Kingdom Gone

PAYING RESPECTS

35 hours ago. . .

The kid was gone when I finally found the lab exit.

But it didn't matter, I knew we'd cross paths again. There was something I had to do.

I radioed my location and got picked up within the hour, dodging my men's questions in the car ride back to El Refugio De Piedra, and told them to drop me off at the airport. After arriving on the tarmac, I made my way to the biggest plane there and boarded, coming face to face with my old pal Nathan.

"You lost them again." He said in his usual calm and collected manner.

I dismissed the thought with a wave, collapsing in one of the plush leather chairs. God I was tired. "Doesn't matter right now. I discovered something in a cave just north of here that might be just a little more intriguing."

I watched in satisfaction as Nathan's eyes widened while I spoke, regaling him all about the underground facility, the Goliath, everything. Once I finished, Nathan stared at me, shakily sitting down across the aisle from me. "Do you know what this means?"

"Means we have another shot. We aren't the same guys we were 20 years ago. Let's just hope the thing doesn't blow up this time."

Nathan looked up at me. "Why are they going to the Tenth Kingdom?"

I shrugged. "That part's still unknown. But I know this kid, he's got heart. If they're heading north, they'll go for the schematics, since I don't think he knows about the second nuke."

"We can reverse engineer the Goliath if you can bring it back. But the problem is getting over the wall. I oversaw it's construction two decades ago, and it was made to never be breached."

"The brats must know how. You just need to keep an ear to the ground and let me know when they resurface."

"And what about you?"

I looked down at Miranda, her barrel disconnected from the action. "Something I need to do."

* * *

I ordered my men do anything Nathan requested for the time being, and hopped on the next HoloTram back to the First Kingdom.

Thanks to the controlled climate of the Utopia, there weren't really seasons, but just regional weather differences. Agua Dulce was usually a warm sunny city, overlooking the southern tributaries of Lake Lake, that body of water seeming to touch every corner of the Utopia. But when I arrived, it was uncharacteristically cold. The wind seemed to carry a bite, and the clouds blotted out the sun, casting a dreary shadow over the entire city.

I took a cab through downtown, through the busy financial district, and got off in the very outskirts of town. There was nothing out here but small apartments and local shops.

Home.

I walked the rest of the way, reminiscing I suppose. Everything was exactly where I remember. Aunt Mae's coffee shop on the corner, the playground in the corner of the park, now just a rusted metal skeleton half buried in the dirt.

Then I approached The Intersection.

Growing up, the old folks in town always told us that this connection of roads was the first thing that was built in this town. They said depending what road you chose when it was time, determined your future.

West lead to the Third Kingdom, the Kingdom of Industry. To factory work and endless labor.

East lead to the heart of the First Kingdom, to the marble elite and government life.

South lead back into town. Back home.

And north lead anywhere. The street ended in a grainy dirt path that stretched for miles. No one in town knew where it ended, few chose to walk it when the time came.

The last time I stood here I made a choice that defined me, shaped my future. But unfortunately I'm not the same man now that I was then.

I headed south, cutting through an old baseball field. After jumping a few fences, I stood beneath a sign, with just one word written on it.

Cemetery.

Small town, small tombstones. But it was an old town, with countless graves. I drifted among them, reading the dates and names, until I found myself standing before one in particular. I read the name.

Miranda Galdinn.

I knelt, and stayed knelt for the longest time. I kept my feelings internal, like I'd always done. Like she'd always done. I took in a deep breath and stood.

With one last look at the grave, I dug the spade of my shovel into the grass, disrupting the dirt for the first time in 18 years.