Broken Lands by David Meyer

Author:David Meyer [Meyer, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-12-13T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 31

“Nothing in there,” Sanza reported, emerging from one of the doors positioned along the upper walkway.

“Okay,” Titus said with a nod. “Keep looking.”

Quickly, she and Lork hurried to the next room. He tried the knob, then twisted it fully. The door opened up, revealing a dark interior. Brandishing a rebuilt torch, Sanza hiked inside.

Rotating to the right-side hallway, Titus saw Podey and Private Norsen Lang exit a room. She shook her head at him, then followed Lang to another room. Torch in hand, the private threw the door open and disappeared through it. She waited a beat, then walked after him.

Farther down that same hallway, Mantro Gorb and Renda Jormay passed through an open door. Mantro shook his head, an act which Titus acknowledged with pursed lips. Then the two reservoir workers vanished into the next room, slowly making their way toward Podey and Lang.

Head on a swivel, Titus peered at other members of the expedition, watching as they conducted searches. Every now and then, he cast a wary eye at the hallway behind him, half-expecting Qudet to break through the rubble.

“It might not be on this level, Sir.” Stubbels cleared his throat. Perched on the steps leading up to the metal walkway, he possessed a good view of the main room. “It could be anywhere between here and B-6.”

Titus winced as he recalled the cave-in on B-6 as well as the harrowing moments that had followed it. He remembered the wall collapsing, the terrified cries, and most of all, the sight of blood.

The bodies were gone now, presumably hauled to the surface by Dargon and the Banished. It didn’t change anything, though.

“Good point.” Titus hiked to the metal stairs. “Once we finish here, we’ll retrace our steps. Maybe we missed something.”

Stubbels gave him a close look. “Don’t worry, Sir,” he said confidently. “We’ll stop them. Things will go back to normal.”

“I know.”

But Titus didn’t really believe that. Even if they escaped the station, even if they stopped Dargon, things would never go back to normal.

Too much had changed. The only way forward was to hold on to what worked, while shedding the things that no longer made sense. Was that even possible? Could Natica exist without its foundational beliefs?

“They’re here,” Canja shrieked, her voice coming from the upper floor. “Help.”

“Everyone to the walkway.” Drawing his sword, Titus sprinted up the staircase, causing it to rattle underfoot. Hanging a right at the top, he ran to the east side, then burst through the open doorway. Right away, he caught sight of shifting bodies. The sound of clanging metal rang in his ears.

Charging ahead, he directed a shoulder into the gut of Koley Ford, a hulking reverse-engineer from Titus’ youth. Once the most feared man in all of Natica, Koley had been banished after numerous beatdowns of his wife, the last of which had killed the poor woman.

Koley took the blow in stride, then hip-tossed Titus to the ground. Titus landed with a thud, smacking his noggin against the floor. Colors exploded in his eyes but he still saw the blade zooming toward him.

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