The Survivors (Book 11): Old World by Hystad Nathan

Author:Hystad, Nathan [Hystad, Nathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Alien Invasion
Publisher: Woodbridge Press
Published: 2019-11-19T16:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

Jules spotted the out-of-place structure first. Her legs moved one after the other, ever forward, ever at a steep incline. They burned, and she knew the others were feeling it as much as or more than her, but no one was complaining, not since Slate had called them out on being Gatekeepers.

“Slate, over there,” she said, nodding to her right.

Slate lifted a hand and everyone stopped abruptly, Canni bumping into Dean.

“It’s a building. Way out here. It might be some sort of park ranger-type structure for the Nirzu,” Slate said hopefully.

The sun was setting beyond the mountains, visibility decreasing rapidly, and this meant they could stop for the night soon. It was the only thing keeping Jules going. They’d managed a relentless pace all day, but they’d made it over twelve kilometers. The air up here was thinner, and Jules took a deep breath as she followed Slate across the level platform on the edge of the ridge toward the building.

“Can we sleep here?” Kira asked.

“I don’t see why not.” Slate spoke as he walked. “You all have done amazingly well today. I couldn’t be prouder.”

Wentle smiled tightly, the others grinning at the small praise. Slate knew how to motivate them when necessary, and Jules tried to remember his tricks in case she ever needed to do something similar.

The place was made of a synthetic material, the same stuff Jules had seen in the city. There were glass windows throughout, but it was dark inside, telling her there were no Nirzu inside.

Slate waved Dean to him and told the others to stay put. Jules huffed internally at this but didn’t object.

“I’m so exhausted,” Kira told her, leaning her head against Jules’ arm.

“So am I. We can finally rest. Then tomorrow, we’ll arrive at our destination,” Jules said, knowing that some of their questions might be answered then. Jules closed her eyes and tried to let her powers course into her. At first, she thought there was a trickle of the Iskios energy, then it was gone. The only other time she’d felt this was after the shrunken world, with Papa. It was as if her reservoir was empty, and she worried it was gone for good.

Canni walked to the nearest wall and peered through the window. A figure appeared and banged on the glass. It was Dean, and he was laughing at Canni’s expression of fear.

Slate poked his head out the door and called them over. “We’ll stay here tonight. Let’s unpack and prepare something to eat.”

An hour later, Jules sat on a flat rock at the top of the ridge overlooking their temporary home. She wasn’t overly full, but having food in her belly was a relief. From here, she could see the peaks of the mountain they were heading for. The sunlight was gone, but the stars were bright. She watched them for a while, remembering that each of them meant life. This planet’s star was failing after so many millions of years, but because of the Alliance, the Nirzu people could live on at another world.

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