The Zero Trilogy (Book 3): End of Day

by Summer Lane

  “Agreed,” he told her.

  Elle took one final glance at the dead Slaver on the ground.

  “Let’s go,” she said.

  They left. The girl, the dog, and the young samurai.

  “Where do you come from?” Elle asked. “I want the truth.”

  They walked quickly down the open, empty country roads, heading north. Bravo trotted happily alongside Elle. She watched the dog as they moved, wondering if she were dreaming, or if she had really been reunited with the one living thing in this universe that she loved.

  “My mother was born Austrian,” Cheng replied. “Hers was a noble family – wealthy and powerful. Deeply connected to the secret society of Omega, a cult fascinated with the domination of the world and the destruction of our civilization. The foundational belief of Omega is that the world is, in essence, unclean, and it must be destroyed so that a New Order can be brought in, and establish peace and prosperity.”

  “Ah.” Elle looked at Cheng. “Is that why Omega kills anything that breathes?”

  “In all honestly, yes.” Cheng looked ashamed. “It’s a belief that I was brought up to believe was right. That we were better than the rest of the world, and the poverty-stricken, the feeble, the disabled…everyone. They needed to be removed, so that we could achieve peace.”

  “That’s a nice lie,” Elle commented.

  “You only have to worship your own ego to buy into the mindset,” Cheng answered. “Unfortunately, my mother did. She is a brilliant woman, Elle. Very brilliant. But cruel and hateful and unforgiving. She had a love affair with a Chinese citizen – a commoner by her standards. Hence my existence. She had him killed, but she chose to give birth to me, intending to raise me as her so-called heir.”

  “Is that why Matthias kept calling you a prince?” Elle pressed.

  “He was mocking me.” Cheng glanced at Elle. “I was raised like royalty, though. Traveling the world, trailing behind my mother to every secret meeting and clandestine negotiation. She dealt in arms manufacturing. My mother provided weapons to Omega troops, slowly filtering into the western countries and infiltrating. I was a child – I thought we were the good guys. I believed my mother was supplying troops with weapons so that they could fight evil.”

  Elle’s chest constricted. She wanted to say something, but Cheng continued.

  “My life was a blur of academia,” Cheng said. “I studied history, art, music, and linguistics. I learned the art of war, because my mother told me a war was coming. I learned to fight, to focus my mind. Like the samurai of Japan, and the ninjas of China. I blended my cultures and my skillsets. I became quite dangerous, and people feared me. My mother loved this. Fear was her weapon of choice – fear was what gave Omega their power, and would destroy the world.”

  “Did you know the EMP was going to happen?” Elle asked.

  “I knew.”

  “And you didn’t think to warn anyone?”

  “Who would have believed me, Elle?” Cheng looked sad. “How long have people been prophesying the end of the world? Centuries. Besides, I was one of them. But it was my mother’s flare for the dramatic that turned my head.” He held his hand up, as if imitating a theatrical bow. “She moved us to a home along the coast of California. A towering, luxurious mansion on the seashore. She told me that she wanted to watch the world burn firsthand. It was entertainment to her.” Cheng shook his head. “At this point, I had too much of a conscience to sit by and condone the invasion. I had read and studied and thought on the subject, and I came to the conclusion that the slaughter of millions of innocents would do nothing to bring peace – it would only bring hell.”

  “Did your mother know how you felt?” Elle asked.

  “No,” Cheng answered. “She would have killed me.”

  “Just like that?”

  “My mother never loved me, Elle. She loved the idea of me. And that’s all.”

  Elle tossed a stick down the road. Bravo darted after it, retrieved it in his mouth, and trotted back to her, dropping the stick in her hands.

  “Good boy,” she whispered.

  I missed you, Elle.

  “I missed you, too.”

  She threw the stick again, and Cheng went on.

  “Several days before the EMP, I ran away. I took a car and drove as far away as I could.” He knit his eyebrows. “But Omega’s spies were everywhere. It was a difficult journey, but once the EMP hit, the focus was off me. The invasion began. I disappeared into the mountains and waited for the collapse to end. I watched society burn. I saw children killed. I saw their mothers and their fathers slaughtered. I saw it all, Elle. And I hated myself for believing my mother – for ever having believed that this was a holy purge. It was murder, and that was all.”

