by Kyle West
As the crowd marveled and we watched, the women led him toward the town. A tall, lean man with bright blue eyes approached Julian. He was beaming, and he gave Julian a strong embrace. The man wore blue jean overalls and a large, straw hat. All his clothing looked like it had seen better times.
As Julian walked away with his family, the man approached us, extending a hand to Samuel.
“I am Herbert Shaw, mayor of New America,” he said. He looked up at the Gilgamesh, from which Dr. Ashton now emerged. “Is there an America anymore? That’s who you are, isn’t it?”
Samuel shook his head. “It’s a long story, Mr. Shaw. A very long story.”
“Well, it’s a Sabbath day, and we have all the time in the world. Why don’t you come inside the Gathering Hall and sit a spell? We have food and water.”
Julian stopped, turning our way. “These people saved my life,” he called out. “I was a slave for ten years in lands far to the south. It was unspeakable hell and misery. But, they kindly took me here and gave me my freedom.”
“Thank you,” Julian’s mother said. “You have no idea what this means to us. My heart was broken that day, but now it is healed. My son is home!”
All around her, the people of New America cheered and clapped. Judging from their faces, it was the first good thing that had happened to them in a long time.
“We will join you for dinner,” Samuel said, “though we cannot stay long. There is so much that you and your town must know, and it will take hours just to tell you everything. Julian will have to tell you later.”
“I can see you are being very serious,” Mayor Shaw said. “I won’t press you. I’m glad you want to stay and get to know us, humble as we are.” He looked at all of us. “Now, what are your names?”
We told him, and then Mayor Shaw led us inside the town, where everyone was still gathered, crying and celebrating at the reunion. The town was nothing more than a series of cabins, built in several circles. It had probably existed before Ragnarok, but for what purpose, I couldn’t guess. Some other buildings had been constructed – one of which was the Gathering Hall the mayor had spoken of. It was little more than a thatched roof that was supported by thick, wooden poles driven into the ground. Though humble, it was wide, and beneath its awning were a couple dozen tables, at the center of which was a large fire pit.
That night, we dined with Julian, his family, and the rest of New America. His mother, Gloria, was a small, yet pretty Mexican woman, who could not stop smiling. His younger sister, Yasmin, was also very pretty, and was probably in her twenties. She had two children who scampered about, and her husband, a man named Craig, sat with us. The new faces and environment was a bit overwhelming, but there was sense of warm community among everyone here. It was clear that everyone loved each other, even if they didn’t always get along.
Over the course of the day, goat meat had been roasting over the fire. I had never eaten goat before, or much meat in fact, but the smell was tantalizing. When it was finally served, we also had fresh vegetables and bread with our meat, along with coffee and cool water. The water, Mayor Shaw had said, was filtered. He seemed very proud of that fact.
These people didn’t have much, but the extent to which they were willing to share it was humbling. It was clear why Julian wanted to return to this place. And, it was another reason to fight. We couldn’t let this community, and any others like it, fall to the xenovirus. I was glad to see the Great Blight hadn’t extended this far. But how long until it set its sights on this community?
I turned from these dark thoughts when Anna grabbed my hand, offering me a smile. I pulled her close, resting my cheek against the top of her head. She was another reason I was fighting.
After everyone had finished eating, Mayor Shaw stood. He whistled loudly to get everyone’s attention.
“I just wanted to say that one of our own has returned here today,” Mayor Shaw said. “It’s God’s grace that is has happened, and we would do all well to remember that.”
Everyone murmured their agreement.
“I know times are hard. They’re always hard. But we have each other. We thought the Lord had taken Julian from us, but he has been returned. He left us a boy, and has come home a man. God works miracles, every single day. With Julian sitting here, with us, how can anyone deny it now?”
Several people cheered. Gloria touched her son’s arm, and her sister gave him a radiant smile.
“Life will keep on being hard. I can guarantee that. But God will see us through, to the end. We are lights for each other in the darkness. Today, a miracle occurred, and we would do well to remember that.”
Next, the mayor led everyone in a prayer, thanking God for Julian’s safe return. I had never seen anyone pray like he did, never seen religion practiced the way it was being practiced here. It was startling, yet not unwelcome. There was so much love in the gathering, it almost overcame me and shattered my beliefs. Almost.
Anna reached for my hand, and held it.
“You don’t have to believe,” she said. “I don’t.”
I looked at her. I placed my head against hers.
“I know,” I whispered. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“That they can believe, after everything. I don’t understand how.”
Mayor Shaw continued his prayer. Beside me, I could hear whispers, people ushering their own wishes to the heavens. Whether the heavens were silent, or whether they answered, I couldn’t tell you at that moment. But in the light of that fire, in the collective light of those people, it felt like they did.
“I don’t understand, either,” Anna said. “Maybe someday, we’ll figure it out.”
Shaw concluded his prayer, and a collective amen passed over the crowd.
Soon after that, the people went their separate ways, turning in for the night in their cabins. The dream was over, and tomorrow there was work – working for survival and bringing forth fruit from the land, so that they could work again, and dream again.
