Extinction (9 page)

Until
Orion
flew from above, firing a spray of bullets.

“Back!” I yelled.

As
Orion
swooped overhead, it unleashed its fury. We dove from its line of fire, and the Behemoth cried as the high-caliber rounds tore into its skin. Geysers of purple blood spewed outward, staining the dirt road. The light in the Behemoth’s white eyes faded as it crumpled onto the road, dead.

Orion
circled, landing not far from the town’s central oasis. Everyone ran to the ship, but I ran to Anna, who was struggling to her feet.

I reached her and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Can you run?”

She nodded, leaning on me as I eased her up. She winced and her breaths came out ragged. I had no idea how badly she was hurt, but I had to get her to the ship. Samuel came to help me carry her. Together, we lifted, and ran as fast as we could toward the ship. Everyone else had already boarded.

We ran up the ramp. I could see Augustus standing in the wardroom within, his expression impatient. We went past him, setting Anna on the deck. She groaned in pain. Everyone stood in the wardroom, circling around her.

“We need to get to
Perseus,”
Ashton said.

“Jonas is going there now,” Augustus said.

The ship lifted, causing Julian and Michael to tumble to the deck. The rest of us grabbed the bulwarks as
Orion
made its crazy flight north across the oasis. Within half a minute, Sparks had landed the ship. The blast door opened, revealing
Perseus
a mere fifty feet ahead.

“Go, go, go!” Samuel said.

Everyone ran down
Orion’s
boarding ramp and up
Perseus’s.
Once again, Samuel and I toted Anna while the others made sure nothing attacked us from the fields. The coast was clear. Samuel and I were the last ones to enter the ship. As soon as we were on board, the door closed.

We laid Anna down on the deck, her eyes shut from pain. The ship took off.

“Where’s Ashton?” I asked. “He needs to look at Anna.”

“He’s piloting,” Samuel said. “I’ll have him switch out with Makara.”

Samuel left for the bridge.

“Let’s see it,” I said.

Anna raised her shirt up to her ribcage, revealing a deep bruising.

“Just a scratch,” she said.

“You’ve broken a rib,” I said.

“Whatever it is,” Anna said, “it doesn’t look like I’ll be fighting for a while.”

The ship circled as it blasted upward and outward. I had no idea where we were going or what kind of opposition we faced, or if the dragons would be falling upon us soon.

I just knew that with Anna’s injury, we had been dealt a horrible blow.

***

B
y the time I reached the bridge, we were high above the clouds, heading southwest. Augustus’s voice came through the speakers.

“Alright. We got out of there alive. Now it’s time for you to help with Black.”

“Copy that,” Ashton said. “We have wounded here.”

“While you have wounded, my men are dying on the battlefield,” Augustus said. “And those monsters aren’t far behind. There’s no time to waste.”

Augustus did have a point, but all the same, Anna needed treatment.

Ashton set
Perseus
to cruise, giving a nod a satisfaction. He stood, and Makara moved over from the copilot’s seat to take his place.

“Help me move Anna to the clinic, Alex,” he said. “That deck can hardly be comfortable.”

“Sorry,” I said. “We didn’t have time to set her somewhere more comfortable.”

“Don’t apologize to me, kid. Let’s move.”

Samuel and Michael followed Ashton and me off the bridge. Julian took up the copilot’s controls. Makara was taking this opportunity to teach him a bit about flying.

When we entered the wardroom, Anna was lying on her back.

“We’re moving you to the clinic,” Ashton said. “Up you get.”

Anna groaned, but she allowed herself to be lifted up. All four of us moved her, making sure her back remained straight to cause her the least amount of pain. As we entered the compartment, the automatic lights flashed on.

We eased Anna onto the bed. I took off her boots, setting them to the side. She closed her eyes, drawing shallow breaths.

“Hurts like hell,” she said. “Can hardly breathe.”

Ashton nodded, turning to the rest of us. “Let’s give her some space, huh? This shouldn’t take me long.”

“Is it bad?” I asked.

“Alex, I’ll be fine,” she said. “Go.”

We left the clinic. Ashton began to ask Anna some questions, but I couldn’t hear the words because we had already reached the wardroom and were on our way to the bridge.

