Looking for the beginning? Click here.

Chapter 25

“Arizona is really back?” Charleston asked the next week as he, Savannah, and New York made their way back from Captain class. Since it was his secondary role, Charleston attended a handful of such classes every week. So far, he hadn’t particularly enjoyed the classes themselves, but he looked forward to them more and more as it was one of the few times the three friends were all together again due to their busy new schedules.

Captain class was held in the Council of Nine Building in City Dome. The Planner who had spoken to them before and after the Test was the main teacher. Her name was Miliford Stahl. She went by Professor Stahl to everyone, including Claire, who shadowed her seemingly everywhere. While captain training would involve a variety of topics, they’d been told, including space travel, how to determine which planets were habitable, and which of those the rangers should explore, up until this point Professor Stahl had focused on leadership training and teamwork.

In today’s class, which had been held in Military Dome, she’d announced the commencement of war games every Saturday that would function to practice these two most important skills, as she had told them in an obviously prepared speech.

“You are the leaders of your respective ships,” she had said sternly, Claire hovering just behind her. “As such, you are responsible not just for the safety and well being of your crew, but for the success of your mission. The best way to ensure both of these things is to demand the strictest obedience from those under you. Notice that I call them your crew, not your shipmates. You must begin thinking of them as such. They are your crew, your sailors, your soldiers, and you are their authority, their commander, their god.

“They must obey you without question and without hesitation. This is not Podkind Dome. This is not kindergarten class. This is not training wheels and helmets,” she had continued, ignoring the blank stares these strange terms elicited. “This is survival. This is life and death. You must discipline your crew. They must understand this and follow you regardless of the command. Should a soldier disobey an order, it could end in failure. For your mission, failure means death.”

Stahl’s speech had been followed by an hour long demonstration of the war games by four groups of New Washington’s most elite soldiers. It had been intense and awesome to watch. At least, for Charleston.

For Savannah, it had been a painful reminder of how far she had to go to truly lead her ship, and she was almost shaking when they’d left class for Space Branch. Things with Dublin and Vienna, who were the ship’s gunners, had been tense, to say the least. They didn’t respect Savannah and thought the choice of the Planners to make her captain doomed their mission from the start, regardless of what Madeline had told them that first day. And it was affecting some of the others, as well. Morale on Red Ship was wavering and Savannah was passively allowing it to get worse by the day.

Arizona’s return threatened to tip the balance in favor of the dissenters.

“Yeah, but he isn’t Arizona anymore, remember?” Savannah replied now, her voice quavering. “He’s Ragnar, son of Ragnar.”

Charleston and New York laughed at the absurdity of it, but stopped short when Savannah didn’t join them.

“What’s the matter, Vannah?” New York asked.

Savannah bit her lip and dodged eye contact. They were on the elevator now, heading back to Space Branch and Red Ship. It was dinner time and the crew was supposed to eat together every night. Without Arizona, who was the ship’s steward and thus responsible for preparing meals, they’d been forced to eat in the cafeteria in Space Dome. Now that he was back…Charleston could only imagine what kind of food a Viking would cook.

“What happened?” Charleston asked.

“It was horrible,” Savannah finally said. “He’s totally different, but in a worse way. He never liked me, or us, but now he thinks he’s some sort of Viking from olden times. He kept shouting that he was Ragnar, son of Ragnar, and that Ragnar, son of Ragnar, didn’t take orders from, from, from…” she trailed off.

“From what?” New York gently prompted.

She sighed. “From whores and wenches.”

Charleston fought back a laugh. New York managed a more kind response. “That’s terrible, Van,” he said, pulling her to his side in a half-hug.

“He said a bunch of other things, too, but it’s hard to understand him. He speaks so strangely, almost like another language.”

“He does think he’s a Norse Viking, after all,” Charleston chimed in.

