XXVII.

The City On The Wall – 83 Days Prior

Brenin’s father was a tall man, strong and tall. That was what he remembered most about him, what he admired most. Everyone looked up to his father in one way or another it seemed. No one looked up to Brenin, only down. Though his father would never say as much, he knew he did as well. He could never help with the work, never be more than a burden, a cripple bound to a chair. He hadn’t asked to be born that way, but all the kids treated him as if he had, and all the adults treated him with pity – another thing he never asked for. All the same, his secret contempt hidden behind stony eyes, Brenin’s father often kept him at his side during patrols – probably to keep him out of the way of everyone else, he figured. Today was one of those days. The pair could be found at the furthest end of the dam, camped at the waystation located there. Held up by his father, his arms wrapped snuggly around his waist, Brenin stared out to lands unknown through a pair of binoculars. “Do you see it, Brenin,” Alijah asked in that deep solemn voice of his, “to the west a ways, upon the Northern Shore?”

He did. It was a caravan, no doubt a train of monstrous beings from the west, all wrapped up in cloths to hide their horrible deformities. “What… what are they?” Brenin asked shakily. “Demons? Should we sound the alarms?!”

“No-no-no! No, they’re who we’re here to meet,” his father said surely. “I told you our history, where we come from, right?”

“Yeah, da,” Brenin confirmed. “You said we came from… up there, space.”

“Essentially,” Alijah said with a laugh. “My dad was an officer on a big ship in the sky – the Tevat. They were the very last of mankind, led by the Godhead itself – praise be.”

“Praise be,” Brenin quickly echoed

“From what he told me, the Godhead hated the worship,” his father continued, “but I think it’s only proper. Like you, they didn’t get a choice in GOD’s plan. Guess none of us do really… There was a great battle though and they crashed, and the Tevat was lost when they fled. That’s how we ended up here.”

“You’ve told me,” Brenin said with a half-frown, not knowing if he ever really believed the story or not. “What’s it have to do with… them?”

Alijah smiled up at his son, the first genuinely broad smile he had ever seen on his father’s face. For some reason it only made Brenin’s half-frown into a full one. “Follow me,” Alijah said as he set his son back into his powerchair. “Come on!”

“O-okay,” Brenin replied, taken aback by his father’s excitement. “Wait up.”

The two left the waystation behind for the open wall, walking a ways down the plasteel road in silence before his father broke it. “A week ago I was out ranging, as I do,” he began, stopping just before the plasteel path change into carved mountain rock. “I ran into them. Boy, you best believe I was scared out of my wits! I’ve met mutants before, good people striking out from the west, but these guys… They were a little more equip, for a lack of words. Armored head to toe! I thought I was dead for sure. But, then I met their leader, and it turns out we have some common history – the Tevat! They know where it is, Brenin, and they’re willing to take us to it. If half the stories your grandad told me growing up are true, then its something we can’t pass up. The technology on that ship… It can do miracles.”

“W-wait, you’re leaving?!” Brenin exclaimed in a mix of shock and dread. “You can’t go! W-what about everything here?!”

“Yes, me, your mother, and a few elders as well,” answered Alijah curtly. “Everything without us for a few days! It’s just too good of a thing to pass up, you gotta understand. And besides, you’re always wanting more responsibility! Well, here it is, Brenin. I need you to watch out for your brother while I’m gone, him and the others. Now, you gonna do me proud?”

Brenin’s eyes darted around, watering up. He wasn’t sure if he was scared or up to the challenge, but he nodded all the same. “What if I can’t do it?” he asked meekly. “What if something goes wrong and I can’t keep up?” Alijah sighed and shrugged. “Something always goes wrong, Brenin,” he said flatly, “always. It’s how we react to the wrong that makes a difference. Chin up. Let me tell you a secret, why I’m really taking this risk.” Alijah tapped his son’s dead legs and said softly, “This. This is only temporary now. Back before the world ended, things like this – living with it I mean – was a thing of the past! They had means to fix it, even long after birth. That is what’s on that ship, Brenin, and that’s what we’re going to find.”

