Last Prophet Standing: A Post-Apocalyptic Adventure (After the End Book 6) by Doug Troxell

Author:Doug Troxell [Troxell, Doug]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independent
Published: 2024-05-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Janus returned to Jericho two days later with what was left of their army. The Double Edge soldiers were bruised and bleeding, and many collapsed long before they made it to the parking lot. Janus led the sad parade. There were no more siege engines or trebuchets, and only a handful of horses remained.

Janus limped to the gate alone, leaving their army behind. They knocked politely on the gate and waited.

Behind Jericho’s walls, the Ono Triad gathered with Ash and Draven. There was some confusion about who should meet with Janus, so the knocking went unanswered for a long time.

“It should be you,” Draven said to Sora. “You’re in charge.”

“But it’s a military matter,” Sora countered. “I’m going to need you out there with me.”

Knock—knock—knock!

“What about him?” Sora asked, nodding to Ash.

Since his arrival, they had kept Ash isolated from Jericho’s general population. If his isolation bothered him, he didn’t say anything. News of his presence was starting to spread, but the backlash of inviting a prophet behind Jericho’s walls was a problem for after the war.

Draven thought about it. “Maybe we should bring him. Might give us some credibility in Janus’s eyes. Might also be beneficial to present a united front.”

“Do I have a say in this?” Ash asked.

“NO!” Sora and Draven shouted together.

Knock—knock—knock!

“Let’s at least hear Janus out,” Draven said. “Then we’ll make a decision—together.”

Sora, Draven, and Ash exited Jericho. Janus backed up to make it clear they presented no threat.

The first thing Draven noticed was that Janus was not armed with their trademark double fencing blades. He spotted them in Carto’s arms back with the remains of Janus’s army. Janus was coming unarmed to an enemy they had just tried to exterminate. Their position must have been desperate.

“You look like hell,” Draven said.

“That’s because I just walked through it,” Janus said. “And it’s headed this way.”

“Messiah?” Ash asked.

Janus nodded. “Her numbers were … there was no way to prepare for it. Her crusaders blew themselves up … willingly … happily. They were undisciplined, but it didn’t matter … not when there were so many.”

Ash understood. He had seen the aftermath of Messiah’s attack on Mecca. He saw the craters where the suicide bombers had taken their own lives to eliminate multitudes of Meccans. He saw the remains of the schoolhouse where Karen’s body was buried under the rubble …

“What do you want from us?” Sora asked. “Why come here instead of running back to New York with your tail between your legs?”

“Because we’ll never make it to New York. Messiah is only a few hours behind us. I’m requesting—I’m requesting asylum for me and my army.”

Ash, to everyone’s shock, burst out laughing. It was an unfamiliar and disturbing sound.

“Don’t laugh,” Janus said. “These walls won’t protect you from what’s coming. Your defenses are weakened, your supplies are drained, and your people are still recovering. You’re hurting—and so am I. The only choice we have is to work together. It’s the only way to eliminate this false prophet.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.