The Last Bastion of the Living (The Last Bastion #1)(64)

“It’s done,” Holm said in an awed voice.

“Now we kill them all.” Omondi lifted his bolt weapon and headed out of the room.

Maria finished with her download and followed with Holm on her heels.



*



Patience was a virtue that didn’t come naturally to Dwayne. He had learned it over time, but it was still not an easy fit to his psyche. A long day at work had not distracted him sufficiently from worrying about Maria. She was beyond the wall now and far from him. He could no longer reach her, protect her, or hold her.

It was agonizing.

Flipping off the vid screen, he laid back on his bed. He had tried to watch an old film, but had been far too distracted. Lindsey had been unreachable all day, but that was not unusual for her. She would contact him when she was ready with information.

Checking his wristlet again, Dwayne fought the tug of sleep on his eyelids. He didn’t want to sleep until he heard from Maria. Of course, she might not be able to find the time to contact him. That possibility was not something he wanted to consider. He longed to hear her voice.

Sleep had nearly won and he was gently dozing when his wristlet buzzed. Instantly awake, he rolled onto his side and activated the stealth program. The screen remained dark and he worried the call had been disconnected. Slowly, he realized he was viewing Maria in the darkness of the night.

“Dwayne, I can’t talk long. Everyone is in torpor right now, but I need to be careful,” she whispered.

He could barely discern the shape of her face and the glint of her eyes in the starlight. “Are you okay?” He knew her very well and there was tension in her tone that indicated she was upset.

“Things are worse out here than we thought they would be,” she admitted. “There was an error in our planning and someone died. I doubt the same mistake will be made again, but...”

Dwayne squinted, desperately wanting to see her face. “I’m sorry, honey. You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just...” her voice faded, then he heard her take a breath. “What we discovered today was...someone opened the gate on purpose, Dwayne. The Gaia Cult tried to kill us all.”

“Shit,” he gasped.

There had always been theories of sabotage, but they were considered wild speculation. He felt as though he had been punched in the gut. It was unfathomable that someone had purposely tried to wipe out humanity.

“Somehow a group of survivors led the Scrags here and people inside the valley let them in. One of our own guards helped.” Maria’s voice was ragged. “I wish I could cry. Maybe it would make me feel better, but I’m just...”

“Maria, what you’re saying is...unbelievable. It’s so awful. I can’t imagine how it felt to discover that.”

“We’re all in shock. We found the trucks of the people who led the Scrags to us. It had some of their literature recorded on pads. We’ll bring those back to the city. I’m wondering if some of the city failures over the years have been the Gaia Cult. Maybe they’re still active.”

Dwayne again caught a glimmer of light in her eyes and again wished he could see her face. “All that information was sent to the SWD?”

“Yeah, but shouldn’t they tell you? Aren’t you in charge of protecting the city?”

“The commandant is very selective in the information she imparts to me. I can only hope that at some point she will draw me into this officially. I am trying to gather information using my own sources.”

Maria sighed wearily.

“Maria, I’m so proud of what you’re doing. You’re amazing.”

“I wish I felt amazing,” Maria whispered. “I feel so lost out here. I didn’t think it would be this overwhelming.”

“It’s your first night out there. You’ll adapt. You can do this.”

She was silent and he strained to see her face. Finally, she said, “You’re right. I can do this. The gate is closed. This is the beginning.”

“I love you, Maria.”

“I love you, Dwayne,” she answered. “I need to go.”

The connection ended.

Slinging his legs over the side of the bed, Dwayne accessed the hidden menu again and sent a message to Lindsey. He would need her more than ever if there really was the possibility of a threat inside the city.





Chapter 18



“Today the killing starts and we don’t stop until every Scrag in the valley is dead,” Omondi said the next morning. “There is an estimated four million Scrags in the valley. I know that sounds like a lot when there are only forty of us, but let me show you something.” Removing the bolt weapon from his back, Omondi pointed to Holm. “Set your wristlet timer for one minute. The rest of you count how many I kill. Holm, tell me when to start.”

Holm fussed with her wristlet, then held up one hand. “Now!”

Omondi immediately started to dispatch the Inferi Scourge clustered around him.

“One…two…three…” the squad intoned together.

Maria watched, smirking slightly. Omondi was putting on quite a show as Scourge collapsed like fallen trees. It was quite impressive.

“…twelve…thirteen...fourteen…”

Omondi pivoted back and forth as his weapon slammed against the skulls of the creatures. His huge body was impressive among the mangled forms.