The girl was gone, as expected. At least it appeared like she had gone elsewhere, and wasn’t instead killed during the battle. There was no corpse. “She was right here.”
“Are you sure you saw someone?” asked Erin.
“I am.”
“This city has been dead for decades,” muttered Garros, and Quantum Ares turned around to look at the destruction. “We just fought a huge Flash. There’s no way people are still living in here—there isn’t anything that can be used as shelter.”
“I know what I saw,” said Ezra—a line he was tired of repeating.
“Jena is calling us,” said Erin, and Phoenix Atlas spun on one leg to walk away from Ezra, dismissing the matter entirely. Garros followed her, and Ezra did the same.
For once, he didn’t care that they didn’t believe him; the girl couldn’t have gone far. If they were going to search the city for clues on where to find the missing pieces of the Armor of God, he was sure to find a trace of her.
Jade Arjuna had made her way almost to the heart of the destroyed city, and was banging two huge iron beams together to call either Garros or Erin’s attention; Besoe Nandi’s field hearing was not active, and couldn’t hear the sounds outside the aural link.
“What you got?” asked Erin, and Jade pointed downward, at something beneath her feet. It must be extremely frustrating to be unable to speak. Or to speak, and not be heard.
Ezra chuckled to himself.
He maneuvered Nandi across a city redecorated with dead monsters, towards the others. He took every step carefully, afraid to step on something, or someone, he shouldn’t.
The others were standing on the rim of another smaller basin, at the bottom of which there was an indentation, like a slit engraved into the floor. It was about the size of Nandi’s arm.
“What do you suppose that is?” asked Garros.
“Should we go down there?” asked Ezra.
“Of course not,” replied Erin and brought Phoenix down to her knees. With prods of her clawed finger, she tested the durability of this second basin, which looked as though it had been eroded by some strange force, and not actually carved by man. “We could shatter it, whatever it is. Maybe there’s something important down there.”
“Maybe there’s people!” said Ezra.
“Maybe,” replied Garros. “Damn, is there any chance the people of Kerek didn’t all die here, when the city fell? Maybe they moved somewhere else—maybe underground.”
Erin and Garros were too busy looking at the eroded basin to see Jade Arjuna frantically moving her arms to draw their attention. Ezra saw her, and raised the Minotaur’s hand to let her know that he was looking at her.
She pointed Jade’s finger towards the distance, at the base of the peak, but he wasn’t sure at what.
The bow of her arm collapsed. She tilted her entire body upward as she drew an arrow of light, and shot it upward. The arrow flew up and then down in an arch; a beam of technomantic energy was as much a victim of momentum and gravity as a real arrow.
Hers landed near the spot she was pointing them to.
“Garros? Erin?” said Ezra, and they finally turned around.
“What’s that?”
Jena kept sending arrows at the mysterious target far away from them. It looked like a Fleck, but it was completely immobile, and covered in a cloth that had to be enormous. It stood next to a massive stone wall that stretched up to become part of the peak.
Jade Arjuna ran across the city and climbed the basin effortlessly, asking the others to follow with motions of her hand. The way in which she moved suggested excitement, if not urgency.
It wasn’t as easy for Creuxen as heavy as Ares and Nandi to climb up the steel basin at the edge of the city, but they finally made it to the top, back to the sandy dunes that surrounded the remains of Kerek.
“Holy crap,” whispered Garros.
Jade ran without warning, towards the target, overeager.
The others followed, and as they came closer to it, it took shape. It was huge, humanoid, and covered in silver armor, resting one knee on the floor, arms falling on the floor as though boneless.
It wasn’t until they were just a few body lengths away from it that they recognized what it was, and why it had caused such exhilaration in Jena; this was Milos Ravana. They had finally found the Armor of God, and hopefully, Akiva with it.
ф
Hopes were low when Vivian got up that morning and took what could be the last shower she’d ever take in the colorful dormitory she had been born to occupy.
