. It had been its own form of Blight, maybe. How much larger would Los Angeles be today if Ragnarok hadn’t fallen? Would our cities have consumed the world?

Los Angeles had been one of the biggest, busiest, and richest cities in the world. And, funnily enough, it still was. More people lived here than any other place in the Wasteland. I imagined those early days after Ragnarok, the panicked survivors. There must have been millions, then. Gangs would have formed shortly after, warring for supplies.

I was glad not to have lived here during the Chaos Years. I thought of Char and Marcus. They had lived during those times, but I hadn’t asked about them.

The dim, setting sun was the source of all life. When its light had been obscured by the dust kicked up by Ragnarok, the world entered a darkness from which it hadn’t emerged. Los Angeles’s population had tumbled from the millions to mere thousands. Many had probably fled into the eastern hills, hoping to find salvation there. But they only found a world of death. Only the Bunkers had been safe, for a time, but even they couldn’t escape.

Los Angeles was the hub of the Wasteland. It was where most of the people lived, where fates were determined for the rest of us. Whoever controlled Los Angeles controlled the Wasteland, because whoever controlled Los Angeles ruled the majority of the Wasteland’s people. Most of those people were slaves, and only a few were the gang members who ruled them. The Lost Angels were no more, and it seemed doubtful that they would last much longer.

This massive city would crumble mostly to dust in the coming decades. The towers would fall from the passage of time and the shaking of the earth. When they finally did fall, it was possible no human eye would see them collapse.

Assuming we survived this, we had to rebuild sometime. We couldn’t just leech off the remains of a world fading further and further into time. If we did, we’d be reduced to savages and cavemen centuries from now. Perhaps we already were at that point. One day we would forget what those towers were, thinking they were constructed by gods…

“It’s time to go.”

Maxillo had spoken behind me. Below, on a long, curving drive that disappeared beneath the building, several all-terrain vehicles drove up.

LAX, I realized. We had landed on top of the airport terminal.

The vehicles were all black and had skulls painted on their doors, crisscrossed by scythes. Their engines whined high like a plague of insects. Lean, long-haired men toting rifles poked out from windows.

The Reapers were here.

Next to me, Ashton’s breath caught. But he wasn’t looking ahead at the Reapers. He was looking behind the terminal.

I turned, gazing past the Praetorians, past Augustus, toward the runways of LAX — where I saw thousands upon thousands of Augustus’s legionaries camped. Hundreds of canvas tents had been pitched in perfect lines, and countless fires glowed red in the evening. A tall fence surrounded the army in a perfect square. It was impossible to guess how many were in there.

Augustus stepped forward, face grim. He nodded at Maxillo.

“This way.”

Maxillo headed left, where a stairwell surfaced on the roof. The Reapers’ vehicles pulled to a stop in front of the terminal, idling. Was Carin Black among them?

I guessed I would find out in a few minutes.

Chapter 3

We descended the stairwell. Maxillo led the way with a flashlight, illuminating dusty corners and grimy walls. Violent paintings coated the faded, sickly yellow of walls: fires, guns, blood, stick figures, and falling buildings. And scythes. It was art for a new age.

We rounded the stairs three times before exiting into the airport lobby. I had never been inside anything so large besides Bunker One. The ceiling stretched high above, lost to darkness. The architecture was curved and jarring; it was hard to believe what we had once been capable of building. Soot stained the once glossy white floor, the sites of previous fires. Red light filtered thinly through the entrance, doing little to illuminate the cavernous space.

I briefly thought of breaking free and running. It might be easy to lose myself in the dark labyrinth of terminals and tunnels. Ashton and Anna could run with me.

That could never happen, though. We were far outnumbered, and would be shot long before we could escape. We had to face whatever was coming.

We reached the sliding glass doors that had been busted open long ago. Broken glass littered the floor, crunching under our boots. Jagged edges still clung to the doorframes, sharp as the day of their breaking.

We stepped past the doors and into the faint crimson light, where the train of six black Recons idled on the drive. Four Reapers stood in front of the lead vehicle, facing us. Two held rifles in both hands, while another had his strapped to his back.

A squat man, shaved bald, stepped forward from the group. His face was all hard lines, his body chiseled angles. A long, black beard grew from his chin and stopped at his chest.

His beady eyes glanced over the three of us before settling on Augustus. He pointed at us with his chin.

“This is them?”

Maxillo stepped forward. “You dare address the Emperor directly, barbarian?”

Several other Praetorians flanked Maxillo, hands on their holsters. Behind him, his lackeys stiffened.

The Reaper smiled. “Warlord Black told me to bring the prisoners to the Citadel. He didn’t tell me who I was supposed to deal with.”

“He will discuss this with Black,” Maxillo said.  “Not you, worm.”

“I have my orders to bring them to the Citadel,” the man said, with his yellow smile. “The Warlord wants to question them personally.”

“We are meeting between here and my camp, on the runways,” Augustus said. “As previously agreed.”

The Reapers standing behind the stocky man glowered. The other Reapers, still in their Recons, stared at Maxillo with malice. The Praetorians and the Reapers were evenly matched in numbers. If it came to blows, I had no idea what would happen, or who would win.

One of the other Reapers addressed Maxillo. “Be careful who you insult, guard boy. Onyx is Carin Black’s own son.”

Maxillo’s face reddened while Augustus held up a hand.

“Peace, Maxillo,” the Emperor said. “If Carin wishes to question the prisoners, I will allow it at the meeting — which is still set to take place outside my camp in about an hour’s time.” Augustus looked at Onyx. “You can let your father know. I see no reason for this audience to continue.”

Onyx’s face reddened — it was obvious he had expected his father’s words to carry more weight.

Before turning to go, Onyx’s dark eyes settled on Anna. My hand reached for my holster, only to find it empty.

“I know you,” Onyx said. “You are Char’s famous samurai bodyguard.”

“What of it?”

“You killed several of our assassins months back.”

“Glad to see my work hasn’t gone unnoticed,” Anna said.

“Several of those men were my friends.”

Anna laughed. “Friends? I can see how you’d think that. I see that you don’t just look like a toad; you have the intelligence of one, too.”

The toad’s face reddened, but before he could give his own retort, Augustus raised his hand.

“Enough. We leave now.”

As one, the Praetorians filed up, forming a box around us. Still, Anna and Onyx stared one another down.

All the while on the spaceship, I had imagined that Emperor Augustus and Carin Black would be good buddies. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Tensions were high between the two supposed allies.

Augustus turned to one of his Praetorians, a blond man who might have been second-in-command, after Maxillo. The Emperor said something to him in Spanish.

The man nodded before gathering a few men and leading them back into the terminal. I supposed they were going to stand guard over the spaceship. I noticed then that Jonas wasn’t with us. He must have stayed on board, in case he needed to make a quick getaway.

As the Reapers pulled away in a whirl of dust and an angry blaring of engines, Augustus nodded to Maxillo. “Lead on.”

The Praetorians marched in unison alongside the building. We moved along with them, locked in their protective box. As the last of the Reapers left the airport drive and zoomed into the city streets, the sky dimmed into dusk.

“Toad, huh?” I asked.

Anna shrugged. “Some people just infect your brain with what they say. I’m literally dumber for having listened to that idiot.”

I chuckled. “We can’t just start a war by offending people.”

“Something tells me there’s going to be a war, no matter what I say.”

I wondered why Augustus parked his spaceship on top of the airport terminal building, rather than in front of his camp, which seemed much safer to me. Maybe it was just a way for him to show Black that the airport was under his control, and that he wasn’t going to be confined to the small area around his camp.

Five minutes later, we arrived at the gates of Augustus’s camp. The wooden walls were at least ten feet high, with watchtowers along their length. The army must have carried a lot of its supplies with it, and it was hard to imagine how they could have built such fortifications in a short length of time.

The gates squealed open, revealing the bustling camp within. We walked inside and I took in my surroundings. Now, with dusk, many of the legionaries were cooking and eating around campfires. Horses were tied up in stables, and we even passed a pen filled with pigs. Merchants and shopkeepers had supplies displayed on tables in front of their tents — anything from food to boots to trinkets. I realized then that it wasn’t just an army here. An entire community had followed the soldiers in order to make a few batts.

Augustus’s eyes seemed content, even reminiscent, as he watched the camp.

“When I was a young man in Mexico,” he said, “Ragnarok had just fallen. My people were afraid. I knew we had to be the strongest if we were to survive. To the north was Old Mexico, the Federal District. They fought us in those days, even though the world had ended. That was my first campaign. I took my soldiers, went north across the mountains in the springtime. It seems so long ago. The Federalists fought to the last man. Now, Federal is one of our biggest provinces.”

Augustus told this story not in a proud way. To him, it was just a story, one of the many great things he had done in his life.

“I remember entering the Presidential Palace in victory, and how the President, old even then, dropped to his knees. A man who had chased and attacked me for so many years, before the Rock fell, was expecting my judgment.” Augustus smiled in memory. “He was a brave man and he met my eyes with such hatred. I told him not to kneel like some warlord or barbarian — many of whom I had crushed. This man was a rival worthy of respect. So, I told him to fight for me. He agreed. I let him keep his kingdom, his estates, his women and children. We conquered much together — Jalisco, Oaxaca. He died, twenty years ago. I spared no expense for his funeral, and gave games in his memory at the Coleseo, newly constructed then.”

Augustus sighed, as if he knew those glory days were now past and never to be reawakened. Our war was different from all his others, because the end goal was not wealth and power, but survival. The glory years were gone.

It looked as if Augustus was going to say more, but instead he remained thoughtful. We walked on.

I didn’t really know why Augustus told this story, but I think it was intended mainly for Ashton. Some things only made sense to old men. Old memories from an Old World didn’t mean much to me. Augustus was a drug lord in his youth, one who had fought the government so much that he had even formed his own country, and that before Ragnarok came down. Augustus was a warrior, much more than he was a builder. For centuries he would be remembered. Stories would be told of him, and children would be named after him.

That was, if we survived all this.

Even with Augustus’s power, it would be a while before he got his fight. If the Empire and the Reapers were still allies, then there was no force in the Wasteland that could oppose them — besides Askala and the Radaskim. The Wasteland resistance had failed, so the only two important powers left were the Empire and the Reapers, and having them share the same city with no one to fight was a disaster waiting to happen.

“Will there be war?” I asked. “I mean, between the Empire and the Reapers?”

Augustus shook his head. “I must do whatever I can to stop that. There cannot be war until the Great Blight is dealt with. Carin knows this as much as me. I don’t think Carin will attack, but he’s getting restless. He’s making more demands. I have more soldiers, but he has better weaponry, hoarded over the years from the nearby military bases. All the same, I fear he might be planning to use the Radaskim as the anvil, and himself as the hammer, while not realizing the foolishness of such a move.”

Augustus’s speaking about the Radaskim, using that word, made me realize he was up to speed. Ashton had probably updated him at some point while we were in the sky.

“Do you really think he’s going to pincer you between the two sides?” Anna asked.

“I hope not, Anna. I know Black is getting desperate. How could he not be? He has an army of twenty thousand men at his doorstep. The best-case scenario for him would be killing both us and the Radaskim in a single stroke.”

“But Askala will only attack again,” I said. “Even if he did win, it would only be a matter of time.”

“But does he know that? That’s what we need to convince him of, Alex. Remember, he doesn’t know what we know about the Great Blight. To him, this attack might just be a onetime occurrence. It’s our job to convince him otherwise.”

Augustus stopped before a large tent that was probably his own; it was larger than the rest, and two guards stood in front of the entrance. The Emperor turned to face us.

“Black needs to hear it from you,” Augustus said. “I need you at that meeting with me to convince him.”

“Why would we do that for you?” Anna asked. “Maybe we let the Radaskim attack and kill you all. Why would we help you when you locked us up for three days?”

“I wasn’t going to risk your escaping,” Augustus said. “I know how capable you are — not only did you escape the Coleseo back in Nova Roma, but you escaped my Praetorians. I wasn’t going to take any chances. And as for why you should help me, I think we both know the answer to that. Besides me, no one can help you stop the Great Blight. I’m the only one with an army. At the risk of sounding crass, you are alone. Your friends are dead, so if you still want to have a chance, then you must accept my offer of friendship — which I gave earlier. Give me your word of honor, and we can work together, for the good of the Wasteland.”

The Emperor gazed at us, an infectious energy in his brown eyes.

“Besides military aid,” Augustus said, “I have another plan for you three — contingent upon your acceptance of this alliance. Of course, I have Orion in my possession, but as a gift I would offer you Perseus.”

The three of us stared at Augustus in shock. Anna was the first to recover.

“You’d trust us with a spaceship?”

“Why not?” Augustus asked. “In exchange for helping me with Black and the Radaskim, you can keep it. I really don’t fear your attacking me with it. You have nothing to gain. We would be working together, something that is necessary if any of us are to survive this.”

We did need a spaceship. We could find Makara and the others. We could begin to evacuate Bunker 84, perhaps reinforce Augustus’s troops with our own, before Los Angeles was attacked.

Maybe an alliance with the Emperor wasn’t a bad idea. If he was serious about giving us Perseus, it could solve all our problems.

I looked at Ashton, wondering what he was thinking. Ashton was weighing Augustus with his sharp blue eyes, while Augustus did the same to Ashton. The two men had once been enemies. Could they ever be friends?

“So you want us to talk to Black?” Ashton asked.

Augustus nodded. “We need him to work with us. Do this, and lend your aid in the coming battle, and in exchange, you can have Perseus.”

“What if Carin Black attacks anyway?” I asked.

“That might be the case,” Augustus said, “but if that happens, at least I know I have you three at my side. None of us are going to survive the coming storm unless we unite.”

With those words, I remembered the Wanderer’s own warning: that we had to get everyone working together. Augustus was right. Maybe the Emperor was after power, but in the end, survival was more important than whoever got to rule at the end of the day.

“Where is Perseus?” Anna asked.

“It’s still in Bunker Six. We can rescue it once we are done speaking with Black. Getting Perseus out shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“He’s right about that,” Ashton said. “I’ve been in and out of Bunker Six several times over the years. It’s built into a mountain far above the Great Blight, so there aren’t too many monsters there. Still, it’s dangerous. With Orion, it will be easy to access the hangar.”

“Okay,” I said. “So if we help you by speaking to Carin Black, you’ll let us keep the spaceship?”

Augustus nodded. “The main thing is getting Black on our side for good. The longer I wait here, the more suspicious Black becomes.”

It looked as if Augustus had all his bases covered. That was to be expected, though. A man didn’t grow to rule an Empire unless he knew how to plan out every outcome.

“We’ll do it,” Ashton said.

“Good,” Augustus said.

A courier approached Augustus, bowing low.

“Speak,” the Emperor said.

“Black is here.”

Chapter 4

Augustus and his Praetorians escorted us back to the encampment’s gates. The portal opened upon our arrival, revealing the abandoned airport ahead. The top half of Orion was visible above the edge of the terminal building, from which jutted boarding tunnels. Ten of the Reapers’ black Recons were parked in a line to the left of the building, facing toward us. They were distant — maybe a quarter of a mile away. A line of men stood in front of the Recons, far across the flat expanse of dirt and runways. One of these men had to be Carin Black.

We marched forward to meet with the Reapers and their Warlord. We were finally going to meet Carin Black, the terror of Los Angeles. This man had ruined thousands of lives when he overthrew the Lost Angels in 2055, enslaving or killing any who resisted. The only beneficiaries of the violence had been his own gang, the Black Reapers. I didn’t know what was going to happen at this meeting. Neither Augustus nor Carin trusted each other, so I felt anything could happen.

After a few minutes, we were near the Reapers. I saw Carin Black now. He was a tall man with pale blue eyes. They did not look like the eyes of a man who had done so much evil, and it was hard to believe that his toad-like son, Onyx, was his. He was probably forty years of age, and at first glance, he definitely seemed to be someone of intelligence and ability. His dark hair was cropped close, and his pale muscled arms held various tattoos — on his left biceps was the skull and cross-scythes that seemed to be the gang’s emblem, while a red, fiery snake ran down his left forearm. His right biceps was dominated by an intricate tattoo of a grim reaper bearing a scythe. The reaper himself was swirling in darkness, and had glowing red eyes within his shadowed cowl. The Warlord of the Reapers stared at us with those crystalline blue eyes, his thin, bloodlike lips horizontal. That gaze was like a rush of cold wind.

At last, we halted before him. The Praetorians made a line, flanking us on either side. For a long moment, the two sides stared each other down. The moment dragged into minutes, each leader refusing to speak first.

Finally, Carin Black raised a hand.

“You said the prisoners had something to tell me.”

Augustus waited a moment before nodding toward Ashton. Ashton gave the Emperor an annoyed sideways glance. I could tell he’d rather Augustus do the explaining, but we had to do our part of getting the two forces to work together. We needed that spaceship, after all.

Ashton summed up the basics of what we had learned about Askala and the Radaskim in about five minutes, a telling that should have taken five hours. He concentrated mostly on the science of it: how the xenovirus basically worked, the two opposing sides, composed of Elekai and Radaskim, and how we had to destroy the Radaskim side by infecting Askala in Ragnarok Crater. Carin Black would have been familiar with perhaps just the viral aspect of the monsters, but everything else was probably new information.

When Ashton was finished speaking, Carin shifted his focus to Augustus.

“I would ask if this was a joke,” Carin said, “but it’s obvious he meant every word. So what do you propose we do about it, Emperor?”

“We have to shift our focus,” Augustus said. “The Wastelanders no longer pose a threat. In fact, I have convinced them to ally with us. The swarm that destroyed them is coming to destroy us.”

“They are all dead, then?” Carin asked, arching an eyebrow.

Augustus nodded. “There is but a remnant left. These are the only ones I found. They also know how to destroy Askala, which is the only way to stop the swarm.”

“How long before these…Radaskim….arrive?”

“A few days, at least. We must secure the eastern portion of the city and man the fortifications. When the horde is defeated, we can plan the counterattack.”

“And where will we be attacking?” the Warlord asked.

“Ragnarok Crater.”

Carin went quiet at that. I realized how ridiculous it sounded. Ragnarok Crater was almost two thousand miles away, an unfathomable distance, especially when considering the Great Blight.

“Of course, we wouldn’t be directly attacking Ragnarok Crater,” Augustus said. “We would be advancing toward it, hopefully drawing the attention of the Radaskim. This would give the Wastelanders an opening to attack the Crater, if it has been emptied.”

“You sound like you don’t know if this is going to work,” Black said.

“There are no guarantees,” Augustus said. “The only guarantee is our mutual death should we do nothing at all.”

Carin appeared to be deep in thought. I noticed his son, Onyx, among the ranks of Reapers. His dark eyes glinted as if he knew some secret that would change everything, if only we knew. That made me distrust Black. There was something he wasn’t telling us. Anna stared at the Warlord with open loathing, but Carin did not seem to notice, or care.

At last, Carin gave a small, superior smile. “And so we find ourselves caught in our enemy’s net.”

Augustus frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I’ll not play the bait,” Black said. “What is to stop the Wastelanders from allowing Askala to do what they cannot do themselves? We will be destroyed, Augustus, while our ‘friends’ escape.”

“Nothing’s stopping you from doing the same,” Anna said. “How do we know you’re not planning to let us die?”

Carin’s cold eyes turned on her. “If you are suggesting that I would betray my ally, then you have misjudged. If there is any betraying to be done, it won’t be on my part.”

“Then why not work together?” Augustus said. “The original purpose of our alliance has ended. The Wasteland is already ours, as all of its players have been taken over by Askala. If we are to keep our gains, we have to destroy her. Surely, you see that.”

Carin Black frowned. “Is there any Wasteland left to own? Supposing we are victorious, we will only have the coastline of California left. The rest will be covered in Blight. And my concern, Emperor, is that you did not come here from Nova Roma to do us a good deed. No, you want to control all of the Wasteland. And if you do not want me dead, then you’ll at least want me to kneel at your feet.”

“Come now, Carin,” Augustus said. “Whether my army is here, or in the south, you will not be able to contend with my strength. After all, a small country cannot contend with a great. The few cannot contend with the many. And the weak cannot contend with the strong.”

Carin’s face darkened. His men looked nervously at one another, waiting for their leader to respond.

“You call me weak, Emperor?”

Augustus, aware of his advantage, pressed on. “I call you fortunate, Carin, that I even allow you the opportunity to serve the Empire, because the many men who have taken your stubborn stance are no longer standing.”

Carin went quiet, staring at the Emperor with his glacial eyes.

Augustus continued. “What is your decision, Carin? You have two roads before you. One leads to survival and peace. The other to death and destruction. The Radaskim will be here in days, and she will not care about our petty differences. Will you join me on the field of battle?”

“I will join you,” Black said. “I will join you, only if you leave this city afterward, never to return.”

“Very well,” Augustus said. “Los Angeles will be left in peace, but I do hope, for your sake, that you won’t be completely closed to communication in the future. For the sake of our continued friendship.”

Black’s face reddened. “That is my condition. I know you need my help as much as I need yours. You won’t convince me otherwise.”

“We will work together then, my friend,” Augustus said. “Victory will require sacrifice, on both of our parts. I am willing to pay my dues in order to help you defend your home. I hope, in the coming days, you will think on what you can do to help me.”

Carin gave a weak smile. “Very well, Augustus. You have your agreement.”

“Good. We will meet again tomorrow to coordinate our battle plans.”

Carin nodded. “I’ll be preparing my men for the defense. We might need to fall back behind the walls.”

“Yes, the walls will help,” Augustus said. “But bravery is an even stronger defense. These monsters have a way of breaching barriers, and they have flyers. The spaceships will help, but there might be too many for me to fight alone.”

“Then you are going through with your plan?” Black asked.

“Yes, as I have told you,” the Emperor said. “Tomorrow I’m taking the Wastelanders to Bunker Six to liberate Perseus.”

Carin nodded. It was hard to read those eyes, whether something was hidden behind them. In the end, though, the Warlord of the Reapers gave a slow nod, reaching out a hand.

“It is done,” he said.

Augustus clasped the hand. Neither man’s gaze shifted from the other; both refused to be the first to look away.

“Tomorrow afternoon, Black,” Augustus said.

Carin gave a nod. I could tell he wasn’t satisfied with the way things had gone, but Augustus was right. The Empire was just too powerful for Carin to attack openly. If he tried anything, it would have to be sneakier.

As Augustus and the Praetorians broke away, we followed them back to the Novan encampment. At the same time, Carin ordered his men back to their Recons.

I didn’t trust Black to keep his word. It was obvious he resented his more powerful “ally” and that he worried about the aftermath of the battle. Augustus had been surprisingly blunt about how Carin Black would be treated. He had acted less like an ally and more like a bully, but Augustus had to know that Carin would stab him in the back if he got the chance.

We reentered the gates of Augustus’s camp. At Augustus’s order, the majority of the Praetorians disbanded, leaving only six to guard the Emperor, Maxillo included. We walked the rest of our way through the camp as evening settled into night.

We stopped outside the Emperor’s large tent. He turned to Maxillo.

“Have them wait inside for now. I’ll be back shortly. In the meantime, make yourselves comfortable.”

And with that, the Emperor walked away; Maxillo and another Praetorian peeled off from the original six to stand guard over us. Maxillo gestured toward the tent flap.

There was nothing left to do but to follow the order and go inside.

* * *

The Emperor’s tent was a world within a world. Inside its thick, canvas walls, the bustle of the camp had dimmed. However, I could still hear men shouting, hammers tacking, the wheels of carts squealing, horses neighing, and feet stomping. The air inside was thick, scented with some spicy fragrance. Intricate Persian rugs of purple and crimson covered the ground so thickly that none of the grimy tarmac of the runway was visible, or even felt, beneath my boots. Lamps and candles radiated yellow warmth, sending shadows dancing on the canvas walls bedecked with the furs of jaguars, bears, and other exotic creatures. The lavishness of the entry area made this feel less like a tent and more like a palace.

A richly clad man stood within a curtained partition that led deeper into the tent. I recognized him from Augustus’s palace, back in Nova Roma. He was the butler who had seated us during our first audience with the Emperor. He introduced himself as Zuma, and offered us chilled wine to drink. After we declined, he withdrew to the corner and stood silently.

Maxillo stood by the tent flap, his demeanor as hard as stone. The other Praetorian must have been guarding outside.

At last, Augustus returned, startling me as the tent flap whipped opened. I caught a glimpse of a few Praetorians standing outside, armor flashing by the light of torches. The flap fell, shutting out the night.

Augustus adjusted his steel breastplate. Quickly, Zuma stepped forward, to take off the Emperor’s rich, purple cape. Augustus cleared his throat as the cape was unclasped. The butler hung it by a hook along the far wall.

As the butler set to work on helping Augustus take off his armor, the Emperor faced us.

“It’s clear Black is nervous. Why wouldn’t he be, when my whole army is camped outside his walls? When I have a spaceship? I can’t predict what he will do, and that’s what’s bothering me.” Augustus paused, shrugging off the breastplate. Beneath, he wore a white, linen undershirt. “That makes reaching Bunker Six quickly all the more important.”

“Are you serious about wanting to ally with us?” I asked.

Augustus gave a small smile. “Never doubt my words, Alex. Many men have, to their peril. What I told you by the wreckage of Gilgamesh remains true. We must work together to ensure the future of humanity. Whoever controls this world, in the end, is a less important question. The important question is how we can save this world.” Augustus gestured with his head outside the tent. “Those barbarians don’t understand that, and they can’t be made to understand that. They only understand blood.”

None of us responded to Augustus. It had been a long day, and all I could think about was eating and sleeping.

Seeming to sense this, Augustus turned to Maxillo. “Take them to the First Cohort and see that they’re fed. I want them to see how this army works. After that, show them to an empty tent.”

Maxillo nodded, holding the tent flap open for us to walk out.

“We’ll head for the Bunker tomorrow morning,” Augustus said. “It shouldn’t be long, now.”

We headed out of the tent and into the night.

Chapter 5

Maxillo led us outside to a campfire that wasn’t far from Augustus’s tent. Around the fire, several legionaries were eating. A table was set up nearby, upon which food was spread out: roasted pork, corn, rice, bell peppers, sliced onion, and some flat, round bread that folded. I watched the other soldiers, who wrapped the bread around the rest of the food and ate it that way. I followed their example and started to eat what was quite possibly the best thing I’d ever had.

We were allowed as much as we wanted, so I stuffed myself. It was fully dark now. Most of the legionaries were done eating and were cleaning up what remained of dinner. That left Ashton, Anna, and me sitting around the campfire while Maxillo stood a few feet off, eating his own food. I asked him what it was called. He said fajitas.

Two of the legionaries stayed behind while the rest went to their tents. They sat on stools across the fire from us. One of the legionaries had a lean face and wide eyes. The other was short, with a thick beard and a wide face. The wide-faced man offered us some cobs of corn he had been roasting on the coals. I accepted, and he tossed it to me. I caught it in the air, bouncing it around to avoid getting burned.

I quickly unwrapped the corn from its charred husk. It was yellow, almost white, in the firelight. Even though I was already full, I wanted to try it. I took a small bite. The corn juice was hot, and its flavor sweet.

“Is good?” the tall man asked.

“Yeah,” I said.

I’d had corn before, both in Bunker 108 and in Skyhome, but not roasted like this. The man nodded at Ashton and Anna, pointing to the fire. They each got some corn still roasting on the coals.

“Where are you from, friends?” the tall man asked.

“You know English?” I said.

He nodded. “Most of us…can’t. But…many…how do you say? Bosses. We know.”

“The officers, you mean.”

The man nodded again. “Yes. Officers. We speak a little.”

“You are an officer?”

“Sí,” he answered. “This is my tenth campaña.”

“Your tenth campaign, then. You have seen a lot of war?”

The tall man gave a bitter smile. “Yes. Too much war. En el imperio, la guerra es eterna.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means ‘in the Empire, war is eternal.’”

“Then why don’t you quit?” Anna asked, biting into her corn.

“You mean, stop?”

With a smile, the short soldier said something in Spanish to the tall officer. They both chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“It’s different here,” the tall man said. “A man must give ten years of his life to the legions. Every imperial must.”

“Why?”

“It is ley.”

“Ley?”

“I do not know English word for this. It is the order of Augusto.”

Ashton explained. “It is the law in the Empire for each man to serve ten campaigns in the legion.”

“That seems like a lot,” I said.

The tall officer nodded. The shorter man just listened.

“Yes, it is harsh,” the officer said. “But Augusto protects us. Helps our families. Gives us food and…land…to give for our time here.”

“You will farm after all this?”

“Farm?” the man asked, unfamiliar. “I do not know this word.”

“You will work on the land?” Anna asked.

“Ah, yes. My wife and children, they work on the land. We have no land to…name to us. But after esta campaña, I will go home and the boss of the land will give land for me.”

“That is good,” Anna said.

“Yes, very good.” The man smiled. “I must only survive one campaign more. It is a hard life. My wife tells me: as long as there are men, there are wars.”

“Will there ever be peace in the Empire?” Anna asked.

“La paz?” The man shook his head. “No. We have another…dicho…in our land: Sólo los muertos han visto el final de la guerra.”

“What does that mean?” Anna asked.

The officer flashed a rueful smile. “Only the dead have seen the end of war.”

“That’s a little dark,” Anna said.

“A little dark, yes. Also, much true.” The man smiled again. “You must forgive me. I am something of…a philosopher. I think. Too much, I think. When you march, you only think. And yes…I know something of war. More than most men know.”

It grew quiet for a moment before I asked the campaigner another question.

“Do you ever get to see your family?”

The man shook his head. “In spring and summer, my life belongs to the Emperor. In fall and winter, my life belongs to my family. Is… same for all men in the legion.”

“You campaign only in spring and summer?”

“Yes. Every year is the same.”

I looked at the Praetorians guarding us, staring into the distance, never breaking their stance.

“What about for them?” I asked.

The man laughed. “Los pretorianos? They are not men. They are machines. They do not have families, they do not have women. But they are rich. Yes, very.”

“What good is being rich if you cannot enjoy it?” Anna asked, finishing her corn.

The tall officer smiled. “You have much wisdom. But los pretorianos…their promise is twenty years. They train from a young time for…honor. After twenty years, they earn many riches and live like kings. There are few who live for twenty years. Maybe some. Many…many have girlfriends. Secret families. They do not have permission for this.”

“What happens if they get caught?” I asked.

The officer laughed. “You ask too much, little americano!”

He took a swig from his canteen. The way he coughed afterward suggested it didn’t hold water. He held the canteen out to me, but I shook my head.

“You must have seen many things in all your years on campaign,” Anna said.

The man’s eyes lightened in remembrance. “Yes. Many things. Most bad.” He looked at the both of us. Ashton looked on silently. “I am Carlos. This man…” He nudged the shorter soldier, whose eyes were closed. He woke with a start. “He is Horacio.”

We introduced ourselves. Once we had, the man began to tell us his story in his broken English: of far-off jungles southeast of the Empire’s borders, how Augustus wanted to conquer the wild tribes there, but could never break through the trees. He wanted the forests for the medicines he could find inside. He wanted to go south, to the Canal, wherever that was.

“What is south of the Canal?” I asked.

“No sé,” the man said. “Nobody knows, but maybe Augusto does. Yes. I think, maybe, he does. Other countries, I would guess. El imperio…we are the biggest and the strongest. Augusto has even mastered the art of building ships, for the water. He could not ride them here. Too many storms.”

The man talked about the wars he’d fought in — of foreign cities, high mountains, dark forests, and the beautiful women he had met. The food he had eaten. The riches he had won. The deep blue of the Pacific, and the bright blue of the Atlantic. Crystalline white beaches, stained with men’s blood. He talked about a tribe he called los salvajes, who lived in the Yucatan, and how they fought with bows and arrows, and even with such primitive weapons, it had taken two campaigns for Augustus to conquer them.

“The Empire is big,” Carlos said. “Bigger than even I know. I have seen much of it, but not all.”

I would have told him of our foray into the Empire, but Maxillo held up a hand, interrupting our conversation.

“It is time for you to sleep.”

We bid our farewells to Carlos and his silent friend, Horacio, who had fallen asleep by the light of the fire.

“It was good to meet you, americanos,” Carlos said.

We followed Maxillo past several tents. The dirt roads were mostly empty. Most of the legionaries would be exhausted by this time of night, leaving only the watchmen. We passed Augustus’s tent, which was dark. Even the Emperor was asleep.

Maxillo led us away from the tents, toward the far wall.

“I am taking you to the latrines, where you can relieve yourselves,” Maxillo said. “After that, I will take you to your tent.”

We did just that before we regrouped to head back to the center of the Imperial encampment. We passed a couple dozen or so large tents before we came to one that had two purple-caped Praetorians guarding its entrance. They parted upon seeing us approach.

“I’ll wake you at dawn,” Maxillo said.

The chief Praetorian left us behind. There was nothing left but to enter the tent. Once inside, I saw in the dimness that three cots had been made up. It was chilly within, and already the heat I had absorbed from the fire had escaped into the surrounding air. Thick wool blankets had been provided for each of us.

We settled in for the night. I shut my eyes. As the minutes passed, the noise from the camp outside dimmed.

* * *

I was flying.

It was night, and below I could see a Recon speeding across a fungal plain. Behind, a swarm of crawlers surged, clipping at the Recon’s tail. Light flashed from the turret. Some of the crawlers were felled, but it wasn’t enough.

I swooped down from the sky. I realized then that I wasn’t the one flying, but Askal. I was seeing the world through his eyes.

The mass of crawlers approached the Recon, oblivious to the death from the sky. With a roar, Askal outstretched his legs. I could feel him curl his long claws in preparation to skewer his first victim. With a crash, Askal swept two crawlers from their scuttling legs. They shrieked as they were tossed upward, sailing through the air and landing with thuds on the fungus below. The fungus seemed to absorb their impact, and the crawlers rebounded into the air, landing once more on spindly legs. Both gave themselves shakes before turning around and chasing after the Recon once again.

Askal roared, swooping around again to attack. This time, he swept several more crawlers away from the Recon, buying Makara and the rest a little more time. The crawlers’ glowing white eyes turned from the Recon, focusing on Askal above. On me. They would be ready next time.

As Askal looked down at the Recon, I could see where they were headed. There was a walled settlement ahead. Could it be…?

Oasis.

The Great Blight, in the short time I had been absent, had extended as far as Oasis. It was near unthinkable. At this rate, it would be at the edge of Los Angeles within weeks.

More crawlers surrounded the Recon, surfacing from below the Great Blight. As Askal flew closer, Makara swerved wildly in an attempt to break free. The turret swiveled around, facing front and lighting up the night. Several of the crawlers in front of the Recon fell to the fungus. The Recon jerked as it sped over the leg of one of the downed crawlers.

The Recon had made it halfway to the walls of Oasis. As Askal swooped low once more, the crawlers were ready. They leaped, snapping at his body. A few bites landed on his right hind leg. I felt the pain, searing and hot. Askal shrieked as he beat his wings madly to escape the crawlers’ snapping jowls.

I cannot fight anymore, he thought.

But they are going to die.

There is nothing more I can do, little human.

The crawlers closed in on the Recon from behind, frighteningly close.

That was when a long line of fiery explosions lit the night, trailing north to south along the edge of the Great Blight. The Recon had just blazed past it, and it surged ahead from the force of the blast. Behind, crawlers shrieked as they were roasted alive. The explosives must have been set up by Oasis as a defensive measure.

Oasis and Ohlan had just saved the lives of my friends.

The stream of crawlers edged around the fires, like the flow of a river wrapping around a rock. The Recon had exited the Great Blight and now sped along the desert floor. The gates of the settlement were wide open, ready to receive the vehicle.

Askal turned from the fireworks below, heading east, deeper into the Great Blight. His wound was deep and painful. I felt blood dripping from it. I felt weakness spread from that limb, permeating the rest of Askal’s body.

Would he make it?

Home is not far, Askal said.

How far?

Not far.

As the Great Blight passed below, my vision faded.

Chapter 6

When I awoke it was still dark. I checked my watch to find that it was 07:12.

I wrapped myself deeper in my blanket and closed my eyes. I wasn’t getting up until I had to.

Anna stirred in the cot next to mine. Ashton snored on the far side of the tent.

“Anna?”

“Hmm.”

“It’s cold.”

“Really.”

“Yeah. You probably need to come over here.”

She lay quiet for a moment, her eyes closed. “Not while the old man is here.”

“Huh?”

Aston stirred and sat up, his long white hair and beard unkempt. He smacked his lips a couple times.

“Where the hell are we?”

Before we could answer, Ashton seemed to remember.

“Aw, hell.” He cleared his throat of phlegm, and spat.

Anna chuckled. “After that, I’m probably not going back to bed.”

As Anna removed herself from her blankets, I sat up. My clothes were dirty after the sweat and dust of the camp. I smelled of smoke. A layer of grime had accumulated on my tongue.

I reached for my canteen, finding it mostly empty. I chugged what remained of the water.

“I need a refill,” I said. “If anyone wants to come with me.”

“Hold your horses,” Ashton said, throwing his blankets off. “Let the old man get his bearings.”

A few minutes later, we had our boots on and were as ready as we were ever going to be. It had not been a good sleep, but we had to take it because it was the sleep we were getting.

That was when I remembered my dream.

“They’re in Oasis,” I said.

Both Anna and Ashton look at me.

“You saw this?” Ashton asked. “In a dream?”

“Yeah. I don’t know how I keep dreaming…”

I told them about what I had seen from Askal’s point of view, how the Recon sped away over the Great Blight, making for the walls of Oasis as it was chased down by hundreds of crawlers. I ended my story with the line of explosions outside Oasis, and Askal getting hurt.

“Will he be alright?” Anna asked.

“I don’t know…” I said. “And I don’t know if the others will be alright, in Oasis. That town must be under siege by now, and who knows what a man like Ohlan is capable of?”

We sat on our cots quietly for another moment, thinking.

“So, what are we going to do about it?” Anna asked.

“We have to get in there and rescue them,” I said. “Once we have the ship.”

“I know that,” Anna said. “But when do we do it, and without pissing off Augustus?”

“Small chance of that,” Ashton said. “We can’t leave them there, no matter what he says.” He looked toward the tent flap. “But we shouldn’t be discussing this here. Right now, let’s just focus on staying on Augustus’s good side. We don’t have that spaceship, yet.”

Ashton was right. At his nod, I opened the tent flap to reveal the slate-red sky. Long clouds hung low and wispy above the camp.

Two Praetorians still guarded the tent, different from the ones that had been guarding last night. If they had heard us speaking, they gave no sign.

Down the straight dirt path, Maxillo walked toward us. It looked as if he had already been heading this way.

“You can find breakfast and coffee by the fire,” he said. “The Emperor wants you by his tent in one hour.”

First, we took our turns at the latrine, after which we headed to the fire, where we found the same two legionaries from yesterday — Carlos and Horacio. They tended a large pot stewing over the fire. Eight other men were already lined up with wooden bowls and spoons. Even if they looked a bit tired, their backs were straight and their eyes alert.

Horacio, the short man who only spoke Spanish, addressed the men in line, gesturing toward us. The men gave a cheer as Horacio lifted the pot, letting out steam that smelled of sweet corn and pork.

Carlos translated. “He says: for breakfast today, these three are part of our siglo. Century. He says you are special guests of the Emperor and he wants them to eat with the best. El primer cohorte.”

“El primer cohorte?” I asked.

“The First Cohort,” Ashton said. “The most skilled fighters in Augustus’s army, besides the Praetorians.”

The men waited, not yet going for the food.

“They are waiting for you,” Carlos said.

I nodded my thanks to the men. Horacio handed me a wooden bowl and spoon. His cheeks were grizzled, where yesterday they had been clean-shaven. Dark circles underlined his brown eyes. I wondered at Horacio’s story. He seemed to be a little younger than Carlos, so maybe he was only on his fifth or sixth campaign. He seemed to be second-in-command of this group, of which I counted ten. I remembered Julian telling me, while in Nova Roma, that the legions were subdivided in sets of one hundred, called centuries. These centuries were further divided into ten groups of ten. Decades, maybe. These decades seemed to cook, eat, and share tents. They might have even fought next to each other in battle.

Augustus based everything off the Roman Empire for a reason; if it worked for the Romans, so he supposed it would work for him.

I held out my bowl, and Horacio filled it to the brim with corn porridge. There were bits of pork, left over from last night, along with chopped onion, tomato, and jalapeño. The wooden bowl was hot in my hands. I walked from the coals, setting my bowl on the ground for the moment. I went to refill my canteen at a cask not far from the fire. I filled my canteen, along with Anna’s and Ashton’s.

I sat back down and took a long drink of cold water. The fire warmed me in front while the morning air cooled me at my back.

Horacio approached, handing me a clay cup filled with steaming liquid. I smelt the aroma of coffee. I accepted the cup.

“Gracias.”

“De nada, mi amigo.”

After taking a sip of the hot, black coffee, I tucked into the porridge. It was good, but nothing could have topped the fajitas from last night. It was spicy and sweet at the same time from the corn and chopped jalapeño, while having the sharp taste of red onion and the savory taste of pork. Even though it was basically a way to get rid of the leftovers from last night, I still scraped the bowl clean. Horacio smiled and pointed to the pot, telling me to have seconds. He seemed pleased I liked it so much.

I filled my bowl halfway, and some of the legionaries went back for seconds.

The morning was quiet. All around the camp, other groups of men, usually of ten, ate breakfast around their own fires. Everyone’s schedules must have been similar. The young legionaries talked and joked in Spanish, though the old ones ate silently. They wore leather armor, mostly, something that would be useless against the Reapers, who had guns. Many of the men had machetes strapped to their belts. The armor was dusty and gritty, as much as the men themselves were.

I wondered why Augustus wanted us to see how his army operated. Maybe it was to give us a sense of his power? It was interesting to see how it all worked, whatever the reason.

In time, breakfast was over. The day had brightened, and Carlos told us that he and his men would clean up, and that we should go see the Emperor. After thanking the legionaries, we left the men of the First Cohort behind.

The sky was now a subdued red. There was a lot of dust here, mostly from the movement of soldiers. We passed groups of men, even an entire century marching toward the front gate. They carried long spears and shields of thin metal, the shield fronts painted red with the Roman numeral IV. I was beginning to wonder if Augustus’s army only had primitive weapons like spears and shields, when another group of soldiers passed, toting rifles. These men had purple plumes in their helmets, signifying a higher rank. Not all the soldiers got to carry guns, probably because their supply was limited, but I supposed even a soldier with spear and shield could be of use, with others in great enough numbers.

I didn’t know how many men Carin Black had, but at least a few thousand, counting all the gangs under his command.

We stopped in front of Augustus’s opulent tent. Maxillo went inside as soon as we arrived. We stood outside a moment before Maxillo ushered us in.

We walked inside, finding ourselves once again in the lap of luxury. The Emperor sat at the low-lying table, over which spread a detailed map of Los Angeles. Augustus stared at the map intently, holding a porcelain cup of coffee in his left hand. At our entrance, his eyes turned upward.

“I trust your breakfast was good?”

We said that it was. Zuma rushed to a cabinet standing against the left wall of the tent, and there filled three detailed, porcelain cups with coffee. He then took a small container, adding a dab of golden, viscous liquid to each. I realized it was honey.

Zuma carried one cup at a time, handing the first to Ashton. Ashton looked at its contents skeptically, but after a moment, took a sip. Anna was served next. She ignored the coffee. I took mine last of all.

Augustus, very carefully, began to roll up the map as I took a sip of the sweet coffee. He handed the map to Zuma, who held a cylindrical, leather tube. Tenderly, Zuma placed the rolled-up map inside the tube, where it would remain safe and unspoiled by the environment. He went to the cabinet and stored the tube on the upper shelf. He closed the door and locked it with a key hanging from his neck.

“Here we are again,” Augustus said, beginning the conversation. “Is the coffee good?”

“Yes,” Ashton said.

Augustus smiled. “I am glad, my friend. Grown only in the mountains north of Nova Roma. It is my favorite.” Augustus took another sip, savoring the flavor. “Let’s get down to business. I want you to see that I am genuine in my offer of friendship. I hope after a good night’s rest, you are still committed to working together as I am.”

“Whatever,” Anna said. “Let’s just get started.”

Augustus said nothing, taking another dignified sip of coffee. Zuma stared daggers at Anna for her lack of respect. Maxillo gave her a stony stare. Anna looked as if she didn’t care.