His son stared down at his legs. The promise of being able to walk was a heavy one. “If they’re friends,” Brenin began with a hard swallow, “why don’t they just bring it here? Why do you need to go there?”

“That’s the tradeoff, isn’t it?” Alijah gave with a sigh. “Well, you see… our cousins, though their tech is strong, didn’t fair as well as we did on their journeys. This place, due to their time here, they can’t get in. The key is in our blood, you see? They want to live good too, as all people should. So, as the good book says, love thy neighbor – and we’ll both prosper.”

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Present Day

“That was a lie…” Brenin said through a veil of tears. “They didn’t want to help us at all. I don’t know what exactly happened, but I awoke that night to the sounds of screams. Jeremy helped me to my chair and we tried to go find our dad, but… but the door was sealed shut. All I could do… was watch… watch them take everyone they could find, everyone but us! I watched it all from the windows… Beams of light cut the sky like the thousand tails of a meteor shower… We didn’t stand a chance. Some fought back, but the monsters just… They took them anyways.”

Vagari paused once he heard the nature of the weapons. He turned away from his work to meet Brenin’s eyes, and this time he didn’t look away. “Was a man leading them? One tall, like me?” Vagari questioned. “I know it’s hard, but do you remember a man? Either robed or… or with an arm like lashes?”

“Dr. Xu…” BP whispered with both pain and contempt in her avian voice. But Brenin shook his head and said, “No… not a man… another monster. It wasn’t like the others, the ones with guns, but it matched that… Robed, taller than any of the others! I saw people shoot at it, and someone even tried to blow it up! But nothing worked.” Jeremy clung to his brothers chair and both fell into a melancholy silence, that was until the food processing unit chimed, “UNKNOWN PRINTING ERROR CORRECTED. WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTINUE QUEUED PRINT: BREAKFAST #34 x138? Y/N?”

“God no, cancel queued print, jeez,” Vagari said with a huff. “You guys really do like Breakfast #34, don’t you?”

“Did… Did you fix it?” Brenin asked, cautiously hopeful, while his brother exclaimed, “You fixed it! You really fixed it!”

“For future reference,” BP announced as she unplugged her device, “the extruder needs to be removed and cleaned every once in awhile or this can happen. Thanks Aan here, we figured out it was simple as the line being clogged, so yay!”

“Thank you – thank you – thank you!” the boys exclaimed together, understandably overjoyed by the prospect of future meals.

“Alright,” Vagari said casually as he stood up and strode by to go sit at one of the benches, “why don’t we talk more over dinner, huh? You two get some food in you first.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Thank you!” they both cried in unison again before turning to the printer and demanding, “Breakfast #34 please! Two of them – no, make it four!”

Ten few minutes later they all sat at a table with warm meals in front of them. It was grits, Vagari realized with quiet disgust, grits with a few links of sausage and an egg. Vagari could understand the latter two, but who in their right mind, much more so a child, orders grits when left to their own devices?! He sighed, staring down at the synthetic boiled cornmeal for a long moment before digging in. His least favorite meal still beat algae. “It’s stupid!” the wheelchair-bound boy said between shoveled mouthfuls. “The Tevat, it doesn’t even exist! It’s just a fairytale Grandad told, just like the Godhead. Just… some story to keep kids from being bad. ‘Do your best, cause the Godhead is watching’! Tch – it didn’t work…”

“But it does exist,” Vagari replied flatly. “In fact, it’s actually why we’ve come this far east. I didn’t know its name, or if we were even going in the right direction really, but I’m sure of it now. I can’t say anything about this ‘Godhead’, no, but there is something trapped out there. It’s calling out for help.”

“How do you know?” Jeremy asked as he wiped yoke from his chin.

