When Elias had first mentioned the Ascension, I thought the word had been metaphorical. Now, in the context of the spaceship, it felt more literal.
“You’re going to fly this damn thing, aren’t you?”
Elias smiled as more women and children filled the anteroom, coming in from behind and from the stairs that led down from the second deck. As they took up their seats, the anteroom was filled with their chatter — though it felt a bit subdued. I guessed everyone was nervous at having new people inside — people they were taught to recognize as containing “darkness.” I found this fear ironic, considering I was completely outnumbered and would likely be killed if I went against the grain in any way. If these women had been taught that men were evil for their entire lives, then it made sense that they were suspicious of me. I searched for the brown-haired woman with blue eyes I had seen earlier, but she wasn’t present at the moment.
“Does everyone eat here during mealtime?” I asked.
Elias nodded. “We are the Community, from highest to lowest. It does not matter who you are. In the Community, we always eat together.”
At that moment, trays of food were brought from the kitchen, carried by several women and some of the older children. There were fruits — watermelon, apples, bananas, even raspberries and dates. There were also vegetables, like carrots, asparagus, broccoli — nothing was cooked. Bowls of intricate salads were also brought out, along with several varieties of nuts.
The fruits and vegetables looked as fresh as could be. Still, despite the fact that I hadn’t eaten in a while, I had zero appetite. I had yet to see Anna and the others and there was no guarantee that they had been kept safe.
It was at that moment that the others were led into the anteroom from aft. Their hands were bound as mine had been. Anna’s eyes met mine. I felt my throat clench, knowing that she was in danger and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. All this, after all, had happened under my watch. I should have listened to Makara and gotten everyone out while I could have. Now that opportunity had passed.
At last, all of the Community women and children seated themselves. I kept my eyes on Anna, and she kept hers on mine. I realized she was trying to signal something. I had no idea what that was, though, and I tried not to let my frustration show.
My eyes finally found Michael, Julian, and Ashton, who stood to Anna’s side. Grudge was missing. He was the one who had escaped, then.
Behind them stood several women with guns holstered on their sides. If it weren’t for those guns, we could probably easily take these people in a fight.
“Please, sit,” Elias said, with a wide smile.
Anna and the others were pushed toward the table. Five empty chairs had been set up.
With Grudge missing, I realized what Anna was trying to communicate: not only was Grudge alive, but he was working to get us out of here.
I felt my heart rush at the thought even as I struggled to keep my face placid. Suddenly, I felt bad for the way I had treated him. Would he hold that against us, leave us to our doom aboard this ship? My gut feeling was no. If he did that, there was no hope that he himself could escape. He had to do what he could to help, regardless of his personal feelings on the matter.
He had snuck aboard a ship once. Maybe he had done it again.
I moved to an empty space next to Anna and sat. Everyone was now seated with the exception of Elias. He raised his arms as if in an invocation before seating himself.
Everyone began eating. I noticed that no one filled their own plates. They filled each other’s. It was very strange, and I figured it was part of their beliefs. Someone stepped behind me, grabbing both of my hands. I jumped out of my chair, causing everyone to face me.
It was the woman with blue eyes. She looked at me.
“Your bonds have already been removed,” she said.
Something told me that she already knew that — she was just trying to get my attention for some reason. The woman moved on to Anna before I could answer or ask her anything. I looked at Elias, who stared at me with his dark eyes, willing me to eat. Behind, the women with guns still stood guard in case we tried anything.
I reached for an apple. Without taking my eyes off Elias I bit into it.
Elias turned toward his wife, Lyn, who was whispering something to him. All around us, the women and children ate. It wasn’t quiet, but it also wasn’t loud — people mostly spoke in hushed tones. I had a feeling that it might have been louder except for the fact that everyone knew something big was about to happen. It wasn’t just our presence. Elias was going to make an announcement. The prophecy he’d made had come true — Outsiders had come into the Bunker, which would usher the start of the Ascension.
Maybe this was a feast of epic proportions. Maybe that was part of the reason we had been kept under lock and key for a while. They had to prepare everything for the Ascension. They had to pack their things, set up this feast, and prepare their minds to leave this place, and they couldn’t have us messing that up.
And there was still the question of Grudge. I looked at Anna to my side, this question unasked. Anna said nothing, though I had no doubt that she understood.
Had Grudge been overlooked when the Community captured us? It had been so dark up there near the park. It was hard to imagine anyone getting themselves out of the ambush the Community set up, but if there was anyone who could do it, it would probably be Grudge. The question now was what he would do with that freedom. He had survived Odin’s crash, had survived the cold, and now, had escaped being captured.
And now this man who had stowed away on our ship, whom we had saved, was our only chance of getting saved.
I reached for a bowl of salad, filled with lettuce, tomato, radishes, and sliced red onion. The eating was purely a mechanical act; a necessity. If there was a chance that we could survive all of this, then I needed all of the strength I could get.
For all of Elias’s hinting that he had important information to reveal to us, he had so far remained quiet, speaking to Lyn, mostly. I watched this tall woman with the blonde hair. I thought that she was beautiful, in a regal way — this was only diminished by the lack of human warmth in her eyes. Elias seemed to even defer to her, in some sense.
There were about ten children, total — probably way too many for Elias to have had them all with Lyn. The thought bothered me, so I pushed it out of my mind. All I knew was, this Community was very different from anything I had ever seen and it freaked me out. Among the women, Lyn clearly held the top spot. It seemed that whoever sat the farthest away from Elias held the lowest spot. The youngest women sat farthest away — the older ones sat closer. Maybe it was based on age.
My gaze shifted to Michael, Julian, and Ashton, who all sat side-by-side along the table’s long side. They ate, their eyes roving the interior of the ship for any weakness or chance for escape. There was little of that because behind each of our chairs stood a woman with a gun. All of us had been stripped of our weapons, and I could only wonder where they were being kept. I checked the holsters of each of these women, but my Beretta was not among them.
“How long have you all been in here?” I asked Anna.
She swallowed a mouthful of salad. “A few hours. The others, longer. Ashton was the first to arrive. Then Michael. Then Julian. I followed soon after.”
“Have you learned anything?”
Anna shook her head. “The same woman led us each here, one at a time.” She turned her head toward me. “What about you?”
“I got the grand tour,” I said. “I think he might be…possessed by the xenovirus.”