by Kyle West
She shrugged. “I guess it will always be a mystery, then, huh?”
She went back to her food. Like Makara, Anna favored cantaloupe.
“I’ll have to remember the ash and water thing. Might come in handy.”
The ship began to hum as the fusion drive warmed up. Within minutes, we would be in the air.
Anna finished the last of her food. I touched her shoulder, causing her to pause mid-bite.
“Come on, let’s go up front.”
After she swallowed the rest of her food, we left the table and the dirty dishes behind.
Chapter 2
It was midmorning, and we had been searching three hours. The long, pink border of the Great Blight crawled north to south on the ship’s right side. Just seeing that field of blaring pink, orange, and purple was unsettling. The xenofungus coated the desert floor, climbed over rocks, stretched over plains, slithered up mountains. The eastern sun cast a red, fiery light on the alien growth, setting its colors aflame. Swarms of creatures — probably birds — flew in tornado-like clouds, for the time being ignoring our presence.
It was like staring at the surface of an alien planet. And I guessed, for all intents and purposes, it was an alien planet. This was what we were fighting. Seeing all that alien growth was depressing.
We followed the line of the Great Blight until it started veering northwest. As the minutes passed and we continued our search, the Great Blight’s border turned even more toward the west. The Great Blight stretched not only to the east, but also endlessly to the north.
“Was all this here before?” Makara asked.
We stood in silence seeing the fields touch the far horizon. We had never been this far north before, so maybe it had always been like this. Or maybe it had only recently expanded in this direction. It gave me a sense that time was definitely running out.
“I don’t know,” Samuel said. “Keep following the border, toward the west. That’ll put us closer to Vegas in a couple of hours.”
We followed the ground at a low altitude of about a thousand feet — high enough to be safe, yet low enough to easily see anything, or anyone, below. The Great Blight persisted in its westward crawl, sliding past our field of view. A purple lake glimmered far to the north, making me think that it was filled with purple goo rather than water. The xenoviral flora stood thick along its alien shoreline in a tangle of webbed growth.
The comm on the ship’s dash began to beep, lighting red.
“Did anyone check in with Ashton last night?” Makara asked.
We all looked at each other. We were supposed to update Ashton once a day on how things were going.
“I forgot,” Samuel said. “Put it on speaker.”
Makara answered the call. “Yeah?”
“Give me your update from yesterday,” Ashton said.
“Nothing to report, really,” Makara said, angling the ship as the Great Blight’s border started heading due west. “Did some more recon on the coordinates I sent you. We found nothing but dust.”
“Makara, if you can’t find anything soon, then…”
“We will,” Makara said, interrupting. “I feel it in my bones.”
“Feeling has nothing to do with it,” Ashton said. “We are on a limited timetable, and I can’t have you guys wasting time searching for a needle in a haystack.”
“I understand that,” Makara said. “But I know Char. If he went anywhere, it would have been to his brother.”
“Even though he hates him?” Anna asked from the copilot’s seat.
“I need you on my side, Anna,” Makara said.
“I’m allowed my own opinion,” Anna said. “Maybe Ashton is right.”
“Alright,” Makara said, annoyed, “if not the Exiles, then who do we go to?”
No one said anything.
“Well, there’s Vegas,” I said. “There are the northern Bunkers, 76 and 88…”
“Have you tried calling those Bunkers, Ashton?” Samuel asked.
“Repeatedly. I’m getting nothing. On 76, the line is going through, only…no one is answering.”
“That’s not a good sign,” Makara said.
“What about Bunker 88?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Ashton said. “It’s safe to assume they are both offline, though at some point, you guys will still have to check it out yourselves. That is, if we have time. With what we’re facing from Augustus and the xenovirus, we need every ally we can get.”
“So, what about Vegas?” Samuel asked. “Why not just go there first?”