Shaw approached us, along with Julian, with whom he had been speaking.
“Thank you for bringing him back,” Mayor Shaw said. “You have given these people hope beyond what you can even imagine. I have no idea what happened down there, but Julian will tell me everything in the days to come.”
“You have decided to stay, then?” Samuel asked.
Julian nodded. “I must spend time with my family. This is my home, and I won’t be parted from it. But when you need me again, I want to be there for the final battle. I will speak to everyone here, and let them know what is going on with the world. If you return, I will be willing to fight for you again, and hopefully, others will as well.”
Samuel nodded. “We will come back, then. We will need the help, when the time comes.”
“So, you’re just going to leave us like that?” Makara asked.
Instead of getting angry, Julian looked at Makara tenderly.
“We will see each other again, Makara,” he said. “This isn’t over yet. There is much I have to do, to help my community.”
She nodded, accepting his answer. “You better remember those words.”
Julian nodded gravely, as Makara turned toward Samuel. “We should go.”
“We appreciate your hospitality,” Samuel said to Mayor Shaw. “I have not eaten like that in...well, ever. But time is short, and we have a mission to carry out. In the coming days, Julian will tell you some very incredible things. Believe every word, Mayor. There is not much time left. Not even for New America.”
The mayor frowned, disturbed by what Samuel said. He looked at Julian, but Julian was now holding out a hand to Samuel.
“Goodbye, Samuel. We will speak again soon.”
Samuel took the hand and shook it. Julian next took mine. He said goodbye to Anna, and went to stand in front of Makara. Even in the darkness, I could see her cheeks redden.
“Take care of yourself,” he said. “I won’t always be there to save you from cra
wlers.”
Makara gave a small smile. “You have no idea what I am capable of, Jules.”
Julian smiled, and turned back to his family. I was surprised at how sad Makara seemed to see him go.
“Come on,” Ashton said, who had been quiet up until now. “We should get going.”
We turned back for Gilgamesh. After loading up, we lifted off, leaving New America behind. After the warmness of that community, the coldness of the Gilgamesh was a rather strange thing.
Chapter 24
We slept well into the next morning, hovering above the clouds. It was time for the next phase of our mission – going to Raider Bluff, and speaking with Char.
Ashton dropped us off where Odin had been parked. The smaller spaceship was still there, looking as untouched as the day we had left it. It had been sitting there for a week now, even though the sheer amount of events that had happened between now and then made it seem like months.
After bidding goodbye to Ashton and watching Gilgamesh disappear above the clouds, we boarded Odin once more. We had all our provisions and supplies from Skyhome still. All that was left was to set course for Raider Bluff. It was time to meet with Char and tell him about our plan to resurrect the Angels. Samuel had already spoken with Makara about the plan, and he said that she was more than willing to try.
I sat up front with both Makara and Anna as the ship lifted off. Samuel decided to have another nap while he could snag one.
Once we were flying north, I decided to ask Makara a question.
“So, what’s going on between you and Julian?”
From the copilot’s seat, Anna smirked.
“Nothing,” she said, though her reddening face betrayed that answer. “He thinks he’s hot stuff, but he has another thing coming.”
“Right,” I said.
“I think it’s good,” Anna said. “It gives you someone that’s your match.”
“Like I wasn’t?” I asked.
“You better watch yourself, buddy,” Anna said.
“Yeah, what’s going on between you two?” Makara asked. “You were getting kind of cozy on the beach.”
“Look,” Anna said, “we don’t really have to talk about this.”
“Why?” Makara asked. “You’re curious about me, so why can’t I be about you?”
“Point taken,” Anna said.
I decided to change the subject. “So, how do you feel about this Lost Angels thing?”
“I like it,” Makara said. “I actually think it could work. Which is weird, because Sam and I disagree so often.”
“Really?” Anna asked. “I don’t ever see that.”
I smiled. These girls had hated each other’s guts just a couple months ago. Now, they were talking like they were best friends.
“Believe me,” Makara said. “I don’t say anything, but he is always just, mission, mission, mission...”
Anna giggled. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”
At that moment, Samuel walked onto the bridge. Everyone did their best to look busy.
“What’s our ETA?”
“We’re over northwestern Mexico, so just another hour or so,” Makara said.
“Good. I want everyone suited and ready. We can land south of Bluff, a good distance away from the cliff and the road.”
In a little over an hour, we were going to be back in Raider Bluff. It seemed so strange. Char hadn’t seen any of us for two months. As far as he knew, we were all dead, and our mission had failed. We hadn’t made contact with him the whole time we were in Skyhome. That whole time had been spent recovering and planning our next move.
“It’ll be good to be back,” Anna said.
“Yeah,” Makara said. “This place is kind of like my home, in some strange way.”
When we were close, Makara began to pilot the ship downward.
“This whole ‘New Angels’ thing is a mess,” she said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I don’t even know where to start with it. I need to talk to Char. He’ll know what to do.”
“Well,” I said, “that’s what we’re here for, right? With us, you already have your first four recruits. Five, including Ashton. Six, if you count...”
“Don’t mention that pig’s name.”
