Page 117 of Us Defiant Few

You can do this.

Seconds stretched to infinity.

The rain didn’t let up. It pummeled her clothes, drenching her. She nearly crouched and covered her head when icy-white lightning zigzagged across the sky.

That’s when she saw it.

Three white blinks from the top of the wall.

Khalani turned the wheel. She gnashed her teeth, the mechanism much heavier than expected. But pure adrenaline raced through her limbs, forcing her to keep pulling and tugging as the gate groaned open.

She tied off the ropes, frantically watching the entrance to the Death-Zone.

She waited.

And waited.

A loud thump echoed nearby. Followed by another.

She jumped back as warriors from the top of the wall crashed to the ground, their bodies riddled with arrows. Tears formed behind her eyes as more men and women fell around her, their lives snuffed in an instant.

In less than a minute, only one figure remained on the wall, hidden from view.

Just as she was about to run, a lone figure appeared at the bottom entrance. The stranger was covered in mud, even his face, and Khalani could only see the whites of his eyes.

She held her breath and cautiously approached with her hands raised. The stranger eyed her with blanket distrust, his hand itching at his side, but he didn’t shoot her. When she was a few paces away, he raised his palm for her to stop.

“Did you follow the rest of Ansel’s commands?” His raspy voice sent shivers down her spine.

“Yes.” She forced herself to remain calm. “They’re in the food hall, like he asked. You need to hurry, though. I need to get back before they notice I’m gone.”

The stranger weighed her words for a moment, cocking his head in an animalistic way as she gnawed on her bottom lip.

He let out a low whistle.

More figures appeared.

Dozens—if not hundreds—of men and women emerged through the gate, armed with spears, guns, and bows.

At the center was Ansel.

She stiffened when he leisurely walked toward her in black fighting gear, with a sharp blade in his left hand and a pistol in the other. He grinned, his yellow teeth flashing.

“So…you uncovered their dirty secret,” he stated, surveying her closely.

“I did.” Khalani lifted her chin. “I now realize they were the ones lying this whole time. But it ends here. There’s no room on this earth for machines—only us.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Ansel smacked his teeth, moving into her personal space. Her skin crawled as he bent closer.

“When this is all over,” he whispered in her ear, “you can help our repopulation efforts.”

Khalani’s fingers twitched, and it took everything inside her not to reach for a knife and slash his throat.

“I’m willing to discuss it,” she said with a short nod. “Just make sure your people don’t attack the blue house in the back. My human friends are in there.”

“As long as they don’t get in our way, we won’t.” He smirked.

Khalani knew he was lying.