Captives

TEN

Magnolia woke to the sound of laughter in the hallway outside her room. For the past three hours, she had tossed and turned. But it wasn’t the feather-stuffed mattress or warm air that kept her from dozing off. She couldn’t stop thinking about X and Rodger.

Where had the Cazadores taken them?

Moonlight streamed in through the open windows, and the shutters clicked in the breeze. The noise irritated her. She swung her feet over the side of the bed and walked across the cold floor for a look outside.

Even at this late hour, several people were lounging out on their balconies. A man in an immaculate dark suit, and a woman in a thin black dress sat on metal chairs drinking and smoking brown sticks.

Magnolia remembered them as cigarettes from old films and books. The smoke sticks, as her people called them, were outlawed on the airships due to the risk of fire, but it didn’t surprise her that they would have them here. It also meant they grew tobacco somewhere on their many farms. The Cazadores had the resources to keep many old-world traditions.

She gazed at the sky and breathed in the sweet-smelling smoke. The starry dome ended in the distance, where the storm clouds still raged. The view made her wonder how electrical storms worked and why they didn’t pass over this area. It also made her wonder whether more places like this existed out there. If anyone knew, it would be the Imulah. But for now, she would keep the questions to herself.

After shutting the windows, she walked back over to the side table and poured a glass of water. The laughter she heard a few minutes earlier had ceased, replaced by approaching footfalls.

Magnolia quickly made her way back into bed. She pulled the blanket up to her neck and turned toward the wall. A key turned, the lock clicked, and the door opened.

“Magnolia,” said a familiar voice.

She turned to see Rodger standing in the doorway.

“Rodge?” she said, sitting up slowly.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he said, holding out his arms.

She rushed to embrace him, careful not to squeeze too hard. Having her arms wrapped around the friend she had thought dead nearly broke her, and she choked up at his warm touch.

“How… how did you get here?” she asked.

Pulling away, he interlaced his fingers with hers. “I don’t have a lot of time, Mags, but there’s something we have to do.”

For a fleeting second, she thought this was it: their chance to escape.

“Something you have to do, rather,” Rodger said.

“Anything,” Magnolia said. “I just hope you know I thought you were dead…”

He let go with one hand and held it to her face, running his fingers over her cheek. “I believe you. X already explained.”

She hugged him again. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, Mags.”

She pulled back and searched his eyes. “So what can I do? Anything, Rodge, just tell me. I’m ready to fight. Ready to escape.”

Rodger seemed disappointed at her enthusiasm. “No,” he whispered, shaking his head. “We can’t. You can’t. You have to marry el Pulpo.”

She pulled away from his grip. “What!”

Rodger moved forward, but she backed away again, her legs hitting the bed frame. The moonlight accentuated his features, and her heart melted at the broken man standing in the glow.

This was no longer the jokester, strong Hell Diver, and talented woodsmith in front of her. He was a shell of his former self: bearded, gaunt, with bags rimming his dark eyes.

“What have they done to you, Rodger?” she said softly.

“They saved my life, and now I’m going to save yours.”

Magnolia narrowed her gaze. The old Rodger would never have said that. The old Rodger loved his family, loved the Hive, and had loved her.

Or so she thought.

“El Pulpo killed you, then brought you back so you could be a slave,” Magnolia said. “I’d rather die than marry that monster.”

“Mags, you’re not listening to me,” Rodger said. “You have no choice.”

She froze when she glimpsed a figure in the hallway. Imulah stood in the shadows, hands clasped behind his back, watching.

Now she understood. Rodger hadn’t sneaked here on his own; he was escorted by the scribe, to persuade her to stop being such a hostile bitch.

I’ll never stop being hostile, or a bitch, especially to that asshole el Pulpo.

“Please, Mags,” Rodger pleaded, grabbing her by the arm. “They’ll kill you—and me, and Miles, and—”

She yanked free of his weak grip. “X is out there,” she growled, “right now, fighting for me, and…” She tapped Rodger on the chest with her finger. “He will never give up, and we can’t, either.”

“It doesn’t matter. He can’t save us. Chances are, where he’s going, he won’t even be able to save himself.”

She moved away from the bed, closer to him. “What do you mean?”

Rodger glanced over his shoulder at Imulah, who finally entered the room.

“He means X is on a mission that he probably won’t come back from,” Imulah said. “Many soldiers will die, but those who return will be hailed and glorified in the halls of the Octopus Lords.”

Magnolia almost rolled her eyes. Halls of the Octopus Lords? Please.

“You still don’t know X like I do,” she said. “That’s fine, though; I’d rather you underestimate him.”

“We underestimate nothing,” Imulah said. “You may think he will free you or that the sky gods will come and save you, but if they do come, we will destroy them, as we did the others.”

