Kyle West - Extinction

The fighting continued on and off throughout the following week. Every day, the Angels’ numbers dwindled. Given another week, the Lords’ victory probably would have been complete. Hundreds died, mostly civilians, and what had once been fifteen hundred survivors now totaled four hundred.

Only half of the Community women had been spared. Lyn was among the dead, but Deborah and Ada survived.

In the day following the Lords’ capitulation, everyone was moved downstairs from the Command Center. Cain, the only rebel gang lord to survive, came bound hand and foot. Many cried out for his immediate death, but I guessed Makara and Samuel wanted to keep him alive for some reason. I realized that, other than Grudge, he was the only gang lord left. Boss Dragon died early in the fighting from a gunshot wound to the shoulder.

So much had changed, and much more would change still. In the south, Augustus still needed our help, and that fact was at the forefront of Makara’s mind.

It wouldn’t be long until the Radaskim reached Los Angeles.

Ashton parked Perseus in the hangar, and I took advantage by getting some much-needed sleep. I probably crashed around 08:00 — approximately twenty-five hours after I had last woken up. My sleep was dark and dreamless, as close to being dead as I’d ever felt. I was almost surprised to wake up later that afternoon. I checked my watch, finding that it was now 16:02.

I was drifting into a doze once again when the compartment door slid open. It was Anna, supporting herself by the doorframe.

I patted the bed. She smiled, and limped forward. I got up to help her out.

“Don’t worry yourself,” she said. “I got this.”

“You need to learn to depend on me,” I said. “Really, it’s not so bad.”

“I guess,” she said.

I eased her onto the bed. She winced in pain, settling on her good side. Ashton said she had broken two ribs on her left side. She lay on her right side, propping her head up with her arm.

“You alright?”

She waved a hand. “Yeah, fine. Except that lying down all the time is going to make me go weak.”

I wrapped my arm around her, gently. It felt good to hold her again.

“I’m glad you’re still here,” I said. “It could have been much worse.”

“What’s worse than being useless?”

“You’re not useless. Someone’s value isn’t determined by how many crawlers they can skewer through the eye.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

We lay there for a moment before I closed my eyes, ready to let myself drift off to sleep.

“You’re so tired,” she said. “You’ve been sleeping since this morning.”

“I know. I could sleep more if I wanted.”

“Well…Ashton said there was a conference later.”

“What time?”

“18:00. I think they’re wanting to leave the Bunker behind.”

“For Los Angeles?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s crazy to think how we’re allied with him,” I said, eyes still closed.

“Politics can change fast,” Anna said. “I’ll bet if it were beneficial to him, he’d switch right back.”

“Maybe,” I said. “But I think he’s actually genuine. Yeah, he’s out for himself, but he’s trying to protect his Empire. Who can fault him for that?”

Anna didn’t respond. Something else was on her mind.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked, opening my eyes.

She sighed. “Now that this Bunker business is over…maybe now’s the right time to see the Wanderer.”

“What about Los Angeles? That’ll keep us pretty busy.”

“I think this is more important,” Anna said. “Los Angeles will just be a battle. Getting an answer from the Wanderer could mean the war.”

“We already know what will win the war,” I said.

Anna’s body stiffened. “I don’t think you believe me yet. I’m not going to let you die. That’s not an option. We’re going to find another way. I’m tired of this idea that the innocent have to die to save the rest of us. It shouldn’t be like that.”

I hated when she talked about this. The more she got this idea stuck in her head, the more painful it would be, in the end.

“What if it doesn’t work?” I asked. “If there was another way, don’t you think he would have told me?”

“We’ll never know unless we ask him specifically.”

“I already have asked him,” I said. “He said this was the only way.”

“He didn’t have to deal with me,” Anna said.

“He knows a lot more than we do.”

“I know,” Anna said. “But he doesn’t know everything.” She paused. “Besides, you promised me.”

She squeezed my hand. Yeah, there was that.

“You’re right. We’ll bring it up at the meeting. We’ll find a way to get there. The Wanderer might have some useful information we could use, anyway.”

All I wanted was to make Anna happy, but I didn’t know if I had the ability to keep that up. After all, it was hard to make someone happy when…

I couldn’t think about that.

“It’s worth asking him again,” I said.

“Okay,” she said, finally relaxing.

I pulled her close, and she buried her face in my chest. I wanted to do whatever I could to keep this going. Love was as scary as it was exhilarating. I didn’t know how it would turn out, but I had to keep it going, because there was no greater reason for me to fight than her.

Still, the Wanderer’s words haunted me. The logical side of me warred with the illogical. It was no good to cling to false hope. I had to face reality, no matter how painful. I had to focus on my mission. My ultimate goal. It wasn’t just Anna and me at stake. It was the world.

At the same time, I couldn’t ignore the beauty I held in my arms. If there was even a chance she was right, I had to take it.

We slept for a while before the alarm on my watch buzzed at 17:45. I turned it off, keeping my eyes closed. I didn’t want to get up and move just yet. I could sleep the rest of the night if I let myself.

“We have to get up,” Anna said.

I groaned. “Would it have killed them to put it off until the morning?”

“There’s a big mess to clean up.”

Finally, I forced myself to get up. I checked my watch again, seeing that it was now 17:47. The council was supposed to start at 18:00 and wasn’t supposed to last more than an hour.

I knew there was little chance of that.

“Where’s your wheelchair?” I asked.

“I’m walking.”

“No, you’re not. You’re going to be out and about for a while.”

Anna sighed. “Fine. It’s in the clinic.”

“Be right back,” I said.

I found the wheelchair and rolled it to the cabin, its wheels squeaking. Anna had pulled herself up. Her eyes were half-lidded and sleepy.

“Here,” I said, helping her into the chair.

“I can manage,” she said.

She groaned as she sat roughly in the vinyl-padded seat. She closed her eyes, wincing in pain.

“I left my katana on the bridge,” Anna said.

“Alright,” I said.

I started to wheel her toward the bridge, but when we entered the wardroom, she placed her hands on the wheels, stopping the chair.

“Let’s just get to the council.”

“You sure?”

Anna nodded. “I need to accept things as they really are. I’m incapacitated, and I can’t fight. I have to make peace with that. Accept the things I cannot change.”

She began to wheel the chair forward, pressing the exit button to the ship. When the door opened, she pushed herself down the boarding ramp. The wheels squealed, so much so that I was afraid the chair would fall apart. The chair careened onto the cement. She flew with the chair, laughing, as a couple of Raiders dodged her path. She circled around, still going fast, before stopping herself and looking up at me, seeing if I was impressed.