“Where are they going?” I asked.
The Wanderer continued to watch the sky. “They are searching for you.”
“They are coming to Bunker 84, then.”
Just after we had got everyone settled in, we were going to be attacked.
“As long as we are underground, they cannot reach us…right?”
The Wanderer nodded. “Maybe so. But it also means that you cannot leave.”
We stood on Ragnarok Crater’s rim for another minute or so.
“Elias said there was no darkness as great as the human heart.” I looked at the Wanderer. “Was he right?”
The Wanderer was quiet for a moment. “There is no darkness as great as the human heart. But he left out one critical point: there is also no light as great. Be wary of evil men, Alex. They always tell a half-truth because they can’t stomach the full.”
I was quiet at that. It was a moment before the Wanderer spoke again.
“We always have the choice, Alex, to be good. And sometimes, the most evil of men begin as the most good. In fact, that is almost always how it turns out.”
“I’m really going to have to do it, aren’t I?” I asked.
The Wanderer stared down at the Crater with me. “You see those cracks in the ground?”
“The ones the dragons came out of?” I asked.
The Wanderer nodded. “Those are the Warrens. Deep within those scars is Askala. I can sense her, down there.”
“Can she sense you?”
The Wanderer nodded. “Oh, yes. I know she can. Though you are here in a dream, I am here in the flesh.”
“Then why doesn’t she kill you?”
The Wanderer smiled. “Do you really think the heart of the Elekai is confined to this old body? If that were the case, then we’d have but to destroy Askala with a single blow. But it is not that simple, is it? That is why she must be infected — must be turned. She has been ‘destroyed’ before. It has never worked.”
“We were right to shoot down Grudge’s idea, then.”
The Wanderer nodded.
“There is no other way, then. I have to do this.”
The Wanderer did not answer for a moment. At last, he spoke.
“Be very careful, Alex,” The Wanderer said. “The time is coming and it is coming soon. You will face a choice. A series of choices. You must choose rightly, or it will all be for nothing.”
I didn’t bother asking what those choices were. The Wanderer would probably not tell me. It seemed he had a way of answering questions and leaving me with two more than I started. Asking him questions was a battle I was sure to lose.
All the same, I couldn’t stop myself. I thought of what Anna told me — how she would save me from having to die. I felt that the Wanderer was saying that this was one of the choices I would have to make.
“How are we supposed to get the Reapers to help us?” I asked. “How could I ever convince Makara to set aside her vengeance?”
“Perhaps you cannot,” the Wanderer said. “Makara is Makara, and always will be. So will Anna be, for that matter. Or Samuel. Or any of the rest.”
I paused. “You speak as if you know them.”
The Wanderer smiled. “Of course I do. I’ve looked into their eyes. I have seen their stories. You forget that night in the Boundless, three months ago. Their stories will continue and follow their courses and there is nothing you can do to stop that. You shouldn’t want to.”
“So…let Makara do what she wants with Carin Black?”
“That remains to be seen. Even I don’t know how all of this will play out. Everyone will be here soon, however. That much I can see.” He looked at me. “One thing is for sure; you must stand strong and be resolute. Trust your heart and your goodness even when death and chaos swirl around you. That is all any brave man can do.”
“Brave man.” I smiled. “I don’t really feel that brave.”
“We all feel fear, Alex. It’s what we do with it that counts.”
I didn’t know why, but the Wanderer always had a way of making sense. Not scientifically, maybe, but in the soul. It made me ask my stupidest question yet.
“Are you God or something?”
Suddenly, the Wanderer was laughing — a deep belly laugh. “No. I’m not God. But I am certainly something.”
“Sorry. I don’t know if it was the long white beard, the cloak, or your truth bombs. It just seems like you fit the bill.”
The Wanderer’s smile remained. It seemed to take him a moment to find his words.
“When you meet God, Alex, you will know. You won’t have to ask.”
The dragons, even the tail end of them, were now distant. I didn’t know how long it would take them to reach Bunker 84. Nonstop, it might be a full day. It was hard to predict.
“I need to warn the others,” I said.
The Wanderer nodded. “You must hurry. We will have one chance, and one chance only, to strike. We cannot waste it.”
“And Augustus?” I asked.
“I know you see him as your enemy,” the Wanderer said. “But he comes at an opportune time. Make use of it. Make whatever promises you must make in order to complete your mission. The survival of all depends upon it.”
The Wanderer then turned to me, his glowing white eyes haunting. He leaned forward, grasping my wrists with both of his gnarled hands. His walking stick fell to the ground.
“You must unite them.”
I found myself nodding, and as I did so, everything swirled about me and I felt the vision fade.
I awoke with Anna still cradled in my arms. My heart was pounding like crazy and sweat covered my entire body. Anna slept on, her breathing even. It was dead quiet, save for the hum of the fusion drive aft. I almost didn’t believe the dream was real.
Almost.
“Anna,” I said, shaking her shoulder.
I felt her stirring, her muscles tensing.
“The Wanderer came to me.”
She turned to face me. Her eyelids were heavy. “Oh?”
“You’re not going to believe this, but we have to get moving.”
Anna suddenly looked more alert. “Get moving?”
“The Radaskim are attacking,” I said. “He showed me the Crater, and there’s at least fifty dragons headed this way.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. If they get here, then we won’t be able to get out. They’ll lock us in.”
Anna sat up now, the sheets falling from her body. “Okay. How sure are you?”
“We need to get going. Even if it was just a crazy dream — and I don’t think it was — we need to confirm it.”
“Where are we going?” Anna asked, sliding out of bed.
I stood up, checking my digital watch. It was 03:30. Not as bad as I thought.
“We can make the announcement from the bridge,” Anna said.
“Let’s go,” I said. “I’m not sure how much time we have.”
Thirty minutes later, everyone from the inner crew was gathered in Gilgamesh’s conference room. Makara had rolled Samuel in on a wheelchair. Julian and Michael were next. Char and Marcus entered not too long after, followed by Ruth and Lauren. Each took up their seats at the conference table. When they asked me what this was about, I told them I wanted to wait until everyone arrived. Ashton was the last to enter. Groggy-eyed, he sat at the head of the table.
“Now, what is the fuss about?” he asked.
“The Radaskim are attacking.”
Everyone turned toward me. They hadn’t expected that.
“And you know this, how?” Ashton asked.
“The Wanderer came to me in a vision,” I said.