Kyle West - Darkness

We did as Makara said. When we reached Pyrite, my jaw dropped at the scene. It was an island in a sea of swarming pink and purple. There were thousands upon thousands of crawlers surrounding the settlement, bashing into the walls and gates. The perimeter was sturdy, but probably could not last against a long assault.

We had to get everyone out of there soon.

Several dragons circled the skies above, patrolling the air. We had won the battle there, which is what mattered. They cleared the way for the ships to move everyone out.

Gilgamesh, then Aeneas, settled into the center of the town. Makara disembarked, and began to spread the word. Within minutes, people were streaming on board both ships, many more coming onto Aeneas. We could only take three hundred or so at a time, or we risked weighing down the ships too much.

We left with our first evac group around 19:00. Darkness covered the land, save for the many glowing eyes of the surrounding monsters. Seeing that seething swarm made me wonder if there would be a town by the time we got back at midnight.

When we reached the mountain housing Bunker 84, the boarding tunnel was still open. Ashton guided in Aeneas first — we wanted to be sure there was room for both ships before landing them at the bottom of the vertical tunnel. When Aeneas landed, we confirmed that there was. We unloaded the first of the refugees. Michael and Julian stayed in the Bunker, along with a few Angels, in order to keep things organized while the Community women prepared for everything.

We arrived back at Pyrite at midnight. To my relief, the walls and gates still stood. By this point, I was exhausted. The only sleep I had gotten since leaving for Bunker 84 came from being drugged out in my Bunker 84 jail cell. I nodded off a bit during the trips between, which allowed me to catch a couple of hours here and there.

By the time we loaded our next refugees, over half of the town had been emptied. I felt bad at leaving anyone behind — but we left most of the fighting men there in order to stave off any sort of attack. The Radaskim xenodragons might return and cause trouble. I wondered which of the dragons flying above was Askal, and I hoped that he was okay.

We returned to Pyrite at 04:15 to take the last of the refugees. We fit in the remaining five hundred people or so like sardines and prayed the ships could still function. After making a final sweep of the town, making absolutely sure that everyone was on board, we lifted off and headed north, leaving the remains of the city to its fate. The Wasteland was slowly being conquered, and there was nothing left to do but watch it be swallowed by the Radaskim.

I finally allowed myself to relax, curling up in a corner on the bridge and falling fast asleep.

When I awoke, gray daylight filtered onto the bridge. I felt weak and achy all over, as if I could sleep for the rest of time and still not catch up.

As hard as it was, I forced myself onto weary feet — feet that were sore and blistering from all the punishment they had taken the past few days. My fingers felt numb and every one of my muscles ached.

I went to stand by Anna, who was seated and copiloting the ship. Ashton gazed intently ahead, raising a white mug to his lips and drinking his coffee black.

I almost said that we had finally made it, but I didn’t want to speak too soon. We had come a long way, both in this particular mission and in each of our individual lives — but all it took was one mistake, one misfortune, for it all to come crashing down.

As dawn broke in the east — a dawn free of clouds or fog — the sky gleamed pink, yellow, and orange. I stared for a moment, mesmerized by the colors.

Then, the sun peeked above a mountaintop.

“Well, I’ll be,” Ashton said.

None of us said anything, appreciating the rare spectacle. The sun should not have come out like that — not at this latitude. The thick dust, and perhaps even the fallout from the bomb we had launched, made the sunrise even more beautiful. Streaks of purple, as if painted by God’s own hand, interweaved with the yellow and orange, the light and the sun so powerful that it seemed to split the clouds with beams of light. I even had to shield my eyes.

Then, we turned the ship, heading for the entry tunnel of Bunker 84. As we descended, Makara announced that we were in. Slowly, the door above shut — shutting out the dangerous world above and leading us once more into the Bunker of darkness.

But with the people there, perhaps it could become a Bunker of light.

The next week was spent on mad organization followed by deep rest. It was amazing to think that we could finally rest — at least, most of us could. Both Aeneas and Gilgamesh used their fusion drives in order to power the Bunker. The grow lights for the hydroponics were once more online. Ruth and several of the Community members took a look to make sure the irrigation lines were working.

The Community members proved invaluable. Though the death of Elias made them forget many inexplicable things, they still knew how to run their Bunker. We were guests in their home, in a sense.

Everyone was fed full rations for the next few days. Makara had said we needed our strength. It was clear, however, that the food would not last forever. There was perhaps enough to feed the Exodus at full rations for about two weeks. That meant we had to find alternatives, even after harvesting Bunker 108’s crop and bringing it to 84.

On the third day of coming back to Bunker 84, I was as rested as I would ever be. The main crew gathered aboard Aeneas in order to determine a battle plan to take over Los Angeles. Present were Makara, Ashton, Char, Marcus, Anna, Michael, Julian, and myself, along with the gang lords of Vegas. Aeneas’s conference room was crowded as every one of us piled in. I still did not trust the gang lords — aside from Grudge and perhaps Boss Dragon, the second of whom I hadn’t seen in quite some time.

Everyone talked amongst themselves until Makara stood at the head of the table, fixing an intense glare on everyone present. All voices stilled as she began to speak.

“We are here and we survived the Xenoswarm,” she began. “As you all know, we only have about two weeks here. It’s a temporary stop. It is also the place where we will plan our attack on Los Angeles. In two weeks’ time, Carin Black and the Reapers must be brought to heel. Only then can we deal with Emperor Augustus and make our attack on the Great Blight.”

No one said anything to her preamble. I watched the Vegas gang lords — Rey, Cain, and Jade — who looked at Makara with hollow eyes. Boss Dragon sat with arms folded, chewing his lower lip in contemplation. Grudge stood in the corner, silent. I did not forget Makara’s and Char’s promise to the gang lords — that Los Angeles was theirs for the taking as soon as the Reapers fell. As much as it hurt to have them in here with us, we needed their firepower. They easily provided most of the men who would be fighting to bring Vegas down, so they had to attend this meeting.

“With Aeneas and Gilgamesh both, taking L.A. should be easy,” Rey said.

After a week on the run from the swarm, Rey was looking the worse for wear. He still wore a suit — but it was dirty and featured several tears where something had attacked him. Dark circles underlined his tanned face, and his face, once clean-shaven, now featured the hints of a beard, thicker along the mustache and chin and more scraggly upon the cheeks. His eyes narrowed; those brown orbs had not lost their focus or intensity.