Zenith Rising

by Gavin Zanker

  ‘I will end your miserable existence before you leave this room,’ Aiden snapped at the Dawnist’s dismissive tone.

  ‘So be it,’ Samuel said, gesturing to his bodyguards. ‘If you wish to die, then let me help you atone for your sins.’

  CHAPTER 66

  AIDEN RAISED HIS pistol, double tapping the trigger at each of the advancing guards. The bullets took them both centre mass, but they barely flinched. When they kept coming, he realised they must be wearing armour under their loose, white clothing.

  ‘And the protectors shall root out sin and drive it from this hallowed place,’ Samuel called out passionately as a pistol appeared in his hand. ‘For they are truly blessed in their mission.’

  Aiden, still holding Hitch’s collar, dived for cover behind the nearest pillar just as a bullet glanced off the tiles at his heel, ricocheting into the glass and causing a deep crack. Zachary’s body lay at his feet, and he took a second to find the key and slide it across to Leigh. Risking a glance around the pillar, he saw the henchmen splitting up, moving around the perimeter to flank him. Samuel lingered by the door at the far end of the room, continuing to quote Dawnist scripture.

  Outnumbered and still injured, Aiden knew brute force wouldn’t see him through this fight. He knelt down to present a smaller target and waited, his pistol raised and ready to snap a shot off at the first sign of one of them rounding the pillar. They might be wearing chest armour, but they had nothing protecting their heads.

  There was a motion behind him.

  He tried to spin around but a huge oak branch of a bicep encircled his neck and dragged him backwards from his feet. He fumbled his grip on Hitch’s collar. The border collie jumped at the bodyguard, latching onto his calf, his teeth slicing deep into the muscle. The man seemed to feel nothing though, not reacting as the dog savaged his leg.

  The other henchman rounded the pillar, approaching Aiden from the front. He stepped forward, drawing a telescopic baton from somewhere under his clothing and extending it with a flick. He raised the weapon above his head. Aiden, his arms now pinned at his sides, still kept a grip on his pistol. He squeezed the trigger, firing upwards from his hip. Two bullets took the approaching guard in the chest, but again his armour shrugged them off. The third caught him in the jaw. He stumbled sideways into the cracked wall, shattering the glass as he fell.

  Stars danced across Aiden’s vision now as he struggled to get oxygen into his body. His strangler batted the pistol from his hand, sending it skittering along the tiles. Leigh screamed something from across the room, but Aiden couldn’t make it out over the sound of blood pounding in his ears. His vision began to fade. He desperately scrabbled for the knife in his pocket, still sticky with blood. He pulled it out, flicked open the blade with his thumb, and plunged in a downward motion behind him. He hit flesh and continued stabbing in a flurry.

  The grip around his neck released slightly. He squirmed out, falling forward onto his hands and knees, spluttering and gasping for air. Blood was spreading across the bodyguard’s white, linen trousers. No longer dealing with Aiden, he turned and booted Hitch across the floor causing the dog to whimper. He pulled out his own telescopic baton and stepped towards the stunned animal.

  ‘The unworthy will be cast out from this world,’ Samuel continued, his voice rising, ‘for their place lies not here with the righteous and the deserving.’

  Aiden stood, steadying himself on the pillar. Seeing Hitch in trouble, he lurched forward onto the giant’s back, reaching the knife around and lodging it into his neck. With all his strength, Aiden pushed, gritting his teeth against the fire in his shoulder. The blade burst out of the man’s windpipe in an arc of blood. The man threw Aiden over his shoulder, slamming him against the glass wall.

  As Aiden slumped sideways to the floor, he forced shuddering breaths down his raw throat. Through his blurred vision, he saw both bodyguards were down, unmoving. Struggling to stay conscious, he shook his head to try and clear the haze before forcing himself to his feet.

  ‘That was impressive,’ Samuel said.

  He was now stood behind Leigh, holding a gun to her head. ‘Those were my two most loyal, trained fighters. I’ve never seen either one bested in combat before.’

  ‘Let her go,’ Aiden said, his voice a painful croak. He coughed at the effort of speaking.

