Her new companions hung their heads and shook them, informing Talia it would be pointless.
Luka grabbed her hand, and said, "Talia, Panza is dead. Did you see how they killed her? Anything out of the ordinary?"
She looked into Luka's eyes and shook her head, saying, "No... all of the Hosts were at the front lines nearest the door they were battering, I... I passed out. I woke in Panza's chamber where you and the Raven saved me."
Tristan shifted uncomfortably in his crouch around the fire Adrian had started, unloading and cooking canned foods that he passed around the circle along with water he collected from a nearby stream.
Luka said, "Whoever is keeping you Hosts alive... It's no mistake it's always a male and female. They want you to keep your lineage propagating. Whoever it is also collected the Tigers and secured them in Panza's chambers."
The Hosts blushed and looked at their respective partner. Luka did not have the impression that each pair saw each other in that way. In fact, Rosaya and Tristan especially appeared to be close friends determined not to ruin their friendship. Perhaps Adrian and Signey, but they were bubbly with everyone it seemed. Talia's face of contempt for the thought of being romantically involved with her compatriot gave Luka the exact opposite impression.
Talia then asked, "Then why go through the trouble of wiping out the people in the capital cities? Why match me with him?" She said, pointing to her fellow Tiger.
"No idea," Luka said, rubbing his face in his hands. It didn't make sense. Their enemy was powerful but nonsensical.
Tristan came to a realization. "Guys, what if whoever is doing this... What if their real goal all along is to destroy the Sixes? Without them, we all are vulnerable. Massacring the cities is secondary. It's why the radio communications went out, to keep the Sixes isolated from each other."
Luka nodded, but then added, "That's probably true. But I don't think it's a coincidence there are Generals designated to each city, taking joy in killing your people. I saw a man in crimson and white, the colours of the Tigers, the Outlander leader within the city. That's a pattern, too."
"'The Poacher', he called himself," the male Tiger said who had awoken, the crew turning their gaze towards him in surprise. Strangely, the Tiger groggily strode towards a nearby rock, as if to lean on for support. Rosaya jumped up to offer him a shoulder, but he shrugged her off.
"You should sit down, you'll pass out," Talia said to her fellow Tiger, with the tone in her voice it was clear they were acquaintances rather than friends.
The male Tiger reached into a crevice of the rock, and pulled something out from within, glowing. Luka tried to get a closer look at what he grabbed.
Tristan realized immediately. "There's no way," he said under his breath.
The Tiger shuffled back to the group with a crimson jewel in his hand. He sat down hard, and slumped his head on Tristan's shoulder to both his surprise and repulsion.
Everyone collectively realized that something very strange was at play with the jewels. The chances appeared astronomical. What were the odds this one was waiting here for this Tiger at this exact moment? They asked the male Tiger what drove him to find the jewel and if he had seen one before, but they already knew the answer.
"Do you remember who hid you there, in Panza's room?" Luka asked the male after he scarfed down the food that was handed to him.
"The man who bound me and her?" He pointed to Talia with his cheeks full, shrugging. "I never saw his face. If I remembered anything else, do you really think it would help us go up against them?" He said to Luka dismissively.
The male Tiger had heard each of their stories in his half-sleep state. There was a clear apathy towards the world from the male Tiger, and Luka could tell it was his personality even before the massacre of his people, but recent events did not ameliorate such beliefs.
"Yeah, I do, actually," Tristan said angrily to the male Tiger. "This man saved you. Against all odds. With him, I know we have a shot. He's the last Wolf, putting his life on the line for us. He saved me and Rosaya, and then Signey and Adrian. He owed us nothing yet he did it anyways. We will find a way. Together."
Luka looked up shocked to find Tristan pointing towards him, and his companions nodding along with him. They truly, truly believed in him, even when defeat was written all over his face. He didn't think him saving them was anything spectacular. It was the right thing to do. The normal thing to do. The only thing to do. The only thing he could do. He felt helpless, like an ant helping other ants avoid rays originating from a magnifying glass.
"None of it matters, man. We're all cells in a petri dish," the Tiger said holding his tired hands to the fire. "I can tell you whoever your leaders have been trusting and letting into their walls, the same can't be said for Panza."
Luka looked at Tristan, both stunned with raised eyebrows, and then back to the Tiger, and said, "What makes you say that?"
The male Tiger may have provided a lead.
"The assault came completely from outside. Your visitor knew he wouldn't find a way in our walls. Not with Panza."
The Tiger male was apathetic but clearly thoughtful. He was right.
"So three individuals, two of which had Nik and Aaron's trust, this one without Panza's? Or one individual with Nik and Aaron's trust but not Panza's?" Adrian asked the group.
"Maybe Aaron's trust, but Nik felt like he owed the man something," Tristan said, slightly correcting Adrian.
"It must be the one man that I saw, moving very, very fast, province to province. Armies of Outlanders meeting him. We would have seen armies that large moving. This single man is just moving faster than us, somehow. But the attack on the Ravens was before the attack on the Bears, which was before this one. If it is the man I saw, he is surely moving towards Orconia City," Rosaya put forth. "We have to catch him."
