“¡Inmortal!” shouted the Cazadores.
X shook his head. He hated that name, just as he hated being called “king.” But the chant grew louder, and it only helped their cause. Sometimes, it was better to believe in a fantasy than in nothing at all.
A humming rose over their voices, and blue lights appeared on the horizon. The chant was drowned out by the whir of turbofans.
X lowered his spear and watched as Discovery flew toward their location.
“There she is!” Rodger yelled.
The Hell Divers said their final goodbyes, with Rodger and Magnolia hugging Sofia, Edgar, Arlo, Ted, Lena, and the others.
X hurried over to his pack and pulled out the letters. He handed the first one to Wynn. “If something goes wrong, these are your final orders, Lieutenant,” he said.
Wynn nodded. “Good luck, sir.”
“You too,” he said. “Defend this place at all costs.”
X handed two more sealed letters to Michael. “Give this to Captain Mitchells,” he said. “And this one is for you.”
Michael hugged X harder than ever before.
“This isn’t goodbye,” X said again. “It’s just good luck.”
The final weapons were distributed, with one laser rifle going to Magnolia, the other to Michael. Not nearly enough, but from what X knew about the top-secret plan Timothy and Les were working on, it would help buy them time to destroy the machines.
Discovery switched off several of the repaired turbofans as it hovered closer. The rotor wash whipped across the deck.
X glimpsed the bow as it approached. The portholes there had been replaced with an armored shell covering the bridge. Samson was up there, along with Les and Timothy.
The ship steered directly overhead, and the launch-bay doors opened. Alfred’s crew of technicians dropped ropes down to the divers. The eight brave men and women selected for the mission hooked in and waved goodbye.
Michael hesitated a moment as he clipped into a rope.
“Xavier,” he said, “on the boat you said you wished you could give me something to help me take out the machines, but you already gave me something more important than any weapon,” he said. “You gave me courage and taught me how to fight—taught us all to fight.”
Michael clipped into the rope and rose into the air. “We will win these two battles, and the war. Face your future without fear!”
TWENTY-EIGHT
Ada recited from the note that X had tucked inside the bottle.
“Handle your present with confidence,” she said aloud.
The whistling wind answered, followed by a crack of thunder. Rain smacked into her suit and helmet in the torrential downpour.
Holding the wheel of the sailboat in her gloved hands, she tried to see through the waterfall running down her taped-up visor. Swells slapped the twin hulls like the arms of some giant sea creature trying to break them apart.
“Face your future without fear,” she said.
The storm seemed to respond, slamming her with a gust that almost pushed her away from the wheel. Determined, she held on.
Her new companion, Jo-Jo, was belowdecks, hiding under the bunk. Trying not to think about the monkey, she brought up her wrist monitor to make sure she was going in the right direction.
The Vanguard Islands were another two days’ sail, maybe longer. She would be a lot closer had the storm not caught up with her.
She looked out over the luminous horizon. Lightning snaked out in all directions, as if she were in a blue bowl of electricity.
The storm was growing, and she feared for the mast. Even with the small sails designed for storms, it was being tested near its limit.
At least she could operate the mast and sails on her own, without a crew. The automated system was easy to operate with battery power.
Although having to steer out in the weather wasn’t ideal. She would have preferred to do it from the controls inside the cabin, but it was almost impossible to see anything through the clouded windows.
Another flurry of wind buffeted her. That didn’t bother her. It was the lightning and monster waves that had her on edge.
The risk of capsizing grew with every building swell.
Keeping the speed of the boat up allowed her to steer away from the bigger waves. The biggest threat was those tall breaking seas that had rolled her last boat.
But there were other things out here besides the waves and storm to worry about. Mutant sea creatures the size of her boat, or bigger, had evolved to live and hunt in the darkness.
She tried not to think about what lurked below, and focused on the water.
As the hours passed, her hands grew numb inside the soaked gloves. Her body began to tremble from the cold water that had crept beneath her suit. She shivered violently.
Wet, exhausted, and scared, she wasn’t sure how much longer she could stay out here. It was two in the morning, and she hadn’t checked on Jo-Jo since before midnight.
But even a short break could kill them. One rogue wave catching them broadside would roll them.
She remained at the wheel, changing her grip and blinking repeatedly to keep her eyes open. Moving around a bit helped get her blood flowing, but exhaustion had no cure besides sleep.
An hour later she felt as if she would soon pass out.
A wave bashed against the right hull, throwing the sailboat off course and snapping her alert. The skyline lit up with blue tendrils. Thunder like exploding artillery echoed through the early morning hours. She thought of the Vanguard Islands and again wondered whether she would be too late to help her people.
Every minute that passed, her gut told her something was happening back there that would change the future of humanity.
Another tall wave slammed the boat. The sail whipped behind her, the mast vibrating.
Thunder boomed so loud overhead, it rattled her teeth.
She steeled herself. She could do nothing about the lightning, but she just might be able to keep this boat right side up until the storm passed. A strike sizzled into the ocean somewhere in the distance.
Turning the wheel slightly, she kept the boat as perpendicular as she could to the prevailing waves. But it wasn’t enough, and a crossing wave caught them amidships, nearly knocking her off the boat.
Lightning split the sky to westward, where the storm seemed to be the worst. She guided the boat away from it, heading east.
An hour later she reached the edge of the storm, and calmer waters. Exhausted, Ada locked the wheel in place.
It was time to take a break and check on Jo-Jo. And she really had to pee. Dry clothes and a bite to eat also sounded heavenly.
She checked the sails. Both needed better patching, but that could wait. The mainsail was working fine for now.
She ducked into the cabin, where Jo-Jo waited. The monkey leaped on her, clinging to her leg.
“It’s okay,” Ada said. “I’m back, and we’re going to be okay.”
The animal whimpered, gripping her leg as she took off her helmet. Then her suit. Then she peed in the bucket, put on dry clothes, and got back into her suit.
After drinking some water and eating a stick of jerky and her last orange, she checked her wrist monitor. They were heading farther and farther off course. It would only add time to her journey, but that was okay with her as long as they survived.
She had plenty of food and water left. What she needed was rest. She went through her pack to find something for Jo-Jo to eat. The sniffling monkey seemed hungry.
A piece of fish jerky was the first thing she pulled out.
The monkey sniffed at the stick, then bit off a hunk.
Ada went to dump out the bucket. Jo-Jo, still eating, shadowed her to the hatch.