“It’s alright,” Augustus said. “In fact, I appreciate such bluntness, as it is very lacking among my own governors and advisors.” Augustus drained the last of his coffee and handed the cup to Zuma, who took it with a bow. “We are ready to leave, upon the arrival of Captain Sparks. We should have enough time to rescue Perseus and begin preparations for the Radaskim attack.”

As if his name were a summons, Jonas Spark entered the tent. His blond, spiky hair was wild and his black-rimmed glass hung askew. Duct tape held the frame together at the nose — after many years, the glasses had seen a lot of punishment, and it was surprising they had lasted so long. He wore khaki cargo pants and a white shirt overlaid with a blue vest.

“You called for me, Princeps?”

“Yes,” Augustus said. “Is everything ready to depart?”

Sparks nodded. “Yes, Emperor. Orion is ready to fly when you are.”

Sparks appeared even more disheveled than the first time I’d seen him; apparently, he’d gotten little sleep. Hard to imagine, since he had stayed on the ship, where the accommodations were more comfortable than the camp.

“In future,” Augustus said, “try not to carouse on the night before a major mission. Everything depends on this, as I’ve already told you.”

Jonas’s face blanched, but there was the hint of a smile on his face. “Yes. Sorry, Princeps. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Anna shook her head as Ashton stared at Sparks. The Emperor’s tone suggested that it wasn’t his first time reprimanding Sparks. Judging by Jonas’s unrepentant features, he didn’t care.

“It’ll take a couple of hours to reach Bunker Six,” Jonas said. “Everything’s ready.”

“Good,” Augustus said brusquely. “Then let us depart.”

* * *

We walked with Augustus, his Praetorians, and Jonas Sparks to the west side of camp, exiting through the gate we had entered yesterday. The gate was opened to reveal the airport terminal and its boarding tunnels outstretched. The legionaries had set up outposts around the massive building. Mounds of sandbags rose from the tarmac, behind which guards took shelter.

We walked until we arrived at the terminal’s entrance. While we had been sleeping, Augustus had set up a long perimeter of sandbags in front, behind which yet more legionaries were sheltered. There were hundreds of Imperial soldiers here. The sandbags would be more useful against bullets than crawlers.

Maybe, though, that had been the Emperor’s intent.

We walked inside the terminal. We weaved our way through the building, until we arrived at the stairwell we had come down yesterday. Most of the Praetorians stayed behind while Maxillo took the lead, followed by Augustus and Sparks. Ashton, Anna, and I came next, followed by six more Praetorians. This meant the blond, second-in-command Praetorian was in charge of the guards left behind. I still didn’t know his name.

When we reached the top of the stairwell, Maxillo opened the door, revealing red daylight. Orion was parked, just where Jonas had left it, on the large helipad. We walked onto the flat rooftop.

Jonas raced up the boarding ramp, and entered the code into the keypad. The door hissed open, letting out a stream of air. Everyone entered the ship. When the last Praetorian had gone in, the door slid shut.

We seated ourselves in the wardroom while Sparks, Augustus, and Maxillo made their way to the bridge. The rest of the Praetorians found handholds on the bulwarks they could grasp, in preparation for lifting off.

The ship vibrated as its fusion drive came online. Sparks’s voice emanated from speakers built into the wardroom’s corners.

“Prepare for liftoff.”

Immediately, the ship lifted. I heard the ship’s struts retract into its hull, and the boarding ramp slid into its slot. The ship turned, accelerating away from the airport.

We stayed seated as we gained in both speed and altitude. A few minutes later, we had reached cruising speed.

“What’s Bunker Six like?” I asked Ashton.

“It’s a small facility,” Ashton said. “One of the satellites of Bunker One. It held approximately 250 people, along with the United States Space Fleet. I know I said it wasn’t dangerous, but I was speaking relatively. Going into an offline Bunker is always dangerous. The hangar should be clear, though. At least, it was the last time I was there. It was sealed off back when the Bunker fell. Everyone who escaped, myself included, ended up in Skyhome.”

“If it’s clear, like you say, no problem then, right?” I asked.

“We’ll see before long.”

Chapter 7

It was two hours before Orion dropped in altitude. Within another few minutes, Orion ceased forward motion and began to lower vertically. We were descending into Bunker Six’s hangar. The struts gave a metallic squeal as they extended. Shortly thereafter, the ship touched down.

Ashton, Anna, and I stood as the boarding ramp extended. Sparks, followed by Emperor Augustus, entered the wardroom.

Maxillo handed Ashton a radio. Another Praetorian handed Ashton, Anna, and I our handguns. Anna also received her blade.

“When you get to the blast door, Jonas will give you the code,” Augustus said. “Once on board, he’ll walk you through the start-up sequence.”

“I know how to fly a ship,” Ashton said.

“Once the ship is online, we’ll be ready to head back to L.A.” Augustus paused. “Understood?”

Ashton nodded. “Let’s get this over with.”

Maxillo opened the door. A rush of stale, metallic air entered the wardroom. When I stepped down the boarding ramp into Bunker Six’s hangar, it was much colder than I expected. From above, red sunlight filtered down through a large, square opening large enough for spaceships to enter and exit. A wide, open area stretched between us and where Perseus was parked. The ship looked exactly like Orion and Odin, which made sense because the three ships had identical schematics.

The last two spaceships were in this very hangar, unless there happened to be another one out there we didn’t know about.

As we descended Orion’s ramp, I continued to take in my surroundings. Walls of rock rose before stopping at the opening above. Toward my right, in the back corner of the hangar, was a large, retractable door, barred shut. I assumed it led deeper into the Bunker. Faded yellow paint on its corrugated surface read 6.

As Orion idled behind us, Ashton struck out across the hangar. I felt Augustus’s eyes on us as we walked.

When we finally made it to Perseus, we walked up the boarding ramp. Ashton raised the radio to his mouth.

“Code?”

“7-4-6-5-Z-Z-8-0-0,” Jonas said.

Ashton input the code. The door beeped and slid open, revealing Perseus’s wardroom. It was identical to Odin and Orion in every regard.

“You and Anna scout aft,” Ashton said. “I’ll head to the bridge.”

Anna and I followed Ashton’s order. Once aft, we checked the two cabins on the left side of the corridor, and the clinic on the right. The lavatory was also clear, which left the engine room. It was also empty of threats.

We headed back to the wardroom, where we met Ashton.

“Cargo bay,” Ashton said. “I already checked the bridge, galley, and captain’s quarters.”

We headed down the three steps out of the wardroom, opening the door into the cargo bay. It was practically empty. There was a metal cabinet built into the wall, and several cords and hoses curled on the deck, but not much else.

“Clear,” Ashton said into his radio.

“Are you at the bridge yet?” Jonas asked.

“In a minute,” Ashton said. “About to start it up.”

“Hurry. The Emperor wants to get moving.”

We exited the cargo bay and headed for the bridge. Anna took the copilot’s seat while Ashton took the pilot’s.

“Code?” Ashton asked.

“3-1-5-8,” Jonas said.

Ashton keyed in the code on the LCD. Slowly, the ship rumbled to life. Its hull and deck vibrated as the fusion drive, dormant for thirty years, worked itself online.

“Thank God it works,” Ashton said. “Fuel levels full. Switching to inter-ship comm.”

“Copy that,” Jonas said.

Anna flicked a few buttons. “Should be connected.”

“Jonas?” Ashton asked. “You hear me?”

Jonas’s voice now came from the dash.

“Loud and clear.”

“Following your lead.”

“Copy that.”

Orion lifted from the hangar, its thrusters glowing blue. Ashton waited a few seconds before following. I strapped myself to the jump seat at the back of the bridge, behind both Ashton and Anna. The ship swerved as it rose. The hangar fell away as we lifted into the red sky above.

Before us spread a panorama of pink and purple mountains. Red mist shrouded the jagged peaks, and pink xenofungus extended as far as the eye could see. Swarms of birds flew in cyclones above the xenofungal floor. In the far distance, a massive Xenolith rose from the fungus, much larger than any I’d ever seen. More such Xenoliths dotted the horizon. We were deep into the Great Blight. The xenolife here would be more massive and exotic — and probably dangerous.

“Perseus…” It was Augustus’s voice. “We have just received word from Los Angeles. The Reapers are shelling my camp.”

We looked at each other. It was time to make good on our side of the bargain, but Makara and the others still needed airlifting out of Oasis, if they were still there.

“Augustus,” Ashton said. “We…have something to take care of, first. It won’t take long.”

“What?”

“We’ll…be back to help soon. It has to do with our friends.”

“Your friends?” The dash was silent for a moment. “You mean…Samuel?”

“We didn’t want to say anything. But they are alive. We know, because the cargo bay of Gilgamesh was empty. There was a Recon stored there, so we know they got out. We think they’re in Oasis, and Oasis is under attack. We have to save them.”

It took a while for Augustus to react to these words. I could only imagine his shock.

“I…can hardly believe that, Ashton. Even if it’s true…how do you know they are there?”

Ashton looked at me. “I think we might have a lead. Don’t ask me to explain. It should only take thirty minutes extra.”

“Thirty minutes?” Augustus asked. “Do you know how many of my men could die in that time?”

“This is important,” Ashton said. “And it’s not something we can argue about. It’s something we must do.”

Augustus said something in Spanish, likely a curse.

“I went through all this trouble to provide you with a spaceship, and this is how you repay me?”

“It won’t be long for us to pick them up,” I said. “If we wait, they’re going to die, and we can’t let that happen. We don’t have time, especially if they have flyers. Your men can hold on that long.”

Augustus was silent for a long moment.

“I don’t like this, but I see I have no option. You have your extra thirty minutes, but after that, you must help me with the Reapers.”

“Agreed,” Ashton said. “We won’t be long.”

We sped west over the Great Blight.

* * *

We stayed high in altitude at first, but once we were halfway over Arizona, Ashton lowered the ship in preparation for descent into Oasis. Once we broke through the layer of thick, red clouds, we saw a fraction of what we’d be up against.

The entire fungus-ridden ground boiled with wave after wave of crawlers, all speeding east in a blur. Above them flew dragons — at least a dozen of them. Behemoths lumbered across the plains at a run while other strange, nameless creatures scampered in their wake.

I realized where they all were headed. Los Angeles.

“Opening fire,” Sparks said.

“No!” Ashton shouted. “Hold your fire!”

But it was too late. A trail of bullets blazed from Orion’s turret, entering the back of one of the dragons. The dragon gave a high shriek that pierced the ship’s hull. Its wings folded as it spiraled to the ground, crashing into a startled Behemoth.

Immediately, the rest of the dragons changed trajectory, aiming upward toward us. Their white eyes blazed in fury.

“Lose them in the clouds,” Ashton said. “And hold on. This might get bumpy.”

The ship angled upward. The onrush of G-forces pushed me against my seat. The LCD revealed Orion lagging behind, two xenodragons clipping at its thrusters.

“Faster, Sparks!” Ashton said.

“I’m trying!”

We broke through the clouds, and Ashton kept climbing. From behind, Orion appeared. Seconds later, two xenodragons pierced the clouds, flying madly to intercept Orion.

“Keep climbing!” Ashton said.

“I can’t go any faster!” Sparks said.

Ashton looked at the LCD, shaking his head in frustration. “Your retrothrusters are facing the wrong way, you idiot! Point them aft!”

Below, Sparks struggled to control the ship. All the while, the xenodragons closed the gap.

Ashton turned Perseus around. “We can’t trust them to save themselves.”

“Target acquired,” Anna said. “Fire?”

“Jonas, out of the way!”

“What?”

“To port, to port!”

Finally, the message seemed to connect. Orion surged to the left, almost executing a barrel roll. The ships weren’t meant to fly upside down while in the atmosphere, and the move could have caused Orion to go down. But Sparks managed to right the ship, giving us the opening we needed to take a shot.

“Both targets acquired,” Anna said.

Instead of haranguing Jonas again, Ashton merely shook his head. “Fire.”

Two missiles streaked from beneath Perseus. One zoomed to left, toward a xenodragon chasing after Orion, while the other surged to the right, where the other dragon raced to cut off the Orion’s escape.

“Drop through the clouds!” Ashton said.

This time, there was no delay in reaction. Orion dipped, which must have thrown the Praetorians in the wardroom straight to the deck. Before the dragons could react to Orion’s change in course, the missiles connected, igniting in twin, fiery plumes of white and orange. A rush of purplish organic matter and chips of bone exploded outward, charred to crisps from the immense heat released by the missiles.

I looked at the section of cloud below the explosion, where Orion had disappeared.

“You still there?” Ashton asked. “Orion, you have a copy?”

There was no response. Perseus showed the ship to be online. Maybe Jonas had blacked out from the G-forces.

At last, Orion lifted above the clouds at a leisurely place.

“Sparks,” Ashton said, “you nearly got us all killed.”

“I know,” he said, almost sullenly. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s real easy to piss off those dragons,” Ashton said. “We’re lucky only two came after us.”

“I wonder where they’re going, anyway,” Anna said.

“Los Angeles,” I said. “Carin Black picked a hell of a time to start the war.”

“There might be a way to stop it,” Ashton said. “But first, we have to get to Oasis. Our team’s waiting on us.”

Ashton turned the ship, facing it northwest.

“Follow my lead, Sparks,” he said. “And don’t do anything without my go-ahead. Got that?”

It was a long while before Ashton received his answer.

“Roger.”

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Perseus lowered through the red cloud layer to an Oasis under siege.

Legions of crawlers and monsters writhed outside its wooden stockade. From the ramparts guards shot into the teeming mass, to little avail. There were so many monsters that it would only be a matter of minutes before they broke through — if they hadn’t already. Three Behemoths clobbered a northern section of palisade near the interior farms. One of the giants fell under a barrage of machine-gun fire from a turret in a nearby watchtower. The fallen Behemoth was replaced by another.

On the southern section, the crawlers were so thick that they were piling up. The ones at the top leaped madly, trying to gain a foothold on the ramparts.

There was no way we could rescue everyone inside.

“We’re not going in there,” Augustus said. “It’s madness.”

Ashton hovered a moment above the walls.

“We could at least make a dent in their numbers.”

Ashton swiveled, pointing Perseus toward the main body of the swarm.

“Anna, fire in 3…2…1…”

A missile streaked from beneath Perseus’s hull. In a couple of seconds, it connected with the ground, bursting into bright, fiery plumes. The remains of monsters blasted outward.

There were thousands of them down there. My heart sank at the sight. There was no way we could survive this coming storm once it made it to Los Angeles.

“Look to starboard!” Anna said.

Ashton angled the ship slightly, to see the final nail in the coffin coming in the form of at least twelve xenodragons. They flew from the east in a wide V. They were still distant, little larger than specks on the horizon, but they would be upon us in minutes.

“We have to get them out quickly,” Ashton said. “Sparks, cover me. I’m landing inside.”

“No,” Augustus said, answering for his pilot. “You’re going to get yourself killed. We must retreat to Los Angeles.”

“Our friends are down there, and I’ll be damned if I’m leaving them behind. Go back to Los Angeles if you like. This is something we have to do.”

Augustus growled, but didn’t argue further. Orion remained hovering behind us, seemingly indecisive.

“Fine,” Augustus spat. “We’ll distract those monsters while you land. But we aren’t fighting those dragons for you. You’re on your own for those.”

At that moment, two missiles shot out from Orion, igniting near the crater where Perseus’s missiles had connected. A trail of bullets riddled the battlefield, tearing into the swarm.

Ashton flew over the eastern wall. Men watched in amazement as we swooped overhead. In the chaos below, I saw no sign of our friends.

We lowered onto the fields occupying the northern half of the town. We set down, crumpling crops beneath the ship’s landing struts.

We ran off the bridge, me taking the lead. I pulled out my Beretta, stopping by the armory to see if there were other weapons I could use. I slid the door open, revealing various rifles, handguns, grenades, and body armor.

I latched a couple of grenades to my belt, also snatching an AR-15 from the gun rack. I checked the magazine for bullets. It was locked and loaded. I already had additional bullets in my pack for when I needed them.

“Let’s go!” Ashton said, drawing his handgun.

Anna unsheathed her katana in the wardroom, and pressed the exit button to the blast door. It slid open, letting in a rush of cold, fetid air. I nearly gagged at the smell. The thousands of Blighters outside the walls had made this place smell like a garbage heap.

We ran down the ramp and into the flattened wheat crop. The fields appeared to be empty of threats.

That was, until three white eyes stared out from between the stalks.

The crawler let out a primal scream as it shot forward. I lowered my AR against my shoulder, firing a stream of bullets. The crawler screeched and shuddered as it settled into the grain. Its exoskeleton was coated with purple slime. The insect-like corpse twitched, and even though it was dead, its three eyes blinked open and shut. Anna, with a grunt, buried her blade deep into the crawler’s head in the nape of its neck. Its muscles convulsed before it went slack.

“We need to head to town,” Anna said, wiping her blade on the wheat. “Find Ohlan. He’ll know where Makara is.”

We set off south through the fields at a run, Ashton wheezing from behind. We found a wide dirt path leading into town. If there was one crawler inside the wheat fields, there were probably more lurking about. There was an opening somewhere in the walls. Whatever the case, we didn’t have much time.

We entered the outskirts of Oasis. The streets were empty, and the ramshackle wooden and tin buildings creaked in the wind. Inhuman screams sounded from the horde, still separated from us by the fragile palisade.

We ran forward, to where the dirt path forked into two segments wrapping around either side of the oasis for which the town was named. We had a few minutes to find our friends and get out of here. Those dragons wouldn’t be long.

We reached an intersection. A man ran out of a wooden building to our right. He pointed a gun our direction, firing several times.

As we raised our weapons, it became clear the gun was empty of bullets. It just clicked, over and over, as tears ran down his face.

With a wail, the man dropped to his knees. Anna walked forward, placing her blade near the weeping man’s neck.

“Makara. Samuel. Where are they?”

The man continued to wail, uncomprehending.

“Where’s Ohlan?” I asked.

That name seemed to register. The man pointing a shaking finger across the oasis, at a large, rounded building that might have been some sort of meeting hall.

“Thank you,” Ashton said. “Hide somewhere safe.”

We left the crazed man behind and ran around the west side of the oasis. Dozens of shots cracked the air, mostly from the wall. Between the buildings, we got a glimpse of the guards, firing downward into the horde. The piercing wail of a xenodragon carried on the wind from the east, fortunately still distant.

When we reached the other side of the oasis, two crawlers shot forward at a lightning pace from the town’s main drag. Their large mouths were agape and dripping red blood. As we were about to fire, from somewhere in the town came a woman’s scream. Instantly, the crawlers turned from us, and rushed in the direction they had come. It was only a moment later that the woman screamed again, as if in horrible pain.

There was no time to focus on such horror. We kept running, past the main drag. The large building was ahead. Makara and the others needed to be in there; if they weren’t, we didn’t have time to search elsewhere. Above, Orion swooped low over the town as more explosions rocked the east, shaking the ground with their impact.

We arrived in front of the open doorway, and ran inside.

The entire interior was a large circular room with a dirt floor. It was dim, but not impossible to see. At the end of the building, a set of steps led up to a throne. Rows of foldout chairs faced the throne. This might have been a place where meetings were conducted, or sermons given. I remember Samuel having said this place was run like a cult.

“There,” Anna said, pointing to our left.

A set of stairs spiraled downward beneath the building. But in the building’s dimness, she had missed a key detail about that throne.

A man was sitting on it.

Chapter 8

“You bring death to Oasis,” a voice rattled. “I should have killed you in the beginning.”

I walked a few steps forward, pointing my AR-15 at the throne.

“Where are they, Ohlan?”

From outside, screams penetrated the walls. We didn’t have long until these monsters had completely broken through. But first, I had to deal with the monster sitting on this throne.

“Where they should be. They are downstairs, locked in the cell. They were due to be executed this morning, in fact.” He gave a bitter, mad laugh. “It looks like that will be the fate of us all.”

“I should kill you,” Anna said. “But maybe I should let the crawlers do it for me.”

I thought I saw Ohlan shrug in the dimness. “So be it. Death comes for us all, in the end. It is useless to resist.”

“Come on,” I said.

“Mark him, Ashton,” Anna said. “Alex and I will go downstairs.”

Ashton nodded. Anna and I went left, never turning our backs to Ohlan. Slowly, we descended the stairs.

My AR had a battery-powered light on it, which I clicked on. Underground, it smelled of must, mold, and sweat.

“Makara?” I called out. “Samuel? Anyone…?”

“Alex?”

It was Makara — unmistakably Makara. My heart swelled with happiness at hearing her voice.

Everyone else called out. They were all alive.

“We have to hurry,” I said. “You’re locked in?”

“How did you survive?” Samuel asked. “How did you find…?”

“There’ll be time for all that later,” I said. “Right now, we have to…”

“Ohlan has the key,” Michael said. “Did you kill him?”

“No, he’s…”

Already, Anna was turning around, charging up the stairs. I ran up after her. When we surfaced, we found Ohlan, still sitting on his throne, Ashton steadily pointing his handgun at him.

“The key, Ohlan,” I said.

Ohlan gave a small smile. Quickly, he reached downward, pulling on a small, round object that most definitely was not a key.

“Grenade!” I yelled.

The grenade was lobbed to the center of the floor. Ashton backed away for the stairs. I grabbed Anna and pulled her in that direction as well. Ashton tumbled down, falling several steps. I dove inside with Anna in tow. We landed with a thud in the center of the steps just as the grenade split the air, deafeningly loud. Bits of metal shot into the wall, several of the fragments sprinkling onto the steps from above. Several of the sharp edges cut my skin.

I got off Anna, allowing her to get up.

“You alright?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yeah. You?”

“Fine. We have to get that key.”

We walked back up the stairs. We found Ohlan’s corpse lying in the center of the floor, blood pooling around his remains. As we neared, I saw grenade fragments sticking deeply into his skin. The sounds of battle raged outside, reminding me we couldn’t stay here long.

Anna searched Ohlan’s pockets. A few seconds later, she came away with a large, metal key.

“Got it.”

We ran downstairs. I pointed my AR-15’s flashlight ahead into the darkness, revealing the forms of our four friends. They ducked out of the way; I realized I was pointing my gun right at them.

“Sorry,” I said, pointing the gun toward the floor.

Anna stuck the key in the cell door, giving it a twist. With a squeal, the metal-barred door swung open.

They ran outside, and we all made our way upstairs and into the meeting hall. Ashton was first to speak.

“We need to get moving,” Ashton said. “I don’t even know if we’ll make it to the ship in time.”

“So there was a ship,” Julian said. “I knew it.”

“We’ll explain everything later,” I said. “Augustus is waiting.”

All of their eyes widened in surprise, but I didn’t have time to explain anything. I ran toward the door.

“We have no weapons,” Makara said.

I handed Makara my AR. “Take this.”

As Makara took the weapon, I withdrew my Beretta.

“Let’s go. The ship is in the northern fields.”

With Makara’s nod, I charged forward into the red sunlight.

Only to be greeted by a large Behemoth standing twenty feet ahead.

* * *

The Behemoth was at least twelve feet tall, with blue-gray skin. The skin had the splotches of pink coloring more typical of xenolife. Hollow white eyes stared from its flat face. Upon seeing us, the Behemoth frowned and made a fist with its massive right hand. Knuckles cracked.

I sprang into action immediately. I aimed my Beretta toward the Behemoth’s head and fired. It moved its head, but still a bullet grazed the side of it. The Behemoth roared in pain as a small rivulet of purple blood oozed out, just below its tiny ear.

Ashton went to the right while Anna dashed to the left, blade flashing. Makara got a few shots off as the Behemoth advanced forward, spraying the monster in the chest. The bullets had little effect because of its tough skin. Makara and I kept the monster’s attention while we backed away. The wall of the building touched my back, and I slid along its perimeter.

Ashton and Anna had circled around the creature. Anna sliced at the Behemoth’s leg, cutting deep before backing away. The Behemoth swiveled around with a pained roar, its arm extended. But Anna was far out of reach, nimbly backing away from the Behemoth’s attack.

That was when Ashton took his chance to fire into the other leg with his handgun.

The Behemoth bellowed as it dropped to its knees. Still, its white eyes focused on me, as if I had been the source of its pain.

Emboldened, Anna stepped forward, within view of the Behemoth’s eyes. She thrust her blade at the Behemoth’s chest. With lightning reflexes, the monster spun and bashed Anna right in the chest. Anna eluded some of the impact, but still, the attack knocked her back a few feet. The Behemoth turned on its knees, crawling forward for the kill.

“No!” I yelled.

I ran forward, firing into the Behemoth’s exposed back, but none of my bullets penetrated the chitin-like armor that grew there. As Ashton opened fire, the creature rolled into a tight ball so that all of its stone-like skin faced outward.

Anna scrambled away, obviously in great pain. The Behemoth uncurled just a bit, reaching out to grab Anna’s leg.

I was now so close to the Behemoth that I could reach out and touch it. I aimed my Beretta toward its neck, firing into the skin there, which wasn’t so thick. At this range, the bullets finally started doing some damage. The Behemoth gave a loud hiss, turning from Anna to focus on me. Its left fist fell from the red sky like a hammer…

Until Orion flew from above, firing a spray of bullets.

“Back!” I yelled.

As Orion swooped overhead, it unleashed its fury. We dove from its line of fire, and the Behemoth cried as the high-caliber rounds tore into its skin. Geysers of purple blood spewed outward, staining the dirt road. The light in the Behemoth’s white eyes faded as it crumpled onto the road, dead.

Orion circled, landing not far from the town’s central oasis. Everyone ran to the ship, but I ran to Anna, who was struggling to her feet.

I reached her and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Can you run?”

She nodded, leaning on me as I eased her up. She winced and her breaths came out ragged. I had no idea how badly she was hurt, but I had to get her to the ship. Samuel came to help me carry her. Together, we lifted, and ran as fast as we could toward the ship. Everyone else had already boarded.

We ran up the ramp. I could see Augustus standing in the wardroom within, his expression impatient. We went past him, setting Anna on the deck. She groaned in pain. Everyone stood in the wardroom, circling around her.

“We need to get to Perseus,” Ashton said.

“Jonas is going there now,” Augustus said.

The ship lifted, causing Julian and Michael to tumble to the deck. The rest of us grabbed the bulwarks as Orion made its crazy flight north across the oasis. Within half a minute, Sparks had landed the ship. The blast door opened, revealing Perseus a mere fifty feet ahead.

“Go, go, go!” Samuel said.

Everyone ran down Orion’s boarding ramp and up Perseus’s. Once again, Samuel and I toted Anna while the others made sure nothing attacked us from the fields. The coast was clear. Samuel and I were the last ones to enter the ship. As soon as we were on board, the door closed.

We laid Anna down on the deck, her eyes shut from pain. The ship took off.

“Where’s Ashton?” I asked. “He needs to look at Anna.”

“He’s piloting,” Samuel said. “I’ll have him switch out with Makara.”

Samuel left for the bridge.

“Let’s see it,” I said.

Anna raised her shirt up to her ribcage, revealing a deep bruising.

“Just a scratch,” she said.

“You’ve broken a rib,” I said.

“Whatever it is,” Anna said, “it doesn’t look like I’ll be fighting for a while.”

The ship circled as it blasted upward and outward. I had no idea where we were going or what kind of opposition we faced, or if the dragons would be falling upon us soon.

I just knew that with Anna’s injury, we had been dealt a horrible blow.

* * *

By the time I reached the bridge, we were high above the clouds, heading southwest. Augustus’s voice came through the speakers.

“Alright. We got out of there alive. Now it’s time for you to help with Black.”

“Copy that,” Ashton said. “We have wounded here.”

“While you have wounded, my men are dying on the battlefield,” Augustus said. “And those monsters aren’t far behind. There’s no time to waste.”

Augustus did have a point, but all the same, Anna needed treatment.

Ashton set Perseus to cruise, giving a nod a satisfaction. He stood, and Makara moved over from the copilot’s seat to take his place.

“Help me move Anna to the clinic, Alex,” he said. “That deck can hardly be comfortable.”

“Sorry,” I said. “We didn’t have time to set her somewhere more comfortable.”

“Don’t apologize to me, kid. Let’s move.”

Samuel and Michael followed Ashton and me off the bridge. Julian took up the copilot’s controls. Makara was taking this opportunity to teach him a bit about flying.

When we entered the wardroom, Anna was lying on her back.

“We’re moving you to the clinic,” Ashton said. “Up you get.”

Anna groaned, but she allowed herself to be lifted up. All four of us moved her, making sure her back remained straight to cause her the least amount of pain. As we entered the compartment, the automatic lights flashed on.

We eased Anna onto the bed. I took off her boots, setting them to the side. She closed her eyes, drawing shallow breaths.

“Hurts like hell,” she said. “Can hardly breathe.”

Ashton nodded, turning to the rest of us. “Let’s give her some space, huh? This shouldn’t take me long.”

“Is it bad?” I asked.

“Alex, I’ll be fine,” she said. “Go.”

We left the clinic. Ashton began to ask Anna some questions, but I couldn’t hear the words because we had already reached the wardroom and were on our way to the bridge.

“Broken ribs can take a while to heal,” Samuel said. “And sometimes, there can be more serious issues.”

“Like what?” I asked, stopping.

“Sometimes, the ribs can pierce a lung or an artery,” he said. “But don’t worry. If it was that bad, we’d know by now. She can at least breathe, even if it’s painful.”

“She needs to see Char,” I said.

Samuel nodded. “I agree. One thing is clear: she’ll be out of action for a while.”

“How long?” I asked.

“Six weeks, minimum.”

Samuel continued on to the bridge. I just stood in the wardroom, shocked.

Michael placed a hand on my shoulder. “Come on, Alex.”

Stunned, I followed Michael back to the bridge. Six weeks or longer. That meant Anna couldn’t fight anymore. In six weeks, we’d have either fought our final battle, or we’d all be dead.

I wanted to go to her, but Samuel pulled me to the bridge.

“Come on, Alex. Keep your head in the game.”

Once we reached the bridge, Makara turned her head.

“We have a problem. Augustus wants us to come straight back to L.A., but we also need to get treatment for Anna. The only person I can think of to do that is Char.”

“There’s not much you can do for a broken rib other than let it heal on its own,” Samuel said.

“Well, I need to talk to him, anyway. He’s still in the dark about what happened in Wyoming.”

Makara fiddled with the dash until it had attained the proper settings.

“Char. You have a copy?”

The dash sizzled with silence. After another long moment, I was starting to get nervous.

“Char. Marcus. Do you read me? This is Makara, aboard the Perseus spaceship.”

Again, there was no answer. Char always had his radio on him and was quick about answering.

Finally, a voice answered, and it wasn’t Char’s gruff voice. Instead, it was slimy, weasely laughter.

Laughter that could only come from one person.

“Why, hello, Makara,” Jade said, with a snicker, drawing out the middle syllable of Makara’s name. “Long time, no hear.”

“Jade,” Makara said, with venom. “What did you do with Char?”

The Weasel chortled a bit before answering. “It’s been so long since our fearless leader has checked in. The people were getting antsy. Someone had to restore order.”

“What are you talking about?” Samuel asked.

“Just what I said,” Jade said, with a giggle. “Someone had to take control.”

“Jade,” Makara said, working to keep control, “you will step down immediately, or I’ll personally see to your execution when I get back there.”

Jade was laughing, now. “Oh, Makara, you have no idea how the tables have turned! I’d always dreamed of this moment. We thought you were dead, but this is even better. Because at least now, you know the Lords of Vegas are nothing to be trifled with.”

“You’re not alone, then?” Samuel said.

Jade paused, just a moment, before he giggled again, unable to restrain himself.

“Do yourself a favor, Makara,” the Weasel said. “Stay away. There’s nothing for you here. Because if you come back…”

We all waited for Jade to continue. After a long moment, he finally did.

“…I’ll kill you.”

Chapter 9

Jade had taken over Bunker 84. The thought seemed impossible. Jade had always been the least of the gang lords, the one the others had taken shots at.

Now, he was the one calling the shots.

After a while, Emperor Augustus’s voice arose from the dash.

“What’s the status? Why was the line busy?”

“We have an issue,” Makara said, her tone saying that it was the understatement of the century.

“What issue?” Augustus asked.

“We lost Bunker 84.”

Augustus was quiet for a moment. I had no idea what the Emperor was thinking, or if he even knew what Bunker 84 was. From his answer, he apparently did.

“How? What happened?”

“One of the gang lords rebelled,” Ashton said. “A man named Jade.”

Augustus grunted, saying nothing more. “And I assume you want to go rescue that Bunker — the few of you against whatever hundreds they might have?”

“That’s right,” Samuel said.

“We have friends there,” Makara said.

“Your place is with the Empire in Los Angeles,” Augustus said. “You’ll all get yourselves killed if you leave now. Besides, we had a bargain.”

“I know we did,” Ashton said, “but if we can save the Bunker, your troops will have reinforcements. There are probably a lot of Angels still loyal to Makara.”

“That’s if,” Augustus said. “I gave you that spaceship, and you need to repay me.”

“I’m sorry,” Makara said. “Things happen.”

The Emperor hadn’t planned for this, and for that matter, neither had we. And there was nothing he could to stop us from going besides outright shooting us down.

“We’ll return soon,” Samuel said. “And we’ll have a force to help you against the Reapers. We might even be able to set up a flank and overwhelm Black’s troops.”

“You say you’ll return soon, but we had an agreement. You’re abandoning an ally on the field of battle.”

“You outnumber Carin’s army five to one,” Makara said. “How could you even say we’re abandoning you?”

“We are abandoning him,” Ashton said. “Because it’s not just the Reapers that Augustus is up against. There is the entire swarm moving from the east. If Carin Black drags out the battle long enough, Augustus will be crushed between the two sides.”

That shut everyone up. It meant that if we were going to Bunker 84, then we had to get back in time. Augustus and his legions would be dead if we didn’t.

“How long do you think we have?” Samuel asked.

“A few days, at most,” Ashton said. “The dragons can be there in half a day, maybe. The rest of the swarm will arrive in the next couple days. That’s all speculation, though.”

I had no idea if we could save Bunker 84 in that amount of time, but we had to go back. Our friends were there: Char, Marcus, Ruth, Grudge, along with all the others we had saved from Las Vegas and the Community. We couldn’t abandon them, especially now when we had the ability to rescue them.

“Go,” Augustus said. “You can take no longer than two days.”

Makara didn’t need more encouragement. “It shouldn’t be long.”

Makara steered the ship north, the acceleration causing me to stumble from my standing position. I steadied myself on the bulwark.

I had no idea what awaited us in Bunker 84, but we would soon find out.

* * *

I pulled up a stool next to the clinic bed. Anna’s eyes were closed; Ashton had put her on some pain medication, which made her drowsy. My own eyes were tired and heavy. I held her hand, feeling its warmth between my fingers.

Her eyes opened, unseeing at first, but then focusing on my face.

When she tried to face me more directly, she winced in pain. I put a hand on her shoulder.

“Sit still.”

“I haven’t known the meaning of those two words my entire life.”

I hadn’t told her about the decision the crew had reached on the bridge, and I almost didn’t want to tell her. I knew how bad she would feel waiting on the ship while we secured the Bunker.

Ashton had volunteered to watch over her. He said he’d be in the way if he tagged along.

In the end, though, I updated her on what was going on. She needed to know.

“Great,” she said. “I’m going to be bored to tears lying in here.”

“Just see it as a chance to relax.”

“Relax?” Anna looked at me intently. “Relax, while everyone is putting their lives on the line? I couldn’t do it.”

“We’re not letting you in there,” I said.

“I know,” she said. “I just hate the situation.”

“It might not even be that bad in there,” I said. “Maybe everyone will rebel against the gang lords when they realize we’re back.”

“Maybe,” Anna said, but she didn’t sound convinced. “There’s been something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Immediately, I started feeling nervous. “What do you mean?”

She looked at me, her green eyes almost haunted. “Even if I’m in a bed right now, I still haven’t forgotten my promise. I won’t let you die.”

I didn’t want to get into this again. I tried not to let my frustration show, but she knew me well enough to read my face.

“Don’t get like that,” she said. “You agreed to give yourself up without considering how others felt.”

“You mean how you would feel?”

“Isn’t that important?”

“You know what I have to do,” I said.

I wasn’t sure what else to say. I felt as if she wouldn’t be satisfied with any answer besides the one she wanted. Still, she was being stubborn, not looking me in the eyes.

“Look,” I said. “Before anything happens, we’ll talk to the Wanderer. Just you and me. Okay? We’ll see if there’s another way to do this.”

Anna watched me, her eyes afraid. I didn’t want to say anything to hurt her, or scare her, but how could I not when my death was a sure thing? Maybe this would be a chance to convince her.

“Whatever happens,” I said, “we’ll face it together. Alright?”

Very reluctantly, she nodded. I didn’t know what else she wanted me to say. Maybe she didn’t know, herself. All I knew was, I couldn’t give up now, after everyone had sacrificed so much.

The ship suddenly lurched and lowered. Still, I remained seated, looking at Anna, who now faced away. She stared at the clinic’s walls as if they had more of an answer than I did.

“Hey,” I said, touching her shoulder.

She turned her head toward me, giving a small smile. I knelt down and kissed her. I thought it was going to be short, but we continued to kiss. I was going away to do something dangerous, and Anna was stuck here. Anything could happen down there, so I didn’t know when I’d see her again…or even if I’d see her again.

Someone entered the room, clearing his throat. I turned to see that it was Michael.

“Alright, kids,” he said. “It’s go time.”

Anna pushed me away, her green eyes deadly serious.

“Don’t die.”

“I won’t.”

I left Anna and the clinic behind.

Not yet, anyway.

* * *

Thankfully, we found some white parkas hanging in a cabinet in the cargo bay. I was glad that Augustus hadn’t grabbed those, because we needed them to make it to the entrance of Bunker 84 without freezing to death.

I grabbed an extra AR-15 to replace the one I gave Makara. I strapped it to my back and put a couple of handguns with complimenting ammunition in my pack. If there was anyone resisting Jade inside Bunker 84, they might be in need of weapons.

I just hoped Char, Marcus, and Ruth were alright. Michael was even more anxious to get down there because of his wife and daughter.

At last, we were all gathered in the wardroom. With a final nod, Samuel opened the blast door, letting in a rush of frigid, snow-laden air.

“Check in often,” Ashton said as we exited the ship. “And good luck.”

Michael led the way, pushing through the snow. Julian walked in his wake while Samuel, Makara, and I kept up.  I stole a quick glance at Perseus behind. It had landed not too far from the wreckage of Odin, perhaps one hundred yards away. Its outline was almost lost to the swirling flurry.

Makara looked in that direction and sighed. “A lot of memories on that ship.”

It didn’t feel as cold today as it had when we’d landed here about a week ago, but the wind was still bitter.

I kept thinking of Jade. It was hard to imagine that weasel of a man ordering anyone around.

Through the shifting of snow, I saw the surface of the icy lake appear, its surface reflecting the gray sunlight dully. We reached its shoreline, walking in the direction of the Bunker entrance. Across the lake, the shape of the massive mountain was barely discernable against the gray sky.

The lake’s edge led us to the familiar, frozen stream leading into the canyon, at the end of which lay the hidden Bunker entrance. It wouldn’t be long before we reached the icefall.

Michael readied his rifle, and the rest of us followed suit by drawing our weapons.

Makara stepped past Michael, approaching the icefall cautiously. Julian was just a few steps behind. Makara slipped on the ice, and would have fallen if Julian hadn’t caught her arm. After steadying herself, Makara gave him a terse thanks.

Michael, meanwhile, walked toward the icefall. The opening he and Julian had made still remained. Michael picked his way over the ice pile. Julian and Makara followed him, while Samuel and I brought up the rear.

Once we stood safely in front of the Bunker door, Makara peered inside. She dug out a flashlight from her pack and clicked it on. She pointed the light inside, revealing the empty passageway leading into darkness. I retrieved my own flashlight, keeping it off to conserve energy. If the need arose, I could turn it back on.

“Clear,” she said, her breath forming a cloud. “Be ready.”

She walked inside, and we followed, leaving the horrible, dry cold behind. As we entered the obscuring shadow, the snow continued to fall.

* * *

Bunker 84 was as quiet as a tomb, and for some reason, it felt like we were walking into one.

Before long, the corridor opened into the park filled with dead plants. The cool air was sharp with the scent of metal and the dry smell of dead vegetation. Makara shined her light on the park, scanning left and right. A lot of dangers could be lurking there. I turned on my own light, helping Makara push back the darkness. Nothing moved.

“Is this close to where you were attacked?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “We were attacked, drugged, and taken down to the bottom.”

“Do you know the way from here?”

I shook my head. “I assume there’s a set of stairs that’ll take us to the hangar.”

Makara nodded, turning left. She made sure to stay about twenty feet from the edge of the deadened plants. It would be easy to be ambushed from there.

“Look,” Samuel said. “Stairwell up ahead.”

We paused before a flight of steps leading down. Fifteen or so steps descended to the first landing, before turning 180 degrees and continuing downward to the next level.

Michael and Julian followed Makara down the metal steps. Michael held his AR at the ready, while Julian kept his handgun in his right hand. Samuel and I, once again, brought up the rear. I glanced backward, scanning with my light to make sure nothing was tailing us. Still clear. I followed everyone downstairs.

We went down a couple of levels before the stairs came to a stop. I had expected this flight to go all the way down, but apparently we had to find another way to reach the hangar. Makara walked at a slow, careful pace. Her flashlight revealed many open doorways in the corridor — doorways from which threats could attack us. Every few moments she paused, listening, causing the rest of us to follow suit. There was nothing but our breaths.

“Keep moving,” Samuel said. His voice, though soft, carried in the confines of the corridor.

We had walked a few more steps when boots pounded on metal. They came from behind.

I whirled around, shining my light into the darkness. There was no one there; they must have ducked into one of the doorways I’d just passed.

“Who’s there?” I called.

From ahead came more stomping of boots. We pressed against each other back-to-back, our guns pointed ahead and behind.

“Lords or Angels?” a male voice called from Makara’s direction.

She stepped forward. “Angels. Who are you?”

The man didn’t answer immediately. I was ready to snap into action, shooting whoever jumped out at me.

“Makara?”

This caused other men in the shadows to murmur. If I had to guess, there were maybe ten of them. We were far outnumbered.

“Yeah,” she said. “Who are you? What happened here?”

“Makara, we thought you were dead,” the man said. “Where were you? What happened?”

The man had a strange accent, like none I’d ever heard spoken before. It tickled at my memory, though; I felt like I’d seen a movie where I heard a similar manner of speaking. The accent, though detectable, was buried under the gruff way of speaking that was common to most Raiders.

I realized that what I was hearing was an English accent. This man must have been born there, but had been living in the U.S. when Ragnarok fell — which meant that he had stayed here.

“Tell me who you are, first,” Makara said. “For all I know, this is a trick. And I need you to put your weapons down.”

“You don’t have to worry,” the man said. “Former Lost Angel under Raine, and now I’m one of Char’s Raiders. I’m setting my gun on the floor, and stepping forward. My men will do the same.”

Before Makara could say anything, I heard the thud of guns being set on the floor. A moment later, the man stepped out of a doorway, hands on his head, into Makara’s flashlight beam. Makara’s arms stiffened.

“I’m Lionel,” he said. “Lionel Pierce. We’re all Angels who’ve been hiding up here since the Lords betrayed us.”

I watched Lionel as he spoke, trying to figure out if we could trust him. He certainly looked like he’d grown up in the Old World, and his face was familiar to me. He had a grizzled white beard, and the wrinkles on his face told me he was at least in his late fifties. Maybe even younger, given the harshness of the world.

“I recognize you,” Makara said, “though we’ve never spoken. How many do you have with you?”

“Here, I have nine. If you mean how many Angels are left…there’s no way of knowing that. There’s less every day. They turned on us three days ago, during lights out. Forced the rest of us up here. They keep pushing us back, and we keep going further up. This place is big…far bigger than we expected.”

Makara nodded. “Alright.” She relaxed a bit, lowering her weapon. She motioned us to do the same. “Where are you headed, now?”

The man pointed upward. “We were trying to find a way out of here.”

“Don’t do that,” Makara said. “We have to take this place back. That’s why we came.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Lionel said, “what happened to you guys?”

“We lost the spaceships in an air battle with dragons. We found another one. As soon as we did, we came back here to clean up this mess.”

“Everyone thinks you’re dead. But now that you’re here…if we could somehow band together, we might have a shot of pushing them back. It’ll be hard, though. They have most of the supplies, and they’re working together.”