“Yeah, but he still speaks English,” she replied. “Madeline said the doctors aren’t sure what happened, but this other consciousness, this Ragnar, son of Ragnar, has suppressed Arizona’s own mind, but it still occupies his body. So, he doesn’t have a huge blonde beard or anything, which was another point of consternation for him during our brief discussion. They guess the physical nature of language in some way makes it so he still speaks English.”

“Does he really call himself Ragnar, son of Ragnar?”

“Yeah. He prefers to speak about himself in the third person.”

“And here I thought Arizona couldn’t become more of a douche,” Charleston quipped.

Savannah managed a small laugh.

“It’ll be okay, Van,” New York said, giving her another squeeze.

“Yeah, Vannah,” Charleston encouraged. “You’re the smartest person in the ship, which is why they made you captain. You just need to make them respect you.”

“No shit!” she said harshly. “Feel free to tell me how to do that if you know how! Oh wait, you don’t!”

Charleston was taken aback by her anger, but he understood now why she was so upset. At first, he’d assumed it was because the others weren’t obeying her, but that was just a symptom of the larger problem. Savannah was never one to care about what others thought because she held herself to an impossibly high standard and was her own harshest critic. No, she was upset precisely because she didn’t know what to do. She needed rules and facts and knowledge. She based everything she did on them. And now she was in a situation where she had no idea what to do, had no guidelines to follow. She was silently floundering in her head, lost and increasingly desperate and despondent.

“I’m sorry, Char,” she said, taking his silence for hurt. “It’s these damn war games. How am I supposed to lead our ship in something like that?” she asked, her tone hopeless. “There’s no way Vienna or Dublin are going to listen to me, not to mention Ragnar, son of Ragnar,” she finished in disgust.

“Aw, come on!” New York said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “It’ll be okay. This is perfect, actually,” he continued after a moment. “Once they see how smart you are, they’ll follow you easily.”

Savannah snorted.

“Once you lead us to victory, then.”

“How am I supposed to lead us to victory if half our shipmates won’t listen to me?”

“Crew,” New York corrected. “Half our, your, crew.”

Savannah rolled her eyes.

“Look, Vannah,” Charleston tried, “you’ve never had any problem telling us what to do. No, I’m being serious,” he said quickly when New York barked a laugh. “Every time we’re confronted with an adventure or something unknown, you’re the one who takes charge and makes the decisions. The correct decisions, too, I might add. You’re a natural at it when you don’t overthink it.”

“Yeah,” New York picked up, “remember our trip to City Dome?”

“Because that ended so well,” Savannah retorted.

“That wasn’t your fault, though!”

“Just be yourself,” Charleston continued. “Stop worrying about how to get the others to listen to you and do your thing. Let them notice that you know what you’re doing. Once they do, I’m sure they’ll start obeying.”

“And now there’s this dinner,” she sighed heavily as they boarded Red Ship, “and Ragnar will be there.”

“It’ll be okay,” New York said again as Charleston squeezed Savannah’s arm in encouragement. The truth was neither had any idea how to help her. They’d never led anyone before either.

“Let’s just get this meal over with,” she said, her tone resigned.

They made their way to the mess. Madison, Aurora, and Sofia were already at the large round table that dominated the room, talking excitedly among themselves. Paris and Jacksonville wandered in a few minutes later.

“You were really in Military Dome?” Madison asked. She had dark skin and hair, and her face, which was the most expressive face Charleston had ever seen, was earnestly surprised. “What was that like?” Since they were little podlings, Military Dome had been the subject of countless rumors and speculations. It had a mystical kind of appeal to them thanks to its top-secret status and advanced technology, not least of which was the war suit.

“It was awesome,” New York replied in excitement. “We saw a ton of war suits.”

“And there were soldiers with laser rifles everywhere!” Charleston took over.

“And we saw some of their smaller aircraft.”

“Not to mention the special forces in action!”

“Whoa!” Jacksonville replied, properly impressed.