Tessa had suggested she should wear civilian’s clothing when going back to Roue to vote on Proposition Tomorrow, but to Vivian that seemed silly, not to mention cowardly.
She had no reason or desire to hide her identity as a pilot of Zenith. Quite the contrary: she wanted all those people who back then disregarded her to know that she was playing a part in saving humanity’s future.
Whether they wanted it or not.
So, she dressed in a fresh uniform that displayed all her patches—Zenith logo, Roue Armed Forces, and of course her favorite: Rose Xibalba. She tied her boots tightly, cleaned them, and walked out of her room.
She passed by every room and corridor she had grown to call home in the last months, and didn’t see almost anyone else. Vivian made her way to the train station, where she found some of the other pilots waiting for the train to arrive from its last trip to Roue.
Sitting alone, as he usually did, was Jed Townsend. Vivian walked up to him and took a seat. He wasn’t wearing uniform, and was instead wearing jeans and a white T-shirt with musical notes; it was a bit big for him, even if it showed his strong arms. “You’re pretty brave for wearing that outside.”
“Am I?” she asked. “Is it really a big deal? I could probably go change.”
“No, that’s fine. You’re not, like, in danger or anything,” he said and cracked a smile. He was a handsome man—half of his face, at least. “Say, Vivian, now that you’re here . . .”
She liked him more already.
“Do you remember a few days ago, you paid Rebecca a visit in the Nebula dorm, had a talk in the crew’s quarters.”
“I didn’t mean to intrude in your dormitory, I’m sorry,” she said.
“No, please, I didn’t mind! I just wanted to ask if you could tell me why she left.”
“She left?” Vivian asked.
“I haven’t seen her since,” replied Jed. She could tell it was still somewhat painful to move the muscles of his face, even if he had been healing for months, and there was no more tender skin, only scarred flesh. “Not that I mind anymore. I just wanted to know.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know,” she said, and prepared to lie. “I don’t know why she would leave. I heard she was doing better.”
“She was, but then . . . well,” he said, and got up as the train announced its arrival. “Sometimes it happens, I guess. You feel bad, then you feel better, then you feel worse. It happens. Come on now, let’s go save Zenith.”
He offered her his hand.
The train ride to Roue wasn’t what she expected. It wasn’t entirely dreary and hopeless. Many of the people riding were chatting casually, talking about books and music and entirely banal things. She thought she heard Ezra’s name being said by someone, but she wasn’t sure.
It was strange that such a long time had passed since the five pilots left Zenith, and they hadn’t once been a topic of conversation—not around Vivian, at least. She wondered why.
She held on to one of the loops hanging from the ceiling and remembered her first train ride to Zenith. How handsome Akiva looked. How frightening and strong Sergeant Barnes appeared to be. And how it had been Ezra who saved her from taking a tumble and cracking her head on the floor. That was the first time she’d felt any affection towards Ezra.
Her throat was tightening, as if a wad of poorly chewed food had gotten stuck in there, and she realized she wanted to cry again. One deep, cracked breath made her feelings evident, and
at least three different people turned to see her. She turned around and found Jed’s face instead.
His face still frightened a part of her, but the warm way in which he was looking at her, and a reassuring nod, made her feel better. Safe. She didn’t ask for it, but he extended his arm and pulled her in for a hug.
Everything will be all right, Vivian, said a voice in her head.
She began to cry into his shirt.
Jed was like her older brother that day, protective and caring the whole way through. He understood what Vivian was going through, even if for once she was the only one exposing her emotions. It was like everyone else had made a silent vow to remain hopeful, as though that would have an effect on the results.
Military personnel, some of whom she had seen in the Zenith facility, welcomed them to the city of Roue, and escorted the group to several army vehicles. Part of Vivian expected some people to be there to also welcome them, even if without the affability. She had seen strong resistance to Zenith in the news broadcasts; she wondered where they all were.
Maybe they had been nothing but a screen to make Heath’s cause appear stronger than it really was. It was a farfetched thought, but one that gave her a little bit of hope.
