Evolution

Chapter 9

Another hour passed, and we were in the outer stands of trees, scanning the wall of the town. It looked damn near impenetrable. The entire town was situated in a large meadow, and clearings filled with farms surrounded it. On the farms worked hundreds upon hundreds of slaves, growing crops. A road cut through the farms, entering the city by a gate, upon either side of which were two lofty guard towers. The road left the settlement’s other side, veering off and curving into the forest.

That’s the gate Anna had entered, and the one we had been chased out of. They were the only two entrances we could see. In addition, several guards sat upon the three guard towers built into the walls that curved between each of the two gates, making a total of ten guard towers. Each tower had at least one guard in it.

Obviously, the Empire took security very seriously.

“Yeah,” Makara said, “doesn’t look like we’re busting in that place.”

“There has to be a way,” I said. “We’re just not thinking hard enough.”

No one answered me, which was a bit discouraging.

“Would a disguise work?” I asked.

“Where would we get said disguise?” Makara asked.

I pointed toward one of the workers on the field. “Maybe he’ll let us borrow his.”

“Run out in the open and ambush a helpless slave?” Makara sniffed. “No thanks.”

“We could start a fire,” I said.

“Arson’s always a win in my book,” Makara said.

I couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

“A fire would force them out of the town, if it spreads enough,” Samuel said. “That might mean Anna, too.”

“She would still be under protection, though,” Makara said. “Besides, we might end up hurting her.”

“If we wait until nightfall, sneaking in might be easier,” I said.

“Maybe,” Samuel said. “But they probably have that place guarded 24/7.” He paused. “I wonder what they’re keeping in there that’s so important.”

We looked at the settlement longer, watching a caravan of camels leave by the north gate. When twelve camels had left, surrounded by guards and robed merchants, the gates closed once more.

“Not open to any sort of traffic, even in the daytime,” Samuel said. “They always keep the gates closed. Either that’s normal, or they are on lockdown for some reason.”

I looked at Samuel. “Because of us?”

Samuel nodded. “Maybe. They probably thought we were escaped slaves. Or spies from Raider Bluff.”

“That’s right,” Makara said. “We’re technically at war with them.”

“What would spies from Raider Bluff be doing in this Podunk town?” I asked. “Wouldn’t we be in Nova Roma?”

“This place is on the way there,” Samuel said. He pointed toward the road leading out from the left gate. “Follow that road far enough southeast, you’ll end up in Nova Roma. Follow it the other way, it goes all the way up the Mexican coast, through a series of towns for over a thousand miles. Who knows? It might eventually arrive at Raider Bluff itself.”

It seemed mind-boggling that a place like the Nova Roman Empire could exist, thirty years after the fall of Ragnarok. Augustus was obviously both a very well-organized and powerful man. It was hard to see how Raider Bluff could stand a chance against him.

My thoughts turned back to rescuing Anna. Just staring at that town, I couldn’t let her go — not without trying something.

“I don’t think we can break in,” Makara said. “We came here, we searched it out…there is literally nothing we can do.”

My heart sunk. Makara was right. How would we break into that place?

Then, I got an idea.

“The Odin!” I said.

Makara and Samuel looked at each other, confused.

“Alex, they’ll see that thing from a mile away. There’s no chance.”

“Not if we fly it high enough.”

“What are you saying?”

“We could parachute in. Do it at night, when no one can see us. Obviously, it would be just me and Sam. Makara would have to pilot the ship.”

“That…” Makara began. I could tell she wanted to say my idea was stupid. I didn’t care, interrupting her before she could speak again.

“We could learn to parachute,” I said. “It probably isn’t that hard. We have the ship — we can just take it somewhere safe, and practice until we’re good enough to land where we want. Then we can get into the town.”

“Yes,” Makara said. “Even if we did do all that, how would we go about searching for Anna? How would we get out of the town?” She shook her head. “Those parts are pretty important, too.”

Admittedly, they were. “We can figure that out later. Yes, it’s risky, but isn’t Anna worth the risk? How many times would this mission have failed without her?”

Makara and Samuel looked at each other. I could tell they were not saying anything, afraid to let me down. Cold logic said my idea was suicide — even if it was better than all the other ones I had thrown out.

“I know Odin has parachutes on board,” Samuel said. “Unfortunately, none of us have ever used one before. And without anyone to teach us, I won’t risk it.”

“I’m sure there’s instructions on the side.”

Samuel sighed. “Alex, you’re asking that we risk both of our lives for the miniscule chance that we save one. Our mission is to stop Xenofall — and yes, that might involve some losses. I would rescue Anna if there were any chance of success. But this is suicide.”

“I don’t care,” I said, not concerned with how illogical I knew I was being. “I just know that if we don’t try this, we’ll regret it.”

“We won’t have the luxury of regretting anything if we’re all dead,” Makara said.

We said nothing, watching the town. I felt a mixture of anger and depression. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from that town, even if I’d tried. It was my fault that Anna was gone, and there was no way I could live the rest of my life knowing I had done nothing to save her.

Finally, Makara spoke. “Fine. Let’s practice it first.”

I turned to Makara, unbelieving that she had changed her mind. “You mean it, then?”

Makara nodded. “It has to be daylight. And you, Alex…you’re going to be the first one to throw your ass off the ship.”

I wanted to hug her, but I knew there was small chance that she’d be receptive to that. “Done.”

“Hopefully, parachutes can get reused,” Samuel said. “We have a lot of practice to do.” He shook his head. “The fact that I don’t know if parachutes can be reused does not bode well at all.”

I didn’t care about that small detail.  “So, we’re really doing it?”

Samuel sighed, and didn’t say anything for a long moment.

“I don’t like to leave anyone behind. We can go back to Odin and see if it’s even a feasible option.”

“What about Ashton?” Makara asked.

Samuel hesitated. “He won’t like it. But spending a few days just to see if this could work isn’t a small price to pay when it means getting Anna back.”

“Exactly,” I said.

“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this,” Makara said.