Ashton flew over the eastern wall. Men watched in amazement as we swooped overhead. In the chaos below, I saw no sign of our friends.
We lowered onto the fields occupying the northern half of the town. We set down, crumpling crops beneath the ship’s landing struts.
We ran off the bridge, me taking the lead. I pulled out my Beretta, stopping by the armory to see if there were other weapons I could use. I slid the door open, revealing various rifles, handguns, grenades, and body armor.
I latched a couple of grenades to my belt, also snatching an AR-15 from the gun rack. I checked the magazine for bullets. It was locked and loaded. I already had additional bullets in my pack for when I needed them.
“Let’s go!” Ashton said, drawing his handgun.
Anna unsheathed her katana in the wardroom, and pressed the exit button to the blast door. It slid open, letting in a rush of cold, fetid air. I nearly gagged at the smell. The thousands of Blighters outside the walls had made this place smell like a garbage heap.
We ran down the ramp and into the flattened wheat crop. The fields appeared to be empty of threats.
That was, until three white eyes stared out from between the stalks.
The crawler let out a primal scream as it shot forward. I lowered my AR against my shoulder, firing a stream of bullets. The crawler screeched and shuddered as it settled into the grain. Its exoskeleton was coated with purple slime. The insect-like corpse twitched, and even though it was dead, its three eyes blinked open and shut. Anna, with a grunt, buried her blade deep into the crawler’s head in the nape of its neck. Its muscles convulsed before it went slack.
“We need to head to town,” Anna said, wiping her blade on the wheat. “Find Ohlan. He’ll know where Makara is.”
We set off south through the fields at a run, Ashton wheezing from behind. We found a wide dirt path leading into town. If there was one crawler inside the wheat fields, there were probably more lurking about. There was an opening somewhere in the walls. Whatever the case, we didn’t have much time.
We entered the outskirts of Oasis. The streets were empty, and the ramshackle wooden and tin buildings creaked in the wind. Inhuman screams sounded from the horde, still separated from us by the fragile palisade.
We ran forward, to where the dirt path forked into two segments wrapping around either side of the oasis for which the town was named. We had a few minutes to find our friends and get out of here. Those dragons wouldn’t be long.
We reached an intersection. A man ran out of a wooden building to our right. He pointed a gun our direction, firing several times.
As we raised our weapons, it became clear the gun was empty of bullets. It just clicked, over and over, as tears ran down his face.
With a wail, the man dropped to his knees. Anna walked forward, placing her blade near the weeping man’s neck.
“Makara. Samuel. Where are they?”
The man continued to wail, uncomprehending.
“Where’s Ohlan?” I asked.
That name seemed to register. The man pointing a shaking finger across the oasis, at a large, rounded building that might have been some sort of meeting hall.
“Thank you,” Ashton said. “Hide somewhere safe.”
We left the crazed man behind and ran around the west side of the oasis. Dozens of shots cracked the air, mostly from the wall. Between the buildings, we got a glimpse of the guards, firing downward into the horde. The piercing wail of a xenodragon carried on the wind from the east, fortunately still distant.
When we reached the other side of the oasis, two crawlers shot forward at a lightning pace from the town’s main drag. Their large mouths were agape and dripping red blood. As we were about to fire, from somewhere in the town came a woman’s scream. Instantly, the crawlers turned from us, and rushed in the direction they had come. It was only a moment later that the woman screamed again, as if in horrible pain.
There was no time to focus on such horror. We kept running, past the main drag. The large building was ahead. Makara and the others needed to be in there; if they weren’t, we didn’t have time to search elsewhere. Above, Orion swooped low over the town as more explosions rocked the east, shaking the ground with their impact.
We arrived in front of the open doorway, and ran inside.
The entire interior was a large circular room with a dirt floor. It was dim, but not impossible to see. At the end of the building, a set of steps led up to a throne. Rows of foldout chairs faced the throne. This might have been a place where meetings were conducted, or sermons given. I remember Samuel having said this place was run like a cult.
“There,” Anna said, pointing to our left.
A set of stairs spiraled downward beneath the building. But in the building’s dimness, she had missed a key detail about that throne.
A man was sitting on it.
Chapter 8
“You bring death to Oasis,” a voice rattled. “I should have killed you in the beginning.”
I walked a few steps forward, pointing my AR-15 at the throne.
“Where are they, Ohlan?”
From outside, screams penetrated the walls. We didn’t have long until these monsters had completely broken through. But first, I had to deal with the monster sitting on this throne.
“Where they should be. They are downstairs, locked in the cell. They were due to be executed this morning, in fact.” He gave a bitter, mad laugh. “It looks like that will be the fate of us all.”
“I should kill you,” Anna said. “But maybe I should let the crawlers do it for me.”
I thought I saw Ohlan shrug in the dimness. “So be it. Death comes for us all, in the end. It is useless to resist.”
“Come on,” I said.
“Mark him, Ashton,” Anna said. “Alex and I will go downstairs.”
Ashton nodded. Anna and I went left, never turning our backs to Ohlan. Slowly, we descended the stairs.
My AR had a battery-powered light on it, which I clicked on. Underground, it smelled of must, mold, and sweat.
“Makara?” I called out. “Samuel? Anyone…?”
“Alex?”
It was Makara — unmistakably Makara. My heart swelled with happiness at hearing her voice.
Everyone else called out. They were all alive.
“We have to hurry,” I said. “You’re locked in?”
“How did you survive?” Samuel asked. “How did you find…?”
“There’ll be time for all that later,” I said. “Right now, we have to…”
“Ohlan has the key,” Michael said. “Did you kill him?”
“No, he’s…”
Already, Anna was turning around, charging up the stairs. I ran up after her. When we surfaced, we found Ohlan, still sitting on his throne, Ashton steadily pointing his handgun at him.
“The key, Ohlan,” I said.
Ohlan gave a small smile. Quickly, he reached downward, pulling on a small, round object that most definitely was not a key.
“Grenade!” I yelled.
The grenade was lobbed to the center of the floor. Ashton backed away for the stairs. I grabbed Anna and pulled her in that direction as well. Ashton tumbled down, falling several steps. I dove inside with Anna in tow. We landed with a thud in the center of the steps just as the grenade split the air, deafeningly loud. Bits of metal shot into the wall, several of the fragments sprinkling onto the steps from above. Several of the sharp edges cut my skin.
I got off Anna, allowing her to get up.
“You alright?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yeah. You?”
“Fine. We have to get that key.”
We walked back up the stairs. We found Ohlan’s corpse lying in the center of the floor, blood pooling around his remains. As we neared, I saw grenade fragments sticking deeply into his skin. The sounds of battle raged outside, reminding me we couldn’t stay here long.