No one said much of anything after that. I lay down and wrapped myself in my blanket, thinking on what he had told me.
It all hinged on me. What did that mean? And I had to
I only hoped it wouldn’t be my life.
Chapter 12
When we awoke the next morning, the Wanderer was gone. He must have left sometime in the night, but his words had remained. The blanket I had loaned him was left behind, folded neatly on a nearby rock.
Everyone worked to break camp quickly, packing the Recon with purpose. Anna seemed distant, so I decided to see what was up.
“You alright?”
She paused after spreading the ashes of last night’s fire. “It’s nothing.”
“Nothing always means something, right?”
She looked at me with a mixture of annoyance and softness. “That man told me something. I guess I can’t tell you what it is, since he told me not to…”
She sighed, and I waited for her to go on. She said nothing more.
“Whatever it is, we’ll get through it, right?” I asked.
She smiled sadly. “I hope so. It wasn’t good news, I’m afraid.”
“You’ve got me worried.”
Anna looked toward the Recon. Everyone else was already getting in. Makara turned on the engine and it roared to life in the thin mountain air. The headlights clicked on.
“Time to go,” Anna said.
Makara honked the horn, and leaned out the window. “You two, hurry up! We’re burning daylight.”
We went to the Recon, and got into the cab. I looked over at Lisa. She stared out the window as if it were her life’s mission.
Everyone was quiet and contemplative. Both Anna and Lisa on either side of me had dozed off. Makara kept the Recon on a steady course east. The blackened, dead trees on either side of us looked gloomy in the red early-morning light. The ground was bare, bereft of any life. Above the clouds churned, holding more dust than rain. The scene was depressing.
Makara navigated the rocky, dry earth slowly. It sloped downward. Ahead lay a wide, desert vista, rocky, filled with dune and mountain. A thin line, barely discernible, marked the highway that headed east. In the far distance the sky was a bit brighter, but the sun was still too weak at this hour to force much of its light through.
Samuel pored over the map, his eyes squinting in concentration.
“How’s your arm holding up?” I asked.
“Much the same,” he said, without taking his eyes off the map. “Feels the same as yesterday.”
Makara said nothing, concentrating on the path ahead of her.
“Get on the highway?” she asked.
“That would be easiest,” Samuel said. “At this rate, we’ll be on it in a few minutes.”
Anna turned from the window. “The highway should take you the rest of the way there.”
Anna’s words reminded me of the fact that she would not be with us much longer. We still had the rest of the day, and part of tomorrow, before she was gone.
“Are you sure you’ll make it back alright on your own?” I asked.
She looked at me pointedly. “I can handle myself. Besides, my odds of making it back are far better than yours.”
She had a point. I decided to hold my peace, though somehow the prospect of her leaving felt wrong.
The next few hours passed in silence. Everyone was tired, and Samuel and Makara were intent on navigating the Recon. Anna had not been out this far before, so her guess was as only good as theirs. Though she no longer knew the way, she decided to stay until the Great Blight.
Ahead were two great rocks the highway passed between. Makara went through the gap.
It was upon leaving the other side that something big pummeled the side of the Recon.
The Recon spun out, and Makara slammed on the brakes. When the Recon came to a standstill, we were facing the direction we had come from.
That’s when we saw them.
Several creatures shot in front of the Recon. They were low to the ground, pink, and had many scuttling legs. They had long faces with snakelike white eyes, and looked like a cross between a lizard and a serpent.
“Crawlers,” Anna said.
Makara floored the accelerator — as she did, two of the things sailed through the air toward the windshield, their long bodies wriggling back and forth while in the air. Makara spun to the right, the crawlers slamming into the Recon’s side.
“The turret!” Samuel yelled. “Get to the turret!”
I forced myself up, trying not to crash from all the bumps. I made it to the ladder in the cargo bay and hauled myself up. Hitting the cold desert air was a shock. I snapped the gun into position, and clicked the safety off.
Those crawlers moved fast. There were four of them, and they easily matched the Recon in speed. They scurried across the ground, their forms a blur.
In the far eastern distance, a line of pink and purple mountains edged along the horizon. Pink and purple… we were nearly there. The border of the Great Blight.
I fired, hitting one of the monsters. It gave a wretched squeal as it tumbled from its own velocity, sliding and rolling through the dirt to its death.
Lisa popped up next to me, aiming her gun upward.
“Need a hand?”
I didn’t answer as I started firing at another one. This one dodged my bullets, but Lisa was already aiming. Within seconds, she found her mark. She fired, the sound so loud that it temporarily deafened me. I saw the monster crash and roll over like the other one had.
The remaining two backed off. In tandem, they slowed down, allowing the Recon to get away. In the distance, the mountains were slightly larger, glimmering in the late morning light.
“Looks like they’re giving up,” I said.
They sped up again, running insanely fast.
“Watch out!” I said, taking aim.
They took to the air, sailing through it, their long mouths open and revealing razor-sharp teeth. They crashed on top of the cargo bay, their paws sticky and clinging to the metal. They scuttled toward us like insects. I fired, blasting one of the snakelike things off the Recon. It flew into the air and crashed into the dust.
The other was close. It was nearly on top of me and Lisa. Its mouth widened, discharging a rancid stench from within.
The crawler struck, its nasty paws pinning me to the top of the Recon as Lisa retrieved a knife. The thing smelled of decay and rot — thick purple ooze dripped down its slimy skin.
My arms grappled its neck — but the thing had a lot of strength I hadn’t counted on. Its mouth neared my neck.
“Kill it!” I yelled.
But the crawler, with its rear legs, kicked Lisa, causing her to sprawl over the gun. It was just me and the monster.
That’s when Anna showed up, her katana flashing. With a scream, she severed the monster’s head from its torso, sending a spray of purple ooze gushing from its neck. I jerked to avoid it, and it missed me by inches. The head rolled off the side and crashed onto the ground.
