Cove and Ranch led the way as I tried to stay caught up, Ani worrying at my feet. I bent over, ignoring the fuzzy black edges that tunneled my vision as I picked up Ani, reaching out to him. Through our connection, he noticed the emptiness in my chest and shoved energy at me. I winced at the sudden and painful influx of power and absorbed much of it. When my magic was filled to the brim, leaving a small decrease in Ani's power, I cut the connection again and blinked away the lingering black spots, rejuvenated.
Ahead of us, Cove moved slowly, restrained by the pain caused by the pulling of his skin across his pack as he moved. He'd periodically wince and reach a hand out to hover above the skin before lowering it, wary of the slightest brush against his bruises.
We passed the discarded robots, pausing at the door that ended the hallway. Cove reached up to rub his shoulder and winced. "You ready?" he asked, unenthusiastic.
"Not really."
Cove sighed. "Right."
He opened the door into a musty-smelling basement with rotted wooden floorboards. A packed dirt floor was visible between the wood slots, gushing up through small holes in the wood. The room was lit with a faint yellow glow, the sunlight from the two windows catching and highlighting dirt ghosts that danced in the air. Muffled shouts echoed through the windows. We creaked past the shelves lining the basement wall to the stairs on the other side of the basement, casting uneasy glances at each other as we walked. In my arms, Ani was rigid.
Ranch bounded up the stairs, stopping before a closed door at the top. Cove waited for me to reach the landing before twisting the knob, and we emptied out beneath the stairs we'd climbed only a few days ago. We circled around the carpet-covered staircase and exited the building, stopping shortly in the doorway as we were momentarily blinded by the sun directly ahead of us.
Ani begged to be let down, and I dropped him to the ground, watching with half-lidded eyes as he and Ranch scurried to the side of the building.
A roar of noise echoed from the back, and we skirted around the edge of the building to an open field where Mattie was gathering villagers. More still were walking up to the crowd, curious as to what was going on. Jack stood off to the side, his gun resting comfortably at his side, his eyes narrow and ready to use force if needed. The cowardly Glen, I noticed, was nowhere to be found.
Jack caught us looking at him and shot us an acknowledging nod before returning his attention to the crowd.
Mattie passionately continued her speech, and her face flushed red with anger. "--my acquaintance, Jack," she waved in his direction, "is visible proof that the rest of the world has moved on without us, while our so-called Mayors have been pretending to be kings, refusing help and advanced medical treatments from the outside world. Your sick sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers could have been saved if this vile man and his family had even an ounce of kindness in their selfish hearts. And those evil robots? The ones who haunted our nightmares growing up, who killed any who left the sanctuary of our city? Those were poorly constructed chimeras, created by the Mayor and his cronies, and were used to keep us scared and keep us under his rule."
Silence fell over the crowd as they focused on her word. Familiar faces, such as Rowan, May, and people we'd passed during our foray into the town, were all there, waiting with bated breath for her next words.
"But no longer! It should be your choice to decide if you want to hide from the modern marvels of technology or embrace it, not mine, and certainly not his!" she cried, raising her fist to the air.
The silence lingered over the crowd. Fear briefly crossed Mattie's face before she covered it with fake confidence, holding her chin up high. She caught sight of Cove and me, standing near the back of the crowd. Cove gave her a thumbs up, and her smile briefly reached her eyes. A dull murmur of mumbles broke out in the crowd, as the villagers began discussing her speech amongst themselves.
From what I could ascertain from those around me, the reaction to her speech was primarily positive, and villagers discussed the signs they'd ignored that told them something was off.
A hulking figure on the outer edge of the crowd, May, shoved his way through to stand by Mattie. He placed a kind hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile.
He roared above the hum of the crowd. "We all know someone whose gone missin' after getting too close to the Mayor. Even my own…" his eyes filled up with tears, and his voice grew thick and hoarse "..my own son, Ethan. He used to bring firewood, blankets, and food to anyone who couldn't fetch it for themselves, no questions asked. He checked on you when you were sick."
Villagers nodded along with his words, and he continued. "Well, he used to head to the city for the medicines, clothes, and blankets you needed. He always told me when he was leaving, and he'd come straight home when he returned. One mornin', he met with the mayor. The next, he was gone. He didn't tell me he was leavin'. I've always suspected," his voice grew more solid, the cracks filled in with the intensity of his self-righteous anger, "that the Mayor still has his body–"
BANG
A gunshot cracked through the air.
May gurgled, choking on blood as it leaked out of the hole in his throat.
May raised a hand to cover his wound, his eyes screaming 'Help me' to the frozen crowd. He tipped over to the ground, the impact sending waves of shock and terror through the crowd. Screaming broke out, then died as someone shouted, "IT'S THE MAYOR!"
In near-perfect unison, we all turned to the side of the building, spotting the Mayor who leaned against the siding, his face pale with blood loss. He shakily loaded another bullet beneath our gazes and raised it back up, aiming at the crowd.
This stirred the crowd into a frenzy as people shoved each other to get away from the reach of the gun, and Cove and I quickly retreated from their reach. The Mayor's face twisted into a smirk as he watched with sick amusement.
Next to me, Cove slipped his hand in his pocket, pulling out the gun the Mayor had dropped in the cave. He aimed it at the Mayor, pulling back the hammer and resting his finger on the trigger.
"If you'd allow me–" the Mayor didn't get a chance to finish his muffled sentence.
BANG.
BANG.
BANG.
Three rapid gunshots sliced through the air. Someone screamed.