Rodger looked at the floor.

“What do you mean, the others?” Magnolia asked.

Imulah made his way over to the window and stuck his head outside. He looked up, and suddenly Magnolia understood. She joined him there and felt a chill at the sight of the airship above them—the location of the Sky Arena.

“You weren’t the first that found us,” Imulah said. “And you probably won’t be the last. We knew about the Hive and Ares for many years. We listened to your transmissions, but we never responded. But now you see what happens to those who try to take this place from el Pulpo.”

Magnolia stepped away from the window, suddenly feeling that she was going to be sick. The journey here on the Sea Wolf was supposed to save her people. It was supposed to be a fresh start—a place where humanity could rebuild and live in peace without the fear of crashing to a poisoned earth.

But when they set off for the Metal Islands, they had no idea what kind of evil dwelled here. Maybe X had, but Magnolia had expected only some pirate ships.

Now she knew the truth.

While humanity had continued to advance in the sky, on the surface it seemed to have devolved, back to a more primitive state. Where the sword ruled over the law. Where violence and pain were glorified, and the people worshipped a sea creature.

Imulah moved closer. “Magnolia, I’ve told you many times, but you don’t listen, so I thought I would bring Rodger to talk some sense into you. Time is running out for you to get your mind in the right place.”

“Time is always running out,” Magnolia replied. “I’m used to the feeling, and you can’t scare me with threats, in case you haven’t figured that out already.”

Imulah raised a hand and pinched his fingers together, then opened them as if he were dropping something on the ground. “The sands of time have almost run out. Tomorrow night, you will be dining with el Pulpo in the gardens, and I fear he will lose patience with your strong spirit and no longer be enamored of it.”

The old scribe stepped between Rodger and Magnolia.

“El Pulpo has enjoyed your presence thus far. Make sure that lasts, for your sake and your friends’.” He patted Rodger on the shoulder and turned to leave. “And don’t forget about that dog. I’ve heard el Pulpo mention how delicious he looks.”

She glared at Imulah’s robed back, holding back what she really wanted to say. Before she could react, Rodger leaned forward and hugged her. She didn’t embrace him, but she did hear what he whispered in her ear when Imulah moved away with his back to them.

“I haven’t given up, Mags, but you have to play the game like me, so when we do get a chance, we can escape.”

Then he was gone. The door locked with a click that echoed through the empty room. Magnolia slumped on the bed, heart thumping and a tear racing down her cheek.

The rain had stopped, but the open cargo bay of the USS Zion was still slick. Interior lights shone on a fallen Hell Diver. The body of Jed Snow was wrapped in white blankets and chains to take him down once they pushed him over the side to his final resting place.

The ship rocked gently in the rough water. They had anchored here for three days, within view of another island. Unlike the mountainous place where Jed died, this landmass was mostly flat, and while there seemed to be some flora, most of the terrain appeared to consist of black rock. For this was a relatively new island in geological terms, born of a volcano beneath the sea. Near one end, a red ribbon of lava glowed.

Katrina had watched in awe for the past two days, seeing Mother Nature at its most primordial for the first time in her life. When she wasn’t looking out over the awesome sight, she was planning for the rendezvous at the Metal Islands and getting the weapons in operational shape.

In two days, they would meet the airships at their new home. First, though, Michael, Les, and Layla had to complete their mission at Red Sphere, and Katrina was starting to get anxious for news. She brought up the wrist computer that allowed her to stay connected to the command center of the USS Zion and receive any incoming transmissions.

The last time she talked to Les, they had just reached Red Sphere and were preparing to drop the EMP bomb. It had to work. She was sick of waiting around and hoping. She wanted to take action.

Her eyes flitted back to the reason the divers were in the cargo bay. The white sheets covering Jed rippled in the wind. She had considered taking his body to the island to bury him, but despite the clear weather and lack of radiation, it was still too dangerous. She wouldn’t risk another attack by some mutant beast.

Instead, they had decided to do Jed’s send-off in the water. It was no different from in the sky, really. When someone passed away on the Hive, they would drop the body from the launch tubes, sending it back to the earth, the way it was always supposed to be.

“We’re all here now,” said Trey.

She turned to see the other divers present in the cargo hold. Trey, Sandy, Eevi, Alexander, Vish, Jaideep, and Edgar joined her in the enclosed space, out of the wind and rain. Katrina laid her gloved hand on Sandy’s shoulder.

The teenage girl had suffered greatly on the journey, seeing her blossoming love destroyed by aberrant evolution in the wastes. Katrina feared she had lost two divers to that hybrid monster on that island. She wasn’t sure Sandy would be of much use when they reached the Metal Islands. Since Jed’s death, the girl had mostly slept.

