by Kevin George
Charlotte placed her hand over her mouth until Austin rubbed her arm. He crunched toward the edge of this building’s roof and Wyatt joined him.
“Speaking of the friendly citizens of whatever this place is,” Austin said, pointing to the street below.
The tower building was less than a block away. A group of black-clad dots was already gathering on the street below, several dozen converging on the building where Carli and the Bells now stood.
“I finally heard something,” Wyatt said.
His mother and father spun, scanning the rooftop for any sign of trouble.
“Not up here,” Wyatt said. “On the radio. . . in the Comm HASS, just before our connector line was cut.”
Wyatt’s parents looked at each other, their mouths agape, before rushing to their son, demanding to hear everything. Wyatt told the tale of the Comm HASS’s final skyward moments, from Carli’s warnings of the severing, to the crackling of the radio, to the brief conversation he’d had with someone out there, to his last-second decision to cut the transmission and ravage parts from the radio for the second jetpack. Carli tried not to notice Charlotte’s glare in her direction during that part of the story.
“Before I fled the HASS, the GPS didn’t have time to acquire a signal with coordinates for where their signal was being sent,” Wyatt explained. “Carli and I followed the HASS as it drifted to the ground, but the GPS suffered damage in the crash. I’ve been trying to fix it for months, but I didn’t have the parts. Carli went out looking for them every day, but we finally decided the city was our best option. I rigged the GPS to the power supply in my pack and we walked here.”
Wyatt turned and nodded toward the large backpack resting atop the snow near Carli’s feet. The Bell family hurried to open the bag, at which time Austin Bell pulled off his own jetpack and connected the GPS’s wires to its power supply. In less than a minute, the GPS received the signal and Wyatt synced the information to the small device attached to his wrist.
“Do you know where the signal leads?” Carli asked Wyatt’s parents. Austin and Charlotte shook their heads.
“I’m sure Wyatt told you the same stories we grew up hearing about what exists in the world,” Charlotte said. “Something, but we’re not exactly sure who or what. The Bells have always been in charge of communications, but that doesn’t mean our family was privy to the same information known by the Ellisons.”
Carli frowned, shaking her head. “My family never knew if anyone else was out there. . . at least not that I was told about.”
Charlotte turned her head and Carli could’ve sworn she heard a snort. It was clear there’d once been trust issues between the Bells and the Ellisons—and I guess the Comm HASS’s severing didn’t help with that, Carli thought—but Carli resisted the urge to defend her family; there wasn’t time for arguing. The excitement had died down, and the single unspoken question of ‘what next?’ hung above them heavier than any snow cloud. Nobody bothered to look back down at the streets to see if more enemies were headed toward them.
“Carli’s jetpack lost its charge,” Wyatt said. “One of the solar panels is cracked, and there might be connectivity issues between the panels and power supply. It’s not going to fly, at least not for longer than a few seconds. My jetpack is in worse shape right now, half torn apart. It could probably be fixed. . .”—he glanced toward the huge tower building the next block over—“. . . with the right parts.”
Austin and Charlotte turned to one another. No words were spoken, but both seemed to know what the other was thinking. They came to a decision with a single glance. The Bells shrugged their shoulders out of their jetpacks. Wyatt shook his head right away and started to remove the small GPS device on his wrist.
“Do you really expect us to take that and leave you here?” Austin asked his son.
Austin handed Wyatt his jetpack and Charlotte exchanged hers with Carli’s. Austin gathered together the bastardized jetpack/GPS contraption, shoving all the pieces into the backpack, which he slung over his shoulder.
Wyatt looked from one parent to the other, shaking his head. “But if you stay behind—”
“We’ll survive,” Charlotte said, “as we’ve been doing for a long time. Your father and I will figure out how to fix the jetpacks and then we’ll find you.” She reached out and grabbed her son’s wrist, checking the direction of the pointing arrow on his GPS device. She turned and pointed in that direction, looking somewhere beyond the surrounding buildings. “That’s where we’ll go. . . that’s where we’ll meet again.”