“Did you not learn from the Empire?” Makara asked. “If Char and Marcus back us up, we’ll be bargaining from a position of power. We’ll have hundreds at our back from the get-go. The Vegas Gangs will be more willing to listen to us.”
“Good luck getting those two to work together,” Anna said.
“They will work together,” Makara said.
“I hope you’re right, Makara,” Ashton said. “Because this is your last day. I cannot allow you to waste any more time on this exercise.”
“It’s not an exercise,” she said. “It’s a necessity. I’m not allowing us to walk into Vegas with our pants down. From what I’ve heard, it’s just as bad as L.A.”
“That remains to be seen,” Ashton said.
“How’s your project coming, Ashton?” Samuel asked.
“I’ve finished one of the two wavelength monitors. The one Makara and I dropped earlier is still functioning, so getting these two done will help us triangulate the Voice’s exact point of origin. Although I’m missing a few parts that I will have to find down on the surface.”
“Where are they?” Samuel asked.
There was a pause. “Bunker Six.”
Bunker Six. It was just a hop from Bunker One, toward the north. Like Bunker One, it had fallen in the xenoswarm’s first major attack on humanity. That place was going to be thick with crawlers, if our time at Bunker One was any indication.
“Ashton, it’s too dangerous,” Makara said.
“I can handle myself,” Ashton said. “I’ve gotten in and out of Bunker One half a dozen times over the years. What makes you think it will be different with Bunker Six? If the dock doors are still functional, then getting in is easy. My preliminary scans show that the Bunker’s empty. No waves coming from that area, so the Voice is focused on something else. In fact…”
Ashton paused a moment.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Just give me a second.” Once again, Ashton was quiet. I could hear the clacking of keys from his computer. “The Voice seems to be focused on where you guys are right now. Lots of waves coming in your direction.”
That didn’t sound good.
“Well, we have visual on the Great Blight right now,” Samuel said. “It looks clear.”
“Still, be on the lookout,” Ashton said. “Something fishy is going on. Like Makara said…don’t get caught with your pants down.”
“So, you’re really going into Bunker Six?” I asked.
“I have to, kid. In fact, I’m going as soon as this call is over. With the Voice focused elsewhere, it might be my best time to get in. The parts I need aren’t too far from the hangar.” Ashton cleared his throat. “Sorry. Anyway, another thing we might add to our to-do list is liberating Perseus and Orion.”
“The other two ships?” Anna asked.
“That’s right. That’s further in the future, but if we have four ships at our disposal, and more trained pilots, it will give the New Angels flexibility. It will also give us an edge in any upcoming battles we have to fight.”
Battles. Yes, there would be those, soon. But those battles were months away. Augustus was coming for us, and would have troops in the Wasteland as soon as he possibly could. That could be two months — that is, if the Wasteland winter didn’t stop him first. Ashton had mentioned that fact on one of his radio calls a couple days ago. For now, it looked as though his legions were still coming. When they got here, we had to be ready to p
ull out all the stops.
“Wait,” Makara said. “I think I’m seeing something.”
At the top of the ridge to the west was a swarming movement. It took me a moment to discern the distant shapes.
“Crawlers,” I said. “I wonder what they’re after.”
As Makara sped up and we drew closer, we could see more clearly. Crawlers surrounded a large group of people whose discarded bikes formed a perimeter around them.
“Ashton, we have contact,” Makara said. “The Exiles need our help.”
“Go get ’em, kid.”
Ashton cut out, as we zoomed in close.
* * *
“Turret engaged,” Anna said. “Fire?”
“Fire.”
The turret opened up, rattling Odin as its rain of lead fell upon the crawlers slithering up the hill. Chunks of pink alien flesh and fountains of gooey purple blood shot into the air, splattering onto the hillside. Several of the creatures tumbled down the hill, lifeless. The men faced outward, continuing to fire into the teeming mass. As Odin circled around to the hill’s other side, opening fire again, the creatures moved as one, fleeing their position. They scuttled toward the border of the Great Blight.
