by James Axler
Krysty threw Ryan to the ground, holding her hands over his head to protect him as clay pots and cylinders went firing in all directions, shattering on the ground. The other companions did likewise, protecting themselves from the death throes of the burning building.
Chapter Thirty-Three
After that it was just mopping up and dealing with the loose ends. The innocent people of Heaven Falls had scattered to the mountains as the towers crumbled, too scared and disorganized to fight Ryan and his companions. Where once they had worked together, without the Regina they were nothing, their reasoning lost in a miasma of confusion, like waking from a coma dream.
J.B. set the last of the charges at the tower that had served as the Regina’s palace, though truly there was little need. The central tower had taken a lot of damage from the buildings that had burned and collapsed around it, and it was already so ruined that it looked as though it would fall over in a strong breeze. While he primed the charges, the last occupants of the tower were ushered out, mystified by what had happened.
Krysty apologized to Ryan for leaving things to the last minute to come help him. “I had to wait to gain the strength to summon the Earth Mother’s power,” she explained.
“And you did—just in time,” Ryan told her, his face still black with soot. “Nothing like an old-fashioned firefight among friends to shake you out of a daze, huh?”
Krysty laughed at that, and helped Ryan brush ashes and dirt from his clothes.
Ryan had been sucked into this plot, and Krysty knew she had been part of the reason why. “We thought we’d finally found heaven on earth,” she said sadly.
Ryan shook his head. “No,” he told her. “I’ve already found that—and I find it again each time I look in your eyes.”
* * *
WITH KRYSTY’S HELP and Mildred’s know-how, J.B. concocted a herbicide that would destroy the plants in the immediate area around Heaven Falls, a kind of scorched-earth insurance. Krysty brought her knowledge of all things botanical while Mildred figured out what to substitute given what remained in the limited stores of the farmers. For his efforts, J.B. brought a working appreciation for the napalm he had sourced from the redoubt, which he assured the women was the best herbicide known to man.
After that, the companions regrouped and made their way back to the redoubt.
* * *
“I GUESS THEY were muties,” Ricky said as the companions strode across the mountain path.
Behind them, the fires were burning out of control in the place that had once been Heaven Falls, the columns of red flame making it appear more like a vision of hell now.
“They were still changing,” Mildred confirmed, “mutating as we watched.”
Leading the way, Ryan slipped through the open doors to the redoubt, the Steyr held horizontally over his shoulders. “Humans turning into something else,” he said. “Never let it be said that this world isn’t full of surprises.”
“And every one of them a new horror,” Doc declared, though there was a light, mocking tone to his words.
Bringing up the rear, J.B. and Jak stood at the redoubt doors for a moment, checking that they were not being followed. The three women who had been repairing the mat-trans were still tied to trees scattered around the entrance, but J.B. was okay to leave them. He wasn’t one to leave an enemy close behind him. They would free themselves in time, or someone would come for them. There were plenty of folks wandering the mountains now, with the destruction of their ville. Someone would stumble on them before very long.
“Lock up,” Jak said, intruding on the Armorer’s thoughts.
“Yeah,” J.B. agreed, reaching for the makeshift pulley system that had been used to operate the door. He used his knife blade to cut the ropes, then he and Jak pulled the door closed for the last time.
“Did you ever wonder why that guy tried to blow this place up?” Krysty asked the others as they reached the control room.
“He broke the conditioning,” J.B. declared, “same way I did.”
“People can be allergic to honey,” Mildred told them all. “That’s not so unusual. If that was the case with William, he would have chosen a different diet from the others and would not have become sucked into the whole queen-bee-and-worker-drone setup.”
“Mebbe,” J.B. said, “or mebbe he just didn’t have a sweet tooth for honey. That’s what saved me, anyhow.”
“Saved us all,” Ryan said. “And thanks.”
J.B. met Ryan’s gaze and he saw something there he hadn’t seen in a couple weeks: friendship. “You sure you don’t want to chill me for wrecking the life you and Krysty had going?” he asked.
Ryan shook his head. “There’s a better life out there. For all of us. I’m certain of it,” he said.
“Then let’s find it,” J.B. said, stepping into the mat-trans with the others. “Together.”
“Together.”
Ryan entered the chamber last and closed the door, wondering, as he made his way to Krysty’s side, whether the mat-trans would work. He had no need to worry. As he sat beside his lover, the mat-trans powered up, and in a moment the companions were gone in the blink of an eye.
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781460324448
First edition January 2014
SIREN SONG
Copyright © 2014 by Worldwide Library
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