Chapter Seven

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Everyone scattered around the room.

"Eclipse," Aukren said, looking over a collection of small screens. Beside him, Ryker remained where he was, instead of springing up like the others. "They're at the front door. Only one way they can come in. But I have another way out." He shuffled over to the side of the kitchen.

Zan spun towards Ryker, an anger rising in him. "You sent them here!"

Ryker appeared hurt, almost surprised, but Zan didn't believe it.

"We shouldn't have trusted him," Zan said, looking over Marcin and the others.

"We don't know he brought them here," Marcin said.

"How else did they find us so quickly?"

Aukren tapped into a control panel beside the kitchen. The back wall shuddered and began rising, revealing what appeared to be a garage, with a rectangular aircraft docked. It was an old, square-edged model with large front windows and a dusty white and grey paint job, a cleaner version of something Zan would find in a junkyard.

Ryker was on his feet, his staff in hand. Zan turned to warn him back, ready to fight if he needed to. There are no good men in the Mayor's office.

The front door exploded in a burst of fire and metal, throwing Wes and Edrund to the ground nearby. Smoke filled the room, the red lights still flashing, as Eclipse Guards rushed in.

"Go," Ryker called out to them. He darted forward and extended his staff.

The side doors of the craft slid open as Aukren hit buttons on the side. He looked back and shouted, "Come on, get in."

Zan helped Wes up, while Priya ran forward and helped Edrund. Marcin ushered Gosaline into the craft, ducking under gunfire. Ryker darted between the Guards, his staff a spinning blur, while they tried to aim and shoot in the close confines.

Aukren came to Zan and pushed him back towards the ship.

"Go, go," he cried, pushing Wes also.

Aukren turned and a hail of bullet tore through him.

"No!" Zan called out and tried to go to the old man, who slumped to the ground, but Wes held him back. Zan reached out, but it was clear that Aukren was dead. His glazed eyes stared at them, blood pouring from his chest wounds. In an instant he had gone from fierce and determined to.... Nothing. Blank.

Ryker dove over the sofa, his long hair flailing in his wake, and took down two Guards with an acrobatic flip before jerking away from a firing rifle.

Marcin called out to them from inside the ship. Wes jumped in. Zan looked back and saw Priya and Edrund trapped behind an overturned table, bullets hitting the wall and ground near them. Three more Guards entered the house, making it five against one. Zan ducked behind the end of the sofa and lifted one side, managing to flip it over and creating a low shield next to the table.

"Go on," Zan called to them, gesturing.

Edrund nodded and crouched low, making his way to the aircraft.

Zan reached out and took Priya's hand, and they ducked low, leaving the table and sofa. Gunfire burst around them, cracking into the wall and blowing up a lamp. They reached the craft and Priya stumbled. Zan turned and saw her on her knees, holding her stomach. He reached for her and saw her hand come away with blood.

"No.... NO!" Zan cried, holding her. A patch of blood spread out over her top, on the side of her stomach.

Priya sputtered and breathed harshly. She looked up at him, her eyes wide and frightened.

"No," Zan demanded. "Come on, we're getting you out of here." She moaned when he helped her up, and they hobbled to the side of the craft. Marcin and Edrund laid her down in the back, with a crying Gosaline looking over her.

Stray bullets pinged off the craft's glass as Zan jumped into the pilot's seat, immediately flicking switches and turning dials on instinct, his mind too chaotic to think.

"Ryker," Marcin said as the engines burst to life, rumbling angrily. Ahead, Ryker slid his staff over a Guard and used him as a shield from the others.

"Forget him," Zan said. As the craft reached optimum take off levels, the back doors of the house began rolling open. Zan took hold of the navigation sticks, and then he jumped when he realised something. "The disk!" It was still in Aukren's console. He moved to get out but Marcin held him back.

"It's too late," Marcin said. "We have to go."

Someone jumped towards the craft, startling them, and they saw Ryker reaching the side doors. He ducked in and said, "More are on their way outside. Let's go."

