by Eve Langlais
“He’s in there.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” she almost snapped.
“We’ll need a blow torch to open that thing.”
“No, we don’t,” Laura declared. She eyed the door in her path, keeping her from Axel. Shoved it with her mind hard enough it blew off its hinges. Even as it clattered to the ground, she took a step, only Gunner put out an arm to hold her back.
“Let me go in first.” Gunner entered rather than wait for her reply. “Um, I could use your help,” he said a moment later.
“In other words, he needs your blowing-up-shit magic,” Nikki retorted.
At least they weren’t arguing with her to stay back anymore. Laura entered with Nikki at her heels to find a small chamber with a sealed door. She didn’t need as much magic this time to smash it open, so she conserved her strength because she had a feeling she might need it.
Fearless as ever, Gunner strode in and muttered, “Oh shit.”
Following quickly, Laura had only a moment to take in the scene— the glowing sectioned walls, the smirk on the Earl’s face, Axel caught in some kind of glass tube, and a bunch of furry beasts snarling all around him. The pack had turned on their pack brother.
“Fuck,” Gunner muttered. “Whatever you do, don’t kill any of the wolgar. Axel will lose his shit if we do.”
“You do realize they have an ‘I’m gonna eat your face’ look happening,” Nikki retorted, easing to the left while Gunner took the right.
While they argued, Laura eyed and addressed the Earl. “Let him go.”
The Earl tucked his hands behind his back, completely at ease, which only served to stoke her irritation. “If it isn’t my lovely Laura, back so soon. I knew you’d change your mind. Did you miss me? We’re going to have such screaming fun together.”
Cold fingers scratched at her mind and ran into a wall. He punched at it.
She trembled.
He hammered again at her mental shield.
She couldn’t help but cry out. She didn’t know if she could repel for long a brute force attack. The Earl pushed harder to invade, and she strained to keep him out. Only to realize, doing nothing wasn’t an option this time. She’d spent a life protecting herself, catering to others when, instead, she should have been fighting back.
The Earl wasn’t the only one with power.
The realization caused a calm to settle on her. She even managed a little smile. Then opened the door to her mind. Lest he catch on to her plan, she let him dig his claws into her memories. Even managed to fake a scream.
Vaguely, she heard Axel bellowing. There was also lots of snarling, but she focused on one thing and one thing only. Following the source of the cruel fingers.
Her mind soared outward and followed the trail from her head to the Earl’s. Almost got in she was so sneaky, but at the last moment, the Earl’s wall rose, and she bounced off.
She rocked on her feet and smiled at him. “I almost had you.”
“Almost isn’t the same as winning. Kneel and submit, or your friends die.” The Earl pointed, and she finally took notice of what happened around her.
Gunner had a monster hanging from his arm and was trying to shake it off. Nikki was pinned against the wall by a pair who snarled, and yet she didn’t throw any of her knives.
Axel had smashed his way out somehow from his prison, and bled for it, his fist dripping red. To make matters worse, the wolgar surrounded him and snapped their jaws. It might have gotten ugly.
Until Axel roared at them. The sound haunting and unlike anything she’d ever heard. It vibrated the very air, tickled her bones, and shivered her hair.
The beasts shuddered, their furry coats undulating with the motion. Their heads dipped, and when they lifted again, their expression had lost the orange glow. As one, they lay down. Even the one with its jaw clamped to Gunner’s arm fell to the floor and slunk forward on its belly.
The Earl snapped, “Impossible. The Marsh Madness Dust is supposed to last for hours.”
Axel smiled, a thing of many teeth and a savagery that went well with his wild eyes. “I am Pack.” When he took a step forward, the wolgar moved with him.
It gave her the courage to announce, “I am Deviant and Wastelander. Let this be my gift to Haven.” Laura flung her hand, and the Earl went slamming into the wall, smashing a section of lights.
His mental fingers worked on her, scrabbling uselessly against the wall she’d raised. She held his gaze as she let her power draw him forward before smashing him into a new section of wall. Breaking more lights.
Crack.
Again.
Thwack.
Again.
She might have pulverized him into nothing if Axel hadn’t said, “He’s dead, Laura. You can let go.”
Only then did she release the power, forcing it back into herself and taking a breath. She noted Axel teetering on his feet. She ran for him, only to skid to a stop as the furry beasts formed a circle around him, their yellow eyes fixed on her.
It took Nikki barking, “Move your fat hairy asses,” before they shifted.
Laura fell to her knees beside Axel. “You’re hurt.”
“I’ll live,” he groaned. “You might not. I told you to stay where it was safe.”
“You could say thank you for killing the Earl.”
“You disobeyed me.”
“I knew you were in danger. How could I stay behind?”
“You came for me,” he said softly.
Tears filled her eyes. “I always will. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
Gunner drawled, “Well damn, I think I’m going to cry.”
“Fuck off,” snapped Nikki. “Let them have a moment. We won.”
