Extinction (27 page)

“That’s true,” I said. “And it doesn’t stop Xenofall from coming.”

“I guess all we can do,” Anna said, “is stop Askala and try to figure out the rest later.”

Knowing that the Secrets were safe with the
Elekai
didn’t change anything about what I had to do. Like the Wanderer, I had to take control of Askala, probably by giving up my life, just as the Wanderer had. But like the
Radaskim
dragons, would that only open the door to her redemption, or would it save her entirely? That answer remained unclear.

Quietus emerged from the pool, walking onto the shoreline. His form dripped pink ichor. He didn’t look any different, besides the eyes. They were still white, but not so empty.

I am...Elekai.

The other dragons emerged from the pool. As they lined up along the shoreline, Askal’s voice resounded in my head.

Well done.

I don’t feel like I did much.

We will show our new sisters our home, and they will learn all there is to know about being
Elekai.

Wait. Sisters?

Yes – did you not know? They are the daughters of Askala. We are the sons of Elekim. But the dragons are all of one kind.

All this time, I’d thought of the
Radaskim
as males.

Elekim? He is...

Yes. He was the Wanderer. But now,
you
are Elekim, little human.

I didn’t know how I felt about that. There was no way I could fill the Wanderer’s shoes. I did not know as much, and to know as much as he did would change who I was. I didn’t
want
to change, but it was inevitable.

Your friends are coming,
Askal thought.
Enter the pool, and it will carry you to meet them.

“It’s time to go,” I said to Anna. “The dragons have found their home.”

She nodded. “We’re done then?”

“Yeah. We’ve done all we could.”

The current bore us away from the dragons, taking us through the
Elekai
caverns. We twisted through tunnels and openings, until at last we reached the familiar shoreline, the one with the tunnel that would lead to the exit. We left the ichorous lake behind and strode up the spiral tunnel, until we reached the door, enclosed with the roots of the Xenolith. The roots pulled back upon my touch, revealing the glowing alien fields that shone in the night.

We stepped into the warm air, to find
Perseus
parked about a hundred feet away. A moment after our exit from the Xenolith, people streamed off board to meet us. I couldn’t discern who they were in the darkness.

At last, we met halfway there. It was Ashton, Makara, Samuel, Julian, and Char.

“The dragons?” Makara asked.

“They are
Elekai,
now.”

“Bunker 84?” Anna asked.

“Michael, Lauren, and Ruth are keeping it safe,” Makara said. “Everything seems to have actually...stabilized.”

This had never been the case. We had been running like rats in the maze, just trying to reach the end. We had arrived at a place of relative peace, and the only thing left to be done was...

“It’s almost time, isn’t it?”

Ashton nodded. “We will have the final council on Skyhome. As soon as we are ready...the attack will begin.”

It wasn’t long, now. In a few days, it would all be over. Our last gamble. Finally, we had everyone on our side – Reapers, the Empire, and the New Angels. We even had the strongest of the
Radaskim
dragons converted to the
Elekai
cause. All that remained was the final battle, and that could only be decided at Ragnarok Crater.

P
erseus
lifted off a few minutes later. Our course was Skyhome, which we hadn’t seen since we left for the Empire what seemed ages ago.

Over the next few days, every leader of the Wasteland resistance would be gathered here. Meanwhile, the people in Bunker 84 would be relocated to Los Angeles.

I would be out of action for a few days – Anna and I were to wait here as the others worked to transport Bunker 84’s residents to Los Angeles. Makara said I needed the rest, but really, who didn’t? All this was just to keep me out of action, safe for a short while. When I pointed this out to Anna, she actually agreed with Makara.

It was only for a couple of days, so I agreed. Besides, the break would be nice.

By the second day, though, I was starting to get restless. I ran around the Outer Ring, at distances and speeds far greater than a few months ago. I felt I could run forever, if I wanted to. Anna worked out with me as well. We did pretty much everything together. Anna was basically a glorified babysitter, making sure I didn’t get too bored or restless before everyone else arrived.