Zan cursed, shaking his head, giving one last look at the disk in the console. He spared another look at Aukren's downed body, still staring at them, and then kicked the craft into drive. It had been some time since he'd flown a craft like this, but he managed to reverse it out with only a few scrapes and bumps, and flipped it around to fly upwards.

Priya groaned and cried out, chilling Zan's heart. He turned and saw the others looking over her.

"We've covered her wound," Ryker said, coming up beside Zan. He slumped in the chair, sighing. "Head up, for now."

Zan steered the craft between the tall buildings mindlessly, chaotic emotions whirling around like a hurricane. When they entered the open sky his senses came back to him. "Up where?"

"To the Pipelands," Ryker said. "As far away as we can get." He dropped his head against the seat, panting heavily and wiping hair away from his sweaty brow.

"How is she?" Zan asked after a while. Priya had quietened but still moaned softly.

"She'll be fine," Marcin called back, but Zan wasn't sure if he could believe him.

With an overview of the city, Zan saw the extent of the damage. Towers had fallen, aircraft lay in smouldering wrecks, large groups of people were huddled together, and fires blazed all over. He wiped sweat from his face, realising how hot the aircraft had become. No, not hot, but stifling. The early effects of the air slowly running out, reminding him of how little time they had left.

"What did the disk say?" Edrund asked them. "We didn't get a chance to see, before..."

Ryker turned his chair around and explained what they discovered. The mention of possibly restoring the atmosphere outside froze their faces into shocked expressions.

Zan steered the craft up to an open section of the Pipelands, not too far from the market he had visited that morning. It felt like the machines had been off for weeks, and Zan had been awake the entire time, running non-stop without an end in sight.

The craft came to a shuddering stop as he landed on a dusty rooftop. His arms dropped when the engines died, his entire muscles burning and tense. He went into the back beside Priya. She lay there quietly, her eyes heavy, with a bloodied bandage across her stomach. Wes lifted the back doors to let air into the stuffy craft. Zan half expected to hear the sounds of thrumming machinery and engines outside, before remembering everything was dead.

"The plan remains the same," Ryker said.

Zan took Priya's hand, finding it cold and sweaty. She smiled weakly at him.

"Zan?" Ryker said. "Are you listening?"

"Give him a minute," Marcin said.

"We can't leave her like this," Zan said.

"I'll stay with her," Gosaline said. She sniffled but tried to appear brave.

Zan dropped his head, defeated. They'd lost the disk, and their only chance of proving the failsafe to everyone. Aukren lost his life for them. As did Keithan. Dallos and San were missing, maybe dead too. Everything was going from bad to worse.

The low light outside dimmed suddenly. A section of streetlights nearby cut out. Soon the entire city would be lit only by the fires, which would eventually die out too. And then the people would be next, if they didn't kill each other first.

"I'm going with Zan and Ryker," Marcin said decisively. "Gos, Wes, and Edrund, you guys look after Priya while we're gone. You can use the medical supply cabinet Ryker showed us."

"I'm going too," Edrund said.

"And me," Wes added.

Marcin shook his head. "I need you guys to look after everyone here."

"Marcin," Edrund said. "I can help. Let me. You guys will need all the help you can get in the Mayor's Fortress."

"I'll take one more," Ryker said. "Maximum. Four of us only. Any more and we'll be too large."

Marcin sighed and fell into thought. "Wes. Please look after my sister and Priya."

"No I want to go–"

"Edrund is older and bigger. I'm sorry. I've decided."

Wes glared at Marcin. "We're not in your gang, anymore. Look around you, we're barely all here."

Zan raised his head. "Please, Wes," he said softly. "Look after them for us."

A long pause followed, before Wes sighed and sat back. "Fine." The weight of the moment seemed to get to him, and his bottom lip began to quiver. "But, you come back, okay? Soon. All of you." He squeezed his eyes and tears fell, his face twisting with sorrow. "Don't leave me alone with the girls."

Marcin barked a laugh, fighting back tears. He reached over and pulled Wes into a tight hug. "We won't be long," he said, looking over them.

"I know where to go next," Zan said. He moved as if weightless, barely aware of himself, and fired up the craft. 


(1621 words)

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