| |
When I awoke, gray daylight filtered onto the bridge. I felt weak and achy all over, as if I could sleep for the rest of time and still not catch up.
As hard as it was, I forced myself onto weary feet – feet that were sore and blistering from all the punishment they had taken the past few days. My fingers felt numb and every one of my muscles ached.
I went to stand by Anna, who was seated and copiloting the ship. Ashton gazed intently ahead, raising a white mug to his lips and drinking his coffee black.
I almost said that we had finally made it, but I didn’t want to speak too soon. We had come a long way, both in this particular mission and in each of our individual lives – but all it took was one mistake, one misfortune, for it all to come crashing down.
As dawn broke in the east – a dawn free of clouds or fog – the sky gleamed pink, yellow, and orange. I stared for a moment, mesmerized by the colors.
Then, the sun peeked above a mountaintop.
“Well, I’ll be,” Ashton said.
None of us said anything, appreciating the rare spectacle. The sun should not have come out like that – not at this latitude. The thick dust, and perhaps even the fallout from the bomb we had launched, made the sunrise even more beautiful. Streaks of purple, as if painted by God’s own hand, interweaved with the yellow and orange, the light and the sun so powerful that it seemed to split the clouds with beams of light. I even had to shield my eyes.
Then, we turned the ship, heading for the entry tunnel of Bunker 84. As we descended, Makara announced that we were in. Slowly, the door above shut – shutting out the dangerous world above and leading us once more into the Bunker of darkness.
But with the people there, perhaps it could become a Bunker of light.
***
THE NEXT WEEK WAS SPENT on mad organization followed by deep rest. It was amazing to think that we could finally rest – at least, most of us could. Both Aeneas and Gilgamesh used their fusion drives in order to power the Bunker. The grow lights for the hydroponics were once more online. Ruth and several of the Community members took a look to make sure the irrigation lines were working.
The Community members proved invaluable. Though the death of Elias made them forget many inexplicable things, they still knew how to run their Bunker. We were guests in their home, in a sense.
Everyone was fed full rations for the next few days. Makara had said we needed our strength. It was clear, however, that the food would not last forever. There was perhaps enough to feed the Exodus at full rations for about two weeks. That meant we had to find alternatives, even after harvesting Bunker 108’s crop and bringing it to 84.
On the third day of coming back to Bunker 84, I was as rested as I would ever be. The main crew gathered aboard Aeneas in order to determine a battle plan to take over Los Angeles. Present were Makara, Ashton, Char, Marcus, Anna, Michael, Julian, and myself, along with the gang lords of Vegas. Aeneas’s conference room was crowded as every one of us piled in. I still did not trust the gang lords – aside from Grudge and perhaps Boss Dragon, the second of whom I hadn’t seen in quite some time.
Everyone talked amongst themselves until Makara stood at the head of the table, fixing an intense glare on everyone present. All voices stilled as she began to speak.
“We are here and we survived the Xenoswarm,” she began. “As you all know, we only have about two weeks here. It’s a temporary stop. It is also the place where we will plan our attack on Los Angeles. In two weeks’ time, Carin Black and the Reapers must be brought to heel. Only then can we deal with Emperor Augustus and make our attack on the Great Blight.”
No one said anything to her preamble. I watched the Vegas gang lords – Rey, Cain, and Jade – who looked at Makara with hollow eyes. Boss Dragon sat with arms folded, chewing his lower lip in contemplation. Grudge stood in the corner, silent. I did not forget Makara’s and Char’s promise to the gang lords – that Los Angeles was theirs for the taking as soon as the Reapers fell. As much as it hurt to have them in here with us, we needed their firepower. They easily provided most of the men who would be fighting to bring Vegas down, so they had to attend this meeting.
“With Aeneas and Gilgamesh both, taking L.A. should be easy,” Rey said.
After a week on the run from the swarm, Rey was looking the worse for wear. He still wore a suit – but it was dirty and featured several tears where something had attacked him. Dark circles underlined his tanned face, and his face, once clean-shaven, now featured the hints of a beard, thicker along the mustache and chin and more scraggly upon the cheeks. His eyes narrowed; those brown orbs had not lost their focus or intensity.
“Land us inside the walls and we can storm their base,” Rey said.
