“Papa, I want you to sleep on my floor like you used to.”
A flood of memories entered his brain, but the worst part wasn’t recalling the past; it was explaining the future.
“Daddy has to go back to work,” Katherine said.
He looked up at his wife, surprised again.
“To make sure the monsters stay away,” Katherine said. “Right, Les?”
He just nodded. “Now, go back to sleep,” he said. “I’ll come back in the morning and eat breakfast with you and your mom, okay?”
“Promise and cross your heart again?”
Les motioned over his chest, drawing the hint of a smile from Phyl. He grabbed her stuffed bear and put it in her hands. She relaxed her head on the pillow, hugging the bear and letting out a sigh.
“Everything is going to be okay, my princess,” Les said. He pulled the sheet up to her neck and tucked the sides in neatly around the bed.
Phyl watched him retreat to the doorway with Katherine. “Wait,” she called out.
“We’re going to talk outside, okay?” Katherine said. “We’ll be right outside the door in the hallway.”
Phyl’s lips quivered in the candlelight.
“Just right outside,” Les said.
“Leave the door open,” Phyl said.
Les followed his wife out of the room and kept the door ajar. He fully expected another lecture or that withering gaze, but again he was surprised.
Katherine took his hand. “Les,” she said.
Moonlight through an open window illuminated his wife’s features. She had braided her hair tonight, just the way he loved it.
“After the ceremony earlier tonight, I realized why you’re doing all this,” she said. “I won’t try and talk you out of it anymore or make you feel guilty.”
Les felt as if he had entered a dream. This couldn’t be real.
“I don’t understand the sudden shift,” he started to say.
“The world I’ve lived in is not the same as yours,” she said. “You have dived through the storms, trekked through the wastes, and fought countless monsters and humans.”
“It’s my duty, and I do it for you and Phyl. Just as Trey did.”
“I know,” Katherine said, heaving a deep sigh. Her freckled nose crinkled in the moonlight. “All this time, I’ve been mad at you for leaving and for what happened to Trey, but…”
She squeezed his hand.
“I don’t blame you for what happened to our son,” she said. “I know you would have traded your life for his if you could.”
“I would have,” he said, “but Hell Divers don’t get do-overs, and I will live with the regret of that mission for the rest of my life.”
“Don’t blame yourself. You are a good diver, captain, father, and husband. You’re a good man, Les. You always have been.”
He didn’t know what to say, but he didn’t hold back his emotions this time. He let the tears come.
“It’s okay, Les,” she said.
“I’m sorry…” He wiped his eyes.
“No, if you need to cry, cry. I just want you to know I was wrong, and I’m so sorry.”
“You have no idea how good it is to hear these things,” he said. “Katherine, I’m going to do everything in my power to save our home, our people, and you and Phyl so she can grow up in a peaceful, safe world.”
“I know…”
She loosened her grip slightly, and he waited for things to take a turn for the worse.
“What are the odds you can beat the machines and the skinwalkers?” she asked. “I mean, what are the chances we will win this war?”
He hadn’t seen that one coming.
He reached down and grabbed her other hand and led her to the kitchen.
“We’ll be right out here,” Katherine called out to Phyl.
Les stopped near the open windows, where the cool breeze rustled his thinning red tuft.
“I don’t know exactly what we’re going to find when we reach the target in Africa,” he said. “All I know is that I have two secret weapons to use against the machines: Timothy Pepper and Hell Divers.”
“Les, you’re not just a good man; you’re an intelligent one. And that’s part of the reason I fell in love with you. But one AI and a team of Hell Divers? What makes you think you can stop the machines that destroyed the world?”
“I have a plan. I’m working with Timothy to develop something that I can’t talk about yet, but you have to trust me. Trust that I believe I have a chance.”
“I—”
Les kissed her on the lips. Then he held her gaze. “I have to do this, or eventually they will find this place. If that happens, there will be no future for Phyl or the rest of the children.”
“There’s no one else who can do this?”
“Everyone will play a role in the coming war,” he said. “This is mine.”
“What can I do?”
“Take care of our daughter and promise me you’ll always love me.”
“Oh, Les…” She hugged him. “I’m so sorry for not being there for you. I didn’t realize how bad things were until I talked to…”
“What?”
She looked down. “I talked to X, and he gave me some perspective on things.”
Les didn’t know whether to be happy or mad. But the king had done something he couldn’t: make Katherine realize she loved him still.
“I’m sorry, too, for everything. I love you and Phyl so much.”
They kissed but were interrupted by a surprised voice.
“What is that?”
They both turned to see Phyl standing in the hallway, her stuffed bear dangling from one hand.
“You’re supposed to be in bed,” Katherine said.
Phyl lifted a finger and pointed out the window, not answering.
Les and Katherine turned to the open shutters.
Red flares floated down from the sky.
“What is that, Les?” Katherine asked.
He smiled.
“Those are Hell Divers,” he said. “And they’re going to help me save us from the monsters.”
TWENTY-FIVE
The next morning, the islands had come alive with activity. News of Colonel Forge’s promotion to general had spread fast, and most Cazadores seemed thrilled that one of their own was again in charge of the military.
Civilians across the rigs had started their day helping with the war effort. Rumors about the machines had also spread, and every soul understood what was at stake. It had taken a shared threat to bring everyone together—a threat that had already wiped out most of humanity and destroyed the world.
Michael watched it all proudly, with confidence and optimism. Everyone was playing a role in preparing for what could very well be the final battle in a war that had lasted over two and a half centuries.
An army of shipwrights and mechanics had arrived to get Renegade and Shadow ready for battle. Every bullet, bomb, and missile across the islands was inventoried while prisoners at the Shark’s Cage and civilians on other rigs redoubled their efforts repairing damaged ordnance, casting lead bullets, and reloading spent brass.
At the trading post, animals were being slaughtered and preserved for the journey to Aruba. Food, ammunition, and spare parts were being ferried out to Discovery. Even the people from the bunker in Rio were helping.
On the capitol tower, a group had gathered at dawn to patch jumpsuits and parachutes. The people who had lived underground for centuries had many skills that were coming in handy.
Like most of the Hell Divers, Michael had spent much of the night diving through the clouds to train for the Africa mission. This would be his last time in the sky—a promise he had made to Layla and wasn’t going to break.
After wrapping up twelve training jumps, the divers had been assigned to help a team of Cazador scuba divers with the last of the underwater sensors to detect submarines. These were already in place at strategic locations along the border of light and dark, but the teams installed more around the capitol tower and the Hive, just in case.