It was now past time for dinner to start and Ragnar was nowhere to be seen. And he wasn’t the only one missing, Charleston noticed as the three girls and Jacksonville fired question after question at them about every little detail of Military Dome. Arkhangelsk, Dublin, and Vienna were also absent.

“New York,” Savannah said quietly, interrupting the conversation, “could you please round up the others and bring them here.”

New York disappeared into the depths of the ship as everyone fell into an awkward silence. After a minute or two, Arkhangelsk appeared alone in the doorway.

“Sorry I’m late,” she muttered in Savannah’s direction. So far she’d been slightly less hostile towards the girl than Dublin.

“What’s the point of gathering for dinner when there’s no dinner?” came Dublin’s voice from somewhere down the hall. “It’s a waste of time!”

“Just keep moving,” New York’s muffled voice answered.

Dublin and Vienna appeared in the doorway, New York already off in search of Ragnar. Dublin’s fleshy face was crisscrossed with a heavy scowl and Vienna looked like she couldn’t stop rolling her eyes if she’d wanted to. The two malcontents sat next to Arkhangelsk and did their best to look put out.

“You see?!” Dublin half asked, half shouted. “There’s no dinner. We’ll have to make it ourselves or eat in the cafeteria again. Such a waste of time!”

“This is ridiculous,” Vienna muttered.

Savannah sat stone-faced, staring at a spot on the table in front of her.

“And swords kept there?” a strange voice sounded from the opposite direction from where Dublin and Vienna had appeared. “Ragnar, son of Ragnar, search entire ship and no swords! No axes!” That voice was familiar, yet different. It was raspy, more snarl than anything, and yet there were certain intonations and tones that were unmistakably Arizona.

“Yes,” New York said as he entered the mess. “They’re right here.”

Arizona, Ragnar now, came in behind New York. He still looked like Arizona, but something about his appearance had changed. He was scruffier looking, like he’d slept in his clothes, and there was stubble growing on his cheeks. Ragnar looked around eagerly, his eyes darting from one person to the next in search of his precious weapon.

“Ragnar, son of Ragnar, see no sword!” he bellowed. “You trick Ragnar, son…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” New York interrupted him. “Sit down. There,” he pointed to a seat between the girls and Jax and Paris, opposite Dublin and Vienna.

“Ragnar, son of Ragnar, not take orders from beardless children!” he shouted.

Charleston stifled a laugh. It was both creepy and comedic to see this person who so resembled Arizona as to be him, behave as an entirely different individual in all other ways.

New York’s face flushed. He glanced at Savannah. She remained mute and motionless.

“Sit down, or I’ll make you sit down, beard or no,” New York said quietly, grasping the back of his chair with two large hands, the muscles layering his thick arms bulging.

Ragnar looked New York up and down. “You dare challenge Ragnar, son of Ragnar? Ragnar, son of Ragnar squash you like bug!” the Viking boldly shouted, gleeful he would soon get to hit something. “Bring me sword!” he bellowed to no one in particular.

New York stepped from behind his chair and started towards Ragnar. Dublin snickered in malicious anticipation. Before New York could circumvent the table, Paris stood up and placed a hand on Ragnar’s shoulder.

“Remember what the doctor told you?” the lanky teenager asked quietly.

Ragnar glanced at Paris, his look going from one of disdain to recognition after a brief moment. “White wizard?”

“Yes, the wizard. Remember what he told you about us?”

Ragnar shook his head, struggling to reconcile what he’d been told with his desire for violence. “You shipmates,” Ragnar said slowly. “We work together in magic land. Find way home.”

New York paused halfway around the table to see what Ragnar would do next.

He sat heavily in his chair, his fury spent. “Where are we?” he asked now, plaintively almost. Charleston felt a pang of sympathy for him. “You not like clansmen. I not like Viking either.”

