by J. Rock
19.
It's about two hours later when Altair finally finds us.
Traylor follows close behind him, eyes puffy and red from crying, washing away some of his disguise.
We're in an alley just off the mainstreet.
"He was nearly halfway to Apollyon when I found him," Altair jibes, ruffling the little guy's hair. Traylor just shrugs sheepishly.
"You alright, buddy?" I ask, but Traylor doesn't want to talk. "He'll be fine," I say. "Just give him some time. He acts like a baby whenever this happens."
"Shut up!" Traylor finally fires back.
"Just callin' it like I see it," I retort. "You're getting a little old to be acting like this, Traylor."
Traylor shakes his head. "Eat ashes," he grumbles.
"Enough," Altair intercedes, but it's Ursa who prevents it turning into a full blown fight.
"I'm sorry, Traylor," the woman says, kneeling down next to the little boy. "I should have asked you first if I could take your blood. I was just... I don't have a lot of interactions with regular people, and I was so astonished that you and your sister are still pureblooded that I acted without thought. I do that sometimes. Can you forgive me?"
Traylor seems taken aback but finally nods.
"Good," Altair announces through gritted teeth. "Now let's get back to the lab. We need to get to work on this cure as soon as possible."
"You are right, of course," Ursa agrees. She leads us back toward our new home for the time being. "Let's see... Oh, I wish I knew you guys were coming!" she muses. "I wouldn't have destroyed some of my equipment!" She pauses. "No matter, we have what we need, I think." She eyes me and Traylor, almost hungrily.
What a weird woman.
Altair maintains the rear as we walk. I slow my step to fall in line with him. "What happens now?" I ask. "When this is all said and done, if we find a cure, what happens? Will you take us back to Krakelyn?"
Altair nods, though reluctantly. "Eventually, yes. The cure will have to be proliferated first, and we have to be sure that it works. Once you and Traylor are no longer the last humans, it will be safe for you to return." He hesitates. "That could still be a long time yet, Juno."
I sigh. "Yeah, I kinda figured. I just wanted to confirm it with you, that's all. I– What the bloody ashes?"
We've just come out of another alley, a few blocks over from the canyon wall and Ursa's lab.
There's smoke.
Just beyond the final buildings, a thick black plume rises.
"Gods!" Ursa screams, resorting to a dashing lunge.
"Ursa, wait!" Altair orders, but the woman doesn't listen. "Gods dammit! Come on!"
Altair starts running and we follow.
The smoke overwhelms us as we get closer, breathing getting harder. Traylor starts coughing and Altair orders us to stay back, getting out of the smoke. We do so as he pulls off his shirt, revealing a rippling, rash ridden body, decorated in the strangest tattoos I've ever seen. I realize with a gasp that the scrolling images are words. The Ten Tenets, the basis of my people's former religion.
Thou Shalt Not Suffer A Mutant To Live.
The phrase coils from Altair's shoulder down to his wrist. The other nine Tenets are all there as well, inked on his skin.
Altair quickly wraps his tunic across his face, forming a breathing mask that I have trouble believing will be very effective. But Altair doesn't share that concern. With a last look back at me and Traylor–hiding in an alley–Altair disappears into the smoke. We stare at the spot he'd left for a full five minutes, neither of us saying a word.
The tension and anxiety are nearly unbearable.
I feel a pulling at my sleeve. "Juno," Traylor finally speaks up in a meek whisper, "should we go after him? He's been gone a long time."
I nod my agreement. They really should have been back by now. We wait just a little longer, and then I can't take it anymore. I start pulling my tunic top over my head.
"What are you doing?" Traylor asks, as if he doesn't know.
"What do think?" I snap back, in no mood for nonsense. "I'm going after–"
Something appears out of the smoke.
Altair!
He's holding Ursa up under one arm, half dragging the poor woman to safety. She's coughing, but it sounds more like choking. The pair makes wet squishing sounds as they move, and I look down to see that, indeed, their feet are wet. It takes me a second to realize that they've been inside the entrance tunnel to the lab. Water runs perpetually off of those walls, soaking the floor. They leave eerily accurate water footprints on the white stone walkway. My eyes are drawn to another set of footprints, likewise leading out of the smoke, past our hiding spot and disappearing around another building. The prints are bare foot, leaving behind a distinct six-toed pattern.
Six toes? I gasp.
They're identical to the ones Jude and I found on the beach back in Krakelyn. Did the same mutant set fire to Ursa's lab?
Altair and Ursa finally make it to the alley and we all move away from the smoke completely, the footprints slipping from my mind. Ursa collapses against the wall, sliding down the stucco into a puddle on the ground. She doesn't seem to notice. She coughs some more then pulls that same breathing cylinder from her coat pocket, taking a shot of air. Her coughing ceases almost immediately.
"I gotta get me one of those," Traylor admonishes with a smile for the woman.
Ursa smiles back weakly. "Hard enough it was to find this one," she says, her words confused and backward. Traylor deflates a little. "Don’t worry, you can use it if you ever need to," she offers. Traylor brightens up again.
Once Ursa's strong enough to get back on her feet, Altair gets right back to business. "Do you have a contingency site here?" he asks.
Ursa shakes her head. "This was the contingency site," she mutters bitterly.
"What do you mean?"
Ursa sighs hard. "This was not my original lab. This operation was much bigger at one time. We had an entire building to ourselves, with dozens of scientists working together." Ursa pauses, clearing her throat.
"Does it still exist?" I ask, devastated that my journey isn't over after all. However, I'm surprised at my own determination to carry on.
Ursa shakes her head, then nods. "Well, yes, technically it still exists. But we had to abandon the place years ago. There's no telling what has become of it now. When it was discovered what we were doing, the mutants drove us out."
"Mutants?" I ask, skeptically. "Um, just where was this lab?" I think I know the answer, but I'm scared to hear it.
Ursa hesitates, dropping her eyes. "Everwinter," she says finally. "The other lab is in Everwinter." My jaw hits the floor. "I just can't believe this happened," Ursa cries. "Who would do such a thing?"
We're all at loss for words.
Altair looks unmoved, but that's normal for him.
Traylor, astonishingly, smiles. "Everwinter?" he asks. "That's like, where the really bad mutants live, isn't it?"
