Sanctuary by H C Edwards

Author:H C Edwards [Edwards, H C]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-11-29T22:00:00+00:00

The Pantheon

Walking into the ASF headquarters seemed strangely unsettling, as if Trey no longer quite belonged there. Not in all the years of his existence in Akropolis had he felt this way. It had been less than a week since he’d last tread the giant lobby with his booted feet, but he couldn’t help but imagine himself stepping onto a rickety wooden bridge suspended between two cliffs.

At the front desk were King and Patel, two veterans that had seen the watch with him for nearly a hundred years, having only been revived within the last fifteen. As seniors in life, they had been crotchety men whose aging bodies prevented them from making the rounds, even if it meant staying in the transports.

Trey had fought to keep them around when it was recommended they retire. Front desk duty was on a rotating schedule, but the majority of guards preferred not to be stuck in a chair. For King and Patel, it meant they could stay on doing the only thing they knew how to do, at least until they were revived. In this respect, they had become staples at the ASF for years, but once they obtained their new, ageless bodies, they had been given shifts in the city. Trey had seen to it himself, knowing how much time they had put in behind the desk. It was strange, and unexpected, to see them there.

Trey walked towards the two guards, catching the subtle glance they shared.

“Major,” Patel addressed him. “Haven’t seen you for a bit.”

Trey paused at the desk, the unease he had initially felt only increasing. There was something amiss that he couldn’t quite nail down.

“I was doing some work outside of the Wall, scouting for resources.”

This had been the original cover story from the beginning, and he felt no reason to stray from it now.

“Anything I need to know about?” Trey continued, feeling the flimsiness of his lie bleeding through in his voice.

“Actually,” Patel said, his eyes darting to King once more before continuing. “I…well, I’m uncertain if you’ve been briefed.”

“Spit it out, Patel, we’re growing old here.”

The guard cleared his throat.

“In the Outer Zone, a few days ago…we had a one eight seven followed by an eleven seventy-one.”

Trey stared at the man, hardly believing his ears.

“What?”

“Sorry, Sir,” King interjected. “We thought you would have known.”

“Who’s on it?” Trey pressed, feeling more than out of touch.

“Everyone,” Patel replied. “I mean…everyone we could spare, Major.”

Trey couldn’t believe it. Why did Talbot not mention this immediately after his revival? And then the answer became clear almost instantly. He had not mentioned it because there were more pressing matters to attend to…like covering up what happened at Charlottesville.

He wanted to ask more questions, perhaps read the reports, but he didn’t have time for it at the moment. There was too much at stake and the clock was not a friend to him today.

“I’ll read the reports tomorrow,” he said, not missing the identical looks that came over the faces of his fellow guards.

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