“I—I loved you,” Jordan stuttered.
He fell to his knees, and Katrina calmly put her foot against his chest and pulled the sword free. He toppled onto his back and pressed his hand down on the wound, his lips moving as he tried to speak.
Les looked over as the bridge clanked and connected with Deliverance. The hatch opened, and the other divers moved away from the portholes on the Hive to cross the enclosed bridge.
When Les looked back at Katrina, she was calmly wiping the blade on Jordan’s white trousers, first one side and then the other. The captain stared up at her in disbelief, his feet squirming. No matter how hard he pressed, his hand couldn’t stop the gushing blood. It bubbled out of his mouth, his lips still moving as he tried to speak.
Magnolia was the first one onto Deliverance. She slowed and looked at Jordan as he let out a final sigh. There was no smile on her face, just a stern look of justice delivered.
* * * * *
“Jordan’s dead,” Michael said into the comm mike. His voice got louder as he repeated the message. “Captain Leon Jordan is dead!”
The passengers from the Hive made their way over to Deliverance. A bottleneck formed on the bridge just outside the hatch where the first of the lower-deckers had stopped to gawk at the gory scene.
“Back!” X said. “It’d be a real good idea to stay the hell back!”
Blood continued to pool across the deck around Michael’s feet. He swallowed, part of him disgusted, part of him filled with a grim satisfaction at the sight of the captain’s corpse.
Katrina dropped the blade onto the floor and sobbed when she saw the other divers.
“Kat!” Magnolia said, enveloping her in a hug.
“I thought you were dead,” she said, gripping Magnolia tight.
Time seemed to slow and then stop altogether as dozens of passengers pushed past X. He gave up trying to hold them back. Within minutes, thirty turned into fifty, and then a hundred. Young, old, sick, healthy—all of them staring in awe at the clean, warmly lit corridors.
“Welcome to your new home,” Michael said to the people he had known his entire life. “Welcome to Deliverance.”
Both Trey and Les nodded at Michael, who nodded back and then turned away as the other divers celebrated. Sloan hauled off Lieutenant Hunt and the soldiers who had helped Jordan escape. Seeing this, some lower-deckers began to cheer. Several claps turned into a din of shouts and applause.
X pushed his way out of the clogged passage and vanished.
Michael followed him, anxious to check on Layla. He made his way through the throngs of filthy passengers, only to freeze when he saw Timothy’s translucent form.
“I’m sorry, sir, but I couldn’t stop her,” he said.
Michael tilted his head at the AI. Then he saw her. Layla was resting against a bulkhead, one hand on her gut.
“Layla!” Michael shouted. He ran over to her, taking off his helmet as he ran. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed—”
“And miss this?” she said, reaching out to him. “Not a chance.”
“Les, get Dr. Huff over here now!” Michael yelled over his shoulder.
“On it,” the tall diver replied.
Michael gently put her arm over his shoulder.
“Is it really over?” she asked. “Are we really home now?”
Michael nodded, looking at the shiny bulkheads of their new home, unable to think of anything profound to say. Instead of saying anything, he kissed her on the lips and helped her toward the hatch leading to their old home.
“Come on, let’s get you to the medical bay,” he said.
The passengers continued to flood onto Deliverance as the two divers made their way back toward the Hive. X emerged around the corner ahead, with Miles trotting alongside. They stopped to watch from the shadows as the awestruck lower-deckers marveled at the new ship.
Michael knew right away by the distant look in X’s eyes that he wouldn’t be staying. While Michael and Layla were home, X was not. His home was no longer in the skies. He belonged down there.
EPILOGUE
Two months later
Xavier Rodriguez was still recovering from his decade on the surface. Regaining weight and sleeping uninterrupted through the night had strengthened him for his next journey, and he was ready to go.
The ship no longer felt like the home he had once known. Many of the people who had been his friends were frightened of him, and he was just as anxious around most of them. Some spoke in hushed voices behind his back, using such words as “ghost” and even “demon.” That wasn’t the main reason he decided to leave in the end, but it had helped make the decision easier.
Miles trotted after them as they walked toward the tether connecting Deliverance with the Hive. All around them, bulkheads sported fresh paint. X slowed to look at the porthole hatches. Fluffy clouds, a brilliant sun, and star-filled skies covered nearly every square inch of metal.
The art that Jordan had stripped from the Hive was quickly replaced with newer and more vibrant images. Just ahead, kids were scribbling on a bulkhead with chalk, laughing as they tried to draw animals they had never seen. One of the kids, a boy no older than six, looked in his direction and waved.
“Hey, there’s Ghostman and his wolf!” the boy exclaimed. “I’m gonna draw a picture of the wolf next.”
X waved back and clicked his tongue at Miles, who wagged his tail excitedly as he trotted after his master.
Cole Mintel and his wife were supervising construction of a memorial in the next corridor, and X stopped to pay his respects. A wooden statue of a Hell Diver was displayed outside the launch bay. Cole was putting the finishing touches on the helmet.
X cleared his throat, and Cole turned around. “I didn’t know Rodger well,” X said, “but he was a good man, and brave.”
