30
I shout for help, but the words keep flying away on invisible wings.
“Khalani, are you ready?”
Serene’s voice cut through the dim haze.
Khalani stared out the gray window, the same spot she’d been standing in the last few hours. Takeshi had carried her all the way back to the house like a thief in the night. He’d sat with her on the couch, holding her in his protective arms while she sobbed.
At some point, every tear had drained from her face, and Khalani sat completely still, numb and cold like a statue.
But statues had beauty. She was twisted and gnarled inside, like a rotting tree had branched from her heart. Blood stained her skin and clothing. Even if she scrubbed her body until her skin was raw, the stench of so many deaths would remain.
And Elise…
Another tear escaped. Maybe the Chief was wrong and that picture in the library represented the truth she never wanted to face.
Maybe the monster really was her.
“Khalani.”
Serene’s hand settled on her shoulder, turning her away from the window. “It’s time,” Serene croaked in a soft voice, trying to hide her sniffling.
Khalani finally made eye contact, sensation returning to her limbs as she gently nodded. They made their way outside, entering a chilling dawn. A gloomy mist hung over the air, like the earth was coating them in a blanket of spent tears.
The road was desolate, the town completely empty. But when they reached to the center of Desert Spring, she found out why.
A massive pile of bodies lay in the training ground, both Desert Spring warriors and Sinners alike. The remaining survivors gathered in a large circle.
Women cried.
The men’s grim faces hardened, like they’d never smile or know joy again.
She spotted Takeshi and Brock throwing bodies onto the bloody pile. Takeshi’s left arm was wrapped in a thick white bandage, but he didn’t slow or complain.
He transferred the dead like it was something he had to do.
She wondered if it weighed on him.
The burden of taking a life.
He carried the pressure well. But Khalani recognized the suffering in his eyes. The twinge of misery he hid so that others wouldn’t see the softest heart that dwelled inside.
Khalani’s throat felt like it was clamping up when Patreus’s lifeless body was thrown onto the pile. She thought he hated them the entire time. But even in the midst of his disdain, Patreus had died protecting them.
And when Takeshi and Brock picked up Elise’s small frame, Khalani’s legs shook. Serene and Winnie immediately wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her steady.
Before they loaded her body onto the pile, she croaked out, “Wait.”
They turned, faces tight with confusion as they lowered her body to the ground.
Khalani silently walked over.
Elise’s face was paler than she’d ever seen it, almost blue. Her mouth was slightly parted, and her eyes were still half-open. But her expression wasn’t filled with terror. She looked oddly at peace.
Khalani hated it. Every second.
Not even the sun pierced through the gray clouds as she knelt by Elise, her broken, silent apologies escaping with the cool wind.
The silver ring around Elise’s finger caught her attention. The one that said ‘Prometheus Inc.’ on the back.
It belonged to her father and was her most prized possession. Something told Khalani that she shouldn’t leave it behind.
Moving in a daze, she carefully slid the ring off Elise’s cold finger.
The weight rested in her pocket as Takeshi and Brock gently deposited Elise’s body with the rest. At the Chief’s order, Desert Spring’s warriors finally lit the pile on fire. The burning ash and flames rose high in the sky, and Khalani committed the harrowing sight to memory.
And when Penny wiped away her tears, her tanned face was set with renewed determination as she asked them to follow her.
Serene and Winnie flanked Khalani on either side, like they were afraid she’d crumble to the ground any second. Derek had his arm around Adan, his red-rimmed eyes sunken in. Brock and Takeshi took the rear, watching over them all.
Penny led them to the northeast section of the city, and Khalani’s eyes widened at the sprawling field of crops, something she’d never thought she’d see except for beneath the surface.
But Penny kept walking toward a barn near the wall.
“I did a lot of thinking last night,” the Chief said, halting in front of the red building. “About my life before the Great Collapse. What we’ve built here. Everything I’ve lost to try and make this world a better place.”
Silence descended as Penny took a deep breath and faced them.
“Father always said that humans were the worst kind of creatures. That the world was better off without their everlasting stain. And for the longest time, I believed him. But you all had every chance to leave and save yourselves, but you didn’t.
You risked everything to help us. I know better than anyone that nothing can replace the life you lost. But in this way, I can try and help. ”
Penny nodded at Ferren, who unlatched the barn doors, revealing a large, dusty black truck inside.
They drew back in shock as the Chief placed her hands on her hips, her eyes locking on Khalani. “You want answers about why your picture was in our library. I don’t have them. But I know a place that might.”
She pulled out a rolled set of papers.
“This is a map that will lead you to the lab we were created in. The building is hidden inside an old military base in California. It’s a five-hour drive toward the Mojave Desert.”
Khalani’s brows rose at the name. California. A state she’d been told was demolished in the Collapse.
But maybe that was a lie too.
