We crept back down, rebuilt our barricade to cover our tracks, and prepared to leave.
“No pack,” I said, slinging it into a dark corner. “We travel light.”
Iris checked her weapon one more time, her movements economical and practiced. Then she looked at me, and something in her expression made my chest tight. Trust. She was trusting me to get us out of this.
“Stay close,” she said. “I’ll guide us around any patrols I spot.”
“Lead the way.”
We made our way through the underground passages, navigating by the Iris’ illuminated sleeves. They were beginning to lose their glow when we emerged into another section of the ruins. Here, sunlight was piercing to the eyes after the dimness below.
I blinked hard, letting my eyes adjust. The ruins stretched out before us, a maze of collapsed buildings and shadowed passages. In the harsh daylight, I could see just how vast this ancient city had been. Thousands must have lived here before the storms came.
Iris moved ahead, her cybernetic eye scanning constantly. She held up a fist and I froze. After a moment, she gestured left and we skirted around a partially standing wall.
I heard them before I saw them. Harsh Brakken voices, closer than I’d like. My skin rippled with camouflage browns and grays to blend in and stay hidden. Too bad my clothing lacked that feature.
Iris pressed her back against a wall and I did the same. Through a gap in the stonework, I spotted two Brakken soldiers picking through debris. They moved with purpose, searching methodically.
We waited, barely breathing, until they moved on. Then Iris led us in the opposite direction, weaving through the ruins with the confidence of someone who could see threats before they materialized.
We encountered three more patrols over the next hour. Each time, Iris spotted them first and guided us around. Her enhanced eye was invaluable, giving us seconds of warning that made all the difference.
“How many do you think there are?” I whispered as we crouched behind a fallen pillar.
“I’ve counted eighteen distinct individuals so far. Maybe two dozen total.” She peered around the pillar, then pulled back. “Not a lot for a city this size. That’s probably why they didn’t find us last night.”
“They’re spread too thin.”
“Exactly.” She glanced at me. “I think they believe we already escaped. That we made it out before they arrived and they’re just doing a sweep to be thorough.”
That made sense. The Brakken wouldn’t expect us to hide underground in the ruins themselves. They’d assume we ran for open ground, tried to put distance between ourselves and the city.
We moved through another section of ruins, staying low. I noticed dark shapes on the ground ahead and my stomach tightened.
Bodies. D’tran bodies.
We approached cautiously. Two males, both wearing the dark clothing Vax’s group had favored. Their eyes were still open, staring sightlessly at the sky. Plasma burns marked their chests.
“Vax’s men?” I asked quietly.
Iris nodded and crouched beside one, checking for any signs of life even though it was clearly pointless. “The Brakken killedthem. I warned Vax this would happen.” Her voice was flat, emotionless, but I saw the tension in her shoulders. “He didn’t listen. Thought he could make a deal with them. Use them to secure power.” She stood, her gaze scanning the area. “No sign of Vax himself, though.”
“Either he’s dead somewhere else, or he escaped when he realized his allies were slaughtering his people.”
“Smart money’s on dead.” She moved past the bodies without looking back. “Come on. We’re almost to the eastern ridge.”
We continued through the ruins, the sprawling city gradually giving way to open ground. I could see the ridge ahead, a rocky outcropping where I’d hidden the Raycer behind a cluster of boulders.
Iris held up her fist again. I stopped, watching as she used her enhanced vision to scan the area ahead.
“Two Brakken between us and the Raycer,” she whispered. “Guarding the perimeter.”
“Can we go around?”
“Not without being exposed for at least thirty meters.” She studied the terrain, her tactical mind working. “We need a distraction.”
I looked around, an idea forming. There was a section of wall to our right, already unstable from centuries of storm damage. “If that wall collapsed, the sound would draw them over.”
