by E S Richards
“Yeah I –”
“I’m sorry,” Cain interrupted with a tone of nervousness as voices gradually became audible outside. Honing in on the lab from both directions. “But we need to get out of here.”
“We have to get my brothers.” Asher spoke resolutely, refusing to comply with any other form of a plan.
Zahyra nodded. “The other boys? Of course, where are they Ash? How many are there?”
Asher paused for a moment. “Four. Adryan is dead.”
“Adryan?” Zahyra’s voice caught at the name. “You mean, from the warped settlement?”
Asher nodded slowly, unaware that his sister knew of any of his brothers but then recalled she had also spent time in the warped settlement and must have met Adryan there.
“And the other’s?” Zahyra continued. “The twins... Jonny and Dylan? Are they okay?”
Asher nodded again. “Yes. Sam and Hayden too. But we have to go to them now, we have to get them out as well.”
“We will,” Zahyra bent down slightly and wrapped her arms around Asher once more. “Let’s go save your brothers, Ash. If they’re yours then they’re mine too.”
Chapter 28 – Zahyra
Racing back towards the vehicle bay Zahyra couldn’t keep her eyes off Asher. The way he moved made him look so much older than ten and Zahyra realised with shock that one of the dormitories she had walked into earlier that day probably had been a home to Asher recently.
She marvelled at the muscles he now carried but moreso at how much he seemed to have aged on a mental and emotional level. She just hoped the events of his time back at the safe haven wouldn’t carry a heavy scar, their lives already too torn apart to be able to handle much more.
As they weaved through the corridors, Cain thankfully leading the way, Zahyra also thought of the other boys. Asher’s brothers. Her brothers. She meant what she had told him; if they were his brothers then they were hers as well and she was happy to welcome four new faces into her family. She was just upset it wasn’t five.
The news of Adryan’s death had hurt Zahyra more than she’d willingly let on when Asher first mentioned it. She didn’t want him to know how she had spent time with his sister Clarke and that Adryan would have possibly had a home to go back to. Instead she decided to bear this pain for him, until he was ready. Asher had already been through so much, saving him from a few more painful thoughts was the least she could do.
Zahyra did her best to look beyond Adryan’s passing however. She thought of the other boys Asher had spent his time with, knowing she would at least be honouring Zac’s memory by helping save Jonny and Dylan. The others: Sam and Hayden, were more of a mystery to her. But she knew that no matter where the boys had come from, if they wanted help she would offer it to them. She just hoped they would be willing to accept it; especially considering how herself and Cain had technically arrived at the safe haven with the group of advanced mutants the boys had just been trying to defeat.
As the three of them rounded the final corner and burst into the vehicle bay Zahyra held her breath. She knew a large portion of her future would be decided by what happened next.
Watching Asher rush forward without delay and embrace the other boys warmed her heart. Zahyra knew in an instant that she needn’t carry any worry about who the boys would side with. She could see in all their eyes that they loved one another as brothers, just as Asher had said, and she knew how powerful that love truly was.
After a moment she was pulled forward herself and Asher was introducing both her and Cain to the other boys. She shared a few words of apology with Jonny and Dylan, still unsure how well the boys had known Zac during their time at the safe haven.
Thankfully they accepted her apology gracefully, thanking her for everything she had done for them. Sam and Hayden were less enthusiastic about the introductions, but Zahyra knew they must have been a part of the Gen 6 programme the longest by their increased size and muscle mass. Therefore she figured the transition out of the safe haven’s hold was much harder on the two of them.
It was a relief, at least, to see that all the boys had snapped out of the safe haven’s control. Each one of them was at a different stage of remembering their past but Zahyra knew they would all help each other with that over the coming days.
As Asher continued to hug and laugh with his brothers, Zahyra spotted Adryan’s still body lying a short distance away and snuck away from the group. She had of course never met Adryan properly, but his face reminded her of Clarke and that was enough for her to conclude who the boy was. She knelt beside him in silence for a moment, uttering an unspoken apology for her failed attempt at saving him.
“You did everything you could.” Cain’s voice caught Zahyra off guard as he knelt beside her, placing a strong arm across her shoulders.
“I know,” Zahyra sighed. “I just wish we could have saved them all.”
“Look at them,” Cain spoke softly, turning Zahyra’s head to look at Asher and his four remaining brothers. “Look how happy they are. That’s because of you. You’ve done an incredible thing here Zahyra, you can’t blame yourself for losing one of them.”
“I didn’t really do anything,” Zahyra shrugged and rose to her feet. But she couldn’t help but smile at her younger brother and how happy he looked in that moment. “Thank you though,” she looked at Cain, “thank you for doing it all with me.”
“Any day.” Cain grinned and pulled Zahyra forward, locking his lips onto hers in a swift but meaningful kiss. “Now, I hate to say this,” he broke away, “but we need to get out of here.”
Zahyra paused for a moment, staring into Cain’s eyes and processing what he’d said. He was right. Heather, Professor Welbeck and countless safe haven soldiers would be upon them at any second. They had already wasted too long with their reunion; they needed to finish what they had started.
