Kyle West - Darkness

“You aren’t going back by yourself, are you?” Michael said.

“Grudge can come with me,” I said. “If he’s feeling up to it.”

Grudge stood in a heartbeat. He favored his bandaged left leg.

“Really, I’m fine,” he said. “This wound isn’t going to bother me at all.”

Ashton looked at him skeptically, but said nothing.

Julian, Michael, and Anna all looked at me strangely.

“Grudge needs to get moving so he can warm up,” I said. “Besides…if he’s one of us, I should give him a chance to prove it.” I paused. “This shouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes.”

“At least let the old man come with you,” Ashton said, standing up. “If Grudge gets to stretch his legs, then I suppose I need to as well.”

“Maybe we should all go,” Anna said. “Even if this place is empty, splitting up is a bad idea.”

“You’re right,” I said. “Let’s make a field trip out of it.”

Quickly, everyone packed their things, and we headed back to the entrance.

We walked up the incline toward the entrance of Bunker 84. I just hoped I was doing the right thing. Despite what he’d said about wanting to help, Grudge was a loose cannon. I didn’t know his true motivations for stowing away on Odin. All the same, part of me felt he was being genuine. All we could do was keep an eye on him.

Whatever the case, Grudge was here and we had to deal with that reality.

The further we walked up the tunnel, the colder the air became. No one spoke. Grudge limped along, giving no sign that he was in pain. I could give him one thing: he was tough and tenacious.

At last, the dark gray light of day appeared at the end of the tunnel. Upon reaching the door, I stepped outside into the frigid air.

I raised my radio. “Makara?”

It was a moment before her voice crackled back from the speaker. “Alex! Where the hell have you been?”

“Sorry. We were underground. Listen…this place looks abandoned. We were in danger before, but we want to take a few hours to recon the Bunker and at least see what’s down there. We went inside, and there was nothing. Just some park.”

“Park?”

I paused. “It’s hard to explain. We need to explore a bit more.”

Makara paused a moment. “Is that dragon still flying around?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard it but we’ve been underground.”

“Now might be the best time to get you out,” Makara said. “While we still can.”

“So we’re just going to move the Exodus here without a proper recon?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Makara said. “The area seems dangerous. Even if the Bunker is perfect, Odin has crashed and it’s extremely cold. We’re going to have to search for other options.”

Makara couldn’t be serious.

“Look,” I said. “There’s a lot of space here. And it’s warm inside. We haven’t scouted water or food yet, but it beats the hell out of Pyrite. Besides, it will be hard for crawlers to attack us up here. It’s in the mountains and you can’t get to it except by air. Dragons might be a problem, but those will be a problem anywhere we go.”

Makara listened, not saying a word.

“Look,” I said. “Just let us scout this place a bit. I bet we can find water and maybe even some food. We need those things, don’t we?”

Makara sighed. “Yeah. Maybe you’re right. I just…have a bad feeling about this, you know? Part of me wants to pull you back right now, but then we’d just be back to square one.”

“Look,” I said. “Give us until six tonight to get this done. I’ll meet you back up here to report. If I haven’t convinced you by then, you can give us immediate evac.”

Makara didn’t respond for a moment. She was still thinking.

“Alright, Alex. You have four hours to find out what you can. But I want you contacting me at six o’clock on the dot. Am I clear on that?”

“Yeah, of course,” I said. “We won’t go too far in.”

“I mean it, Alex. I’m going to punch you in the face if it’s 6:01.”

I didn’t laugh. “Got it.”

“I’ll be in the area,” Makara said. “I’m about thirty minutes out, so if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.”

“Copy that.”

“And Alex…”

“Yeah?”

“…Watch yourself.”

Makara cut out. I didn’t want to have come here without getting anything done. We owed something to all the people back in Pyrite. They wanted solid news about whether Bunker 84 would work and we were the only ones who could deliver. I wanted to actually do something, to be responsible for leading this team safely and doing something valuable for the Exodus. Nothing was going to stand in my way.

I lowered the radio to my belt, clipping it on.

“You forgot to tell her about Grudge,” Michael said.

“No, I didn’t forget.”

Everyone looked at me a moment, as if they weren’t sure what to think. If I’d told Makara about Grudge, she definitely would have pulled us out.

“Back inside?” Julian asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

I started back toward the darkness of the Bunker.

We reached the “park” a few minutes later.

“Hold up, here,” Grudge said, wincing. “My leg is killing me.”

We paused. Maybe with Grudge it wasn’t a great idea to recon the Bunker. I didn’t want to split the team up, but I also didn’t want to leave one or two people alone with Grudge while the rest of us reconnoitered. I had to think of him as dangerous. I wasn’t going to let my guard down.

“What now?” Anna asked.

“Grudge, I know you’re here to help, but would you mind waiting by the entrance tunnel? It could get dangerous ahead. Your leg will slow us down.”

Grudge frowned. “What, stay here by myself? No way.”

I felt bad for doing it, but I didn’t want to leave anyone alone with him. “Yeah. There’s nothing in here, so you’ll be fine.”

“Really,” Ashton said, “I can stay with him. It’s no trouble at all. Besides, I’m too old to be tromping around in here.”

Michael and Anna looked up at me, willing me to firm up my resolve. Julian looked from Grudge to Ashton, unsure. It was up to me, now.

“No,” I said. “Grudge can wait by the entrance. He’ll be fine.”

“What, you don’t trust me?”

“Honestly, yeah — I don’t trust you. And why should I? You should’ve stayed back in Pyrite with the rest of the gang lords. Sorry if I’m offending you, but that’s just the way it is. I don’t know what your motivations are from coming with us, but we all have to consider that it isn’t as altruistic as you say. Besides, you will slow us down.”

Grudge pointed to Ashton. “And he won’t? Hell, I could make better time than this geezer.”

“Watch it,” Michael said, almost in a growl. “Maybe you are top dog of the Suns, but here Alex is in charge.”

Grudge smirked. “He’s just some kid.”

“I’m in charge, whether you like it or not,” I said. “You’re waiting by the entrance. End of story.”

Grudge met my gaze and held it. I wasn’t going to let this guy boss me around — I didn’t care if he was a gang lord or not.

“Enough,” Ashton said. “Alex is right. Makara put him in charge; therefore, his orders must be adhered to.” Ashton’s blue eyes glanced at Grudge coolly. “You are here, so yes, you have to do what he says.”

Grudge took a step forward. Instantly, Michael and Anna flanked my either side, and Julian put a hand on his gun. Grudge paused.

“You’ll regret this,” Grudge said. “All I want is to help. You’ll see.”