I’d often stand in the observation deck in the Outer Ring. Surrounded by the manifold plants and crops that grew there, I’d watch Earth pass by. Each time I saw North America, it was the same story. The Great Blight had grown to dominate almost all of the Continental United States. Before, it had just been the central U.S. – but now that pink fungus stretched from sea to shining sea. Just a thin sliver of coastline remained free of Blight, on the eastern and western seaboards, and also along the Gulf Coast. I wondered if there was something about the sea that
stopped
the xenofungus.

“There
you are.”

I turned to see Anna approach. She had just showered, and her long black hair was damp.

“Looking for me?”

“Maybe.”

She smiled and came to stand by me. We watched the Earth pass in silence. The cloud cover was too thick for me to tell where it was.

“Is this where you go to contemplate the end of the world?” she asked.

“I thought the world already ended.”

“You know what I mean.”

I grabbed her hands, pulling her close. There was a bench, facing the windows for Earth-viewing. I led her there, and we sat. While I sat, she leaned against me, resting her head on my shoulder.

This was the first real chance we had to be together without worrying about survival. We had these two days, at least, before...

“Don’t talk about it,” Anna said.

“How did you know I was...?”

“I felt your body tense up,” she said. “Just...don’t talk about it. If I could, we’d go down
there.”

She pointed, where the port gave a view of a dazzling, azure sea, pockmarked with green islands.

“The tropics?” I asked.

“Somewhere that’s not so cold,” she said. “That was my dream; after all this ended, we could get everyone to move somewhere far away from the Wasteland. Somewhere safe, somewhere beautiful, so we could forget the ugliness we grew up with. Maybe, with time, we could all heal.” She sighed. “Everything changed when that Wanderer came around.”

“You really don’t like him, do you?”

“I know it’s not his fault. He just had the misfortune of giving bad news.” She sighed. “Here we are, talking about it.”

“It’s alright,” I said.

She leaned further into me. I wished there was a way for me to take her worry and put it on myself. I didn’t have that power, though.

I caressed her shoulder, and she closed her eyes. We sat like this, for a while, long enough to watch the Earth pass three times. When the third rotation was over, I touched Anna on the shoulder.

“Hey.”

“Hmm?”

I waited a moment, to make sure she was really listening.

“I know we said not to talk about it. But...you’ll still be there with me, at the end?”

She turned to look at me. “What are you thinking? Of course I will. Even if I die.”

I felt a chill at those words. Yes, this was our final battle. People would die, most likely. But Anna...I couldn’t let her die. I would do
anything
to keep her alive.

“Just...I don’t want you to die,” I said. “There’s no reason for you to.”

“Alex, I’m going with you, and that’s final. If
you
don’t stay alive until the end, what’s the point of any of this?”

It was a good question, one which I couldn’t answer. Finally, I nodded.

“Alright. We’ll both go.”

“And anyone else who wants to,” Anna said. “We’ll need everyone down there if we’re to make it.”

I pulled Anna upward, until she was sitting in my lap. She faced me, wrapping her legs around my torso, keeping her eyes on me.

“We have a few days, Alex,” she said. “Let’s enjoy life, while it’s here to be enjoyed.”

She kissed me, deeply and passionately. I held her close.

“Anna...” I said.

She pulled back, looking at me. “What?”

The Outer Ring turned, and once more, the Earth came into view. There were no clouds. Only a shining blue sea.

“I...”

I was about to ask her a question that I’d been thinking about for a while – something that had only been in my dreams, since it could never be reality. But if I only had a few days left of life, then I needed to ask her.

Maybe it
could
be reality. If I could live in a dream, let it be for a few more days.

“Anna...this is going to sound crazy, but...”

I paused. I couldn’t stop now. I couldn’t deny what I felt, despite everything we had to go through.

“I want you to marry me.”

Her jaw dropped open. She looked at me, in disbelief of what I had just asked. My heart pounded; I was unbelieving myself. Had I
really
just opened myself up to look like a fool like this?

I waited for her to say no, that it was the stupidest thing that anyone had ever asked her.

“I...” she started. She still looked into my eyes. “Are you serious?”

