James Axler - Child Of Slaughter

The companions—and Union—gathered at a predetermined rendezvous point a mile up the lava channel. The forest of spikes was thinner there, giving them a clearer view of the surrounding hills and flats.

From what Ryan could see, at the moment, there wasn’t a mutie in sight. He and the others knew better than to think they could truly relax, but at least they could take a breath, reload their weapons and assess the situation.

“Too bad muties gone,” Jak said. “Was just getting started.”

“Speaking of, where in the nuking hell did they go?” J.B. took off his fedora and wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm. “Place was swarming with them, and now they’re all gone.”

“Just like before,” Mildred added. “When they took Doc.”

Ryan, who’d been checking on Krysty, looked in Union’s direction. Though she’d brightened up briefly once before, when she’d gone off with Jak to shoot muties, she was back to her taciturn self. Though she stood at the edge of the group, close enough to hear every word, she didn’t react or participate. She just kept staring into the distance as a light breeze fluttered loose strands of her blond hair.

“Union.” Ryan said her name loudly to get her attention. “You seem to know something about this place.”

Union’s eyes slid toward him for a moment. She made a movement that might have been a shrug, but it was hard to say for sure. Then she went back to staring into space.

Ryan shook his head at Krysty, then turned away from her. “Hey! I’m talking to you!” He walked over to stand in front of the woman, blocking her view of the landscape. “How about helping us out here?”

When she looked at him, her eyes were glacial. “I already did, didn’t I? Or don’t those muties I killed count?”

Ryan let the remark pass without comment. “You seem to know a few things about this place. The Shift, you called it.”

This time, her shrug was plain to see. “What about it?”

“For starters, where did the muties run off to?” Ryan asked. “It was like they just disappeared.”

“How should I know?” Union smirked as if his question had been a stupid one. “They could be just about anywhere.”

“How so?” Ryan asked. “Some kind of underground tunnel system, maybe?”

“I can’t say. The Shift never stays the same for long, and the shifters anticipate its every change.”

“Shifters?” J.B. walked over to stand beside Ryan. “The muties, you mean?”

Union looked bored beyond belief. “Yes, of course. After living here for so long, they are in tune with this place. They have learned how to read it. How to ride it.”

“Ride it?” Ricky chimed in. “You mean like riding freak spikes punching up from underground?”

“That is one example,” Union said. “The shifters know what is going to change and when. Then it is a simple matter of being in the right place at the right time.”

“Must be nice,” Ricky said. “Stand where a rock wall’s about to rise up so you don’t get shot.”

“Also explains how they got away with Doc,” J.B. stated. “Must’ve ducked down some rabbit hole or other that opened up in the nick of time.”

Ryan nodded. The past two days were finally starting to make sense. But one question haunted him like the ringing in his ears after a big explosion.

If the Shift could change at any time, and the shifters knew how to use its changes against outlanders, how could Ryan and his team ever rescue Doc?

“So what do we do next?” Ryan asked. “What do you recommend?”

“That depends on what you’re trying to accomplish.”

Ryan hesitated. He hadn’t shown her his cards yet, hadn’t liked or trusted her from the start. But if she might be able to help, maybe the time had come for full disclosure.

“The shifters took our friend,” he said. “We want him back.”

Union’s only answer was her usual chilly stare.

“That’s the only reason we’re still here,” Ryan continued. “We can’t leave him behind.”

Union narrowed her eyes. “How do you know he isn’t already dead?”

“We don’t. But if he is, we might be looking for one more thing around here.”

“Which is?” said Union.

“Payback.” Ryan nodded curtly. “So are you going to help us or not?”

Union looked around at the group, turning from one face to the other. When she spoke, her voice was different—brighter and bouncier than before. Her expression changed, too, from a cold stare to a warm smile. “Of course I will help you find your friend.”

Ryan was caught off guard. Union suddenly seemed like a different person.

“Perhaps, in turn, you might be able to help me.”

“In what way?” Ryan frowned as he realized Union’s voice and expression weren’t the only things about her that had changed. Somehow, the single braid that hung from her left temple had changed color from black to chestnut brown.

“You’ll see soon enough.” Union smiled. “For now, let’s just say we’re traveling in the same direction.”

“What direction is that?” asked Krysty, who’d appeared at Ryan’s side.

“Over there.” Union pointed where they’d been headed before the latest attack, along the lava channel. “That way.”

“What in that direction?” Jak asked. “More shifters?”

“Oh, I’m sure of it.”

“Why that? Mebbe you and shifters friends?”

“Never,” Union stated. “But I know what’s in that direction, and I’m sure it’s the same thing they’re heading for.”

“So what is this thing you’re trying to reach?” Mildred asked.

“The core of the Shift,” Union replied. “If your Doc is still alive, you can bet the shifters are taking him there.”

“So what happens when they get him there?” Ricky asked.

“That I don’t know. But it won’t be anything good. The shifters are a nasty bunch.”

“This core,” Ryan said. “Can you get us there? Can you guide us to it?”

“Sure.” Union smiled at each member of the team in turn. “You seem like good people. If we watch one another’s backs, we might be able to get where we’re going.”

“Might?” Jak scowled. “Not sound very sure of self.”

“Here’s the thing.” Union winced. “A lot can happen between here and the core.”

“Can’t be worse than what’s happened so far,” J.B. said.

“Actually, it can. The Shift becomes more active the closer you get to the core.”

“Why is that?” Mildred asked.

“Because the core is the source. It’s what causes the changes in the Shift in the first place.”

Ryan stared at her. He still had the feeling he was talking to someone else entirely. “How do you know so much about this core? Have you been there?”

Union smiled, but it didn’t last. As Ryan watched, her expression turned grim and stiff; all warmth fled from her pale gray eyes.

Not only that, but the color of her single braid slowly changed from chestnut brown to black.

It was as if she had reverted to her original self, the one whom Ryan had first met in battle. She gazed at him with that same disdain as before, and he wondered if she would likewise go back to not answering his questions.

Surprisingly, she did not. “I lived there once.” She looked down at the ground. “I have been broken ever since.”

“And you’re going back… Why?” Ryan wanted to know.

When Union looked up, her eyes were narrowed, her face seething with intense emotion. “To fix myself,” she told him. “To put my life back together again.”

With that, she put her hand on the longblaster at her hip and marched away, storming off in the direction she’d identified as that of the core of the Shift.