“We have some extra guns, if your men need them,” Makara said. “And yes, we need to work together…focus on finding other groups and taking the fight to them.”

“Alright,” Lionel said. “We’ll join up, then. This Bunker still has lots of supplies lying around. Weapons. Even food, sometimes. But the Lords still outnumber and outgun us.”

“The only way we can win is by taking the right fights,” Makara said. She nodded at Lionel. “You can take up your weapons again. Let’s get out of this corridor and find a safe spot to make a plan.”

Lionel nodded. “Alright. There’s a corridor nearby that we haven’t explored yet.”

“Lead us there,” Makara said.

Lionel gave a nod and ducked into an open doorway. The men who had waited in the darkness brushed past, acknowledging Samuel and me with nods. They looked thin and tired.

After they filed after their leader, we followed them.

Chapter 10

We followed Lionel and his band of Angels into a room that must have once been a dormitory. Several bunks lay angled from the wall, stripped of sheets. A soiled mattress lay haphazardly on the floor. A bulletin board still had yellowed announcements tacked to it. Seeing the evidence of life in this fallen Bunker was haunting.

Lionel turned left. The dorm stretched a long way, and we passed row after row of bunks. In Bunker 108, we had full apartments, but here, it was more austere and militaristic. Beside each bunk was a small, metal nightstand, and at each one’s foot was a metal trunk. Some of the trunks were locked, but others had been busted open, revealing empty interiors.

Once we reached the end of the dorm, another doorway opened on our right, leading into darkness.

“This is the corridor I was talking about,” Lionel said.

“Where do you think it goes?” Samuel asked.

“Guess we’re about to find out.”

Lionel and his Angels went through the doorway. We followed.

The corridor was dark and claustrophobic. There was about a foot of space above my head, and hardly room for two people to walk side by side. The hallway took a sudden ninety-degree turn to the left. We walked a moment longer before it turned ninety degrees to the right. It was a strange bit of planning, and I had no idea what purpose it served.

Ahead, the corridor opened into a wide, cavernous space. Everyone filtered out and stood in the open area, gazing at the room in wonder. Makara, Lionel, and I shined our flashlight beams around. Banks of silver servers lined the wall directly to our left. Ahead, glass windows separated us from a large, conference-style room with rows of computers. The computers were down one level, in a sunken control center accessible only by steps leading down. We stood on a balcony overhanging that room. It looked like a place from which military operations would be conducted. A gigantic screen spread across the far wall of the control room. The display screen, along with all the computers, was dark.

“What is this place?” Makara asked.

“The Command Center,” Samuel said. “Bunker One had a similar setup. I’m surprised there’s one of this magnitude in Bunker 84. It’s nearly as large as Bunker One’s.”

Lionel pointed to a couple of Angels. “Secure the corridor. Raise the alarm if you hear anything.”

The Angels followed Lionel’s command as Makara wandered off, brushing her hand along the servers.

“They’re warm,” she said.

Samuel placed his hand on one of them. Several of the men did the same.

“What does it matter, if it’s not going to help us find the others?” Michael asked.

Both Samuel and Makara looked at Michael thoughtfully, but it was Samuel who spoke.

“Who said we couldn’t do that?”

Michael frowned, wondering at Samuel’s words. Samuel walked to the glass door separating the overhang from the control room below. He pulled it open, walking down the metal steps.

“Leave your men here,” Makara said to Lionel. “We’re going down with Samuel.”

She motioned for Michael, Julian, and me to follow her.

While Lionel and the Angels stood guard, we went down the steps. I was the last one through, letting the glass door close automatically behind me.

The room was surprisingly warm; these computers were also running. They had to be powered, only I didn’t know where from. When the Community lived here, they had gotten their power from the fusion generator aboard Aeneas. But there was no spaceship in Bunker 84, so Jade and the Lords must have devised an alternate power source, or maybe they were using backup power. Whatever the case, they needed power to grow food, pump water, and supply ventilation.

Samuel stood in front of a thin, sleek monitor in the center of the Control Room. He pressed a random key. The monitor came to life, displaying a login screen.

“So it is on,” Makara said.

“We might be able to access the Bunker security system from here,” Samuel said. “If so, we could use the cameras to find other Angels.”

“And enemies,” Julian said.

“Not just that,” Makara said. “We might even be able to communicate. I’m sure an intercom system is built into this entire Bunker.”

“Probably,” I said. “Ours had one, so I imagine they all would.”

Samuel logged in with his username and password. Instantly, the desktop screen loaded.

“Surprised it took it,” Michael said.

“It did at Bunker One,” Samuel said. “It must have updated at every Bunker still online.” Samuel paused, thinking. “Don’t know much about computers, actually. All that stuff I said…I have no idea how to do it.”

“Ashton would know,” I said.

“We can try contacting him,” Makara said.

“This deep underground?” Michael asked.

Makara didn’t have an answer for that.

“There has to be a way to communicate,” I said. “Ashton called Bunker 84 while he was in Skyhome.”

Samuel clicked the start menu. As soon as he did, the other computer screens came to life, bathing the control room with blue light.

In addition, the large display screen ahead flashed on, slowly gaining in color and clarity. A large map of the United States and Canada was displayed.

“What did you do?” Makara asked.

Samuel shrugged. The large screen displayed red dots pinpricking the topographic map, each with a number above it. 84. 16. 108.

“Bunker locations,” I said.

A similar map had been on the LCD of the plane that took us to Bunker One, only this one was far more detailed.

The map also appeared on Samuel’s screen.

“It looks like I can control the map,” Samuel said.

He clicked on the location of Bunker 84, located in Northern California. Immediately, he was taken to a web site of some sort, dedicated to the Bunker. On the screen were links naming different departments. Hydroponics. Recycling. The Citizens’ Council. Security.

“Click that last one,” Makara said.

Samuel clicked on “Security.” The website was bare and utilitarian, and obviously not meant for most residents’ general use. There were several more links. An Officers’ Directory. Nuclear Development. I wanted to tell Samuel to click on that one, just out of curiosity, but nukes weren’t what we were after. One of the links said “Security Feed.”

“There,” Makara said.

Samuel clicked on it. More screens popped up, displaying on the large screen ahead as well as on Samuel’s computer. Row upon row of camera feeds loaded, ranging in number from one all the way to three hundred and six. Not all the camera feeds could fit on Samuel’s screen, so he had to scroll down to see them all. As he scrolled, the main screen ahead also scrolled down, mimicking Samuel’s actions.

The only problem was, all of the video feeds were dead, with completely black screens. The word “offline” showed in the bottom right corner of each feed.

“Offline,” Makara said.

“Go back,” I said. “And click on the ‘Power Plant’ link.”

Samuel complied, digging his way back from the camera feeds until he arrived at the listing of departments. He clicked on “Power Plant.” It took us to a screen that showed basic schematics for the reactors that must have been powering the Bunker. There was a “details,” which Samuel clicked.

Hibernation. Backup module available.

“What does that mean?” Makara asked.

“It means the reactor must have shut down once it realized it wasn’t being used,” Samuel said. “Probably.”

“Then how is this place running?” Michael asked.

Samuel shrugged. “There must be some form of backup power for the Command Center servers alone. This place would be the most important to keep online. I guess the cameras have lower priority.”

“Try turning the backup module on,” Julian said.

Samuel clicked it, setting it to on. The computer thought a moment before accepting the change.

Nothing happened. Then, a message appeared on the computer screen, giving a timer.

“What?” Makara asked.

Samuel read the message out loud. “Backup module online in five minutes…”

“Is it really turning on?” I asked.

“I guess,” Makara said.

“While we’re here,” Samuel said, “might as well look at some of that other stuff.”

Samuel backed out of the screen. The countdown was minimized while he clicked on the “Nuclear Development” link.

“Really, Samuel?” Makara asked.

He shrugged. “Might as well take a look.”

A wealth of information overtook the screen. There were twelve silos. One through three were empty, while the rest read “armed.”

“So three of the silos have shot off missiles?” Makara asked, now curious. “Where to? When?”

“Let me see what I can dig up,” Samuel said. “Maybe Elias had been busy.”

“If they had gotten to this computer,” I said, “don’t you think they would have restored power a long time ago?”

“Good point,” Samuel said. “Which makes me believe that the Community did not fire any missiles. They probably couldn’t even get past the login screen.”

“So, who shot them off?” Makara said.

“This would have been before the Community,” Julian said. “The U.S. fired three nuclear missiles in the fifteen years Bunker 84 was online.”

Why would Bunker 84’s authorities launch nukes? Had they been aware of the xenoviral threat long before Bunker One was? Or had Bunker One given the order itself?

“Found it,” Samuel said.

We crowded around the computer. In a column labeled “expired targets” three dates were listed: November 22, 2034, December 5, 2036, and July 17, 2045. Next to these dates were target locations.

The first two were nothing like what I expected.

Bunker 23. And Bunker 144.

“What?” I asked. “They nuked Bunkers?”

It was a moment before Samuel answered. “Apparently.”

“Why?”

Something about Bunker 23 was tripping my memory. I remembered it being mentioned, somewhere…

Fortunately, Makara filled in the blank.

“That was the one you talked about, Samuel, when we found the Black Files. It was in Nebraska, the closest one to Ragnarok Crater. Could that have something to do with it?”

“Maybe,” Samuel said.

“Maybe?” Michael said. “I say probably.”

“You said Bunker 23 was where the first infections happened,” Makara said. “Maybe Bunker 84…panicked a bit.”

It would never be clear what had happened in those early days, unless we found a detailed explanation somewhere. Something we didn’t exactly have time for unless we just happened to run across it.

“Okay,” Julian said. “What about Bunker 144?”

“Elias mentioned that one,” I said. “It was built in Alaska. Bunkers One, 84, and 144 were all meant to be counterpoints to one another. It’s hard to imagine the xenovirus finding its way up there, especially if it was only 2036.”

“Maybe they saw Bunker 144 as a threat,” Makara said. “Also, I don’t see how nukes can hit Bunkers. Aren’t Bunkers built underground to avoid that sort of thing?”

“They are,” Samuel said. “But it’s possible they used bunker-busters — not designed to detonate until they are underground. A nuclear explosion like that would wreak havoc — not just from the awesome power, but from collapsing tunnels and burying exits.”

“Where did the third one go, then?” I asked.

It showed it launching in mid-2045, but it gave no target location. 2045 would have been around the time Bunker 84 fell.

A moment later, the fluorescent lights flashed on above, one after the other. Power had been restored in full. I blinked as my eyes adjusted.

“Let’s check on those cameras again,” Makara said.

* * *

Samuel returned to the directory and cycled through the cameras, one at a time. Many were still black, but the rest were up and running, revealing people in rooms and hallways, seeming confused that the lights had come on. Both Lords and Angels suspected some trick on the part of the other side.

“So how do we find out who’s on our side?” Makara asked.

“Maybe Lionel can help with that,” Samuel said.

Samuel motioned Lionel down to the control room floor. Lionel reached the bottom of the curved steps and ran to stand next to us. He looked over Julian’s shoulder at the monitor.

“Can you tell Angel from Lord?” Samuel asked.

“The Lords control most of the Bunker,” he said. “Their base is on the bottom level.”

“Why did they attack in the first place?” I asked.

“They didn’t think you were coming back. And there’s the matter of food. There was no way we had enough to go around. So, the Lords decided to save themselves.”

“See anyone we know on here?” Makara asked. “We can head to that location first, then hit the rest as we gather our forces.”

Lionel narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the screen. “Can you pull up a map of the Bunker on the big screen?”

Samuel nodded. “I’m sure I can. Somehow.”

He created a new tab and began to search the directory for a map. Within a minute, he’d found it. A large map of Bunker 84 was put up on the big screen. The size of Bunker 84 became all the more apparent, considering the map only showed one level at a time. For now, level three was displayed — the one we were on. There were twenty levels total.

“This place is huge,” Makara said.

“Seems as if they could fit a lot more than two thousand people in here,” Julian said. “I think there was more to this place than just the nukes.”

“What do you mean?” Samuel asked.

“You’ve seen the dorms,” Julian answered. “There must be hundreds just like the ones we saw. As if…an entire army had been here.” He paused. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong.”

“No,” Makara said. “It makes sense. It’s another reason why Askala would have targeted this place. Can you imagine if Bunker 84 had stayed alive?”

According to the Black Files, the U.S. government knew there was something guarding Ragnarok. The final Guardian Mission failed because it had been attacked directly. If they believed an alien invasion was imminent, it made complete sense they’d keep an entire army down here.

“We need to focus on finding our own,” Lionel said.

Level three was mainly dedicated to barracks, a training center, and the Command Center.

Samuel clicked the other tab, revealing the cameras once again.

“It looks as if the cameras are coded to each level. Like this one…”

Samuel clicked on it, and it showed a shot of a couple of men bearing rifles, standing next to a pair of elevator doors stuck halfway open. The number three was painted on the wall next to them.

“Level three,” Samuel said.

“Those are Lords,” Lionel said.

As Samuel clicked the camera, part of the map highlighted on the screen — a periphery corridor on the level’s western side.

“Looks like every time you click on a camera, it highlights where that camera is,” Lionel said. “We can make a list of what places to go to, and what places to avoid.”

“Good idea,” Samuel said.

“Let’s go through each of the levels,” Lionel said. “I can take some notes for each one.”

We did just that — Samuel scanned each level while Lionel took notes in a spiral notebook he’d found on a nearby desk. On most levels, the Lords had set up positions, especially the lower we got. It seemed as if there would be a lot of fighting once we got to level ten and lower.

Thirty minutes later, Lionel had taken notes all the way to level twenty. One of the cameras showed Jade, Rey, and Cain, sitting at a table over which a large map of the Bunker was spread. Apparently, they were making their own plan. They, too, had a map of the Bunker. If they knew this was where the Command Center was, then they probably wanted to gain control of it as soon as possible.

It seemed as if Samuel had come to the same realization.

“We need to find reinforcements,” Samuel said. “Once we have some fighters, we can start taking back territory.”

“See if you can call Ashton from here,” Makara said. “He’ll want the update.”

Chapter 11

Samuel used Bunker 84’s encrypted communication network to contact Ashton. We updated him on everything that had happened so far. Ashton said he’d be on standby for when he was needed.

We left the Command Center, Lionel carrying his notebook that listed Angel locations. Our first destination was on this level.

Bunker 84 looked different with the lights on. In a way, the lights were a curse because it would be harder to remain hidden and the fighting would pick up again.

But the time for hiding was over. We had to make an end of the Lords while we had the men and firepower to do so.

We left the Command Center behind and entered a long corridor. About fifty feet ahead, the corridor had been buried in rubble.

We stood before the twisted pile of concrete, rebar, and dirt.

“No good,” Makara said. “That’s the way we need to go.”

“There has to be a way around,” Michael said.

Michael backtracked a bit, poking his head in a doorway.

“This could work.”

We followed him inside, finding a room that had once been a clinic. A wheeled gurney lay on its side. Bandages and unused syringes spread over the dusty floor, where they had spilled from the countertop. Another doorway led out of the clinic on the other side, leading into a corridor running parallel to the first.

Once we were through the clinic and into the opposite corridor, the temperature dropped drastically. As we walked on, the temperature continued to plummet.

The corridor took a ninety-degree turn to the left, at the end of which was a group of four men with rifles. It was a moment before one of them cried out and pointed at us.

As their guns were raised, I dove for an open doorway on right side of the corridor, Makara and Samuel right behind me. As the first shots were fired, I crashed into the floor. It was freezing cold in here. I looked back, across the corridor, to see that everyone else had remained behind the corner, cut off from us. Anyone who tried to walk across that corridor would be shot down.

“They have the hallway covered,” Samuel said.

“If they’re smart, they’re going for reinforcements,” Makara said. “We have to figure a way to take them down.”

Another doorway led out from the other side of the room. The camera feed had shown a group of Angels near here. The only question was where they were.

“They should be nearby,” I said.

That was when a man appeared in the doorway. His eyes widened.

“Makara?”

Instantly, Samuel, Makara, and I had him in our sights.

“Don’t shoot!” he said. “I’m with you guys.”

“You’re Angel?” Makara asked.

“Yeah,” he said.

“Where are the others?” Makara asked. “We saw them on the camera feed not five minutes ago.”

“A lot can change in five minutes.”

“You’re the only survivor?”

“Of my group, yeah. I think Grudge and some of his men are down on level six. So, that’s where I was headed.” He paused. “My name’s Damian, by the way.”

“Damian, we have to deal with these Lords first,” Makara said. “They got the corridor covered, and my men can’t move on until they’re taken care of.”

“We can sneak around,” Damian said. “While they’re focused on your men, we can hit from another direction.”

“How?”

“We’ll have to go outside.”

“Outside?” I asked.

“Follow me,” Damian said.

Damian turned from the doorway, disappearing into darkness. We looked at each other and went after him.

* * *

Damian led us away from the corridor, and the temperature continued to drop. It wasn’t long before gray daylight filtered through the twisted, collapsed ceiling. This part of the Bunker must have been destroyed, somehow.

“So, Grudge is alive?” Makara asked. “What about Char, Marcus?”

As Damian began climbing the rubble in order to reach the outside, he cracked a smile. “Yeah, Grudge is alive. As far as Char and Marcus…I can’t say. They stayed behind on level one, and we haven’t heard from them since the war started.”

We climbed after Damian. If Char and Marcus were on level one, then the news probably wasn’t good.

I put my foot on a large slab of concrete, boosting myself up. Damian had already reached the top and was standing above the network of Bunker ruins.

“You sure you know where you’re going?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

Makara pulled herself onto the ceiling, followed by Samuel. I was the last one to exit the Bunker, and what I saw rendered me speechless.

This entire side of the mountain was simply…gone. Something had blasted it all away, leaving behind a crater. We were on the opposite side of the mountain, which up to this point we hadn’t see yet. The exits of corridors opened into the free air, at least down to level seven or eight.

“Guess we know where that third nuke hit,” Samuel said.

I still didn’t know why Bunker 84 had nuked itself. It could have been done by the Community, but whatever the case, it had allowed Elias to take control. The bottommost levels of the Bunker would have been largely unaffected.

“This way,” Damian said, moving out of the Bunker exit and onto the mountainside.

Damian angled himself toward an opening in the rubble not far from the one we had exited from. It was a short walk before we made it to the entrance. After walking a few steps inside, Damian spoke softly.

“Alright, the Lords are just around this corner…”

We edged to the corner as more shots split the air.

“I think they’re being fired on from the other side,” I said.

“The perfect opportunity to strike,” Samuel said.

Samuel waited a moment before giving a nod. He checked around the corner, stepping out into the open. I went after him, seeing the four Lords from behind, guns all pointed toward our men.

By the time Makara was also in the open, we fired into their backs.

The two men in the middle went down immediately while the others snapped toward us. Before they could even aim, however, they also went down. Silence followed the brief firefight.

Samuel called out.

“It’s us! When you come around, hold your fire!”

Lionel and the other Angels appeared from around the corner, running toward us. We ran ahead, meeting them in the center.

“That was some luck,” Lionel said.

Damian clasped Lionel’s hand with his own. “Good to see you, brother. I thought we lost you on nine.”

“You did. But I’m hard to kill.”

“Damian,” Makara said, cutting off the reunion. “Lead us to Grudge.”

Damian nodded. “Right. He should still be down on six.”

We followed Damian to a flight of stairs. We took them two at a time until we reached the sixth-level landing. The sounds of gunshots and men’s screams came muffled, distant.

Damian ran forward onto level six. The gunshots grew louder as we neared the center of the level, passing open doorways. We took several turns until we came to a final corner, around which Damian took a quick glance. He pulled his head back, resting it against the wall.

“Five Lords,” he said. “They’re set up behind tables in the mess hall. Faced away from us. They must be firing on Grudge and the Suns.”

“Take them out,” Samuel said. “They won’t see us coming.”

We stepped into the hallway, moving slowly so as not to alert the Lords to our presence. I took careful aim with my Beretta for the man on the left. Five of us were lined up, and still, none of the Lords had turned. They had no idea we were standing there.

I waited for Samuel’s gun to go off before I opened fire. The man on the left immediately dropped, the back of his shirt darkening with blood. I tried to separate my mind from this grisly task. With all of us firing on the Lords in their exposed state, they had all fallen within a matter of seconds.

It was another moment before Samuel spoke.

“Come on.”

We walked into the mess hall, a place that truly lived up to its name. The fluorescent lights above revealed a chaotic maze of upturned tables and chairs, and the scent of blood stunk up the air. Blood pooled under the corpses, spreading over the linoleum. Lionel’s men went to the bodies, rummaging for ammo and weapons. From a hallway leading out from the mess hall, a familiar man appeared.

“Grudge!” Makara called out.

He held up a hand in greeting, using the other to motion the men behind him forward. Three tired men entered the mess hall.

We met in the middle, a good distance from the fallen Lords.

“I thought you were dead,” Grudge said.

“Almost, but we’ll explain later.” Samuel said. “Think we have enough here to make the push back?”

“We need more,” Grudge said. “Much more.”

“Know anything about my family?” Michael asked.

Grudge looked at him. “I think they’re okay, Michael. I haven’t seen them since this all started, but they’re probably on level one with most of the civilians.” Grudge sighed. “Honestly, they’re probably safest there. It was mainly the men they were interested in killing.”

“So it’s Jade, Rey, and Cain?” I asked.

Grudge nodded. “And whoever else joined them. Most of Char’s Raiders and all of Marcus’s Exiles stuck to their leaders. Boss Dragon fell early in the fighting, and I don’t know if any of his men made it. They were holding their own for a while on fourteen. This…” Grudge motioned back, indicating the four men with him, “is the last of the Suns. They’ve chased us up this far, and…”

Grudge paused, unable to find his words. He closed his eyes, as if he were falling asleep.

“Have you slept since the fighting started?” Makara asked.

Grudge quickly came to, shaking his head. “No. No, I can’t sleep.”

“How dangerous are the lower levels?” Samuel asked.

“Thick with resistance,” Damian said, answering for Grudge. “This floor should be clear, now.”

“We need a home base,” Samuel said. “It will take too long, and be far too dangerous, for us to go around rescuing every group. We need them to come to us.”

“I think you’re right,” Makara said. “The Command Center should work. We need to stock up with as much food and water as we can find. Anyone know where we might find that?”

Lionel answered. “Most of the kitchens have been cleaned out. We found some cans up on level three.”

“What about water?”

“They have pumps on the bottom level,” Grudge said. “Can’t imagine how much longer they can run without power. The taps work fine, though. They just haven’t been used in fifteen years.”

“We have the power back online,” Samuel said. “It’s all backup, so there’s no telling how long it will last. Hopefully, long enough to take control of the Bunker.”

“We need to make an announcement from the Command Center,” Makara said. “They need to know that we’re back, and if we can get enough people, we can take the fight to the Lords.”

“If we go to the Command Center, wouldn’t the Lords know where to attack us?” I asked.

“Let them try,” Makara said. “They’ll be fighting on our turf, and it won’t be easy for them to approach when we have cameras watching.”

“A lot of Angels would have to fight against Lords to even make it to the Command Center,” Damian said. “And not everyone who got out is a fighter. There were women and children, too.”

“That’s where Ashton comes in,” Makara said. “He can pick up any Angels who can make their way outside. It would be easier to just head outside rather than fight through the Lords’ positions. Ashton can ferry groups to the Bunker entrance at the top. From there, they can head down to the Command Center.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” I said.

“We heading up?” Grudge asked.

Makara nodded. “Yeah. Let’s get to the Command Center and I’ll get Ashton on the line.”

* * *

We found a stairwell and made our way up. Before we reached the stairs, we heard voices drifting down the hallway. As we raised our guns, four Angels walked around the corner. It was clear they were surprised to see Makara, Samuel, and the rest of us alive and well. I recognized one of these men, Nathan, who was an Exile. He seemed to be leading the other three men.

“Makara!” he said. “You’re alive.”

“Good to see you, Nathan,” she said. “Any news of Marcus?”

He shook his head. “They got him and Char on level one.”

“They’re not dead?”

“They might be,” Nathan said. “He and Char stayed behind to fight, even as they told us to run. Haven’t seen them since.”

“Alright,” Makara said. “We’re heading up to the Command Center. Is there anyone else on this floor?”

“We’re the only ones on this level.”

So far, everyone in the inner circle that had stayed in Bunker 84 was unaccounted for. We had no idea whether Char, Marcus, Ruth, or Lauren were still alive.

We walked the rest of the way to the Command Center without incident.

Makara nodded to Lionel. “Take a few of your men and post a guard.”

Lionel nodded. “On it.”

While Lionel left with a few fighters in tow, Samuel opened communications with Perseus.

“Ashton?” Makara asked, once the line was open. “Ashton, you read?”

It was a moment before Ashton’s familiar voice came through the speaker. “Makara! Everyone alright down there?”

“It’s rough,” she said. “We’ve found some Angels but a lot of our people are still missing. This is going to be a long fight.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Have you seen the north face of the mountain?”

Ashton paused. “No. Haven’t flown out that way.”

“Well, you might be surprised by what you see. A nuke must have hit it back when the Bunker fell. There are lots of openings leading out of the Bunker.”

“Alright,” Ashton said. “Where are you going with this?”

“We’ve restored power, which means we should be able to make an announcement to the whole Bunker: telling any Angel who can, to go outside.”

“And you want me to pick them up?”

“That’s right. As soon as you see anyone, pick them up and land them by the entrance. From there, they can walk down to the Command Center on level three.”

“What about our people at the bottom, though?” Ashton asked.

Makara sighed. “They’ll have to hold on a while longer. The goal is to gather as many as we can and put weapons in their hands.”

“When are you planning on moving?”

“We’ll be making the announcement soon. Stand by for further orders.”

“Copy that,” Ashton said.

Chapter 12

“It’s set,” Samuel said.

“Citizens of Bunker 84,” Makara said, pausing for a moment. “This is Makara. Yeah, I’m alive, and no, this isn’t a trick. We’ve restored power and the Angels’ numbers are swelling by the hour. If you’re an Angel and you’re hearing this, make your way to the Command Center on level three. If you can’t make it there safely, go outside. Dr. Ashton will see that you’re brought safely here.”

Makara looked at Samuel, as if for confirmation. Samuel gave a thumbs up. Makara went on speaking.

“Things have changed drastically on the outside. The Great Blight is about to annihilate us all. Oasis has fallen, and Los Angeles will go soon. The Empire and the Reapers are no longer allies — they are enemies. They fight in the ruins of L.A. even as death presses in from the east. This is my message to Jade and the Lords: the only way you will survive this is if you lay down your arms and negotiate peace. If you do so in the next six hours, your lives will be spared.

“You were all Angels, once. I’m going to attempt a chance at reconciliation. I understand how panic might have led some to make a stupid decision — a decision you now regret. That’s why I’m giving you this chance. I invite Jade, Rey, and Cain to the Command Center to parley. You have my word that you won’t be killed.

“If you choose to continue this senseless war, you will lose. We have a spaceship and have unlimited access to resources. Starvation is no longer an issue. From the Command Center, we can cut off your power. Maybe you have backup generators you’ve been using to get by, but they won’t last. We don’t have time for this war. Augustus in Los Angeles needs our help.”

Makara paused a moment for her words to sink in.

“Angels: make your way upstairs or outside. Lords: you have six hours, starting now.”

With that, she cut out.

* * *

Makara sent a heavily armed patrol to assist any Angels making their way upstairs.

The first round came from the seventh level, fifteen minutes following Makara’s announcement. Meanwhile, Ashton was ready to pick up anyone at the north face of the mountain.

As the minutes and hours passed, the barracks filled with survivors. When the head count passed one hundred, they still kept coming. There were far more survivors than we’d thought; they’d all been separated by the Lords’ relentless attacks. Michael and Julian started passing out canned food they’d found inside a kitchen connecting two of the barracks. As Damian had said, many were women and children. And they were hungry.

I helped with a can opener I’d found in a kitchen drawer. I was in the middle of uncapping a can of pineapple when it happened.

“Daddy!”

Callie crashed into Michael’s leg, wrapping it in a viselike grip. Michael pulled the little girl free and held her to his chest.

“Callie, baby, you’re alright!”

The girl laughed and Michael looked past her to see his wife, whose blue eyes were flooded with tears. Blood and dirt were smeared on her face, and her cheeks were gaunt. She gave a small, pained smile.

“Lauren…”

Michael walked forward and embraced his wife, holding her like he’d never let go.

Callie walked up and looked at the half-opened can of pineapple I was holding. I continued to open the lid, and when it fell off, I tossed it aside and handed the can to her. Immediately, Callie gulped it down. By the time I had another can open, this time beans, she was already done with the pineapple. Others in line watched hungrily as Julian worked quickly to open all the cans he could.

“Share this one with your mom, alright?” I asked.

Callie nodded, carefully taking the can of black beans and returning to her parents.

Michael parted from his wife. I opened a few more cans, one with beets and another with spinach. I know it wasn’t gourmet, but it would have to do. The food had nutrients and calories, and that was what everyone needed.

As the people ate, I continued opening cans. We had only found two can openers, so we worked as quickly as we could. After about fifteen minutes, everyone had eaten one can of food. Still, we continued to open them. Lauren and Michael went to the kitchen to see if they could find any more can openers.

When they came back, Lauren had another can opener, while Michael toted another armful of cans. She set to work as people came by for round two.

“Is Ruth alright?” I asked.

“I think so,” Lauren said. “We were together…until we weren’t. We got separated in the chaos.” Lauren paused, reaching for another can of food. “She knew how to work Hydroponics, so they couldn’t do anything to her.” She paused, opening another can of beans, which was quickly taken by a muscled Raider. “I’m worried about her for other reasons.”

It wasn’t hard to imagine what those reasons might be. Ruth was a good-looking woman, and she was surrounded by a bunch of unscrupulous men — men without honor and principles.

“We have to get her out of there,” I said.

Lauren nodded. “I know. It isn’t going to be easy. I don’t think Rey is going to accept Makara’s terms.”

“So Rey is the one in charge?” Julian asked.

Lauren nodded. “Yeah. Jade is sort of their lackey, but they do give him some rein. It’s more Rey and Cain working together. To what end, I don’t know. They must know they’re done, with Makara back. They still hold some pretty powerful cards. Ruth is one of them, and they also have Char and Marcus.”

“If they’re still alive,” Michael said softly.

“I think they are,” Lauren said. “They need that leverage, especially now when the balance is shifting so much.”

I hoped Lauren was right. I couldn’t imagine the Lords keeping either Char or Marcus alive. Still, maybe they’d agree to parley sometime in the next few hours, as Makara had laid out.

“We’ll find a way,” Michael said.

Finally, we were opening cans faster than people could take them. A minute later, we gave our hands a break. I took a can of pork and beans, grabbed a nearby spoon, and started to eat. It was the first food I’d had since breakfast, all the way back in Los Angeles.

With the realization of how busy my day had been, I felt a wave of fatigue. I checked my watch, seeing that it was 21:00 on the dot.

I uncapped another can, taking a cue from Callie and favoring pineapple. Callie watched with wide eyes, sitting on Michael’s lap.

I ate the pineapple, draining the rest of my juice, and set the empty can on the floor. I noticed that a lot of people were hanging around, even if they didn’t want more food for the moment. It took me a minute to realize why they were.

“They want to take some of the food for themselves,” I said. “We should probably keep it in a secure location.”

“Can’t we just trust people to take the right amount?” Lauren asked.

Julian and Michael answered at the same time. “No.”

“Alright,” Lauren said. “What do we do, then?”

“We could keep everything in the Command Center, where it would always be under watch,” I said. “Most people would take the right amount, but some will hoard, which would punish the people who follow the rules.”

“I agree,” Michael said.

“I’ll talk to Makara,” I said.

I left the barracks, following a short corridor leading to the Command Center. Once there, I found Makara, Samuel, and Grudge on the Command Center floor. I went downstairs. They saw me coming down and waved me over.

As I approached, Makara gave me an update.

“Ashton picked up twenty or so, and they should be heading down soon. You might want to get some more food ready.”

“About that,” I said. “We were talking about keeping the food in the Command Center. It would prevent people from taking more than they need. We could take inventory and hand it out only at mealtimes.”

Makara nodded. “Yeah, good idea. Find a way to move it in here.”

“That won’t stop people from going out and finding their own,” Samuel said.

“No, we can’t stop them from doing that,” Makara said. “But we can forbid anyone from leaving level three without an escort. We can widen our range once we start securing more floors.”

“We’re probably good down to level six or so,” Grudge said.

“Probably,” Makara agreed. “But I’m not taking any chances. And that’s too much ground to cover with what we have.”

“Alright,” Ashton’s voice said, coming out of the computer speakers. “I’ve landed outside the canyon. The refugees are worried about the snow, so I’ll be escorting them to the entrance. I’ll be out of touch for the next ten minutes.”

“Copy that,” Makara said. “Good job, Ashton.”

“What’s the head count?” he asked.

“122, so far. 142 once yours arrive. About half can use guns.”

“Copy that. I’ll make one more flyby before calling it a night. I think I got everyone I could on this round, but another sweep won’t hurt.”

“We’ll make the announcement for the last sweep,” Samuel said.

“Copy that,” Ashton said. “Out.”

* * *

No emissary arrived from the Lords below, at least not within the first four hours. I wouldn’t have known if any had arrived, because I woke up around midnight, despite my tiredness.

I kept thinking of Anna, hating how I couldn’t see her and how she was locked away on Perseus.

Which was when I realized that I could go see her. True, it meant going through the empty corridors of Bunker 84 alone. But the lights were on, and level three and above were secure.

It would be cold outside, but I had my parka.

A big part of me said it was stupid. And it probably was. The more I thought about it, though, the more I felt like I had to do it.

It took a minute to make the decision. I got up, put on my parka, and made sure my AR and Beretta were locked and loaded. I went to the kitchen, grabbing a couple cans of food and a can opener, and made sure to fill my canteen. I felt a little guilty, taking a can opener, but we had six total now, which meant I was leaving behind five. They’d survive without it for a couple of hours, and if something bad happened up there and I found myself cut off, I’d be prepared.

I didn’t know why I felt so pressed to see Anna, but I wanted to make sure she was doing alright. After Ashton had dropped off the second round of refugees, of which there were only six, they had parked close to Bunker 84 at the canyon entrance, which was a short walk from the Bunker door. All I had to do was reach the Perseus’s door, input the code, and go inside.

Before I had time to second-guess my decision, I lifted my pack and left the barracks by the back way. By going this way, I could avoid the Angels standing guard. We were all under curfew; I wasn’t supposed to be breaking the rules like this.

All the same, I had a feeling that I should see Anna, one that went beyond the fact that I was worried about her. I felt like I was missing something important. It really wouldn’t be a dangerous trip; there were no enemies on the third level and above, and I wouldn’t be in the cold for very long.

I left the dark barracks, entering the lit outer corridor. I walked to the stairs, hearing my footsteps echo off the confined walls. It was quiet, and the faded paint and odd smattering of dried blood on the walls told the story of this place. I felt as if ghosts were watching me when I reached the stairs and began my climb to the top level.

Where it was still dark.

I wasn’t expecting that. Maybe the lights were still out on this level, for some reason. I retrieved my flashlight, clicked it on, and walked forward.

Coldness crept over me. I was out of my element, and for some reason, I just had a bad a feeling. A feeling that I should turn back.

I clicked the flashlight off, pausing to listen. I stood there for one, maybe two minutes, until I heard it.

Footsteps. Dozens of them, coming from ahead.

I backed away slowly, toward the steps. I realized who it was. It was the Lords, preparing a surprise attack. If they could attack from both top and bottom, we would be overrun — especially if we weren’t ready for it.

I reached the stairs in the pitch darkness. Once I was sure I was out of earshot, I ran quickly, trying not to make any noise.

By the time I made it to the third level, I was at an all-out run.

I wasn’t sure what to do first –wake everyone up, or find Makara. I decided on the second option. I didn’t want to cause a panic, but at the same time, we had only minutes.

I entered the barracks at a run. Several people awoke at my entrance. I ignored them, instead finding the barracks where Makara and Samuel were. I went up to Makara, shaking her from sleep.

“The hell?” she asked, eyes groggy.

“They’re attacking from above.”

She opened her eyes, her grogginess dispelled by this news. “What?”

“I just came from there. They have a lot of guys heading this way.”

Samuel awoke, along with several other Angels in the barracks. As they overheard my conversation, they armed themselves for combat.

I was afraid she was going to ask what I was doing up there in the first place, but thankfully, she decided there were more important priorities.

“How much time?” Makara asked.

“They should be here any second.”

Makara turned to the Angels. “Wake everyone as quietly as possible and gather them in the Command Center. Do not explain anything, just make sure they get there. We need to be ready to move in five minutes. Remember: as calmly as possible.”

Samuel took charge, delegating Angels to go to the separate barracks. We could only hope that the Lords didn’t attack during this time. I had no idea how the Lords managed to sneak their men to the top floor — it probably involved going outside and…

“Ashton!” I said.

Makara looked at me. “What?”

“He should have spotted those guys, if they had snuck in from the outside.”

Makara nodded. “We’ll check in with him.”

Makara and I went to the Command Center, finding the computer Samuel had set up with a direct line to Perseus.

“Ashton? Ashton, you read me?”

It was a moment before his voice came through, groggy. “Yeah, what?”

So they were okay. The Lords had intelligently decided to forgo the ship, deciding that they couldn’t trip any alarms. Ashton had obviously been asleep, as was understandable. Even if he had been awake, it was so dark he might have missed the Lords’ passing.

“The Lords are sneaking in from above,” she said. “Do you see anyone out there?”

Ashton hesitated only a moment, registering the news, before answering.

“Right. Looking out the windshield now, but I’m not seeing anything. Snowstorm’s picked up again.”

“Sit still,” Makara said. “We can’t let them know anything has changed. We need them to think they’re catching us unawares, when in reality, we’ll be ready for them.”

Even as Ashton and Makara continued to speak, the Command Center filled with Angels: refugees, women, and children. Anyone who could fight was given a gun and ammo, and this included some of the women. Anyone who couldn’t fight was ushered to a corner of the Command Center where they would be safest, guarded over by six Angels overseen by Samuel.

After the allotted five minutes, every Angel had reported for duty.

Makara briefly explained the situation before laying out her plan.

“We need to set up an ambush somewhere on this level. Earlier, we assigned squad leaders. Follow their lead and follow the chain of command, and we’ll make it.”

Everyone nodded, listening to Makara with a surprising level of calm.

“Here are my orders: stay on the third level. Stay off the main corridors. Hide wherever you can. They’re going to try to sneak into the Command Center. Let them get a good ways into the third level before striking, but don’t let them inside the Command Center itself. The idea is to get them on this level so deep that they have to commit to a fight where they’re at a disadvantage. As soon as we hear the gunfire, Samuel will shut off the lights. That’s your cue to attack. I hope you all have brought your flashlights.”

The Angels nodded their confirmation that they had.

“Samuel will hold the fort here, keeping the civilians safe. Any questions?”

No one said anything. There wasn’t time for questions, anyway.

“Move out,” Makara said. “And good luck.”

Chapter 13

We waited.

I stood in a disused locker room with a combat team led by Michael, twenty Angels strong. The locker room connected to a gym, which connected to the main corridor.

We waited for either the gunshots to start, to get spotted, or the lights to go out.

My heart pounded in my chest. I wasn’t born a warrior. All I wanted was to survive, and somehow, I had ended up with a gun in my hand. I wanted to separate my emotions from the act of taking another man’s life, but I didn’t know if that was possible. I realized, not for the first time, that it could all end right here. I might never live to see Ragnarok Crater.

I looked at Michael, whose gaze had homed in on the corridor across from the gym. He was the only person looking outside the dingy locker room, waiting. When it was go time, he’d raise his hand, and the killing would begin.

A gunshot sounded, distant. One second passed. Two.

The lights dimmed. Two seconds more, then darkness. Spots flared in my vision.

“Go,” Michael whispered.

Twenty pairs of boots clomped into the gym. From the corridor, I heard panicked whispers, then silence.

They’d heard us.

“They’re in there!”

Michael opened fire in response to the Lord’s warning. The man screamed as bullets entered his flesh. Michael’s AR thundered in the cavernous gym, the gun’s barrel flashing like lightning. I added my own volleys, feeling the familiar kick of my AR at my shoulder. I held firm, giving the force the dispersion it needed. Another man screamed. When Michael ceased fire, the rest of us followed suit.

Then came the sounds of boots running down the corridor, past the open doorway of the gym. More shots followed.

“After me,” Michael said.

I fell in behind Michael. The metallic air stung with the smell of blood.

Michael took a corner, clicking on his gun light. Its beam revealed two Lords crouching over a comrade bleeding from his gut.

They barely had time to scream before we shot them down.

“Two behind!” someone yelled.

I spun to see our men in the back ranks take action. We fired, they fired. One of our men dropped while two Lords fell. More men filled the intersection.

“Take cover!” Michael roared above the din.

I dove into an open doorway, followed by several more Angels. One was shot mid-dive. He screamed and crashed into the floor next to me, his warm blood splashing my face. I wiped my cheek on my shirtsleeve, gritting my teeth. I looked at the dead man. A good chunk of his neck had been blown off.

More shots sounded, ricochets of bullets zinging like metallic wasps. Then, silence. Distant gunfire, distant screams of men…

Neither side wanted to show themselves in the darkness. The squad had been split up, and to get back together, one of the halves would have to cross the corridor under enemy fire.

“This way,” Michael said.

I was glad he was among the Angels who had taken shelter in this room, because that meant I was with Michael. Our leader crouched low and walked to a back corner. He shined his light around, revealing toppled desks, chairs, and a blackboard leaning against the wall, upon which a set of numbers had been scrawled with chalk. I had the time to recognize it as the quadratic formula before we passed into another classroom through an open doorway. It was filled with the clutter of a Bunker past. More toppled desks. Dust and dirt lining the floor. And, chillingly, chains hung from the walls, at the end of which were shackles.

I didn’t want to know the story behind those.

Michael took the lead once more, pointing his light beam right. Then left. He paused.

A bullet screamed past.

He ducked back in, cursing.

“Michael!”

He shook me away. “I’m fine.”

“Quiet,” another man said.

I listened, hearing nothing for three long seconds.

That was when an explosion ignited outside, not in front of the door, but a short distance to the left of it. A bright flash of orange blinded me, and the heat of the blast licked my skin. The floor shook as I dropped to my belly, face down. Men groaned outside in the corner. I couldn’t tell if they were with us or them.

Michael stepped into the corridor. I was almost surprised when no bullets came to claim his life. He disappeared toward the left. I hesitated before following him.

Michael stood in a corridor littered with bodies, severed limbs, and crusted blood in the midst of crumbling concrete, rebar, and choking dust. I hacked in the sooty air. Nothing was recognizable.

“Where are we?” one of the men asked.

“Nowhere we need to be,” Michael said.

Michael turned from the collapsed tunnel, walking as if he knew where he was going. It was amazing how quickly such a man would be followed. We fell in step behind him as he turned to the left, not bothering to check the many open doorways he passed.

I was about to ask if we should slow down when Michael spoke.

“We become the hunters now.”

He reached a set of steps. At first, I thought it was to go up. I stared only for a moment before he struck downstairs.

I knew where he was going.

“Michael — this is crazy.”

He looked at me, his brown eyes intense. “Feel free to turn back. I’m going to hit them now, while most of their fighters are up here. I trust Makara and the others to hold the line. Any of you are welcome to join me.”

With that, Michael went down into the darkness, at first alone. He paused at the first landing, waiting a moment.

I thought about that day long ago when I followed Michael into the Wasteland for the first time. I would follow him again.

When I started after him, he gave a grim smile.

“Well, Alex,” he said. “It’s time to kill the Weasel.”

* * *

We quickly circled the flights of stairs down to level ten. Here the stairs ended, opening onto a long, dark corridor. Michael scanned left and right with his light.

At this distance, the gunshots had faded, though the occasional crack carried down the stairwell.

Michael walked forward, in search of another staircase leading down. The Lords’ headquarters were on level twenty, the lowest level of Bunker 84. With luck, they hadn’t left many defenders behind.

The corridor turned ninety degrees to the right, Michael’s light beam illuminating dancing motes. We walked a few steps before another stairwell materialized in the darkness.

Michael paused at the top of the stairs, listening. One of the men reloaded a magazine, the sound loud and echoing. Almost like a bullet itself.