“But those people—”
“Will only find us if we stand around yapping much longer,” Austin said.
Wyatt glanced at Carli, who lowered her goggles and nodded as she put on Charlotte’s jetpack. Wyatt donned his father’s pack, frowning.
“Our packs are fully charged and should give you plenty of juice to get away from the city,” Austin said. “Fly above the clouds, in the sunlight, to keep it constantly charging.”
Carli allowed Wyatt’s mother to lead her to the edge of the building, but Wyatt hesitated to follow.
“I can’t believe we’re leaving already,” he told his parents. “We just found each other after so long. I never thought I’d see you again.”
Austin clamped a hand on Wyatt’s shoulders and stared into his son’s eyes. “I can’t begin to explain how proud I am that you survived. . . that you built two jetpacks. . . that you made it this far. I wish we’d done all of this as a family, but life doesn’t let you follow the most ideal version of what you want. With that said, you need to leave now—both of you—and continue your journey with the trust that we will be together again one day.”
Wyatt nodded, fighting back tears. Carli couldn’t help but think about her own family, about what her sudden departure had meant for them over the months. She told herself—yet again—that her father’s secrecy and insistence on confining her had forced her into taking such drastic action. For a long time, Carli even believed that, though looking at Wyatt’s parents now made her question every choice she’d made. Sensing Carli’s silence, Charlotte sidled beside her and leaned in close enough so only Carli could hear.
“He’s a soft-hearted boy, which means you need to be the hard one,” Charlotte said. “Keep him—keep both of you—focused on following the signal. Never let Wyatt think about coming back to find us; never let him forget the importance of your mission. The Bell family’s reason for existence was to contact other arks out there, to locate them, to join their survivors and figure out the next step for humanity’s survival in this frozen world. It’s funny. . .”—Charlotte snorted—“. . . I always assumed I’d be the one to fulfill that mission.”
“You still could,” Carli said.
Charlotte nodded. “We have no intention of giving up, despite the odds,” she said, glancing toward the street at the shadowy figures. “We won’t be far behind, but if something goes awry for us, nothing could make me prouder than knowing my son finally accomplished the job tasked to the Bell family generations ago.”
Hugs were exchanged between Wyatt and his parents, both of whom embraced Carli as well. The kids stepped atop the building’s ledge, fingers over the jetpacks’ power buttons, about to take off when Carli realized she had an important question. She already knew the answer but would regret not asking, even if there was the tiniest chance her assumption was wrong. She turned to Charlotte Bell, knowing Wyatt’s mother would be more likely to give her the brutal truth.
“Everyone assumed you leapt, but you’re both still alive. Do you think that means. . . well, that any other HASS jumpers might have. . . you know,” she said with a sigh, blushing at her foolishness. “Could anyone else made plans to survive leaping from the HASS?”
Charlotte frowned, all the answer that Carli needed. Austin stepped forward, hooking an arm through his wife’s, forcing the tiniest of smiles at Carli.
“Not that we know of, but I can’t say it’s out of the question,” he said a b
it too carefully. “The jetpacks weren’t our only idea for reaching the surface safely, and I imagine your family had options I didn’t know about. With that said, we’ve seen no evidence of other jumpers having survived.”
“Thank you,” she said with a frown.
She looked to Wyatt and nodded. Knowing he’d never be the first to take off, she pushed her power button and was hurled skyward, the acceleration in this jetpack far superior to her old one. She immediately felt the difference in the engine’s power and eased off the button for fear of speeding too far away. She glanced back to see Wyatt lift off and follow in her wake.