“Anna,” I said. “I need you by my side. I need you as my wife.”

“Alex, how is that supposed to work? We’d be married for less than a week!”

“I can only tell you what I feel. I love you – deeply. I...want to be married to you. I want to be close to you, as close as I can ever be.”

Anna just looked at me, still in shock.

“I would say yes, but...how could we be married for just a few days? Doesn’t that just make it more painful?”

“I understand if you say no. It’s...asking a lot.”

Anna grew quiet. She didn’t remove herself. She laid her head on my shoulder, and held me.

“I love you, Alex. Even...even if this doesn’t happen, I just want you to know that. You’ve sort of dropped a bomb on me. You can’t expect me to answer without thinking about it.”

“I know,” I said.

She pulled back, looking into my eyes. I knew she would say no, in that moment. She was distancing herself from me. She would still help me, in the end, but why would she add to that pain of it by saying yes?

“Alex...let’s do it.”

I looked up at her, almost in disbelief. I wasn’t sure if I’d heard her right.

“What? Really?”

“Love is enough, isn’t it?” she asked. “Who cares about anything else? Maybe...maybe this could have a happy ending. I know it’s stupid to think that, but if I’m in love, I have a good excuse to be stupid.”

“It’s not stupid. I think.”

“So, we’re really going through with this?”

I nodded. “I’m serious.”

She smiled. “Okay. When?”

“I’ll let everyone know when they get up here. We’ll set up something small.”

She laughed. “They’ll think we’re crazy.”

“Except that we
are
crazy. I’m serious, though.”

Anna smiled. “I know. I am, too.”

“Good.”

“Well...now that we’re engaged, what should we do?”

I shrugged. “Don’t know. I’m kind of hungry.”

“Ugh. That’s an Alex answer.”

“Aren’t those the best kind?”

“Maybe.”

“Are you saying
you’re
not hungry?”

Her brow furrowed, as if in deep thought. “Yeah. I guess I am.”

Anna didn’t move. She held on to me tightly, as if pinning me to the bench.

“But give me a kiss, first.”

I pulled her close, pecking her on the lips.

“Like you
mean
it. Like you want to marry me.”

I kissed her deeply, strongly.

“That’s more like it,” Anna said. “I
guess
we can go eat, now.”

“After that, we’ll let everyone know.”

***

W
e let the crew know about our decision later that day when they updated us on how things were going below.

“You
what?”
Makara asked.

“It’s true,” Anna said. “We want to get married.”

Shocked silence was the only answer from the other end. I had no idea what they were thinking.

“When?” Samuel asked.

“We were thinking as soon as you guys got up here,” I said. “It wouldn’t have to be anything major, so that it wouldn’t distract from the mission...”

“We’ll do it,” Makara said. “It would be good for morale, and a great way for everyone to let off a little steam.”

Anna and I looked at each other. She was holding back laughter from the way Makara put it.

“One word,” Michael said. “Party.”

“Michael!” I said. “Didn’t you realize you were there.”

“Now you do, I guess,” Michael said. “Congrats, buddy! How’d you pop the question?”

I was thrilled that everyone was so enthusiastic about it. I thought they’d think I was crazy.

“It’s been something I’ve been thinking about for a while,” I said. “We were just watching the world pass by and the time seemed right.”

“Where’d you find a ring?” Julian asked.

“Er...what?”

“Tell me you got her a ring, Alex.”

Was I missing something? Getting a ring seemed a little old-fashioned. The only rings you could get these days were off the fingers of dead people, of whom Jade was a case in point. I definitely wasn’t going to give Anna one of that greaseball’s rings.

“Don’t listen to them.” It was Ruth. “It’s the commitment that counts.”

“Yeah, I don’t really care, either,” Anna said. “It didn’t even cross my mind.”

“We’ll whip something up for you, buddy,” Michael said. “Don’t worry about a thing.”

I was honored, and humbled, that everyone was already celebrating. I didn’t think it would be that big a deal, but apparently, it was. Everyone seemed truly happy about it, which was more than I could wish for.