28
I unleash the same devastation that forged me.
Khalani stared up at the full moon, wondering if it knew of the violence that would soon spill beneath its watch.
She rubbed her shaky fingers along her arms as a cool breeze cut through her black garments. Khalani kept the cloak over her head, the smallest way she could hide from the world before it judged her darkest deeds.
Even though she firmly believed helping Desert Spring was the right choice, her limbs coiled with unease. Her gaze flickered up the stone wall, to the warriors keeping watch. They couldn’t afford to bring everyone down and raise Ansel’s suspicions.
For their plan to work, they needed all the Sinners to coalesce inside Desert Spring.
She swallowed, watching the few individuals who knew they’d likely die that night. But every one of them volunteered for the job, sacrificing themselves so their loved ones would survive.
But if she failed in her task, their bravery would be for nothing.
Another onslaught of pain struck her head, and she winced, her shoulders caving in.
No. Not again.
Governor Huxley appeared in front of her. She gripped her forehead, trying to dispel the vision, but he grinned.
“You’re choosing the lives of clones over humans. Are you sure that’s the right decision?” he asked.
Khalani shook her head, trying to ignore his sick voice.
The Governor tutted and took a step closer. “You think you’re against me, but what if killing the Sinners is what I want to happen?”
“Leave me alone!
“Kanes.”
The vision of the Governor disappeared.
Khalani turned, her chest heaving as Takeshi emerged from the shadows.
His all-black guard uniform hugged his corded muscles, with two guns strapped to his side and countless blades clipped beneath his vest. He strode forward with unyielding purpose, his gaze shifting from the closed gate to her.
With all the weapons secured to his body and the way his large frame blended in with the night, he looked like a harbinger of destruction.
“You alright?” he asked, frowning at whatever expression shown on her face.
“Fine.” She swallowed, glancing back at where the Governor once stood. He was gone but the Governor’s words remained and she couldn’t help but wonder if they were making a mistake.
“You sure you want to do this?” Takeshi asked again.
Khalani nodded, trying to withhold her panic, but Takeshi stepped closer.
“You can wait in the food hall with Winnie, Derek, and the rest of the families. You’d be safer there.”
“I’m not hiding. You trained me how to fight.”
“I don’t remember.”
“Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen,” Khalani retorted. But when she noticed the haunted look in his eyes, something warred within her. Unable to stop herself, she leaned forward, but a drop hit her nose.
Then her cheek.
They turned their faces to the sky.
The dark clouds opened up, pouring torrential rain. She tilted her head back, closing her eyes because it may be her last time to experience the Earth’s tears.
“I feel like I’ve been here before.”
Takeshi’s distant murmur floated to her, nearly drowning in the rain.
“What do you mean?” she asked, flinching as lightning cracked overhead.
“I saw something. A vision of you running toward me in the rain.” He blinked, lips parting. “Is my mind playing tricks on me again, or did that really happen?”
Khalani couldn’t believe it.
He truly was remembering.
If they survived the night, maybe the lost pieces of Takeshi would finally come home.
“Yes,” she whispered, droplets pouring down her cheeks. “Do you remember anything else?”
“Screams,” he whispered, a muscle in his jaw flexing. “Every night I dream, and all I hear are screams.”
“What do you mean? Who’s screaming?”
“I think it’s me.”
Khalani’s pulse raced, her brows pulling low.
She had no memory of that happening…
“I see them! Coming up on the north wall. Get ready to open the gate!” a voice shouted from above.
“Go, Kanes,” Takeshi ordered, his voice fierce.
She sprinted to the large wheel connected by ropes to the gate. Khalani glanced over her shoulder, but Takeshi had already vanished into the darkness. She could feel him watching her from the shadows, though.
Her hands gripped the wheel as she waited for the signal. Tingles raced up her forearms as she squeezed the wood to keep herself from running.
You can do this.
You can do this.
Seconds stretched to infinity.
The rain didn’t let up. It pummeled her clothes, drenching her. She nearly crouched and covered her head when icy-white lightning zigzagged across the sky.
That’s when she saw it.
Three white blinks from the top of the wall.
Khalani turned the wheel. She gnashed her teeth, the mechanism much heavier than expected. But pure adrenaline raced through her limbs, forcing her to keep pulling and tugging as the gate groaned open.
She tied off the ropes, frantically watching the entrance to the Death-Zone.
She waited.
And waited.
A loud thump echoed nearby. Followed by another.
She jumped back as warriors from the top of the wall crashed to the ground, their bodies riddled with arrows. Tears formed behind her eyes as more men and women fell around her, their lives snuffed in an instant.
In less than a minute, only one figure remained on the wall, hidden from view.
Just as she was about to run, a lone figure appeared at the bottom entrance. The stranger was covered in mud, even his face, and Khalani could only see the whites of his eyes.
She held her breath and cautiously approached with her hands raised. The stranger eyed her with blanket distrust, his hand itching at his side, but he didn’t shoot her. When she was a few paces away, he raised his palm for her to stop.
“Did you follow the rest of Ansel’s commands?” His raspy voice sent shivers down her spine.
“Yes.” She forced herself to remain calm. “They’re in the food hall, like he asked. You need to hurry, though. I need to get back before they notice I’m gone.”
The stranger weighed her words for a moment, cocking his head in an animalistic way as she gnawed on her bottom lip.
He let out a low whistle.
