He looked up at the abyss above him. Millions of stars dotted the sky. There was nothing but possibility and imagination that lay waiting to be discovered, fulfilled. He couldn't believe it even though he had read nothing but cosmology and science fiction literature since leaving Paradise. The same literature that had sent dozens he knew to their deaths was what was liberating him from the chains that still tethered him back home. It didn't seem fair but then again in life fairness doesn't truly exist.
"Heard from em yet?" grunted Inyanga as he hung upside from a thick branch some distance apart doing crunches. Nike shook his head and looked across the field of blood red sunflowers and saw Ayla taking dozens of photos of the sunflowers.
"E, what do you hope to achieve in the end?" He shifted his attention back at Inyanga who was doing his crunches. "End of what?" Inyanga slowed his crunches. "The end of this journey, when we've found Ranulph and figured out what exactly is going on?"
Inyanga stopped and thought for moment before exploding back into his crunches. "Suppose I find a farm, some equipment, couple o' tools, booze and whiskey. Invite ya when things are too quiet." Nike glanced down at his footprints in the black soil. A breeze wiped it away as quickly as it been made. His mind took him back to when he made sandcastles outside his house as a child. His mom and dad both were inside oblivious to each other, themselves and to him. He would sit and wait for the hours on end for the wind to come and erode it away.
"Find people to connect to. Find something that won't erode sandcastles I build."
Inyanga stopped and dropped down to the ground, landing on his feet. He grabbed the gun which lay against the tree and his helmet from the ground. "Maybe you'll give me a couple of nieces and nephews to play with." A cheeky smile spread itself across his face. Nike looked at a smiling Ayla who was waving at him and Inyanga. "Yeah, I'm not the right type of person to ask that." Nike waved his hand briefly. Inyanga nodded back at her. "Look, you've got us, and you've got time. Long as you scratch me back, ill scratch yours." Inyanga patted Nike on the shoulder before walking over to Ayla.
He watched them for a moment as they worked on collecting samples. They chatted to each other with either one of them occasionally laughing. In that moment, he was reminded of what Mwene told him when he was outside of the pastor's compound weeks ago. As long as he was around friends, they didn't need luck. He was going to be alright.
Dull throbbing waves of pain swept through his body. He opened his eyes to a white florescent lamp that rudely flooded his eyes. He tried to move but the dullness quickly became sharp as if a million needles were shot into his skin. He looked down and noticed his body covered in bandages that reeked of alcohol. His suit was hanging off the table he was on by his feet. It was dusty and bloody and scuffed. He looked around the room as best as he could with his eyes. The lamp over him was the only source of light. He was against the black concrete walls. As far as he could tell he there were no windows. The entire was shrouded in darkness.
Behind him he heard a door slide open and footsteps. Against better judgement and the constant complaints of his body he shifted his head towards the sound. The familiar silhouette of a bowl cut popped into the line of sight. Ayla looked relieved for a moment before the sentiment of annoyance painted over it.
"I would have slapped you, but I don't want to undo my bandage work." Her eyes smiled and Mwene knew that. "I'm an idiot." The bandages slightly muffled his words, but Ayla still understood. "That was supposed to be my line." Mwene's eyes smiled, and Ayla rolled her eyes. She brought on a wheelchair from just beyond his eyesight and sat on it. She whipped out a cigarette from behind her ear and whipped out her zippo lighter. She closed her eyes as she inhaled. The smoke temporarily put her in a religious trance. In that moment nothing else mattered except for the headrush. She slowly reopened her eyes.
"You have no idea how long I needed that."
"Thought you would have quit considering there aren't any kiosks around?"
"Same but after everything I consider this a reward."
"Where are we?"
"In the sewers, headed towards the citadel."
"The boy, the girl are they…"
"They'll live. Thanks to you. You're a hero'
Mwene broke eye contact and looked away from Ayla. How could he be a hero when he failed to protect the boy? How could he be hero if he could take it down? He had learnt nothing and ended up being nothing but a liability.
"Wait? What's the citadel?"
"She'll explain it to you." She explained as the cigarette hung from her lips. They sat in silence for a couple of moments with only the whirr of the engines filling their eyes.
"I don't think I can face it again." Ayla eyes locked onto Mwene as he spoke. "It's rage was primal, it's movements wild, it's thoughts were raw. How could I fight against something that reminds me that I'm nothing but stardust?" A tear rolled down his cheek. Ayla threw down her cigarette and stomped on it. She stood over him and looked him in the eye before she carefully propped him up and hugged him. She placed the broken Mwene in the wheelchair and knelt in front of him. "Fighting for the greater good will always be worthwhile. No matter the cost."
She told up and wheeled him out of the room. "You set an example that others will follow, revere and be inspired by. Even if you did lose in a way you still won." The words sat with Mwene. He felt a warmth in his chest. With much difficulty his brought his arm to his chest searching for his medallion but it wasn't there. His heart raced for an instant. Had he lost it in the rubble? Did it snatch it off him? Was it still in the room? Anxiety flooded his mind.
"Yoh?" Ayla stopped rolling Mwene down the damp hallway and reached into her pocket. She took out the smoking medallion and admired it and it's white odourless smoke. She placed it into Mwene's hand. "You weren't lying about the smoking. Just surprised it's not hotter." She continued to push him down the hallway until they reached a door at the end. She opened it and was confronted by a small boat in the sewer partially hidden by shadows.
"Welcome. I'm Termi."
From the shadows of the boat the girl moved forward and stood in front of them. She had a halo that glowed over her head, and it was purple, just like her eyes. She spoke but her lips didn't move but her halo did glow brighter with every word she said.
"It's time to find some answers."