“He’s seen it,” BP said with a mystic wave of her hands, “like, in his dreams! The Being of Light, we call her, or it – I don’t know. Do you guys know anything about that?”

“Right,” Vagari interrupted, “do you remember the story in full? May be our Being of Light and your Godhead are one in the same.”

Brenin stared down at his food for a moment, then uttered a ‘yes’ with a series of surprised blinks. Doubt was written plainly across his face, but not doubt of Vagari’s words. He was doubting himself, his faith. Brenin cleared his throat before relaying the tale. “From what my pop told me, it starts like this,” Brenin stated, setting his spoon down to focus on the story. “It was long ago – like two-hundred years long – just after the old world ended. They called themselves ‘The First Seeds’ and they were the last of mankind, or so they thought. So, they built a ship, like the boat in the Noah story, but for way up in the sky! It was the greatest ship ever built, and the strongest. ‘The collective might of the human race’ my grandpa told dad, meaning it was the best at everything ever! And, who else could pilot the greatest ship but the greatest human? That was the Godhead – a person instilled with all the will and power, all the smarts humanity ever had, and ever would. Like the ship, they were supposedly every bit of humanity collected into one.”

“This… Godhead,” Vagari began, “what are they supposed to look like?”

“Well Ma says she glowed like a lady on fire!” Chimed in Jeremy, with his brother continuing, saying, “Yeah, that’s right. They’re said to appear that way to folks. The shape can be different, I think, but that’s always the same. They’re so bright you can hardly look at them.”

“Not always a she then? Curious,” Vagari stated to himself before urging them to continue.

“When the monsters came and ended the world, the Godhead appeared as well,” Brenin told them. “Dad said they united the world against the monsters, but it wasn’t enough. There wasn’t enough of the human spirit left to defeat them – whatever that means. So, they took to the stars, way up above the sky – where it’s always night! But, something went wrong, and the ship crashed. We’re the blood of that ship, Dad says, so the Godhead protects us still, even though they didn’t escape as we had. I don’t think I believe that anymore though… After what happened, it just seems silly, you know? Where were they then, when we needed them? But, now with your dream… I don’t know what to believe.”

“Well, I believe in it!” Jeremy proclaimed proudly. “The Godhead gives me extra rations when I lose a tooth!”

BP would let loose a harsh snort and say, “Well, the Godhead must hate me because I lose teeth all the time and I haven’t gotten a thing for it! I mean, we used half of them just to climb up here!” That was the first time Vagari saw the two boys smile and genuinely laugh since they arrived, their fear of them seemingly melting away with the warmness of the meal before them. “If… if you do find it,” Brenin asked earnestly, wiping budding tears away on his sleeve, “will you please bring our parents back? Bring everyone back, please – e-even the kids who were mean to me. I just want them back.”

Vagari smiled kindly. He knew in all honesty he couldn’t make that promise. The reality of the situation was they were probably already dead or worse, but it would be unfair to murder what revived hope they had. “I’ll try,” he offered. “If they’re there I’ll find them, and I won’t leave anyone behind.”

That night they all bedded down in the mess hall. It surprised Vagari that the boys had even suggested it with how scared they initially were of him. Now they seemed to welcome his and BP’s company. He guessed that even with their deformed aspects, their company was better than none after all they’d been through. He could understand that. Before they drifted off, BP told them all about their adventures so far, a story that seemed to both excite, terrify, and encourage the boys. She told them of her and Vagari’s meeting in the overgrown city of New Houston, of their battle with her misbegotten sibling, the Amalgamation, and then of their journey through the swamp and their encounter with the demon therein. Most notably, she told them of Xu and his connection with the group that attacked them, and how they had defeated him and his guards – something Vagari wished she hadn’t.

