I cleared my throat, and everyone looked at me. There was nothing I could say to give justice to what he had done.
“No one really knew who the Wanderer was,” I said. “I mean, before he became the Wanderer. We first met him in a cave, on our way to the Great Blight for the first time. This was about three months ago. There, he gave us prophecies of what was to come — things we were supposed to keep hidden until the end.”
I paused a moment to collect my thoughts.
“There were five of us, then. Lisa — who I’m sure you know — was the first to have hers fulfilled. The Wanderer told her that she would have to give it her all when she thought it was over. And she did. In Bunker One, she saved our lives, even when she was dying.
“Samuel’s came next. We had just met with Emperor Augustus for the first time, and Samuel struggled over whether we should join up with him, or go our own way. He was reminded of what the Wanderer told him: that he had to stay true to himself if we were to succeed. Samuel decided not to join Augustus at that time, and it was that decision that led Makara to form the New Angels.”
Makara looked at me, knowing her part came next.
“With Samuel’s decision, Makara became leader of the New Angels. She knew what her first action would be, because of what the Wanderer had told her. She was to seek those who were lost, which meant finding the Exiles. This led to the formation of the New Angels. We were a fractured group, only held together because of a strong leader.”
Here, everyone was nodding their agreement. Makara’s face turned slightly red; she didn’t really like to have attention like this, but I felt like I owed it to her for all she had done.
“There are still two prophecies left,” I said. “And they will be fulfilled, in time. The Wanderer told me it all hinged on me. It was only later that I learned what my part was.
“I guess what I’m trying to say is, that prophecy doesn’t apply just to me. We’ve all played a big part in this struggle to save our planet. We’ve saved each other’s lives, and every good deed has counted. I can’t count how many times I would have died, if it hadn’t been for Makara, Anna, Samuel, Julian, and countless others. We’re all in this together, and the Wanderer told me that we had to unite, if we were to survive.”
Again, everyone nodded in agreement. Many looked at the Wanderer as they contemplated his words.
“The Wanderer died to give us a chance to make it to the final battle. After much bloodshed, a lot of which was needless, we’re finally at a point where we’re all on the same page. The best way to honor the Wanderer is to stand together. I believe we are going to win this war. I can’t explain how I know that, but I do.”
I went quiet, not really sure what else to say. After a moment, Makara nodded.
“Thank you, Alex. In an hour or so, we’ll be touching down in the Great Blight. We’re going to bring the Wanderer to the Xenolith. And Alex is right — everything is coming to a head. Just be ready. In the next day or two, we’ll start planning the final attack.”
When Makara was finished speaking, Ashton went back to the bridge. I looked at the Wanderer one last time before following Ashton.
Chapter 20
An hour later, we had landed at the Xenolith. It was three in the morning — after the constant activity of Bunker 84 and the battle of Los Angeles, we were, somehow, still going.
When we disembarked, everyone came, including the Raiders. We walked across the fungus to the opening of the Xenolith. Makara, Samuel, Anna, and I all carried the Wanderer’s body. I realized, as we crossed the threshold and into the spiraling tunnel, that the four people carrying him were the four about which he had prophesied.
We made our way down the glowing corridor, and it wasn’t long before we stood before the glittering pink ichor. As Ashton looked around, awestruck, I could tell he could probably live down here just to unlock the Elekai’s secrets. The ichor was empty of dragons — they had gone elsewhere.
I had no idea what came next. For some reason, I thought I would know what to do as soon as we entered. But the place seemed empty, so all I had to go on was my own intuition.
“Let’s set him by the shore,” I said.
We advanced toward the edge of the lake, softly setting the Wanderer down, face-up, where the xenofungus sloped downward to meet the ichor. We backed away a few steps.
“Do we just leave him here?” Makara asked.
Her voice seemed to trigger a reaction from the lake. The surface near the Wanderer’s feet seemed to reach for him, stretching away from the rest of the ichor. It covered first his feet, and then the rest of this body.
“Back,” Samuel said.
As we stepped back, the ichor covered the entirety of the Wanderer’s form, pulling him into its main body. He still faced upward, just below the surface of the pink, translucent liquid. His long, gray hair fanned out, floating.
And then…the Wanderer’s form faded. His image became less clear as the surrounding liquid clouded. Anna stepped forward, as if to do something about it. I held her back.
“He’s returning to the Elekai,” I said. “I should have seen what he meant.”
As the ichor continued to cloud, I explained.
“The Wanderer wanted to return to the Elekai — to literally return to them. His memories will become part of the Elekai consciousness.”
The nature of the pool became altogether clear to me. It was the wellspring from which all Elekai life sprung, whether it was xenofungus or xenodragon. Anything created by the Elekai had to come from here, just as anything that passed had to return.
Over time, the liquid became less murky. The sediment had either drifted to the bottom of the pool or dispersed throughout. Over the next minute, the lake’s surface and depths gleamed once more, clear and smooth as glass.
I realized what I had to do. I turned to face everyone.
“I have to go in there,” I said. “Whatever the Wanderer wanted me to do…it starts in that lake.”
“Alex…?” Anna said.
I looked at her, taking her hands and looking her in the eyes. I didn’t know what was going to happen in there, and I didn’t know who I would be when I came out…Alex Keener, or the new Wanderer.
“Be careful,” Anna said.
“Whatever happens,” I said. “I love you.”
I reached out and touched her face. Her eyes held back tears. I wished I didn’t have to do this, but the Wanderer had told me it was what I had to do. Still, it was hard to turn from Anna and walk forward.
Everyone was quiet as my first boot was covered by the sticky ichor, then my second. I kept walking forward. Once the ichor was up to my shins, it seeped inside my boots. The warmth rushed around my socks, soaking through. Still, I strode forward, until the ichor was up to my torso, until I stood in the spot the Wanderer had been mere minutes before. It felt strange knowing that his body, his memories, were now part of the pool I stood in.
I turned to see Anna, Samuel, Makara, and Julian standing on the shoreline, shoulder-to-shoulder. Ashton stood a few feet off, and the Raiders stared, probably unsure what to think. I turned back to the pool and swam out further.
That was when the ichor pulled me under.
Panic rose in my chest, and still, I was pushed to the very bottom by a current. The pressure increased, and the thick warmth of the ichor was suffocating.
My panic subsided a bit when a familiar face appeared before me. The Wanderer stood on the lake bottom, as if he were standing in the free air and did not have thirty feet of liquid above him. I realized that this was a hallucination, from my lack of oxygen.