As soon as he caught up, Wyatt looked back and found his parents gone from the building’s roof. Carli pointed to Wyatt’s wrist and he nodded, glancing down to see in which direction the arrow was pointed, slowly banking until they were on the proper heading away from the city and toward other potential survivors.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Queen Raefaline ignored the screams and gasps from the crowd, ignored the royal guardsmen’s warnings for One citizens to stay back from the platform steps. After watching Ryo spear King Edmond and drag him toward the lava pool, she remained facing forward, listening intently to her husband’s gasps and his coughs of blood. A moment later, she heard the sizzle of his body hitting the lava and the resulting burst of flame that consumed his weak, pathetic body. Her nostrils filled with the acrid stench of sulfur and burning flesh.
The great Jonas King is no longer, she thought, a moment she’d dreamed about for years but didn’t crack a smile about.
A burst of pain exploded in her womb and she swayed on her feet. She was exhausted, but not too exhausted to rewrap her baby tightly in his blanket and press him against her chest. Cries from the crowd died down and shocked silence soon spread among the remaining citizens of One. From the moment the midwife had laid the dark-skinned baby in Raefaline’s arms, the queen knew a revolt could end up happening. With the majority of Edmond’s most loyal and experienced guards halfway across the city, she wasn’t surprised to see the leftovers—the women, children, elderly, lower-steppe guards—afraid of resisting.
Queen Raefaline hobbled toward the glowing throne and sat down. She was no sooner seated than the baby began to whimper, his tiny cries filling the throne room. She lowered one side of her robe and the baby immediately began to feed. She sensed Ryo’s giant form rejoining her side, but she didn’t look up at him. She stared forward but saw nothing and no one, her body exhausted, her eyes desperately wanting to close. The crowd watched her, but she didn’t peer into the eyes of a single citizen.
Silence and calm could only last so long. While a few citizens near the back filed out between the massive columns, a small contingent of older citizens pushed their way to the front. The royal guardsmen stared up at their leader in shock, but Ryo snapped his fingers. The guardsmen faced forward and blocked the path of an older palace guard.
“You murdered him!” the palace guard yelled, unclear if he was speaking to the queen or Ryo. “The queen is a harlot and you’re both traitors to the Lord and Jonas!”
Queen Raefaline heard the man’s pathetic insults, but his words elicited little emotion in her. She was too tired to care about anything. She looked up to Ryo and nodded, certain the father of her child would handle the trivial matter.
“The Lord and Queen will not tolerate such insolence. Not now, not ever,” Ryo pronounced.
He nodded at the guardsmen nearest the old guard. The guardsmen looked to one another, both understanding what Ryo wanted but neither wanting to follow through on the order. The old palace guard and a few of his pals sensed the hesitation—sensed the guardsmen’s weakness—and pushed forward, knocking aside quieter citizens in the process, turning a calm—albeit tense—situation more chaotic. The old guard’s yelling continued until one of Ryo’s men finally lunged at him with a spear, stabbing the man in the neck.
Chaos erupted and the crowd surged. Some citizens pushed forward, some rushed out of the throne room, while most yelled in a combination of fear or anger. The stabbed guard collapsed to his knees, his blood spraying everywhere, the sight of his murder spurring his friends to attack the guardsmen. A bloody fight ensued, and though the guardsmen faced little actual threat, the crowd pushed them all the way back to the foot of the platform stairs. As the newborn continued to feed, Queen Raefaline blinked hard and looked at the fighting.
“Are you going to protect us?” she asked Ryo.
“You told me we’d rule together,” he said.
“We’re going to rule nothing if they kill us,” she said.
The baby detached from her breast and began to whimper. The queen cradled him and lightly patted his back. Raefaline looked up at Ryo, her eyes widening. He nodded and gripped his spear tightly before scurrying down the steps. Ryo pushed his way between the guardsmen and swung his weapon at anyone close enough to strike. Within seconds, the paltry insurgence had been reduced to the frail corpses of a half dozen old palace guards and a woman that hadn’t gotten out of the way quickly enough. The rest of the nearby crowd backed off until a single old man remained, down on his knees from a stab wound to the leg, his old robes soaking with blood from his wound and the pools of dead around him.