  “What did you do then?” Elle wondered.

  “I gave myself a new name,” he replied, smiling sadly. “And I vowed to help the people here as much as I could. I went from militia to militia, looking for a place to stay, where I could help people without becoming a high-profile figure. And yet…my mother still managed to find me.”

  “Do you think she’s still looking for you?” Elle asked.

  “She will always be looking for me.”

  “That’s scary.”

  “That’s who she is.”

  “Do you hate her?”

  “I did, for a time.”

  “But not anymore.”

  “No, not anymore.” He sighed. “I feel sorry for her soul. She’ll never know peace.”

  A long pause.

  “Do you know peace?” Elle asked quietly.

  “My conscience is clear,” Cheng replied. “I have done everything I can to atone for my involvement with Omega. I’ll never stop trying to undo what they have done.”

  “Are you afraid?” Elle said.

  “No. Are you?”

  “No.”

  “Good. Fear helps nothing.”

  Bravo brought the stick back to Elle once more.

  “What about Luli?” Elle asked, looking at Cheng.

  Cheng frowned.

  “What about her?”

  “The way you two were together…” Elle shrugged. “You seemed like you’d known her for a long time.”

  Cheng was silent for a long time. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft and broken. “Luli was dear to me,” he said. “She was a servant in my mother’s household. She was orphaned – and treated badly. When I made my escape, I took her with me. I couldn’t leave her in that place alone. I just…couldn’t.”

  “Did you love her?” Elle asked, quietly.

  “Yes,” Cheng replied. “She was the only family I ever had.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “So am I.” He curled his fingers into fists. “She died because of me. She died thinking I was her enemy.”

  “She never knew you were Veronica’s son?” Elle asked.

  “No. I kept it from her. She thought I was merely one of my mother’s countless employees,” Cheng answered. “If she had known my true identity, she never would have trusted me. You must understand why: my mother executed Luli’s father.”

  “But why?” Elle asked, horrified.

  “Because Luli’s father was also my father.”

  Elle stared at him.

  “The affair that your mother had…” she muttered. “That was Luli’s father?”

  “Yes. Luli is – was – my half-sister.”

  Elle released a breath. It was a lot of information to take in – and suddenly, it all made sense. Luli’s fierce attachment to Cheng had never been borne of jealously. It had come from love and desperation.

  Her brother was all she’d had in the world.

  “I’m so sorry, Cheng,” she said at last.

  Cheng swallowed.

  “I will miss her every day of my life,” he replied.

  “You were a good brother to her,” Elle told him. “You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

  Cheng looked at her.

  “Thank you,” he wh
ispered.

  Several minutes of silence followed.

  “I’m going to Sacramento,” Elle said, breaking the pause.

  “I assumed. We’re walking north.”

  “Do you want to come with me?”

  “Why else would I be here, Elle?”

  Elle stopped and searched his face.

  “You kissed me,” she stated.

  “Yes.” Cheng smiled. “Did you like it?”

  Elle rolled her eyes and kept walking again.

  “Ah, so you liked it?” Cheng teased.

  “What does it mean?” Elle pressed.

  “What does it mean?”

  “Yes. It’s got to mean something.”

  Cheng chuckled.

  “Does it?”

  Elle huffed and chucked the stick as far as she could. Bravo sprinted after it, enjoying himself.

  “I suppose,” Cheng said slowly, “that it means I care about you, more than I’ve ever cared about anyone before. Maybe it’s love. I don’t know.”

  “It might be.” Elle turned and looked at Cheng. He was so tall, etched in shadow and light. His eyes danced with the memories of his youth, his past with Omega, and his break from his mother.

  Elle stood on her tiptoes and gently pressed a kiss against his warm cheek.

  Cheng brushed his finger across her neck.

  “Yes,” he said, smiling. “It very well could be.”