Michael turned to face us. As an Officer and patrol leader in Bunker 108, he was used to leading. It was easy to follow him.

“Alright,” he said. “This one should lead straight to level twenty.” He fixed us all with a level gaze. “I don’t have much to say. I know we’re not supposed to be down here, but sometimes, you get a feeling you can’t ignore, an opportunity you can’t pass up. This is one of those. When we get to the bottom of the stairs, I don’t know what we’ll find. There’ll be civilians, so think before you shoot. Our priority is taking down the Lords and keeping the civilians safe.”

The men nodded and waited for Michael to speak again.

“Anyone not ready?” he asked.

No one spoke up.

“Let’s go.”

* * *

Of all the crazy things I had done since leaving Bunker 108, I felt this had to be one of the craziest.

We were running downstairs into darkness to confront an enemy of unknown size, without orders from either Makara or Samuel. But the prize was too tempting to pass up: we could save Ruth, Char, and Marcus, along with everyone else who had been trapped down there.

The flights went by in slow motion.

Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen.

On level fifteen, a surprised Lord had been standing guard, where he had obviously fallen asleep. As he rushed to get up, grabbing his rifle, he was shot down. That shot would echo downward to the twentieth level.

“Keep moving,” Michael said.

Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen.

There were only two flights left, now. If Makara and the others could hold on upstairs, this might all end tonight.

Nineteen.

That was where the fighting started. A blaze of bullets issued from men hidden behind doorways, felling two Angels before the rest of us could continue to the twentieth.

“Markos…Groot…hold the rear!” Michael called.

The two Angels obeyed, even knowing the danger, but someone had to hold the Lords off on nineteen while we continued to the twentieth. Two more Angels peeled away to assist Markos and Groot. Michael motioned the rest of us on.

We ran down the last line of stairs to twenty, into an empty hallway. The floor was cloaked in darkness. The screams of women and children were muffled by distance.

Michael went into a crouch, advancing forward. On level nineteen the firefight continued. A man screamed; us or them, I couldn’t tell.

We walked unopposed into a rec room — the same one Elias and I had spoken in just a week ago. Michael continued on into a dark hallway. The level was eerily silent.

We kept moving until we reached Hydroponics. The grow lights bathed the plants, casting green shadows on the many lanes running through it. Sprinklers misted the plants, producing rainbows as they refracted the light.

Michael approached the railing, low to the floor, peeking over. He watched a moment before turning toward us, holding up four fingers.

Four men on guard. It made sense that the Lords would leave some guards here. The food was their source of power.

There was no way we were sneaking by with almost twenty armed men, so Michael took careful aim. Several more Angels approached the landing, doing the same.

One of the guards amid the plants was startled, looking at our position. He squinted at us, as if unable to believe his eyes.

We opened fire.

Two of the men fell immediately as the other two dove for the plants. From within the maze of green foliage, several women screamed.

“Cease fire!” Michael said. “They have civilians working down there.”

We backed way toward the wall and away from the railing.

“The gang lords are the target,” Michael said. “This just distracts us.”

I didn’t like leaving the civilians behind, or the Lords at our back, but Michael was right. We had to stay focused on our goal.

Michael stepped away from the railing, sidling along the metallic wall, keeping as far from the overhang as possible. The men followed suit. The Lords below couldn’t take shots unless they actually climbed the stairs that led to the overhang — in which case, we’d have the advantage.

The sound of footsteps pounded from the corridor behind. Several voices called out as we readied to defend ourselves.

“It’s us! Angels!”

Three men appeared out of the original four that had stood guard at the stairs.

“What happened?” Michael asked.

“The Lords abandoned their position on nineteen,” the Angel said. “They disappeared onto the level, so we came to find you.”

Michael nodded. “Keep close.”

He turned and waved us on. He approached the corridor leading to the hangar.

We went around the corner. Michael hung right, where a flight of stairs branched from the corridor and ran down to the hangar. The metal steps rattled beneath our boots. Michael, at last, reached the metallic door reading “Hangar.”

“I don’t know what’s after this door,” Michael said. “Be ready for anything. Go on my orders. If the fire’s too heavy, I’m closing the door again.”

The men nodded their understanding. Michael clicked off his rifle light. He waited another moment before pulling the latch.

The door swung open, revealing the hangar to be dim and empty, vast in the absence of spaceships. If there was to be any resistance, we should have found it here.

Michael stepped forward. We fanned out, forming a wide V.

I focused on a dark row of windows halfway up the right-hand wall. The control room.

“They could be in there,” I said.

Michael nodded. “We need to be careful. It’s too damn quiet for my liking. Maybe Cain went out on the attack, but I don’t think either Rey or Jade would get their hands dirty.” Michael paused a moment, thinking further. “If Rey and Jade are here, that means they have guards.”

Michael motioned us over to the right-hand wall. We followed its length until we reached a doorway. The doorway opened onto a long, dark corridor. On our left rose a set of steps, leading to the control room.

“That’s the way up,” I said.

“I don’t want to attack into a choke,” Michael said.

“We don’t even know what’s up there,” another Angel said.

“True,” Michael said. “We need a way to flush them out.”

I handed Michael one of my grenades. “Try this.”

Michael took the grenade, thinking on it.

From upstairs, a woman screamed. It sounded like…

“Ruth!” I said.

“Hold up,” Michael said. “They’ll kill her if we try anything.”

“Well, we have to do something,” I said. “I don’t think they know we’re here.”

“I know that,” Michael said, frustrated. “Let me think.”

Ruth screamed again. A man cursed. There was a slamming noise, like someone being forced against a wall.

That was enough. If this was just bait to get me to go up the stairs, then I guessed it was going to work.

I charged ahead, my feet slamming on the steps.

“Alex!” Michael said.

It became silent upstairs. I threw my AR over my shoulder by the strap, instead reaching for my Beretta. I rounded the flight, only to see darkness ahead. I was beginning to regret my decision, and it felt as if my heart would pound out of my chest. I forced myself onward, before I could second-guess myself.

I burst onto the landing. My first sight was of Ruth lying in the corner, her face bloodied. The second was of Jade, shirt off, blue eyes looking at me with shock. They were the only two in the room.

A guard burst into the room, aiming a handgun my way. I ducked right before a bullet was fired. It whizzed over my head. I returned my own fire with the Beretta, not really having the time to take careful aim.

Time seemed to slow, each bullet taking an eternity. The guard got several more shots off, and it was only the darkness of the room that saved me. Each flash gave me a brief, terrifying glimpse of the guard, appearing at a different location with each shot. His eyes were wide with fear.

Finally, the man cried out. I thought I’d gotten him, but he kept on shooting, seemingly unaffected. By this time, four shots had been fired at me, and each had missed. I couldn’t stay lucky for too much longer; it was only a matter of time until one of them connected.

I adjusted my aim upward, toward the neck and face of the guard. This would be a hard shot, in the darkness and with a small, moving target.

I fired twice, nabbing the guard in the jaw. He gave a bloody scream as I fired again, right between the eyes.

During the few seconds the gunfight happened, Michael and the other Angels had charged up the stairs from behind. Meanwhile, the Weasel had been searching for his weapon.

I didn’t give him another second. He turned away just as I fired into his back. He gave a horrible, parched wail that seemed more Howler than human. I fired again as he sprawled onto the floor and went still.

I scanned the rest of the control room, adrenaline coursing through my veins. There was another door, at which I pointed my Beretta with shaking hands. I held this position for several seconds, my hands shaking, as Angels entered the room.

Finally, I forced myself to relax. Ruth was in the corner, fighting tears. There was a tightness in my throat, and an anger in my gut for what had happened, or what was about to happen. At least Jade was dead, and Ruth was safe.

“Here,” I said, handing her my canteen.

She took it, taking a drink. I set my pack on the ground, opened it up, and pulled out a clean shirt. I knelt beside her.

“Here,” I said. “You can clean up with this.”

I looked at her face, which she turned aside. A deep bruise had surfaced below her left eye, while her nose had been bloodied. It could have been worse, but it looked like we came along just in time.

She wet the shirt with my canteen and wiped at her face. Her breaths came out ragged.

“It’s alright,” I said, sitting on the floor. “You’re safe now.”

Michael stood behind me. He hadn’t yet seen the inside of the room, nor Ruth. He knelt next to me.

Ruth looked up, having cleaned herself as best she could. There was hardness and anger in her eyes that reminded me nothing of the happy woman I’d known in Bunker 108. She slowly stood, then walked over to Jade’s body. She paused for a moment before kicking him full in the face.

“He had his guards grab me while I was sleeping,” she said, her voice wavering. “And they dragged me here. Rey would have stopped him, but Rey went up with Cain.” She was quiet for a moment. “He had practically begged to stay behind. Now, I guess I see why he wanted that.”

“Well, he’s dead now,” I said.

Michael shook his head. There was sadness, and anger, in his eyes. Michael took off his pack, reaching in for a camo tee.

“Here,” he said.

Ruth put it on gratefully over her old shirt, which had a tear in it.

“And this.”

Ruth grabbed the handgun that Michael handed her.

“Thanks,” she said. “Let’s just…not talk about this. Just give me something I can do to take my mind off it.”

“What can you tell us about the resistance down here? We’ve found a few guards, but not many.”

Ruth nodded, recollecting herself. “Most went upstairs to fight. They had…him…stay down here, as well as the rest of the Diamonds. That’s about twenty men.”

Michael nodded, obviously pleased with this news. “We’ve killed what, four or five so far?”

I nodded. “About.”

“We have twenty of our own,” Michael said. “The rest are fighting upstairs.”

“The people are in the dorms,” Ruth said. “The guards sleep outside those, blocking the exits. There’s also the night guards at Hydroponics.”

“We passed that, but came straight here,” Michael said. “I imagine the rest of the Diamonds know we’re here.”

“They might surrender, if we tell them about Jade,” I said.

Michael looked at the former gang leader’s bloody corpse. He looked so pathetic with his shirt off. A pool of blood had collected beneath his body. I knelt next to him.

“What are you doing?” Ruth asked.

I reached for Jade’s left hand, suppressing a shiver. I tried to ignore those lifeless eyes, staring vacantly at me. I pried five diamond rings off his right hand, and then reached for his left, pulling off the other five. They were flecked with blood. I wiped them on Jade’s sleeve before pocketing them.

“Proof of our victory,” I said. “Any Diamond will know what we’ve done once we show these. I doubt they’re loyal enough to fight after he’s dead. Jade wasn’t the type of person who commanded respect.”

Michael nodded, gesturing to the open doorway. “Good idea. Dorms are that way.” He turned to the rest of the Angels. “Everyone catch that?”

The men nodded silently.

“We’re heading for the dorms,” Michael said. “Hopefully the Diamonds will surrender without a fight.” Michael held his hand out. “Hand me those rings, Alex.”

I reached into my pocket, handing them over. They glittered in the darkness — diamond, sapphire, ruby, emerald, gold, platinum. All worthless in today’s world. Michael put them in his pocket.

“Take Ruth back upstairs,” Michael said to me.

“Isn’t that more dangerous than staying here?”

“Maybe so,” Michael said, “but I need you to take Makara a message. Let her know what’s going on. Then return to me, and let me know what’s going on upside. Plus, Ruth can help out up there. Find Lauren and she can take care of it.”

“Will do,” I said.

“Hurry,” Michael said. “And be careful.”

Chapter 14

We left the control room and headed to a stairwell that led to the upper reaches of the Bunker.

“We need to watch out for Lords,” I said. “If we’re winning up there, they could be retreating.”

Ruth nodded, not saying anything further. I wished there was something I could say to make her forget the last thirty minutes of her life. Of course, I knew that was impossible. All I could think to do was get her to Lauren. She would know what to do.

We made it to the stairs, and took them at a jog. We paused for a quick breather every few flights. When we reached ten, the stairs ended in a long, dark corridor. We had to follow this corridor to reach the next ascending staircase, which would lead to level three.

When we turned a corner, footsteps pounded from the stairwell ahead. Ruth and I entered a dark, open doorway. We were hidden from view as people rushed past.

Outside, I heard a woman’s voice.

“Faster,” she said. “We don’t have much time.”

“Makara!” I yelled.

Instantly, everyone stopped and guns were raised to shoulders.

“Alex?” she called. “Where are you?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Ruth and I are in here.”

Two men stepped into the room, lowering their rifles. Amid the shining flashlight beams, Ruth and I stepped out into the corridor.

“Ruth?” Makara asked, surprised.

“Alex saved me,” she said. “Let’s leave it at that for now.”

Makara looked at me curiously, but said nothing.

“We got cut off by the explosion,” I said. “We saw the stairs, and Michael decided to go down. Jade’s dead. We were coming up to deliver the news.”

“That’s news, alright,” Makara said.

“Michael should have the rest of the Diamonds on lockdown by now. We were coming to get reinforcements.”

Makara nodded. “So we control the bottom level?”

I nodded. “With Jade dead, Michael’s hoping to convince the rest of the Diamonds to surrender.”

“What of Marcus? Char?”

“They’re alive,” Ruth said. “They’re locked up in some holding cells in the security section. By the dorms.”

“We can deal with that later,” Makara said. “Rey is dead, and Cain is in custody. The battle was won upstairs, but it was close.” She looked at me. “If you hadn’t discovered their attack, it would have been a different story,”

It was a little surreal that my own stupid idea of going to see Anna, something that could easily have gotten me killed, had ended up saving everyone.

“Don’t make a habit of disregarding protocol,” Makara said. “But in this case, it worked out. We still lost a lot of men. Samuel and Julian chased a lot of the Lords down into the deeper levels.”

“We haven’t seen anything,” I said.

“We can’t waste any more time chatting,” Makara said. “I need to reinforce Michael. How many Diamonds are left?”

“Twenty, give or take,” I said. “About the same on our side. We lost several men, but there wasn’t much resistance.”

“Alright,” Makara said. “Take Ruth the rest of the way. The stairs should be fine, but be careful. Everyone is still gathered at the Command Center. After that, you can go on to Perseus and let Ashton and Anna know everything. Once I decide it’s safe, I’ll let you guys dock.”

“Perseus?” Ruth asked.

“Alex will explain,” Makara said.  “We should get moving. Good luck.”

Makara and her followers headed down the corridor. We watched as they went downstairs. When the last of them were out of sight, we turned the opposite way down the corridor, heading for the other stairs. When we had gone up a couple of flights, Ruth spoke.

“So, what happened out there?” she asked. “All I know is that the ships crashed.”

“The dragons hit us over Wyoming,” I said. “At least fifty of them. I don’t know what we were thinking, and it’s lucky all of us survived. Augustus, believe it or not, got a spaceship out of Bunker Six — Orion. He picked us up when he detected Aeneas and Gilgamesh falling.”

“Really?” Ruth asked.

“Yeah. He’s on our side, now. We think.” I paused. “He even gave us another spaceship, Perseus. But there will be time for all that later. What’s important is getting you to Command, safe and sound.”

She said nothing for a moment.

“Thanks, Alex,” she said. “I should have said that earlier. Guess this is the second time you’ve gotten me out of a rough spot.”

“It was nothing,” I said. “I just came along at the right time.”

“Are Lauren and Callie up there?”

“Yeah,” I said. “They got out before the Lords fully took over. They’re in Command.”

Ruth breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. I knew she had gotten out, but I didn’t know what happened after.”

We took the rest of the stairs without a break or further conversation. As we reached level three, the lights flickered on again. I shielded my eyes, squinting, waiting a moment for them to adjust. I clicked my flashlight off.

My eyes were met with ruin. The bodies of both Angels and Lords littered the floor. Blood splattered the walls and coated the floor. A pile of rubble lay where the corridor had collapsed. Maybe they had hoped to use those explosives on the Command Center.

“Horrible,” Ruth said.

“Come on,” I said. “We’re almost there.”

* * *

The New Angels had been fractured by the Vegas Lords’ rebellion. With both Gilgamesh and Aeneas crashed, and no word from the leaders, the fracturing was inevitable. Char and Marcus couldn’t keep the lid on, and it only took a few days for it to boil over.

It was an indisputable fact that there were only two weeks of food and no way to evacuate everyone from Bunker 84. The only solution was to preemptively decide to feed fewer mouths, and the Vegas lords wanted to decide which mouths to feed.

Jade, Rey, and Cain and their chosen followers elected themselves to survive the coming bloodbath. They had taken control in the night, and anyone who resisted their rule, or who was aligned with the Raiders or Exiles, was either attacked or driven into the higher reaches of the Bunker.

Char and Marcus woke to the sounds of the fighting and rescued who they could, and were captured in the process. Those that were left behind, including the Raiders and Exiles who didn’t manage to escape, were brutally murdered. It was necessary, in the gang lords’ minds, to kill them in order to save the chosen remnant.

It wasn’t clear why the gang lords had decided to spare Char and Marcus. When we found them, their forms were thin and haggard. They’d been without food for a week. Char had said that the gang lords had wanted to starve them to death, as a warning to any who dared stand against them.

The fighting continued on and off throughout the following week. Every day, the Angels’ numbers dwindled. Given another week, the Lords’ victory probably would have been complete. Hundreds died, mostly civilians, and what had once been fifteen hundred survivors now totaled four hundred.

Only half of the Community women had been spared. Lyn was among the dead, but Deborah and Ada survived.

In the day following the Lords’ capitulation, everyone was moved downstairs from the Command Center. Cain, the only rebel gang lord to survive, came bound hand and foot. Many cried out for his immediate death, but I guessed Makara and Samuel wanted to keep him alive for some reason. I realized that, other than Grudge, he was the only gang lord left. Boss Dragon died early in the fighting from a gunshot wound to the shoulder.

So much had changed, and much more would change still. In the south, Augustus still needed our help, and that fact was at the forefront of Makara’s mind.

It wouldn’t be long until the Radaskim reached Los Angeles.

* * *

Ashton parked Perseus in the hangar, and I took advantage by getting some much-needed sleep. I probably crashed around 08:00 — approximately twenty-five hours after I had last woken up. My sleep was dark and dreamless, as close to being dead as I’d ever felt. I was almost surprised to wake up later that afternoon. I checked my watch, finding that it was now 16:02.

I was drifting into a doze once again when the compartment door slid open. It was Anna, supporting herself by the doorframe.

I patted the bed. She smiled, and limped forward. I got up to help her out.

“Don’t worry yourself,” she said. “I got this.”

“You need to learn to depend on me,” I said. “Really, it’s not so bad.”

“I guess,” she said.

I eased her onto the bed. She winced in pain, settling on her good side. Ashton said she had broken two ribs on her left side. She lay on her right side, propping her head up with her arm.

“You alright?”

She waved a hand. “Yeah, fine. Except that lying down all the time is going to make me go weak.”

I wrapped my arm around her, gently. It felt good to hold her again.

“I’m glad you’re still here,” I said. “It could have been much worse.”

“What’s worse than being useless?”

“You’re not useless. Someone’s value isn’t determined by how many crawlers they can skewer through the eye.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

We lay there for a moment before I closed my eyes, ready to let myself drift off to sleep.

“You’re so tired,” she said. “You’ve been sleeping since this morning.”

“I know. I could sleep more if I wanted.”

“Well…Ashton said there was a conference later.”

“What time?”

“18:00. I think they’re wanting to leave the Bunker behind.”

“For Los Angeles?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s crazy to think how we’re allied with him,” I said, eyes still closed.

“Politics can change fast,” Anna said. “I’ll bet if it were beneficial to him, he’d switch right back.”

“Maybe,” I said. “But I think he’s actually genuine. Yeah, he’s out for himself, but he’s trying to protect his Empire. Who can fault him for that?”

Anna didn’t respond. Something else was on her mind.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked, opening my eyes.

She sighed. “Now that this Bunker business is over…maybe now’s the right time to see the Wanderer.”

“What about Los Angeles? That’ll keep us pretty busy.”

“I think this is more important,” Anna said. “Los Angeles will just be a battle. Getting an answer from the Wanderer could mean the war.”

“We already know what will win the war,” I said.

Anna’s body stiffened. “I don’t think you believe me yet. I’m not going to let you die. That’s not an option. We’re going to find another way. I’m tired of this idea that the innocent have to die to save the rest of us. It shouldn’t be like that.”

I hated when she talked about this. The more she got this idea stuck in her head, the more painful it would be, in the end.

“What if it doesn’t work?” I asked. “If there was another way, don’t you think he would have told me?”

“We’ll never know unless we ask him specifically.”

“I already have asked him,” I said. “He said this was the only way.”

“He didn’t have to deal with me,” Anna said.

“He knows a lot more than we do.”

“I know,” Anna said. “But he doesn’t know everything.” She paused. “Besides, you promised me.”

She squeezed my hand. Yeah, there was that.

“You’re right. We’ll bring it up at the meeting. We’ll find a way to get there. The Wanderer might have some useful information we could use, anyway.”

All I wanted was to make Anna happy, but I didn’t know if I had the ability to keep that up. After all, it was hard to make someone happy when…

I couldn’t think about that.

“It’s worth asking him again,” I said.

“Okay,” she said, finally relaxing.

I pulled her close, and she buried her face in my chest. I wanted to do whatever I could to keep this going. Love was as scary as it was exhilarating. I didn’t know how it would turn out, but I had to keep it going, because there was no greater reason for me to fight than her.

Still, the Wanderer’s words haunted me. The logical side of me warred with the illogical. It was no good to cling to false hope. I had to face reality, no matter how painful. I had to focus on my mission. My ultimate goal. It wasn’t just Anna and me at stake. It was the world.

At the same time, I couldn’t ignore the beauty I held in my arms. If there was even a chance she was right, I had to take it.

Chapter 15

We slept for a while before the alarm on my watch buzzed at 17:45. I turned it off, keeping my eyes closed. I didn’t want to get up and move just yet. I could sleep the rest of the night if I let myself.

“We have to get up,” Anna said.

I groaned. “Would it have killed them to put it off until the morning?”

“There’s a big mess to clean up.”

Finally, I forced myself to get up. I checked my watch again, seeing that it was now 17:47. The council was supposed to start at 18:00 and wasn’t supposed to last more than an hour.

I knew there was little chance of that.

“Where’s your wheelchair?” I asked.

“I’m walking.”

“No, you’re not. You’re going to be out and about for a while.”

Anna sighed. “Fine. It’s in the clinic.”

“Be right back,” I said.

I found the wheelchair and rolled it to the cabin, its wheels squeaking. Anna had pulled herself up. Her eyes were half-lidded and sleepy.

“Here,” I said, helping her into the chair.

“I can manage,” she said.

She groaned as she sat roughly in the vinyl-padded seat. She closed her eyes, wincing in pain.

“I left my katana on the bridge,” Anna said.

“Alright,” I said.

I started to wheel her toward the bridge, but when we entered the wardroom, she placed her hands on the wheels, stopping the chair.

“Let’s just get to the council.”

“You sure?”

Anna nodded. “I need to accept things as they really are. I’m incapacitated, and I can’t fight. I have to make peace with that. Accept the things I cannot change.”

She began to wheel the chair forward, pressing the exit button to the ship. When the door opened, she pushed herself down the boarding ramp. The wheels squealed, so much so that I was afraid the chair would fall apart. The chair careened onto the cement. She flew with the chair, laughing, as a couple of Raiders dodged her path. She circled around, still going fast, before stopping herself and looking up at me, seeing if I was impressed.

“Pretty good,” I said.

I walked down the ramp. As I did, I looked up to see Char walking toward Anna. Seeing me look that direction caused Anna to wheel her chair around.

“Char!” she said.

He gave a tired smile. His face was thin and gaunt, and he seemed older than the last time I’d seen him. His eyes were tired and circles underlined his sharp, blue eyes. Those eyes had not lost their light or intensity, but Char looked worn, for lack of a better word. The marred left side of his face lay in shadow, hiding the horrible scars of his disfigurement.

Anna stood, and the man who was like her father embraced her.

“You shouldn’t stand,” Char said.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

She sat back down, wincing in pain.

By now, I’d reached them and stood beside Anna’s chair. Char’s gaze shifted to me, his eyes appraising.

“I don’t think you realize the kind of girl you got,” Char said. “Or what you got yourself into.”

“Now what’s that supposed to mean?” Anna asked.

“Let me put it this way,” Char said. “Most seventeen-year-olds who wander into Raider Bluff don’t become the Alpha’s chief bodyguard. There were men under my command who would have killed you.” Char smiled in remembrance. “You challenged any of them to a one-on-one fight, and one of my top guards took you up on it.”

“What happened?” I asked.

“They fought, right there in the dirt of the marketplace,” Char said. “No weapons. My guard had the upper hand most of the time, as might be expected for a man his size. A crowd of hundreds gathered. All business stopped as Anna fought for her right to be a Raider. I remember watching this kid, thinking she was foolish. Dead.”

Anna said nothing, only listening to the story.

“Then like lightning, she pinned him to the ground. You could see how his eyes widened. I knew he wasn’t destined to be on the ground for long, given his size. But from nowhere, a knife was in Anna’s hands, at his throat.”

“I thought the fight was without weapons,” I said.

Char paused and looked me in the eye, as if that were the point of the story.

“That was when Anna said, ‘Don’t expect me to fight fair. Expect me to win.’”

“She was booed and jeered at, until I called everyone down. I walked into the ring, and held out my hand to her. I still remember the way her eyes blazed, like green fire. ‘This is a fighter,’ I thought. ‘This is someone I need.’ At the time, I trusted no one in Raider Bluff. I thought with someone so young, she would have no thought of corruption or betrayal.

“I took her to the top of Raider Bluff, gave her food and shelter, told her she could stay in Raider Bluff as long she liked, but she had to fight for me.”

“What did she say?” I asked.

“She agreed. And as if testing that agreement, there was a plot on my life just a few days later. She killed the assassin. Then I knew I made the right call.”

“I just wanted food and a home,” Anna said. “I stayed in Raider Bluff, honing my skill, eating all I wanted. Protecting Char was easy after the two years surviving the Wasteland. I was in Raider Bluff for two months, when…”

She trailed off, but I knew what came next.

“We came,” I said. “With our crazy idea to go to Bunker One and stop the xenovirus.”

Anna nodded. “Yeah. I never meant to come along the whole way, but the Wanderer changed my mind. I knew I had a part to play in this still, for good or bad.”

“For good,” I said.

Anna didn’t answer, remaining doubtful.

“Let’s go to the council,” Char said, grabbing Anna’s chair by the handles.

“Where is it?” I asked.

“Here, actually,” Char said, pointing to one of the hangar’s corners.

A long table with chairs had been set up. There was seating for about twenty people.

“Besides everyone from the inner crew,” Char said, “there will be representatives from all the other groups: the Community, the Suns, the Raiders, the Exiles, and the Vegas Exodus.”

“Do you know what will be discussed?” Anna asked.

“Everything,” Char said. “It’s clear we’re going to go help Augustus. It’s the logistics that are up for debate.”

We arrived at the tables. I cleared a chair to make room for Anna. I sat to her left while Char sat to her right.

Over the next few minutes, people arrived. Samuel and Makara came, sitting near the head of the table on my left. Julian followed shortly after, sitting next to Makara. Ashton walked from Perseus, making his way toward the table. He sat next to Julian.

“Where are the rest?” Makara asked.

“There’s still ten minutes,” Samuel said.

A few people I didn’t recognize sat at the table — probably some of the civilian leaders of the Vegas Exodus. Deborah took a seat at the table. She was silent and contemplative, apparently finding more interest in staring at the surface of the wooden table than in making conversation.

Five minutes before the meeting, people began to gather around the table, wanting to hear everything that was discussed. This group included Raiders and Exiles, along with people from Las Vegas and the Community, whose faces were worn from all the hard times they had endured. All they wanted was peace and rest, the one thing we weren’t able to give them.

Finally, the last group of people arrived: Michael, Lauren, and Ruth, leading a battered Marcus, whose face was bruised and whose right lower leg was in a cast. He advanced slowly on a pair of crutches, his face worn and his reddish-brown beard long and tangled. Like his brother Char’s, Marcus’s blue eyes were bright and alert. With help from Lauren, he was eased into a seat next to Char. Michael knelt in front of Callie, who had been following her parents, pointing her toward a group of children who must have been part of the Vegas Exodus. Reluctantly, Callie set off.

All the seats at the table were taken, and everyone waited for Makara to begin. The crowd around the table murmured, but its voices were stilled when Makara stood, the legs of her wooden chair squealing against the cement.

“Thank you for coming,” she said. “I know the last few weeks haven’t been easy, and I can’t promise they’ll get any easier. We lost a lot of lives and we barely have time to mourn our dead. I’m sorry for that. Askala and the Radaskim aren’t going to wait for us, so we can’t wait for them. We have to move on to Los Angeles and help Augustus, for several reasons.”

Makara paused a moment, and everyone waited quietly for her to continue.

“The first reason is one of food. Even with our numbers lower, the food in Hydroponics won’t last forever. Samuel, Ruth, and I took inventory of what we have, and it’s clear: even with the canned food, we don’t have long. A couple of months at most. Civilians can stay in the Bunker for the meantime, but eventually, everyone will need move to Los Angeles.”

Everyone had grown quiet, waiting for her to say more. Makara continued.

“Augustus is being attacked from the west by the Reapers in the Inner City, and from the east by the Blighters. It won’t be long before his forces are crushed between the two sides.”

Miraculously, everyone was still quiet. The crowd was actually hearing Makara out. I had expected them to protest at having to continue fighting.

“Without Augustus, there’s no way we can win the war against Askala,” Makara said. “That’s why we have to help him. I don’t know what we’ll find when we get there, but winning means we’ll have the chance to make the counterattack on Ragnarok Crater.”

There was a sharp intake of breath from the crowd. Even a few faces at the council table went white at that announcement.

“So you’re just going to leave us behind?” One of the civilian leaders of the Exodus had spoken. “What if you don’t come back, like last time?”

“Please hold off on questions and comments for now,” Makara said. “But I will answer this one. We will come back. And if not, there should be few enough people here to survive for a long time, if not indefinitely.”

When no one protested, Makara continued.

“This is the first question I put before the council,” Makara went on, “and it has nothing to do with Los Angeles, but with Cain of the Sworn, along with those of his gang who followed him and surrendered to us. What is to be their fate?”

Now, the crowd’s voice rose in an angry murmur. Members of the council table looked at one another, waiting for the crowd’s voice to die.

When it became quiet, Samuel was the first to speak.

“It makes no sense to keep them alive anymore,” he said. “Keeping them alive would waste time and resources, draining our food and our manpower. They betrayed the New Angels, and they deserve nothing more than swift retribution.”

The crowd roared its agreement. I didn’t realize that we’d also be deciding the fate of Cain and the Sworn. Before I could think about my own feelings on the subject, Makara spoke.

“All members in the council in favor of the swift execution of Cain and the three Sworn who survived the battle, say ‘aye.’”

“Aye,” most all of the people at the council said in unison. I wasn’t ready to vote, so I said nothing. But it didn’t matter which way I voted; Cain and his followers were as good as dead.

“Now,” Makara said, “I’m going to open up the floor to discussion about how we can best help Augustus.”

The table was silent, and the crowd surrounding it stilled. From somewhere, a baby started crying.

“Obviously, the ship can only carry so many,” Ashton said. “We’ll have to find a safe landing point to unload all our forces. Whether that is Augustus’s camp, or somewhere else entirely, I don’t know. And we’ll have to make quite a few trips to transport everyone.”

“We have about two hundred fighters left,” Makara said. “What is that, five, six trips?”

Two hundred fighters sounded so pitiful when said out loud. Just a week ago we had been at least five hundred.

“If anything is clear,” Makara said, “the survival of the New Angels depends on winning the battle in Los Angeles. Two hundred fighters won’t do much to augment Augustus’s legions, which number in the thousands. Maybe if we set up a flank, we can get at the Reapers where it will hurt the most.”

“What do you mean?” Anna asked.

“If Carin is focused completely on Augustus, an attack from us would be completely unexpected,” Makara said. “It might be the chance we need.”

“That’s something we should talk about with Augustus,” Ashton said. “But maybe we should be focusing on the Blighters. They are the real enemy.”

“He’s been expecting us to come back for a few days by now,” I said. “The Blighters might have already gotten to him.”

“No, he’s alive,” Makara said. “I spoke to him a couple of hours ago. The Blighters started their attack this morning. He’s getting impatient, and I told him I’d let him know our decision tonight.”

“How soon do you plan on leaving?” Lauren asked.

Makara looked at her grimly. “Tonight. Every minute we wait is more men lost.”

Everyone in the hangar fell quiet at that.

“It will take many trips on Perseus to ferry two hundred people there,” Makara said. “I only trust the ship to carry thirty or so at a time.”

“That makes about seven trips,” I said, doing the math. “That’ll take at least a full day, working nonstop.”

“Probably longer,” Samuel said. “We can expect there to be roadblocks. Let’s expect two, or even three days. There are dragons to worry about.”

With the mention of dragons, I was reminded of Askal. It’d been a while since I’d seen him. I had gotten a glimpse of him defending Pyrite from the Radaskim when we had relocated to Bunker 84. And then there had been the dream, where he was outside Oasis. I had no idea how he was doing now, or even if he was safe.

Thinking about Askal made me realize that the key to our victory was with the Elekai.

“Anna and I need to find the Elekai,” I said. “Two spaceships against all those dragons won’t be enough. We need to be able to fight in the air on an equal footing.”

“And how would you get the Elekai?” Makara asked.

I thought for a moment. The home of the Elekai had to have changed, because we had destroyed their Xenolith outside Vegas before realizing they were allies.

“We would have to find them,” Anna said.

“I don’t know if I can risk Alex going on such a dangerous mission,” Makara said. “And you’re injured.”

Anna shook her head. “We’re going.”

Before Makara could respond, I cut in.

“Look, I know it sounds crazy on the surface. But we need those reinforcements. Without them, the Radaskim dragons will go unchecked. Usually, the Elekai have always helped us without our asking. The fact that they aren’t in Los Angeles tells me something is wrong.”

“This is all conjecture,” Makara said. “Show me some proof, and sure, you can go.”

Makara’s tone said that my idea would never happen. In a way, I could understand her perspective. The last place she’d want me to be was the Great Blight. If I died, it was all over.

The real reason Anna wanted to go was to see the Wanderer. I couldn’t say that to Makara, though.

Makara’s eyes narrowed in skepticism. “There’s something going on between you two. Something you’re not telling me.”

Makara went quiet, waiting for me to explain myself. I’d been caught, somehow.

“I’ll just say it, then,” I said. “This is something Anna and I have to do together.”

“Why?” Makara asked.

“Because…” I wasn’t sure how to continue.

Thankfully, Anna picked up for me. “I have my own questions to ask the Wanderer.”

“What questions?” Samuel asked.

Everyone at the council table became more alert, as if this question was more important than anything that had been discussed so far.

“I…”

Anna didn’t continue. She knew as well as I did that her question was personal. It wasn’t likely that Makara, Samuel, or anyone else would see it her way.

But just because it was personal didn’t mean it wasn’t important.

“The questions have to do with the final battle,” I said. “We need specific answers that only the Wanderer can answer.”

Samuel and Makara exchanged a look. Everyone waited for more of an explanation.

“I want to look the Wanderer in the eye, and ask him the reason Alex has to die,” Anna said. “That’s it. So far, we’re just taking his word for it.” She paused a moment. “There could be another way to win. We just don’t know it yet.”

A heavy silence followed. Makara looked at Anna, as if weighing her, and Anna merely looked back. Samuel and Julian looked down, as if in thought. Ashton stroked his chin, chewing his lower lip.

Makara at last looked at Samuel. “What do you think?”

It was a long moment before Samuel answered. “It’s been a while since we’ve heard from the Wanderer. Maybe…maybe they’re right. And Alex was right, earlier. We haven’t heard from the Elekai in a while, and Augustus didn’t mention anything about the Elekai being at the battle. It might be worth investigating, if they’re in trouble.”

“And how are they to get to the Great Blight?” Makara asked. “Perseus will be busy transporting our men.”

“Askal will take us,” I said.

“Even with the cold?” she asked. “And with Anna’s injury? Besides, you don’t even know where he is”

I knew Makara was right on all those counts. And Askal wouldn’t be fast enough, anyway, for wherever we had to go — especially if the Elekai’s new home was far away.

“We’d need the spaceship,” I said, finally.

“This is just more time,” Makara said. “Time we really don’t have. And I don’t like sending the person who’s our only hope for victory into harm’s way. What will happen if you die, Alex?”

“I won’t die.”

“You don’t know that,” Makara said sternly. “If you die, the rest of us die as well. We’ve had more than enough close calls. I’ve already put you through too much danger and I’ll be damned if I do it again.” She crossed her arms. “And having Anna go with you is also unsafe. She’s immobilized from her injury.”

The rest of the table went silent. All of her points were valid. Probably far more valid than mine. All I knew was that I had made Anna a promise, and I meant to keep it.

“Can’t Augustus hold on for a few more hours?” I asked. “We have to remember why we’re fighting. There are powers at work far greater than us. There’s the Wanderer. And there’s Askala. Only one of them can win. If there’s any chance of victory, our forces will need to join. If Anna and I go find the Wanderer, we can bring back the Elekai army. We have to bring the Reapers to our side, as well. If we’re not standing together, Los Angeles will fall. But we need the Elekai if we’re going to win.”

I looked at Makara, who looked as if she was finally being won over.

“This is something I have to do,” I continued. “And Anna has to come with me. She has her own questions to ask. We’re the only two who haven’t had our prophecies fulfilled. We don’t just need the Elekai army. We also need the Wanderer’s guidance to figure out where to go next.”

Makara was silent. I could tell she still didn’t like this, and I didn’t blame her. She would have a hard job telling Augustus that he had to wait…again. And if I died, Makara would blame herself.

“I’ll make it back in one piece, and so will Anna,” I said. “I promise.”

Makara heaved a heavy sigh. “Fine. We’ll go. We’ll coordinate with Augustus and see where the best place for us to land our men. It’s at least something to tide him over. After that, we can continue on to the Elekai.”

Lauren was next to speak. “Who’s staying here? I’m assuming me, because I’m not really much of a fighter…”

“You can stitch a wound,” Makara said. “Some might say those people are more valuable than soldiers. If you’re willing to offer your help, we’ll sorely need it.”

“My only worry is my daughter. She can’t go into a war zone, and I couldn’t leave her behind. If something goes wrong, I can’t leave her alone.”

“I…” Michael started. “I planned on staying as well.”

Makara’s eyes widened with surprise. Michael never missed any action.

“I made a promise to Lauren a long time ago, one I didn’t keep. After seeing what almost happened to her down here — I can’t leave her. Something tells me that if I go out again, I won’t be coming back.”

Makara looked at Michael hard. “I understand what you’re saying. But we need you, Michael.”

I remembered how Makara had been hesitant to let him join the New Angels at first. Now, he was an indispensable part of the team.

“Lauren and I talked about it, and I wouldn’t be completely useless here,” he said. “Bunker 84 will need a leader to hold the fort. I can keep order here, and my loyalty isn’t in question. I promise, on my watch, nothing will go wrong here. We’ll farm and be ready to help in whatever way we can.”

After a while, Makara nodded. “You’re right. Bunker 84 will need someone to run it, and I can’t think of anyone better for the job than you.”

Michael nodded his thanks, grabbing his wife’s hand. Her eyes filled with unspoken relief.

Makara turned her eyes on me. “Alright, I think we’re in agreement. Is there anyone else who wants to stay behind?”

“I’m going to L.A.,” Julian said.

“I’m staying,” Ruth said. “Hydroponics still isn’t working efficiently, so hopefully I can figure out what’s wrong.”

“I’m staying as well,” Marcus said, pointing to his cast-encased leg.

“Of course, I can pilot Perseus,” Ashton said.

“And you will need a medic,” Char said. “I’ll go.”

Several other members at the table voiced how they’d support — most wanted to go to Los Angeles, while a few wanted to stay behind to help Michael and Lauren.

“That’s everyone,” Makara said. “Let’s regroup here in the morning. I’m going to speak with Augustus to determine our landing strategy.”

The meeting adjourned, and everyone began to stand. The crowd buzzed with excitement. I helped Anna back into her chair and to the ship.

The battle for Los Angeles was about to begin.

Chapter 16

I sat with Makara and Samuel aboard Perseus’s bridge. Anna had gone back to the cabin to rest while Ashton stood in the doorway, waiting. Michael was organizing the Bunker while Ruth made one final inspection of the hydroponics line. Julian was taking inventory of the food, determining how much should be taken and how much should be left behind. Char and fifteen of his best Raiders were also coming along.

At 20:30, Perseus lifted off. As we rose out of the hangar and into thick darkness, I looked out the windshield to see no moonlight or starlight slipping through the thick clouds. Ashton guided the ship upward, until the mist of the clouds soaked the windshield.

A minute later, we broke through, finding ourselves above a shadowed, misty plain, reflecting light from the starry heavens. The moon hung with a reddish hue, a waning crescent halfway up the eastern sky.

On the far eastern horizon came an ethereal glow.

Anna gazed toward the east.

“What is it?”

“The Great Blight,” Ashton said. “Much closer, now.”

“It’s amazing we can see it through the clouds,” I said.

The ship’s fusion drive hummed and the cloud-plain passed at a crawl.

“Some of it is the celestial light from above,” Ashton said. “But most of it is from the Earth. I’ve wondered if the Great Blight makes these clouds last longer than they should.”

“What do you mean?” Anna asked.

“I can’t prove anything,” Ashton said, “but the clouds seem to hang extra thick in Blighted areas, don’t they?”

“I thought that was everywhere,” I said.

“Maybe so,” Ashton said. “I’ve seen other places of the world, but none are as bad as this. I’d always assumed it was because Ragnarok hit here. And maybe that’s the case. But as far as Blights changing weather patterns…it’s a hunch I have.” Ashton paused. “The more the Great Blight grows, the more quickly it can grow.”

“And with more Blight comes more monsters,” Anna said.

“There’s no way we can fight them all,” I said.

“Maybe not,” Ashton said, turning to me. “But we’re never going to give up. The most important time to be brave is when it’s easy not to. That’s something those monsters will never understand, and it’s something they will never take from us.”

Ashton’s words rang right to me. From the moment Samuel, Makara, and I had decided to go after the Black Files, there had been an element of hopelessness. We had faced danger after danger, somehow surviving. At some point, the story had to end — for good or for bad.

But it wouldn’t end just yet.

The next leg of the journey passed in silence. A little over an hour later, the LCD showed us twenty miles north of Los Angeles. Ashton began to descend.

“Look!” Anna said, pointing at the dash. It showed the time to be 22:28.

“What?” I asked.

“Look at the date.”

It was December 31, 2060. Only a few hours left until the New Year.

“It snuck up on us,” I said.

“It’s easy to lose track of days when you’re just trying to survive those days,” Anna said. “This attack they’re making is like clockwork.”

Ashton shook his head. “I doubt they take our calendars very seriously, or even know about them. The measure of time only exists in the human imagination.”

“They see time differently than we do, anyway,” I said. “For the Xenominds, months, even years, pass like seconds. That’s what the Wanderer said, at least.”

“I can’t even imagine,” Anna said.

The ship lowered further. The plain of cloud rose to swallow us whole. We left the stars behind and were plunged into darkness. The bridge was lit, and we hung like a lantern in the clouds. Ashton flipped a switch, shutting the lights off. Now, the only illumination came from the glowing buttons on the dash and the LCD screen.

From the wardroom, voices murmured. Samuel came from amidships, and stood silently behind us. Makara must have still been back there. He gazed outward, waiting for the spread of the ruined city to appear before us.

At last, we broke through the clouds and it came into view. My eyes widened upon seeing the devastation. Flashes emanated from the metropolis’s eastern side, lighting the tall, shadowed buildings and twisting streets with arrhythmic bursts. Streams of violent light arced from the dark towers of downtown, streaking through the sky and exploding in white-hot plumes upon the city’s eastern side. Each flash revealed the silhouettes of dragons, swooping down on Augustus’s position.

“They’re being slaughtered,” I said.

“They could be gone by morning,” Makara said.

“It’s almost like the Radaskim and the Reapers are working together,” Anna said. “How can we throw our men into that?”

Ashton shook his head. “If they are, the Reapers’ number will be up, soon. The Radaskim might be fine with a temporary truce, if only to destroy the Novans first. It’s up to us to stop the war between the two sides.”

“That means speaking to Black,” Makara said.

Ashton switched frequencies, calling Augustus. It was a while before the Emperor’s voice came online.