“Who, Julian?” I asked, baiting her.
Makara sighed, ignoring my comment. “I just hope Char doesn’t see it as competition, you know?”
“Why would he?”
“I don’t know. It’s complicated.”
“You’ll be great,” Samuel said. “Besides, you’ll have us helping you.”
She sighed. “I guess.”
We burst through the red clouds that made their perpetual home above the Wasteland. It was strange to see that haunting familiarity and be comforted by it. We had come from a land of green, and were descending into a land of red. This was my home, barren as it was. It felt good to be coming back, even if this place tried to kill me at every turn.
Even as we reached five thousand feet, the air remained dusty. Visibility was near zero. A gust of wind blasted the side of the ship, jarring it. Lightning slashed ahead of us.
“Dust storm,” Makara said.
“Can we still land?” I asked.
She nodded. “No reason we shouldn’t. I’ll just have to be careful. Bluff is right in front of us, but I can’t see a damn thing.”
The altimeter now read one thousand feet. Still, I couldn’t see the ground, much less the city ahead. All I could see was swirling, red dust.
“Are you sure it’s there?”
“I’m damn sure,” Makara said.
“The coordinates check out,” Anna said. “We’re definitely in the right spot.”
Five hundred feet. We continued to lower to the ground below. A few minutes later, we landed on the rocky, hard earth.
“Go out, or stay here?” I asked.
“Wait a minute,” Samuel said, looking out the windshield.
“What is it?” Makara asked.
There was nothing out there we hadn’t seen before – just the same tempest that we had flown through. The wind howled violently, and lightning forked the clouds above.
“Stay put for now,” Samuel said. “I just have a feeling.”
We didn’t question Samuel. Instead, we waited in the bridge quietly. After a while, the storm began to let up. Before us, the shape of the mesa began to appear in the swirling eddies of dust.
“There it is,” I said.
The shapes of buildings began to materialize. They were still hard to discern, but they were there.
“This is it, then,” Samuel said. “Suit up and get your weapons ready. I’m not taking any chances.”
“Wait.”
At my voice, everyone stopped moving. The dust settled some more. That was Raider Bluff, alright. But something was off about it. I felt a creeping dread overtake me that I couldn’t explain.
Despite the dust, the buildings couldn’t be that pink. Or purple. I hoped it was my eyes playing tricks on me. But as the wind let up, and the dust settled for good, I could see it wasn’t a trick.
The buildings were covered with xenofungus. Many of them stood decrepit, and the walls had been shattered in several places. The walls that I had once thought so strong no longer protected the city. The Empire hadn’t made it here first.
The xenovirus had.
“It’s...gone...” Anna said.
“No...” Makara said.
It wasn’t a “no” of disagreement – it was a “no” of disbelief. Raider Bluff was gone. It was all Blight, now. While we had been gone two months, somehow the virus had infiltrated what was going to be our chief ally in the Wasteland.
“Char...” Makara said.
She rushed off the bridge, leaving the rest of us to run after her.
“Makara, wait!” Samuel said.
She was out the door and into the Wasteland. The air was bitterly cold, harshly dry – worse than I could have ever imagined. I wa
s still dressed for the south – but now, it was late December. Of course it was going to be cold.
Makara walked forward a few steps. She gazed at the lost city, her black hair whipping sideways in the wind. It was as she believed walking forward could reverse time and return the city to its former state. Anna ran up to stand beside her, holding a hand to her eyes to keep the dust out.
I ran to stand beside them. The fierce wind howled, throwing dust that threatened to obscure my vision
“We have to go up there,” Makara said. “There might be survivors.”
“Anyone who’s up there is probably dead,” I said. “Or...worse.”
On the top of the incline leading to the city, I could catch some movement, running out of the city at a run. There were at first dozens...then hundreds...then thousands. They came from the gates, running and screeching and screaming. There were crawlers, and the human forms of howlers. Flyers shot out of the buildings, taking to the skies in clouds of thousands. And they were all heading this way.
“To the ship,” Samuel said. “Now.”
But an ungodly bellow stopped us in our tracks. Rising from the ruins of the town was the largest xenodragon we had seen yet, colossal in size and dwarfing every other one we had seen in Nova Roma. Those had just been grunts compared to this one. This dragon was the soul of Ragnarok itself.
No raider had survived this attack.
As the monsters swarmed toward us in an unending tide, we ran back to the ship. The dragon did not chase us – it only watched, as if curious, as we lifted off into the air, as the crawlers occupied the space we had just vacated, jumping up into the air and snapping their jaws futilely at Odin’s retracting landing struts. The flyers pecked at the ship’s sides and windshield, their maddened white orbs disturbing, their lack of feathers revealing sickly pink flesh that dripped purple ooze.
Tears still in her eyes, Makara blasted upward, for the sky.
Once we were safely above the clouds, at an altitude of fifty thousand feet just to be sure, we didn’t say anything. Char, the others...they were probably all dead. Many were probably Howlers, now.
I didn’t want to ask, “What now?” There was no “now.” Char had been a source of vision and wisdom for us before our journey to Bunker One. Now, he was probably dead.