Evolution

snapping as it neared us.

That was when the roar of an engine from above deafened us, sending us all to the ground. It was Gilgamesh. A blinding light flashed on, causing the crawlers to screech in pain. The dragon still kept going forward, terribly close.

Gilgamesh’s twin machine guns then opened up, deafening and thunderous. Lines of bullets entered the dragon’s body, causing it to scream in pain. I turned on my back, to watch the creature standing above us. Its body shook and convulsed as the bullets entered its chest, its neck, its hideous face. It opened its mouth to scream, but nothing came out. It started to fall forward.

“Out of the way!” Samuel yelled.

We crawled forward as fast as we could, the creature falling into the spot we had just vacated.

The crawlers, on their multiple legs and with white orb eyes, looked upward at Gilgamesh, hissing angrily. Then, they turned on us.

As Gilgamesh lowered itself to land, the crawlers charged for us in tandem. I could do nothing but dodge the first one as it tore past me, right for Anna. Anna fell to the ground, the creature looming over her. She skewered it with her katana, quickly pulling it out of its stomach and rolling aside before it could fall on her.

Samuel and Julian attacked the other crawler. Samuel kept his gun pointed at its front, distracting it while Julian swung around. Julian leapt onto the body. The creature turned, as if to swat off a fly. Julian tumbled to the ground, but it gave Samuel the opening he needed to fire on the creature’s gut. Samuel emptied his entire clip as the creature screamed, again and again. Anna rushed forward, dealing the final death blow by slashing a deep ex on the monster’s abdomen. The crawler screeched again as its entrails burst from the wound, spilling onto the ground.

Behind us, Gilgamesh alighted on the ground, boarding ramp extending.

We rushed up the ramp and into the open door. As the door shut behind us, we lifted off from the mists and into the night sky.

It was time to go after Makara.

Chapter 21

We ran to Gilgamesh’s bridge, finding Ashton intent on the controls and white hair wild.

“You got here just in time, old man,” I said.

Ashton turned his head, blue eyes wide. “You kids have got my blood pumping! I had to dodge three of those things just to get here…”

He saw Anna, for the first time. He smiled. “Good to see you with us, Miss Bliss. Now, if we can just get out of here…” He frowned. “Where’s Makara?”

“Down there,” I said.

“What? You left her behind now?”

“We had no choice,” Samuel said. “She was injured in the Coleseo, and she is in the hospital. Augustus is holding her hostage until we bring you to him.”

“Like hell you’re bringing me to that bastard! We need to get to Makara!”

Ashton turned the ship, facing the city. “If we can find a spot to land, you guys can get there on foot.”

“With those…things…flying around?” Julian asked.

“They’re dragons,” I said.

“No,” Anna said. “They’re not.”

“Well, whatever they are, I think I lost them back in the clouds…”

“Maybe not,” Samuel said, pointing.

Shadowy shapes of wings descended, not for us, but for the city of Nova Roma.

“The invasion picked a hell of a time to spread to the Empire,” Ashton said. He looked at Julian. “Where’s the hospital?”

“Well, from the sky it will be difficult to find, but if you could land in Central Square…”

“Central Square, then,” Ashton said. “Find something to hold onto, kids. Things are going to get dicey.”

We rocketed forward, having to hold to the sides of the ship as we descended toward the city. There were at least two of those things flying around, causing chaos.

“Maybe those dragons will change Augustus’s opinion about things,” I said.

“Stop calling them dragons!” Anna said.

“Why? That’s what they are.”

“It’s so unoriginal. Surely you can think of a better name.”

“This isn’t relevant,” Ashton said. “I guess the meeting went poorly?”

“Yeah,” Samuel said. “But he wants to use the Xenos as an excuse to conquer the rest of the Wasteland.”

Ashton sniffed. “It doesn’t surprise me. I was right to keep him out of Bunker One.

At least you got some good intel out of him.” Ashton focused more intently on the controls. “We’re getting close, now.”

“Just land us in Central Square, and fly off again,” Julian said. “That would probably be the easiest.”

“And how will I find you again?” Ashton asked.

“We have flares, right?” Samuel asked.

“Yes, there should be some in the ship’s armory.”

“I’ll get one,” Anna said, rushing off the bridge.

“When you have Makara, get to the hospital roof and shoot the flare,” Ashton said. “Night like this, I’ll be able to see it easily.”

As we passed over the city walls and descended, some of the dragons veered course to come our way. At least three of them were flying toward us at full speed.

Anna rushed back onto the bridge. “You better hurry up!”

“Hold on to your britches, girlie,” Ashton said. “We’re in for a rough landing. You find the flare?”

Anna nodded, holding up a flare gun. My stomach did a flip when the ship suddenly descended. Gilgamesh plopped on the square awkwardly, scuttling a few times before coming to a stop.

“I can lose them in the clouds,” Ashton said. “Get your butts out of here!”

“Follow me,” Julian said.

We ran off the bridge, down the corridor, and out of the ship. As soon as we cleared the boarding ramp, Gilgamesh thundered toward the sky. A roar sounded from above. One of the dragons was diving for Gilgamesh. Ashton, with a slick sideways maneuver, dodged the blow as he blasted for the skies.

But we had our own troubles to deal with. Several guards rushed from the palace gates, staring upward in disbelief as Gilgamesh shot away with several xenodragons in tow.

“Does xenodragon work?” I asked.

“That’s even worse.”

“Come on!” Julian said. “It’s this way!”

Julian’s voice snapped the guards to attention. The lead guard yelled in Spanish, sending his cronies after us. Thankfully, none of them had guns. The Empire was so big that likely not everyone in its army had the privilege of owning a firearm.

We saved our ammo, instead rushing ahead across the square. It had completely emptied. The city was a ghost town with all its inhabitants hiding indoors.

Anna took her handgun, aiming it backward to fire a few times. The guards took the warning, stopping them in their tracks.

“Nos dejen en paz!” Julian shouted. “Guarden sus familias!