“Where the hell are you?”

“The first of us are here,” Ashton said. “Where do you need men?”

“Where do I not need them? Those monsters are everywhere.”

“What about the Reapers?” Ashton asked.

“What about them?” came an unexpected voice, low and dangerous.

Carin Black.

* * *

None of us knew what to say. In that lull, Black spoke again.

“We’re working together now, Augustus and I,” he said. “Try not to find that so surprising.”

“But…” Anna said. “You’re bombing the airport.”

“Yeah,” Black said. “And we have been since this afternoon. What’s left of us are fighting behind the wall.”

There was little time to contemplate how drastically things had changed. If Augustus and Carin were working together, then it had to be bad down there.

“What do you want us to do?” Ashton asked.

“You have any nukes?” Black asked. “Because that’s the only way I see us getting out of this.”

“No,” Ashton said. “Perseus doesn’t have any. And I was speaking to Augustus.”

“How many men do you have?” Augustus asked.

“Twenty.”

“You have to be joking,” Carin said. “These are the reinforcements we’ve been waiting on?”

“They have the ship, too,” Augustus said. “That counts for a lot.”

“What’s your location?” Ashton asked.

“We’re sheltering behind a building, in Orion,” Augustus said. “There’s too many dragons out there. Every time we come out to fight, they chase us back to the towers.”

“How many dragons?” Ashton asked.

“Thirty, maybe,” Augustus said. “We shot down a few, but only one with the ship. The Reapers shot some others with SAM’s. We’re running low on rounds, though.”

“I can’t fight thirty dragons,” Ashton said. “I don’t care how long I’ve been piloting. That can’t be done with even two ships.”

“Then we have to find the Elekai,” I said. “It’s the only way.”

Finding the Elekai in time to save the city was a tricky proposition. We didn’t even know where they were. If they were relatively close, it might only take a few hours. If they were far, it could take far longer.

“Look,” Augustus said. “At this rate we won’t last until the morning.”

“You’ll have to,” Samuel said. “There’s nothing we can do from here. Even if we dropped off our men, what will twenty extra guns matter, and how can two spaceships fight against thirty dragons? We tried that fight already in Wyoming. We even had nukes, and still both ships went down. With the skies out of our control, Askala’s ground forces can run unchecked. We have to find the Elekai dragons, or no one’s surviving this night.”

Both Augustus and Black went silent on the other end.

“What’s our course?” Ashton asked.

Ashton’s question was followed by a silence on our end. Now that it was time to make a decision, it seemed like no one wanted to make it. Trying to find the Elekai was a risk — either we found them in time, or we didn’t.

But the way I saw it, we had no choice.

“There’s nothing more to say,” I said. “Head east. I can try to reach out for the Wanderer or Askal with my mind.”

“Will that work?” Makara asked.

“I…think it might. It’s always been involuntary, but maybe, if I try hard enough…”

“You don’t sound too sure,” Black said. “We need you here to fight those dragons. Together, we have a chance to kill them.”

After a moment, Samuel spoke.

“Finding the Elekai is the only way. Go east.”

Ashton turned back to the dash. “Augustus. Carin. We’ll return.”

“What?” Carin bellowed. “You can’t leave us to die here!”

Augustus said nothing, so I wasn’t sure what he thought. But no words of theirs could have stopped Perseus rising once more into the sky, above the clouds.

I exited the bridge. I needed to find a quiet place to try and communicate with the Elekai. Pray was more apt a word, because it would take nothing less than divine intervention to see us through.

In the wardroom I passed the Raiders, who looked to me for an update.

“Makara will explain,” I said.

I reached an aft cabin where I could get some peace. I sat on the deck, closed my eyes, and brought up an image of the Wanderer in my mind. It came surprisingly clear. I tried to let go of all thought, and let that image guide me, until a connection was made. The picture grew firmer as the world outside faded. My mind slipped into complete calmness.

It had worked.

Then came an awful, reptilian scream. Whether that scream was in my mind, or outside the Perseus’s hull, I couldn’t tell.

I had gone into a vision.

* * *

When I awoke, it wasn’t on the ship. It was in the midst of battle.

Not the battle for Los Angeles, but the battle for the Elekai.

A flurry of dragons circled and fought one another in midair in the darkness above the Great Blight. Xenofungus glowed in the night; from it rose a towering Xenolith, far larger than the one outside Las Vegas.

In the storm of dragons, jaws snapped, necks thrust, tails slashed, and flying bodies pummeled and collided. Cold screams shook the air. Hundreds of white eyes glowed in an aerial dance of death.

Once again, I was present in Askal’s mind, seeing the world though his eyes. I had no idea where this battle was taking place, but I needed to find out. On my right and left, other dragons flew in a V, of which I was the point.

Are you there, little human? Have you come to witness the last battle of the Elekai?

It’s not the last battle, I thought. We’re on our way. Where are you?

Askal flapped his large wings against the cold wind, lifting higher above the Great Blight. The other Elekai dragons followed suit. From the north, more opposing dragons flew toward the fray. The Elekai were outnumbered at least two to one.

Come east, he said. The dragons will point the way.

They will point the way? What does that mean?

We will hold them here, Askal thought. Hurry, little Elekai. And…I am sorry we could not help you with the city. It will all be in your hands, soon…

Before I could ask anything further, the vision faded, and I found myself aboard the cold deck of Perseus.

* * *

When I came to, Samuel, Julian, and Char stood above me. The rest of the Raiders had formed a small ring.

“His eyes…” one of the Raiders said.

“They aren’t white anymore,” another said.

I looked up, focusing on Samuel.

“Did you see anything?” he asked.

“I don’t know where they are,” I said. “Askal said the dragons would point the way. There was a battle, and they were badly outnumbered.”

“We won’t give up,” Samuel said, grabbing my forearm and helping me up. “Not while we breathe.”

We returned to the bridge, where Ashton and Anna were seated at the controls. I had no idea how much time had passed. Makara stood behind, watching out the windshield.

“Where are we going, Alex?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Askal said the dragons would point the way. Their Xenolith is growing out of some hills on a large plain. There was a huge battle of dragons in the sky. More were coming out of the north from the Radaskim.”

“You sure it was from the north?” Ashton asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know how I know, but I do.”

“If that’s the case, then the place we’re looking should be south of Ragnarok Crater, more or less. If those dragons are coming from the Crater, they’d fly on the straightest path possible to get to the Elekai.”

What Ashton said made sense.

“Alright,” I said. “So find a dragon, and match his trajectory?”

“The dragons will point the way,” Ashton said. “Pretty simple and direct.”

“Where are we now?” I asked.

“Almost over New Mexico,” Ashton said.

New Mexico? There would be no way the Elekai dragons could get back in time, not even if everything went perfectly.

But before anyone could point that out, Ashton spoke.

“Two dragons, dead ahead.”

I strained to see two reptilian shadows beating against the wind, distant. They didn’t seem to see us.

“What’s their course?” Samuel asked.

“Almost due east,” Ashton said. “Assuming they’re going straight to the Xenolith, we can copy their angle.”

“Do it,” Samuel said.

“Alright,” Ashton said. “Hold on.”

The ship suddenly lifted. With the change in course, one of the dragons broke, coming back to attack us. I could see its white eyes glowing in the night.

We rose higher, piercing the cloud layer and going in the direction the dragons had been pointing. Once above the clouds, Ashton allowed himself to relax. The dragon would be unlikely to follow us up here, and even if it could, we’d outpace it.

“We’ll stay up here for a bit,” he said. “We’ll come back below when I’m sure we’ve passed them.”

A few minutes later, Ashton lowered through the clouds. Once again, we were above the pink shimmering of the Great Blight. The land had flattened, but a line of pointy mountains rose to the northwest. I had a feeling that we were close. The clock on the dash showed 00:30.

A minute later, the ground stretched before us. A line of hills rose in the east, only visible from the glow of the fungus. As the hills neared, I saw the Xenolith rising above them.

“That’s it,” I said.

As we passed over the hills, there were no signs of a battle. In fact, the wide fungal plain seemed empty. The battle had concluded.

Perseus swooped by the rising Xenolith.

“Where are the Elekai?” Julian asked.

No one had an answer for that.

“I don’t know,” I said. “But Anna and I need to get inside the Xenolith.”

“How?” Samuel asked.

“There’s an entrance at its base,” I said, “if it’s anything like the last one.”

“And what are we supposed to do in the meantime?” Ashton asked.

“Not sure,” I said. “Lift off, but stay in the area.”

“Radio us when you’re ready to leave,” Samuel said.

At last, Ashton lowered the ship, setting it down on the xenofungal bed. Samuel handed me his radio.

“The channel’s on the right preset,” he said. “Try to hurry.”

“I’ll let you know,” I said.

Julian brought Anna’s wheelchair around. Together, we lifted and settled her in. I took the handles and swiveled the wheelchair around.

I knew it was crazy to take Anna with me, but I also knew she would never forgive me if I left her behind. We probably had to abandon the chair at some point. Anna could walk, albeit in pain. I could only hope that the Wanderer didn’t make us go too far.

Whatever the Wanderer told us, we’d hear it together.

Chapter 17

Anna and I walked onto the glowing xenofungus. The air was warm and humid. Ahead, the Xenolith shot hundreds of feet into the sky. It dwarfed everything else for miles. Thick branches curved from its central trunk, and these branches carried tufts of pink growth. The Xenolith’s trunk radiated silvery light, the illumination intensifying in silver and purple hues upon reaching the upper branches. The low wind sifted through the limbs, making the Xenolith seem to sigh.

Perseus idled as Anna and I walked down the boarding ramp. Anna was managing, if painfully. I gave her my right arm for support.

I pointed to the base of the trunk, where the Xenolith’s thick roots twisted into the fungal bed. These roots were the size of normal trees, winding around each other in complicated braids. If we were getting inside, those roots would need to untangle, somehow.

I walked forward and touched one of the roots. It reacted instantly, snapping back like a snake. I pulled my hand away as the other roots unraveled as well. They untwisted until a dark opening was revealed. Pinkish, silvery light glowed from within. We peered inside.

“What’s in there?” Anna asked.

“You’ll see,” I said.

As soon as we passed the threshold, the roots behind closed and knotted themselves shut, leaving us in the spiraling corridor glowing pink with bioluminescence.

The tunnel circled down to the right, much like the one in the first Xenolith had, only this tunnel seemed to circle more widely, which made sense if the Xenolith was larger. As we descended, the tunnel widened.

Soon, the tunnel stopped curving, opening into a wide cavern, glittering pink and silver with alien life. A large lake of pink liquid with an almost metallic sheen on its surface lay before us. Anna’s breath caught at the sight, mostly because two dragons were bathing in the lake. Only their angular heads were visible above the surface. Their eyes opened lazily upon our entrance. I felt a strange energy stir the air, now that the dragons were aware of our presence.

The dragons didn’t move, merely settling back into their doze. Something seemed off about them. There was so little I knew about the Elekai, or even xenolife in general. Maybe this was how they ate — nutrients and calories might enter through the liquid itself, nourishing the dragons.

There was no island in this lake, as with the last Xenolith. And there was no sign of the Wanderer.

“Where is he?” Anna asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “We have to find him.”

“How?”

I stepped forward to the liquid. I didn’t even know if I should be calling it that. Liquid sounded too scientific, where this fluid was the very stuff of life.

Ichor — the blood of gods. That was what it should be called.

Anna joined me on the shoreline. The surface of the lake was still as glass, except around the dragons, where tiny ripples raced outward, only to dwindle to stillness long before reaching the shoreline. The ichor looked almost solid.

“Go ahead,” I said. “Step in.”

Anna looked at me, as if to be sure, before placing her right boot in the lake. The ichor wrapped around, as if in embrace.

“It’s warm,” she said.

She stepped the other boot in, wading a bit into the ichor. I followed her in. The ichor was warm, thick, and tingled a bit as it seeped into my boots and soaked through my clothing. We waded out together until the ichor had covered us to our torsos.

There, Anna paused.

“This…feels weird,” she said, after a moment.

“What’s wrong?”

“It feels…tight. In my chest.”

“Anna, are you…”

Suddenly, her eyes closed, and she fell backward. As if the pool had pulled her.

“Anna!”

The ichor claimed her, wrapping itself around the rest of her body until only her head remained above. Her eyes were wide with fear. She managed to scream the first syllable of my name before being completely submerged.

I rushed forward, but the ichor pushed me back, locking me to my spot. I could only watch, helpless, as Anna floated beneath the translucent ichor, eyes opened. Her body suddenly jerked in an unnatural way. I groaned as I pushed against the ichor — but it was useless. Anna’s body jerked twice more, in quick succession. Her eyes were closed, her body still.

I waited, my heart pounding, for at least a full minute. Still, Anna remained under the surface.

I looked toward the dragons. “What are you doing? Can’t you see she needs help?”

They stared back with fathomless white eyes, seemingly unconcerned.

“Anna…” I said.

But then, her body rose out of the liquid. I was no longer restrained, so I waded forward to pull her out. Her head appeared above, and I pulled her into my embrace.

“Anna! Anna, can you…”

She started hacking, and some of the ichor shot against my shoulder. She sucked in a sharp breath, coughing more liquid, before clinging to me tightly. Her body shook, and it was only after a long moment that she calmed.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

She gave a weak nod. “Yeah. I think so.”

“We need to get out of here,” I said. “It’s not safe.”

She felt along her ribs, her eyes widening further. “How…” She touched her rib cage, feeling each bone individually. “My ribs are fine!”

The lake hadn’t tried to kill Anna. It had healed her.

I didn’t see how it was possible, but I had seen a lot of things that should have been impossible in the past few months.

“I was scared to death,” I said. “You’d think they’d give us a heads up.”

“There isn’t time to worry about it,” Anna said. She faced the dragons, who watched serenely. Seeing those dragons there made me wonder where Askal was. I saw, looking into the corners of the cavern, that the lake appeared to branch off into other areas.

“Come on,” I said. “We have to keep looking for him.”

We waded out into the cavern. As the lake deepened, our feet could no longer touch the bottom. I’d had experience swimming in Bunker 108’s pool, but Anna was struggling. Her eyes widened in fear.

“This place won’t let you go under,” I said. “If you want, hold onto me.”

This was something that would have never worked in a normal body of water, but Anna grabbed on. As soon as her weight pressed down, the liquid pushed up from beneath, keeping us afloat. I swam forward, but wasn’t making much progress on my own. A current began to push us between the dozing dragons.

Looking through the clear pink ichor of the lake, I could see deep gashes lining their forms. Wounds from the battle. I understood why they were here; the pool was healing them. The extent of their injuries must have been severe; otherwise they would have healed quickly, like Anna.

“They’ve already fought,” I said. “That’s why they haven’t come to help us. They were the ones who needed help.”

Anna watched the wounds along the back of the largest Elekai dragon I’d ever seen. The pink liquid of the pool was stained purple from the many deep wounds marring its body. Its wings were settled on the surface of the lake, around which wrapped the healing liquid.

The current pushed us toward the back of the lake. As it curved onward, another cavern opened, much larger than the first, where three dragons bathed in the ichorous substance. On the far side of the lake, a shore of silvery sand rose, meeting a line of xenofungus. From the fungus grew twisted, alien trees, the boughs of which glittering silvery with long, wavy fronds. There were so many trees that it was hard to discern the treetops, and it all seemed to be the same organism. Maybe the trees were the same organism. It was an entire underground forest.

“I wonder where this is,” Anna said. “This cavern had to have formed naturally.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I’m not even sure where we’re supposed to be going.”

The current pushed us past a dragon whose right wing was almost ripped in two. His eyes were closed, though his chest rose and fell in short, ragged, breaths. Looking around the cavern, I didn’t see any sign of Askal. Either he was in another part of the lake, or…

I didn’t want to think of the other possibility.

As we neared the shoreline, I made myself stand. My feet found the lakebed, and I pushed myself up and walked onshore. We stood on the sand, the pink liquid rushing from our clothes and skin to rejoin the lake. Anna felt along her ribcage, still unbelieving of what had happened. My own body felt reinvigorated.

I reached for my radio to call everyone else above. But when I pressed the talk button, the line was completely dead. The radio had been so drenched in liquid, and we were so deep underground, that it wasn’t surprising that it didn’t work.

Anna stared into the trees. The land sloped downward into a narrow valley with sheer sides, in which the trees grew more thickly. The forested valley opened about one hundred feet from the shoreline. I looked upward at the sparkling ceiling of the cavern, which cast bioluminescent light. It was hard to believe this place existed; it was more magnificent than even the first Elekai home.

Somehow, I had a feeling that we’d find the Wanderer in the forest ahead. I thought it was strange that he wouldn’t have come out to meet us, and it gave me a bad feeling. My Beretta was still strapped to my belt; hopefully, it still functioned, even though it was soaked. If nothing else, Anna had brought her katana — now healed, she would have no problem in using it.

We started walking. As we did, Anna placed a hand on the hilt of her katana, sheathed on her back. We entered the first of the trees, finding ourselves on a narrow path. Pink limbs overhung the path, forming a glowing tunnel. Alien blossoms spiraled from above, their scent sweet and sharp in the air. I could feel the trees’ collective sentience bearing down on us as we walked, as if they were watching us. Anna’s shoulders hunched. She could feel that weight, too.

The air was heavy with…something. I wanted to speak, but found my voice caught in my throat. The path twisted and turned, delving deeper into the cavern, deeper into the trees. The thickness of the xenoforest blocked any view of how deep this valley actually went.

The path snaked back and forth, plunging further and further down. The vegetation became more alien, more magnificent. Among the pink branches were now blazes of orange, of deep crimson, of yellow, of silver. The colors were incredibly bright, almost unreal in hue. Thin tree trunks rose in perfect spirals high toward the ceiling, forming arches before descending somewhere far distant in the xenoforest. Some tree trunks even fused together, two or three at a time, before forming an enormous, multicolored treetop.

Just when I was wondered if we should turn back, the path made a final bend, going from there in a straight line. Before us a massive tree grew from the fungus in a wide meadow, hemmed in by trees. The meadow was a near-perfect circle, and the trees on its rim leaned forward, as if bowing to the central tree. This tree had silver bark, and was probably larger than any tree that had ever existed on Earth. Its colossal trunk shot upward in a straight line — even at my distance, I had to crane my neck to see its height. Its treetop billowed near the cavern’s ceiling, casting silvery shade onto the meadow below. Sparkles lit the air, blossoms falling thick as rain.

Though beautiful, something about the scene just felt wrong. Again, the Wanderer wouldn’t have made us walk all this way just to see him.

And in the shadow of the tree, right against the bark, a small shape sat hunched. Anna drew her katana, its metallic ring violent in the still, blossom-strewn air. Time stood still as the trees waited, like a whip about to snap.

The form turned from the tree, slowly, revealing a monstrous face, long spindly limbs, and a drooping chin. I didn’t know what to call it, but I knew it was nothing like the Elekai. It wasn’t a crawler either, but I knew only Askala could have made a monster so hideous.

The monster’s mouth opened; from it emanated a long, high wail, which pierced the air, my skin, my bones. It was the most horrible sound I’d ever heard, paralyzing me to my spot. The thing advanced, its hideous call never abating. Its six scythed legs clawed into the xenofungus, piercing it like knives. From its long mouth shot twin fangs, dripping silvery liquid. Perhaps the sap from the tree. Or poison.

As if emerging from a dream, Anna changed her stance, holding her blade aloft and bracing herself with her back foot while the left leaned forward. I took out my gun.

The creature paused and ceased its wail.

Then it shot forward.

It sailed through the air, its horrible white eyes widening and its front legs extending, sharp as blades. As the monster came down, a strange pulse of energy sizzled through the air. The creature’s limbs went limp as it tumbled toward the ground. Anna and I stepped to either side, and the creature crashed between us, rolling on the fungus. Its body lay immobile.

Anna didn’t wait. She plunged her blade deep into the creature’s long, gray neck, where its chitin-like armor didn’t protect it. As the blade entered, the thing gave a sharp hiss. Anna twisted the blade and withdrew it, the metal covered in a purple slime so dark that it could almost be called black. The creature gave a final quiver before settling into stillness.

I turned back to the tree. Its side had been gnawed on, and from the puncture silvery sap spilled out, covering the fungus below.

“Where did that thing come from?” Anna asked.

I shook my head. The answers to that question were too horrifying to consider. Somehow, the Radaskim had penetrated the Elekai home. If there was one of those things, there could be more.

“We need to find the Wanderer,” I said.

We came close to the tree and circled around its wide trunk. On the other side lay a cliff, falling into darkness. We had come to the end of the forest. If the Wanderer wasn’t here…

Anna pointed. “There!”

A human body, covered in a light brown cloak, lay not far off, still. I ran forward, suppressing my desire to scream.

“No…”

I knelt beside the Wanderer, touching his shoulder.

Slowly, he stirred. He wasn’t dead. Not yet.

His eyes opened, completely white. It was hard to read them, but I could tell he was in pain. From the way he held his torso, it wasn’t hard to see why. Blood stained the front of his robe, soaking between his fingers.

“Alex…” he said, voice raspy. “They came. We fought them above, but they…”

The Wanderer coughed — that action must have sent him into horrible pain.

“Don’t speak,” I said. “We’ll get you to the lake.”

The Wander gave a slow, weak nod.

“Come on,” I said to Anna. “We need to carry him.”

She sheathed her katana, and helped me lift the Wanderer. He wasn’t too heavy. He closed his eyes, and though he continued to hold his torso, the red still leaked out. Such a wound would take hours to bleed out, but the poison might work faster. If we had arrived a little later, it might have been too late.

We all but ran. We found the path and ran up the twisting incline. The Wanderer’s eyes were shut, and his body had stiffened.

Our breaths came out heavy, and my heart pounded at the exertion. I pushed myself beyond what I thought possible. I kept my eye out for additional threats, but the forest was silent and empty. If there were more monsters, they weren’t here.

Five minutes later, we crested the final incline, finding the pink ichor of the lake glittering ahead. The dragons still lay there, bathing. Anna and I ran forward, the ichor accepting as we plunged into it.

The Wanderer fell face first, and immediately sunk below the liquid’s surface, as if the ichor itself recognized the need for haste. The Wanderer sunk further into the depths, falling downward and away. He was getting quite distant, now, veering toward the center of the pool. At last, he did reach the center, near the leg of a slumbering dragon. There, his movement ceased. His form showed wavy from the liquid in between.

Anna and I had watched in silence for about thirty seconds, when the liquid began to hollow out in the center, forming a depression in the surface of the pool. The depression deepened and widened, and an emanating wave pushed Anna and me back to the shoreline. The ichor continued to rise, even as the center of the pool emptied. Anna and I scrambled onshore. The Wanderer was down there. The center of the lake had emptied of all ichor, and it whirled, pushed back by some unseen force.

I could see the Wanderer standing there, his face shrouded within his cowl. He lifted one arm, as if in command. A line formed in the water between us and the Wanderer, and from that line, the water parted, forming a corridor.

The dragon nearby came out of his sleep, looking down at his master with white eyes. The dragon’s positioning had not changed; the ichor had remained around him, not wanting to disturb his rest.

The path from us to the Wanderer had been fully carved from the lake. Walls of pink ichor rose on either side, as if frozen in time. At the end of this narrow path, the Wanderer beckoned us to come forward with a single hand.

“Does he really want us to…?” Anna asked.

“Come on.”

I grabbed her hand, and we walked into the canyon. The lakebed sloped down to where the Wanderer waited, his face masked in shadow.

I felt as if I were approaching a god. Maybe I was.

As we neared, the shadow no longer covered his face.

At last, we stood before him. He wore a small smile, and there was no evidence of his wound from before.

Anna and I would have our meeting with the Wanderer.

Chapter 18

No one said anything for a long while. The Wanderer’s eyes glowed white within his cowl.

He was the first to speak.

“There is little time to speak, Alex. We both know the end is near. As you might have guessed, the Elekai were attacked. This morning, we tried to fly to Los Angeles. But Askala guessed our intent. She caught us on the open fields, and many Elekai fell. Almost all the Elekai rest in the pool.”

“What about Askal?” I asked.

“Yes, he is here, too,” the Wanderer said. “I suppose in one of the further caverns.”

“How did that…thing…get in here?” Anna asked.

“It was not only from above that we were attacked,” the Wanderer said. “Several burrowers found their way into the caverns. That one disturbed my meditation in the Sacred Grove.”

I thought “disturbed” was too light a word for what the Wanderer had suffered.

“How long will it take for the dragons to heal?” I asked.

“For some, not long at all,” the Wanderer said. “As for the rest…they will be ready in time for the final battle. That is, if there is a final battle to be fought. Los Angeles must be saved first, but I dare not let the Elekai fly there. They will not be ready.”

“Then how are we going to save the city?” Anna asked. “That’s why we came.”

The Wanderer looked at her with solemn eyes. “I will come with you. With luck, I may be able to turn the tide.”

“What?” Anna asked. “How?”

“You’re riding on our spaceship?” I asked.

Somehow, it was hard to imagine the Wanderer doing that.

“Yes,” he said. “I’d rather fly on a dragon, but there isn’t time for that.”

The Wanderer was probably the only person who could honestly say that.

“But…how are you going to stop the Radaskim?” Anna asked. “It’s just you, and there are thousands of them.”

“There is only one way, for which I must pay the ultimate price. I must release the hidden power of the Elekai. It is the only chance, I think, to save the city.”

Hidden power? The ultimate price?

“What do you mean?” I asked. “Are you…”

The Wanderer’s eyes seemed to answer the question that I left unasked.

Whatever the Wanderer had planned, it would cost him his life.

“The Releasing…it involves my giving up my power. It will allow me to directly control the Radaskim dragons. I’m unsure how long it will last, or even if it will work. It’s the only chance I see.”

“And it will kill you?”

“Yes.” The Wanderer’s eyes seemed to focus on something far away. “I can do this, because there is now another, to take my place…”

It was then that I realized he was talking about me.

“Wait…you want me to become…” I didn’t even know what to call it.

“My time to lead has passed. Askala has grown too powerful, and she has forced our hand…” The Wanderer gave a bitter smile. “It is the same, on every world. She forces our hand before we’re ready to play it.”

I had no idea what the Wanderer was talking about. All I knew was that he wanted me to fill his shoes, and that was something I could never do.

“You mean — I have to lead the Elekai when you’re gone?”

The Wanderer nodded. “Yes.”

“Why not one of the dragons? Why does it have to be…?”

I shook my head. There was no way I was up to this.

“This is your world,” the Wanderer said. “This is your fight.”

The Wanderer gestured upward — above the rim of frothing ichor, the nearest dragon’s head was visible.

The Wanderer continued. “They were the first to lose their world, millions of years ago. On each world, we make a home like this for them. We’ve saved the genetic blueprints for every species located on our home world, Askalon. You see the trees, the plants, the life of Askalon within these caverns.” The Wanderer turned back to me. “The Askala have already fought their war, but through the xenovirus and the Elekai, they are preserved, for as long as we exist in the universe. But the time of humanity has come, as it has come for every race discovered by the Radaskim.”

I guessed I understood what the Wanderer was saying. This was our war. Our fight. And if the Wanderer was going to die, I was the only one left who could take control.

“If it’s the only way…” I said. “I’ll do it.”

“No,” Anna said.

The Wanderer turned to her, his face questioning.

“I don’t understand why Alex has to die. Isn’t there another way?”

The Wanderer looked down at us. He said nothing at first. After what seemed an eternity, he spoke.

“Alex was chosen by the Elekai,” the Wanderer said. “He was chosen by me. And Alex accepted the call.”

“That doesn’t answer anything!” Anna said, frustrated. It was all she could do to keep herself in control. “Why him? And why does he have to die?”

“Anna…”

She didn’t seem to hear me, instead focusing on the Wanderer, demanding an answer from him that he couldn’t give.

The Wanderer waved us up the path. We looked at each other before following him. As we walked, the ichor closed behind us. It wasn’t long before we stood on the white, crystalline shoreline. The dragons continued to slumber in their healing trance.

“You ask me why he is to die,” the Wanderer said. “The process of converting Askala requires a giving up of the spirit, similar to what I am going to do. When you ask me why he in particular has to die, you are forgetting something important: in the end, we will all die, sooner rather than later.”

Anna didn’t respond. The Wanderer had a good point: it seemed unimportant to focus on the death of a single person when, most likely, we were all going to have to face that death.

All that the Wanderer had told me before came back: on hundreds of worlds over millions of years, the Radaskim had invaded and the Elekai had resisted. The Elekai always chose a champion to fight the Radaskim. That champion, on each of these worlds, had always failed, in the end. The Radaskim were always too powerful to be resisted, crushing all who stood in their way. Earth was just a tiny planet in a vast universe. What was one death compared to all that?

“There are many things I do not know, Anna,” the Wanderer said. “Many things I will never know. I do know that Alex must face Askala, that he has been chosen by the Elekai to destroy her. He can only do so by infecting her. And yes, it involves dying.”

“But, why the sacrifice?” Anna asked. “Can’t he just infect her and get away. Or…”

“The…transformation,” the Wanderer said. “It is hard to imagine how such a thing might be accomplished without death.”

“Wait…” Anna said. “Transformation? What transformation? You mean Askala, or…”

“Askala will become Elekai. I don’t know what that will do to Alex, but it certainly involves his death.”

“So, is there a chance that it won’t?”

“There have been…times…where we thought we won,” the Wanderer said. “Just on a few worlds. Always, the champion had died, the Radaskim faded…but in time, they came back, more powerful than ever…”

The Wanderer went quiet, thinking. Anna waited for him to continue.

“I see that you care for him very much. And Alex will need that. Love is the only thing that makes the darkness of the world worth enduring, and you humans have a lot of it.” The Wanderer paused. “No one knows what happens in the heart of darkness, between the Champion and Askala. Only the Champions know, and they are all dead.”

As the Wanderer spoke, Anna’s hope died in her eyes. Watching that was more painful than anything I could ever remember

“But none of us must give up. Despite the costs we all have to bear — there is always hope. Always.”

The Wanderer looked across the lake, toward the entrance of the cavern.

“We must not linger here. Take me to your ship.”

* * *

We swam through the lake and reached the far shore, leaving the glittering cavern behind. The Wanderer led us up the twisting tunnel until we reached the roots covering the opening. The Wanderer raised his right hand. The roots unknotted and retracted into the floor and walls, revealing the glowing night. For miles upon miles, the fields emitted a pale, pink radiance, and in the distance, shining hills rose.

The wind blew warm as we stepped out of the Xenolith. The roots once more enclosed the opening.

I reached for my radio.

“Makara? Ashton? Do you read me? We’ve left the Xenolith.”

“Coming down,” Ashton responded. “We’ll be there in a minute.”

Within a few seconds, Perseus appeared in the sky, its landing lights gleaming. A short time later, the ship lowered to the xenofungal bed.

The Wanderer walked toward the ship, Anna and I walking on his either side. Perseus’s blast door slid open, revealing Samuel and Makara standing at the top of the ramp.

When we stepped inside, we found everyone waiting, including the Raiders. Everyone looked at the Wanderer in surprise.

As the door shut behind us, we stood in silence. Everyone seemed to be shocked that the Wanderer was with us — this mysterious, prophetic man who was the leader of all the Elekai resistance against Askala and the Radaskim.

“The Elekai were attacked first,” I said.

“There’s no army?” Makara asked.

“Their dragons are being healed,” I said. “Very few got out unharmed, if any. The Wanderer knows a way we might save the city.”

Suddenly, everyone noticed what had changed about Anna.

“Anna…” Makara said. “What happened in there?”

“They have this huge lake made of…something, I don’t even know. I was under for a minute, then I came out, healed.”

“Completely?” Julian asked.

Anna nodded. “I don’t understand how, but I’m fine. I’ve never felt better, actually.”

Everyone turned to look at the Wanderer, who stood silent in his cloak and cowl. Some of the Raiders tried to back away upon seeing those whitened eyes. The Wanderer made no movement or sound, until the wardroom had gone completely quiet.

“There is a way to save Los Angeles,” the Wanderer said. “I can gain control over the Radaskim horde’s mind, if only for a few minutes. Maybe longer.” He paused. “Let’s hope longer.”

“That’s great,” Makara said.

“I fear this battle serves two purposes,” the Wanderer said. “Askala wants to destroy as much of humanity as she can in one stroke. That much is clear. But I also think she hopes this attack will draw me there. She knows I’m the only one with the ability to stop it — and she also knows this will cause me to die.”

This news was greeted with startled silence.

“What happens to the Elekai, if you die?” Ashton asked.

“There will be no Xenomind to lead,” the Wanderer said. “Our efforts would be directionless for a while, until a new leader rises to the mantle.”

One by one, everyone’s eyes turned on me. My face went white and my stomach twisted. I tried to speak, but no sound came. For some reason, the Wanderer’s saying it out loud and everyone’s looking at me made it worse.

But I had agreed. It was the only choice I had.

“I had hoped to better prepare you for this, Alex,” the Wanderer said. “But time is not on our side.”

“This…Releasing,” Samuel said. “How long would it take? What’s involved?”

“Land me on a tall building,” the Wanderer said. “Somewhere I can project the wave-thought. Alex, also, must be present. Keep us safe for a few minutes. That’s it.”

“Wouldn’t you two standing on top of a building make you targets for every dragon in L.A.?” Makara asked.

“Maybe with both spaceships, we can protect them long enough,” Samuel said.

We all knew it was desperate. We all knew there was little hope for victory. But we had to fight and do whatever we could to save Los Angeles. And if we had to go down fighting, against all odds, then that was what we had to do.

“Let’s go back,” Samuel said.

Everyone looked at the Wanderer for final words.

“Good luck,” he said at last. “Let us not make this our final stand.”

* * *

It was an hour and a half before the city came into view. Ashton piloted Perseus high in order to escape the Radaskim dragons’ range. When he descended, we saw a large part of the already ruined city was in flames.

“Augustus,” Ashton said. “Do you have a copy?”

It was some time before the Emperor answered.

“Where is your army?”

“We don’t have time to explain. What’s the tallest building in the city under your control?”

“What? Why?” Augustus asked.

“I said there was no time!” Ashton said. “We have a weapon that could destroy the Radaskim army. We need the tallest building we can to work with.”

“That would be the Reaper HQ,” Augustus said. “Carin Black and his men are making their final stand there.”

“And your legions?”

“What’s left of them are retreating to the sea.”

“And you are in the Orion?”

“Yes,” Augustus said. “Along with my Praetorians. Black is in Reaper HQ.”

“Listen,” Ashton said. “We’ll need your help holding off the dragons. It’ll take time for the weapon to be set up, but it will neutralize all the Radaskim invaders.”

“And what is this weapon, Dr. Ashton?”

“Once again,” Ashton said, “there’s no time. You just have to trust me.”

Augustus paused a bit before answering.

“Fine. We are very desperate, Ashton. I will let Carin know what you’re doing so you don’t get shot by his SAMs.”

“Where is Reaper HQ?” Samuel asked.

“It’s the U.S. Bank Tower, the tallest building in the city. There’s a helipad.”

“Make the arrangements with Black,” Ashton said. “We’ll be there in two minutes. And get your ass in the air. We’ll need your help.”

Augustus had no time to protest Ashton’s gruff treatment. Ashton cut off and lowered the ship toward downtown. In the west, the sea was dark and empty, though fires and lights lit its shoreline — the remnants of the Novan legions. The streets below were dark and cluttered with rubble and flame. Swarms of movement plunged into the city.

The tall white tower approached. As we neared, human forms became discernable on its top. Reptilian screeches sounded from outside the ship.

I realized this could very much be our final battle. If we didn’t win here, Askala and her hellish legions would win all of Earth.

In moments, the extinction of the human race would be decided.

Chapter 19

When Perseus landed on top of the tower, the Wanderer pressed the exit button. The door slid open and we headed out into the night.

After we made it to the tarmac, the boarding ramp retracted and the ship lifted off. I looked around the helipad, finding it empty. The ship turned to the north, where several dragons circled and dove. Explosions lit the night to the east. The screams of both man and monster carried on the wind.

The Wanderer made his way to the corner of the helipad. He climbed down a set of stairs, and stood above the building’s precipice overlooking the southern and western portions of the city.

As the battle raged, I watched the dark ruins, the twisting highways, the distant hills to the west. It was hard to believe, standing there, that the Wanderer was about to give up his life. Before I could ask him if it was really true, he spoke.

“What I’m about to do will be my end, as we both know it. My spirit will return to the Elekai.”

“So that’s it?” I said. “You’re going to die?”

The Wanderer gave his trademark mysterious smile — small, and a little sad. But his white eyes were bright with joy.

“I have died a thousand times, Alex. In the end, death is just the final journey.”

“What do you mean?”

“Death is like waking up from a dream. Each time I die, I wake up on a new world, where the Elekai need me again.”

“Well,” I said, after a short pause, “that’s not really how it works for us. When we die, we’re gone. There’s no waking up for us.”

The Wanderer turned to me. In the distance, a dragon screamed and a few more took up its call. It reminded me of where I was, and that now was probably not the best time for a philosophical conversation. But the dragons were far, and I’d never see the Wanderer again. His eyes told me that what he was about to say was important.

“I think you will be surprised, when the time comes, as it must for all. Even the longest-lived Elekai must one day die. And when all goes silent, at the very end, we can be joyful that we had ever lived at all. Death isn’t the end. It is an end as much as a beginning.”

“What do you mean?”

“Some mysteries aren’t meant to be spoken,” the Wanderer said. “It ruins the magic.”

The Wanderer closed his eyes, as if preparing himself. I felt a sudden panic rise in my chest. It was all going to end, and I would not have anyone to guide me on my final mission.

Before I could say anything more, the Wanderer’s body stiffened. His white eyes glowed brightly, his arms outstretched, and a deep, resounding call emanated from his lungs, like a low, musical note that should have been impossible for his human vocal cords to produce. It made the very building beneath me shake.

Instantly, every dragon in the vicinity angled toward the tower. At first I counted ten, then twenty. As more materialized from the darkness, flapping their wings to fly toward the building, all the Blighters in the streets below quieted. A few gunshots sounded, but soon they, too, dimmed to nothing.

And still, the call went out. The Wanderer did not pause for breath. The dragons bore down on us, their white eyes fiery with violence. More rose from the streets below until at least fifty dragons were headed our way.

The forerunner of the dragons was only seconds away, coming at us full speed.

The Wanderer’s call ceased. The dragons hovered in midair, waiting for…something. The Wanderer’s form was completely still, as if he had turned to stone.

Then, in a multitude of screeches, the dragons turned away, diving once again for the Los Angeles streets.

I watched over the edge of the building as they swooped between buildings. High-pitched shrieks sounded as the dragons began ripping into the Blighters that advanced past the long wall. Both Perseus and Orion moved among the dragons, not firing on them, recognizing that the Wanderer had done his work and that the dragons were now on our side — at least for the moment.

The Wanderer fell to one knee. I grabbed him by the shoulders. His body was hunched and pained.

“Wanderer,” I said. I felt weird calling him that; it seemed as if I should know his proper name by now. For all I knew, Wanderer was his proper name.

He looked at me. His eyes were fading — their power had been drained.

“It is done,” he managed. “You know what you must do. There is strength inside that you do not even know…your own hidden power.”

He fell forward as I watched with horror. He didn’t move, and I couldn’t believe.

“No…”

As the dragons above the city continued to scream and attack Askala’s swarm, and as Perseus and Orion lent their aid from the air, I knew that the Wanderer was really gone. The entirety of his spirit had taken control of the dragons.

I reached for my radio.

“This is Alex,” I said. “It’s…done. The Wanderer’s dead.”

It was a moment before Ashton answered.

“Copy that. The dragons are turning on the horde right now. We’re coming to pick you up.”

“Got that. I’ll…I’ll be here.”

I stood there, the cold wind whipping at my face. I looked down at the Wanderer’s lifeless body. He stared upward, his eyes dark and no longer white. The only movement was the wind ruffling his worn, brown robe.

I was so drained of emotion that it was hard to feel anything. I knelt beside the Wanderer’s body, touching his shoulder. I gave him a slight shake, in the vain hope that he might still be alive.

But it wasn’t to be. It was then that the reality of the Wanderer’s death hit me in full force. My throat tightened as hopelessness welled up within. I hated this feeling; it reminded me too much of losing my father, losing Khloe. I didn’t know what I was going to do without the Wanderer. He was the only one who knew how to fight the war against the Radaskim.

Now, there was only me, and I definitely wasn’t cut out for this.

The Wanderer had told me that I was supposed to lead the Elekai, and that was too much for a sixteen-year-old kid who didn’t know what the hell he was doing. The Wanderer had the wisdom of the Elekai collected over eons, where I had only sixteen years, most of which was spent living a sheltered existence underground. If there was anyone who couldn’t do this, it was me.

The last thing he said was to go back to the Elekai. That meant returning to the Xenolith. I didn’t know what was going to happen there, but I wasn’t really looking forward to it.

I couldn’t be plain, boring Alex anymore. I thought of who the Wanderer was. He was a vast reservoir of knowledge with access to all the memories of an entire alien race. What would that do to me? Would I still be the same person?

Landing lights flashed above, but I lay sprawled on the rooftop right next to the Wanderer. He had saved the city, but the price was now clear: it was all on me, now. If I couldn’t do it, then no one could.

I probably looked as dead as the Wanderer by the time Perseus touched down. The building vibrated upon the ship’s landing. The engine gave out its deep hum, and the wind blew almost violently. The screams of dragons carried in the air.

The ship’s drive idled. I waited a moment longer, not ready to get up and face reality.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Alex!”

I turned and saw Anna’s face. I shielded my eyes because the landing lights were so bright and pointing right at me. She held me in her arms, pulling me into her embrace.

“I thought you were dead,” she said.

She pulled back, looking me in the eyes. “What’s wrong?”

I couldn’t look at her. Not directly. “I don’t know what to do, with him gone…”

Anna’s eyes went over to the Wanderer. By now, Makara, Samuel, and Julian stood nearby.

“We need to return him to the Elekai,” I said. “As soon as possible.”

“Alright,” Makara said. “I can let Augustus know. He can hold Carin in check until we get back.”

“What about those dragons, though?” Julian asked. “What if they…turn?”

Makara sighed. “I don’t know. But Alex is right. We need to get the Wanderer back home as soon as possible. Maybe…maybe he really isn’t dead. Maybe if that stuff could heal Anna, it can heal him as well.”

I wasn’t holding out much hope for any miracle. The Wanderer had been pretty clear this was the end for him. Some things you just couldn’t come back from.

“We need to get moving,” I said. “The Wanderer wanted to make me leader of the Elekai. I don’t know what’s involved in that…but it’s something we should do sooner rather than later. I need to get back to the Xenolith.”

“Let’s get on board, then,” Samuel said.

I stood. Everyone’s focus went to the Wanderer. His form was still. A truth came to me that must have haunted many people throughout the ages: no matter how much the world changed, death and its finality would not.

Everyone helped me lift his body. It was light with all five of us bearing it. We walked to the ship, as if in a dream. I didn’t know what I was doing, and I still didn’t know how long I had left to be me, Alex Keener, or how long I had left to be alive.

The clock was counting down on both.

* * *

We stood in Perseus’s wardroom. The clinic’s bed had been placed in the center of the hold, and the Wanderer was laid on the bed. His eyes, now brown, stared at the ceiling, lifeless. His hood had fallen, and his long, gray hair spread out, some of it tumbling over the bedside. His weathered face spoke the story of a man who had seen much. His form was thin — very thin. If I hadn’t had known better, I would have said this man had died from his long years, not battle.

Several of the hardened Raiders wiped tears from their eyes. Both Makara’s and Anna’s eyes were wet with the tears, and Samuel’s face was grave.

It was up to me to say something about the Wanderer and his final moments.

I cleared my throat, and everyone looked at me. There was nothing I could say to give justice to what he had done.

“No one really knew who the Wanderer was,” I said. “I mean, before he became the Wanderer. We first met him in a cave, on our way to the Great Blight for the first time. This was about three months ago. There, he gave us prophecies of what was to come — things we were supposed to keep hidden until the end.”

I paused a moment to collect my thoughts.

“There were five of us, then. Lisa — who I’m sure you know — was the first to have hers fulfilled. The Wanderer told her that she would have to give it her all when she thought it was over. And she did. In Bunker One, she saved our lives, even when she was dying.

