Awakening - The Last Science #1

Chapter 28 - Ashes - I

  It was over.

  Omega lay dead on the porch of Makoto's cabin. The golems had vanished. Rachel was sitting in the mud and staring up into the rain, seemingly frozen in place. Alden struggled back to his feet, unsure what to do next. He walked over to Rachel, his head pounding with every step. His eyes were blurry and he could see specks dancing around in his vision. He sat down next to her before he ended up collapsing.

  "Hey," he started, not sure what else to open with.

  Rachel didn't move an inch.

  "Rachel?"

  "Yes."

  "It's over."

  Rachel shook her head, water flying off her hair to strike Alden in the face. She continued staring up into the sky heedless of the rainfall. "It's not."

  "We beat him. We won."

  "...Look around, Alden," she replied. "I don't think we can call this a win."

  She was right, after a fashion. They'd killed him, but Aaron was still writhing in pain on the other side of the clearing. Ruby had carried Cinza out to him, and together they were trying to stem the loss of blood. Cinza couldn't even stand, but still she tried to help. Yusuf ran about trying to find clean, dry cloth to use as a bandage. Rufus had gone into the other cabin to find Makoto.

  In the distance, the angry glow continued to brew while smoke billowed into the sky.

  "How many, do you think?" she asked quietly.

  "What?"

  "Because of me. Because I screwed up the first time. Because I waited as long as I could here and let him keep attacking." Rachel finally looked down at him. "How many?"

  "It was the only way."

  "How many?" Rachel asked again.

  Alden shook his head. "You can't do that to yourself."

  "Go help them, Alden. They need it more than I do." Rachel stood up and walked over to the cabin, where they could still hear the faint sound of someone softly crying. Alden didn't know what to say to her, but she wasn't wrong—Cinza's people were in crisis.

  Cinza shot him a confused look as he joined them, but didn't raise any objections. He pressed in where she'd been holding the bandages, putting on more pressure than she'd been able to manage from her awkward position and weakened arms. Ruby tried to tie a tourniquet around his shoulder, but there was no real place to cut off the blood flow. It was too overwhelming, with the arteries and veins torn to shreds and no real way to hold Aaron down.

  Their hands were covered in dark crimson mixed with the mud and rain, but she refused to give in. Even as Aaron slowed down and stopped moving, and Ruby and Alden fell back, Cinza was still trying to hold the bandage in place.

  "Cin," Ruby said.

  "No more," she snapped.

  "Cin, he's gone."

  Cinza twisted so sharply Alden thought her head might snap off. "I'm not losing another family member."

  "He's dead," Alden cut in. "It's over."

  She looked at him oddly. "What makes you think this is over?"

  "Look!" he shouted, gesturing to the corpse and Rachel standing over it. "He's dead! It's over."

  "He's right," said Ruby. "I know you're still out of it, Cin, but please. Aaron's gone, and we've got other people who need us." Cinza took a deep breath. Without warning, she began to struggle to her feet. Ruby took her arm and helped her upright. "Slow down a bit!"

  "Where's Makoto?" Cinza asked brusquely. Alden noticed that even now, she still maintained her echoing voice. She coughed throughout longer sentences, which was a stranger sound still than her usual voice, but she forced out the words nonetheless. Ruby pointed up at the cabin where Rachel stood. Makoto was just emerging, limping along with Rufus' support. Cinza started to walk toward them, but her legs buckled after only a few steps.

  "Let me carry you," Ruby muttered.

  "I can make it."

  "Don't be ridiculous, Cin. Nobody cares that you can't walk right now. You aren't showing weakness."

  Still visibly reluctant, Cinza allowed Ruby to pick her up and carry her the rest of the way through the downpour. Alden followed at a respectful distance. As he got close, Cinza was talking to a catatonic Rachel.

  "What happened?"

  Rachel wordlessly gestured at her feet. The crying had stopped. Jackson's face was twisted at an odd angle against the wooden floorboards where he'd fallen. Two bullets had burst through his skull while the remainder went through his chest. Thanks to the slowing effect, every single one had struck before he'd fallen.

  Cinza looked at the body with disgust. "Good." Rachel finally reacted with something more than a vague stupor, her eyes shooting up to meet Cinza's. The small girl spat on him, then pulled out a small cloth from inside her robes and wiped her mouth clean. Rachel looked appalled. "Do you expect me to give him respect? He is a monster and I wish him nothing but the deepest levels of hell, if such a place exists."

  "And I should be there with him," Rachel murmured.

  "Drop the melodrama," Cinza snapped. "You made some mistakes. We all did. None could have foreseen where this would lead. Think less about what could have been and more about what comes next. You've stopped our greatest threat. We've suffered losses, but we're still alive."

  "I wish—"

  "Wishes are nothing," she interrupted. "Wishes are flights of fancy for children. I told you, when you come to a decision, you must commit and not look back. I don't know what sort of choices you faced, but in the end, you were victorious. What more could I ask for?"

  "A better leader."

  "I chose you, Rachel." Cinza held out her hand, causing Ruby to almost drop her from the sudden imbalance. Rachel looked at it strangely, but didn't reach out. "I still choose you. You saved our lives today."

  Rachel's eyes welled up even more. Alden was beginning to realize what had happened. What Rachel had done. He walked up to join them, looking Rachel directly in the eyes. "You saved us all, Rachel," he added firmly, giving her a brief nod.

  He wouldn't reveal her betrayal. It wouldn't do anyone any good. They were still in a crisis, even with Omega dead at their feet. They needed a leader.

  Rachel took a deep breath. She took Cinza's hand, but she refused to look her in the eye. "Get everyone together," she said, though her voice sounded painfully flat and disaffected.

  "Who's everyone?" asked Rufus.

  "The town. Everyone who's still alive." Rachel started walking, straight for the billowing black pillars rising out of Rallsburg.