“Yes, you’re right,” Paris replied calmly. “We’re all under the powerful spell of an evil enchanter from the land beyond the sea. He has magicked us to this foreign realm, robbed us of our weapons, and made us to look like children. The only way we will succeed and defeat this foul warlock is to pretend we belong here until we find a way to escape.”

Ragnar growled something indiscernible and crossed his arms over his chest. Paris sat down, as did New York. Dublin looked disappointed the exchange had not devolved into fighting.

“War games are starting,” Savannah said suddenly, quietly, as if she were talking to the empty space above the table.

“What?” Vienna asked harshly. “I can’t hear you,” she added with a mix of disgust and condescension.

“War games,” Savannah repeated slightly louder. “We’ll be competing against the other ships every week to learn to work as a team.”

Vienna rolled her eyes. “Great,” she muttered.

“What kind of war games?” Jacksonville asked excitedly, while New York shot Vienna a glare.

“We’ll be battling another ship in a simulated environment with laser guns.”

“Laser guns?!” Madison exclaimed.

“They’re not real laser guns, of course. Well, they are, but they’ll be set to stun,” Savannah explained. “Any other questions?” she asked, still avoiding eye contact.

Dublin and Vienna stood abruptly and headed for the exit. The rest of the ship, minus Charleston and New York, stood to leave.

“We don’t stand a chance,” Vienna’s voice came to them from just out of sight as she and Dublin headed back to their cabins.

“And we still didn’t get dinner!” Dublin responded harshly.

Savannah continued to stare at the table in front of her until the clamor of those leaving died down. Then she let her head hit the spot she’d been staring at with a loud thunk.

Chapter 26

“We need to find a defensible position!” Vienna said harshly, her acne-strewn face angry. “Now!”

It had been almost a week since that “dinner” and their first war game had just started. Charleston and the other members of Red Ship were in a sandy wasteland littered with the fallen ruins of ancient buildings. Wind-worn bricks jutted up around them, all that remained of what once were walls. In the distance a bell tower angled harshly to the side, protruding out of a sand dune that was slowly consuming it.

The twelve members of Red Ship were huddled together behind a half-fallen wall. The suddenness with which they’d found themselves in this desert hadn’t shocked them. They were used to the Combat floor, after all. But the biting wind that sent sand flying like tiny pieces of glass through the air made them desperate for any protection.

“That tower looks good,” Vienna continued.

“I agree,” Dublin said, yelling into a sudden gust of wind that threatened to blind them with sand. “We need to find shelter! Fast!”

“That doesn’t look very stable to me,” Jacksonville replied.

“Where else is there?” Vienna yelled.

Charleston looked around as best he could, one hand shielding his eyes. They were on the slope of one large sand dune, the peak of which featured the tower. Off to their left and right, more dunes stretched into the distance as far as he could see. He turned to look opposite the tower.

“Is that a road?” he asked, pointing to a flat space that cut between two nearby dunes. It looked too smooth to be natural. “See,” he continued, “the sand isn’t piling up there like everywhere else. It could lead somewhere with more shelter than a crumbling tower.” He looked pointedly at Savannah as he spoke, refusing to give Vienna control of the conversation.

“We could split up into two groups and search both?” New York offered when Savannah didn’t reply.

“And divide our forces?” Vienna replied. “That would give White Ship the advantage!”

“Ragnar, son of Ragnar, agree with big one,” Ragnar said, pointing at Vienna.

Everyone waited to hear why, but Ragnar didn’t continue. He rarely spoke more than a few words at a time, and the majority of those usually consisted of his name.

“Whatever we’re doing, let’s do it soon,” Arkhangelsk said, covering her mouth as she spoke to keep the sand out.

“Let’s follow the road,” Savannah said after a moment’s hesitation.

Vienna snorted in disgust, but she and the others followed as Savannah and New York, hunched over against the wind, trudged down the dune, their feet sinking almost to the knees, towards what Charleston hoped was a road. Once there, the wind felt less harsh than on the exposed side of the dune, but it was still kicking up sand.