That hope faded when the car drove across one of Roue’s seven main streets, near the square at the center of town, and an overwhelming amount of blood-red clothing—a brand for those that supported Heath’s apocalyptic cause—covered the masses of citizens.
“Man, we’re boned,” muttered Felix Goodwin, looking out the window of the car.
“Looks that way, but it’s hard to tell,” said Jed. “Sometimes minorities are the loudest. I think we still have a chance.”
“Fair enough,” Felix said, and returned to his seat. “I hope you’re right, Face.”
Jed laughed at what Vivian would have interpreted as an insult. She didn’t yet understand their relationship. Felix had always been a bit of a bully in her eyes. Despite not being very big, he had more bravado than any of the other male pilots. Jed was his opposite: though big and tall (she could tell he had been muscular before the accident), he was calm and reserved. She thought maybe the scars that had transformed his face had something to do with his attitude.
The car came to a halt suddenly and they waited for a gate to open. A female soldier opened it up for them and the car rolled inside, away from the eyes of the public.
The soldier driving the car opened the doors for them, and Vivian set foot in Roue again.
They had been dropped in a small building she knew from her childhood—she had grown in a nearby neighborhood. She knew it was a government facility, but wasn’t sure of the details. All she knew was she could hear the roar of the people outside, casting their votes, discussing, fighting. Waiting.
“Viv!” yelled Tessa, who walked towards her with a limp. “I waited for you to take the earlier train together. I’ve been here for half an hour!”
“Sorry,” she replied. “I took a moment in the shower for myself.”
“That’s okay. Come on,” she said and looped her arm around Vivian’s to walk towards a gathering of people in the big garden behind the building. They were close to the edge of the dome; though hidden by projecting a fake horizon, she could still see its walls rising up to create the sky. “Remember, you’re voting in favor of Proposition Tomorrow. The ballots can be confusing sometimes.”
“Wait. Tessa, what?” said Jed, who stood behind her. “No! You’re voting against Proposition Tomorrow. The movement is in favor of closing operations in Zenith. You’re against that.”
“No, I think it’s the other way around,” argued Tessa.
“I think Jed’s right,” said Vivian.
“You know, I thought so too but now she made just me doubt,” Felix chimed in.
“Guys, what the hell?” said Jed, angry. “How old are you, people? It’s against. Vote against. Tessa, vote against. Oh my god. How is this a conversation?”
“All right, I’ll trust you,” said Felix and laughed.
Tessa was smiling, almost too aware of the small chaos she had just created.
When Vivian stood inside the tiny partition where the ballot awaited her vote, separated from the rest of the city by a thin white curtain bearing the wheel-shaped emblem of Roue, she almost panicked.
Election: Proposition Tomorrow
Instruction: fill in and blacken the rectangle to the left of your choice. You can only choose one option. You can only use the inking device provided.
[____] I, an adult citizen of Roue, am in favor of Proposition Tomorrow.
[____] I, an adult citizen of Roue, am against Proposition Tomorrow.
Proposition Tomorrow states: The citizens declare their wish for the Roue Armed Forces branch known as Zenith, who are to blame for the recent breach in the Roue Dome—
Well, we know who it was that drafted this, thought Vivian.
. . .in the Roue Dome, to immediately cease all operations and return their directors and employees to the status of Card-holding citizens or army recruits, living back within the confines of Roue.
Of course it’s against, she knew. It was obvious, yet when she brought down the marker to fill in the rectangle, she hesitated. She had to read and re-read many times to be sure she didn’t accidentally vote in favor of shutting down Zenith.
Dammit, Tessa.
She filled in the rectangle, folded the sheet of paper in two, and stepped back outside. All there was left for her was waiting.
ф
The appearance of the four Creuxen must have made for a colossal spectacle.