“I’m not very good at this,” Katrina said. “But I’d like to say a few words about Jed before his send-off. First, though, does anyone else want to say anything?”

“I do.” Sandy wiped away a tear and stepped closer to the body.

“I didn’t know Jed very well when we were younger,” she said. “He was the shy kid in school. Kept to himself. Helped his mom after classes and was pretty much by her side until her last breath. I never heard him talk about his father, who died as a Hell Diver not long after he was born.”

She drew in a breath and let it out. “I don’t know if you guys know this, but he told me something about Michael and Layla when he first volunteered to join the Hell Divers. A memory from when he was a kid.”

“What memory?” Katrina asked.

Sandy cracked a half smile. “He said they approached him and his mom in the trading post when he was about six or so, and they gave him a cookie to eat.”

Katrina grinned. “Sounds just like Michael and Layla.”

Sandy wiped away another tear. “Jed never forgot that. He said it taught him how to treat people. He used that kindness in his own life, and he treated me like he treated his mom. Always looking out for us and making sure we were okay. Giving us the last drink of water or the last bite of food or making sure we were comfortable. I think that’s when I knew I was falling in love with him, when I woke up at night and he was covering my feet.”

Katrina felt the tears welling up in her own eyes. The emotions she had suppressed were boiling back up with the memories of a good man. There weren’t many left in this world, and each loss hurt.

“Jed told me he volunteered to become a Hell Diver because of Michael and Layla, but also because he always liked me and wanted to protect me,” Sandy continued. “And now he’s gone because of me.”

“It’s not your fault,” Trey said. “It’s mine. He would never have been out there if I hadn’t let my guard down on the deck.”

“It’s no one’s fault,” Katrina said. “We’re here because of the Cazadores. All we can do now is avenge him when we get to the Metal Islands.”

“I will avenge him,” Sandy said.

There was anger in her voice. Good. Anger, when managed properly, could be a powerful motivator. At least, that was how Katrina used hers, and she had plenty stored away in the tank.

“He was a good man,” Edgar added. “Ramon and Jed used to run laps in the launch bay. He said Jed was the only one who could beat him in a sprint.”

“I knew his mom,” Eevi said. “She worked as a seamstress. Chances are, everyone here has worn something she made.”

Thunder boomed in the distance, and rain pattered down on the weather deck. The storm was back.

Sandy bent down to the body and tucked a handwritten note inside the sheets. Then she put her hand on Jed’s chest.

“Be at peace,” she said.

Katrina nodded to Alexander and then to Trey, and together, the three of them picked up Jed and carried him to the starboard rail. The cold rain hit them at a slant, and Katrina tucked her exposed face against her chest. None of them were wearing their armor, and now she wished she had at least thrown on a poncho.

Sandy followed them to the rail and helped them lift Jed’s body.

“On three,” Katrina said.

She counted down, and on three, they eased him over the side. All four of them looked down to watch the ocean swallow the body. Bubbles gurgled to the top as the white spot below the surface dimmed and then disappeared.

“Bye, Jed,” Sandy said.

Katrina put a hand on her shoulder again and guided her away from the railing and back into the protection of the cargo bay. Eevi hit the button to close the hatch, and all the other divers but Trey walked with Sandy to the ladder for the upper decks.

He waited for Katrina as the door clanked shut.

“Captain, may I talk to you?” he said.

“Of course, Trey. What’s on your mind?”

He turned to make sure everyone was gone. When the last footfalls faded away, he said, “I’m sorry for letting you down, Captain. Jed’s death is on me, not the Cazadores. That’s why I want permission to take a Zodiac and scout out the Metal Islands before we meet the airships there. We have two days before—”

“No,” Katrina said, cutting him off. “It’s too dangerous, and your old man would kill me.”

Trey stiffened. He stood a good foot taller than she. “Captain, I was actually hoping you would come with me on this recon mission.”

She backed up slightly so she could meet his gaze and confirm that he was serious.

“It would be a great honor for me,” he added.

Katrina had actually considered doing some reconnaissance before the airships arrived, but dismissed the idea as too dangerous.

“I want to surprise the Cazadores when we do show up,” she said, “and getting spotted beforehand is too risky to the overall mission.”

“Ma’am, all due respect, but don’t you think el Pulpo expects us to come? He isn’t stupid, and he’s likely interrogated X and Magnolia, right? He has to know they weren’t out here all on their own.”

She had considered that, too.

Before she could respond, her wrist monitor beeped. She held it up just as a message played over the comms system.

“Captain, please report to the bridge immediately,” Eevi said over the channel. “I’ve picked up something on radar, and it’s heading this way.”

Trey and Katrina looked at each other. He was probably wondering the same thing: Had the Cazadores already spotted them?