  It was almost dark when they were overtaken. It came swiftly, in the shadows, when the daylight had almost slipped away and the darkness was hovering on the horizon. They were walking. It was silent and peaceful. And then Elle felt the slight rumbling of the earth beneath her feet, and she knew trucks were coming.

  She took cover in an orchard with Bravo, and they both ran. Cheng was right behind her, ducking and sprinting and pushing themselves faster and faster through fields of dead trees. Their feet kicked up plumes of dirt, hovering in the air like smoke signals.

  “How could Omega find us?” she huffed as they ran. “HOW?”

  She was panicking. There was nowhere to hide out here. Nowhere.

  “Matthias, probably,” Cheng replied. “He had arranged to give me to Omega authorities, and when he never showed up, they probably found his dead crew and began tracking me.”

  Elle’s mind raced.

  They should have hidden in town and waited for Omega to pass. She hadn’t thought they would be tracking Cheng. She’d thought this was all over – she’d thought they were safe!

  There were smatterings of German dialogue in the distance. Elle could understand none of it, but Cheng could.

  “They know we’re here,” he warned. “Don’t stop running. They’ll keep me alive – but they will not hesitate to kill you or the dog.”

  They pushed on. Elle’s legs burned. They wove through the trees. The darkness descended rapidly. Elle was grateful – it was easier to hide now. They came to the end of an orchard, hearing the roar of a truck. Elle’s breath caught in her throat.

  “Get down,” Cheng hissed.

  Elle saw the flash of headlights painted against the road. She dropped to the ground and shoved her stomach against the dirt. She pulled Bravo down with her. They were only five or so yards away from the road, lying behind a furrow, camouflaged in the leaves.

  Elle’s lungs heaved with each breath, her throat burning, her legs throbbing. The truck rumbled by slowly. The gunner on top of the truck was moving a large spotlight through the trees. It made Elle’s eyes water, it was so bright. Every muscle in her body tensed as the light swept over their bodies. It hovered for a moment, then moved on. She released a breath.

  The truck rolled forward, sweeping the light across the orchards. Two more vehicles followed after that one, and she could hear the footsteps of troops as they searched the fields tree by tree.

  “What do we do?” Elle dared to whisper.

  Cheng was silent for a long time before answering.

  “We don’t move,” he replied. “They’ll see us if we do.”

  Elle’s nose was pressed against Bravo’s fur. She whispered soothing words to him, and he understood. They were to remain quiet, motionless. The dog did so. Minutes ticked by. Elle’s sweat turned to an icy chill as the cold temperatures of the night settled in. Their limbs stiffened and they shivered in the cold.

  One hour passed.

  At last, the voices and the trucks seemed taper off. The rumble faded and the dialogue ceased. Cheng slowly raised his head and peered into the darkness.

  “I think we can go,” he whispered.

  Elle raised herself on her hands, sore, and rolled to her feet.

  “Up, Bravo,” she said quietly.

  Bravo rose, pressing his wet nose against her hand.

  They crept forward, feeling their way back to the road. It was silent all around them. They began walking parallel to the silhouettes of the foothills, heading north.

  “That was too close,” Elle whispered.

  “Indeed it was,” Cheng replied.

  “How could they have tracked you this far?”

  “They probably had a general idea of where I was headed. I wouldn’t go south, and I wouldn’t go back to the mountains. God knows what is in the east…north was the best option.”

  It took a long time, but they finally found the road they had been forced to leave earlier. It was as empty and lonely as ever. They walked in silence, afraid of making unnecessary noise. Several miles in, Bravo stopped, growling rabidly.

  “Oh, my god,” Elle whispered.

  “What?” Cheng asked. “What does he…?”

  The deep, velvet darkness seemed to catch fire. A blinding, white light beamed across their faces, illuminating the road and the orchards on each side of the asphalt. Elle screamed. The Omega trucks were parked across the road.

  A trap.

  They had been waiting. They had drawn them out.

  The troops were standing in a neat row, armed and dangerous. There were at least a dozen men. The gunner was holding the spotlight. Elle and Cheng were blinded. Bravo barked threateningly.

  “Put your hands up and place your weapons on the ground,” the gunner said.