“Beg for your life from your one and only queen,” Ryo said, looming large over him.
The old man’s face twisted in agony, his skin so whitened that the orange glow of lava shined off him. He locked eyes with Raefaline, his face twisted, but this time with rage.
“I’d prefer death to see a whore queen and her darky lover,” the old man spat.
Ryo speared him through the chest, the old man’s body remaining upright until Ryo pulled his weapon out. The corpse collapsed with a wet thud. The royal guardsmen stomped toward other guards in the throne room, even those who’d made no threatening gestures or yelled no threatening words. One of the guards dropped his spear on the floor; the others followed suit. Ryo called out for his men to stop. The throne room descended into silence again, nearly half of the crowd staying to watch what happened next.
Ryo turned to his queen and bowed. With all eyes back on her—this time, most of those eyes brimming with fear—Raefaline stood on shaky legs.
“I am not a Jonas,” she said, summoning little strength in her voice though it still echoed in the cavernous room. “But I am in charge. It wasn’t long ago I was like many of you, a normal citizen of One. I knew some of you, at least before I was forced into the palace as a teenager to become Edmond’s bride. I know many daughters forced to seek the honor of marrying the king, but I’m certain not a single one of you was jealous when Edmond chose me.”
Queen Raefaline finally focused on one face after another, many of them female, many nodding in sympathy. Most of the men remained confused by her words; Raefaline couldn’t figure out if she pitied their foolishness or hated their ignorance.
“I heard the same whispers all of you heard about Queen Liv’s disappearance. I heard the same rumors of the king’s despicable proclivities. All of it was true. Since our wedding, I’ve been locked in our bedroom, living in constant fear of the king’s physical assaults. I know of no true Lord, but if He does exist, I guarantee He wouldn’t have wanted Edmond Jonas to be the one passing along His word,” she continued, causing faces in the crowd to turn to one another in confusion. “Edmond lied to us about many things, but his only correct assertion ended up being one of his final ones as well.
“Oliver Jonas is just as evil and cruel as his father. He tried to have me killed on several occasions. Once Edmond’s final order to eliminate his son is carried out, we will all work—together—to figure out the best way to run this city. It won’t be easy, and it won’t be quick, and I’ll need the help of everyone here to convince their husbands and sons and all of the guards to allow a peaceful transition of power in a city no longer weighed down by the evils of the Jonas family.”
Queen Raefaline leaned back in the throne, gently bouncing the baby in her arms, hi
s eyes closed as he purred gently, the sound of her voice having put him to sleep. The crowd didn’t burst into cheers or fall upon their knees in thanks for vanquishing the Jonas family, but no hint of resistance remained. One’s citizens at least appeared receptive. When Raefaline requested everyone return to their homes to await their new lives, the crowd dispersed with no further incident.
The queen slumped in her chair, weakened from heat and exhaustion. Ryo hurried to her side, his large hands reaching for the baby. But Raefaline sat up and shook her head, holding the child tighter.
“Haven’t been here for a while,” she muttered. “I didn’t realize how steamy it’s gotten.”
Ryo took a small step back but remained near the queen’s side. He proceeded to bark orders at his men to transport the bodies to the elevator in the QZ. The queen looked up at him, her eyebrows raising.
“If you’re going to rule the city—if we are going to rule—there’s a lot you need to learn about the way things are done,” Ryo said. “First thing we have to fix is our relationship with Above.”
“Above?” Raefaline asked.
“It’s where we send dead bodies and receive—never mind that for now,” Ryo said. “You’ll have time to learn later.”
Once the bodies were dragged out, the remaining guardsmen looked to Raefaline and Ryo for guidance.
“Our kind will no longer be treated as lower-steppe trash,” Ryo told them. “We will all have a hand in ruling, together.”
The queen snorted. “You think we’re all in charge now? That we’re all ruling the city now? Killing Edmond was the easy part, the first step. If we hope to remain in power, we’ll have to proceed cautiously and take advantage of current circumstances.”