More figures appeared.
Dozens—if not hundreds—of men and women emerged through the gate, armed with spears, guns, and bows.
At the center was Ansel.
She stiffened when he leisurely walked toward her in black fighting gear, with a sharp blade in his left hand and a pistol in the other. He grinned, his yellow teeth flashing.
“So…you uncovered their dirty secret,” he stated, surveying her closely.
“I did.” Khalani lifted her chin. “I now realize they were the ones lying this whole time. But it ends here. There’s no room on this earth for machines—only us.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Ansel smacked his teeth, moving into her personal space. Her skin crawled as he bent closer.
“When this is all over,” he whispered in her ear, “you can help our repopulation efforts.”
Khalani’s fingers twitched, and it took everything inside her not to reach for a knife and slash his throat.
“I’m willing to discuss it,” she said with a short nod. “Just make sure your people don’t attack the blue house in the back. My human friends are in there.”
“As long as they don’t get in our way, we won’t.” He smirked.
Khalani knew he was lying.
Ansel gestured his Sinners forward, the promise of violence and blood transforming their expressions. She stepped back as the horde charged past her, racing toward death. Khalani swallowed, shifting uneasily as they cleared the gate.
Her eyes traced the ground that was slick with more than just rain.
Something terrible flashed across the sky.
“Ansel!” one of the Sinners yelled.
A burning arrow flew from the walls. Everyone glanced up, and she only saw the whites of their shocked eyes before a thick hand encircled her waist and yanked her back.
The flaming arrow hit the oil, setting the whole path on fire.
Terrifying screams blanketed the atmosphere. Dozens of Sinners rolled on the ground, flames licking over their convulsing bodies.
A loud horn blasted, and the hidden Desert Spring warriors roared as they emerged from the shadows, brandishing their weapons.
“Kill them!” Ansel bellowed.
Bedlam erupted as gunshots ripped through the air.
Khalani stared into Takeshi’s eyes, letting the tenacity, heat, and violence buried there ground her. He whipped out his favorite blade and gun, licking his lips as bloodlust transformed his expression.
“One last chance for me to take you from here,” he said.
But when Khalani palmed her gun, he nodded, expecting nothing less.
“Let’s go,” she breathed, running into the fray.
Metal clashed around them, coinciding with the thunder booming over their heads. Charred bodies lay on the ground, and multiple Sinners fought with oozing burn injuries.
One of Desert Spring’s warriors cried out, charging forward with a knife, but he crumpled to the ground as a Sinner blew a hole in his chest.
Even though the fire had weakened Ansel and his people, they were still outnumbered.
One of the Sinners raised his gun, but Takeshi was faster and shot him in the head. Three more rushed them, and Khalani raised her weapon and started firing.
Her hands flinched as their dead bodies fell to the ground.
Through the pouring rain, she stood on her tiptoes, straining to see past the fire, looking for the rest of her family, when a loud whistle drew her attention.
She turned just as a hulking man charged at her, whirling a bloody mace.
Khalani barely ducked as he twirled the sharp weapon inches from her face. But he came swinging again, too fast for her to dodge. Before he could chop her head off, Takeshi threw his body in front of her, blocking the mace with his long blade.
He shoved the man backward and slashed his throat open.
Two Sinners stormed at him, forcing Takeshi to dodge and whip out his other blade for close combat.
Out of the corner of her eye, a glint of metal came slashing down, and she quickly rolled to the right. She straightened just as a girl wielding a scythe swung at her.
Khalani raised her gun, but not quickly enough.
The girl knocked the pistol out of her hand and jabbed the scythe forward.
Khalani jumped back, the sharp metal narrowly missing her gut. She palmed her knife and met the weapon with her own, gritting her teeth as her arms shook.
They circled the weapons down in an arc, and Khalani jutted the blade forward, but the girl turned around, yanking the scythe back down. Before she could duck, the tip of the metal caught her shoulder, and Khalani cried out.
“KANES!”
Takeshi’s bellow reached her ears, and she momentarily glanced over. He was still grappling with one opponent, but his attention was stolen, completely fixed on her. He tried to cut his way to her, but the man he was fighting drove a hard punch into his temple.
Takeshi was so focused on her that he stumbled to the ground.
No.
She whipped her knife, and the girl jumped out of reach, stumbling as she slightly lost her footing. Khalani immediately launched forward, kicking at her unsteady leg—a move she learned from Takeshi—and the girl tripped, falling to the ground.
She prepared to jab the knife into her heart but hesitated at the girl’s terror-filled eyes.
Her knife stilled, not wanting to take that final step.
But the girl grabbed the weapon, swiping it toward her throat. Khalani caught her wrist and plunged the blade down.
Blood bubbled out of the girl’s mouth, the light slowly leaving her eyes as the scythe clattered to the ground.
Khalani stood, searching for Takeshi through the mayhem.
She finally found him.
He overpowered his opponent, knocking the sword free from his hands and slashing his throat. The man gripped his bleeding jugular with wide eyes, choking on his own blood as rain coated him.
She let out a deep exhale when Takeshi straightened, seemingly unharmed. His ruthless gaze scanned the bedlam and tracked her down, his eyes calming amid the burning chaos. He stepped over the choking man and ran toward her, but a figure rose behind him.
“Takeshi, look out!” she screamed as the man lifted a gun, aiming straight at his head.
Takeshi turned too late.