  Elle slowly moved her hand to the handle of her katana, struggling for breath. They had been caught. The sheer terror of the trap pulsed through her body like a cruel heartbeat.

  A man walked closer to them. He was wearing ragtag clothing. Half of his face was bandaged, and his head was wrapped in cloth. Elle gasped.

  “FELIX!” she exclaimed.

  Cheng’s eyes narrowed to slits.

  “Elle,” Felix replied. He stared at the ground. “Cheng.”

  Bravo growled.

  “No,” Elle whispered. “You’re not one of them. You can’t be. You saved my life…”

  “Because I knew you would lead me to him,” Felix replied, his lip curling. His eyes were watery with tears. “Do you know what the reward is for the son of the High Chancellor? Enough to take me out of this apocalyptic hell, that’s for certain.”

  “You traitor,” Elle hissed. “How could you?”

  “Survival, little girl,” Felix replied, hollowly. “It’s all about survival.”

  Elle burned with rage.

  She took several steps forward. The gunner warned her back, but she didn’t listen. She was only two feet away from Felix, looking him directly in the eye.

  “You’re a coward,” she said. “You should have died at Bear Mountain. Like everyone else.”

  “I never wanted those people to die,” Felix retorted, flushed. “That was the greatest tragedy of my life. But they’re gone now, and I’ve got to survive. And this is it. This is all that’s left for me.”

  Elle turned her head. She saw Cheng out of the corner of her eye. He had his hands high in the air, and Bravo was crouched at the edge of the circle of light.

  “I’m not sorry,” Elle said.

  She brought her foot up and kicked Felix square in the chest. In his weakened state, he stumbled b
ackward, into an Omega guard. Elle whipped out her sword and sliced through the air, slashing through the guard. His neck gushed blood and he fell.

  There was a gunshot. Elle felt the bullet whistle by her head. She slid to the ground and brought her sword up, gashing into the side of a trooper’s legs. He screamed and went down, his finger on the trigger of his gun, sending a spray of bullets up the side of the middle truck, shooting the man ducking behind the spotlight. The gunner stumbled backward and fell off the truck, landing with a crack on the pavement, killed instantly.

  Beside her, Cheng had whirled into action, a blur of deadly speed and accuracy. Bravo shot out and sunk his fangs into a trooper’s forearm. He tried driving the muzzle of his gun into the dog’s head, but Elle jumped on him from behind, locking her legs around his neck and snapping his head sideways.

  He went still, and Bravo released his grip.

  Only a few more guards were left. Cheng had already taken care of three or four on his side. Elle ran to him, lifting her sword high. She took a deep breath and focused her mind, and, once again, she saw the world through a high-definition lens of sight and sound. She moved beside Cheng with fluid accuracy, never feeling the strain of the battle or the sweat on her neck. Bravo crouched between them, growling viciously, sinking his fangs into anyone who dared approach the circle of defense.

  She spun around and locked swords with Cheng. A brief flicker of amusement passed between them, and then they whirled away, disarming a guard, leaving only two people left: one guard and Felix.

  Elle and Bravo ran to the back of the vehicle blockade. The one guard was hiding there, crouched and shivering. He was crying – he was so, so young.

  “Please,” he begged, his English harsh and broken. “Don’t kill me.”

  “How many times have you heard innocent people say that same thing right before you killed them?” Elle said, steely. She walked forward, and he cried out. She drove the handle of her sword into the back of his head. He lolled forward, unconscious.

  Elle jogged to the front of the blockade. Cheng glanced at her. They locked gazes. There was a gunshot. Cheng kneeled, putting his knee on the ground, pain and confusion playing across his features. Elle heard herself screaming. Blood blossomed through Cheng’s dark shirt.

  Felix huddled in the driver’s seat of one of the Humvees, his shaking hands clutching the handle of a smoking gun. The window was open. Elle charged forward. Felix pulled the trigger. Elle ducked aside and the bullet ricocheted off the pavement. She grabbed his head and slammed it against the frame of the car. Felix cried out. Elle opened the door and kicked him onto the asphalt. The small handgun fell from his fingers.