“Holy shit, we won,” whispered Laura as it suddenly hit her.
The dome was theirs.
Epilogue
In the biggest stroke of luck ever, which Gunner took credit for, it turned out the Earl had expended all his forces trying to take out Haven. He’d hoped a grand rout of the Wastelanders would pay off with the gratitude of the queen.
As with many megalomaniacs, he over reached. He was also quite greedy. Only after Zara had gone through all his correspondence did she declare them more or less safe. It seemed Earl Eros wasn’t well thought of amongst the Enclave. Given the location on a far edge of the kingdom, it meant they had time to entrench themselves before anyone noticed the dome had changed hands.
They had a home. For now. Laura knew Axel didn’t see it as a permanent one. She understood how he felt. There was something unnatural about the place. It lacked a connection to nature for one. But the biggest issue came with what they found in the dome itself. Tanks with babies and Madres. Mostly pregnant ones, whose opinions on Wastelanders reminded her of how misguided she used to be. She had a hard time fathoming why they wouldn’t want freedom.
Couldn’t they hear the voices of those the Enclave had hurt? They haunted the Incubaii Dome. Laura wasn’t the only one to hear ghosts. But for all its creepiness, it allowed them a chance to regroup and plan.
A plan that involved sending out Gunner, Casey, Cam, and a few others, hunting down rumors—like the one about a self-proclaimed King who offered freedom. Was there truly some place out there that could offer sanctuary? Maybe they could find allies to stand with them when the Enclave came after their dome. They’d even settle for a ruin in need of intrepid survivors.
The future remained uncertain, but life kept going on.
Sally had her baby a week after they captured the dome. Oliander attended the birth, with Laura at his side, because Kylie had lisped, “Will my mama be okay?”
Laura had looked at the child and held out her arms, hugging her as she promised, “I’ll make sure she’s fine.”
So she held Sally’s hand and offered support while Oliander told her to push. Laura grew lightheaded as she watched the way that poor woman’s body stretched, and there w
as a moment where she thought she’d have to break her promise to Kylie. It truly was a miracle Sally didn’t split in half.
The baby, born with a mighty yell and covered in gunk, was thrust into her arms by a brusque Oliander, who said, “Wrap it.”
Laura wasn’t even sure she could move. Awe filled her at the sight of the child. Perfect in every way. An even number of limbs, all its fingers and toes. No tail. Or horn. But she did have remarkably bright eyes.
The child, other than the one squawk as it was born, didn’t cry. Not like some of the Creche babies, who never stopped. Laura moved to the folded blanket on a chair and used it to swaddle the baby girl.
She emerged from the birthing room to find Kylie nestled on Vera’s lap. The moment she spotted Laura, she bounced off and came running, slowing as she neared.
Laura smiled. “Your mama is fine. Look who I brought.” She crouched down. “Say hello to your baby sister.”
“Hello, sister,” Kylie said with a smile. “I wuv her. Do you wuv her?”
“I do.” Spoken through a thick throat. Laura could truly say she loved the baby and Kylie. Even cared for Oliander and all the Haven crew.
In that moment, Laura finally understood why Axel grumbled and yet fought for these people. Why he lived the way he did.
Because love was everything. And she would die before she let the Enclave take it from her.
A while after they took the dome…
The Enclave Patrol, as expected, spotted him and gave chase.
Gunner prayed to the god of luck and took off full throttle. In his mirror, he could see he’d drawn a good number of them. He just had to make sure he didn’t lose them too quickly.
He hopped the next few dunes, happy to see no more hidden troops. In his mirror, he noticed the crowd behind him thinning.
He stopped atop the next pile of sand and stared back as they sped away. Why away? A gust of wind brought a silt of fine dust, making him wonder if they feared toxicity in the air.
He’d been born on these plains. Took his first breath choking on the poison. It made him stronger.
But not immune to everything. The wind picked up in strength, and he glanced the other way to see a worrisome sight. A funnel cloud coming right for him. A dusty beast of howling winds and scouring sand.
“Fuck.” He already wore goggles to protect his eyes, but his exposed skin was flayed. Thankfully the scarf covered most of his face, and his gloves protected the bulk of his hands, though the lack of fingers had him tucking them into fists.
The wind kept pushing, and with the visibility gone, it was as if he didn’t even move. He did the only thing he could, held on to his bike.
The storm proved stronger. The ferociousness lifted them both, and the terrible tearing forced him to let go and protect himself as it flung him around and around, hard enough to strip the goggles from his eyes and his fine scarf from his face. Even with his eyes shut, the orbs burned as fine grit worked its way in. The wind stole his every cry. Sucked the breath right out of him before finally slamming him onto the ground, half dead. Lost.
His next conscious memory became that of a feminine voice, drawling, “Look at what the cat dragged in.”
Stayed tuned for Wasteland Treasure. Gunner is on the search for a place to provide succor to the people of Haven. Only a freak storm injures him and puts him at the mercy of a Wasteland exile.
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