Revelation (The Wasteland Chronicles, #4)

by Kyle West

  It sounded like a good plan, in theory.

  I was assigned to the Raiders’ group, along with Michael. Everyone else was assigned to the Exiles, who were less numerous. Makara and Anna were to remain on board, providing a steady rain of lead from above.

  At last, we lifted off from the overpass. The city and its dark buildings fell away below us. Makara turned the ship toward our goal in the west. We flew over the south wall. Marcus and Michael both pointed us in the general direction we needed to go. I got a sick feeling in my gut that wouldn’t go away, and it only became more intense the closer we got to the west side of town.

  It was quiet when the dash lit up red, on and off, with a continuous beep.

  “It’s Ashton,” Makara said.

  “I’ll answer.” Samuel reached his hand for the transceiver and answered the call. “Ashton. Everything alright?”

  “I’ll say. I got my parts out of Bunker Six, but it wasn’t easy. The place was infested with crawlers. Luckily, I found my parts before they found me.” When no one answered him, Ashton spoke again, concern in his voice. “Hello? Anyone there?”

  “Sorry, Ashton,” Makara said. “You caught is in the middle of something.”

  He paused. “The middle of what? What’s wrong?”

  “Look, don’t take this the wrong way but...can we call back later? We’re in the middle of an operation.”

  “Humph. You’re dodging my question, Missy. I don’t like it.”

  “We’re just...about to attack one of the Vegas gangs. It’s necessary. Don’t ask questions, because it will take too long to explain.”

  “Huh. I see.” There was a long pause. “Well, you need to turn your ship around.”

  “What?” I asked. “Why?”

  I was eager for any excuse to turn away from this attack. Hopefully, Ashton would deliver the goods.

  “I know I’ve been out of the loop for a couple days, but what I have to tell you changes everything. I’ve discovered something that needs to addressed immediately.”

  “Alright, I’ll bite,” Makara said. “What did you find out that’s more important than making sure our hold on Vegas is secured beyond the shadow of a doubt?”

  “Oh, trust me,” Ashton said. “I have you beat. You see, when I got out of Bunker Six, I set up the wavelength monitor, just to test it out once I was up in the air. And in the process, I found out there is another Voice.”

  No one said anything for a moment. What Ashton just said didn’t quite register.

  “Another...what?” Samuel asked.

  “Or at least, what I think is another Voice,” Ashton said. “It has a different wavelength, coming from a different direction. But the pattern is so similar that it can’t be anything else. That means there is more than one Voice controlling the xenovirus. It means we have to take out two of them, instead of one. And the thing is, right now, we have a chance to take out this second one, a chance we might not have ever again.”

  “Wait,” Samuel said. “You are there, right now?”

  “Yep. And it’s a doozy, let me tell you.”

  “Where are you?” Samuel asked.

  Ashton hesitated before answering. “About fifty miles east of you.”

  “I’m sorry...” Makara said. “What is it?”

  “I don’t know, but it needs further investigation,” Ashton said. “I’m pretty sure that this...thing...I’m looking at is the source of the second Voice. I need you all here, pronto. There’s this huge spire, just rising out the Great Blight. The air is clear, as well as the ground.” He paused. “I’m landing first, to get a closer look. I could learn something that could help us for when we attack the other one, in Ragnarok Crater. But I need you guys here in case things get dicey.”

  We looked at each other, hardly believing what Ashton had just told us. If there was another Voice, that meant we had two to kill, not just the one. And more might pop up out of nowhere. That meant this xenovirus might never get killed, if new Voices could just replace the old ones.

  “Ashton,” Makara said. “Do not land. Are you crazy? You could be attacked the second you set foot on that xenofungal field.”

  “Don’t worry,” Ashton said. “I have my gas mask, and plenty enough for everyone. This is a chance for research we might never get again.”

  “Let me talk,” Marcus said. “Ashton, this attack is not going to be interrupted for anything. Whatever you’re talking about, it can wait.”

