Nicholas Smith - Warriors

An explosion boomed in the distant cliffs.

Les paused, realizing that it was Edgar and Lena’s location. The gunfire from Edgar’s sniper rifle ceased, and so did Lena’s laser bolts.

“No, God, no,” Les mumbled.

It was just him, Sofia, and Michael now, with Arlo too injured to fight.

Concussions rang out in the clouds as the drones caught up to the airship.

Les was almost to the tower.

Bright flashes lit the skyline above the mountain as the drones and Discovery fired. He took cover in the trees surrounding the tower, the canopy blocking his view of the battle.

Walking around the base of the structure, he searched for a door while the heavens rumbled and the shouts and screams of prisoners filled the night.

Les found the tower’s entrance on the north side. He approached with his laser rifle. Like the factory door, it had no handle or keypad.

He fired multiple bolts until it clicked open, revealing a room of computers, all of them flashing and beeping.

Their noise blocked out the sounds of the battle raging outside.

Les had just stepped inside when a deep, burning sensation ripped his gut. He tried to move, but his legs wouldn’t respond.

Then he saw the red-hot blade sticking out of the armor below his battery unit. The blade retracted, and Les fell on his side.

A defector strode toward him out of the trees. One of the blades attached to its arms glowed red. He had never even heard the machine following him.

The second blade began to glow.

Les brought up the laser rifle hidden under his body, and pulled the trigger before it could stab him again. The bolts erased the visor and a chunk of metal skull.

The machine clattered to the floor beside him, giving him a view inside the skull: a small microchip suspended from wires in some sort of thick fluid.

With one hand pressed against his gut, Les stumbled into the room. He set his rifle down and reached into his vest pocket for the USB stick. Bolts streaked down the road outside, and the aerial battle continued, rattling the tower walls.

Les resisted the urge to look down at his wound. He knew that it was something he probably wouldn’t survive, and checking it wasn’t going to help. Keeping his hand over the wound, he scooted all the way to a wall of computers.

Lights blinked up and down the bulkheads, right up to the ceiling ten stories above. Each time they flashed, he had a feeling they were sending out the same signal to machines across the planet.

He pushed himself up, cried out in pain, and nearly fell back down.

“Captain,” a voice hissed in his earpiece.

Les blinked, trying to steady himself.

“Captain, we’re almost out of ammo and have sustained severe damage,” Timothy said. “I’m not sure how much longer I can keep us in the air.”

“I just need… a few…” Les slumped against the computers, his vision going dark. It came back a moment later, but his body felt weightless, as in the first seconds of a dive.

He pulled off the end of the thumb drive and searched for a place to upload it. “I’m almost there,” he said. “Just…”

More explosions rang outside—from ground or air, he couldn’t say. They sounded faint, or maybe that was just his hearing. His body was failing.

Les inserted the drive into a slot in a computer and then connected his wrist computer, using cables from another pocket in his vest. He tapped the screen, starting the upload.

At first, nothing happened. The percentage showed zero on his wrist computer.

He slumped down the wall of computers with a view of the open door. The fighting was distant now, and he heard only one voice, crackling in his helmet.

“Everyone’s outside the base,” Michael said. “I’m coming back in.”

“No,” Les choked. He saw the upload starting on his computer. It jumped to 10 percent, then 15. That gave him a shot of confidence.

“Get as far away from the base as you can, just in case this doesn’t work,” Les said.

“But, sir…”

Les spoke as firmly as he could. “That’s an order, Commander.”

“No way. I’m coming back.”

“Michael, if you do, you will never see Layla again or hold your son,” Les said. “Now, go. I’m finishing this myself!”

“But, Captain…”

“Take care of Phyl and Katherine.”

A pause.

“Sir, you can take care of them when we get out of here.”

“I’m sorry, Michael, but it’s over for me…” Les groaned in pain. “I’m hurt bad and not leaving this place. I’m counting on you. I love you like a son, and that’s why I can’t lose you like I lost Trey.”

Les shut off the channel before Michael could reply. He straightened his body against the wall.

“Timothy,” he said into his headset. “Do you copy, Timothy?”

“Copy, sir.”

Beyond the trees, the street was still. No machines in sight, nor any human prisoners. Tall weeds swayed gently in the breeze. It was almost peaceful.

He looked at his monitor: 95 percent.

A moment later, the virus was uploaded, and the inside of the tower glowed again, sending out the signal worldwide.

But it wasn’t over yet.

“Timothy, you have to destroy the main tower,” Les said.

“I’m out of rockets, sir,” Timothy replied.

Les closed his eyes.

Another voice came online.

Les disconnected his wrist computer and squirmed all the way to the door, where he had a view of the skyline above the canopy.

“We’ll use the airship,” Samson said. “Slam it right into the side.”

Les wanted to say no, but he knew that the airship was done for. This would ensure that the mainframe could never be brought back online.

“It’s been an honor serving with you, Captain,” Timothy replied.

“The honor has been mine, Timothy. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us. And you as well, Samson.”

“You’re a good man, Les,” Samson said. “Leave this to us now.”

“Hit the tower at the lowest point possible,” Les choked.

Les didn’t mention that he was right underneath it. He was already dead anyway.

“Roger that,” Samson said. “I always wanted to say this: we dive so humanity survives!”

With what strength he had left, Les crawled out into the dirt, past the weeds. He managed to sit up against a tree trunk. A perfect view of the skyline.

A glowing outline moved through the clouds above the walls. Discovery shot through the barrier a moment later. Fire spewed from the hull as the airship hurtled toward the tower. An armored panel cartwheeled away to expose a translucent figure standing at the helm.

“Well done, Timothy,” Les croaked. “It’s been a hell of a ride.”

He closed his eyes, ready to join his son. The mission to avenge Trey and save his family was complete at last.

Raven’s Claw carved through the sea on a course for the Vanguard Islands. A day had passed since they left Aruba, but to Magnolia it felt like a lifetime.

She stood in the command tower, looking out over the deck below. Most of the fighting had taken place here after General Forge boarded with a team of his fiercest warriors. They barely won the hand-to-hand battle against the skinwalkers, leaving a deck slick with blood. No one had walked away from the fight without an injury, and most of the survivors were in the medical ward three decks below.

General Forge, Magnolia, Imulah, and X and Miles were in the command center. The king sat in a chair, stroking Miles, while the general stared out over the water, his arm in a sling.