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When we got to the tree line, they paused, looking out into the distance.
The buildings still rose up high into the sky, but they were dirty, the windows broken. The streets looked abandoned, vines and brush breaking up between the cracks of concrete. The city was quiet, except for the songs of birds, the cackle of bugs, and the rush of wind. It was strangely quiet for what I remembered to once be a bustling city. There wasn’t a single human in sight.
I’d remembered visiting there as a child, seeing the cars rush through the air, autopiloted to their destinations. Public transit trains used to zip across above it all, reverse phase magnetics driving them forward faster than any technology at the time.
I’d ridden it once. It had been a blast. Now, I saw the remains of one train hanging from a building, several stories up with some of its cars strewn out on the ground below.
It was something I hadn’t expected to see. In fact, I’d never thought I’d be back to the city ever again.
“I wonder where this settlement is? Where are we going to look?” I whispered anxiously, my heart pulsing in my throat. The quiet was too vast; it made me feel uneasy.
Roan shook his head.
“We’re not going to go find them. Their bases move all around the city underground, so we’d have little chance of happening upon them. Instead, we’re going to explore and wait until they come to us,” he replied. Roan allowed me to then climb down to the ground. I stretched my stiff muscles and couldn’t help but notice all four men admiring my still naked curves.
“No need to whisper though, little dove,” Taraik chided.
“Here, I stole this for you before we left,” Xandaar said, tossing me a black cloth. I caught it and let the crumpled fabric drape toward the ground. It was a long dress, similar to the wrap dress I had found before, except this one was lined with lace. I pulled it over my shoulders, grateful for the opportunity to finally cover my body.
The material was soft, slightly silky, but surprisingly thick.
“It’s a design foreign to your planet. The fabric is three layers and the central layer is comprised of xenium, the hardest material found in the galaxy. It can even repel the most popular lasers of today. We want you to remain safe, no matter what happens today,” Xandaar explained. He then passed me a pair of ballet flats, which I quickly slipped onto my toes.
Then, they surrounded me in a four-point formation, protecting me from all angles and ventured forward, going slowly down the streets of Atlanta. I felt safe surrounded by them and the more we wandered, the more I just focused on the sights around me, rather than the dangers associated with this rogue settlement they believed was here somewhere.
I recognized a few buildings, the town hall, a shopping mall, but not much else. Now, surrounded by the encroaching tendrils of nature, it was something entirely different.
I began to see shadows in the windows, but when I concentrated on what I thought I saw, I could find nothing. I started to think my eyes were playing tricks on me.
“Do they know we’re here?” I asked quietly, still anxious to speak too loudly.
“They knew the second we entered the city, little dove,” Taraik replied from behind me. He reached for me and squeezed my shoulder, but the movement of my captors did not slow down. Instead, we kept on walking down the streets.
We headed into a square of what looked to be an old street market, abandoned street kiosks everywhere, and at once, a flurry of noise rushed around us. My men stopped, tightening around me and I struggled to see what was happening.
“Who’s there?” a male voice sounded. I couldn’t tell if it was human or Vakarran.
“A friend,” Roan replied.
“Says who,” the man responded.
“Says the Third Battalion. Recently deserted and freed from Vakarran servitude,” Roan said calmly.
“Drop your head pieces on the ground,” the man ordered, and my four captors did just as they demanded.
“Shall we destroy the head pieces?” Roan asked.
“No. Our people will disable any and all tracking devices in them and use them for our own forces,” a female voice sounded, and I froze.
I knew that voice.
I fucking knew it.
Holy shit.
Alaina. My long-lost sister.
I pushed at Roan, but he was like a cement statue.