“Samuel’s came next. We had just met with Emperor Augustus for the first time, and Samuel struggled over whether we should join up with him, or go our own way. He was reminded of what the Wanderer told him: that he had to stay true to himself if we were to succeed. Samuel decided not to join Augustus at that time, and it was that decision that led Makara to form the New Angels.”

Makara looked at me, knowing her part came next.

“With Samuel’s decision, Makara became leader of the New Angels. She knew what her first action would be, because of what the Wanderer had told her. She was to seek those who were lost, which meant finding the Exiles. This led to the formation of the New Angels. We were a fractured group, only held together because of a strong leader.”

Here, everyone was nodding their agreement. Makara’s face turned slightly red; she didn’t really like to have attention like this, but I felt like I owed it to her for all she had done.

“There are still two prophecies left,” I said. “And they will be fulfilled, in time. The Wanderer told me it all hinged on me. It was only later that I learned what my part was.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is, that prophecy doesn’t apply just to me. We’ve all played a big part in this struggle to save our planet. We’ve saved each other’s lives, and every good deed has counted. I can’t count how many times I would have died, if it hadn’t been for Makara, Anna, Samuel, Julian, and countless others. We’re all in this together, and the Wanderer told me that we had to unite, if we were to survive.”

Again, everyone nodded in agreement. Many looked at the Wanderer as they contemplated his words.

“The Wanderer died to give us a chance to make it to the final battle. After much bloodshed, a lot of which was needless, we’re finally at a point where we’re all on the same page. The best way to honor the Wanderer is to stand together. I believe we are going to win this war. I can’t explain how I know that, but I do.”

I went quiet, not really sure what else to say. After a moment, Makara nodded.

“Thank you, Alex. In an hour or so, we’ll be touching down in the Great Blight. We’re going to bring the Wanderer to the Xenolith. And Alex is right — everything is coming to a head. Just be ready. In the next day or two, we’ll start planning the final attack.”

When Makara was finished speaking, Ashton went back to the bridge. I looked at the Wanderer one last time before following Ashton.

Chapter 20

An hour later, we had landed at the Xenolith. It was three in the morning — after the constant activity of Bunker 84 and the battle of Los Angeles, we were, somehow, still going.

When we disembarked, everyone came, including the Raiders. We walked across the fungus to the opening of the Xenolith. Makara, Samuel, Anna, and I all carried the Wanderer’s body. I realized, as we crossed the threshold and into the spiraling tunnel, that the four people carrying him were the four about which he had prophesied.

We made our way down the glowing corridor, and it wasn’t long before we stood before the glittering pink ichor. As Ashton looked around, awestruck, I could tell he could probably live down here just to unlock the Elekai’s secrets. The ichor was empty of dragons — they had gone elsewhere.

I had no idea what came next. For some reason, I thought I would know what to do as soon as we entered. But the place seemed empty, so all I had to go on was my own intuition.

“Let’s set him by the shore,” I said.

We advanced toward the edge of the lake, softly setting the Wanderer down, face-up, where the xenofungus sloped downward to meet the ichor. We backed away a few steps.

“Do we just leave him here?” Makara asked.

Her voice seemed to trigger a reaction from the lake. The surface near the Wanderer’s feet seemed to reach for him, stretching away from the rest of the ichor. It covered first his feet, and then the rest of this body.

“Back,” Samuel said.

As we stepped back, the ichor covered the entirety of the Wanderer’s form, pulling him into its main body. He still faced upward, just below the surface of the pink, translucent liquid. His long, gray hair fanned out, floating.

And then…the Wanderer’s form faded. His image became less clear as the surrounding liquid clouded. Anna stepped forward, as if to do something about it. I held her back.

“He’s returning to the Elekai,” I said. “I should have seen what he meant.”

As the ichor continued to cloud, I explained.

“The Wanderer wanted to return to the Elekai — to literally return to them. His memories will become part of the Elekai consciousness.”

The nature of the pool became altogether clear to me. It was the wellspring from which all Elekai life sprung, whether it was xenofungus or xenodragon. Anything created by the Elekai had to come from here, just as anything that passed had to return.

Over time, the liquid became less murky. The sediment had either drifted to the bottom of the pool or dispersed throughout. Over the next minute, the lake’s surface and depths gleamed once more, clear and smooth as glass.

I realized what I had to do. I turned to face everyone.

“I have to go in there,” I said. “Whatever the Wanderer wanted me to do…it starts in that lake.”

“Alex…?” Anna said.

I looked at her, taking her hands and looking her in the eyes. I didn’t know what was going to happen in there, and I didn’t know who I would be when I came out…Alex Keener, or the new Wanderer.

“Be careful,” Anna said.

“Whatever happens,” I said. “I love you.”

I reached out and touched her face. Her eyes held back tears. I wished I didn’t have to do this, but the Wanderer had told me it was what I had to do. Still, it was hard to turn from Anna and walk forward.

Everyone was quiet as my first boot was covered by the sticky ichor, then my second. I kept walking forward. Once the ichor was up to my shins, it seeped inside my boots. The warmth rushed around my socks, soaking through. Still, I strode forward, until the ichor was up to my torso, until I stood in the spot the Wanderer had been mere minutes before. It felt strange knowing that his body, his memories, were now part of the pool I stood in.

I turned to see Anna, Samuel, Makara, and Julian standing on the shoreline, shoulder-to-shoulder. Ashton stood a few feet off, and the Raiders stared, probably unsure what to think. I turned back to the pool and swam out further.

That was when the ichor pulled me under.

Panic rose in my chest, and still, I was pushed to the very bottom by a current. The pressure increased, and the thick warmth of the ichor was suffocating.

My panic subsided a bit when a familiar face appeared before me. The Wanderer stood on the lake bottom, as if he were standing in the free air and did not have thirty feet of liquid above him. I realized that this was a hallucination, from my lack of oxygen.

Breathe.

I had been holding my breath for well over a minute now. There was no way I was coming out of this pool unless I did as the Wanderer said.

But I needed air to breathe, not this liquid substitute. My lungs burned with the need for oxygen — my only hope was that there was enough in the liquid to help me survive.

So, I breathed.

The liquid seemed to squeeze into my lungs. My body immediately rejected the liquid, forcing it back out. But it sucked it in again, greedily — only to force it out once more. My body was caught between the need to breathe and the panic of having something that wasn’t air in my lungs. Slowly, I became aware that my head had cleared, and the burning in my lungs had ebbed. My panic, slowly, settled into calm as my heart beat madly.

I accepted, instinctually, that I would have to breathe this liquid, at least for a little while.

I focused my attention before me. The Wanderer still stood just ten feet ahead, garbed in his usual brown robe. His white eyes shone brightly in the thick, warm liquid.

I couldn’t speak, for obvious reasons. I breathed the liquid in and out, wondering whether the man who stood before me was flesh and bone, or merely a vision.

Are you real?

The thought crossed over through the liquid. The Wanderer stood, his form wavy.

Yes.

If he was alive, then it meant that he hadn’t really died. He could still lead the Elekai.

Seeming to guess my thought, though, the Wanderer shook his head.

My time to walk this world has passed. The sacrifice, once made, cannot be undone.

How are you still here, then?

I will always be here, the Wanderer thought. I am the Elekai, now. And I will always be with you, wherever you go.

Do I have to lead, now?

The Wanderer nodded. The prophecy has come to pass. This is your time to shape the fate of the world.

It’s…too much.

It always is, Alex. Even I didn’t know what I was doing.

That’s…comforting.

Isn’t it? The Wanderer’s thought entered my head, and the implication was that it should be comforting. It has always been a fool’s quest. But we should be glad that the battle in Los Angeles was won. Askala is thwarted for the meantime, but in the coming days, she will have another army ready. We must use the time given to us to prepare the final attack, before she strikes again.

All I could think, as the Wanderer “spoke” to me, was why it had to be me, and why it couldn’t have been someone far more qualified.

Why did you pick me? I asked. I’m not saying I won’t try. I just have to wonder. Was there something different about me that made you decide that I was the one to do it?

There is one quality I have looked for in each Champion, the Wanderer said.

I was about to ask him what that quality was, when he spoke again.

You must think lightly of yourself, and deeply of the world.

What?

It was a saying, on a faraway world. Its name cannot be pronounced, nor understood, by any human. It was the first world attacked by the Radaskim, millions of years ago. And it was the first to fall. When the Radaskim first came there, they were greeted as gods. It wasn’t long before that notion was dashed.

If all of those worlds have been conquered, then what hope do we have?

I thought I caught the Wanderer smiling. I had no idea how he could smile at something like that.

There never was much hope, Alex. Know this: it is much better to hope than to despair. The greatest things are accomplished by the tired and the discouraged, by the ones who don’t give up. If they have no song to sing, they find one.

I couldn’t speak, because the Wanderer had so silenced me. It had always been easy for me to get discouraged. It was hard not to, watching your world being swallowed before your eyes. Something Makara said a long time ago came back: you fought, even where there was no point in the fight. You never knew what tomorrow would bring.

Alright, I said. I see what you’re saying.

The Wanderer raised an arm, as if in benediction.

The last battle comes. And remember: do not lose hope. You never know who’s counting on you, or who’s looking up to you. You have changed much, Alex. The Elekai are yours to command. And I believe that their powers are beyond even your imagining.

With that, the image of the Wanderer faded into the ichor.

Remember…though I have passed from this world, my words will always be with you. Never give up, even in the darkest moments. When you find yourself in a hole…look to the stars.

I stood there for a moment, my throat clenched, realizing that the Wanderer really was gone. His image had now passed; all that was left was the clear pink fluid. I almost wondered if he had been there at all, if all this had only taken place in my head.

Whatever the case, it was time to turn back. I swam to the shoreline, nearing the surface. When my head broke through, the air felt cool and light in comparison to the heavy liquid. I tried to breathe, but my lungs were full of the ichor. I coughed, spewing the liquid out of my lungs. It landed on the surface of the pool, quickly rejoining it. I sucked in a mouthful of air.

As I continued to hack, Anna strode into the pool. Makara shouted my name, while everyone else watched me worriedly.

My feet found the bottom, and I stood with the ichor up to my torso. Finally, my lungs seemed to be empty of it. I stood there, panting, feeling the liquid crawl off me and rejoin the surface of the lake.

Anna grabbed me, pulling me into a fierce hug.

“You were under there for at least five minutes,” she said. “What the hell?”

“I breathed it,” I said. “Whatever that stuff is, it works as good as air.”

“Come on,” she said.

Anna guided me back to shore. Once on dry ground, the liquid that clung to my skin and clothes flowed downward. I collapsed to the xenofungal bed, exhausted.

“Your eyes are white,” Makara said.

“Huh,” I said. That didn’t really bother me anymore. “I talked to him. The Wanderer.”

The murmuring of the Raiders quieted at this statement.

“He’s alive down there?” Makara asked.

“No,” I said. “I mean…I guess I really didn’t talk to him, but maybe to his memory. He wants…he wants us to not give up hope, even now. I know it’s easy to give up, but we can’t. We have to keep fighting.”

“Alex, you need to worry about getting some rest,” Makara said. “Are we good to head back to the army?”

I shook my head. “No. There’s one thing I have to do here.”

“What’s that?” Anna asked.

I stared at the pool, toward the inlets leading deeper into the cavern.

“I have to visit my army.”

* * *

The dragons were gathered in one of the farthest caverns from the entrance. It was a lot of swimming to get there. While the rest remained onshore, everyone who could swim decided to come with me. This included Makara, Samuel, Anna, and Julian, along with several of the Raiders. Even Ashton had decided to come; he said he wanted to investigate the cavern more fully, along with experiencing the lake’s vaunted regenerative properties. He said something about a Fountain of Youth.

The final cavern was the largest of all. From side to side it stretched for hundreds of feet. Perhaps it had been carved out by the Elekai. The walls and ceiling glowed silvery pink, filling the cavern with dim bioluminescence. The surface of the lake glowed, and on the far end where liquid met shoreline, the dragons waited — some dozen of them. Another dozen or so were in the lake itself, only their long necks and angular heads visible above the surface.

The dragons watched us enter their sanctum, their white eyes blazing fiery light. Their scales were various shades of red, dark crimson, all the way to a pink so light that it could almost be white. The dragons, of course, were large, though not as large as the typical Radaskim. The Elekai dragons’ forms were sleek compared to their counterparts — the Radaskim were angular and brutal, as if they had been carved from stone, hewn only for war.

One of the dragons in the center gave a resounding call that echoed throughout the cavern. The call was taken up by the others, until a melodious song filled the entirety of the space. For the amount of creatures singing, it was not very loud; the fungus-lined walls probably had something to do with dampening the volume. For some reason, the song made me sad. I realized that the dragons were mourning the death of the Wanderer.

When we reached the shoreline, walking out of the lake, the song continued. I stood and watched the dragons as they paid tribute to their fallen master. I realized then that I had never seen the dragons outside the context of battle. At heart, they were peaceful creatures, and it was for the promise of peace that they fought.

When the song ended, only one of the dragons continued, letting his voice resound a moment longer than the others. It was Askal. He paused a moment, waiting for the sound to dissipate, before turning to me. Something about his face, and those eyes, seemed morose — there was no outward difference in appearance, but it was something I felt coming from him.

The Elekai did not express emotions the same way humans did. They could directly empathize with one another and literally feel one another’s thoughts and feelings. As a human, I could only feel a bit of that. Being human had its limitations, but if I could have felt every bit of these creatures’ souls, it probably would have been too much to bear.

Finally, Askal seemed to relax. I walked past several of the dragons while everyone stayed behind. I stood in front of Askal, craning my neck to look at his face, about thirty feet above. Askal backed away before lowering his head to bring it level with mine.

We meet again, little human.

I wasn’t touching Askal, so I hadn’t expected any thought to pass from him. The thought must have carried through the xenofungus. I understood little about how the Elekai communicated. At times, touch was necessary. Sometimes, the xenofungus was sufficient to bridge the gap. But then, there were the visions from the Wanderer, and my being able to dream and experience the world through Askal’s eyes. Those were the most baffling, because neither touch nor xenofungus served as a medium. That would probably remain a mystery to me, but it seemed as if in those times that the communication was carried by the air itself.

We meet again, I said.

We have lost a dear friend today, Askal said. The Elekai will mourn the Father’s loss for many cycles, until he is born again.

I didn’t know what a cycle was, but I supposed it was a very long time.

“I know,” I said. “I’ll miss him, too.”

I switched to speech; that way everyone who was gathering behind me could listen, too. Askal did not seem confused by the transition.

We have much to do, little human, Askal thought. Though I suppose you are not so little anymore.

“What are we going to do, Askal? Half the dragons are still hurt.”

We must wait, a little while longer. We have to heal in both heart and flesh. It will be a few days before the Elekai fly again.

A few days. I didn’t even know if we had that long. But there was no way we could win the battle without the Elekai’s support. A few days would give us time to make sure things were taken care of in Los Angeles. It was time enough to come up with a strategy for the final battle.

“Will you guys be okay here for the next few days?”

I cannot guarantee our safety, Askal thought. But all the entrances will be closed until you return. If we are attacked, you will be the first to know, Lord of the Elekai.

Don’t call me that, I thought.

Something like amusement came from Askal.

You and our Father are the same. He did not like being called that, either. But that didn’t make it any less true.

Still… I thought. Just call me Alex.

Askal nodded his assent — a surprisingly human gesture.

“We probably need to get back to L.A.,” I said, turning to the others. “The Elekai will be okay until we get back.”

“Are you sure?” Makara asked.

“They can’t leave their wounded behind. Askal says they’ll be ready in a few days.”

“Let’s get moving, then,” Ashton said.

Chapter 21

We went on Perseus and just slept. Ashton took us as far as Los Angeles and put the ship on hover mode. There was no way we could keep on going without getting some much-needed sleep.

I slept so deeply that it might as well have been a coma. I was sleep-deprived, not just from last night, but from every night before where I’d only gotten a few hours here and there. It wasn’t until it was night of the next day — a full fourteen hours later — that I woke up, finding that I could sleep even more if I wanted to.

So I did. I kept sleeping until 03:30. No one in the ship was moving. I had no idea if Makara or the others were corresponding with Augustus and Black at this time. Probably. But sleep was hard to come by in this world, so I was going to take advantage while I could.

I finally got up and went to the wardroom, where various Raiders were sprawled on the floor, still sleeping. After almost a full day of doing nothing, it was hard to believe I was the only one up. My head pounded, and my eyes were heavy. I continued on to the wardroom and went to the faucet, where I filled my canteen with water. I drank the entire thing down.

After using the lav, I went to the bridge, finding the lights on. Ashton was awake. He turned upon hearing my approach. He held a mug of coffee in his right hand, from the top of which steam curled up.

“Morning,” he said. “Would you like a cup?”

I nodded, sitting in the co-pilot’s seat. Ashton took a thermos sitting on top of the dash. If that thing were to spill, it could do some serious damage to the electronics on the dash. Ashton didn’t seem to be worried, though.

“You’ve got a mug?” Ashton asked.

I didn’t really want to get back up, and was about to reach for my canteen, when my eyes came across a mug sitting on the dash. Anna must have left it there earlier.

“Right here,” I said, grabbing it.

The mug was a relic of the old world, made of thick white ceramic.

Ashton poured the hot, black coffee into the mug. I could feel its heat radiate into my skin, and its rich aroma met my nostrils.

“Careful,” he said. “It’s hot.”

I took a sip, and still the liquid scalded my tongue. It’d been a while since I had coffee.

Ashton and I just sat there, looking out the windshield. Clouds spread low and dark, covering the city. Stars blanketed the sky. I could never tire of watching them. The time showed that it was 03:36.

“Quite the show, isn’t it?”

I nodded my agreement, taking another sip. My favorite part of watching the night sky was seeing the Milky Way — that thick band of purple, bluish stars, the entire arm of our galaxy. It amazed me to know that there was life out there. How many other worlds were there, like ours? The Wanderer had said there were over a thousand that had been conquered by the Radaskim. How many others were out there?

“How is everyone still asleep?” I asked. “It’s been almost twenty-four hours since the Xenolith.”

Ashton smiled. “If they had stayed awake any longer, they would not be asleep, but dead. The human body has its limits.”

“Are you feeling any effects from the Fountain of Youth?”

Ashton chuckled. “Well, my bones didn’t hurt so much this morning, getting out of bed. Might have been my imagination, though.”

I laughed. “What do you think is in that stuff, anyway?”

Ashton shrugged. “You’d have a better idea than me.”

“I think it’s where all Elekai life is made,” I said.

Ashton grunted, taking another sip of coffee. “Hard to imagine them all coming from there. Are you sure they don’t reproduce on their own?”

I shrugged. “Don’t know. I thought with the Wanderer gone, I’d somehow know a bit more than I do now. I guess not.”

“Learning…really learning…is never free. Did you think you’d become Superman or something?”

“Who’s Superman?”

Ashton looked at me blankly. “The world truly has ended.”

I laughed. “I’m joking. Of course I know who Superman was.”

“You scared me for a minute. But there will come a day kids don’t know who Superman was.”

“Maybe they’ll have some new thing,” I said. “Maybe Dragon Man.”

“That’s just…no.”

“Alright, whatever. On that learning thing, though…maybe a lesson isn’t learned until you accept it.”

“Hm.” Ashton took a long drink of coffee before refilling his mug from the thermos. Once done, he set the thermos back on the dash. “And have you accepted it? Your new job, I mean.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to turn into an alien.”

“Is that what you think the Wanderer was?”

Maybe the Wanderer had a human form, but he was definitely not human.

“I think he was a god of some sort,” I said. “A Xenomind. Who can comprehend what that really is? I just want a few more days to be me. That’s it. And that’s not going to change as long as I can help it.”

Ashton just stared out the dark windshield, at the stars.

“I don’t see why he chose a young buck like you, instead of an old fart like me,” he finally said. “What do I have to live for? I’ve done my living. I’ve had a long life, mostly full of sorrow. But some good moments, too. The Rock changed everything, kid. Those Radaskim ruined billions of lives at a single stroke. The lucky ones died. God, ain’t that the truth. I must have wished a hundred times to have been one of them.”

Ashton took another sip of coffee before continuing.

“But I had twenty years of the good life. I was young, like you, even though I’m the only one to remember it. Sometimes I doubt it, though. Was that really me? That kid, riding the bike, going camping, sneaking into movies? If no one else believes it happened, why should I?”

I smiled. “You’re rambling, old man.”

“Bah. You don’t know enough to become a god.”

“You do, though?”

Ashton chuckled. “Hell, no. Nor would I ever want to. But if someone has to do it…why not the old man?”

I shrugged. “I don’t think I’d wish it on anyone.”

“That’s because you’re too noble. What about the girl?”

“Anna? Why would I wish it on her?”

“No, not that. That’s what being young is about. You’re supposed to fall in love and do crazy, stupid things. Things that don’t make any logical sense. As an old man, it’s my job to shake my head at the stupid crap kids do. You don’t do that stuff, though. Please, can you just do something stupid, so I can shake my fist at you?”

I stared at Ashton, blankly, not really sure what he was talking about.

“Bah. You don’t know anything. All I’m trying to say is…when you’re doing what the Wanderer told you to do, you’re not just giving up your life. You’re giving up your right to be young.”

“I feel like being young was never a right,” I said. “It was a privilege. And it ended when the door of Bunker 108 opened.”

Ashton grunted. “Maybe so, Alex. Just because the world is unjust doesn’t mean we have to sit back and accept it. You know…maybe Anna’s right. Maybe there is another way we don’t know about. Maybe…”

First Anna, now Ashton? I wondered who would be next.

“I don’t think there is another way, Ashton. I wish there was, but people have a history of believing what they prefer to be true.”

Ashton shook his head. “Maybe you aren’t as young as I thought.”

Ashton sounded kind of sad when he said that. His eyes were full of remembrance, as if he was thinking about when he was young, back when kids had the luxury of being kids.

“You’ll never know,” Ashton said. “You’ll never know what it was like to go to school, to ask a girl to a dance, to ride your bike in neighborhood streets, to explore forests like they were some lost world that only you knew. To drive your car for the first time. College.”

“Is that what kids did, back then?”

“It’s what I did. I sometimes wonder if it was all just a dream.”

“It wasn’t,” I said. “I’ve seen movies where that sort of stuff happened, so it had to have happened. Right?”

Ashton nodded. “Yeah. It did happen. You’re still a kid, you know? But you don’t act like it. None of you do. You are as much adults as anyone I knew. That’s what scares me. It’s not normal and never will be, in my mind.”

“It’s normal now,” I said.

“What about Anna, though? Don’t you love her? Would you go to the end and die, even if she didn’t want it?”

That made me go quiet. Ashton had pinpointed something that had been troubling me greatly. He waited for my answer, and I had no idea what to say.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” I said. “I don’t want anything to happen. I…I do love her. Admitting that is hard, because I know what it means. I’m convinced that I’m the only one who can stop this. The Wanderer said that much. I know Anna will never be okay with that. I don’t know if I am. But I see no choice. The other choice is the world ending, just as every world the Radaskim have invaded has ended. I can’t let that happen. I mean, what would you do?”

Ashton sighed. “No matter how old you get, kid…there’s always going to be questions that can never be answered. Sometimes, age just makes the questions all the more perplexing. I worked my ass off, raised my family, all to make the questions go away. I buried myself in work. And they always remained, those questions, haunting me like ghosts. Most people ignore them and just go on with their lives. That’s what I tried to do. Your question, about what you should do…I don’t have the answer. You don’t have the answer. Even the goddamn Wanderer didn’t have an answer. Didn’t you ask him that, when you and Anna went to go see him? What did he say?”

I smiled. “A whole lot of nothing.”

“See? If a god doesn’t know, doesn’t that tell you something? It all rests on you to figure out the rest of the riddle. Whatever happens, I wouldn’t blame you either way. When you go to the heart of darkness, when you are facing down Askala, it’s just going to be you and her. And you’re not going to know anything more than you know now.”

“Thanks for reminding me.”

“Some answers just don’t come, kid, no matter how much you ask them, no matter how much you think about them. Take it from an old man.” He held up the thermos. “More coffee?”

Ashton refilled my cup, and we stared out into the starry night. After a while, he turned off the lights, so that we could see the stars more fully. The stars were bright before, but now they were magnificent.

“The Wanderer said something,” I said. “He said you were supposed to look to the stars when you were in a hole. That’s all I feel I can do. I have to hope, even if there’s no reason for it. People need hope like the lungs need air.”

Ashton slurped on his coffee. “Aye, you’re right about that. What are you hoping for, Alex?”

I took a sip of coffee, and thought for a moment. “I’m just hoping I don’t mess anything up. I hope, when the end comes, I can figure out how to save my scrawny hide. I hope I can find a way to make Anna happy, and take away all her worry and pain.”

Ashton said nothing — he only listened.

“I know,” I said. “There are some things you can mess up, and some things you just can’t. There are the doors you can’t come back from.”

I looked at the clock on the dash. It was 04:00.

I stood to leave the bridge. “Thanks for the coffee.”

“Where you off to?”

“Breakfast.”

I just couldn’t talk about what I had to do anymore. I’d have plenty of time to think about that in the coming days.

Chapter 22

We landed in the streets of downtown Los Angeles. Morning had just dawned, casting the eastern clouds a dull red.

We left the ship, stepping out into the cool, dry air, finding the streets a chaotic mess of rubble, ash, and purple blood. Corpses of dead crawlers lined the streets, some still twitching. Severed limbs and spindly legs were scattered among the refuse. Behind our landing site, the once-white U.S. Bank Tower rose into the morning air.

“Augustus is in there with the Reapers now,” Makara said.

“Is that where we’re headed?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yeah.”

Everyone walked toward the tower, picking our way through rubble and monster remains. Radaskim dragons swooped the sky above, from time to time, still placid. It seemed as if the creatures had turned to our side for good from the Wanderer’s sacrifice — it wasn’t just temporary. Or at least, that was what I hoped. They could switch back at any moment. If they did, there wasn’t much we could do about it.

We entered the wide glass doors of the building, finding ourselves in a dim lobby. There, Augustus and Black stood face-to-face, deliberating in the center of the lobby floor. Praetorians lined up behind Augustus, while Black’s elite guards backed him up. The Reapers, however, were without weapons. It looked as if Augustus was having his way with Los Angeles after all.

Char stood next to me and spoke in his low voice.

“Come on, kid. These talks will be long.”

He led me out from the lobby of the building, stepping through the open door and into the red-lit street outside. I wondered what he wanted to talk about.

The formed-up legions parted for us as we headed east down rubble-strewn streets. Parts of the tall buildings of downtown had crumbled, forming piles of debris. Many buildings’ sides were wasted and black, the result of a fire long ago. Even the sides of the white tower had been charred, though it seemed to have mostly escaped the damage. Sand covered much of the street. In places, asphalt and faded yellow paint showed through the dirt.

Random streets and intersections had been blocked off — either in preparation for the Radaskim’s attack, or from some earlier time. Beneath a pile of rubble lay some large bones from a creature I couldn’t identify –they’d been there for a while. Toward the east, brown mountains walled in the Los Angeles Basin. Their tops were lost to thick red clouds.

A few blocks to the east, an enormous dragon wheeled above some buildings, settling on the precipice of a crumbled freeway. Another dragon screeched in the air, settling nearby the first. The large one — almost as big as Chaos had been — was dark gray, almost black. The smaller dragon was crimson in hue. Their long, serpent-like necks turned toward us.

“What are we going to do about these dragons?”

That was something we had to figure out. “We might want to get closer.”

“It’s like they’re waiting for something,” Char said.

“Or someone,” I said. “Maybe they’re looking for the Wanderer.”

“The Wanderer’s gone. They’re looking for you, kid.”

“I know,” I said. “Somehow, this is working differently than we expected. The dragons have stayed on our side.”

“They could turn any second,” Char said. “That’s what the Wanderer said, isn’t it?”

Yeah, that was true.

“Alex!”

The sound of footsteps came from behind. I turned to see Anna sliding to a stop, kicking up a cloud of dust.

“Couldn’t wait for me, could you?” she asked.

I shrugged. “You snooze, you lose.”

She forced a frown. “I don’t think that saying really works in this situation.”

“You know what I mean.”

Char just watched both of us, shaking his head.

“Whatever,” Anna said. Her eyes gazed ahead to the dragons. “I want to see one of those things up close. Plus, you need your bodyguard.”

“I don’t need a bodyguard,” I said.

“I wasn’t talking to you.”

Before I could respond, Char cut in.

“Shall we?”

We turned back to the dragons perched on the edge of the freeway. They continued to watch.

We walked forward once more. The dragons swarmed the sky, circling above the eastern side of the decayed cityscape. They seemed to be gathering above the large, dark dragon.

“I wonder what they’re doing,” Anna asked.

Char watched as well, narrowing his eyes to see into the distance. “It sure is something.”

“It’s like…” Anna paused mid-sentence. “It’s like this world isn’t ours anymore, you know?”

Anna was right. Even if we somehow defeated Askala and the Radaskim were stopped, against all odds, I had no idea what the future would look like. The Elekai would live among us, I supposed. The Old World would crumble completely to dust, leaving humanity to live among an alien race. We’d probably never be able to rebuild — not to the level of the Old World. I imagined that all traces of that world would be buried and gone, in a few centuries. I’d be long dead by then, and so would everyone else. But it was the future we fought for — the only future we knew.

* * *

We reached the overpass. The dragons remained still, so still that they could have been confused for statues. Up close, however, there was no way these creatures were anything but real. Sharp talons enclosed the concrete railing on the freeway's side, which was riddled with cracks and caked with dust. The dragons’ scales shimmered in the dull red sunlight, crimson for the smaller one, and dark gray, almost black, for the large one. From those scales rose sharp spikes from the creatures’ backs and tails.

These creatures of conquest and brutality were under the command of the Elekai. Which meant that I could control them.

Or, so the theory went.

As Char and I stood, staring, I definitely had my doubts. It seemed impossible that I could control these beasts — especially the big one. Those whitened eyes stared at me with such hatred — especially from the dark one.

I guessed there was nothing to do but try.

“I need to get up close,” I said.

“There's an on-ramp that way,” Char said, pointing to our left.

We walked in that direction as the dragons looked on.

“This is crazy,” Char said.

“I know,” I said. “Crazy times call for crazy measures.”

Char grunted in response.

Anna walked on my other side. She seemed tense, and it was probably all she could do to not draw her katana. A blade wouldn’t do much good against a dragon.

We reached the on-ramp. It was a short climb to the battered highway above. The charred shell of a sedan blocked the on-ramp horizontally. Flecks of turquoise paint clung to its chassis.

We went around the car and reached the top of the highway, turning to where the dragons roosted. Their heads swiveled upon stalk-like necks toward our position. Even with dusty distance, their white eyes glowed. Though these creatures were on our side, just seeing them stare at me sent a chill down my spine. There was something different about these dragons. I could feel the violence boiling within them. It was hard to imagine these dragons getting along with the Elekai ones, especially when their allegiance might only be temporary.

Anna, at last, unsheathed her blade. The dragons gave no reaction. More dragons wheeled above, a menacing foreground against the dilapidated towers of downtown Los Angeles. A chilly wind gusted, stinging with dry cold. About twelve dragons flew above our heads like vultures. I wondered if this was some sort of trap; were they pretending to be friendly, only to deliver a death blow? The possibility, or perhaps, the probability, didn't escape my mind.

But we had come too far. Char drew his handgun, keeping it pointed at the pavement. The dragons continued to circle, some of them dropping lower.

At last, we stood in front of the two dragons, so much larger now that we were close. They towered above, the dark gray one twice as tall as any Elekai dragon. Scars and crevices crisscrossed scales that appeared to be as hard as stone. Their long tails, fitted with cruel spikes, shifted back and forth, stirring dust from the surface of the freeway. A large, especially deadly spike jutted from the tip of each of those tails, sharper than any human blade. The white eyes of the dark dragon narrowed, as if in challenge. I focused on those eyes. I knew this was a test of dominance and will; I’d lose them if I looked away first. Those eyes were white, abyssal depths. Haunting emptiness.

Unlike the Elekai, these were creatures without souls. They were organic robots obeying the will of their true master: Askala.

For now, that link had been severed by the Wanderer’s sacrifice. If it hadn’t, these dragons would have killed me a long time ago.

I saw the Wanderer in my mind’s eye, and calmness permeated my entire being. Wild, tumultuous power radiated from these dragons. They had hearts of chaos.

Tame them, the Wanderer’s voice intoned.

I focused a single thought to push against that madness. That thought came in the form of two words.

Your names.

The thought pushed against the anarchic, powerful stream of consciousness that blared from the Radaskim dragons’ minds. They regarded me with cold, reptilian eyes.

The smaller, crimson one linked to me first, begrudgingly giving his name.

Mordium.

The dark dragon waited a long time, before the force of my will linked him to me.

Quietus.

A chill passed over me. Feeling the emotions of the Radaskim was so much different than with the Elekai. Sharing thoughts with Askal seemed to give energy. This drained it. They would obey me, yes — but only because they were forced. Whether they could find a way to override the Wanderer’s Releasing, I couldn’t say.

Mordium, I thought. Quietus. You are both Elekai, now.

Immediately, twin hisses escaped from their serpentine mouths. Anna and Char jumped back from either side of me. I remained still, attempting to affirm my control over these creatures. The dragons above circled lower. Something like a cruel smile came to Quietus’s thin, reptile lips — but really, it was more a baring of teeth. Those teeth were cracked, decaying, sharp.

Who are you to command us, puny mortal? Quietus thought. We are the Radaskim, hearts of chaos. Eternity lies ahead, and behind — we have drunk full of its emptiness. The Void calls us home, in the end. The Radaskim have known this, from the dawn of time until the dusk of all things. Like twin mirrors, the light ever reflects, unending, unyielding. But what can you know of these things, you of sixteen years, when my spirit has endured more than sixteen million?

Even as he spoke such terrible things, I knew them to be true.

I am Quietus, bane of a thousand worlds. The screams of races reside within my soul, of which your puny kind are no match. You have killed the Lord Chaos, no small feat — but you will find that many of Askala’s children are his equal, and that some are far more terrible. You challenge me, mortal, and seek to rule that which is eternal?

I seek only the victory of the Elekai, I thought. And you will help me secure it.

Something like glee danced in those white eyes.

Will I, now? Curious that the old fool gave up his spirit for this slight boon. For in so doing, he sealed his doom and that of the cursed Elekai. Never again shall that trickster arise. Though there be thousands of worlds yet to smite, never shall he walk them again — should you fail, little one. That he placed trust in you, least of all races, dirtiest, foulest, most reviled! Had we not come to destroy you, you would have destroyed yourselves.

I stood stunned at Quietus’s revelation. Mordium looked on in silence, his eyes as empty as the vacuum of space. On the sides of the highways, more dragons settled, watching the proceedings.

The Elekai were first, I thought in response. And the Elekai will be last.

The Elekai are weak! The Elekai plant the gardens; the Radaskim reap them. Such is the order of the Universe. In order to create, you must first destroy. This is the heart of truth: that existence is a lie, and we no more than a thought, the destruction of universes infinite. All things shall pass, all courses have been set from the beginning for ruin. There is no use in fighting this inevitability. The only control we have is in sweet destruction. Destruction of all, destruction of the lie that is existence! In the end, nothing shall bloom, no star shall shine, and darkness deep shall stretch eternal. No laughter, no tears, nor even memories shall be preserved. That is the fate of all things, little Elekai, if the Radaskim are not permitted to destroy. We are the gods, and Ragnarok our judgment. And like all others, humanity shall enter our thrall.

The cold wind blew, as if in time to Quietus’s dark thoughts. I stood still, not wanting to think about them. No thought crossed from Quietus for a long while.

Anna and Char watched the dragon from my either side, ready to run or fight at any moment.

Is this how you attacked every world? I thought. With a meteor?

Quietus answered. The method is different, for each world. Different diseases necessitate different cures. And the pestilence of your race runs deep.

What makes you hate us so?

Death is my name. Quietus. The End of all Things. Yes. I was created by my Mother to hate, and that hatred I have nursed for uncounted eons, mostly in darkness. You know not the darkness of space, being trapped with your thoughts for thousands of years, with nothing but the fell whispers of the Dark Mother — such imprisonment I have endured between Reapings. Death brings succor, and I drink deeply of its draft — though I am never permitted to embrace it in full. How I long for that death, little Elekai. But she will not let me have it, not until all fades to silence.

You can be free, I said. It has been said, in order to know hate, one must first know love.

I have debated this vile thought for years untold, Quietus answered. And there is only nothing. You seek, and you do not find. Everything is a lie. There is only…nothing…the ultimate truth.

Something like a sigh escaped the dragon — a strange sound to come from a creature so large, so brutal. It sounded…pained. Tired.

What is truth, Elekai, but your conception of it? I have searched the depths of your heart and know that you hold no conviction. A being of no conviction is but a leaf in the wind, having no control over its course. It goes where the wind wills. What do you believe, young Elekai? I see you hope that I might be changed. Hope is but a dream, a dream best abandoned before it blinds with false brightness.

Hope does not always lead to a false end.

There is no fighting the Radaskim, Quietus thought. On countless worlds they brood, and this world is just one among thousands. Four hundred years hence, they shall return. That was the duration of our last stasis — four hundred long years. From the world of Tar’Sha’Lak we sailed the Void, four hundred years ago. The Dark Mother may be killed, but never shall the Radaskim fall. We are too many. A Second Reaping shall come, far more terrible than the first…

Four hundred years, little Elekai. Are you ready?

I sensed no lie in Quietus’s words. I only felt a numb, cold shock overtake me. What Quietus said was true. Even if we won, in four hundred years, they would return from the nearest Radaskim world.

For a long time I stood there, until Anna touched my arm.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

It was a while before I could bring myself to answer.

“I know when Xenofall is coming.”

Chapter 23

A long silence passed. I explained nothing, and Quietus said nothing further, feeling his work complete. His eyes, once again, were empty of thought or emotion. He had said his piece, and now only waited for my reaction.

“I thought…” Anna began. “Wasn’t this Xenofall? Wasn’t Xenofall us fighting Askala and winning the war?”

I had to explain everything to Anna and Char. It wasn’t easy; most of what Quietus told me was thoroughly depressing. I stressed that Quietus had not lied to me. Though the dragons railed against it with all their spirit, I was in control and they couldn’t disobey a direct command — at least until Askala had found a way to reclaim them.

Then again, the truth they revealed could be misleading, and the outlook Quietus had painted was incredibly bleak.

“So if we defeat Askala,” Anna said, “They’ll just come back again. In four hundred years?”

I nodded.

“That means,” Char said. “If we win, it’s not really a victory. It just delays the inevitable.”

“That’s right,” I said. “Even with four hundred years, it’s hard to imagine how we could prepare for something like another invasion. Even if we could, would it really be enough?”

“So they attack,” Anna said, “over and over, until they finally win.”

Char shook his head. His blue eyes seemed angry, more than anything.

“Would’ve been nice if the old man mentioned something about that,” he said. “He must have known.”

“I don’t know if he did,” I said. “Or maybe he didn’t want us to think the fight was hopeless. Maybe, even with Xenofall…there’s a chance we can still win.”

They both looked at me, as if I had that answer.

“I’m not saying I know what it is,” I said. “But four hundred years is a lot of time to search for an answer.”

Anna shook her head. “All of this is just so hard to imagine. So, the Radaskim are on that planet, and it’s apparently four hundred years’ travel time away?”

I nodded. “That’s the gist. He said that world was called Tar’Sha’Lak.”

“Right,” Anna said, wincing at the weird name. “This makes the battle so much bigger. So much more…impossible. I’m starting to realize how tiny we are.”

“The Wanderer had faith in us, that we would find the answer,” I said. “Maybe…maybe we’re a lot closer than we think.”

Once again, Char and Anna looked at me.

“What would that answer be, Alex?” Anna asked.

I shook my head, and sighed. “I don’t know. I’m still thinking.”

“Maybe he knows,” Anna said, pointing at Quietus. “You said that dragon will tell you anything, and that he can’t disobey a direct order. Get him talking.”

I nodded. “It’s worth a shot. But…it’s draining.”

Anna grabbed my hand. “I’ll be right here. If you need to break off the connection…do what you have to do.”

I nodded. I turned back to Quietus, who met me with those chilling white eyes.

It was time to find out more.

* * *

Can Xenofall be stopped?

Something like amusement came from the dragon.

Stopped? Do not waste your thoughts on this, little human. You will not even reach Askala, who dwells in the depths of Ragnarok Crater.

There has to be a way, I thought. The Wanderer would not have died if there wasn’t a way.

You understand nothing, Quietus said. We are but thoughts that take mortal shape. We never truly die, until our thoughts die. Your kind has not learned this. If you are a thought, you can live forever.

You mean with the xenofungus, I said. Your memory, your being, returns there.

Yes, Quietus thought. You begin to understand now. You humans thought to do this with machines, but life is so much more complicated than machinery — infinitely more complex, beautiful and meticulous. Life gives endless possibilities for growth, for nurturing, for evolution — machines are hard lines, angles, inflexibility.

Your life is like a machine, I thought.

It is, in its essence, Quietus thought. All life is. To destroy us, you would have to destroy that which could never be destroyed: a thought. Even if all the xenofungus on this world were destroyed, the information is saved on countless other worlds. Thought-waves emanate outward, communicating, storing our beings for eternity.

Maybe you have no hope, I thought. But I do. I don’t believe the Wanderer would die for nothing. That’s why you’re going to help me.

And what is your command?

You and your dragons are to come with me. Immediately.

Quietus cocked his head. You mean…to ride me?

Yes, I thought. Is that a problem?

Yes. The problem is that I should be killing you. Only, I cannot.

I shook my head. You’re going to meet the Elekai.

Quietus hissed. I continued to stare, until at last, Quietus relented.

It shall be as you say.

I turned from Quietus. Anna and Char awaited the report.

“We’re going to the Great Blight,” I said.

“Now?” Anna asked.

I nodded. “You and me. Char, you can go back to Makara and the others and let them know what we’ve learned. When they’re done here, tell them to meet me at the Xenolith.”

“What are we going to do in the Great Blight?” Anna asked.

“Two things,” I said. “One, the Radaskim will hopefully be fully converted to our side by the Elekai dragons. And two…I need answers.”

“What answers? Do you think there’s a way to stop this?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “But I have to think beyond the Wanderer. Maybe the Elekai know something.”

“You mean the dragons?”

“The Wanderer spoke of songs crossing between the stars, a while ago. Perhaps there is something in them — some secret that will help me understand what I’m supposed to do.”

Anna touched my arm. “Alex…I don’t understand any of that, but if you think there might be answers…I’ll come with you.”

“I don’t know anything either, Anna. Maybe Quietus is right. Maybe it’s hopeless. But it’s not hopeless until we give up. The Wanderer believed there was hope, and that’s all I need.”

“Alright,” Char said. “I’m not sure about this, Alex. Just…don’t go doing anything stupid. Though I’m afraid you already are.”

“This is what I have to do,” I said.

“Maybe so,” he said. “But did you have to drag her into it?”

“We’ll be fine,” Anna said.

Char hugged Anna before backing away. It was time for us to depart.

I turned to Quietus. At a wordless command, the large Radaskim knelt to the ground to be mounted. Anna and I carefully climbed Quietus’s right haunch and settled on his back. His back was a little rougher than Askal’s, but not unbearably so. We were squeezed pretty tight between two spikes. Quietus raised his head, letting out a horrible roar. We were so high off the tarmac; Quietus was much bigger than any of the Elekai dragons.

“Do we have to do this?” Anna asked.

The other dragons watched, awaiting my command.

“We need to,” I said. “I have to get these dragons to the Elekai. I don’t trust them to make it on their own. My power might lessen with distance.”

“Maybe,” Anna said.

She wrapped her arms around me, and I gave the order.

Go.

Almost violently, Quietus shot into the sky. He gave two mighty flaps, and we were flying upward. I held on tightly so as not to fall, and Anna held tightly to me. Askal would never have lifted with such power, threatening to shake us off. It was as if Quietus was finding every opportunity to defy me.

As the ground dropped away, the other dragons lifted, forming a V behind Quietus. I realized that Quietus was the leader of the Radaskim dragons, now that Chaos was gone. If I controlled Quietus, I could control those who followed him.

Or at least, that was what I hoped.

* * *

The wasted, Blighted landscape passed below over the next few hours. The air was frigid until we were over the xenofungus, where warm updrafts took the edge off the cold. Even so, without pause, it wasn’t until nightfall that the Elekai Xenolith came into view.