“This is dependent on finding Carin Black,” Ashton said, fixing Rey with an intent stare. “Such an attack would be foolish if Carin was not present in the building at the time.”
This much was true. It was Carin Black that we were after. As long as he was dead, taking the rest of the gang down would be easy. At least, we could only hope.
“I agree with Ashton,” Cain said, his blue eyes cold. He leaned over the table, propping himself with his right forearm. The beginnings of a gray beard, thicker than Rey’s, covered a square jaw. “He has a point. We might need to be sneakier at first. Find out where Carin stays. Where he goes during the day. And how we might take him out.”
Jade, who sat next to Cain, snickered, his wet eyes widening with glee. He drew his index finger across his thin neck in the universal symbol of murder.
Even if taking out Carin Black with an assassination was probably a better idea than storming his gates, the fact that Jade was behind the idea made it unappealing to me. The guy made me feel slimy just by looking at him.
“Assassination,” Makara said, testing the word.
“I want to be the one to gut him,” Anna said. “He destroyed my life. The least I can do is destroy his.”
Makara met her eyes. “You will have to contend with me for that.”
“Deal,” Anna said. “We both have equal claim – whoever is first gets the prize.”
Makara nodded. “But no sneaky stuff. I want him to see me as I stab him in the heart.”
Michael and Julian looked from Anna to Makara uncomfortably. I wasn’t sure if they were aware of the story behind why both Makara and Anna hated Carin Black so much – but even though I knew the story, this was getting to be a little much.
“Let’s try to focus on the specifics,” I said. “And not get caught up in something that may or may not happen. Black has to die; that much is clear. But I’d be happy just blasting the Reapers’ main base to bits with a few well-placed missiles.”
All of the men nodded – I hadn’t expected them to agree with me so readily, but I could see why. If we just did things my way, no one would have to risk themselves. If we had the resources to attack from a distance and not get anyone hurt, then why wouldn’t we do it that way?
“Perhaps a mix of the two tactics would work best,” Char said, coming out of his silence. “We could have people on the ground, spotting for Carin Black. Upon confirmation of his location, we could fire the missiles.”
Makara shook her head. “But how will we know he’s truly dead if we use missiles? His body might be blown to bits, but we wouldn’t know it. I want no chance of this scum escaping. That means me looking him in the face as I watch every ounce of life drain from his eyes.”
“Besides,” Anna said. “A lot of innocents could get hurt in such an attack. Their headquarters will be filled with slaves and innocent people.” She shook her head. “That should be a last resort.”
“The kid has a good plan,” Rey said. “And Char was right, too. A few people on the ground to spot Black. An attack from the air once his location is confirmed.” Rey made a gun with his right hand, shooting it. He smiled. “It’s easy.”
I thought about Anna’s point. Having innocents killed wasn’t something I had considered. The gang lords seemed to have no qualm with it, however.
“Whatever we end up doing,” Anna said, “I want to be in the thick of it.”
“Why?” Cain asked. “So you can go commando and get your revenge?”
Anna said nothing.
“You need to rest up, anyway,” Makara said. “And I need you to pilot one of the ships. You getting in the thick of it won’t be happening.”
“Aren’t you needed to pilot as well?” Anna asked.
Makara did not have an answer for that.
“Look,” Char said, “what matters is knocking off Carin. And we need to do it quick since we’re running on several clocks here.” Char held up a finger. “One is the food clock. We have two weeks until we run out.” Char raised a second finger. “Second is the Empire clock. Augustus will be arriving soon with his legions. We need to take the Reapers down before he arrives.” Char held up a third, final finger. “Then there’s the last clock – the xenovirus clock. The Blighters are pressing farther and farther west. Los Angeles won’t stay safe for long, even when we take control of it. We’ll have to be quick about rallying all of the gangs there, and take the fight to the Great Blight. And it would help to have Augustus on our side for that.”
Makara had been about to protest, but the idea that Char had presented, of Augustus helping us, had silenced her.
“Yeah,” Marcus said, coming out of his silence. “Char and I have talked about it a bit and I know I’m the last person you’d expect to bring it up. But there it is. We need him. We need all those soldiers he has. Instead of fighting each other, Augustus could be useful in attacking the Great Blight.”
“He’d never agree,” Makara said. “Samuel already tried to convince him, but he will only help if we hand him the Wasteland.”