  “I’m not so sure,” Makara said. “If the Voice is not being protected, we might have a chance to do some real damage.”

  If that were true, then this would be a key time to strike. We already had the men and weapons on board. We were already in the air. If it was fifty miles way, we could be there in less than fifteen minutes.

  “Do we have gas masks?” I asked.

  “A dozen or so,” Samuel said. “Ashton collected them over the years.”

  “Gilgamesh has about twenty,” Ashton said. “How many men on board?”

  “About thirty,” Samuel said. “Enough masks for everyone.”

  On our first trip to the Great Blight, gas masks were not a precaution we had taken. We had gotten lucky. When Makara and I had gone to Bunker 114, I had passed through my first Blight. Just as we were about to reach the Bunker, the xenofungus had released some sort of spore that knocked us out. The only reason we were still alive was because Samuel happened upon us and pulled us into the safety of the Bunker.

  “What are your coordinates?” Makara asked.

  “I’ve already uploaded them to you,” Ashton said. “Just open it up, and the ship can autopilot itself here.”

  “We’re not doing this,” Marcus said. “We have to finish what we started.”

  Makara held up a hand, silencing him. “And you said that it’s fifty miles east of us?”

  “Yeah, I’m hovering above it right now, trying to get some readouts. I’m not going to pass up this opportunity.”

  Makara turned her head to the side, concentration on her face. I’d seen that look before, and seeing it now scared me to death.

  She was about to do something crazy.

  “Marcus, we can come back and do this later. The mission against the Great Blight comes first.”

  “No, we’re not,” Marcus said.

  But Makara wasn’t listening. She veered the ship around, one hundred and eighty degrees. Everyone cried out as they were forced to the ship’s side.

  “We’ll meet you there, Ashton,” Makara said. “On our way now.”

  I was relieved. It seems strange to say I was relieved at going to the Great Blight, at the center of this new Voice, rather than what we had been doing.

  “Makara, I hope you’re doing the right thing,” Char said.

  “I am. I’ve got thirty fighting men on board, and the chance to deal a critical blow to the Blighters before they know what hit them.” Makara increased the ship’s speed. “I’m not going to pass up that chance.”

  Anna stared at her from the copilot’s chair. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

  Makara nodded. “I am. I’m sure about this. The Reds can wait. This can’t.”

  “You are sure?” Char asked.

  “Of course I’m sure,” Makara said. “How many times are you knuckleheads going to ask me that? Fighting the Blighters is what we’re here for. It’s what we do.”

  “What about the Reds?” Marcus demanded. “What about my fallen soldiers?”

  Makara didn’t answer for a moment. “We’ll deal with that. As soon as we’re done with this.”

  “No, that’s not good enough!” Marcus said. “I refuse to help with this!”

  “If you help us out here, we’ll go after the Reds. I promise. They won’t get away with what they did.”

  Marcus growled, realizing he wasn’t going to win. In one moment, everything had changed. It was par for the course as far as I was concerned.

  Char stepped up. “Hey, Marc, listen. You’ve got to hang in there.
It’ll just be another hour before...”

  The fuse that had been burning all evening suddenly lit in a powder keg of anger. Marcus threw his arm back and swung wildly at his brother. Eyes widening, Char took the hit right in the jaw, spinning around and falling into Makara’s seat, right across her lap. As Makara’s eyes widened, Michael grabbed Marcus, pulling him off his brother. Meanwhile, Samuel grabbed Char, pulling him back.

  Makara grimaced, and after putting the ship on cruise, stood up. “I will not have this on my deck! We are here to fight the xenovirus, first and foremost. Everything else is secondary. If that’s a problem with anyone here, you can get the hell off my ship!”

  Marcus’s anger wasn’t spent, yet. His arms and hands shook in an effort to control himself.

  “You’re a coward!” he shouted. “I knew you would back out.”

  Makara pointed at Marcus. “Someone, get him under control. We are going after the Reds. Plans change, Marcus. That’s how it works. We might not get this opportunity again for a long time.”