“It is a road,” Charleston said, stamping his feet on the hardened surface.

“This way,” Savannah pointed and the twelve teenagers plodded on, hands shielding eyes, shoulders bent.

How are we supposed to fight in this weather? Charleston wondered.

They walked for what felt like a long time before they saw more ruins, bigger and less damaged by the wind, ahead of them.

“It looks like an abandoned city,” New York shouted.

As they drew nearer, Charleston saw he was right. The remains of an outer wall extended off in both directions. On the other side of it, ruined buildings, little more than four walls, fanned out ahead of them in a discernible pattern. The group quickly ducked into the first building they came to and stood, shaking sand from their clothing and hair. Charleston checked his laser rifle to see that no sand had clogged it.

The Podkind had erupted in excited oohs and aahs when they’d first gotten their hands on the gun, even though it was the most basic model and only set to stun. Professor Stahl had repeated to the group what they’d been hearing all week – these war games were about team building and strategy, not mastering advanced weapons.

“We should have at least checked the tower for the flag,” Vienna complained.

“Like they would start us right next to our goal,” New York responded harshly.

They were playing a very involved version of capture the flag, a game that had its origins in old Earth. The point was to find the flag before the other team, though they could also win by eliminating the other team entirely.

“What now?” Paris asked.

He looked a bit comical to Charleston in the combat garb they were all wearing, laser rifle held loosely in his hands.

“The wind should be less of an issue now that we’ve reached the city,” Charleston said. “We should be able to move more freely now.” And fight, he thought. Surely this was where the flag was hidden, rather than some spot out in the dunes. Either way, White Ship would seek the protection of the city the same as they had. They would have to be careful.

“White Ship is likely somewhere here, too,” New York replied, giving voice to Charleston’s thoughts.

“Ragnar, son of Ragnar, say find White Ship and steal it,” Ragnar grunted at them. “Go home. Defeat sorcerer.”

“For the love of the Founder!” Arkhangelsk let out in exasperation. Charleston and Jacksonville exchanged grins. “It’s not an actual ship, you idiot!” she continued. “They’re twelve kids, just like us!”

She was really angry, Charleston was shocked to note, his grin fading. But there was something else there, too. Frustration? Sadness?

“Ragnar, son of Ragnar, say find others. Beat them until say where ship.”

Arkhangelsk started to say something, but Dublin touched her arm. “Let it go,” he said in a kind voice.

Charleston was even more shocked by this gesture. He hadn’t realized Dublin was capable of any feelings other than the most primitive.

“I agree with Dublin,” Savannah spoke up suddenly. All eyes turned to her. “Now’s not the time to address Ragnar’s mental health. We need to focus on the task at hand.” Her tone was crisp and business-like. Now that she had a mission she knew how to complete, she was more comfortable and confident. “We take New York’s earlier suggestion and split up into four groups.”

Vienna snorted. “We’ll be easy prey for White Ship then.”

Savannah looked down and, for a moment, Charleston thought her new-found confidence was shattered. “You will do as you’re told,” she said softly, barely audible to Charleston who was standing next to her.

“What?” Vienna asked harshly.

Savannah looked up. “I am your captain,” she said, a slight quiver in her voice, “and you will do as you’re told.”

Vienna held her gaze for a moment but was the first to look away. “Whatever, captain,” she said, infusing the word with as much disgust as possible. “We never had a chance anyway.”

Savannah ignored her. “Arkhangelsk, you take Jax and Madison and head west, along the wall and the outer city. New York, you take Vienna and Paris and go the opposite direction. Charleston, take Dublin and Sofia. Head north-west towards the center. Ragnar, son of Ragnar and Aurora, you’re with me. We’ll head north-east, also towards the center. Go slow and go carefully. Do a search of each building along the way and keep your eyes out for any sign of White Ship. If you hear sounds of battle, approach cautiously. Flankers,” she continued after a moment’s thought, looking at Arkhangelsk and New York, “you should meet roughly opposite where we’re at now on the other side of the city. Once there, turn inwards and head towards the center to rendezvous with Char and me.” She paused again. “Got it?”

