Kyle West - Extinction

“I thought you were dead,” she said.

She pulled back, looking me in the eyes. “What’s wrong?”

I couldn’t look at her. Not directly. “I don’t know what to do, with him gone…”

Anna’s eyes went over to the Wanderer. By now, Makara, Samuel, and Julian stood nearby.

“We need to return him to the Elekai,” I said. “As soon as possible.”

“Alright,” Makara said. “I can let Augustus know. He can hold Carin in check until we get back.”

“What about those dragons, though?” Julian asked. “What if they…turn?”

Makara sighed. “I don’t know. But Alex is right. We need to get the Wanderer back home as soon as possible. Maybe…maybe he really isn’t dead. Maybe if that stuff could heal Anna, it can heal him as well.”

I wasn’t holding out much hope for any miracle. The Wanderer had been pretty clear this was the end for him. Some things you just couldn’t come back from.

“We need to get moving,” I said. “The Wanderer wanted to make me leader of the Elekai. I don’t know what’s involved in that…but it’s something we should do sooner rather than later. I need to get back to the Xenolith.”

“Let’s get on board, then,” Samuel said.

I stood. Everyone’s focus went to the Wanderer. His form was still. A truth came to me that must have haunted many people throughout the ages: no matter how much the world changed, death and its finality would not.

Everyone helped me lift his body. It was light with all five of us bearing it. We walked to the ship, as if in a dream. I didn’t know what I was doing, and I still didn’t know how long I had left to be me, Alex Keener, or how long I had left to be alive.

The clock was counting down on both.

We stood in Perseus’s wardroom . The clinic’s bed had been placed in the center of the hold, and the Wanderer was laid on the bed. His eyes, now brown, stared at the ceiling, lifeless. His hood had fallen, and his long, gray hair spread out, some of it tumbling over the bedside. His weathered face spoke the story of a man who had seen much. His form was thin — very thin. If I hadn’t had known better, I would have said this man had died from his long years, not battle.

Several of the hardened Raiders wiped tears from their eyes. Both Makara’s and Anna’s eyes were wet with the tears, and Samuel’s face was grave.

It was up to me to say something about the Wanderer and his final moments.

I cleared my throat, and everyone looked at me. There was nothing I could say to give justice to what he had done.

“No one really knew who the Wanderer was,” I said. “I mean, before he became the Wanderer. We first met him in a cave, on our way to the Great Blight for the first time. This was about three months ago. There, he gave us prophecies of what was to come — things we were supposed to keep hidden until the end.”

I paused a moment to collect my thoughts.

“There were five of us, then. Lisa — who I’m sure you know — was the first to have hers fulfilled. The Wanderer told her that she would have to give it her all when she thought it was over. And she did. In Bunker One, she saved our lives, even when she was dying.

“Samuel’s came next. We had just met with Emperor Augustus for the first time, and Samuel struggled over whether we should join up with him, or go our own way. He was reminded of what the Wanderer told him: that he had to stay true to himself if we were to succeed. Samuel decided not to join Augustus at that time, and it was that decision that led Makara to form the New Angels.”

Makara looked at me, knowing her part came next.

“With Samuel’s decision, Makara became leader of the New Angels. She knew what her first action would be, because of what the Wanderer had told her. She was to seek those who were lost, which meant finding the Exiles. This led to the formation of the New Angels. We were a fractured group, only held together because of a strong leader.”

Here, everyone was nodding their agreement. Makara’s face turned slightly red; she didn’t really like to have attention like this, but I felt like I owed it to her for all she had done.

“There are still two prophecies left,” I said. “And they will be fulfilled, in time. The Wanderer told me it all hinged on me. It was only later that I learned what my part was.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is, that prophecy doesn’t apply just to me. We’ve all played a big part in this struggle to save our planet. We’ve saved each other’s lives, and every good deed has counted. I can’t count how many times I would have died, if it hadn’t been for Makara, Anna, Samuel, Julian, and countless others. We’re all in this together, and the Wanderer told me that we had to unite, if we were to survive.”

Again, everyone nodded in agreement. Many looked at the Wanderer as they contemplated his words.

“The Wanderer died to give us a chance to make it to the final battle. After much bloodshed, a lot of which was needless, we’re finally at a point where we’re all on the same page. The best way to honor the Wanderer is to stand together. I believe we are going to win this war. I can’t explain how I know that, but I do.”

I went quiet, not really sure what else to say. After a moment, Makara nodded.

“Thank you, Alex. In an hour or so, we’ll be touching down in the Great Blight. We’re going to bring the Wanderer to the Xenolith. And Alex is right — everything is coming to a head. Just be ready. In the next day or two, we’ll start planning the final attack.”

When Makara was finished speaking, Ashton went back to the bridge. I looked at the Wanderer one last time before following Ashton.

An hour later, we had landed at the Xenolith. It was three in the morning — after the constant activity of Bunker 84 and the battle of Los Angeles, we were, somehow, still going.

When we disembarked, everyone came, including the Raiders. We walked across the fungus to the opening of the Xenolith. Makara, Samuel, Anna, and I all carried the Wanderer’s body. I realized, as we crossed the threshold and into the spiraling tunnel, that the four people carrying him were the four about which he had prophesied.

We made our way down the glowing corridor, and it wasn’t long before we stood before the glittering pink ichor. As Ashton looked around, awestruck, I could tell he could probably live down here just to unlock the Elekai’s secrets. The ichor was empty of dragons — they had gone elsewhere.

I had no idea what came next. For some reason, I thought I would know what to do as soon as we entered. But the place seemed empty, so all I had to go on was my own intuition.

“Let’s set him by the shore,” I said.

We advanced toward the edge of the lake, softly setting the Wanderer down, face-up, where the xenofungus sloped downward to meet the ichor. We backed away a few steps.

“Do we just leave him here?” Makara asked.

Her voice seemed to trigger a reaction from the lake. The surface near the Wanderer’s feet seemed to reach for him, stretching away from the rest of the ichor. It covered first his feet, and then the rest of this body.

“Back,” Samuel said.

As we stepped back, the ichor covered the entirety of the Wanderer’s form, pulling him into its main body. He still faced upward, just below the surface of the pink, translucent liquid. His long, gray hair fanned out, floating.

And then…the Wanderer’s form faded. His image became less clear as the surrounding liquid clouded. Anna stepped forward, as if to do something about it. I held her back.

“He’s returning to the Elekai,” I said. “I should have seen what he meant.”