  Just then, a shadow swooped past the windshield and behind the ship. A baleful roar shook Odin’s interior.

  A xenodragon.

  “Anna, engage the auto-turret.”

  “Roger that.”

  “This is insane,” Marcus said. “We need to turn back, now!”

  “I’m not going to let one of those things scare me away,” Makara said. “We’re almost there.”

  The LCD showed the dragon, a dark mass in the night, chasing us from behind. The auto-turret fired, lighting the creature’s frame in quick, successive bursts. The creature screamed, then ducked to the side, out of range of the turret.

  “Keep following his trail, Anna,” Makara said.

  “I’m trying,” she said. “It’s getting away. Flying north. It’s out of range.”

  “Why north?” Char asked.

  I hoped the answer that came to my mind wasn’t correct. “Probably to get some of his buddies.”

  That comment shut everyone up.

  “Why are we doing this?” Marcus asked. “Why are we risking this entire mission? Just so some old man can do his research?”

  “No,” Makara said. “We need to blow this thing up. This spire Ashton talked about could be the source of this Voice. We need to take it out, now, before it can do any damage. It might even be the thing that will control the attack on Vegas.”

  Everyone grew quiet at that. Could it really be a coincidence? If this Voice had sprouted here recently, it could very well be for the purpose of attacking Vegas.

  Marcus crossed his arms, but I could tell that even he could see her point.

  “What’s the plan when we get there, Mak?” Samuel asked. “If that thing comes back?”

  “We land. We scout around, and see what there is to see. I want everyone who’s going off the ship to wear a gas mask. I’m not taking any chances. We need to keep our eyes peeled for danger. Ashton wants to go on the ground and do some research first. I’m fine with that, as long as it does not endanger anyone in the group. The first sign of trouble, we’re out of there, and we’re blowing this spire to smithereens.”

  “Alright,” Marcus said. “Fine. I see I’m not changing anyone’s mind, so we can go on and find out what we can. But I’m holding you to what you said, Makara. We go for the Reds after this.”

  Makara nodded. “I won’t forget, Marcus. They will pay for what they did to you and your men.”

  Marcus stepped back, placated, at least for now. The xenodragon was all but gone, lost in the darkness of night. I could see nothing outside. We were below the cloud layer, and no light made it through from above.

  Makara switched on Odin’s twin floodlights, pointing them down to the surface. The lights revealed alien, pink terrain that passed in a blur. We flew over jagged hills and twisting canyons, all covered with the sick, pink growth.

  “About three miles out,” Makara said. “Prepare for landing.”

  Marcus had gone back to the galley, probably to let his men know about the change in plans. Hopefully, they wouldn’t take it half as bad as he did, or we were going to have a mutiny on our hands. Char went with his brother, to make sure that Marcus wouldn’t start anything. I thought their being together was a bad idea, but no one else seemed to think anything of it.

  “I’ve never been in the Great Blight,” Michael said. “Can’t say I’ve ever wanted to be in it.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Makara said. “Get in, do what we need to do, get out.”

  “Should be easy,” Anna said, shaking her head.

  “This could be our chance to learn about how the Voice works,” Samuel said.

  “Thinking like a scientist,” I said.

  Samuel nodded. “It’s the chance Ashton and I have been waiting for.”

  From the galley came shouts and protests. The Exiles were not taking the news well. Marcus yelled, trying to calm his men down. It sounded like a losing battle.

  “At least he’s not instigating them,” I said.

  “They can bite me,” Makara said. “Here we go.”

  She veered the ship down. I grabbed onto the wall, my seat having been taken by Char.

  Then, it was in front of us: the spire Ashton had spoken of. It was a gigantic, organic swath, twisting and rising into the dark sky. The spire was tethered to the ground with thick, trunk-like struts growing out of the xenofungal bed. The spire was about five hundred tall, if I had to guess, and it ended on top in a series of jagged, cruel spikes – not unlike antennae. The entire thing was a deep purple color – the same color as the blood of the xenolife we’d had to kill all too often. The surrounding area was empty of tangible threats. Too empty. I didn’t trust how easy this seemed so far, despite that dragon. It had merely flown off. Why? Was there something so nasty about this thing that even a xenodragon was afraid of it?