Anna still held onto me, her head resting on my shoulder. She had been sleeping, or tying to sleep, for the past two hours now.

There it is, I said. Land nearby.

You do not want us to enter by the Dragons’ Way?

The Dragons’ Way?

I will show you. You have much to learn.

The Xenolith grew in size as we neared. Quietus flew around the Xenolith until we were on its opposite side.

Command it, human.

I thought for a moment. He wanted me to open the way into the Xenolith.

Open.

Below, the xenofungal floor began to open. Narrow at first, just a sliver of darkness. But the gap widened, until the entire surface of the fungus had pulled back to reveal a pink, iridescent glow, which I knew to be the surface of the lake.

Immediately, Quietus dipped below, stretching his wings as he descended. His dragons copied his movements almost exactly. The entrance rose to meet us. We sunk below the surface of the Great Blight; the air became muggy and thick from the humidity of the ichorous lake.

Quietus glided above the surface, settling on a far, empty shoreline. The other dragons, with flaps of wings, settled nearby, forming a line. They faced the pool itself. Above, the opening closed.

Anna and I hopped down from Quietus, stretching our stiff legs. All I could think about was how hungry I was and how much I had to pee. We’d been riding that thing for almost twelve hours straight.

“I don’t even care if this is holy ground or whatever,” Anna said. “Or if there are twenty dragons watching me.”

Toward our left, the shoreline bent around and was hidden by the wall of the cavern.

“You might get some privacy over there,” I said.

Anna went off while I waited with the Radaskim.

This place is vile, Quietus thought.

It’s your new home, I said. You better get used to it.

Quietus gave his trademark hiss, but thought nothing more.

Mordium, the crimson dragon, just stared with baleful, empty eyes. The rest of the dragons gazed across the surface of the lake, their thoughts unreadable.

Their stench fills this place, Quietus thought, his lower lip curling.

Anna returned from around the bend, and I decided it was my turn to go. I told her to stay where she was; I didn’t want her too close to the dragons while they were out of my sight. She stopped, and I went around the bend and relieved myself after twelve hours.

When I came back, the dragons were pretty much as I’d left them. The cavern was empty of the Elekai. They had to know that we were here, so either they would come, or we would have to go find them.

I stepped into the liquid, and closed my eyes.

Askal.

From somewhere in the cavern, I felt Askal’s consciousness respond.

You bring great evil into our home.

They will become Elekai, I said. The Wanderer purchased them with his death.

Hmm. Even those as dark as these?

Yes, I said. They have not come to realize it.

Their minds are dark, Askal thought. As is their intent. If we appear, it will go badly.

They will not disobey a direct command from me, I said. Is there a way we can make them turn faster?

They must decide for themselves, Askal said. The Wanderer has opened the path to their redemption. It is up to them to continue down that path.

Then they’ll never turn, I said. They truly hate everything. They have no hope and find joy only in killing.

Many things that seem impossible actually aren’t, Askal thought.

Can’t I just order them into the pool?

Willing obedience is better than forced obedience, Askal though. Do you think we began as Elekai?

The Wanderer changed you?

He helped us…remember.

Remember what?

Who we truly were.

That really didn’t help me. I certainly didn’t know anything more than the Wanderer, and I was expected to just step up and do his job.

It’s hard to make them remember when I don’t even know what it is they’re supposed to remember.

You came here to listen, did you not? The Eternal Song still resounds in the stars.

How do I listen?

You must quiet yourself, until there is nothing. Then a Voice will fill the silence…many voices. When you hear them, you will know. And make sure they also hear. The Song is the core of our being. Hearing it will help them remember.

I didn’t really understand exactly what Askal meant, but I decided to give it a try.

“What were you doing?” Anna asked.

“Talking to Askal. He says that I have to listen to the song of the Elekai.”

“And then you’ll know what to do?”

I paused. “I really don’t know. I have to start there, though.”

I closed my eyes, and listened. All I heard were the sounds around me — a dragon padding his foot on the fungus, the drip of liquid in the cavern. It became so quiet that I thought I could hear even the fungus growing. Something about that fungus drew me — I felt its consciousness fill my mind. The feeling was…overwhelming. I realized that this — the collective consciousness of the fungus — was the beating heart of the Elekai. Here were stored all the memories, thoughts, and instincts that guided a race. All the dead who had passed. All the spirits that awaited rebirth. Information continued to be added in a never-ending stream, from the stars themselves…

I realized that this was the Eternal Song of the Elekai.

Now in tune with the fungus, I turned my attention skyward — and I heard it. I could never interpret this information myself, or translate it into words. The fungus was the intermediary, and only through its vast intelligence could I begin to comprehend the soul of the Elekai beaming down from the heavens. There were Elekai, not just on this world, but on many others. There were also worlds that should have been, and worlds now dead. But still, every world had its own Song — all blended with perfect majesty of sadness and joy. It was a Song, never-ending, that I could never tire of hearing.

And I understood, in that moment, why the Radaskim could not win.

I conveyed the song to the Radaskim dragons. It was as if some ripple of energy coursed through them, paralyzing them. They realized the truth, just as I did, that the Radaskim’s quest for the Secrets of Creation could never come to pass. They sought to acquire the consciousness of every race in the universe, and even if successful, they would still come up short.

Because the Elekai held the Secrets. And the Elekai could never be conquered.

The truth was in the xenovirus itself. The dominant gene was Elekai, the recessive was Radaskim. A recessive gene could never countermand the dominant. The Radaskim could never conquer the Elekai, so long as the Elekai version of the xenovirus was in existence — and if it wasn’t in existence, that meant the Elekai were gone from the universe, along with the Secrets.

What these Secrets were, I could never comprehend — something older and deeper than the universe itself, woven into the very fabric of space-time. And, somehow, the Elekai were the key to unlocking it — a key the Radaskim could never acquire.

All of this information passed in a single moment from me to the Radaskim. Their entire philosophy — their religion — existed so that they could find those Secrets to recreate the universe. And here those secrets were, all along, living within themselves, the only place they could never find them.

Unless they became Elekai.

We will do as you say, Alex, Quietus answered at last. The Song speaks a truth higher than any I have ever known. This day, we become Elekai!

With that pronouncement, Quietus gave a terrifying roar, echoed by the rest of the dragons. He stepped forward toward the pool, setting one foot inside at first. The ichor surrounded it, but Quietus did not hesitate, only pressing on until the liquid reached the tips of his wings and rose up to his breast. Then, his long neck descended and plunged into the surface. The liquid frothed and churned about him, becoming cloudy. I realized it was cleansing him, converting the Radaskim virus that formed the essence of his being.

Next, other dragons stepped forward, entering the pool.

“What’s happening?” Anna asked.

“They are becoming Elekai,” I said.

“It worked!”

“They realized the truth.”

Anna turned to me. “What’s that?”

“The Secrets of Creation — the Secrets that can destroy and recreate the universe — they are known only by the Elekai. And the Elekai can never be conquered.”

“How can they not be conquered?” Anna asked. “Haven’t they been conquered on every world so far?”

“I mean, yes, they can be physically destroyed. I was referring more to the xenovirus itself. The Elekai version can’t be conquered by the Radaskim version.”

“Because it’s dominant, right?”

I nodded. “The only way a Radaskim can learn the Secrets is if they become Elekai. But doing so defeats the purpose of being Radaskim. If the Elekai ever die out — the Secrets go with them. That is why they can’t be conquered.”

“And what are those Secrets?”

I shook my head. “You kidding me? I don’t know. I don’t think anyone does. It’s so deep that it can only be understood by the entire collective consciousness of the Elekai, and maybe not even then. Maybe that’s the Elekai’s purpose: they only know the Secrets because they are its guardians. They plant the gardens, that they might understand them more. But maybe with all the gardens in the universe, it wouldn’t be enough.”

Anna was quiet, thoughtful. “So, what you’re telling me is that there is no way the Radaskim can win?”

I nodded. “That’s the way I understand it. I guess…this is how I turn Askala. She must listen to the Song and learn the truth as well.”

“They can still kill us,” Anna said. “Maybe the Elekai will win, in the end, but we’re still just caught in the middle of their war. It doesn’t stop us from dying.”

“That’s true,” I said. “And it doesn’t stop Xenofall from coming.”

“I guess all we can do,” Anna said, “is stop Askala and try to figure out the rest later.”

Knowing that the Secrets were safe with the Elekai didn’t change anything about what I had to do. Like the Wanderer, I had to take control of Askala, probably by giving up my life, just as the Wanderer had. But like the Radaskim dragons, would that only open the door to her redemption, or would it save her entirely? That answer remained unclear.

Quietus emerged from the pool, walking onto the shoreline. His form dripped pink ichor. He didn’t look any different, besides the eyes. They were still white, but not so empty.

I am…Elekai.

The other dragons emerged from the pool. As they lined up along the shoreline, Askal’s voice resounded in my head.

Well done.

I don’t feel like I did much.

We will show our new sisters our home, and they will learn all there is to know about being Elekai.

Wait. Sisters?

Yes — did you not know? They are the daughters of Askala. We are the sons of Elekim. But the dragons are all of one kind.

All this time, I’d thought of the Radaskim as males.

Elekim? He is…

Yes. He was the Wanderer. But now, you are Elekim, little human.

I didn’t know how I felt about that. There was no way I could fill the Wanderer’s shoes. I did not know as much, and to know as much as he did would change who I was. I didn’t want to change, but it was inevitable.

Your friends are coming, Askal thought. Enter the pool, and it will carry you to meet them.

“It’s time to go,” I said to Anna. “The dragons have found their home.”

She nodded. “We’re done then?”

“Yeah. We’ve done all we could.”

The current bore us away from the dragons, taking us through the Elekai caverns. We twisted through tunnels and openings, until at last we reached the familiar shoreline, the one with the tunnel that would lead to the exit. We left the ichorous lake behind and strode up the spiral tunnel, until we reached the door, enclosed with the roots of the Xenolith. The roots pulled back upon my touch, revealing the glowing alien fields that shone in the night.

We stepped into the warm air, to find Perseus parked about a hundred feet away. A moment after our exit from the Xenolith, people streamed off board to meet us. I couldn’t discern who they were in the darkness.

At last, we met halfway there. It was Ashton, Makara, Samuel, Julian, and Char.

“The dragons?” Makara asked.

“They are Elekai, now.”

“Bunker 84?” Anna asked.

“Michael, Lauren, and Ruth are keeping it safe,” Makara said. “Everything seems to have actually…stabilized.”

This had never been the case. We had been running like rats in the maze, just trying to reach the end. We had arrived at a place of relative peace, and the only thing left to be done was…

“It’s almost time, isn’t it?”

Ashton nodded. “We will have the final council on Skyhome. As soon as we are ready…the attack will begin.”

It wasn’t long, now. In a few days, it would all be over. Our last gamble. Finally, we had everyone on our side — Reapers, the Empire, and the New Angels. We even had the strongest of the Radaskim dragons converted to the Elekai cause. All that remained was the final battle, and that could only be decided at Ragnarok Crater.

Chapter 24

Perseus lifted off a few minutes later. Our course was Skyhome, which we hadn’t seen since we left for the Empire what seemed ages ago.

Over the next few days, every leader of the Wasteland resistance would be gathered here. Meanwhile, the people in Bunker 84 would be relocated to Los Angeles.

I would be out of action for a few days — Anna and I were to wait here as the others worked to transport Bunker 84’s residents to Los Angeles. Makara said I needed the rest, but really, who didn’t? All this was just to keep me out of action, safe for a short while. When I pointed this out to Anna, she actually agreed with Makara.

It was only for a couple of days, so I agreed. Besides, the break would be nice.

By the second day, though, I was starting to get restless. I ran around the Outer Ring, at distances and speeds far greater than a few months ago. I felt I could run forever, if I wanted to. Anna worked out with me as well. We did pretty much everything together. Anna was basically a glorified babysitter, making sure I didn’t get too bored or restless before everyone else arrived.

I’d often stand in the observation deck in the Outer Ring. Surrounded by the manifold plants and crops that grew there, I’d watch Earth pass by. Each time I saw North America, it was the same story. The Great Blight had grown to dominate almost all of the Continental United States. Before, it had just been the central U.S. — but now that pink fungus stretched from sea to shining sea. Just a thin sliver of coastline remained free of Blight, on the eastern and western seaboards, and also along the Gulf Coast. I wondered if there was something about the sea that stopped the xenofungus.

“There you are.”

I turned to see Anna approach. She had just showered, and her long black hair was damp.

“Looking for me?”

“Maybe.”

She smiled and came to stand by me. We watched the Earth pass in silence. The cloud cover was too thick for me to tell where it was.

“Is this where you go to contemplate the end of the world?” she asked.

“I thought the world already ended.”

“You know what I mean.”

I grabbed her hands, pulling her close. There was a bench, facing the windows for Earth-viewing. I led her there, and we sat. While I sat, she leaned against me, resting her head on my shoulder.

This was the first real chance we had to be together without worrying about survival. We had these two days, at least, before…

“Don’t talk about it,” Anna said.

“How did you know I was…?”

“I felt your body tense up,” she said. “Just…don’t talk about it. If I could, we’d go down there.”

She pointed, where the port gave a view of a dazzling, azure sea, pockmarked with green islands.

“The tropics?” I asked.

“Somewhere that’s not so cold,” she said. “That was my dream; after all this ended, we could get everyone to move somewhere far away from the Wasteland. Somewhere safe, somewhere beautiful, so we could forget the ugliness we grew up with. Maybe, with time, we could all heal.” She sighed. “Everything changed when that Wanderer came around.”

“You really don’t like him, do you?”

“I know it’s not his fault. He just had the misfortune of giving bad news.” She sighed. “Here we are, talking about it.”

“It’s alright,” I said.

She leaned further into me. I wished there was a way for me to take her worry and put it on myself. I didn’t have that power, though.

I caressed her shoulder, and she closed her eyes. We sat like this, for a while, long enough to watch the Earth pass three times. When the third rotation was over, I touched Anna on the shoulder.

“Hey.”

“Hmm?”

I waited a moment, to make sure she was really listening.

“I know we said not to talk about it. But…you’ll still be there with me, at the end?”

She turned to look at me. “What are you thinking? Of course I will. Even if I die.”

I felt a chill at those words. Yes, this was our final battle. People would die, most likely. But Anna…I couldn’t let her die. I would do anything to keep her alive.

“Just…I don’t want you to die,” I said. “There’s no reason for you to.”

“Alex, I’m going with you, and that’s final. If you don’t stay alive until the end, what’s the point of any of this?”

It was a good question, one which I couldn’t answer. Finally, I nodded.

“Alright. We’ll both go.”

“And anyone else who wants to,” Anna said. “We’ll need everyone down there if we’re to make it.”

I pulled Anna upward, until she was sitting in my lap. She faced me, wrapping her legs around my torso, keeping her eyes on me.

“We have a few days, Alex,” she said. “Let’s enjoy life, while it’s here to be enjoyed.”

She kissed me, deeply and passionately. I held her close.

“Anna…” I said.

She pulled back, looking at me. “What?”

The Outer Ring turned, and once more, the Earth came into view. There were no clouds. Only a shining blue sea.

“I…”

I was about to ask her a question that I’d been thinking about for a while — something that had only been in my dreams, since it could never be reality. But if I only had a few days left of life, then I needed to ask her.

Maybe it could be reality. If I could live in a dream, let it be for a few more days.

“Anna…this is going to sound crazy, but…”

I paused. I couldn’t stop now. I couldn’t deny what I felt, despite everything we had to go through.

“I want you to marry me.”

Her jaw dropped open. She looked at me, in disbelief of what I had just asked. My heart pounded; I was unbelieving myself. Had I really just opened myself up to look like a fool like this?

I waited for her to say no, that it was the stupidest thing that anyone had ever asked her.

“I…” she started. She still looked into my eyes. “Are you serious?”

“Anna,” I said. “I need you by my side. I need you as my wife.”

“Alex, how is that supposed to work? We’d be married for less than a week!”

“I can only tell you what I feel. I love you — deeply. I…want to be married to you. I want to be close to you, as close as I can ever be.”

Anna just looked at me, still in shock.

“I would say yes, but…how could we be married for just a few days? Doesn’t that just make it more painful?”

“I understand if you say no. It’s…asking a lot.”

Anna grew quiet. She didn’t remove herself. She laid her head on my shoulder, and held me.

“I love you, Alex. Even…even if this doesn’t happen, I just want you to know that. You’ve sort of dropped a bomb on me. You can’t expect me to answer without thinking about it.”

“I know,” I said.

She pulled back, looking into my eyes. I knew she would say no, in that moment. She was distancing herself from me. She would still help me, in the end, but why would she add to that pain of it by saying yes?

“Alex…let’s do it.”

I looked up at her, almost in disbelief. I wasn’t sure if I’d heard her right.

“What? Really?”

“Love is enough, isn’t it?” she asked. “Who cares about anything else? Maybe…maybe this could have a happy ending. I know it’s stupid to think that, but if I’m in love, I have a good excuse to be stupid.”

“It’s not stupid. I think.”

“So, we’re really going through with this?”

I nodded. “I’m serious.”

She smiled. “Okay. When?”

“I’ll let everyone know when they get up here. We’ll set up something small.”

She laughed. “They’ll think we’re crazy.”

“Except that we are crazy. I’m serious, though.”

Anna smiled. “I know. I am, too.”

“Good.”

“Well…now that we’re engaged, what should we do?”

I shrugged. “Don’t know. I’m kind of hungry.”

“Ugh. That’s an Alex answer.”

“Aren’t those the best kind?”

“Maybe.”

“Are you saying you’re not hungry?”

Her brow furrowed, as if in deep thought. “Yeah. I guess I am.”

Anna didn’t move. She held on to me tightly, as if pinning me to the bench.

“But give me a kiss, first.”

I pulled her close, pecking her on the lips.

“Like you mean it. Like you want to marry me.”

I kissed her deeply, strongly.

“That’s more like it,” Anna said. “I guess we can go eat, now.”

“After that, we’ll let everyone know.”

* * *

We let the crew know about our decision later that day when they updated us on how things were going below.

“You what?” Makara asked.

“It’s true,” Anna said. “We want to get married.”

Shocked silence was the only answer from the other end. I had no idea what they were thinking.

“When?” Samuel asked.

“We were thinking as soon as you guys got up here,” I said. “It wouldn’t have to be anything major, so that it wouldn’t distract from the mission…”

“We’ll do it,” Makara said. “It would be good for morale, and a great way for everyone to let off a little steam.”

Anna and I looked at each other. She was holding back laughter from the way Makara put it.

“One word,” Michael said. “Party.”

“Michael!” I said. “Didn’t you realize you were there.”

“Now you do, I guess,” Michael said. “Congrats, buddy! How’d you pop the question?”

I was thrilled that everyone was so enthusiastic about it. I thought they’d think I was crazy.

“It’s been something I’ve been thinking about for a while,” I said. “We were just watching the world pass by and the time seemed right.”

“Where’d you find a ring?” Julian asked.

“Er…what?”

“Tell me you got her a ring, Alex.”

Was I missing something? Getting a ring seemed a little old-fashioned. The only rings you could get these days were off the fingers of dead people, of whom Jade was a case in point. I definitely wasn’t going to give Anna one of that greaseball’s rings.

“Don’t listen to them.” It was Ruth. “It’s the commitment that counts.”

“Yeah, I don’t really care, either,” Anna said. “It didn’t even cross my mind.”

“We’ll whip something up for you, buddy,” Michael said. “Don’t worry about a thing.”

I was honored, and humbled, that everyone was already celebrating. I didn’t think it would be that big a deal, but apparently, it was. Everyone seemed truly happy about it, which was more than I could wish for.

“I just have to say that you are an inspiration, Alex,” Julian said.

One person who hadn’t yet spoken was Ashton; neither had Char. Maybe they weren’t present. Voices buzzed in the background, and I couldn’t really discern what they were saying through the speakers.

“How much longer until you guys get here?” I asked.

“We should be another day,” Makara said. “And don’t worry. We’ll take care of everything.”

I almost felt tears come to my eyes at their level of commitment.

“Thanks. I can’t say that enough.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Michael said. “We’ll do this first thing. Like Makara said, we need something to celebrate. We’ve been working way too hard!”

“We can find some beer in Los Angeles,” Samuel said. “Or maybe Augustus has some wine we can use.”

This was becoming real. It was a bit overwhelming.

“Where are we having it?” Julian asked. “I know by New America, the beach is not so far away.”

“Yuck,” Makara said. “I’ve seen that water, and it looks like a giant Behemoth took a dump in it.”

“This is my homeland you speak of,” Julian said.

“Just telling you how it is,” Makara said.

“And where would you suggest, Makara?”

“Easy,” Makara said. “Why not Baja California? It’s beautiful, with that beach and those waves, with water so blue that you wouldn’t even believe it’s real. Besides, it’s warm, and not far from Nova Roma. Augustus might be willing to part with some food and beverages. For the sake of morale.”

Makara was right. The one time we did go there, to refill Odin, Baja was very beautiful. It was also where I’d kissed Anna for the first time, and told her how I felt.

“That’s perfect,” I said.

“I feel the same way,” Anna said. “I thought we were just going to do it here.”

“Skyhome?” Makara asked. “No way. There’s nothing romantic about that place.”

“I don’t know,” Samuel said. “You’re sort of among the stars, and all that greenery in the Outer Ring? It’s like something out of a dream.”

“I hope you’re kidding.”

“They could get married in front of the viewing deck,” Samuel went on, “and kiss right when the Earth passes!”

“Well,” Makara said, “it’s a good thing you’re not planning this wedding, brother.”

“I like Baja,” Michael said. “It should be warm enough if we go far enough south, like Makara said. The beach is a classic choice.”

Everyone murmured, apparently agreeing with Michael’s decision. I didn’t know how he nominated himself for the wedding planner position. It seemed like it should be more of a female role, but I trusted Michael to know what he was doing.

“Gus might be able to help out with flowers and stuff as well,” Makara said.

“Let’s keep it simple,” I said. “Let’s just see what we can throw together in a couple of days and go from there.”

“Alex, my lad,” Michael said. “It takes many weeks to plan a wedding.”

“Really? How long did yours take?”

Michael went quiet. “I don’t know. Five minutes, I guess. This is different, though. Everyone’s eye will be on you, and it has to be perfect.”

“Michael,” Anna said, suppressing a laugh, “I’ve never seen this side of you before. I think you’ve missed your calling.”

“We’ll see what we can cook up,” Michael said. “We’ve got the location down, and that’s half the battle.”

The others talked amongst themselves for a while, hammering out details. I heard Julian say something about getting Augustus on the line.

“Look,” I said. “We have to go.”

“Wait, we have questions to ask,” Michael said. “Who’s invited?”

“Anyone who wants to come!” I said. “This is your baby, now.”

“We need music,” Michael said. “And food.”

“New America can help with both!” Julian said. “My sister plays the guitar and sings. And she has friends that play guitar as well.”

“I’m glad,” I said. “Let us know what you guys come up with.”

Anna took me by the arm. “Alex, I know this isn’t your thing, but we’re going to need your input. Okay?”

I knew Anna was right. I nodded. “Alright.”

For the next hour or two, we planned. Food. Music. Invitees. We could use the ship’s galleys to cook, as well as make fire pits for roasted pork. If Augustus agreed, we could get some wine, food, and flowers from him. Maybe even a dress for Anna.

The only thing that wasn’t mentioned was that this marriage could only last a few days — and from the way they were throwing together this celebration, it was as if they planned on its lasting a lifetime.

When most everything had been settled, Michael spoke.

“Alright. All we have to do is get Augustus on the line and confirm that we can use his resources. We’ll have to get everything to the wedding site. And there are cooks to find, people to raise the pavilion, chairs, tables…”

“It sounds like you’ll be busy,” Anna said.

“All of us will,” Julian said. “There’s so much to do.”

I was grateful to have friends like these, who not only supported my decision, but were going to do everything they possibly could to make it unforgettable. The most important part, though, was that I was going to marry the girl I loved. Even if it wasn’t going to be forever, we were showing the world that it mattered. That we mattered, even if our mission demanded that we make the ultimate sacrifice. It would be the last thing people expected, to defy the tragedy of our situation.

The fact that we would all die made the living all the more important. Life was sacred because it was so easily extinguished; it was also sacred because of its uncanny ability to endure, no matter what. We had the power to be happy, even in the midst of pain. We could celebrate, even if there was no real reason.

We celebrated because we were alive, because that was what we did.

Chapter 25

The arrangements with Augustus were made, and he agreed to provide all the requested items, on one condition: that he, his wife, and his children could be invited to the wedding. I would have wanted him there, anyway; he had proved a friend, even after our original distrust.

However one broke it down, I was glad Augustus was on our side. Maybe he still wanted to control everything, but in the end, Augustus was Augustus, and the Wasteland would probably be better off in his hands, anyway.

I was in the process of getting ready. There was less than an hour left, and I was getting nervous. Michael had trimmed my hair aboard the Perseus; Anna was getting ready on Orion. Thankfully, Michael left some length so that I wouldn’t be totally unrecognizable.

I looked in the mirror in the lavatory one last time. I was shaven, my hair trimmed, and clean. Even a healthy tan remained from my time in Nova Roma. I had to admit, Michael had made me as handsome as I’d probably ever be. There was a maturity to my face that had been lacking three months ago.

“Not bad,” Michael said. “You clean up good.”

“Thanks.”

I sat on my stool, staring at the brown clumps of hair that had fallen on the deck. Michael began to sweep them up, throwing them in a nearby garbage can. Once he was done, he brushed his hands together.

“Let’s get ready,” he said. “Ceremony’s getting close.”

I went to my cabin, dressing myself in the uniform laid out for me. I had protested at first, because I really wasn’t a soldier, and didn’t feel like I’d earned the right to dress like one. Michael told me that I was more soldier than a lot of soldiers he knew, and that put an end to the argument.

In fact, all my groomsmen — Michael, Samuel, and Julian — were wearing the same uniform as I was: we found the military clothing in the dresser aboard Perseus. Michael was my best man. I would have been happy with any of them, really, but Michael had done so much to help out that he deserved the spot.

The uniforms were dusty and wrinkled from lack of use, but Augustus put some of his party staff on the job, and had them crisp and clean in a matter of minutes. The uniforms were Air Force blue, both the pants and the three-buttoned jacket, and with a matching dark blue tie. Ashton said the Air Force uniforms were fitting, given how much we had flown around, though he also said real airmen wouldn’t have lost over sixty percent of the United States Space Fleet.

Michael and I got dressed, and I felt nothing but uncomfortable in the uniform. I figured, though, if Anna was wearing a dress, I’d look a little off if I didn’t dress up as well. Apparently, Augustus had given her an amazing white dress, so people probably wouldn’t be looking at me much, anyway.

Finally, Michael handed me some shiny, black shoes. I slipped them on.

“Alright, stand up straight,” Michael said.

I stood off my stool. Michael held out a small mirror, where I looked at my reflection again.

“You’ve come a long way, kid.”

I turned to see Char standing in the cabin’s doorway.

“Everyone’s made it?” I asked.

Char nodded. “Yeah. People are getting seated right now. Me…” He smiled. “I get the honor of escorting the bride.”

“Have you seen her?”

Char chuckled. “That’s bad luck, kid. Did no one tell you that?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Think I may have heard that somewhere. What about Samuel? Julian?”

Samuel and Julian appeared behind Char, dressed and looking snazzy.

“So, we ready?” Michael asked.

Samuel and Julian nodded, but they were watching me.

“You have the ring?” I asked.

Michael nodded. “Yeah. Still in my pocket.”

“Let me see it.”

I didn’t know why, but I wanted to make sure it was really there. The ring was also a gift from Augustus, which he got from one of the best jewelers in Nova Roma. Augustus had gone through so much trouble and had given so much that I had no idea how to thank the man.

The ring itself was probably the fanciest and most beautiful piece of jewelry I’d ever seen. It was a product of the Old World. It was hard to imagine anyone having the ability to craft such a magnificent piece, even in the Empire. The band was platinum, twisting and swirling intricately, and the top had a large diamond, which must have cost a fortune. Smaller diamonds were set in the platinum swirls.

“It looks incredible,” Julian said. “So shiny.”

I felt like the wedding expenditures had gotten out of proportion, but it had all been others’ idea. Anna and I loved each other, and that was what mattered. If all of our friends wanted to celebrate in style, who were we to stop them?

“Alright,” I said, handing the ring back to Michael. “I’m ready.”

* * *

I waited on the constructed wooden stage. Behind me, the waves crashed against the shoreline. We were set up in the exact location where we had rested all those months ago. Down the beach, at water’s edge, a huge cliff rose, against which waves crashed. Two sections of seating faced toward me, a lane of sand running in-between them. Ashton and I were the only ones standing here above. He would be conducting the ceremony, since he was the closest thing we had to a preacher. Which was a scary thought, if you thought about it.

Familiar faces filled the crowd: there were Marcus, Grudge, and several other Raiders and Exiles I recognized. Augustus was sitting up front, as we had promised, along with his wife, the Empress, and his youngest son, who was probably ten years old. The Empress was a beautiful woman, tall, regal, with long, dark hair, and dressed in a flowing, green gown.

The fact that such a diversity of people had gathered was a symbol: we were no longer divided. We were all on the same side, and we were going to celebrate together, fight together, and even die together.

The sky was a perfect blue, like out of a storybook, and puffs of white clouds trailed above. The air was slightly cool, but perfect. I wasn’t too hot in my uniform, which had been my fear.

My heart began to race when, at long last, a stream of people exited a large pavilion set up on the green hill rising above the beach. That line flowed downward, including all my friends. First came Callie, with a basket of flowers, followed by the groomsmen and bridesmaids, set in two lines, after which came a beautiful girl in a white dress that dazzled in the sunlight, still too distant to make out the details. Next to Anna walked a man who must have been Char, also in an airman’s uniform.

The line advanced slowly toward the seating. My eyes kept trying to find Anna, but she was mostly hidden behind the others. Julian was escorting Makara, Samuel was escorting Ruth, while Michael escorted Lauren. Makara, of course, was Anna’s maid-of-honor. Their first encounter, three months ago, had consisted of Anna’s placing a blade at Makara’s throat. It was funny how things had worked out.

Standing in front of everyone, with a basket filled with white and yellow rosebuds, was Callie. When the two guitar players from New America began to play, one strumming and one picking, she walked forward, flowers streaming and falling in the wind. When she reached the end of the lane, she was grabbed by Ada before she could cause any trouble, as six-year-olds were wont to do. Ada pulled Callie close, sitting next to Deborah and some of the other former Community women.

As the music continued, Julian and Makara walked forward, arm-in-arm. Makara wore a light blue dress that shimmered like deep sapphire. Augustus had taken pains to provide all the women in the wedding these beautiful blue dresses, chosen to reflect the color of the Pacific Ocean. Makara was striking in her dress, and until this day, I could have never imagined her wearing one. She looked radiant.

As Makara and Julian fanned out, each taking their place on either side of the stage, Samuel and Ruth walked up next. Samuel looked strong and handsome in his uniform. Ruth, also, was striking in her blue dress, and her wavy blonde hair tumbled downward and her blue eyes shone brightly.

Last of all came Michael, escorting Lauren. They both smiled up at me. As they parted, Michael winked before taking his place beside me.

Everyone in the wedding party now stood on the stage — everyone but Anna. With Michael and Lauren now on stage, Anna was revealed. She was so beautiful that my heart nearly stopped. Her dress shimmered, almost silvery in the sunlight. Everyone drew their breath at how lovely she was. The dress itself was bedecked with colorful sequins that gave contrast to the brilliant white. Augustus, clearly, had spared no expense, and this wedding dress would have been fitting for an Empress.

But the true beauty was Anna herself, and everyone knew it. Her green eyes found mine, and she gave a small smile. There was nothing in the world but that face, those eyes looking into mine.

The guitar players transitioned into a new song — one which I could not name, but was instantly familiar to me. I’d heard it in movies I’d watched back in Bunker 108. I only knew it was the wedding song.

As the music started, Anna strode forward. My eyes were so focused on her that I didn’t even notice Char escorting her. Unlike the others, he wore his typical Raider garb, but it suited him. His blue eyes dazzled as I shifted my focus to him. As with Michael, he gave a sly wink.

Before he let Anna go, he said something to her. She nodded before he helped her up the steps.

Char retreated to his chair, sitting next to Augustus on the front row.

Anna stood facing me. Looking at her face, I could almost forget how nervous I was. We held hands and looked into each other’s eyes.

Ashton stepped forward to begin the proceedings. I had no idea what he had prepared.

“Dearly beloved,” he said, loud enough to be heard by everyone, “we’re gathered here today to see two young people join together in matrimony, and…” He paused a moment, shaking his head. “I feel like these things are in danger of going on too long, especially when there’s food to eat and booze to drink. But more importantly than that, there’s love to celebrate.”

Ashton motioned to Michael. Michael moved forward, handing me the ring. I held the ring, turning to face Anna.

“In accordance with the happy couple’s wishes, I’m going to keep this short. So, Alex…repeat after me.”

He said the words, which I repeated: “I, Alexander Lorin Keener, take you, Anna Bliss, to be my wife, to love and to cherish, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, in life and in death, from this day forward. I give to you this ring, as a symbol of my constancy and devotion, from now until the end of my days. With this ring, I thee wed.”

I slipped the ring on her left ring finger.

“And you, Anna,” Ashton said, voice thick. “Repeat after me.”

Anna said the same words, and as she did so, a tear came down her face. I knew what she was thinking. We would only have a few days to enjoy this. But at least the world would know that we had loved each other.

Anna slipped my ring on: a thick gold band that was unadorned, but classic. We continued holding hands as Ashton continued.

“You have said your vows. You have exchanged your rings. There is nothing left to separate you from becoming man and wife.”

Ashton turned to me. “Alex. Do you take Anna to be your wife, to hold and to cherish, to love and to protect, for the rest of your days?”

“I do.”

Ashton waited a moment before turning to Anna.

“Anna…do you take Alex to be your husband, to love and protect, to hold and cherish, for the rest of your days?”

She smiled. “I do.”

Ashton waited a moment, before breaking into a smile. “That’s it. You’re husband and wife. Alex, you may kiss the bride.”

I smiled, lifting Anna’s veil. She smiled as I leaned forward to kiss her.

The crowd applauded, and I probably kissed her a little longer than I was supposed to, but as far as mistakes go, I guessed that one was okay to make.

I held out my arm, which she took, and escorted her down the lane toward the green hill.

We waited at the base of the hill, where all of our friends came to congratulate us.

I looked at Anna.

“Well. We’re married.”

“Yeah,” she said. “It’s weird, huh?”

“I guess so.”

From the sea, thunder boomed. I turned to see dark gray clouds on the horizon.

“That’s not a good sign,” I said.

“Quit being superstitious,” Anna said.

“We should get to the pavilion,” I said. “They’ll have the food ready soon.”

Anna smiled. “Always thinking about food.”

“I know you are, too,” I said. “Don’t lie.”

“Come on,” Michael said. “Let’s get up there before we get drenched!”

The storm was fast advancing, and already, a few fat drops were falling and the wind had picked up. We vacated the beach, where the waves had increased in size, and made our way up the hill.

Hopefully, during the meal, the pavilion would stay standing.

* * *

By the time the storm came, everyone had gathered inside the pavilion. The wind and rain buffeted against its westward side, but not so hard that the pavilion was in any danger of collapsing. In fact, the pavilion’s interior was cozy, filled with a rosy, red light from hanging lamps. The food had been cooked and prepared beforehand, overseen by none other than Mayor Herbert Shaw of New America. He and several of his residents had roasted pork and vegetables, as well as baked some flatbread. From the farms of Skyhome had come fruits and salads, and from the Empire itself Augustus had a cake prepared, which I was now seeing for the first time. It was three-tiered and covered with thick, white frosting.

The cake, along with the food, was set on a long banquet table in the center of the pavilion. Tables and chairs were set up around various tables inside the tent. No less than two vats of wine had been brought along with the cake, from Augustus’s own cellar. With the rings, the dresses, the food, and the wine, there was no way we could ever repay him. Still, I knew all this stuff had barely made a dent in his vast wealth.

I had the opportunity to meet Augustus’ wife, the Empress of Nova Roma, along with the Royal Heir, whose name was Hadrian. She congratulated me on my wedding and said that she and her husband had been looking forward to it.

When everyone was seated, Ashton stood and whistled, getting everyone’s attention.

“We’ll go by table, starting with the bride and groom, and work our way around,” he said. “Let’s eat!”

There was general cheering and applause. We filled our plates with food and our cups with wine, and dug into our meal. The food was delicious. Even as it rained and thundered outside, we laughed and celebrated for what seemed the first time in my life. I was so happy, maybe aided a bit by the wine (which Anna made me stop drinking by my second cup). There wasn’t enough happiness in the world, and it was great that there was at least this one day to celebrate it.

The pavilion was filled with a lively hum as everyone ate. At our large table sat all of our closest friends — most of the inner crew, along with Marcus, Augustus, and his wife and son. From time to time, I would catch glimpses of other people I had met throughout my journey. Jonas Sparks sat a few tables away, talking intently to Deborah — who seemed to be vaguely interested in what he had to say — while Marcus sat on Deborah’s other side, staring daggers at Sparks. Mayor Shaw sat with Julian’s mother and sister the next table over. Julian was among them, laughing — and standing next to Julian, holding his hand, was none other than Makara herself.

Grudge sat quietly with some of his Suns in a corner, sipping a cup of wine — the gang was no more, but the friendship among their members had continued. Meanwhile, the guitarists from New America began to play music, and from time to time, Julian’s sister would get up to sing. I never really knew the songs. There hadn’t been much time for music in my life. Still, it was lively, and seemed good to dance to.

“Come on,” Anna said, grabbing me by the hand.

Some space had been cleared in one of the pavilion’s corners, near where the band was set up. I noticed that Anna and I were the only ones dancing.

“I never really learned how to dance,” I said.

Anna smiled. “Me neither. Now’s a good time to learn then, huh?”

I didn’t feel too nervous about it. I was only happy, and happiness made it easy to dance.

“Just do this,” Anna said, placing my right hand in the small of her back. “And hold my left hand, over here…”

She moved her feet, slowly to the tempo of the music. Everyone quieted as all eyes turned on us. I felt a bit self-conscious. I just tried to time my steps with Anna, which was harder than it seemed. After a moment, though, I got the hang of it. We danced and turned with ease, almost becoming one.

“Not bad,” Anna said.

“You’re really graceful,” I said.

Her face reddened a bit. “Well…I kind of lied. I had a bit of practice. My dad, when he was alive…he showed me how to dance when I was little.”

I nodded. That must have been a long time ago.

We continued dancing until the song was over. Anna suddenly stopped, but I didn’t want her to. But everyone around us was clapping, and the band struck up another tune, with a faster beat.

I then realized that we weren’t done dancing, only that everyone else was coming to dance with us.

An hour went by in what seemed minutes. We were only stopped when Ashton interrupted us, pointing to the cake.

“Not to stop the party,” Ashton said, “but we non-dancers are getting a bit impatient staring at that cake.”

“Then have some!” I said.

Ashton laughed, and shook his head. “Bride and groom get the first bite. And make sure you feed her the first bite.”

“Why?” I asked.

“It’s just a thing,” he said. “Trust me.”

We stood around the cake. Ashton did the honors of cutting a rather large piece. We didn’t have cake in Bunker 108. I’d heard about it, seen it in movies, but no one ever actually made it. Most of the desserts we had were fruit-based, and were actually pretty good. But the way this cake even smelled was heavenly; the frosting was wavy and looked sticky. I noticed the cake itself was brown.

“It’s chocolate,” Anna said, with wonder.

I’d never eaten chocolate before — it wasn’t really native to the Wasteland, but apparently, they grew it in the Empire. Ashton put the cake on my plate, looking almost sad to let it go.

“I haven’t eaten chocolate in almost twenty years,” he said. “This alone is almost enough for me to forgive the old bastard.”

I took the cake and a fork. I partitioned off a small piece, and lifted it to Anna’s mouth. She took a bite that was both eager and delicate at the same time. I didn’t see how she managed that.

After she took her bite, she did the same for me. When the cake entered my mouth, an explosion of rich sweetness radiated from my taste buds. Words could not describe how good it tasted. If it weren’t for all the people there, I probably would have started stuffing my face at that moment.

Now that we had our cake, everyone else started to get theirs. The dancing was suspended for the moment while everyone devoured the sweet dessert.

We ate and danced late into the night. By the time people filtered out of the pavilion, the rain had ceased. It was a strange thing, having a wedding all the way out here. For the first time, I realized that there was nowhere for people to sleep. That was when I realized that people would be sleeping aboard both of the spaceships.

The air was warm, even after the rain. I followed the procession of people into the night.

“What now?” Anna asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I’m really tired.”

“You’re not sleeping, yet!” Michael said, stepping outside the pavilion. “There’s still the honeymoon.”

“And where will this honeymoon take place?” Anna asked. “Everyone is sleeping on the spaceships!”

“We have something set up for you guys on the beach,” Michael said, giving a wink. “Come on.”

Michael turned to the crowd, telling them that we were going away for a while. Everyone laughed and cheered; Augustus and Ashton raised their cups in tandem. Alcohol, it seemed, had made them forget their differences for the moment.

Michael led us down the hill and away from the crowd streaming in to the two spaceships for the night. They waved as we walked away from them. We arrived at the ocean, and Michael led us across the sand.

“Where are you taking us?” I asked.

“Almost there,” he said. “Just another minute.”

We rounded the promontory that jutted out into the sea — the rock formation arched over the sand, leading to a beach on the other side. Set up under a stand of palm trees was another pavilion — smaller than the one we had used.

“This is it,” Michael said. “It’s all yours. You have all day tomorrow to enjoy it.”

“All day?” I said. “What will we do?”

Michael chuckled. “You’re about to find out.”

My cheeks burned as he turned and jogged away.

“Not much for subtlety, that one,” Anna said, kicking off her shoes and leaving them on the sand.

“Well…” I said. “Yeah.”

Anna smiled, facing the sea. She still wore her white dress, of course, but the veil had been lost somewhere on the way.

“They didn’t really plan this well,” she said. “Having me wear this beautiful dress on this beach.” She pulled up the train, to show me how the sand had worked its way between the fine fabric and sequins. “See?”

“I see that.”

We both turned to watch the waves, calmer now that the storm was over. The stars had come out in full, painting the sky with crystalline light.

“I’m going to change out of this,” she said. “Let’s sit by the water for a bit.”

She went into the pavilion. I kicked off my shoes and socks — the shoes were practically ruined from walking over the wet grass and sand. I took off my jacket and white dress shirt, following Anna into the pavilion.

The inside of the pavilion was covered thickly with fine carpets. A full-size bed filled with plush pillows and soft, luxurious covers dominated the space, all lit by an overhanging lamp.

“Where’d you find your clothes?” I asked.

“They left our stuff in here,” she said, pointing to a duffel bag filled with her clothes. “Yours is on the other side.”

I dug out a more comfortable pair of pants, and changed, leaving my dress clothes behind.

Anna looked at me before heading back outside. I followed her to the shoreline, to the edge of where the surf stopped and retreated to the vast sea.

We sat there, Anna sitting in front and leaning into me, our legs outstretched. The surf touched our feet, cold and dark.

We’d been sitting in silence for ten minutes, when she spoke.

“What do you think about, looking at those waves?”

I took a moment to think of an answer.

“I’m…just at peace, right now. I’m not really thinking of anything.” I squeezed her arm. “What about you?”

“I don’t know. It’s amazing, though. The sea. Each wave is like a generation. The ones that come after build on the ones that came before. Even as the greatest wave recedes, another rises to take its place.”

We sat there a while longer, watching the moon make its ascent. With it the tides rose, forcing us to get up and move. I took Anna’s hand, making her face me.

We kissed under the stars and high moon, as the waves passed up the shoreline. When we broke, we walked back to the pavilion.

We undressed and lay on the bed together, and looked into each other’s eyes. I held her in embrace. I kissed her again, and we became one.

Chapter 26

Even after morning dawned, we continued to sleep. By midmorning, I finally forced myself up. I exited the pavilion to watch waves crash on the shoreline.

After ten minutes, Anna came out to join me, wearing a white tee shirt and shorts. Her hair was strewn by the strong wind.

“Good morning, husband,” she said.

“Good morning, wife.”