  ‘You’re in no position to order me around, philistine,’ Samuel said, wrenching Leigh’s hair and causing her to gasp. ‘You have no gun, and I have your—’

  Samuel screamed as Leigh twisted around and darted out of his grasp, slipping and tumbling across the blood-smeared floor towards Aiden. The Dawnist leader wrenched out a shard of ceramic tile that she had buried in his forearm.

  ‘You bitch!’ he screamed, tremors passing over his face.

  Seeing him bring up the pistol, Aiden cried out and threw himself forward.

  A sensation of weightlessness.

  A flash.

  He hit the ground, jarring his elbow. A sharp pain spread out from his chest. His ears rang; a surreal hiss of faraway sounds. He heard someone scream, a sound of pure panic and rage. There was a frenzied pattering of feet on the tiled floor followed by a blur launching itself across the room. Aiden’s vision swam as he saw Hitch bite down on the Dawnist’s wrist. Samuel flailed in an attempt to get the animal off, but Hitch’s muzzle was locked onto his gun arm.

  Aiden could only watch as Leigh scrambled across the room and scooped up her fallen revolver from beside Zachary. There was a series of soundless flashes as she aimed the gun, stepping towards the Dawnist leader. Samuel’s legs twisted out from under him, and he crumpled to the tiles. She kept striding forward until she stood directly over him. She fired one final time before letting the gun drop at her side.

  CHAPTER 67

  AIDEN HELD HIS palm against the strange, fluttering sensation in his chest, wrapping his other arm around Leigh as she tumbled to his side. He pulled her close as her hands cradled around him, constantly moving over his back as if searching for something.

  ‘You shouldn’t have come,’ she said, tears streaming down her face. ‘Why did you do that?’

  Hitch padded around them, limping slightly and whining. ‘I couldn’t leave you,’ Aiden said. ‘Not in this place.’

  ‘Thank you,’ she whispered into his ear. She pulled away and wiped her nose on her sleeve, her face solemn. ‘We have to leave. We have to get you help.’

  A scream resounded from somewhere inside the facility.

  ‘Sounds like the Ravagers are already inside,’ Aiden said. ‘We can’t go back.’

  ‘Then we’ll go forward.’ Leigh dipped under his arm and helped him struggle to his feet. As they stepped past the lifeless body of Samuel, Aiden caught the frozen expression on the Dawnist leader’s face: a contorted mixture of fear and surprise, as if dying was something he’d never considered possible. Strangely, the sight didn’t bring Aiden the closure he was expecting. Instead, he just felt… empty. The flame inside him had been extinguished.

  ‘Did you find Kate?’ Leigh asked as she helped him hobble through the far door leading away from the city.

  ‘I found her.’

  ‘Really? Is she okay?’

  ‘She is now.’

  Leigh frowned in confusion but didn’t question him. They emerged on the other side of the door into what looked like a small train station. Beside the platform, an electric train sat on the tracks, its cabins easily capable of carrying a hundred people.

  ‘This must be how they ferried the Faithful from the quarry,’ Aiden said as they stepped onboard. Another scream came from somewhere behind them, closer this time.

  ‘You sit, I’ll get this thing moving,’ Leigh said as she helped him slump down in one of the uncomfortable plastic seats. She disappeared into the front of the train while Hitch parked his muzzle in Aiden’s lap, whining softly.

  ‘Don’t worry, boy,’ Aiden said, reaching down and patting the dog. ‘Everything will be all right now.’


  A moment later, all the electric lights flickered to life and doors closed. The train lurched forward, almost jolting Aiden from his seat. Leigh returned to in the cabin just as a handful of Ravagers burst through the door onto the platform. Seeing the train moving, they sprinted after it, their bony hands slamming and clawing at the windows. Aiden tried to rise, but his strength was gone now.

  Leigh grabbed a bright red fire extinguisher set into an alcove by the door and slammed it against the window, shattering the glass into a rain of shards. One of the Ravagers jumped up, reaching for one of the seats for purchase. Leigh hit him square in the chin with the heavy extinguisher. There was a sickening snap as his jaw broke. He fell, landing under the feet of his friend, sending them both tumbling to the ground and rolling over each other as the train picked up speed and left them behind on the tracks.

  Leigh dropped the extinguisher with a thud and rushed back to Aiden. ‘How are you doing?’ she asked, looking at his chest with concern. ‘I didn’t find any medical supplies in the cabin,’ she said, tearing the bottom part of her shirt away and pushing it between Aiden’s chest and hand.