  Apparently, similar thoughts were passing through everyone else’s minds. It was Samuel who broke the silence.

  “It looks like a radio tower. From that top, a signal can be projected and communicated to the entire xenoswarm. This thing is dangerous. It needs to come down.”

  “Gilgamesh has the missiles,” Makara said. “Odin doesn’t.”

  “Where is Gilgamesh, anyway?” I asked.

  “We’re about to find out,” Makara said. She nodded to Anna. “Put Ashton on the line.”

  Anna fiddled with the communicator on the dash, opening the channel.

  “Ashton, you have a copy?” Makara asked.

  “Yeah, go ahead.”

  “We’re here.”

  “Yeah, I see you up there.”

  “What’s your location?”

  “I’m at the base of this thing,” he said. “Come on down. It’s safe.”

  “You’re down there?” Makara asked. “Ashton, I thought I told you to stay put until we got here.”

  “I want to study it up close. Gilgamesh is parked just a few feet away. If anything pops out, I can just take off.”

  Makara mouthed the word “stupid.”

  “Alright, we’ll meet you down there,” Samuel said.

  Samuel’s eyes shone with excitement. He hadn’t had the chance to study xenolife directly since his time at Bunker 114. Seeing him look at that strange, creepy spire, as weird as it might sound, reminded me of a kid looking at a new toy.

  “We just need to blow it up,” Makara said. “Forget the research. That thing looks evil.”

  “Not before we have Ashton’s go-ahead,” Samuel said. “I’m curious to hear about what he’s learned so far.”

  Makara sighed. “Fine. But we’re blowing it up as soon as you guys are finished.”

  Samuel held up his hands. “Fine.”

  I was more inclined to agree with Samuel, though I could also see Makara’s point. If that thing was transmitting another Voice, destroying it quickly might be a good idea. Then again, if we could learn about this spire before destroying it, it might help us out in the long run.

  “Al
l I know is, that thing creeps me out,” Michael said.

  Anna nodded her agreement.

  “We’ll get in and out of here,” I said. “Won’t be anything to it.”

  At least, that’s what I hoped.

  As we circled around the spire, lowering to the xenofungal floor, I couldn’t help but stare. The spire was thicker toward the bottom, a series of thick, twisting vines rooted in the xenofungus. The vines interlocked in a complex braid, circling around and around to form the spire’s trunk. The trunk shot up in the sky, until they turned into the series of thin needle points that rose even higher. Samuel was right. The spire looked like it was designed to transmit something. There was no doubt in my mind that if this thing were destroyed, this second Voice would not be able to transmit itself over the air.

  But I also remembered what Samuel had said about the Black Files. The xenofungus itself was a communication device. That meant as long as the Blighters were connected to the Great Blight, they could still take orders from the Voice. The point of the spires, then, assuming there were more than one, was the ability to transmit those orders over the air, beyond the reach of the Great Blight. Maybe the other, smaller Blights were part of the main xenofungal network as well, somehow.

  All I knew was, the xenofungus was starting to seem less and less like simple fungus, and more like something intelligent. Something that could think and communicate. That’s what made this fungus and the virus that spread it so scary. It was able to think and adapt, and that made it all the more dangerous.

  Maybe it even knew we were here, right now.

  Makara set Odin down next to Gilgamesh, which was parked on a level bed of xenofungus right before the xenofungal spire. Ashton, for now, wasn’t in sight.

  Makara left the ship running, keeping the power on low in case we needed to get out of here quickly.

  “I’m giving us thirty minutes to find out whatever we can,” Makara said. “Then, we’re blasting this thing.”

  Samuel’s eyes told Makara that thirty minutes would not be nearly enough time. Makara raised an eyebrow, causing Samuel to sigh.