“I had to get that out of the way.” She paused. “I’m starving. Did they leave us out here without nothing?”

We went back to the pavilion to find an ice chest set against the leeward side. We must have missed it last night, in the darkness. I opened it, finding a jug of wine, next to some of the leftovers from last night’s meal.

“Guess that answers that,” I said.

We ate and spent the rest of the morning and afternoon together. Anna and I talked, about anything we could think of. From time to time, reality would cross my mind, like a dark cloud — what I had to do, or how this couldn’t last. Anna seemed to know when this happened, because she’d go quiet.

It was hard not to find myself thinking her way. Maybe she was right. Maybe there was a way for me to survive. I only had to do my job, and in the end, I might find a way to do it without dying.

I didn’t tell Anna what I was thinking. What was important was enjoying our one day together.

* * *

Dusk came at last. We lay on the beach, watching the stars appear one by one — just a few, and then hundreds.

“I wish I knew what they were called,” I said.

“There’s still time to learn.”

“Do you know them?”

“No. When you grow up without the stars, you don’t really think about them.”

The remains of the sunset were just a purple glow on the west. The stars were now full, bright, and spectacular. I felt like I could watch them for hours.

Anna pointed. “Look.”

It was a bright star, moving across the sky at a steady pace.

“Skyhome,” Anna said. “It’s so bright!”

“Wish we had a telescope,” I said. “It’d be great to see it up close.”

We watched Skyhome for another minute. I turned my attention to other stars.

“It’s changing,” Anna said. “Look!”

Skyhome brightened, dimmed, brightened again.

“That’s weird,” I said.

We continued watching Skyhome — over time, its brightness dimmed.

“What’s happening to it?” Anna asked.

“A trick of the light, maybe.”

Even though I said that, I suddenly got a very bad feeling.

“Come on. We need to find the others.”

We grabbed all our things and ran along the beach, back to the shoreline on the other side of the promontory. As we ran, Skyhome brightened, soon followed by falling streaks of light, streaming downward from above.

“What’s happening?” Anna asked, horrified. “It’s gone, isn’t it? Skyhome is gone!”

I looked up at the sky again — where once there had been one bright point of light, there were now two.

We reached the hill — the pavilion was no longer there, but Perseus was. Michael ran down the hill, as if coming out to meet us.

“Michael!” I said. “What’s going on?”

He stopped at the edge of the beach, staring upward as if he didn’t believe his eyes.

“Skyhome’s gone,” he said.

Dozens of lights streaked from the sky — pieces of the former sky city burning as they entered the atmosphere. I thought of all those people up there, how I had been there just two days before.

“We need to get everyone inside Perseus,” I said. “Is everyone still here? Did someone let Ashton know?”

Michael didn’t answer. From his silence, I knew something was wrong.

Ashton had been up there.

* * *

At first, we didn’t know how Skyhome fell, whether it was a chance collision with a stray piece of debris or rock, or something more nefarious. We knew it had to be something big, because the space city had torn in half.

Ashton had been up there, managing some business related to the sky city, when it was struck. Augustus had allowed him to use Orion to get up there.

Makara decided to go into space to survey the damage. Such a suggestion was dangerous — the amount of debris generated by Skyhome ripping apart would be huge. Makara thought there might be some clue about what had happened to Skyhome, and there was the possibility that Ashton had survived aboard the Orion.

If Ashton was gone, I didn’t know what we’d do.

Perseus broke through the upper atmosphere, and when we achieved orbit gravity loosened its hold. Everyone sat positioned in the bridge; Anna and I had to share a seat in order to give everyone else enough space to sit.

“Orion,” Makara began, for at least the sixth time. “Do you have a copy?”

She repeated this for the next five minutes as we orbited around Earth. At long last, the shattered remains of Skyhome came into view above the blue curve of the planet. Most of the colony was gone, burned in the atmosphere below. Only broken chunks were left behind

“Orion.” Makara’s voice had thickened. “Do you have a copy? This is Makara. This is Perseus. If anyone is alive out there…please respond.”

Silence was our only answer. Shredded metal and plastic swirled in a deadly, zero-g dance. Small remnants of the former city burned upon reentry above a blue-shining ocean.

Everyone was dead, destroyed in a single instant. It could have been an impact, but I knew the truth.

It was Askala.

“How did they get up here?” Anna asked.

No one answered, because no one knew. Maybe they had shot something. Was that beyond their capabilities? There were too many questions, too few answers.

“Can we track Orion?” Samuel asked. “Maybe they got out…”

“Orion had no tracker,” Michael said. “Sparks removed it.”

That was that, then. The only sliver of hope we had was that Ashton had escaped on Orion. If he had done so, he would have contacted us by now. We had no way to track him, so we could only assume the worst.

“Doesn’t Skyhome have escape pods?” Anna asked.

“Yes,” Makara said. “They would be on the surface by now. We’d have to search out their radio signal, and I have no idea what that signal would be.”

“Only Ashton would know that,” Anna said.

In the space of two days, my world had turned upside down. The Wanderer, dead. Now, Ashton was gone, too.

“He was a good man,” Samuel said. “Wise. Knowledgeable. He knew so much, not just about our mission and the xenovirus, but about life.”

To my side, Anna’s eyes watered with tears. Makara clenched a fist, no longer controlling the spacecraft.

“What are we going to do?” I asked.

The bridge was quiet for a whole minute. There was no sound, no feeling but the shock. The idea of Ashton’s being dead was unimaginable.

“Sometimes, you lose someone so important,” Makara said, “so vital, that you wonder how you’re ever going to go on.” She wiped her eyes, and took up the controls. “That’s when you have to go on.” She nodded to Anna. “Get Augustus on the line. He needs to know.”

With shaking fingers, Anna opened the frequency.

“Augustus. You there?”

The Emperor responded shortly.

“If this is about the old man, he’s here in Nova Roma at the hospital.”

Everyone in the bridge started.

“What?” Makara yelled. “Why didn’t you call, you stupid…”

“There is no time for banalities,” Augustus said. “Please see that you come to the Imperial City within the next hour. His wounds are grievous. My surgeons are doing all they can, but he may not last the night.”

“Alright,” Makara said. “We’ll be there soon.”

“Park in Central Square,” he said. “And hurry.”

We left the shattered space city behind and ducked into the atmosphere.

* * *

We made landing in Central Square around midnight. Also parked in the square was the Orion, surrounded by the curious citizens of the Empire’s capital. Imperial soldiers kept the peace by holding the crowds back, also clearing space for our landing.

When Perseus touched down, everyone rushed off-ship, Makara taking the lead. We entered the warm night and were greeted by the pressing crowd. I didn’t understand why the crowd was so agitated, until I noticed that some of the buildings were in ruins.

Nova Roma, of course, had not recovered from the attack of dragons and crawlers it had suffered a few weeks prior. The people were obviously scared and in need of a leader — but Augustus was preoccupied with Ashton — Ashton, who could very well die, if he wasn’t already dead. We’d have no idea how bad it was until we got there.

“Come on,” Makara said.

She broke through the crowd, and people shouted questions at us in Spanish. Eventually, the crowd made way, and several of the soldiers pointed in the direction of the hospital. We knew the way from our time here before. Julian, along with Makara, led the rest of us onward.

We ran through the streets. Within a few minutes and various twists and turns, we found ourselves on the lawn in front of the hospital. The building looked rougher than the last time we’d seen it; several of the first-floor windows were shattered, their curtains billowing in the breeze. An entire corner in the northern section had crumbled, creating a cascade of rubble that buried the drive leading from the front doors. Perhaps a dragon had pummeled into it. Despite this, a few windows were lit on the second floor.

“There,” Makara said.

We ran inside the building. As we burst through the automatic doors, stuck open, a short woman behind the entry desk regarded us with widened eyes. We ignored her and found a stairwell down the right-hand hallway. Black and purple blood was still caked on the walls from our fight with the crawlers. There hadn’t been time for anyone to clean up the mess we’d made.

We ran up the stairwell, bursting onto the second landing. A few rooms down was an open door, flanked by two Praetorians. As we ran toward it, Augustus stepped into the hallway. He nodded toward the door, stepping back into the room.

We entered, finding Ashton lying, bloodied and bruised, in a hospital bed. He was wrapped head to toe in bandages. His eyes were closed, his breathing shallow. There was so little life in him — his pallor was deathly, and if he ever came awake, it definitely wouldn’t be as the same man.

He came alone aboard Orion,” Augustus said. “From what little I could get out of him, he had only survived because he was well on his way to the hangar. Other than that, he’s said nothing.”

Makara stepped up to the bedside, taking Ashton’s hand.

“Ashton. You there?”

There was no response. If it weren’t for his breathing, I wouldn’t have thought he was alive. It was unsettling to see Ashton, usually so full of life and spirit, without movement. This man, who had given me so much advice and wisdom, who had married me to Anna…

He was slipping away, and there was nothing I could do about it.

Suddenly, Ashton’s hand tightened on Makara’s. Without opening his eyes, he rasped:

“It came from space,” he said. “Not Earth.”

“What came from space?” Makara asked.

I had no idea what Ashton was talking about. If he was talking about the xenovirus, about Ragnarok, then that much was obvious. From everyone’s faces, it seemed like they were thinking the same thing as I was.

Until I realized what he was talking about.

“He’s talking about Skyhome,” I said. “Whatever ended it came from space, not Earth. So it couldn’t have been the Radaskim…”

“No.”

It must have taken almost all of Ashton’s strength to make that emphatic answer. He was silent for a long, terrible moment, before he spoke again.

“They came from space. They…they attacked Skyhome.”

Ashton’s eyes opened, so thinly that it was like looking into slits.

“See…” he said, lips now trembling. “See for yourself. Look…look to the stars…”

With that, Ashton breathed his last, and went completely still. Every muscle went slack, and I felt desperation clench my chest. He couldn’t be dead. An emptiness permeated my soul — an emptiness that could only be caused when someone close to you was taken away, forever.

It was an emptiness I had grown to know too well.

“No…” Anna said.

This time, I knew Ashton really was dead. There was no denying that fact.

Makara squeezed the doctor’s hands, her arm shaking. She placed two fingers at the base of Ashton’s neck, as if to be sure. She waited for a long time. Then, her face softened, and she shook her head.

“He’s gone,” she said.

We all stood still, not knowing what to do next. After all the fighting, this was our first loss. It was amazing that everyone had made it this far. And it had come from something over which we had no control, something…

“What do you think was up there?” I asked.

Everyone looked at me, but didn’t answer.

“Let’s…let’s bury Ashton first, alright?” Makara asked, looking up. “Then we can talk about it.”

A tear had coursed down her face. She cleared her throat.

“Who will help me carry him?”

Everyone stepped forward, Augustus included, bearing Ashton’s weight from the room. As we walked down the steps of the stairwell, out into the lobby, and into the night-covered streets, I had no idea where we were going. We were carrying him back to the ship, but to go where?

After ten minutes of silence, disrupted only by the Praetorians marching around us, we made it back to Central Square. We carried Ashton on board the ship. Augustus followed us up, taking with him several of the Praetorians, while telling Maxillo to stay behind.

When the blast door shut, we just stood there. Julian went to get the gurney, which of late had been used more to carry the dead than the living. Once it was wheeled into the wardroom, we laid Ashton there.

“Ashton wanted to learn more about the Elekai Xenolith,” I said. “Maybe…maybe we should bring him there.”

“His memory could join the Elekai,” Anna said. “Maybe he can discover their secrets after all.”

Another thought entered my head: maybe he wasn’t dead. Maybe the ichor of the lake could heal him.

I didn’t share that with anyone else, and I had no idea if anyone else was thinking it. It was a small hope, and probably pointless. Even if there was no way for that to happen, Ashton would be buried somewhere that had filled him with wonder.

It was the best we could do for him.

* * *

Once we landed, we made our way down to the ichor lake. Askal and a few of his dragons were there to greet us. We stopped along the shoreline, holding Ashton’s limp form, and it seemed Askal read our intent.

Can we save him?

No, Elekim, Askal thought. But his memory can join the Elekai. Bear him to the pool.

I sighed. “Askal says he can’t be saved. But his memory can join the Elekai, and he can live on that way.”

Maybe he would say hello to the Wanderer for me.

We walked forward until we stood in the pink ichor. Slowly, we lowered Ashton’s frail body into the lake.

We stepped away, watching him float toward the center of the cavern. In due time, he sank beneath the surface, his face placid and serene.

A weight lifted from my shoulders. I knew we had done the right thing.

“He said to look to the stars,” Samuel said. “He might have meant in the literal sense, to see what had ended Skyhome. But perhaps he was being metaphorical as well.”

“I just want to know what happened,” Anna said. “What destroyed Skyhome?”

I looked at Askal; the intensity of his eyes told me he had something to say.

What’s wrong, Askal?

They are here.

Who?

The second comers. Unforeseen. But I feel their hatred from above. They mean to end us before we can end them.

Who has come?

Askal’s mind went silent, for a long time, before he answered.

The Radaskim. Xenofall is here.

A chill passed over me. Quietus had said Xenofall wasn’t to come for another four hundred years. We still had time.

Didn’t we?

How have they come so soon? I asked, dreading the answer.

After Ragnarok, she kept some in reserve, dormant. Now, they sense their master’s need. Askala has called the rest of her children to Earth.

Everyone watched me, knowing from my whitened eyes that I was communicating with Askal.

“What is it?” Makara asked. “What’s he saying?”

“He’s saying the Radaskim ended Skyhome,” I said. “Not from Earth, but from space.”

“What do you mean?” Samuel asked.

“Askala…she kept some monsters somewhere in space, dormant. Close by, so when she was ready, she could call them down to deal the final blow.”

“So — what?” Makara asked. “We’re going to be fighting monsters from space, now?”

Apparently.

I turned back to Askal. How long?

Askal’s eyes burned into me, and from that gaze, I knew the answer.

They were already here.

We need you, Elekim, Askal said. Are you ready to accept your fate?

Until now, I wasn’t. I’d wanted to be me, at least for a little while longer. Perhaps I was Elekim in name, but I needed to fully accept my responsibility if the Elekai were to have a chance.

“I’m going into the pool,” I said.

No one said anything, understanding my intent. My mind reeled from all the changes in the past few days. The Wanderer’s death. My marriage to Anna. And now, Ashton’s death.

The Elekai needed a fully-fledged leader.

I turned to face Anna.

“Your eyes,” she said.

I brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I know. Soon, they’ll be that way forever.”

She looked at me a long moment before answering. “I knew what this meant, to marry you. I did, anyway. Because I love you, Alex.”

“I’ll always love you, Anna. Nothing will change about that, no matter what happens in there. I promise.”

She nodded, but I couldn’t tell what she was really thinking. It was time to accept my role in full. The Elekai needed a strong leader to survive the coming storm.

I kissed her, let go of her hand, and faced the pool. I waded in, the ichor wrapping around in embrace. I continued to walk, facing almost no resistance, even when the ichor reached my chest.

Soon, my head was submerged. I opened my eyes, waiting.

A Voice then spoke, not quite his, but deeply familiar.

Are you ready?

I am.

Then step forward.

I continued to walk, my vision fading to black. I walked until there was nothing but stillness — no senses — only my consciousness entering a dark void.

* * *

Time was absent as I swam through vivid images, absorbing the history of the Elekai. Dreams of fallen worlds and the stories of a thousand races flowed through my mind. I didn’t speak; I could only stand, mesmerized, as a thousand histories became my own.

And then, at the end of it all, came the prophecy from the Voice, the one the Wanderer had said was as deep as energy.

Though a thousand worlds will fall, one will remain.

But would it be ours?

In time, the images ceased, and all that was left was the void. Stars appeared, studding the cosmos, thicker than seemed possible.

The Universe is in your hands, Elekim, the Voice said. The Secrets of Creation lie within, Guardian of the Stars. The spirits of a thousand worlds fly with you. You are never alone, because even in darkness, the stars still shine.

The starry black void slowly reverted to the pink shimmering of the ichorous pool.

I paused a moment, collecting my thoughts. I felt no different than before. I still had no idea what came next.

One thing was certain; when I returned to that shoreline, I wouldn’t be my former self. While that part of me remained, there was also this new part, given to me by the Voice and its visions.

When I returned, I would do so as Elekim.

About the Author

Kyle West is the author of The Wasteland Chronicles. From a young age, he has been a voracious reader of sci-fi and fantasy. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Professional Writing. He writes full-time and resides in the bustling metropolis of Oklahoma City.

Find out immediately when his next book is released by signing up for The Wasteland Chronicles Mailing List. Be sure to follow him on Facebook for updates, book giveaways, and general shenanigans. Xenofall, the final installment of The Wasteland Chronicles, will be released this summer.

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Glossary

10,000, The: This refers to the 10,000 citizens who were selected in 2029 to enter Bunker One. This group included the best America had to offer, people who were masters in the fields of science, engineering, medicine, and security. President Garland and all the U.S. Congress, as well as essential staff and their families, were chosen.

Alpha: “Alpha” is the title given to the recognized head of the Raiders. In the beginning, it was merely a titular role that only had as much power as the Alpha was able to enforce. But as Raider Bluff grew in size and complexity, the Alpha took on a more meaningful role. Typically, Alphas do not remain so for long — they are assassinated by rivals who rise to take their place. In some years, there can be as many as four Alphas — though powerful Alphas, like Char, can reign for many years.

Askala: Askala has two meanings — one is the name of the Radaskim Xenomind dwelling in Ragnarok Crater, while the other form refers to the dragons the xenovirus spawns. While Askala and xenodragon (or just dragon) are interchangeable, the Askala themselves (at least the Elekai Askala) refer to themselves as Askala.

Batts: Batts, or batteries, are the currency of the Wasteland and the Empire. They are accepted anywhere that the Empire’s caravans reach. It is unknown how batteries were first seen as currency, but it is rumored that Augustus himself instigated the policy. Using them as currency makes sense: batteries are small, portable, and durable, and have the intrinsic quality of being useful. Rechargeable batteries (called “chargers”) are even more prized, and solar batteries (called “solars,” or “sols”) are the most useful and prized of all.

Behemoth: The Behemoth is a great monstrosity in the Wasteland — a giant creature, either humanoid or reptilian, or sometimes a mixture of the two, that can reach heights of ten feet or greater. They are bipedal, powerful, and can keep pace with a moving vehicle. All but the most powerful of guns are useless against the Behemoth’s armored hide.

Black Reapers, The: The Black Reapers are a powerful, violent gang, based in Los Angeles. They are led by Warlord Carin Black. They keep thousands of slaves, using them to serve their post-apocalyptic empire. They usurped the Lost Angels in 2055, and have been ruling there ever since.

Black Files, The: The Black Files are the mysterious collected research on the xenovirus, located in Bunker One. They were authored principally by Dr. Cornelius Ashton, Chief Scientist of Bunker One.

Blights: Blights are infestations of xenofungus and the xenolife they support. They are typically small, but the bigger ones can cover large tracts of land. As a general rule of thumb, the larger the Blight, the more complicated and dangerous the ecosystem it maintains. The largest known Blight is the Great Blight — which covers a large portion of the central United States. Its center is Ragnarok Crater.

Boundless, The: The Boundless is an incredibly dry part of the Wasteland, ravaged by canyons and dust storms, situated in what used to be Arizona and New Mexico. Very little can survive in the Boundless, and no one is known to have ever crossed it.

Bunker 40: Bunker 40 is located on the outer fringes of the Great Blight in Arizona. It is hidden beneath a top secret research facility, a vestige of the Old World. Many aircraft were stationed at Bunker 40 before it fell, sometime in the late 2050s.

Bunker 108: Bunker 108 is located in the San Bernardino Mountains about one hundred miles east of Los Angeles. It is the birthplace of Alex Keener.

Bunker 114: Bunker 114 is a medical research installation built about fifty miles northwest of Bunker 108. Built beneath Cold Mountain, Bunker 114 is small. After the fall of Bunker One, Bunker 114, like Bunker 108 to the southeast, became a main center of xenoviral research. An outbreak of the human strain of the xenovirus caused the Bunker to fall in 2060. Bunker 108’s fall followed soon thereafter.

Bunker One: Bunker One was the main headquarters of the Post-Ragnarok United States government. It fell in 2048 to a swarm of crawlers that overran its defenses. Bunker One had berths for ten thousand people, making it many times over the most populous Bunker. Its inhabitants included President Garland, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, essential government staff, and security forces, along with the skilled people needed to maintain it. Also, dozens of brilliant scientists and specialists lived and worked there, including engineers, doctors, and technicians. The very wealthy were also allowed berths for helping to finance the Bunker Program. Bunker One is the location of the Black Files, authored by Dr. Cornelius Ashton.

Bunker Six: Bunker Six is a large installation located north of Bunker One, within driving distance. It houses the S-Class spaceships constructed during the Dark Decade — including Gilgamesh, the capital ship, and three smaller cruisers — Odin, Perseus, and Orion. While Gilgamesh and Odin are under Cornelius Ashton’s care, Perseus and Orion are still locked inside the fallen Bunker.

Bunker Program, The: The United States and Canadian governments pooled resources to establish 144 Bunkers in Twelve Sectors throughout their territory. The Bunkers were the backup in case the Guardian Missions failed. When the Guardian Missions did fail, the Bunker Program kicked into full gear. The Bunkers were designed to save all critical government personnel and citizenry, along with anyone who could provide the finances to construct them. The Bunkers were designed to last indefinitely, using hydroponics to grow food. The Bunkers ran on fusion power, which had been made efficient by the early 2020s. The plan was that, when the dust settled, Bunker residents could reemerge and rebuild. Most Bunkers fell, however, for various reasons — including critical systems failures, mutinies, and attacks by outsiders (see Wastelanders). By the year 2060, only four Bunkers were left.

Chaos Years, The: The Chaos Years refer to the ten years following the impact of Ragnarok. These dark years signified the great die-off of most forms of life, including humans. Most deaths occurred due to starvation. With mass global cooling, crops could not grow in climates too far from the tropics. What crops would grow produced a yield far too small to feed the population that existed. This led to a period of violence unknown in all of human history. The Chaos Years signify the complete breakdown of the Old World’s remaining infrastructures — including food production, economies, power grids, and the industrial complex — all of which led to the deaths of billions of people.

Coleseo Imperio: El Coleseo Imperio, translated as the Imperial Coliseum, is a circular, three-tiered stone arena rising from the center of the city of Nova Roma, the capital of the Nova Roman Empire. It is used to host gladiatorial games in the tradition of ancient Rome, and serves as the chief sport of the Empire. Slaves and convicts are forced to fight in death matches, which serves the dual purpose of entertaining the masses while getting rid of prisoners and slaves who would otherwise be, in the Empire’s eyes, liabilities. Ritual sacrifices routinely take place on the arena floor.

Crawlers: Crawlers are dangerous, highly mobile monsters spawned by Ragnarok. Their origin is unclear, but they share many characteristics of Earth animals — mostly those reptilian in nature, although other forms are more similar to insects. Crawlers are sleek and fast, and can leap through the air at very high speeds. Typically, crawlers attack in groups, and behave as if of one mind. One crawler will, without hesitation, sacrifice itself in order to reach its prey. Crawlers are especially dangerous when gathered in high numbers — at which point there is not much one can do but run. Crawlers can be killed, their weak points being their belly and their three eyes.

Dark Decade, The: The Dark Decade lasted from 2020-2030, from the time of the first discovery of Ragnarok, to the time of its impact. It is not called the Dark Decade because the world descended into madness immediately upon the discovery of Ragnarok by astronomer Neil Weinstein — that only happened in 2028, with the failure of Messiah, the third and last of the Guardian Missions. In the United States and other industrialized nations, life proceeded in an almost normal fashion. There were plenty of good reasons to believe that Ragnarok could be stopped, especially when given ten years. But as the Guardian Missions failed, one by one, the order of the world quickly disintegrated.

With the failure of the Guardian Mission Archangel in 2024, a series of wars engulfed the world. As what some were calling World War III embroiled the planet, the U.S. and several of its European allies, and Canada, continued to work on stopping Ragnarok. When the second Guardian Mission, Reckoning, failed, an economic depression swept the world. But none of this compared to the madness that followed upon the failure of the third and final Guardian, Messiah, in 2028. As societies broke down, martial law was enforced. President Garland was appointed dictator of the United States with absolute authority. By 2029, several states had broken off from the Union.

In the last quarter of 2030, an odd silence hung over the world, as if it had grown weary of living. The President, all essential governmental staff and military, the Senate and House of Representatives, along with scientists, engineers, and the talented and the wealthy, entered the 144 Bunkers established by the Bunker Program. Outraged, the tens of millions of people who did not get an invitation found the Bunker locations, demanding to be let in. The military took action when necessary.

Then, on December 3, 2030, Ragnarok fell, crashing into the border of Wyoming and Nebraska, forming a crater one hundred miles wide. The world left the Dark Decade, and entered the Chaos Years.

Elekai: The Elekai are the peaceful counterpart to the Radaskim. They seek the harmony and growth of all life, even if that means that the universe will eventually one day end. The Radaskim take the opposite viewpoint — that the destruction of all life is a fair price in exchange for controlling the destruction and reconstruction of the universe, called the Universal Cycle:

Eternal War, The: The Eternal War has spanned hundreds of thousands of years across the cosmos. The Radaskim seek to infect and conquer every life-bearing world. The Elekai are always with them and fight the Radaskim at every turn. However, the Radaskim are more numerous and have always won on every world. The Wanderer and the Elekai hope to reverse this on planet Earth.

Exiles, The: The Exiles are led by a man named Marcus, brother of Alpha Char. The Exiles were once raiders, but were exiled from Raider Bluff in 2048. Raider Bluff faced a rival city, known as Rivertown, on the Colorado River. A faction led by Char wanted to destroy Rivertown by blowing up Hoover Dam far to the north. Marcus and his faction opposed this. The two brothers fought, and in his rage, Marcus threw Char into a nearby fireplace, giving him the severe burns on his face that Char would live with for the rest of his life. For this attack, the Alpha at the time exiled Marcus — but in solidarity, many Raiders left to join him. For the next twelve years, the exiled Raiders wandered the Boundless, barred from ever returning farther west than Raider Bluff. The Exiles at first sought to found a new city somewhere in the eastern United States, but the Great Blight barred their path. Over the next several years, they hired themselves as mercenaries to the growing Nova Roman Empire. Now, they wander the Wastes, Marcus awaiting the day when his brother calls upon him for help — which he is sure Char will do.

Flyers: Flyers are birds infected with the xenovirus. They fly in large swarms of a hundred or more. They are only common around large Blights, or within the Great Blight itself. The high metabolism of flyers means they cannot venture far from xenofungus, their main source of food. They are highly dangerous, and cannot be fought easily, because they fly in such large numbers.

Gilgamesh: Gilgamesh is an S-Class Capital Spaceship constructed by the United States during the Dark Decade. It holds room for twelve crewmen, thirteen counting the captain. Its fuselage is mostly made of carbon nanotubes — incredibly lightweight, and many, many times stronger than steel. It is powered by a prototypical miniature fusion reactor, using deuterium and tritium as fuel. Its design is described as insect-like in appearance, for invisibility to radar. The ship contains a bridge, armory, conference room, kitchen, galley, two lavatories, a clinic, and twelve bunks for crew in two separate dorms. A modest captain’s quarters can be reached from the galley, complete with its own lavatory. Within the galley is access to a spacious cargo bay, where supplies, and even a vehicle as large as a Recon, can be stored. The Recon can be driven off the ship’s wide boarding ramp when grounded (this capability is the main difference between Odin and Gilgamesh…in addition to the cargo bay boarding ramp, Gilgamesh also contains a passenger’s boarding ramp on the side, that also leads into the galley). The porthole has a retractable rope ladder that is good for up to five hundred feet. Gilgamesh has a short wingspan, but receives most of its lift from the four thrusters mounted in back, thrusters that have a wide arc of rotation that allows the ship to fly in almost any direction. The ship can go weeks without needing to refuel. As far as combat capabilities, Gilgamesh was primarily constructed as a reconnaissance and transport vessel. That said, it has twin machine gun turrets that open from beneath the ship. When grounded, it is supported by three struts, one in front, two in back.

Great Blight, The: The Great Blight is the largest xenofungal infestation in the world, its point of origin being Ragnarok Crater on the Great Plains in eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska. Unlike other Blights, the Great Blight is massive. From 2040-2060, it began to rapidly expand outside Ragnarok Crater at an alarming rate, moving as much as a quarter mile each day (meaning the stretching of the xenofungus could actually be discerned with the naked eye). Any and all life was conquered, killed, or acquired into the Great Blight’s xenoparasitic network. Here, the first monsters were created. Animals would become ensnared in sticky pools of purple goo, and their DNA absorbed and preserved. The Great Blights, obeying some sort of consciousness, would then mix and match the DNA of varying species, tweaking and mutating the genes until, from the same pools it had acquired the DNA, it would give birth to new life forms, designed only to spread the Blight and kill whoever, or whatever, opposed that spreading. As time went on and the Xeno invasion became more sophisticated, the Great Blight’s capabilities became advanced enough to direct the evolution of xenolife itself, leading to the creation of the xenovirus, meaning it could infect species far outside of the Blight — including, eventually, humans.

Guardian Missions: The Guardian Missions were humanity’s attempts to intercept and alter the course of Ragnarok during the Dark Decade. There were three, and in the order they were launched, they were called Archangel, Reckoning, and Messiah (all three of which were also the names of the ships launched). Each mission had a reason for failing. Archangel is reported to have crashed into Ragnarok, in 2024. In 2026, Reckoning somehow got off-course, losing contact with Earth in the process. In 2028 Messiah successfully landed and attached its payload of rockets to the surface of Ragnarok in order to alter its course from Earth. However, the rockets failed before they had time to do their work. The failure of the Guardian Missions kicked the Bunker Program into overdrive.

Howlers: Howlers are the newest known threat posed by the xenovirus. They are human xenolife, and they behave very much like zombies. They attack with sheer numbers, using their bodies as weapons. A bite from a Howler is enough to infect the victim with the human strain of the xenovirus. Post-infection, it takes anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours for a corpse to reanimate into the dreaded howler. Worse, upon death, Howlers somehow explode, raining purple goo on anyone within range. Even if a little bit of goo enters the victim’s bloodstream, he or she is as good as dead, cursed to become a Howler within a matter of minutes or hours. How the explosion occurs, no one knows — it is surmised that the xenovirus itself creates some sort of agent that reacts violently with water or some other fluid present within the Howlers. There is also reason to believe that certain Howlers become Behemoths, as was the case with Kari in Bunker 114.

Hydra: A powerful spawning of the xenovirus, the Hydra has only been seen deep in the heart of Bunker One. It contains three heads mounted on three stalk-like necks. It is covered in thick scales that serve as armor. It has a powerful tail that it can swing, from the end of which juts a long, cruel spike. It is likely an evolved, more deadly form of the crawler.

Ice Lands, The: Frozen in a perpetual blanket of ice and snow, the northern and southern latitudes of the planet are completely unlivable. In the Wasteland, at least, they are referred to as the Ice Lands. Under a blanket of meteor fallout, extreme global cooling was instigated in 2030. While the glaciers are only now experiencing rapid regrowth, they will advance for centuries to come until the fallout has dissipated enough to produce a warmer climate. In the Wasteland, 45 degrees north marks the beginning of what is considered the Ice Lands.

L.A. Gangland: L.A. Gangland means a much different thing than it did Pre-Ragnarok. In the ruins of Los Angeles, there are dozens of gangs vying for control, but by 2060, the most powerful is the Black Reapers, who usurped that title from the Lost Angels.

Lost Angels, The: The Lost Angels were post-apocalyptic L.A.’s first super gang. From the year 2050 until 2055, they reigned supreme in the city, led by a charismatic figure named Dark Raine. The Angels were different from other gangs — they valued individual freedom and abhorred slavery. Under the Angels’ rule, Los Angeles prospered. The Angels were eventually usurped in 2056 by a gang called the Black Reapers, led by a man named Carin Black.

Nova Roma: Nova Roma is the capital of the Nova Roman Empire. It existed Pre-Ragnarok as a small town situated in an idyllic valley, flanked on three sides by green mountains. This town was also home to Augustus’s palatial mansion — and it was around this mansion that the city that would one day rule the Empire had its beginnings. Over thirty years, as the Empire gained wealth and power under Augustus’s rule, Nova Roma grew from a small village into a mighty city with a population numbering in the tens of thousands. Using knowledge of ancient construction techniques found in American Bunkers, Augustus employed talented engineers and thousands of slaves to build the city from the ground up. Inspired by the architecture of ancient Rome, some of the most notable construction projects in Nova Roma include the Coleseo Imperio, the Senate House, the Grand Forum, and Central Square. An aqueduct carries water over the city walls from the Sierra Madre Mountains north of the city. The city grows larger each passing year, so much so that shantytowns have overflowed its walls, attracted by the city’s vast wealth.

Nova Roman Empire, The: The Nova Roman Empire (also known as the “Empire”) is a collection of allied city-states that are ruled from Nova Roma, its capital in what was formerly the Mexican state of Guerrero. The Empire began as the territory of a Mexican drug cartel named the Legion. Through the use of brutal force, they kept security within their borders even as other governments fell.

Following the impact of Ragnarok, many millions of Americans fled south to escape the cold, dry climate that permeated northern latitudes. Mexico still remained warm, especially southern Mexico, and new global wind currents caused by Ragnarok kept Mexico clearer of meteor fallout than other areas of the world. At the close of the Chaos Years, Mexico was far more populous than the United States. Many city-states formed in the former republic, but most developed west of the Sierra Madre Mountains. Language clashes between native Mexicans and migrant Americans produced new dialects of both Spanish and English. Though racial tensions exist in the Empire, as Americans’ descendants are the minority within it, Americans and their descendants are protected under law and are entitled to the same rights — at least in theory. The reality is, most refugees that entered Imperial territory were American — and most refugees ended up as slaves.

Of the hundreds of city-states that formed in Mexico, one was called Nova Roma, located inland in a temperate valley not too far east of Acapulco. Under the direction of the man styling himself as Augustus Imperator, formerly known as Miguel Santos, lord of the Legion drug cartel, the city of Nova Roma allied with neighboring city-states. Incorporating both Ancient Roman governmental values and Aztec mythology, the Empire expanded through either the conquest or annexation of rival city-states. By 2060, the Empire had hundreds of cities in its thrall, stretching from Oaxaca in the southeast all the way to Jalisco in the northwest. The Empire had also formed colonies as far north as Sonora, even founding a city called Colossus at the mouth of the Colorado River, intended to be the provincial capital from which the Empire hoped to rule California and the Mojave.

Because of its size and power, the Empire is difficult to control. Except for its center, ruled out of Nova Roma, most of the city-states are autonomous and are only required to pay tribute and soldiers when called for during the Empire’s wars. In the wake of the Empire’s rapid conquests, Augustus developed the Imperial Road System in order to facilitate trade and communication, mostly done by horse. In an effort to create a unifying culture for the Empire, Emperor Augustus instigated a representative government, where all of Nova Roma’s provinces have representation in the Imperial Senate. Augustus encouraged a universal religion based on Aztec mythology, whose gods are placed alongside the saints of Catholicism in the Imperial Pantheon. Augustus also instigated gladiatorial games, ordering that arenas be built in every major settlement of his Empire. This included the construction of dozens of arenas, including El Coleseo Imperio in Nova Roma itself, a large arena which, while not as splendid as the original Coliseum in Old Rome, is still quite impressive. The Coleseo can seat ten thousand people. By 2060, Augustus had accomplished what might have taken a century to establish otherwise.

Oasis: Oasis is a settlement located in the Wasteland, about halfway between Los Angeles and Raider Bluff. It has a population of one thousand, and is built around the banks of the oasis for which it is named. The oasis did not exist Pre-Ragnarok, but was formed by tapping an underground aquifer. Elder Ohlan rules Oasis with a strong hand. He is the brother of Dark Raine, and it is whispered that he might have had a hand in his death.

Odin: Odin is an S-Class Cruiser Spaceship built by the U.S. during the Dark Decade. It is one of four, the other being Gilgamesh, the capital ship, and the other two being Perseus and Orion, cruisers with the same specs as Odin. Though Odin’s capabilities are not as impressive as Gilgamesh’s, Odin is still very functional. It contains berths for eight crew, nine counting the captain. It has a cockpit, armory, kitchen, galley, two dorms, one lavatory, and the fusion drive in the aft. A cargo bay can be reached from either outside the ship or within the galley. Unlike Gilgamesh, it is not spacious enough to store a Recon. It contains a single machine gun turret that can open up from the ship’s bottom. Odin, in addition to being faster than Gilgamesh, also gets better fuel efficiency. It can go months without needing to refuel.

Praetorians, The: The Praetorians are the most elite of the Empire’s soldiers. There are one hundred total, and they are the personal bodyguard of Emperor Augustus. They carry a long spear, tower shield, and gladius. They wear a long, purple cape, steel armor, and a white jaguar headdress, complete with purple plume. They are also trained in the use of guns.

Radaskim: The Radaskim seek to conquer all life in the universe in their quest to discover the Secrets of Creations, Secrets which the Radaskim believe are the key to recreating the universe. Whether this is even possible is unknown, but all Radaskim motives are based on this idea. They have conquered hundreds of worlds and are in the process of conquering Earth. The Radaskim on Earth are led by the Xenomind, Askala.

Raider Bluff: Raider Bluff is the only known settlement of the raiders. It is built northeast of what used to be Needles, California, on top of a three-tiered mesa. Though the raiders are a mobile group, even they need a place to rest during the harsh Wasteland winter. Merchants, women, and servants followed the Raider men, setting up shop on the mesa, giving birth to Raider Bluff sometime in the early 2040s. From the top of the Bluff rules the Alpha, the strongest recognized leader of the Raiders. A new Alpha rises only when he is able to wrest control from the old one.

Ragnarok: Ragnarok was the name given the meteor that crashed into Earth on December 3, 2030. It was about three miles long, and two miles wide. It was discovered by astronomer Neil Weinstein, in 2019. It is not known what caused Ragnarok to come hurtling toward Earth, or how it eluded detection for so long — but that answer was revealed when the Black Files came to light. Ragnarok was the first phase of the invasion planned by the Xenos, the race of aliens attempting to conquer Earth. Implanted within Ragnarok was the xenovirus — the seed for all alien genetic life that was to destroy, acquire, and replace Earth life. The day the Xenos arrive, according to the Black Files, is called “Xenofall.” The time of their eventual arrival is completely unknown.

Ragnarok Crater: Ragnarok Crater is the site of impact of the meteor Ragnarok. It is located on the border of Wyoming and Nebraska, and is about one hundred miles wide with walls eight miles tall. It’s the center of the Great Blight, and it is also the origin of the Voice, the consciousness that directs the behavior of all xenolife.

Recon: A Recon is an all-terrain rover that is powered by hydrogen. It is designed for speedy recon missions across the Wastes, and was developed by the United States military during the Dark Decade. It is composed of a cab in front, and a large cargo bay in the back. Mounted on top of the cargo bay is a turret with 360-degree rotation, accessible by a ladder and a porthole. The turret can be manned and fired while the Recon is on the go.

Secrets of Creation, The: The Secrets of Creation are the name given to the knowledge the Radaskim must have in order to destroy the universe and remake it in the exact same way it had been created — allowing the universe to exist indefinitely.

Skyhome: Skyhome is a three-ringed, self-sufficient space station constructed by the United States during the Dark Decade, designed to house two hundred and fifty people. Like the Bunkers, it contains its own power, hydroponics, and water reclamation system designed to keep the station going as long as possible. Skyhome was never actually occupied until 2048, after the falls of both Bunker One and Bunker Six. Cornelius Ashton assumed control of the station, along with survivors from both Bunkers, in order to continue his research on the xenovirus which had destroyed his entire life.

Universal Cycle, The: The Universal Cycle is a Radaskim prophecy stating that the universe has been destroyed and reborn an infinite number of times, only because the Radaskim discovered the “Secrets of Creation” in every manifestation of the universe in time to recreate it. The rebirth of the universe depends on the Radaskim discovering these secrets, and it involves acquiring all known life in order to discover the knowledge that might unlock the Secrets — whatever they are.

Voice, The: The Voice is the name given to the collective consciousness of all xenolife. It exists in Ragnarok Crater — whether or not it has a corporeal form is unknown. However, it is agreed by Dr. Ashton and Samuel that the Voice controls xenolife using sound waves and vibrations within xenofungus. The Voice also sends sound waves that can be detected by xenolife while off the xenofungus. The Voice gives the entire Xeno invasion sentience, and is a piece of evidence pointing to an advanced alien race that is trying to conquer Earth.

Wanderer, The: A blind prophet who wanders the Wasteland. He is also the Xenomind who leads the Elekai, the alien faction that wants to stop the Radaskim from conquering all life.

Wastelanders: Wastelanders are surface dwellers, specifically ones that live in the southwestern United States. The term is broad — it can be as specific as to mean only someone who is forced to wander, scavenge, or raid for sustenance, or Wastelander can mean anyone who lives on the surface Post-Ragnarok, regardless of location or circumstances. Wastelanders are feared by Bunker dwellers, as they have been the number one reason for Bunkers failing.

Wasteland, The: The Wasteland is a large tract of land comprised of Southern California and the adjacent areas of the Western United States. It extends from the San Bernardino Mountains in the west, to the Rockies in the east (and in later years, the Great Blight), and from the northern border of Nova Roma on the south, to the Ice Lands to the north (which is about the same latitude as Sacramento, California). The Wasteland is characterized by a cold, extremely dry climate. Rainfall each year is little to none, two to four inches being about average. Little can survive the Wasteland, meaning that all life has clung to limited water supplies. Major population centers include Raider Bluff, along the Colorado River; Oasis, supplied by a body of water of the same name; and Last Town, a trading post that sprung up along I-10 between Los Angeles and the Mojave. Whenever the Wasteland is referred to, it is generally not referred to in its entire scope. It is mainly used to reference what was once the Mojave Desert.

Xenodragon: The xenodragon is the newest manifestation of the xenovirus. It is very much like a dragon — reptilian, lightweight, with colossal wings that provide it with both lift and speed. There are different kinds of xenodragons, but the differences are little known, other than whether they are large or small. A particularly large xenodragon makes its roost on Raider Bluff.

Xenofall: Xenofall is the day of reckoning — when the Xenos finally arrive on Earth to claim it as their own. No one knows when that day is — whether it is in one year, ten years, or a thousand. It is feared that, when Xenofall does come, humans and all resistance will have been long gone.

Xenofungus: Xenofungus is a slimy, sticky fungus that is colored pink, orange, or purple (and sometimes all three), that infests large tracts of land and serves as the chief food source of all xenolife. It forms the basis of the Blights, and without xenofungus, xenolife could not exist. The fungus, while hostile to Earth life, facilitates the growth, development, and expansion of xenolife. It is nutrient-rich, and contains complicated compounds and proteins that are poison to Earth life, but ambrosia for xenolife. It is tough, resilient, resistant to fire, dryness, and cold — and if it isn’t somehow stopped, one day xenofungus will cover the entire world.

Xenolife: Any form of life that is infected with the xenovirus.

Xenomind: A Xenomind is an ancient sentient being, evolved over the eons by the xenovirus and xenofungus. They are split into two factions — the Radaskim and the Elekai. The Radaskim are warlike and want to conquer all life in the universe — a seemingly impossible aim. The Elekai want to stop the Radaskim from achieving this. So far, on every world the Eternal War has been fought, the Elekai have lost.

Xenovirus: The xenovirus is an agent that acquires genes, adding them to its vast collection. It then mixes and matches the genes under its control to create something completely new, whether a plant, animal, bacteria, etc. There are thousands of strains of the xenovirus, maybe even millions, but most are completely undocumented. While the underlying core of each strain is the same, the strains are specific to each species it infects. Failed strains completely drop out of existence, but the successful ones live on. The xenovirus was first noted by Dr. Cornelius Ashton of Bunker One. His collected research on the xenovirus was compiled in the Black Files, which were lost in the fall of Bunker One in 2048.

Also by Kyle West

The Wasteland Chronicles

Apocalypse

Origins

Evolution

Revelation

Darkness

Extinction

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Copyright

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

EXTINCTION

First edition. April 13, 2014.

Copyright © 2014 Kyle West.

Written by Kyle West.

Content

Kyle West
EXTINCTION

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

About the Author

Contact

Glossary

Also by Kyle West

Copyright