“You should have enough corn ethanol for the round trip,” Penny added. “And a couple extra barrels in the back.”
“You’re giving us the vehicle?” Derek asked, stunned.
“Well, we want you to bring it back, but Desert Spring has others that we’ve fixed up,” Penny said, handing the map to Derek. “This will lead you straight to the lab. I’ll leave you alone to discuss what you want to do.”
The seven of them crowded closer as Derek unfurled the map, revealing a large red circle drawn at the center. But when Khalani narrowed her gaze at the two words written in plain text, she cupped her open mouth.
“Khalani?” Serene frowned at her. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ll be damned. That’s it,” Winnie whispered.
“That’s what?” Brock snapped.
Prometheus Incorporated. Those were the two words listed on the page.
The path starts at Prometheus.
They’d finally found Timothy Talbot’s last given mission. The secret to finding out what Project Helix truly was.
But what would Khalani’s picture have to do with Prometheus?
Alexander Huxley’s sadistic smile flashed in her mind, and she took a couple steps back, bumping into Takeshi, who was posted behind her. His tall frame encompassed her vision as he gazed down at her with burning black eyes, so different from the Governor’s.
“Prometheus? Isn’t that the place you told me to investigate, Winnie?” Adan asked.
Winnie nodded with a wild gleam in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, Winnie finally explained to the others the significance of Prometheus and Project Helix, but Khalani was barely listening, unable to erase the sickening vision of the Governor from her mind.
“But how are we supposed to trust a vehicle that runs on corn?” Brock asked, not hiding the indignation in his voice.
“It’s a different type of gas, but it will work,” Derek insisted. “I helped ferment it.”
“Even so, we don’t have time to be traipsing off to California. We need to meet up with Jack and the rest of the Aces.”
“But if it’s only a five-hour drive, we can be back in a day,” Serene argued.
Brock’s prolonged glare slid her way, not convinced.
“You still have the walkie, right? Call Jack. See how far out they are.”
“I don’t want to waste the battery.”
“You can call them for one minute.” Serene rolled her eyes.
“I agree with Serene,” Derek added.
Brock muttered under his breath and pulled out the walkie. He raised the antenna and adjusted the frequency.
“Come in, Jack. This is Brock, over.”
A disjointed voice emitted from the walkie, but the words kept cutting out. “Th—es—ak. Rea—er.”
“Say again?” Brock leaned in.
“This is Jack. We read you, over.” Jack’s voice finally came through, and they let out a collective sigh.
“It’s good to hear your voice,” Brock breathed. “Did you make it out of the city?”
“We had some equipment hiccups, but we’ve made significant ground on the journey. We’ll meet you at the rendezvous point on the third pass of the sun.”
Three days. With a vehicle, that was definitely enough time for them to reach Prometheus and head to Apollo.
The slick anticipation surged through their group, but Brock remained calm and focused. “Copy. We’ll be there.”
“Were you able to pick up your scientist?” Jack asked.
“Yes, we got him.”
“Everyone else crossed the Death-Zone safely?”
The pressing question filled the air. None of them could look at each other. Especially Khalani.
Her gaze descended to the ground, the same ground that cradled Elise’s dying weight.
“We lost one.” Brock swallowed. “Elise.”
Jack didn’t speak for a long time.
She’d suspected that Jack and Elise had known each other in Hermes, long before she’d arrived. The pain was tangible over the speaker as he finally found his voice.
“I’m sorry to hear that. She was—” Jack coughed, as if he were concealing a deeper emotion. “She was a good kid. And she’d want us to finish this. You make sure to bring back everyone else safe.”
“I will,” Brock promised, his voice firm.
When he cut the call, Khalani still stared at the floor as Elise’s face haunted her, replaying the moment she let the knife go.
“Khalani.”
She lifted her head in surprise. It was the first time Adan had spoken to her since the previous night. His expression was similar to when she’d first arrived in Braderhelm Prison.
Present but not really. Alive…but not really.
“What happened to Elise wasn’t your fault,” he stated, a spark lingering in his eyes.
“She chose to come with us of her own free will. We all accepted the risks, and even though I didn’t have the privilege of knowing her long,” his lower lip trembled, I believe that if she could go back in time, she’d do it all over again.
I don’t care what that picture showed or where you come from.
We’re in this together. So, if you need to go to California and find answers before we end it all in Apollo, I’m right behind you. ”
She waited for someone to refute his words. To yell that it was her fault. That she was a failure and probably not even human.
But they didn’t grant her demons validation or ammunition.
The dark voices in her head were slowly silenced as every single person stared at her with understanding, empathy, and…love. As if Adan’s words were an extension of what they’d known from the very beginning.
And even though Khalani was terrified of facing the truth, she stared into the eyes of her family, realizing that no matter what happened, she wouldn’t be left alone.
Maybe that was love’s greatest gift.