“Which will never happen,” Rey said.
The other Vegas gang lords nodded their agreement.
A nervous giggle escaped Jade’s throat. “I’m starting to wonder whose side you and your brother are on, Char. I suggested this same move back in Vegas and I was nearly driven from the town.”
“I’m on humanity’s side,” Char said. “Territory will do us no good if we’re all dead.”
“It’d rather be dead than lose my honor,” Cain said.
Suddenly, the conference room erupted in arguing. Marcus and Char shouted down the rising protests of the Vegas gang lords. Makara sighed and turned her head, arms folded. Ashton stood, holding out his arms in an attempt to regain order. Michael and Julian watched on, silent.
The one I watched was Grudge, who had been entirely silent, which was unlike him. He now started speaking, not even yelling, and everyone broke off their arguing and began to listen to him mid-thought.
“...go to, and we can just fly to the Crater and...”
“Slow down,” Char said, his voice gravelly. “You’re going to have to start from the beginning. We didn’t catch that first part.”
Grudge stared at us all with his dark, brown eyes. This man had saved us in Bunker 84, and we all owed him a massive debt. Maybe that was why we listened.
“What I don’t understand,” Grudge said, “is why we don’t go to the Crater and blow it up.”
Everyone was struck silent by his words. Go to the Crater? Now? Would that even work?
“We have nukes, right?” he asked. “Why not use them? Blow those aliens to hell, back to wherever they came from. It’s a worth a shot, right?”
No one said anything. It was hard to tell if people were actually listening to him or if the idea was so stupid that we were all left dumfounded.
For some reason, I thought of the Wanderer. What would he think of that? He had said it all depended on me. I was the one who had to infect Askala, the Radaskim Xenomind, with the Elekai version of the xenovirus. Without that, well – anything, even a nuclear strike, would be pointless.
Yet, Grudge did have a point. Maybe a nuke wouldn’t outright kill the Radaskim, but it could severely weaken them.
“It’s worth a shot, isn’t it?” Grudge asked, looking at all of us. His eyes were bright and shining, and for some reason, they reminded me of a child pleading with his parents for something he really wanted.
Makara remained silent. She looked at Ashton, who in turn looked at her. Everyone in the room watched them both.
“It is something I’ve turned over in my head these last few days,” Ashton said. “And I only wanted to consider it as a last resort. Yes, it would be powerful. Of that I have no doubt. However, with that power comes a lack of precision that we need in order to defeat the Radaskim.” Ashton turned to look at me. “It would be denying the revelation that Alex received from the Wanderer – a revelation which I have yet to investigate, scientifically, yet which I believe to be true all the same. The only way to kill Askala is to convert her to Elekai, and only Alex can do that. Furthermore, if the nuclear strike doesn’t work – which is highly probable – we will be forced to attack while contending with high levels of radiation.”
“Don’t we have bigger problems than that, though?” Grudge asked. “I mean, we are talking about the future of humanity here.”
“I do not contest that,” Ashton said. “I just know, looking at history, that nuclear strikes have always had unintended consequences. They are unpredictable, as all powerful things are. It would be wise to set this option aside unless in the direst of needs.”
Grudge scoffed. “You sure didn’t hesitate when that dragon was attacking.”
Ashton met his gaze. “As I said: in the direst of needs.”
I was beginning to see just how close we were to the end of it all. Things were finally coming to a head, for the better or worse of humanity. There were just two obstacles left in the way of our attack on Ragnarok Crater – Carin and the Reapers, and Augustus and the Empire. Only when they were both neutralized, or brought to our side, could we attack. We could do as Grudge said – we could go now. And for all we knew, it might even work. But for some reason, I was siding with Ashton. We needed to take care of matters in the Wasteland first – and only after could we start the final battle.
“Ashton is right,” I said. “We can’t attack Ragnarok. Not yet. Even if we were to succeed, we couldn’t return to a Wasteland that wasn’t in our control. No one can predict what will happen from a nuclear strike, and Ashton has a point when he says it will be imprecise.” I sighed. “I have to do what the Wanderer has said. I have to find Askala and I have to infect her.”
Everyone now looked at me, as if what I said sealed the deal. Anna was watching me worriedly, but I tried to ignore that. Yes, the Wanderer had said I would have to sacrifice myself. I couldn’t worry about that though, strange as that might sound.