  ‘I’ll be fine, most of this blood isn’t mine,’ he said, unsure himself how true that was; the last hour had been a blur and his memory was already fuzzy about the details.

  She checked over Hitch, who still sat at Aiden’s feet, staring intently. ‘Hitch seems fine. Maybe a broken rib from that kick, but he’ll live.’

  ‘How about you,’ Aiden asked, ‘are you hurt?’

  She shook her head. ‘No, I’m okay. Zachary chained me up after I tried to escape, that’s all.’

  ‘You tried to escape?’ Aiden asked, the beginnings of a smirk forming at the corners of his mouth.

  ‘Of course,’ she said, matching his expression. ‘That’s what you’d do, right?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Aiden said with a nod, reaching out and patting her arm. ‘That’s good.’ He lay his head back against the seat.

  ‘What do we do now?’ she asked. ‘We need to get you help, but we can’t go back to the city.’

  ‘This train will lead us to the quarry. A ways west of there is a village called Havenstead,’ Aiden said, shifting in his seat as his heart thrummed uncomfortably in his chest. ‘If we can get you there, you’ll be safe.’

  ‘You mean we’ll be safe,’ she corrected. The train rattled along the tracks, the vibrations making it difficult for Aiden to breathe. ‘I’m sorry we fought at the Brentford,’ she said. ‘I was a jealous idiot.’

  ‘You don’t need to be sorry.’ Despite his pain, Aiden found he couldn’t take his gaze off Leigh. She had grown more than he could have ever imagined. The determined set of her jaw and the fierce intelligence behind her eyes made her look older, more mature; hardly recognisable from the naive young girl he had first met locked in a room with only toys made of junk for company.

  She caught him staring at her. ‘What is it?’ she asked.

  He shook his head. ‘Nothing. I’m just glad I met you. I don’t think I ever told you that.’

  ‘Shut up,’ she said, glancing ahead to check if they were nearing their destination. ‘Don’t talk like that.’ She squeezed his hand and stood up. ‘I think we’re nearly there. I’d better go figure out how to stop this thing.’

  CHAPTER 68

  JULIAN GRUNTED, HIS neck and chest sheeted in slick, dark liquid. With help from Grace, he heaved the splintered table off his legs and stood. He gazed around at the wreck that was the Brentford: everywhere were pieces of wreckage, bullet holes, and fallen bodies. Most of them Ravagers, but he noticed with a heavy heart that there were a lot of city residents as well.

  ‘You doing okay?’ he asked Grace, who had managed to stay by his side throughout the fighting.

  She nodded. ‘I think so.’ She spotted the blood and frowned. ‘Are you?’

  ‘Just a few scratches. From the damn table of all things.’

  ‘Is it done?’ Catherine asked, rushing over, her voice cracking. She coughed and tried again. ‘Are we safe?’

  Relief washed over Julian as he scooped her up in a bear hug, squeezing the breath out of her slender body. As he put her down, he noticed how silent it was; in contrast to the frenzied violence just moments prior, it was the loudest silence Julian had ever heard. He realised it wasn’t just the Brentford — the entire city had fallen quiet.

  The three of them passed through the smashed remains of the Brentford’s main doors, and out onto the city’s walkways. Water from broken pipes dripped down metal sidings; scraps of dislodged corrugated metal flapped in the breeze; heaps of debris shifted and tumbled into the canyon as people emerged from their barricaded homes.

  ‘I think it might be over,’ Catherine said, clinging to Julian’s arm.

  ‘They’re all dead,’ Grace said, a tone of awe in her voice. ‘All the Ravagers are dead.’

  Residents began nervously appearing on the streets, gazing around at their half-destroyed city, their faces a mixture of shock and euphoria. They had survived, and the realisation was still catching up to them.

  Orlen stumbled out among a crowd of residents, grumbling at them to move. He lumbered over, bottle of spirits still in hand. ‘We all made it then,’ he said.

  ‘Amazing, isn’t it?’ Grace said. Seeing Patrick’s little brothers picking their way through the debris, she waved them over and put her arms around the young boys with a smile.

