Nicholas Smith - Deliverance

Magnolia was the first one onto Deliverance. She slowed and looked at Jordan as he let out a final sigh. There was no smile on her face, just a stern look of justice delivered.

“Jordan’s dead,” Michael said into the comm mike. His voice got louder as he repeated the message. “Captain Leon Jordan is dead!”

The passengers from the Hive made their way over to Deliverance. A bottleneck formed on the bridge just outside the hatch where the first of the lower-deckers had stopped to gawk at the gory scene.

“Back!” X said. “It’d be a real good idea to stay the hell back!”

Blood continued to pool across the deck around Michael’s feet. He swallowed, part of him disgusted, part of him filled with a grim satisfaction at the sight of the captain’s corpse.

Katrina dropped the blade onto the floor and sobbed when she saw the other divers.

“Kat!” Magnolia said, enveloping her in a hug.

“I thought you were dead,” she said, gripping Magnolia tight.

Time seemed to slow and then stop altogether as dozens of passengers pushed past X. He gave up trying to hold them back. Within minutes, thirty turned into fifty, and then a hundred. Young, old, sick, healthy—all of them staring in awe at the clean, warmly lit corridors.

“Welcome to your new home,” Michael said to the people he had known his entire life. “Welcome to Deliverance. ”

Both Trey and Les nodded at Michael, who nodded back and then turned away as the other divers celebrated. Sloan hauled off Lieutenant Hunt and the soldiers who had helped Jordan escape. Seeing this, some lower-deckers began to cheer. Several claps turned into a din of shouts and applause.

X pushed his way out of the clogged passage and vanished.

Michael followed him, anxious to check on Layla. He made his way through the throngs of filthy passengers, only to freeze when he saw Timothy’s translucent form.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I couldn’t stop her,” he said.

Michael tilted his head at the AI. Then he saw her. Layla was resting against a bulkhead, one hand on her gut.

“Layla!” Michael shouted. He ran over to her, taking off his helmet as he ran. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed—”

“And miss this?” she said, reaching out to him. “Not a chance.”

“Les, get Dr. Huff over here now!” Michael yelled over his shoulder.

“On it,” the tall diver replied.

Michael gently put her arm over his shoulder.

“Is it really over?” she asked. “Are we really home now?”

Michael nodded, looking at the shiny bulkheads of their new home, unable to think of anything profound to say. Instead of saying anything, he kissed her on the lips and helped her toward the hatch leading to their old home.

“Come on, let’s get you to the medical bay,” he said.

The passengers continued to flood onto Deliverance as the two divers made their way back toward the Hive. X emerged around the corner ahead, with Miles trotting alongside. They stopped to watch from the shadows as the awestruck lower-deckers marveled at the new ship.

Michael knew right away by the distant look in X’s eyes that he wouldn’t be staying. While Michael and Layla were home, X was not. His home was no longer in the skies. He belonged down there.

Xavier Rodriguez was still recovering from his decade on the surface. Regaining weight and sleeping uninterrupted through the night had strengthened him for his next journey, and he was ready to go.

The ship no longer felt like the home he had once known. Many of the people who had been his friends were frightened of him, and he was just as anxious around most of them. Some spoke in hushed voices behind his back, using such words as “ghost” and even “demon.” That wasn’t the main reason he decided to leave in the end, but it had helped make the decision easier.

Miles trotted after them as they walked toward the tether connecting Deliverance with the Hive. All around them, bulkheads sported fresh paint. X slowed to look at the porthole hatches. Fluffy clouds, a brilliant sun, and star-filled skies covered nearly every square inch of metal.

The art that Jordan had stripped from the Hive was quickly replaced with newer and more vibrant images. Just ahead, kids were scribbling on a bulkhead with chalk, laughing as they tried to draw animals they had never seen. One of the kids, a boy no older than six, looked in his direction and waved.

“Hey, there’s Ghostman and his wolf!” the boy exclaimed. “I’m gonna draw a picture of the wolf next.”

X waved back and clicked his tongue at Miles, who wagged his tail excitedly as he trotted after his master.

Cole Mintel and his wife were supervising construction of a memorial in the next corridor, and X stopped to pay his respects. A wooden statue of a Hell Diver was displayed outside the launch bay. Cole was putting the finishing touches on the helmet.

X cleared his throat, and Cole turned around. “I didn’t know Rodger well,” X said, “but he was a good man, and brave.”

“Thank you,” Cole said. He seemed to consider saying something else but then shook his head, eyes glistening with unshed tears, and turned back to his work.

X looked at the statue for another moment, remembering the divers who had lost their lives over the years. Maybe someday, no more men and women would need to dive to the surface to save humanity. Maybe there would be no more need for memorials to lives cut short. Either way, X wouldn’t be around to find out.

Two militia soldiers stood guard at the hatch leading to Deliverance. The one on the left opened it and let him through with a nod. Taking in one last breath of the familiar recycled air, X left the Hive behind, knowing that he would never be back again. He led Miles across the enclosed walkway.

Engineers were retrofitting Deliverance using supplies that Les, Erin, Michael, X, and several new Hell Divers had retrieved from the surface over the past two months. Their work showed in every passage, from updated wiring to reinforced hull metal and shiny new bolts—all materials taken from ITC facilities west of Florida.

X passed one of the most impressive new sights: the water treatment plant, which was nearing completion. He paused to look inside the open room with a vaulted ceiling. Three empty silos were tucked against the starboard bulkheads. They would eventually serve as the water supply. Engineers worked on a pair of empty pools in the center of the space. When finished, the treatment plant would be more sophisticated than the Hive ’s, allowing for a higher percentage of water to be recycled.

He continued down the next passage toward the farm, where another militia soldier stood sentry. The man smiled and gave a cheerful wave. X couldn’t remember his name, but then again, he couldn’t remember most of the people here.

“Mind if I take a look inside?” he asked.

The soldier checked both passages for anyone who might be around to see him break protocol, and said, “Fine by me.”

X and Miles walked into a clean room walled off by plastic sheets, to look through the window into the open space beyond. The mission to retrieve the dirt was one of the longest he could ever remember. It had taken the divers two days to dig enough to fill the farm. Then another two days to get the dirt aboard the ship. Timothy had been able to land Deliverance on the surface, which made transport much easier, and it had also allowed them to get the water silos and other major equipment from the nearby ITC facility onto the ship. Still, it had been backbreaking work for an old diver like him.