“Thank you,” Cole said. He seemed to consider saying something else but then shook his head, eyes glistening with unshed tears, and turned back to his work.
X looked at the statue for another moment, remembering the divers who had lost their lives over the years. Maybe someday, no more men and women would need to dive to the surface to save humanity. Maybe there would be no more need for memorials to lives cut short. Either way, X wouldn’t be around to find out.
Two militia soldiers stood guard at the hatch leading to Deliverance. The one on the left opened it and let him through with a nod. Taking in one last breath of the familiar recycled air, X left the Hive behind, knowing that he would never be back again. He led Miles across the enclosed walkway.
Engineers were retrofitting Deliverance using supplies that Les, Erin, Michael, X, and several new Hell Divers had retrieved from the surface over the past two months. Their work showed in every passage, from updated wiring to reinforced hull metal and shiny new bolts—all materials taken from ITC facilities west of Florida.
X passed one of the most impressive new sights: the water treatment plant, which was nearing completion. He paused to look inside the open room with a vaulted ceiling. Three empty silos were tucked against the starboard bulkheads. They would eventually serve as the water supply. Engineers worked on a pair of empty pools in the center of the space. When finished, the treatment plant would be more sophisticated than the Hive’s, allowing for a higher percentage of water to be recycled.
He continued down the next passage toward the farm, where another militia soldier stood sentry. The man smiled and gave a cheerful wave. X couldn’t remember his name, but then again, he couldn’t remember most of the people here.
“Mind if I take a look inside?” he asked.
The soldier checked both passages for anyone who might be around to see him break protocol, and said, “Fine by me.”
X and Miles walked into a clean room walled off by plastic sheets, to look through the window into the open space beyond. The mission to retrieve
the dirt was one of the longest he could ever remember. It had taken the divers two days to dig enough to fill the farm. Then another two days to get the dirt aboard the ship. Timothy had been able to land Deliverance on the surface, which made transport much easier, and it had also allowed them to get the water silos and other major equipment from the nearby ITC facility onto the ship. Still, it had been backbreaking work for an old diver like him.
Every cubic inch of soil inside the farm had gone through a rigorous decontamination process. Several farmers were already planting hybrid seeds into the brown expanse. In a few days, the first seeds would sprout, providing new food for the still-hungry population.
X stopped at the armory next. They had finally found a way to unlock the vault and had been rewarded with a bounty of weapons and ammunition. Enough to wage a war—or end a world. Again.
Dozens of nuclear bombs and missiles were still armed, and so far engineering hadn’t been able to find a way to unlock the weapons system. If it were up to X, he would dump them all into the ocean if he had the chance.
He sighed and pushed on to his destination. The clean white bridge bustled with staff, closely monitoring the screens. Officers surrounded the island in the middle of the room while others worked at stations along the bulkheads. New monitors and other equipment, salvaged from the surface, flashed data and images to the men and women running the airship.
Michael and Magnolia were standing at the helm, watching the main display with their backs to the entrance. Katrina was there, too, sitting in the captain’s chair. Voted in unanimously, she was calling the shots these days.
The room quieted as X strode toward the central island.
“Sir,” someone said, saluting.
X nodded back and forced a smile when Michael and Magnolia turned. Layla got up from a radar station, gritting her teeth against the pain. It was good to see her on her feet again after spending a month in the medical ward.
“We’re ready,” X said, glancing down at Miles.
Katrina hesitated, then nodded. “Let’s go.” On the way out, she looked over at Lieutenant Les Mitchells, her new XO. “You have the bridge.”
The former XO, Lieutenant Hunt, was currently serving time in the brig with Ensign Ryan for conspiracy. Their excuse of “just following orders” hadn’t gone over well with Katrina. She had wanted to execute them both, but Michael saved their lives, arguing that they needed to save every warm body they could now that Jordan’s reign of terror was at an end.
X wasn’t so sure, but it wasn’t up to him. His time as a Hell Diver and citizen of the Hive was over.
He walked out of the bridge and took a ladder to the lower decks, where the cargo hold was full to the brim with technicians, engineers, and other support staff, all of them working on the boat that would serve as his new home.
It sat on a track near the cargo doors, ready for launch. X examined the vessel for several minutes, admiring the excellent job the crew had done on it. When he had seen the ITC model on a raid several weeks ago, he knew it was the vessel he would take out onto the open seas. The twin hull was maximized for stability at high speeds in versatile conditions. It also sported a broad deck, perfect for walking around when not in the command center.
“She’s a beauty,” Samson announced. He walked over with a wrench in his hand and a wistful look in his eyes. “Fully equipped with two turbocharged engines and battery power that will keep you charged for extended periods. She’s even got two heads on board.”
Miles sat on his haunches, watching as an engineer finished welding on a panel to the hull—the final step to completion. The rectangular metal slab was painted with a silhouette of a Siberian husky, and the name “Sea Wolf”—X’s idea.
“That’s you, boy,” X said, crouching and pointing.
The dog tilted his head and looked up at X. His eyes were the color that the sky and the sea had once been. Someday, when the storms finally cleared and people returned to the surface, the whole world would be wrapped in that shade of blue. He patted Miles on his head and noticed that the dark fur was starting to turn gray.