Besoe Nandi, Jade Arjuna, Quantum Ares, and Phoenix Atlas were all surrounding the Creux that was undoubtedly Milos Ravana. It had gone through hell, it seemed, and it showed in its armor. Pieces were cracked or even broken off, but there was one thing that was certain—
“Akiva isn’t here,” said Erin. “This is dormant.”
Jade knelt down in front of Milos Ravana and looked at its masked face. Nandi’s limited mobility didn’t allow him to do the same, but he could see there was no light behind its orange visor.
Ezra caught some small movement in the corner of his eye, and he saw grooves in the stone wall, some of them deep enough to be dark. Inside one of those grooves, he saw someone: a man.
“Garros,” he said, and pointed Nandi’s finger upward, towards the man looking down at them. “There’s people there.”
“What the hell—you’re right,” he said. “What is this place?”
Nandi took a step back and Ezra inspected the wall. At its base, he saw more movement: people started pouring of a tall slit, a crack, like ants. They were pointing up at them, bewildered. He wished he could hear what they were saying; he wished he could speak and tell them there was no reason to worry.
Phoenix Atlas looked around to check for any threatening presence, and then said: “Ezra, desynchronize. Garros, stay up in case they’re not our friends. Come on.”
Quantum Ares took a massive step back.
Ezra thought it was unnecessary; though the people looked like military—lightly armored, bearing guns that weren’t pointed at them—they didn’t seem like a real threat. Still, he did as he was told and got down on one knee to desynchronize.
Don’t believe the lies. The lies are inside.
When the world outside of Nandi’s Apse opened and light flooded, he saw the men, and how surprised they looked to see him. As though he didn’t belong inside the Minotaur.
Ezra climbed the route he had studied well down Nandi’s leg and landed on the sandy floor. Erin was waiting for him. “What do you think we just stumbled upon?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Something big.”
Erin lifted her arms, and Ezra did the same. “Hello there! We’re not a threat! We’re friendly!”
Four of the soldier-looking fellows walked closer to meet them. They seemed afraid—not of them, but of the desert. “Where do you come from?” one of them, a tall, lanky man
about Garros’ age, asked.
“Roue, a city,” replied Erin. “How long has this Creux—I mean, that thing been here?”
“What are those things?” asked the man. He appeared to be the leader.
“Weapons. They protect us,” said Erin, finally bringing her arms down. Ezra did the same. “We’re not a threat, but if you harm us, my big friend over there can cause a lot of damage. A lot-a lot.”
“No need for that,” he said, looking up at the colossal Creux, and offered a handshake. “My name is Malachi. I am a Security Officer here in Clairvert. We’re not a threat to you either.”
“Clairvert?” asked Erin, shaking Malachi’s hand, which was then offered to Ezra. “What happened in Kerek?”
Malachi looked in the direction of Kerek, even if it was out of sight, and shook his head. “No, we’re what’s left. Do you know the man who came with that Colossus?”
“Colossus? You mean the Creux?”
“Is Akiva here?” asked Jena. She had joined them while they were talking. She shook Malachi’s hand. “He’s a tall man, brown hair. He’s the pilot of that Creux. Is he here—is he . . . is he alive?”
Malachi nodded.
Erin looked up at Quantum Ares and gave him a thumbs-up. Immediately, Ares fell to one knee and went dormant. Garros stepped out of the Apse and climbed down.
“What are these things?” asked Malachi.
“They fight the monsters. You’ve seen them,” said Erin, a tint of pride in her voice.
“Did you build them?” asked another soldier who had joined Malachi.
“We’ll tell you anything you want to know, I promise, but we need to talk to Akiva Davenport,” Erin said. “Where is he?”
Garros finally joined them, introductions were made, and hands were shaken. Ezra was uneasy, and only wanted to either go inside the city or back inside the Minotaur. He didn’t want to leave Nandi—or any of the others—unattended.
“Come inside,” said Malachi.
“Wait, what about the Creuxen?” asked Ezra.
The Unfinished World (The Armor of God Book 2) Page 10