“So what do we do about Black, kid?” Rey asked.
I blinked in surprise – why was Rey deferring to me? I quickly recovered.
“We strike – hard and fast. Sometime in the next couple of days. If the assassination doesn’t go well – we throw everything we have into taking down Los Angeles. Once the Reapers are brought down, we reconnect with Augustus and let him know the Wasteland stands as one – the one thing he doesn’t want.”
Heads nodded around the table. I realized what I was doing; I was giving everyone a clear path to victory from here, from this Bunker to Ragnarok. It was something Samuel would have done.
Maybe I was becoming more of a leader.
“We have to make sure everyone here is as safe as possible, of course,” I said. “We can take some of the people to harvest Bunker 108 for food.”
“We already have a team organized for that,” Makara said. “They should be leaving tomorrow.”
“How long will that take?” I asked.
“Not long. Twenty-four hours at most.”
“When Aeneas returns, that’s when we go. A small team can be dropped into Los Angeles. Do the walls cover its entire perimeter?”
Makara nodded. “Raine, when he was alive, made sure of that. There is no way to access the city by ground anymore.”
“We can use parachutes, then,” I said. “Wait until the darkest time of night. Drop into one of the abandoned parts of the city. Then head toward Reaper territory.”
“Who’s going?” Char asked.
The room went silent at that question. Anna sat straighter in her chair, and I could tell from Makara’s face that she wanted to be there as well.
“Remember,” Ashton said. “This is merely locating Black and letting the ships take care of the rest. We won’t risk any lives any more than we have to.”
“I can go,” I said.
“We need you at Ragnarok Crater,” Makara said, shaking her head. “If I’d known how risky Bunker 84 would be, I’d have kept you back from there as well.”
I was about to protest, but Grudge cut me off before I could.
“I’ll go.”
To my surprise, Makara nodded her head. “Yeah, that works. Who else?”
“I don’t mind going,” Michael said. “I know I could be useful in a situation like that.”
Makara smiled. “You have a family to take care of. I’m not going to risk you again or Lauren will give me hell.”
“I said I can go,” Michael said. “We all have people we care about.”
Makara said nothing to that.
“I’ll go, then,” Julian said. “I’d have to be taught to parachute, but I think I can learn that easily enough.”
Makara looked at Julian for a moment. It was hard to read her eyes. Was she going to let him go?
“I can do this,” Julian said, meeting her gaze. “I have no reason why I shouldn’t.”
“Your family...”
“We all have families, and people we love,” Julian said. “I want to do my part.”
She looked from Julian back to Michael. “You both can go, if you wish it. Just...don’t let me explain to either of your families why I let you, alright?”
Julian smiled. “We’ll be fine. We’ve been in much worse spots.”
Michael nodded.
I wasn’t so sure about that. Los Angeles could be more dangerous than even Bunker 84.
“Alright, that’s Grudge, Michael, and Julian,” Makara said. “I’m only willing to send one more. Who will it be?”
“I’ll go.”
Ruth stood in the doorway of the conference room. How long had she been listening outside?
“Ruth,” Makara said, “I’m glad you want to help out, but don’t you think your place is here?”
Ruth stared at her for a moment, as if considering that. Then she shook her head.
“No. It’s not. I can fight. I survived in Bunker 108 when everyone else died. I killed dozens of Howlers in my time there. If there’s anything you can say about me, it’s that I’m a survivor. If you send me down there, I’m not dying. I can guarantee that.” She nodded toward Michael. “Plus, I can make sure he doesn’t kill himself.”
Everyone looked at her with shocked expressions. Even Rey and the Vegas gang lords seemed to be impressed. Makara continued to stare her down. Everyone looked at the leader of the New Angels.
“Fine,” Makara said. “Ruth is our fourth.” She sighed. “We have our team.”
“There was another reason I came,” Ruth said, smiling. “Samuel is up.”
Suddenly, the conference room became a scene of chaos. Makara’s eyes widened as she ran out, weaving her way through people now standing up.
She turned her head quickly. “Meeting adjourned.”
She ran out the door. I heard her boots stomp on the deck toward Aeneas’s medical bay, where Samuel had been transported.
Anna and I shared a look before we both walked out of the conference room and made our way to the medical bay.