“They’re retreating,” Samuel said. “Make sure they’re good and gone.”
Makara nodded, following the line of fleeing crawlers at a low hover, keeping Odin’s nose pointed at them. Anna continued using the computer to aim and shoot, leaving a trail of dead and dying that lay twitching on the desert floor. Finally, at enormous speed, the last few remaining crawlers slithered into the xenofungal border of the Great Blight, burrowing themselves into the fungus. How quickly that fungus sucked in their bodies made my skin crawl. They were lost to view.
“Alright,” Samuel said. “Put Odin down on the hill.”
Makara veered Odin around, so that now the hill faced us. The Exiles still stood in the center of their ring of bikes, staring up into the sky. I could only imagine what their reaction to Odin would be. On the fourth day of searching, we had finally found them — and right in the nick of time. A few minutes later, and they would have been the ones lying dead in the dust, not the crawlers.
Makara set Odin down lightly about a hundred feet away from the Exiles, who had not changed position. Makara powered the fusion drive out of flight mode, and unstrapped herself from her seat.
“Alright,” she said. “Let’s do this.”
We followed the New Angels’ leader from the cockpit and into the bitterly cold air.
* * *
I followed Makara, doing my best to suppress my shivering. My standing outside in the morning was my way getting used to the cold, bleak lands of the north once again.
The Exiles were grim as they turned to face us. Many had blood, both red and purple, on their clothing and bodies. They had thick beards, sunglasses, and thick, leather jackets. At their head stood the man we were looking for: Marcus. It had been awhile, but I recognized his short, solid frame, light red hair, and matching red beard. The hair fell to his shoulders, and his beard came down to the base of his neck.
“Makara,” he said. “Samuel.” He broke into a small, grim smile. “I thought you all dead.”
Makara came to a stop a few feet in front of Marcus. Samuel, Anna, and I stood in a line just a few feet behind her.
“We thought the same of you,” Makara said. She hesitated a moment before continuing. “We need your help.”
Marcus chuckled. “Straight to the point, then”
Marcus had a slow, slightly arrogant way of speaking that made him seem like he was in control — that no matter what Makara told him, he was going to be his own man.
“Truly, thank you,” Marcus said. “Without you, we’d be dead.” He gazed at Odin, over Makara’s shoulder. I’d thought he would have been a little more surprised to see it. “Looks like you’ve found a new toy.”
“A little something we picked up,” Makara said.
“So, what do you require of me?”
Samuel stepped forward and stood beside his sister. “We found the Black Files, but it wasn’t easy. It’s an alien virus causing all of this, and it’s only going to get worse.” He made a fist. “We mean to stop it.”
Marcus looked down at his shoulder, flicking off a gooey chunk of crawler flesh that he had missed. “Clearly. You don’t need any Black Files to tell this stuff is from another planet. The crawlers used to stay in their Blights, for the most part. Now, they swarm the Wasteland in packs, hunting and killing whomever they find. Sometimes, we come across corpses.” Marcus shook his head. “No one can survive outside walls these days. The settlements are overrun with refugees — that is, what cities that allow them in. That is where we’re headed, now.”
“Headed where?” I asked.
Marcus pointed backward, over his left shoulder. “Vegas. I hope to offer the Exiles’ service to one of the gang lords. We are experienced fighters, so we should get in. And if not…” Marcus paused. “Well, we’ll figure something out. We might return to the Empire, where it will be safer.”
“Nowhere is safe,” Makara said. “Not even the Empire.”
The two dozen or so men looked at each other. This was clearly unexpected news.
“You know this, how?” Marcus asked.
“We just returned from there,” Samuel said. “The dragons attacked Nova Roma, unleashing dozens of crawlers within the city walls. Despite this, Augustus is on his way here. He wants to conquer the Wasteland, and a few crawlers and dragons running amok in his Empire won’t stop him.”
