Extinction (21 page)

I reached for my radio.

“Makara? Ashton? Do you read me? We’ve left the Xenolith.”

“Coming down,” Ashton responded. “We’ll be there in a minute.”

Within a few seconds,
Perseus
appeared in the sky, its landing lights gleaming. A short time later, the ship lowered to the xenofungal bed.

The Wanderer walked toward the ship, Anna and I walking on his either side.
Perseus’s
blast door slid open, revealing Samuel and Makara standing at the top of the ramp.

When we stepped inside, we found everyone waiting, including the Raiders. Everyone looked at the Wanderer in surprise.

As the door shut behind us, we stood in silence. Everyone seemed to be shocked that the Wanderer was with us – this mysterious, prophetic man who was the leader of all the
Elekai
resistance against Askala and the
Radaskim.

“The
Elekai
were attacked first,” I said.

“There’s no army?” Makara asked.

“Their dragons are being healed,” I said. “Very few got out unharmed, if any. The Wanderer knows a way we might save the city.”

Suddenly, everyone noticed what had changed about Anna.

“Anna...” Makara said. “What happened in there?”

“They have this huge lake made of...
something,
I don’t even know. I was under for a minute, then I came out, healed.”

“Completely?” Julian asked.

Anna nodded. “I don’t understand how, but I’m fine. I’ve never felt better, actually.”

Everyone turned to look at the Wanderer, who stood silent in his cloak and cowl. Some of the Raiders tried to back away upon seeing those whitened eyes. The Wanderer made no movement or sound, until the wardroom had gone completely quiet.

“There is a way to save Los Angeles,” the Wanderer said. “I can gain control over the
Radaskim
horde’s mind, if only for a few minutes. Maybe longer.” He paused. “Let’s hope longer.”

“That’s great,” Makara said.

“I fear this battle serves two purposes,” the Wanderer said. “Askala wants to destroy as much of humanity as she can in one stroke. That much is clear. But I also think she hopes this attack will draw me there. She knows I’m the only one with the ability to stop it – and she also knows this will cause me to die.”

This news was greeted with startled silence.

“What happens to the
Elekai,
if you die?” Ashton asked.

“There will be no Xenomind to lead,” the Wanderer said. “Our efforts would be directionless for a while, until a new leader rises to the mantle.”

One by one, everyone’s eyes turned on me. My face went white and my stomach twisted. I tried to speak, but no sound came. For some reason, the Wanderer’s saying it out loud and everyone’s looking at me made it worse.

But I had agreed. It was the only choice I had.

“I had hoped to better prepare you for this, Alex,” the Wanderer said. “But time is not on our side.”

“This...Releasing,” Samuel said. “How long would it take? What’s involved?”

“Land me on a tall building,” the Wanderer said. “Somewhere I can project the wave-thought. Alex, also, must be present. Keep us safe for a few minutes. That’s it.”

“Wouldn’t you two standing on top of a building make you targets for every dragon in L.A.?” Makara asked.

“Maybe with both spaceships, we can protect them long enough,” Samuel said.

We all knew it was desperate. We all knew there was little hope for victory. But we had to fight and do whatever we could to save Los Angeles. And if we had to go down fighting, against all odds, then that was what we had to do.

“Let’s go back,” Samuel said.

Everyone looked at the Wanderer for final words.

“Good luck,” he said at last. “Let us not make this our final stand.”

***

I
t was an hour and a half before the city came into view. Ashton piloted
Perseus
high in order to escape the
Radaskim
dragons’ range. When he descended, we saw a large part of the already ruined city was in flames.

“Augustus,” Ashton said. “Do you have a copy?”

It was some time before the Emperor answered.

“Where is your army?”

“We don’t have time to explain. What’s the tallest building in the city under your control?”

“What? Why?” Augustus asked.

“I said there was no time!” Ashton said. “We have a weapon that could destroy the
Radaskim
army. We need the tallest building we can to work with.”

“That would be the Reaper HQ,” Augustus said. “Carin Black and his men are making their final stand there.”

