I felt bad for doing it, but I didn’t want to leave anyone alone with him. “Yeah. There’s nothing in here, so you’ll be fine.”
“Really,” Ashton said, “I can stay with him. It’s no trouble at all. Besides, I’m too old to be tromping around in here.”
Michael and Anna looked up at me, willing me to firm up my resolve. Julian looked from Grudge to Ashton, unsure. It was up to me, now.
“No,” I said. “Grudge can wait by the entrance. He’ll be fine.”
“What, you don’t trust me?”
“Honestly, yeah — I don’t trust you. And why should I? You should’ve stayed back in Pyrite with the rest of the gang lords. Sorry if I’m offending you, but that’s just the way it is. I don’t know what your motivations are from coming with us, but we all have to consider that it isn’t as altruistic as you say. Besides, you will slow us down.”
Grudge pointed to Ashton. “And he won’t? Hell, I could make better time than this geezer.”
“Watch it,” Michael said, almost in a growl. “Maybe you are top dog of the Suns, but here Alex is in charge.”
Grudge smirked. “He’s just some kid.”
“I’m in charge, whether you like it or not,” I said. “You’re waiting by the entrance. End of story.”
Grudge met my gaze and held it. I wasn’t going to let this guy boss me around — I didn’t care if he was a gang lord or not.
“Enough,” Ashton said. “Alex is right. Makara put him in charge; therefore, his orders must be adhered to.” Ashton’s blue eyes glanced at Grudge coolly. “You are here, so yes, you have to do what he says.”
Grudge took a step forward. Instantly, Michael and Anna flanked my either side, and Julian put a hand on his gun. Grudge paused.
“You’ll regret this,” Grudge said. “All I want is to help. You’ll see.”
And with that, he turned and stomped off.
“Grudge!” I yelled.
Michael pointed his flashlight into the darkness. Grudge loped along on his good leg.
“Just let him go,” Anna said. “Where does he think he’s going, anyway?”
“I’m not going to leave him here,” I said, going in the direction Grudge had fled. “Grudge, stop!”
The footsteps ahead that had been dragging away stilled. Grudge had stopped.
“Come back,” I said. “We’ll do this together.”
As much as I hated to say that, it was better than him running off from us. Losing him here could have unintended consequences back with the Exodus.
There was no reply. The seconds dragged on, and I suddenly realized how very dark it was.
“Grudge?” Anna called.
“Yeah,” he said, finally. “I think I’m hearing something.”
I motioned the others to follow me forward. A moment later, Michael’s light found Grudge, who stood transfixed, staring ahead.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Quiet,” he whispered. “You’ll hear it.”
We stood still. I heard nothing at all. It was so quiet, I could almost hear my heart beat. Water dripped from somewhere, distant.
I was about to say I heard nothing, but then I heard something.
Voices.
“See?” Grudge whispered, so quiet as to almost be inaudible. “Someone else is here.”
“Survivors,” Michael said. “We might have found the last Bunker left.”
“Let’s not get too optimistic,” Ashton said. “Yes, there might be people. But will they be for us or against us? This adds another layer of complication.”
It certainly did. I had no idea if our best move was contacting them now or trying to be sneakier about it. Or even if the best move was getting the hell out of here.
But I didn’t get the time to decide on any of that. Grudge was off again.
I grabbed him by the shoulder, but he shook me off, and kept going.
“Grudge, stay here!” Michael hissed.
But Grudge wasn’t listening. Michael ran forward, grabbing Grudge by both shoulders and holding him in place. Grudge cried out, his voice echoing throughout the massive chamber. Julian ran forward to assist Michael. Together, they tackled the gang lord to the ground.
“Get off me!” Grudge said.
Finally, Grudge’s eyes went up and met mine. He was like a caged animal.
“Whatever we do,” I said, staring at him, “we do this together. These people could be dangerous, and for all we know they just heard us.”
Grudge gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath, but at least he was being quiet now.
“Can I trust you to not do anything stupid?” I asked.
Grudge stared at me a moment longer, his eyes burning with hatred. “Fine.”
At my nod, Michael and Julian let him go. Grudge stood slowly, brushing off his pants. He was still seething.
“Maybe we should just get out of here,” Anna said, softly. “Come back with a bigger group.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” I said. “The fact that there are others here is big news.”
“Maybe we can contact them by radio,” Julian said. “Not from here, of course, but from Gilgamesh when Makara gets here.”
Yes, Makara would be here soon. It probably was time to be heading back.
“We’ve learned enough,” I said. “Let’s head outside and try to raise Makara. There’s a lot we have to tell her.”
But when I turned around, there was already a man standing there.
Immediately, four guns were raised and pointed at the man as Anna bared her katana. He was a shadow in the darkness. He merely stood, waiting.
“Do you live here?” I asked.
The man remained where he was, but I thought I saw his head nodding.
“Are there others?” Anna asked.
The man said nothing. His lack of answer and the voices we’d heard earlier was confirmation enough.
“We thought this place was abandoned,” I said.
Finally, the man spoke in a deep voice.
“I’m surprised that you didn’t lose your way in the mountains. We never have Outsiders come in.”
I wasn’t going to tell him about Odin or Gilgamesh, or about our mission.
“How many others are there?” I asked.
The man did not answer this, either. “What brings you to Bunker 84? Food? Shelter?”
“We are looking for a place to shelter our group. Bunker 84 is one of the prospects.” The man did not say anything. “How many are living here?”
“Enough to push back the darkness in the world,” the man said.
“I’m sorry…darkness?”
This man was seriously starting to creep me out. I wanted a way out of here only I had to finish speaking to him first.
“Darkness…” the man said. “It is our enemy. And anyone who has been touched by it is our enemy.”
I had the feeling that something bad was going to happen, and soon. I could hear the sound of his breathing, deep. A chill crawled over my skin.
“You see,” the man said. “All of us carry the seed of darkness from birth. And there is no darkness on Earth as great as the human heart. If allowed to take root, it will grow and dominate a person’s thought, life, and intent. Only by believing in the Ascension and the call of the Voice can one free themselves of the grip of darkness — and it is very rarely that men can do so. Women are better, but men are twisted by their desire for power. They do not listen to the Voice from the Great Beyond. So far, I have been the only one.”
“Wait,” I said. “The Voice?”
The man seemed to tense. “You have heard of this?”
I didn’t know whether this man and I were thinking of the same Voice. Ashton stepped in before I could commit any sort of blunder.
“The Voice is nothing to be trifled with,” Ashton said. I guessed he was assuming that the man was talking about Askala.