Darren Wearmouth: The Critical Trilogy Box Set

The door on the opposite side of the room opened. Doslin stood in the gap. “Are you ready to go?”

“Never been more ready to get off this shithole,” Charlie said.

“You need to put your suits back on until you reach the prepared area in the ship. The scion will instruct you from there.”

Denver linked his arm with Layla’s, gently encouraged her away from the window, and they all followed Doslin. Although Charlie never said the words out loud, he never expected to reach this moment, whatever the circumstances.

MIKE AND MAI were interrupted from a quiet cuddle with the cracking of the sky and a rumble that shook the ground, giving Mike a flashback to when those damned croatoans came up from beneath the earth.

At first he thought this was another one of Augustus’ plans. Perhaps he had found another stock of croatoan destroyers still embedded in the planet’s interior. But when a shadow blotted out the sun of their chalet, he grunted. “What the hell is that now?” he said.

Mai unwrapped her arms from him and sat up with a wince. She was still recovering and was under strict orders to take it easy, but then Mike had never seen anyone give Mai an order that she would follow unless it was her idea.

The two of them leaned forward and heaved up from the comfy surface of the sofa and staggered, helping each other’s frail, beat-up bodies to the window.

The glass in the frame rattled as lightning and storm clouds gathered.

A gale blew against the window, bringing with it a shower of rain and dust.

“I don’t bloody believe it,” Mai said, turning to Mike. “After all this time, this struggle, all the victories and sacrifices, we now get hit with the apocalypse.”

“That thing is no group of horsemen,” Mike said.

They shared a smile and turned their attentions backed to the window.

As startling as it was, Mike already recognized the shape as the black sharp corner edged below the thick cloud cover.

“It’s our holographic friends,” Mike said.

“I wasn’t expecting them so quick,” Mai replied. “At least they’re punctual. That’s got to be a good sign, right?”

Mike shrugged. “I’m not so sure, Mussolini apparently was great at making sure the trains ran on time and look what happened there.”

“What is it with evil fascists and punctuality, anyway?” Mai asked.

“Small matters for small minds, my love.”

“Let’s hope this lot have bigger minds than the croatoans and our old friend Augustus.”

“I’m sure they do,” Mike replied. “They hired us, after all. Does that not show impeccable and distinguished taste?”

They both chuckled, mostly with nervous energy, but Mike had always loved Mai for her ability to add levity to almost any situation. She firmly believed that solemnity was a wasted emotion, that it added nothing, served nothing, and sucked one’s life away.

In the darkest of situations, she believed, humor was what would get you through, make sure you didn’t give up, and most important of all, remind you that you’re human and not just a manifestation of your circumstances.

“It’s landing out in the root field,” Mike said as the gigantic black prism, larger than any Egyptian pyramid, descended from the sky. The root field below it didn’t even move as it continued to land. “No thrusters,” he said.

“Must be antigravity tech,” Mai replied, picking up a pair of old binoculars from the table and returning to the window. “It’s an impressive structure all right. It has an intricate texture on its surface that almost repels light, giving it a matte finish. There’s some blue laser-like strips at certain points. Impressive. It’s like a massive scale version of that one you used to speak with Drone 21.”

“At least we know it’s definitely scion,” Mike said.

Outside, the rest of Unity, or at least those that could still walk, had left their houses and other buildings and started to scale the great steps of the basin to get a closer look at the new arrival.

“That’s got to be their ride,” Mai said, referring to Charlie, Denver, and Layla.

“Hopefully. I’d rather see it with my own eyes, though. Are you up for a stroll?”

When Mike turned away from the window, Mai was already hobbling to the door, putting her coat on and reaching for a walking stick Mike had found for her. She reached for the door handle and turned to Mike. “Well? You going to stand there all day, old man?”

With the help of a couple of Unity soldiers, Mike and Mai made it to the top of the basin. The huge scion ship had landed and was now surrounded by the remaining people of Unity. They all fidgeted nervously, waiting…

Even though, through the new council, Mike had explained his conversation with Drone 21, there was naturally a great deal of skepticism and fear. Who could blame them? The past few months had been one long struggle. He understood their concern over what else might be coming for them.

Hell, even as he approached the crowd around the prism ship, he couldn’t be entirely sure. Although his new handler answered most of his questions and seemed open to his inquiries, as well as showing him video footage of his friends, he realized he was dealing with some extremely sophisticated tech and this could all be a trick.

But given the options, what else could they do?

If this scion were as powerful as they seemed and had fixed the gate of their own accord, then it’s not as if those left on Earth would be in position to put up much of a fight.

“Something’s opening,” Mai said, still peering through her binoculars.

The base of the prism, hovering a few meters off the ground, emitted a low rumble. A blue line of laser light flickered once before a large square section on the side facing them slid open to show a nondescript interior of gray and white walls.

Then, backlit by the blue light, three silhouettes approached.

Mike’s heart thudded against his chest. He worried about Mai; would this be too much strain for her after her minor heart attack? He pulled her close to him. Her arm went around his waist and they held each other, silent in anticipation as the three figures approached the edge.

A ramp from beneath the base slid out to connect with the ground before changing shape to create a set of steps. Mike’s eyes grew wide as he watched the metallic surface seem to change shape almost at will.

“Did you see that?” Mike said.

“I’m not blind yet,” Mai replied. “Look, it’s them!”

Mai was right. Now they weren’t backlit by the craft’s interior lights, Mike saw the tired, but undeniable forms of Charlie, Denver, and Layla.

The crowd around them almost didn’t know how to respond.

Charlie stepped forward and put his hand up, hushing the crowd to a silence.

“Hagellan is dead!” he shouted.

The crowd erupted with cheers.

“The croatoans are no longer a threat to Earth!” Charlie added.

The crowd yelled again, clapping and cheering, some crying with relief.

On it went, for at least five minutes, Charlie, Layla, and Denver filling the crowd in on their adventures and who and what the scion were and what their role would be. When they had finished with their brief, Charlie shouted, “Where’s Mike and Mai?”

“Maria?” Denver asked.

“Over here,” Maria yelled from the right edge of the crowd, which split to allow her through. She headed toward Denver and hugged him before Layla joined in a group hug.

Charlie didn’t wait, he just waded through the crowd toward Mike and Mai after someone had turned around to point them out. When he came through, Mai launched on him, grabbing by the shoulders and kissing his face. “You stupid man! Don’t you ever leave us again, you hear?”