The boys were awestruck, and now, more than ever, believed the pair would bring their family home. That was something Vagari didn’t bank on happening. In truth, Vagari didn’t even thing they would survive their venture, much less make it home. So, he cut her off there, announcing that it was time for bed, as they were going to have a long journey ahead of them. With reluctant groans and sighs, they complied. Without further word, he was soon surrounded by snoring bodies. He too quickly fell asleep, and like most nights, he dreamt of fire and the world he had lost.

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Longborrow’s Lake, two-hundred years ago.

“I’ve been having a lot of… doubts lately,” Val said into the campfire before turning his gaze out to the moon shimmering across the water’s surface. She pulled his hand over into hers and placed it upon her belly, over the new soul within. “Doubts about what, Eddie?” She asked with that bright smile that always chased away the darkness. “Not us, I hope.”

“No, never!” he exclaimed before letting out a pensive sigh. “Never us.”

“I know – I know! I’m just teasing,” She said with a smirk and roll of her eyes. “But really… About what, hmm? I’m here for you, Eddie. You know that, right? What we’re making here… It ties us forever.”

Edward Valentino locked eyes with the one true love of his life, and said softly, “I know… And, that’s part of it. I… I don’t want to be the kind of father my father was, and it feels… Well, it feels like my work is making me. It’s taking me down a path I don’t want to follow. It feels like… What I’m saying is, it feels like it’s taking me away from you.”

“Well, if all else fails, I guess I can go crash with my sister in Illiniwek!” she jabbed with a smirk before adding, “You worry too much, Eddie! We’ve spent more time together since you took this job than we ever had when you taught classes. And, the money is nice too.”

Val pushed away and stood up. He walked a few feet to the shore and just stood there for a quiet moment with his back turned. “I’m… I’m sorry, Eddie,” the woman said behind him, “I shouldn’t have joked.”

“It’s not that,” he uttered staring up at the stars. “It isn’t that at all. But, you’re right, like usual. This job… it’s probably the best thing that’s happened for us – for the baby. We have enough put away she can go to any college in the world – the system even! But, it’s the work I mean… I think about it more and more, even when I’m away, even when I’m with you! It’s all I can think of, dammit! It’s like a worm in my mind, or a song I can’t lose!”

“Sounds like you’re passionate, Eddie,” she told him with that same glowing smile, burning away the darkness. “Besides with yours truly, you’ve never been allowed to be passionate about anything in your life, have you? Your dad wouldn’t let you, especially after your mom died. Tch, that kind of thing doesn’t just go away as you get older, believe you me.”

Was it passion? Academic enthrallment? Val searched himself but couldn’t find an honest answer. He wished he could talk about it, truly talk about it, but he couldn’t – they would know, and his break was up. Lights burned in the distance, high above the cityscape, drawing near. The soft whooping of helicopter blades met his ears and he shut his eyes tight. They were coming. Val sunk down by her side once more as the quadcopter settled down into the parking lot behind them. “That’s my cue,” He said drawing her lips to his. “Can you get back alright?”

“You act like the car doesn’t drive itself,” she answered with a smirk, pulling him back for another kiss. “Of course I can. Don’t worry.”

“Dr. Valentino,” a voice suddenly called out to him. It was a suit half hanging out the helicopter. “I’m sorry to interrupt your holiday, but Dr. Cain needs you back immediately!”

Val hissed and shouted a confirmation before turning back to his wife. She was trying to be strong for him, but he could see the emotion tugging at the corners of her lips – he could see the brightness draining from her smile. He helped her to her feet and held her close to him. “I love you,” he told her, “and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“I love you too, Eddie,” she replied, still holding onto that wavering smile. “Come back to me, okay? To us.”

“I will,” he lied. “I’ll always come back to you.” Val turned from her and started making his way towards the man in the suit as he ducked back into the quadcopter, and when he turned, he felt that passion boiling within him. Val was excited to go, eager – even as the sobs broke out behind him. He was passionate, he was in love, and it was time to leave his mistress behind and go home – home to work, home to the Beacon.