"It can't be one man. Nothing moves that fast with no trace," Luka said to Rosaya. Luka was no scientist, but he knew what it would take to move through the country. It was simply impossible. What seemed even more impossible would be defeating three or four of these beings. All he could think of now was the fourth descending upon Orconia City.
Or worse, the fourth that had already descended. He had to get there.
Still, Luka hesitated a moment. Seeing a Six dead before him made him rethink what was possible. These strange jewels revealing themselves seemed to be another piece of magic his human mind could not comprehend. One person moving at incredible speeds across the country was not out of the realm of the impossible anymore. He wanted to believe more than anything that Rosaya was right and they could get to Orconia City first, but a piece of him believed Orconia City was already razed to the ground.
The male Tiger introduced himself to the group as Laplan Tyla, shaking their hands apparently indifferently. He was as tall as Adrian but skinnier, the same features as Talia, and they could have been siblings if not for knowing his last name. Like the Ravens and Bears before them, Laplan and Talia wished to join the group. Like the others, there was a gratitude to the group for being saved, even written on Laplan's face, and a need for redemption and discovery of what was happening.
With Eeva, Aimos, Calysa, Goddard, Mikkael, and the Orca's that welcomed him as one of their own under threat, Luka was going to run like he had never run before.
And they did through the night. Straight for Orconia City.
**
They arrived at past midday, not taking a single rest, on the outskirts of the city in the North Naerstrom Jungle, where the jungle terrain of New Felix began to dissolve into forest. To Luka's utmost relief, the Filtration Field of the city was still online, no one outside, the city in clear lockdown.
Aimos you brilliant man, I could kiss you, Luka thought to himself. The Ravens scanned the doors with their long-sight eyes and told Luka there were no signs of damage. His heart thumped with joy.
They were in time.
"Get down," Tristan suddenly said loudly to the crew.
Everyone fell to the ground.
"What?" Luka asked him, worry beginning to creep into his thoughts and voice.
"There's a group of eight approaching the front gate, from the west..."
Luka was engulfed with fear. It hit him like a train. The eight were walking out of the same forest that he had been found unconscious, where Eeva found him unconscious.
He began to run, but Rosaya caught his shoulder to stop him.
Her eyes, wider than he had ever seen.
"Luka... it's him. It's the man with the green eyes. The man that threw Tristan and I in the cellar."
Luka's stomach was in knots. "How far away are they? Are they armed?" Luka asked the Ravens.
"I can't tell, but..."
Silence washed over both of the Ravens.
"What!" Luka yelled at them impatiently.
"The gate. It's opening."
Pure panic pulsated through Luka's body. He started sprinting to the gate, shedding his shield which weighed him down. Aimos, you fool! Why in the world are you opening the gates?
His crew followed, and Luka turned and chastised them. "Stay here. The man has seen your faces. If he sees you, what do you think will happen? I'll come back for you."
How was the man moving so fast?
With no time to argue, Luka ran for the gate, which was raising more by the second. He started shouting helplessly towards the gates to close, but to no avail. They were too far away, the thick brush of the surrounding forest stealing his screams.
To his horror as he ran, he could now see the eight individuals entering the city. One of them wore blue and golden garbs, clearly a leader of the impending massacre.
The gate began to close.
"Oh Gods please no," he muttered to himself as he continued his sprint.
Finally he collided with the now closed gate. He pounded on the outside, the gold steel icy cold on his pounding fists. His breath frantic from his extreme run and panic.
"Aimos, open up. It's me!"
A guard from a small, gated opening of the outside wall recognized him from above, and shouted something to Aimos before the gate began reopening. It slid slowly upwards. Far too slowly. Creaking painfully like bones scraping.
The gate was half-way up, and he could see dozens of pairs of feet beneath and within the golden walls. He ducked his way inside and rushed in.
He collided with someone and fell to his back.
Aimos looked down at him and cheered, everyone behind him cheering too, helping Luka to his feet.
"I don't believe it. What a day. I knew you'd come back," Aimos said, hugging Luka and playfully slapping a cheek.
Out of breath from his sprint, Luka said, "Aimos I..."
"Hold that thought, Lleyton. This is one of the most joyous days of my life. I have someone very special to introduce you to."
Luka looked onwards to the eight individuals that had gotten inside Orconia City, currently being checked by the guards for weapons, and to Luka's relief, having none.
But the tallest of them began to turn.
"Lleyton, this is... well, Lleyton. My dearest, youngest brother. He has been alone for far too long. The man I named you after."
Aimos turned to his brother, and said, "Lleyton... er, brother Lleyton, this is the last Wolf. What a joyous reunion I have the honor of presenting to you. He is the last son of your people."
Luka swallowed as the man finalized his turn. Luka's skin turned red hot and he prayed the color of his face didn't match the feeling he felt. When the man laid his dark green eyes upon Luka, his eyes were as wide as his, if not wider.
Both were stunned, speechless. The individuals beside Lleyton who were being patted down by guards, also wide eyed and stunned as they looked upon Luka.
Lleyton Alva's face was the catalyst that ignited all of Luka's memory. They came flooding back, all at once, like a dam had been lifted and swerving water rushed towards him. All the memories, all the way up to him falling in the river.
He wished he hadn't remembered a thing.
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