Marcus nodded. “That’s no surprise to me, actually. Augustus wants to find and salvage the Bunkers, mostly for weaponry. The networks also contain a lot of information that he is interested in. He understands that these two things will help him hold his Empire in the long run.”
“We expect the first of his forces to be here in two months,” Samuel said.
Marcus’s eyes widened. “Two months?”
“He is working with Carin Black,” Makara said. “I don’t know what their plan is, come winter, but we are preparing for the worst. We need to unite anyone we can to stand against him.”
Marcus looked from Makara to Samuel, saying nothing. “There is nothing we can do.”
Makara took a step forward. “We still have time to mount a resistance. If we take down Carin before Augustus gets here…”
Marcus looked at Makara, trying to see if she was serious. Then he began to laugh. Makara’s face reddened.
“That’s cute, kid,” Marcus said. “And where do you plan on getting an army big enough to stand against the Empire?”
“Well, I hoped you would be my first recruits,” Makara said. “With you and Char both, we might be able to convince the Vegas gangs to help out.”
Marcus frowned at the mention of his brother. “Have you spoken with him?”
“No,” Makara said. “We were hoping that you had. We’ve been searching for you for the past four days. And now, with so much on the line, I’m not leaving until you are with me.” She paused a moment. “The Lost Angels have reformed. I am their leader.”
Marcus looked Makara up and down, recalculating her strength. The men behind Marcus grumbled at each other, and after a moment turned their attention back to Makara.
“How many men do you have?”
“After this conversation, I’m hoping a little over two dozen.”
Marcus gave a bark of a laugh, then shook his head. “You got gumption, kid. That isn’t a bad thing, though.” He eyed Makara, hard. “What makes you think I will follow you?”
Makara shrugged, a slight smile playing on her lips. “This isn’t about me leading. It’s about stopping Augustus. Besides, if you say no, you’ll be hunted by crawlers. You need us just to get as far as Vegas. You can’t run forever. Not from crawlers, not from dragons, not from the Blights. And, on the other hand, we need you. We need the New Angels to be strong enough to take on the Reapers in L.A. If the Angels can make it to Vegas already
thirty strong, the gang lords there will be forced to take us seriously. With Char and the Raiders, we will number in the hundreds.”
Marcus nodded, thinking. “What about you, Samuel?”
“Makara heads up the Angels. I head up the mission against the xenovirus. We can’t do anything against the Great Blight until we stop Augustus and Black. We need to take those two down before they ruin every chance we’ve got.”
Marcus said nothing, merely looking at all of us, weighing Makara’s and Samuel’s words. The Exiles behind Marcus listened, waiting for the decision of their leader.
“This is a group decision,” Marcus said. “I lead, but only by the consent of my men. We will need to confer.”
“Please do,” Makara said. “Just don’t take long. Because when it comes to them…” Makara pointed ahead, toward the Great Blight, “there’s no time to waste.”
Marcus nodded. “Come back in an hour and we will have an answer for you, Makara of the Angels.”
As Marcus and the Exiles walked back to their ring of bikes, Makara turned toward us.
“Let’s go.”
Chapter 3
“They will follow us.”
Makara sat in the pilot’s seat, staring out the window at the circle of conferring Exiles.
“You seem so sure,” Anna said.
“It can’t go any other way. If they don’t come with us, they die.”
“All the same,” I said, “we want them with us because they’re with us. We don’t want them having their own agenda.”
“When Marcus accepts, I will let him know about everything that has happened,” Samuel said. “If that still doesn’t sway him, he needs to get his head checked.”
“You see what I’m saying, though,” I said. “They could just use us to get as far as Vegas.”
“Maybe,” Makara said. “But we really don’t have much choice, do we?” She sighed. “Besides, I have a few more tricks up my sleeve.”
I wanted to believe Makara. I really did. But I knew she was improvising. It was a lucky thing she happened to be good at that.
“When we finally find Char,” Anna said, “those two are going to be a mess to deal with.”
