We The Forlorn (Book #2) (Completed)

29. We're Not Friends

Bo didn't even realize they were headed in a strange direction until it had been hours and the sun was already up and baking them in the heat. A dust storm had rolled in sometime during the dawn, so everyone had either suited up with goggles and bandanas, or gone belowdeck. The orange dust made it almost impossible to tell where they were headed, so Bo didn't see that dark smudge on the horizon until it had grown into buildings. Familiar buildings.

Hand frozen, hovering over the railing as she climbed from belowdeck, Bo looked at the approaching city they had fought so hard to leave behind. The buildings loomed dark and shadowed against the bright orange of the dust, and Bo saw with a sinking heart that a convoy of militia trucks and tanks were waiting at the city limits.

Bo spun, looking for Silver. He was at his controls, eyes down and shoulder hunched. Bo started toward him, a question on her lips, when she saw the shimmering dome that surrounded him and the controls. A forcefield?

Before she could say anything, a cry rose from behind her on the decks. She turned to see Khan spitting out cuss after cuss as he stared at the approaching city, and then Adam appear from below decks with worry etched on his face.

"What's going on, Silver?" Adam asked. "Did you get lost?" He jogged toward their pilot and the controls, but stopped when he saw the same shimmering that Bo had.

"Why are we back at the city?" Helga demanded, stilling looking out at the buildings. "Shouldn't we be going in literally the opposite direction?"

Bo swallowed, knowing that it would be only a few more minutes until they reached the militia waiting for them. They needed to turn around right now if they wanted any chance at all of escaping. Not that she thought they'd be able to outrun the range of the tanks at this point, but it might still be worth trying. In fact, it might even be better to die in a ball of fire then find out what Clayton and Aston had planned for them.

"Silver," Bo said, getting as close to the shimmering dome around their pilot as she dared. An electric buzz prickled across her skin. "Turn the ship around and head for that dust pocket over there." She jerked her chin at a section of the dust fields where crosswinds created an almost perpetual cloud of dust in the air. They could possibly lose the militia if they got there fast enough.

Silver ignored her, though she was certain he could hear her. Her heart sunk as an uneasy feeling overtook her.

"Silver!" Adam said, slowly unslinging his rifle from his shoulder. "What is going on?"

Helga, a little less tactful than the others, snarled and aimed her gun directly at Silver's head. "Turn us around or I'll shoot your useless cyborg brains out!"

Silver ignored this warning as well, and true to her word, Helga let off two shots from her rifle before Bo or Adam could stop her. But neither of them had to worry about her murdering their only reliable pilot, because the bullets hit the shimmering dome and arced into the air instead of into Silver's flesh. The dome crackled, glowing blue. This, finally, stirred Silver. He looked up at the gathered crowd, and slowly shrugged.

"What can I say, comrades?" he said. "It was a nice run with you all, but a man's got to keep an eye out for himself."

"What is this, Silver?" The voice was Khan's. He had walked back from where he'd been staring at the city by the banister.  His eyes were wide with confusion as he looked from Adam and Bo back to Silver. His hand hovered by the pistol on his waist, but he hadn't drawn it yet.

Silver, for the first time, looked a bit sheepish. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, kiddo, that's just how the world works. It was fun while it lasted, but I've been after access to the Protected Zones for years now. They were untouched by the alien bombs, which means I could make a fortune shipping food and supplies back into the Blast Zones."

"I-" Khan swallowed, a sharp fear in his eyes. "I don't understand. What are you saying?"

"Simply put, kid, the militia offered me access to the Protected Zones in exchange for your leaders here. I couldn't say no. No one could say no to an offer like that."

"But you were..." Khan trailed off. Bo saw his hand tighten on his gun, and then he whipped it up to aim at Silver. "I trusted you."

Silver grinned, despite the muzzle just a few feet away from his face. "No need to be betrayed, kiddo," he said. "The militia probably only care about your leaders, and if you just pop on down to the deck below, I can keep you hidden until they leave. You'd be more than welcome to come along with me. It's been many years since I had a friend."

Khan's jaw jumped as he clenched his teeth. "We're not friends," he growled, and Bo saw a burning fire awake deep in his eyes. His whole body shivered and even the gun shook in his grasp. She didn't know what he was capable of, but she was afraid that if they didn't handle the situation soon, they'd end up with Silver splattered across the deck, the ship crashed in the dust, and everyone worse off than they already were.

Perhaps sensing what Bo was thinking, Adam quickly stepped forward, his hands up and palms toward Khan. "Don't get angry, Khan," he said. "You know how hard it is to get out from that anger once you jump in. Just let it go. Silver isn't worth-"

"I thought he was helping me," Khan said, his voice deathly quiet. "I thought he cared what happened to me."

"I do," Silver said, still smiling. But, for once, Bo saw a touch of sadness behind his curled lips and cocky stance. "But I can't give up a chance at the Protected Zone."

Khan shook his head, and that movement seemed to snap him. As if he had shaken off all his self-control, he shouted a battlecry that made Bo's hair stand on end. He opened fire on Silver, though none of the bullets ever reached him. The shimmering forcefield caught them all, though the force of them made Silver's eyes grow wide and he huddled against the opposite end of the forcefield. Adam jumped back, away from Khan's crazed yelling and firepower. It was if Khan wasn't there anymore, and all that was left was a bundle of fury that wanted to destroy.

When the gun finally clicked empty, Khan kept trying to shoot before throwing the pistol sharply to the ground and leaping forward. Even with his brace restricting his movement, he was at the forcefield in a matter of seconds, slamming into the shimmering surface. It, of course, did not permit him to enter. But he snarled at Silver, punching the forcefield until his knuckles bled.

Helga ran to his side, anger written across her own features. "Khan, you idiot, don't waste your strength here! Look at the militia, you absolutely as—" Her words were cut off, because just at that moment the sound of massive engines filled the air. Bo spun to see the tanks were now only a few hundred feet away. The airship had lost altitude while they were arguing, and had continued its journey toward the city. The tanks must have moved forward to meet it faster. Now their barrels were pointed at the top deck of the ship, and men standing on the sides trained their rifles in the same direction. Clayton stood on one of the tanks, no gun in his hands, but a smug look on his face. Aston rode a hopper nearby, a rifle strapped to his back and goggles over his eyes. Bo felt her heart sink to her feet as she looked on at the impossible odds that were approaching them.

There was no way they were escaping this.