“We need to destroy this place.” Zahyra snarled menacingly, looking around the vehicle bay quickly to make sure they were still alone.
“Zahyra there’s no time,” Cain took her hands in his. “Listen.”
After a moment Zahyra heard it. The marching of hundreds of pairs of feet heading towards them. She couldn’t tell where they were coming from but she could guess they wouldn’t be far away. From what Heather had shown her in the experimentation lab they had most of the facility being watched on video. Nothing they did was hidden.
“Alright,” she nodded, regrettably pushing her desire for revenge to the back of her mind. “Let’s get out of here.”
Rushing forward they explained their situation to the boys, each one of them agreeing immediately that they needed to leave. Cain performed a loop around the vehicle bay, checking each of the SUVs while the rest of them grabbed weapons and other supplies from around the room. There wasn’t much lying around but Zahyra figured they didn’t need much. Everything would work out so long as they had enough time to put some distance between themselves and the safe haven once and for all.
Piling into the SUV Cain was preparing Zahyra shot a look at her younger brother. She was so proud of him for everything he had achieved, but a huge part of her would always want to watch over him. He would always be her little brother.
“Alright, everyone hold on!”
Cain shouted at the six passengers in the over-filled vehicle, the boys crammed together on a row of seats designed for three in the back – not that they had a choice. Then, just as he was putting the SUV into gear and was about to hurtle forward a powerful voice carried through the air.
“Cain! Wait!”
Zahyra poked her head out of the open window and looked behind her, seeing the mutant commander and three of his party rushing towards their vehicle. She turned to Cain to explain who it was but before she could open her mouth one mutant had tugged open her door, while another had moved to stand in front of the SUV, blocking their path.
“Cain, what are you doing?” The commander spoke with a firm tone despite his chest heaving up and down as he gasped for
breath.
“Preparing for evacuation commander,” Cain spoke simply from the drivers seat next to Zahyra. “I assumed you didn’t make it.”
“Well climb down from your vehicle and get another one prepared,” the commander retorted. “We’ve made it and we’ve got to get out of here now. We planted more bombs so this whole place is going to come down soon. Plus their army is marching right on our tail. I see you’ve got the boys ready, good job. Set us up another SUV and we can get on our way.”
Zahyra looked over at Cain questionably. She trusted him completely but she didn’t like the way the commander had spoken about the boys. The five of them had tensed up in the back of the SUV as well, each one waiting to hear what Cain would say in response.
“I’m sorry commander,” Cain spoke slowly as he thrust the gear stick forward so the vehicle was ready to move. “I can’t do that. You’re going to have to get your own car ready if you want to get out of here before your bombs go off. But you can’t take this one.”
Cain pressed his foot down slightly on the accelerator as he spoke, making the engine of the SUV roar loudly.
“Cain what are you talking about?” The commander’s voice rose as he argued with who he assumed was one of his loyal party members. “Get out of the vehicle now and get another one going!”
Two very large mutants had now moved to stand in front of the vehicle, the commander occupying the space in Zahyra’s open door. None of this seemed to faze Cain however as he revved the engine again, allowing it to lurch forward a couple of inches.
“You might as well just get your own vehicle sorted!” Cain shouted over the engine noise. “You’re not having this one and we need to get going.”
Finally Zahyra saw the commander’s men start to take note, the third mutant who had arrived with him – sporting a large cut down the side of his face –running off to check the other SUVs. Another noise permeating the vehicle bay told Zahyra it was perhaps not only due to Cain’s threats.
The noise of the safe haven soldiers was louder than ever, the steady beating of their footsteps sounding off like a drum. With their movements the walls of the room began to shake and no more than ten seconds later one of the doors was blown off its hinges, giving way to reveal Heather and the General standing side by side.
“Move!” Zahyra shouted urgently, pulling her door closed as the commander himself ran off to the other side of the vehicle bay. His man Scarface having managed to successfully get another SUV started.
Cain didn’t need to be told twice and lurched the vehicle forward, jumping out of their parking bay like a wild dog. It appeared he made the move just in time as an ear-splitting explosion sounded out behind them as their wheels started to roll towards the still open exit. Zahyra didn’t need to look back to know it was the first of the commander’s bombs and with his promise to take down the entire safe haven she knew they needed to get out of the facility as quickly as possible. If only their path wasn’t so littered with dead mutant corpses.
“Wait!”
Asher’s cry came from directly behind Zahyra as he scrambled across two of his brothers to reach the door in the back of the vehicle.
“Asher what are you doing?” Zahyra cried out as she spun around in her seat, stopping her younger brother just as his hand reached for the door handle.
“Adryan.” Asher replied simply. “I can’t just leave him here.”
Zahyra let out a gasp as her younger brother flung open the door and charged out back into the vehicle bay. The entire room had already fallen into chaos. The commander and his three remaining advanced mutants were struggling to get their SUV on the move and past a motorcycle that had fallen over and blocked their path.
The first set of bombs that had just exploded had caused many of the red band soldiers to scatter, each of them looking around for where the next explosion would come from. Several of them had also started firing at both the vehicles, as Zahyra felt bullets pinging off the rear of their SUV.