“Broken ribs can take a while to heal,” Samuel said. “And sometimes, there can be more serious issues.”

“Like what?” I asked, stopping.

“Sometimes, the ribs can pierce a lung or an artery,” he said. “But don’t worry. If it was
that
bad, we’d know by now. She can at least breathe, even if it’s painful.”

“She needs to see Char,” I said.

Samuel nodded. “I agree. One thing is clear: she’ll be out of action for a while.”

“How long?” I asked.

“Six weeks, minimum.”

Samuel continued on to the bridge. I just stood in the wardroom, shocked.

Michael placed a hand on my shoulder. “Come on, Alex.”

Stunned, I followed Michael back to the bridge. Six weeks or longer. That meant Anna couldn’t fight anymore. In six weeks, we’d have either fought our final battle, or we’d all be dead.

I wanted to go to her, but Samuel pulled me to the bridge.

“Come on, Alex. Keep your head in the game.”

Once we reached the bridge, Makara turned her head.

“We have a problem. Augustus wants us to come straight back to L.A., but we also need to get treatment for Anna. The only person I can think of to do that is Char.”

“There’s not much you can do for a broken rib other than let it heal on its own,” Samuel said.

“Well, I need to talk to him, anyway. He’s still in the dark about what happened in Wyoming.”

Makara fiddled with the dash until it had attained the proper settings.

“Char. You have a copy?”

The dash sizzled with silence. After another long moment, I was starting to get nervous.

“Char. Marcus. Do you read me? This is Makara, aboard the
Perseus
spaceship.”

Again, there was no answer. Char
always
had his radio on him and was quick about answering.

Finally, a voice answered, and it wasn’t Char’s gruff voice. Instead, it was slimy, weasely laughter.

Laughter that could only come from one person.

“Why, hello, Makara,” Jade said, with a snicker, drawing out the middle syllable of Makara’s name. “Long time, no hear.”

“Jade,” Makara said, with venom. “What did you do with Char?”

The Weasel chortled a bit before answering. “It’s been so long since our fearless leader has checked in. The people were getting antsy.
Someone
had to restore order.”

“What are you talking about?” Samuel asked.

“Just what I said,” Jade said, with a giggle.
“Someone
had to take control.”

“Jade,” Makara said, working to keep control, “you will step down immediately, or I’ll personally see to your execution when I get back there.”

Jade was laughing, now. “Oh, Makara, you have
no
idea how the tables have turned! I’d always dreamed of this moment. We thought you were dead, but
this
is even better. Because at least now, you
know
the Lords of Vegas are nothing to be trifled with.”

“You’re not alone, then?” Samuel said.

Jade paused, just a moment, before he giggled again, unable to restrain himself.

“Do yourself a favor, Makara,” the Weasel said. “Stay away. There’s nothing for you here. Because if you come back...”

We all waited for Jade to continue. After a long moment, he finally did.

“...I’ll kill you.”

J
ade had taken over Bunker 84. The thought seemed impossible. Jade had always been the least of the gang lords, the one the others had taken shots at.

Now, he was the one calling the shots.

After a while, Emperor Augustus’s voice arose from the dash.

“What’s the status? Why was the line busy?”

“We have an issue,” Makara said, her tone saying that it was the understatement of the century.

“What issue?” Augustus asked.

“We lost Bunker 84.”

Augustus was quiet for a moment. I had no idea what the Emperor was thinking, or if he even knew what Bunker 84 was. From his answer, he apparently did.

“How? What happened?”

“One of the gang lords rebelled,” Ashton said. “A man named Jade.”

Augustus grunted, saying nothing more. “And I assume you want to go rescue that Bunker – the few of you against whatever hundreds they might have?”

“That’s right,” Samuel said.

“We have friends there,” Makara said.

“Your place is with the Empire in Los Angeles,” Augustus said. “You’ll all get yourselves killed if you leave now. Besides, we had a bargain.”

“I know we did,” Ashton said, “but if we can save the Bunker, your troops will have reinforcements. There are probably a lot of Angels still loyal to Makara.”

“That’s
if,”
Augustus said. “I
gave
you that spaceship, and you
need
to repay me.”