“And your legions?”

“What’s left of them are retreating to the sea.”

“And you are in the
Orion?”

“Yes,” Augustus said. “Along with my Praetorians. Black is in Reaper HQ.”

“Listen,” Ashton said. “We’ll need your help holding off the dragons. It’ll take time for the weapon to be set up, but it will neutralize all the
Radaskim
invaders.”

“And what is this weapon, Dr. Ashton?”

“Once again,” Ashton said, “there’s no time. You just have to trust me.”

Augustus paused a bit before answering.

“Fine. We are very desperate, Ashton. I will let Carin know what you’re doing so you don’t get shot by his SAMs.”

“Where is Reaper HQ?” Samuel asked.

“It’s the U.S. Bank Tower, the tallest building in the city. There’s a helipad.”

“Make the arrangements with Black,” Ashton said. “We’ll be there in two minutes. And get your ass in the air. We’ll need your help.”

Augustus had no time to protest Ashton’s gruff treatment. Ashton cut off and lowered the ship toward downtown. In the west, the sea was dark and empty, though fires and lights lit its shoreline – the remnants of the Novan legions. The streets below were dark and cluttered with rubble and flame. Swarms of movement plunged into the city.

The tall white tower approached. As we neared, human forms became discernable on its top. Reptilian screeches sounded from outside the ship.

I realized this could very much be our final battle. If we didn’t win here, Askala and her hellish legions would win all of Earth.

In moments, the extinction of the human race would be decided.

W
hen
Perseus
landed on top of the tower, the Wanderer pressed the exit button. The door slid open and we headed out into the night.

After we made it to the tarmac, the boarding ramp retracted and the ship lifted off. I looked around the helipad, finding it empty. The ship turned to the north, where several dragons circled and dove. Explosions lit the night to the east. The screams of both man and monster carried on the wind.

The Wanderer made his way to the corner of the helipad. He climbed down a set of stairs, and stood above the building’s precipice overlooking the southern and western portions of the city.

As the battle raged, I watched the dark ruins, the twisting highways, the distant hills to the west. It was hard to believe, standing there, that the Wanderer was about to give up his life. Before I could ask him if it was really true, he spoke.

“What I’m about to do will be my end, as we both know it. My spirit will return to the
Elekai
.”

“So that’s it?” I said. “You’re going to die?”

The Wanderer gave his trademark mysterious smile – small, and a little sad. But his white eyes were bright with joy.

“I have died a thousand times, Alex. In the end, death is just the final journey.”

“What do you mean?”

“Death is like waking up from a dream. Each time I die, I wake up on a new world, where the
Elekai
need me again.”

“Well,” I said, after a short pause, “that’s not really how it works for us. When we die, we’re gone. There’s no waking up for us.”

The Wanderer turned to me. In the distance, a dragon screamed and a few more took up its call. It reminded me of where I was, and that now was probably not the best time for a philosophical conversation. But the dragons were far, and I’d never see the Wanderer again. His eyes told me that what he was about to say was important.

“I think you will be surprised, when the time comes, as it must for all. Even the longest-lived
Elekai
must one day die. And when all goes silent, at the very end, we can be joyful that we had ever lived at all. Death isn’t
the
end. It is an end as much as a beginning.”

“What do you mean?”

“Some mysteries aren’t meant to be spoken,” the Wanderer said. “It ruins the magic.”

The Wanderer closed his eyes, as if preparing himself. I felt a sudden panic rise in my chest. It was all going to end, and I would not have anyone to guide me on my final mission.

Before I could say anything more, the Wanderer’s body stiffened. His white eyes glowed brightly, his arms outstretched, and a deep, resounding call emanated from his lungs, like a low, musical note that should have been impossible for his human vocal cords to produce. It made the very building beneath me shake.

Instantly, every dragon in the vicinity angled toward the tower. At first I counted ten, then twenty. As more materialized from the darkness, flapping their wings to fly toward the building, all the Blighters in the streets below quieted. A few gunshots sounded, but soon they, too, dimmed to nothing.