  ‘Amazing? Woody’s dead,’ Orlen said, upending the bottle to his mouth. ‘And judging by the state of this place, I’d wager he’s probably the lucky one.’ He squinted across the canyon at the compound, smoke lazily drifting up from the smouldering buildings.

  ‘At least there are no more Faithful around,’ Julian said. ‘I’d call that a silver lining.’

  ‘You reckon Aiden managed to take out Samuel during all this then?’

  ‘He went into the compound?’ Grace asked.

  ‘Me and Woods got him inside, just before everything kicked off topside. He had a score to settle. I tell you this, I don’t fancy Samuel’s chances. No way I’d want to be on Aiden’s bad side — that man doesn’t forget.’

  ‘I hope him and Leigh are okay,’ Grace said, biting her lip.

  ‘I’m sure he’ll turn up again,’ Julian said. ‘He’s just not one for goodbyes.’

  ‘That’s true,’ Grace said. ‘I suppose even if Samuel is still alive, he can’t stand against the people without an army. And with the documents you’ve given us, Catherine, there’s no way the Mayor or any of his friends can wrest control back.’ She turned to Julian. ‘If we work together, we can rebuild this place from scratch — how it should have been from the beginning.’

  ‘I never liked this place much,’ Orlen said, pausing as he surveyed the mess of sheet metal, rusted ladders, and bowed walkways that made up the city. ‘Woods died for it though. For us.’ He finished the last of the bottle and tossed it, sailing into the canyon. ‘So I say we owe him one to get this place on the right track.’

  ‘We need to make sure the city doesn’t fall into the wrong hands again,’ Catherine said. ‘I don’t think I could survive another Mayor like David.’

  Julian nodded. ‘I can get behind that. No more Dawnists, no more Reinhold. A place for people to live, not just survive.’

  ‘What about the Syndicate?’ Grace asked. ‘And the last board members? Without leadership in the city they’ll be quick to try and fill the void. And with no Dawnists or Mayor, there’ll be no one to hold them in check.’

  ‘The Syndicate is finished. I’ll see to that.’ As Julian gazed around the city, a profound optimism lifted him. A tiny hope flickered that had been absent from him for many years. ‘The power is in the hands of the people now. It’s up to them to decide what happens next.’

  Grace looked up at Julian, the sunlight playing off her face. ‘What is it?’ he asked.

  ‘I knew you’d come around eventually.’

  CHAPTER 69

  AIDEN STEPPED OFF the train,
leaning heavily on Leigh as Hitch made circles around them. Gone were the pristine corridors, replaced instead with a coarse, circular tunnel drilled through the white stone. They followed the platform that led them towards the daylight ahead. As they emerged, Aiden blinked against the harsh sunlight, but through his blurred vision, he recognised the quarry. Thankfully, this time it was completely deserted. He stumbled on some loose scree and fell to a knee, but Leigh caught him and stopped him from toppling over. She helped him back up, the movement straining his muscles. He pointed towards the quad bikes lined up near the cluster of wooden buildings and they slowly trudged their way over.

  ‘You’re okay, you’re okay,’ she said, her voice coming fast as she helped him onto one of the vehicles. ‘You’re going to be fine.’ She climbed on and grasped the handles as he slumped against her back. She spent a minute figuring out the controls before she turned the key and got the engine started. She patted the seat and Hitch hopped up, squeezing in front of her. She accelerated carefully up the slope, the vibration making Aiden feel sleepy.

  ‘Which way?’ she asked as they crested the top of the slope.

  Aiden pointed over her shoulder. ‘Follow the sunset,’ he said, his voice barely a whisper in her ear. ‘Towards the trees.’

  He closed his eyes as they left the quarry behind, feeling the cool wind rushing against his face. He wondered if this was what flying felt like. He tried to spread his arms, but they were too heavy to lift.

  He must’ve blacked out because when he opened his eyes again they were surrounded by trees, their leaves sighing in the wind. Leigh helped him off the quad bike and they continued on foot. Aiden was drifting on the edge of consciousness now, his body running on fumes of the earlier adrenaline. He lifted his head sluggishly and gazed around. The green seeped away from the forest. He reached out and touched one of the trunks of an old beech and smiled. He liked trees. He was glad to be close to them again after spending so long choking on flakes of rust.