“I’m sorry,” Makara said. “Things happen.”

The Emperor hadn’t planned for this, and for that matter, neither had we. And there was nothing he could to stop us from going besides outright shooting us down.

“We’ll return soon,” Samuel said. “And we’ll have a force to help you against the Reapers. We might even be able to set up a flank and overwhelm Black’s troops.”

“You
say
you’ll return soon, but we had an agreement. You’re abandoning an ally on the field of battle.”

“You outnumber Carin’s army five to one,” Makara said. “How could you even say we’re abandoning you?”

“We
are
abandoning him,” Ashton said. “Because it’s not just the Reapers that Augustus is up against. There is the entire swarm moving from the east. If Carin Black drags out the battle long enough, Augustus will be crushed between the two sides.”

That shut everyone up. It meant that if we were going to Bunker 84, then we had to get back in time. Augustus and his legions would be dead if we didn’t.

“How long do you think we have?” Samuel asked.

“A few days, at most,” Ashton said. “The dragons can be there in half a day, maybe. The rest of the swarm will arrive in the next couple days. That’s all speculation, though.”

I had no idea if we could save Bunker 84 in that amount of time, but we
had
to go back. Our friends were there: Char, Marcus, Ruth, Grudge, along with all the others we had saved from Las Vegas and the Community. We couldn’t abandon them, especially now when we had the ability to rescue them.

“Go,” Augustus said. “You can take no longer than two days.”

Makara didn’t need more encouragement. “It shouldn’t be long.”

Makara steered the ship north, the acceleration causing me to stumble from my standing position. I steadied myself on the bulwark.

I had no idea what awaited us in Bunker 84, but we would soon find out.

***

I
pulled up a stool next to the clinic bed. Anna’s eyes were closed; Ashton had put her on some pain medication, which made her drowsy. My own eyes were tired and heavy. I held her hand, feeling its warmth between my fingers.

Her eyes opened, unseeing at first, but then focusing on my face.

When she tried to face me more directly, she winced in pain. I put a hand on her shoulder.

“Sit still.”

“I haven’t known the meaning of those two words my entire life.”

I hadn’t told her about the decision the crew had reached on the bridge, and I almost didn’t want to tell her. I knew how bad she would feel waiting on the ship while we secured the Bunker.

Ashton had volunteered to watch over her. He said he’d be in the way if he tagged along.

In the end, though, I updated her on what was going on. She needed to know.

“Great,” she said. “I’m going to be bored to tears lying in here.”

“Just see it as a chance to relax.”

“Relax?” Anna looked at me intently. “Relax, while everyone is putting their lives on the line? I couldn’t do it.”

“We’re not letting you in there,” I said.

“I know,” she said. “I just hate the situation.”

“It might not even be that bad in there,” I said. “Maybe everyone will rebel against the gang lords when they realize we’re back.”

“Maybe,” Anna said, but she didn’t sound convinced. “There’s been something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Immediately, I started feeling nervous. “What do you mean?”

She looked at me, her green eyes almost haunted. “Even if I’m in a bed right now, I still haven’t forgotten my promise. I won’t let you die.”

I didn’t want to get into this again. I tried not to let my frustration show, but she knew me well enough to read my face.

“Don’t get like that,” she said. “You agreed to give yourself up without considering how others felt.”

“You mean how
you
would feel?”

“Isn’t that important?”

“You know what I have to do,” I said.

I wasn’t sure what else to say. I felt as if she wouldn’t be satisfied with any answer besides the one she wanted. Still, she was being stubborn, not looking me in the eyes.

“Look,” I said. “Before anything happens, we’ll talk to the Wanderer. Just you and me. Okay? We’ll see if there’s another way to do this.”

Anna watched me, her eyes afraid. I didn’t want to say anything to hurt her, or scare her, but how could I not when my death was a sure thing? Maybe this would be a chance to convince her.

“Whatever happens,” I said, “we’ll face it together. Alright?”

Very reluctantly, she nodded. I didn’t know what else she wanted me to say. Maybe she didn’t know, herself. All I knew was, I couldn’t give up now, after everyone had sacrificed so much.