Fourteen
Kira
Upclose,thesettlementlooked worse than it had from afar.Whatever happened hadn’t been recent.If Harlow’s statement was to be believed, the attack could have happened at any time in the last three weeks.
Since then, the elements had laid claim to the structure.Wind blowing dirt and leaves past once-impregnable walls.Mold from water damage infested what remained.
The attackers had left the former inhabitants where they fell.All of the bodies had been stripped of valuables.Weapons.Jewelry.Even clothes in some cases.
They’d also been fed on by scavengers.
As more and more bodies were uncovered, Az and her companions’ faces grew increasingly grim.
Kira didn’t know what they’d hoped to discover here, but it was obviously not this.
“The attack happened fast.Most of them never drew their weapons,” Az said.
By this point, they’d reach what would be considered the mess hall in a human settlement.It was where most of the bodies were located.
They must have been sitting down to a meal when the attack happened.
Kira could see plates on the ground next to upended tables.The food was long gone.Likely eaten by the scavengers.
“How is this possible?”Pye asked, looking sick.
He crouched next to a pair with their arms around each other.It looked like they’d sought comfort from one another as the end drew near.
“Amal and Thair kept the enclave in a constant state of readiness.They shouldn’t have been taken unawares,” Pye argued.
“I don’t know,” Bez admitted.
The rims of his eyes were slightly red as he took in the devastation.
He was upset and trying not to show it.
These weren’t strangers to him, Kira realized.He’d known them.Well, from the looks of it.
Pye too.
Az’s face was utterly blank as she studied the signs of struggle.“Spread out.See what else you can find.”
Bez jerked his head at Pye.The two headed down a hallway together.
Az looked back at Kira once before trailing in their wake.
Jin pointed down the opposite hallway.“Kira, my spawn are picking up some interesting readings in that direction.I’m going to take Dylan to check it out.”
“Maybe I should tag along,” Kira offered, getting a bad feeling from this place.She didn’t like the idea of being separated.
“No need.Dylan is enough.”
He disappeared down a hallway.Dylan tagging along behind.
“I feel like a mother bird whose chick has flown the nest for the first time,” Kira complained.
He hadn’t even looked back.
“We should check out the living quarters,” Finn suggested, smartly not commenting.
