Kyle West - Revelation

I found Askal among his Askala brethren. Rushing up to him, with Anna at my side, I placed a hand on his neck.

Are you alright ?

We are fine, brother. It is you that I am worried about.

I didn’t answer for a moment. No, I wasn’t fine. None of us were.

Did you call for these Elekai to come fight?

This is all of the Elekai dragons. They did not want to come, because they still remember losing the Xenolith. But our Father told them to come help. So like good children, they listened.

Father? You mean, the Wanderer?

Yes , Askal answered.

The Wanderer was their father. Askala in the north was called the mother. I wondered what connection, if any, there was between the two.

It is a difficult thing to understand , Askal said, sensing my thoughts. It is hard to put human terms to it. But both are needed, if the dragons are to exist — both Askala, and Askalon.

Askalon , I thought. Is that the Wanderer?

It is our name for him, yes , Askal said.

The way these creatures thought was very confusing. How could the two Xenominds on Earth, Askala and Askalon, be both mother and father to them all, and yet be on different sides? I felt that anything I could learn about them might help our cause, but maybe now wasn’t the time for that.

My brothers are ready to leave, Askal thought. I am going with them.

When are you going to come back? I asked.

When we are needed. Which may be soon. There was a pause in Askal’s thoughts. Find a place to hide, little human. I sense a great tempest in the north, sweeping in this direction. You will not want to be caught in it.

Suddenly, Askal stepped backward, taking me by surprise. With that, our communication was severed. As the dragon backed further away, I became all the more aware of how large he was. A creature like him could not be kept as a pet. He was an equal.

I realized I hadn’t even said thank you.

Askal looked me in the eyes a moment before turning to his brethren. Together, without so much as a sound, they cast off into the night. With a flapping of wings, they left us behind, watching in amazement.

“They saved us,” Anna said.

I nodded. “Now there can be no doubt. They are on our side.”

Anna turned to me. “We need to check on Samuel. Maybe he woke up while all that was happening.”

Her voice told me that she didn’t believe much in that possibility, but it was worth finding out. We started back to Gilgamesh , where refugees were already exiting, entering the battlefield with expressions of shock and horror. How many had lost loved ones? How could we go on after something like this?

Michael was forcing himself up the boarding ramp to Gilgamesh against a tide of people, trying to find his wife and daughter. I had been so out of the loop lately that I had never even had a chance to meet them. Michael finally found his way inside the ship as the last of the survivors exited. Lauren and his daughter, Callie, hadn’t been among them.

Anna and I walked up the boarding ramp, fearing the worst. But when we entered the galley, we saw Michael embracing his family, crying tears of joy that they were alive. I saw his wife’s face over his shoulder, her eyes closed with tears streaming down, her blonde hair falling in waves. The daughter, Callie, couldn’t have been more than seven or eight. She hugged her father fiercely and contentedly.

They both opened their eyes, watching me and Anna. The eyes were blue, and with a start, I realized I had seen Lauren before. Seeing a familiar person, even a person I didn’t talk to all that often, was hard to describe. I definitely recognized her from my time at Bunker 108.

“You must be Alex,” Lauren said, parting from Michael. “I’m glad to see you’ve made it.”

From the way she said that, I knew she wasn’t just referring to the battle. She was referring to everything I had been through in the past three months.

“It’s a miracle I’m still here,” I said.

“Isn’t it a miracle that any of us are?” she asked.

Michael turned to face me, keeping an arm each wrapped around his wife and daughter.

“I’m sorry it took so long,” he said. “But this is Lauren, my wife, and my daughter, Callie.”

Lauren forced a smile, while Callie just looked afraid. I didn’t blame the little girl. I was probably covered with blood.

“I wish it could have been in better circumstances,” I said. “I’m just glad everyone here is okay.” I sighed. “A lot of people out there are not.”

“Did everyone else make it?” Anna asked.

“Char and Ashton were on the ship the entire time,” Michael said. “I saw Makara outside still, giving orders, trying to organize all the gang lords. I imagine they’ll be taking stock of who is hurt and who isn’t, trying to find time to help everyone they can.”

With so many wounded, so many to bury, finding shelter would become all the harder. We were not far out of reach of the Radaskim horde. It was a question of when, not if, they would attack again.

“We have to find a Bunker,” I said. “We can’t stay out here in the open any longer.”

The blast door opened, letting in both Makara and Julian. It was a relief to see them both standing when so many had died.

“Good, everyone’s here,” Makara said. “Bring both Char and Ashton here. I need to lay out the plan.”

Before anyone could move to get the doctor and the Alpha, both appeared in the hallway from the direction of the clinic.

“Is it bad?” Char asked.

Makara nodded. “It’s horrible. At least two hundred dead, and more dying. I’ve ordered that the wounded be divided between the two ships. The rest are to strike immediately west, and on the double. We’re not stopping until we reach Pyrite, where at least we’ll have the safety of the walls. From there, we can hunker down until Ashton can find out which Bunker will be our best bet.”

“The wounded…” Ashton began. “I assume you want me and Char to take care of that. How am I supposed to find time to research?”

Makara sighed. “You will somehow have to find time for both, Ashton. We all have too much to do, and not enough time to do it in. I want you to first get the wounded in the galleys of both ships. Should be several dozen; treat them in order of severity. The worst cases we can shuttle to Skyhome. As long as they don’t stay there too long, they shouldn’t be such a drain on its resources.” Ashton was about to counter that, but Makara continued on. “We don’t have time to argue. We only have time for action. Train anyone who is able, or try to find anyone with any experience with working with the wounded. Work in shifts. Whatever the case, let’s get this done.”

“What about Samuel?” I asked.

Char looked at me. “Samuel is still out, but stable, hopefully. We have more people to take care of than him, now.”

“He’s right,” Makara said. “For now, let’s do what I’ve already said. Move the wounded on board the ships. Once that’s done, Rey and the rest will lead what’s left of the Exodus to Pyrite. Char, you can take Odin . Ashton, you’re assigned to Gilgamesh . I assume that Bunker manifest can be accessed from the ship’s computers?”

He nodded. “It can be accessed from either, but yes, I can man Gilgamesh.”

“Good. Get to work. Find anyone who can help out. I want to clear this hill within the hour. Pyrite is still twenty miles out. If we push ourselves, we can make it by evening tomorrow.”

I doubted that. With the wounded and the weak, we’d be lucky to make the town in double that time. I kept my mouth shut, however.