And still, the call went out. The Wanderer did not pause for breath. The dragons bore down on us, their white eyes fiery with violence. More rose from the streets below until at least fifty dragons were headed our way.

The forerunner of the dragons was only seconds away, coming at us full speed.

The Wanderer’s call ceased. The dragons hovered in midair, waiting for...
something.
The Wanderer’s form was completely still, as if he had turned to stone.

Then, in a multitude of screeches, the dragons turned away, diving once again for the Los Angeles streets.

I watched over the edge of the building as they swooped between buildings. High-pitched shrieks sounded as the dragons began ripping into the Blighters that advanced past the long wall. Both
Perseus
and
Orion
moved among the dragons, not firing on them, recognizing that the Wanderer had done his work and that the dragons were now on our side – at least for the moment.

The Wanderer fell to one knee. I grabbed him by the shoulders. His body was hunched and pained.

“Wanderer,” I said. I felt weird calling him that; it seemed as if I should know his proper name by now. For all I knew, Wanderer
was
his proper name.

He looked at me. His eyes were fading – their power had been drained.

“It is done,” he managed. “You know what you must do. There is strength inside that you do not even know...your own hidden power.”

He fell forward as I watched with horror. He didn’t move, and I couldn’t believe.

“No...”

As the dragons above the city continued to scream and attack Askala’s swarm, and as
Perseus
and
Orion
lent their aid from the air, I knew that the Wanderer
was
really gone. The entirety of his spirit had taken control of the dragons.

I reached for my radio.

“This is Alex,” I said. “It’s...done. The Wanderer’s dead.”

It was a moment before Ashton answered.

“Copy that. The dragons are turning on the horde right now. We’re coming to pick you up.”

“Got that. I’ll...I’ll be here.”

I stood there, the cold wind whipping at my face. I looked down at the Wanderer’s lifeless body. He stared upward, his eyes dark and no longer white. The only movement was the wind ruffling his worn, brown robe.

I was so drained of emotion that it was hard to feel anything. I knelt beside the Wanderer’s body, touching his shoulder. I gave him a slight shake, in the vain hope that he might still be alive.

But it wasn’t to be. It was then that the reality of the Wanderer’s death hit me in full force. My throat tightened as hopelessness welled up within. I hated this feeling; it reminded me too much of losing my father, losing Khloe. I didn’t know what I was going to do without the Wanderer. He was the only one who knew how to fight the war against the
Radaskim.

Now, there was only me, and I definitely wasn’t cut out for this.

The Wanderer had told me that I was supposed to lead the
Elekai,
and that was too much for a sixteen-year-old kid who didn’t know what the hell he was doing. The Wanderer had the wisdom of the
Elekai
collected over eons, where I had only sixteen years, most of which was spent living a sheltered existence underground. If there was anyone who
couldn’t
do this, it was me.

The last thing he said was to go back to the
Elekai.
That meant returning to the Xenolith. I didn’t know what was going to happen there, but I wasn’t really looking forward to it.

I couldn’t be plain, boring Alex anymore. I thought of who the Wanderer
was.
He was a vast reservoir of knowledge with access to all the memories of an entire alien race. What would that
do
to me? Would I still be the same person?

Landing lights flashed above, but I lay sprawled on the rooftop right next to the Wanderer. He had saved the city, but the price was now clear: it was all on me, now. If I couldn’t do it, then no one could.

I probably looked as dead as the Wanderer by the time
Perseus
touched down. The building vibrated upon the ship’s landing. The engine gave out its deep hum, and the wind blew almost violently. The screams of dragons carried in the air.

The ship’s drive idled. I waited a moment longer, not ready to get up and face reality.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Alex!”

I turned and saw Anna’s face. I shielded my eyes because the landing lights were so bright and pointing right at me. She held me in her arms, pulling me into her embrace.

“I thought you were dead,” she said.

She pulled back, looking me in the eyes. “What’s wrong?”