I have a hard time falling asleep on the hard ground, so I go into the Morrigan vehicle to see if I can locate any frequencies. Braxton is sitting on the driver’s side, adjusting one of the controls on the screen. He looks up as I sit down on the passenger side, then goes back to his tasks.
“Find anything?”
“No,” he responds in a frustrated tone.
“Why don’t you try and get some sleep? I’ll check the receiver.”
He looks up at me, contemplating my offer, but declines, so the two of us stay awake all night, locating no transmissions.
“Jagger told me why you let me come along.”
Braxton doesn’t respond.
“Was any of it true?”
He hangs his head down, then looks out the window. “Yes,” his responds in a remorseful tone. “I’m tired of the constant change in power. The High Ruler always threatening the people with persecution or death, even his own citizens, not just the Laics. It doesn’t matter who’s in power, they all act the same. I think the Antaeans are more than soldiers to protect the cities. I’ve always hoped they were to protect the people.”
We sit in silence the rest of the night. Our convoy leaves just as the sun rises.
After two hours, we come across an old set of shuttle rails running along the ground. We change direction and begin to head straight west, using the rails as a guide. I doze off periodically, my head hitting the doorframe every so often as we go over large divots in the ground. My eyes barely open as we come upon a brown, barren field. I notice rocks no bigger than five inches placed on the ground about two feet apart, spreading far back into the field.
“Stop,” I yell to Braxton.
He radios Tobin to stop and places the Morrigan vehicle in park. I open my door, step down, and walk over the rusted tracks, my feet crunching on the hard dry ground. Grasses no taller than half an inch try their best to wave in the slight cold breeze that’s blowing. I proceed down one aisle of rocks. The rows in front of me seem to go one for miles.
“What is this place?” I ask Braxton as he, Lehen, and Jagger join me.
“Asphodel.”
“The tent city?” Lehen inquires.
“What remains of it.”
I take a few steps away from the group, bend down, and touch one of the gray stones. The number 35 carved on top, barely visible from weathering, along with a symbol I haven’t seen; a six-petaled flower, lines radiating from the center of each petal to the tip. I stand back up, surveying the land, mesmerized by the thousands of rocks littering the field.
“Each one symbolizes a person who was killed the night the tent city was destroyed,” Jagger says, as he comes up behind me. “Thomas told me. He survived that night, and managed to escape being captured by the cities, only to be collected a few years later.”
Braxton calls to us. “We need to get going.”
Jagger turns and heads back to the vehicles while I stay a few seconds longer. I can see now how the Hostem came to be, and begin to question my intentions.
“Trea,” Braxton yells, “we need to go now.”
Who would massacre so many people? What was gained from their deaths?
Seeing this sickens me. My heart aches for those lost. Even though I never knew them, I feel connected to them.
We navigate the vehicles directly onto the shuttle rail in order to cross the large river that lies before us. It’s been many hours since we left the ruins of Asphodel and we still have not located any Hostem frequencies. The bridge over the water appears to be rickety, so we cross slowly, one vehicle at a time. It takes over an hour with the sun almost set, but the bridge holds up.
Once it’s too dark to continue, we make camp along the river’s banks. Jagger takes the first watch after we eat a small meal. I decide to sleep in the Morrigan vehicle rather than on the cold hard ground.
My slumber is disturbed by a crackling from the receiver.
“Bevan…are you there?” A very young female voice asks. “Bevan…I need you to respond.”
The line crackles for a few minutes. I turn the volume up just a bit, waiting for a response.
“Grainne, I thought we were on silence until tomorrow?”
“I know, but I haven’t heard from Tak’s group for days. I haven’t been able to raise them in their vehicles and I can’t locate their frequencies.”
“Where were they supposed to be heading to after they picked up their supplies from the Trade Borough?”
“Towards one of Acheron’s hatcheries, but that was several days ago.”
I hesitate about whether to chime into the conversation or not, but Jagger knocks on my window so I discretely dial down the volume and open the door.
“Your turn,” he says to me.
I step out of the vehicle, take the Beta rifle and Levin gun that Jagger is holding, and begin my patrol. He goes off and sleeps by the small fire we built earlier that is slowly dying.
As I walk on patrol, about a half mile in all directions away from the river, I think about the conversation I heard, wondering why the Hostem would be getting supplies from the Trade Borough.
I’m relieved four hours later by Gage where I return to the Morrigan vehicle, but the chatter has stopped. I try to locate other frequencies, but all is silent so I lean my head against the door and get some asleep.
I wake up mid-morning, hours away from the river. I ask Braxton if he’s heard anything,