We’re both getting old, he thought.
Samson smiled and dragged a sleeve across his sweaty forehead. “The Sea Wolf is one hell of a vessel, if I do say so myself. Those thick hulls will protect you from radiation and will manage smoothly in rough waters.”
“I just hope it’s as stealthy as it looks,” X said. “If I’m going to reach those metal islands, I’ll need to sneak up on the Cazadores.”
“And what about once you get there?”
X shrugged. “Guess I’ll kill ’em all.”
“That’s why I keep telling you to bring someone else with you,” Samson said. “But Miles will help, right?”
The husky wagged his tail and barked excitedly. Magnolia, Katrina, Layla, Michael, and Les gathered around to admire the boat. After a few minutes, the room slowly cleared, leaving the divers alone with Samson. They met in front of the thick glass windows built into the bow, where a command center would provide X with all the navigation tools he needed to find the metal islands.
The ship would do what Deliverance and the Hive couldn’t, traveling low enough to find the Cazadores’ fabled homeland, where the sun still shone.
“You’re sure I can’t change your mind about staying?” Michael asked.
X turned away from the boat to look at Michael. The skinny kid in the tinfoil hat had grown into a fine young man over the past decade. And now he was going to help Katrina lead humanity into a fragile, but hopeful, future.
“Nope,” X said. “It’s time for me to head out. Leave saving the human race to you young folks.”
Michael frowned. “You talk like you’re a hundred years old.”
“Besides, I kind of like it better down there than up here,” X said.
Katrina looked over at him. There was concern in her gaze, but nothing more. They were lovers once, but their time had long since passed. Her duty was to stay here and keep the remnants of humanity safe while he searched for a home on the seas. She reached forward to shake his hand, but he gave her a hug instead, patting her gently and kissing her on the cheek.
“Good luck, Captain DaVita,” he whispered.
“You too, Commander.”
Layla hugged X next. She sniffed and wiped her eyes on the back of her hand as they pulled apart. “I’m still mad at you for leaving,” she said.
“I know. Take care of Tin for me, will you?”
Then came Les. They shook hands and X said, “Thank you for everything you did.”
The tall lieutenant smiled. “Just following your lead, sir.”
He looked back at Michael, then reached out to embrace him. The boy had grown up strong, both mentally and physically. X wished he had been there for him while it was happening, but Tin had turned out okay anyway.
“You remind me of your dad,” X said, cracking a smile. “He’d be very proud of you. And so am I.”
They separated, and X heaved a long sigh as he looked at Magnolia. But instead of reaching out to embrace him, she grabbed a large duffel bag from Les.
“What are you doing?” X asked.
She grinned, and some of the old sparkle returned to her eyes. It had been dimmed by Rodger’s death, but nothing, not even the end of world, could keep Magnolia Katib down.
“I’m coming with. You didn’t think I was going to let you get payback for Rodger without me, did you?”
Miles looked up at X, then at Magnolia, apparently as confused as X was. X wasn’t sure how he felt about having human company, but he could tell by the look in Magnolia’s eyes that she wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
An announcement played over the PA system, warning everyone to get to their safety shelters. Timothy’s holographic form emerged after the message. He smiled warmly.
“Deliverance will un
dock from the Hive in five minutes,” he said. “Please prepare for descent.”
“Thanks, Pepper,” X said. He looked at the divers one last time and then picked up Miles. He carried the dog over to the ladder and climbed up to the deck.
After letting Miles down, he reached over to take Magnolia’s bag.
“What the hell do you have in here?” he asked, grunting as he lugged it onto the deck.
“Oh, stuff,” she replied.
Chirping sounded throughout the cargo hold, and a vibration rippled through the bulkheads as Timothy lowered Deliverance toward the ocean twenty thousand feet below. Standing on the deck of the boat, X caught a glimpse of the Hive through the starboard windows.
“Goodbye, my old friend,” Magnolia said.
Once the beetle-like hull had vanished from sight, they moved belowdecks and explored the quarters. Magnolia claimed one of the small cabins, and X put his bag down in the other. Every storage locker was packed full of gear, clothes, and weapons. After they had finished getting settled, they made their way to the bridge. They were greeted in the command center by a warm orange light gleaming over panels of instruments and monitors.
“Greetings,” said a familiar voice. “Welcome to the Sea Wolf.”
It was Timothy. Part of his consciousness had been downloaded to the boat, and while his main program would stay on Deliverance, they would also be taking the AI with them on their journey.
Magnolia took a seat in one of two leather chairs. X sat next to her and motioned for Miles to sit on the small bed to his right. The dog curled up, already content with his new home.
Beyond the windows, all the divers waved goodbye. X felt a tear tickling his eye, but he didn’t bother wiping it away. Instead, he brought up a hand, a final farewell to the boy he had thought he would never see again, and to his old friends who had believed him to be a ghost.
The divers cleared the room as a red warning light spread over the cargo bay. Deliverance lowered through the skies, bringing them just over the ocean.
“All systems online,” Timothy said. “We’re ready to launch.”
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