All the while she watched Asher as he leapt over a couple of dead mutants and some debris that had fallen from the ceiling and reached the body of his young brother. Zahyra realised they must have driven past Adryan as they rolled towards the exit of the vehicle bay, the thought of leaving his brother behind for the safe haven clearly too much for Asher.
Watching him carefully she saw Asher hook his hands underneath Adryan’s armpits, slowly dragging the boys’ body over towards their SUV. Cain had put the vehicle into park now, but his foot still waited above the accelerator for them to zoom out of the building.
Another explosion rang out to the left of them, shaking the foundations of the vehicle bay once more. With it more rubble fell from the ceiling and Zahyra cried out as she saw a few rocks bouncing off Asher’s body. With his hands preoccupied with Adryan, he couldn’t protect himself against the raining debris. He also couldn’t protect himself against the bullets the red band were firing and Zahyra watched in horror as Asher was forced to throw his body to the ground, narrowly avoiding being shot.
With a fire burning up inside of her Zahyra bent down and picked up a rifle from the footwell of her seat and flung open the passenger side door once again. With the back door still open from where Asher had climbed out she was granted fairly decent cover and squared her rifle up against her shoulder. Taking careful aim she picked off three safe haven soldiers with her first four shots, the ability of taking a life becoming easier with each squeeze of her trigger.
Looking up from where he lay Asher noticed Zahyra’s covering fire and grinned, pushing himself up with Adryan’s body now on his back. Zahyra could tell he was ready to make a break for it. Giving him a nod she opened fire once more, tearing down several more members of the red band. Asher weaved between bullets, his now strong frame barely affected by the added weight of his brother. He was so close now. Zahyra could almost reach him.
Then a terrible explosion sounded just above their heads and Zahyra looked up in horror. The ceiling of the vehicle bay had cracked and a great ball of fire was spilling down from above. Zahyra felt her body being yanked back inside the vehicle and the SUV pitching forward again as she saw a huge chunk of heavy mountainous ceiling fall down before her eyes. Landing right where her brother had been stood Asher was engulfed in dust and smoke, the fire falling from above with the ceiling.
Zahyra screamed. She fought against the hands that were now holding her in place in the passenger seat as the force of the vehicle moving forward slammed both her door and the back door closed. They had to go back for Asher. They couldn’t just leave him there.
Turning around as best she could in her chair Zahyra watched as more of the ceiling continued to fall. Pulling out of the vehicle bay and away from the smoke into daylight she saw the extent of the commander’s bombs. The entire mountain was breaking apart in places, the integral structure of the safe haven weakened and collapsing in on itself. It didn’t look like anyone could survive in there.
As the SUV continued moving away from the scene Zahyra continued screaming. Her eyes filled with tears as her vision blurred and her little brother’s name remained fresh on her lips. She had only just got him back; she couldn’t lose him again already.
The sounds of the explosions and the fighting grew quieter but still the ringing echoed throughout Zahyra’s head. At moments she thought she heard Cain’s voice comforting her, explaining to her that it was impossible to go back, that the entire safe haven had collapsed, but she chose to ignore him. She couldn’t believe Asher was truly gone, that she would never see her brother’s face again.
Eventually the grief of what happened became too much for her. She thrashed about in her seat, demanding to go back but Cain wouldn’t stop the vehicle. As they continued to drive Zahyra let herself fully give in to her tears.
Her whole body shook with sobs while the salty water ran down her cheeks and onto the floor below. Slowly her thoughts became blurred and her mind became tired. A blackness started to creep around the edge o
f her vision until she was forced to close her eyes. And then, before her body finally gave in to sleep her little brother’s face was the last thing she thought of. The boy she had failed to save.
Chapter 29 – 10 Years Later
Zahyra cupped her stomach as she looked out towards the forest at dusk and watched her firstborn son, Zander playing with his uncles. At just three years old Zander already reminded her so much of Asher. The way he smiled, his shaggy mop of blonde hair that curled up on his forehead. It warmed her heart to be able to remember her childhood, a simpler time before her life changed so much.
Seeing Jonny and Dylan picking up her son and messing around with him meant so much to her. The twins had become a real part of her little family, ever since that day at the safe haven when she had first laid eyes on them. Sam and Hayden had stayed with her and Cain for a while too, however they had both moved on many years ago. Zahyra still saw them occasionally when they passed through the small village she now lived in, but when their memories had fully returned neither of them had wanted to stick around for long.
She didn’t blame them, of course. Zahyra only knew what they had wanted to reveal about their past, but she suspected it was even darker than her own. They had both signed up as soldiers now, helping to clear the land that had been America and rebuild for future civilisations. It was a cause that Zahyra herself was passionate about and had worked towards until the birth of Zander, his presence making her take up a more permanent role at home. And now, with her second child on the way Zahyra knew that would only continue.
Previously she thought that nothing would be worse than being resigned to her home, unable to go out and explore the expanding world around her. But when she looked into her son’s eyes she knew nothing could be better than that feeling right there. She finally had a proper family and she wouldn’t trade it for all the adventures in the world.
“Missed you.”
