Kyle West - Extinction

“So you’re just going to leave us behind?” One of the civilian leaders of the Exodus had spoken. “What if you don’t come back, like last time?”

“Please hold off on questions and comments for now,” Makara said. “But I will answer this one. We will come back. And if not, there should be few enough people here to survive for a long time, if not indefinitely.”

When no one protested, Makara continued.

“This is the first question I put before the council,” Makara went on, “and it has nothing to do with Los Angeles, but with Cain of the Sworn, along with those of his gang who followed him and surrendered to us. What is to be their fate?”

Now, the crowd’s voice rose in an angry murmur. Members of the council table looked at one another, waiting for the crowd’s voice to die.

When it became quiet, Samuel was the first to speak.

“It makes no sense to keep them alive anymore,” he said. “Keeping them alive would waste time and resources, draining our food and our manpower. They betrayed the New Angels, and they deserve nothing more than swift retribution.”

The crowd roared its agreement. I didn’t realize that we’d also be deciding the fate of Cain and the Sworn. Before I could think about my own feelings on the subject, Makara spoke.

“All members in the council in favor of the swift execution of Cain and the three Sworn who survived the battle, say ‘aye.’”

“Aye,” most all of the people at the council said in unison. I wasn’t ready to vote, so I said nothing. But it didn’t matter which way I voted; Cain and his followers were as good as dead.

“Now,” Makara said, “I’m going to open up the floor to discussion about how we can best help Augustus.”

The table was silent, and the crowd surrounding it stilled. From somewhere, a baby started crying.

“Obviously, the ship can only carry so many,” Ashton said. “We’ll have to find a safe landing point to unload all our forces. Whether that is Augustus’s camp, or somewhere else entirely, I don’t know. And we’ll have to make quite a few trips to transport everyone.”

“We have about two hundred fighters left,” Makara said. “What is that, five, six trips?”

Two hundred fighters sounded so pitiful when said out loud. Just a week ago we had been at least five hundred.

“If anything is clear,” Makara said, “the survival of the New Angels depends on winning the battle in Los Angeles. Two hundred fighters won’t do much to augment Augustus’s legions, which number in the thousands. Maybe if we set up a flank, we can get at the Reapers where it will hurt the most.”

“What do you mean?” Anna asked.

“If Carin is focused completely on Augustus, an attack from us would be completely unexpected,” Makara said. “It might be the chance we need.”

“That’s something we should talk about with Augustus,” Ashton said. “But maybe we should be focusing on the Blighters. They are the real enemy.”

“He’s been expecting us to come back for a few days by now,” I said. “The Blighters might have already gotten to him.”

“No, he’s alive,” Makara said. “I spoke to him a couple of hours ago. The Blighters started their attack this morning. He’s getting impatient, and I told him I’d let him know our decision tonight.”

“How soon do you plan on leaving?” Lauren asked.

Makara looked at her grimly. “Tonight. Every minute we wait is more men lost.”

Everyone in the hangar fell quiet at that.

“It will take many trips on Perseus to ferry two hundred people there,” Makara said. “I only trust the ship to carry thirty or so at a time.”

“That makes about seven trips,” I said, doing the math. “That’ll take at least a full day, working nonstop.”

“Probably longer,” Samuel said. “We can expect there to be roadblocks. Let’s expect two, or even three days. There are dragons to worry about.”

With the mention of dragons, I was reminded of Askal. It’d been a while since I’d seen him. I had gotten a glimpse of him defending Pyrite from the Radaskim when we had relocated to Bunker 84. And then there had been the dream, where he was outside Oasis. I had no idea how he was doing now, or even if he was safe.

Thinking about Askal made me realize that the key to our victory was with the Elekai.

“Anna and I need to find the Elekai,” I said. “Two spaceships against all those dragons won’t be enough. We need to be able to fight in the air on an equal footing.”

“And how would you get the Elekai?” Makara asked.

I thought for a moment. The home of the Elekai had to have changed, because we had destroyed their Xenolith outside Vegas before realizing they were allies.

“We would have to find them,” Anna said.

“I don’t know if I can risk Alex going on such a dangerous mission,” Makara said. “And you’re injured.”

Anna shook her head. “We’re going.”

Before Makara could respond, I cut in.

“Look, I know it sounds crazy on the surface. But we need those reinforcements. Without them, the Radaskim dragons will go unchecked. Usually, the Elekai have always helped us without our asking. The fact that they aren’t in Los Angeles tells me something is wrong.”

“This is all conjecture,” Makara said. “Show me some proof, and sure, you can go.”

Makara’s tone said that my idea would never happen. In a way, I could understand her perspective. The last place she’d want me to be was the Great Blight. If I died, it was all over.

The real reason Anna wanted to go was to see the Wanderer. I couldn’t say that to Makara, though.

Makara’s eyes narrowed in skepticism. “There’s something going on between you two. Something you’re not telling me.”

Makara went quiet, waiting for me to explain myself. I’d been caught, somehow.

“I’ll just say it, then,” I said. “This is something Anna and I have to do together.”

“Why?” Makara asked.

“Because…” I wasn’t sure how to continue.

Thankfully, Anna picked up for me. “I have my own questions to ask the Wanderer.”

“What questions?” Samuel asked.

Everyone at the council table became more alert, as if this question was more important than anything that had been discussed so far.

“I…”

Anna didn’t continue. She knew as well as I did that her question was personal. It wasn’t likely that Makara, Samuel, or anyone else would see it her way.

But just because it was personal didn’t mean it wasn’t important.

“The questions have to do with the final battle,” I said. “We need specific answers that only the Wanderer can answer.”

Samuel and Makara exchanged a look. Everyone waited for more of an explanation.

“I want to look the Wanderer in the eye, and ask him the reason Alex has to die,” Anna said. “That’s it. So far, we’re just taking his word for it.” She paused a moment. “There could be another way to win. We just don’t know it yet.”

A heavy silence followed. Makara looked at Anna, as if weighing her, and Anna merely looked back. Samuel and Julian looked down, as if in thought. Ashton stroked his chin, chewing his lower lip.

Makara at last looked at Samuel. “What do you think?”

It was a long moment before Samuel answered. “It’s been a while since we’ve heard from the Wanderer. Maybe…maybe they’re right. And Alex was right, earlier. We haven’t heard from the Elekai in a while, and Augustus didn’t mention anything about the Elekai being at the battle. It might be worth investigating, if they’re in trouble.”