Several voices answered in chorus, “Got it!” Vienna’s was not one of them. She was scowling hard at the wall behind Savannah.

“If you encounter the enemy, take them down if possible. If you’re outnumbered, stay out of sight, but keep eyes on them. If they get near one of the other groups, you can spring an ambush on them. Team leaders,” she said, looking at Arkhangelsk, New York, and Charleston, “it’ll be your call. Let’s go,” she finished in a commanding voice.

The four groups split up and fanned out among the ruins, stepping lightly and carefully. Charleston lost track of the other groups almost immediately among the many buildings, if they could be called that. Most were just four walls with gaping holes where windows once were and nothing by way of a roof to keep the elements out. This appeared to be a former residential section of the city, the majority of the buildings no bigger than two rooms. As they stalked deeper into the abandoned and forgotten city, the structures grew more elaborate and sizeable. If Charleston had to guess, and here his ranger training helped immensely, they were moving into either a commercial district or a wealthier part of town.

He held a hand up to the others, signaling them to stop. They were approaching what looked to be a square. Dublin kept walking.

“Hey!” he hissed. “Stop!”

“Is that what that’s supposed to mean, team leader,” Dublin replied nastily.

Charleston shook his head in frustration. “Now’s not the time, Dublin. We have to work together.”

Dublin stopped, but said nothing. Sofia remained silent, as well, though this was no surprise. She preferred silence to speaking in Charleston’s experience.

“There’s an open space up ahead,” Charleston continued in a whisper as the three crouched behind the corner of a building. “It’s a perfect place for an ambush.”

“So we’re just supposed to wait here and do nothing?” Dublin asked. “That wasn’t our captain’s orders,” he added with a snort.

“Stop it, Dublin,” Sofia said suddenly.

“What?”

“Someone has to lead us,” Sofia continued. “Give her a chance.”

Dublin was silent, either from surprise or maybe, Charleston hoped, because he was actually considering what Sofia said.

“Listen,” Charleston continued before the large boy could say anything and ruin the moment, “either White Ship is already in the buildings surrounding this square or they’re not. Let’s split up and find out. If they’re not here, we meet on the other side and decide our next move. We could stay here and set up our own ambush, for instance.”

“I like the sound of that,” Dublin replied, though grudgingly.

“Okay. Dublin, you stay here and keep an eye out on the square. Sofia, you head that way,” he signaled to the right. “I’ll go this way. Let’s meet directly opposite. Dublin, we’ll signal to you when it’s clear, but don’t cut across the square, just to be safe.”

“Why do I have to stay here?” he asked angrily.

“We need someone covering the square while we move, in case we flush anyone out. You’re our sniper,” he added quickly, hoping to flatter the boy into obeying.

Dublin smiled. “Should I find higher ground then?”

Charleston glanced around. “There’s no need. Just keep an eye out through one of these windows,” he said, signaling the building they were currently hiding behind. “Let’s go,” he finished.

Sofia headed right, and he went left, leaving Dublin to watch over the square from the hollowed-out ruin. Charleston’s adrenaline was pumping as he cleared each building. He was approaching the final stretch before meeting Sofia when he heard a shout.

“Help!” Dublin’s voice came from opposite where Charleston now crouched.

That’s not where he’s supposed to be, Charleston thought.

The sound of laser fire soon followed Dublin’s shout and Charleston knew they were in trouble.

He hurried through the nearest building to a window facing the square. More shouts and laser fire reached him as he slid onto his side to the right of the opening, rifle clutched firmly in his hands.

“Help!” came again. The voice sounded above him somewhere.

Charleston swung up and aimed his rifle out the window in search of any signs of Dublin or White Ship. Movement across the square caught his eye. At first he didn’t see anything, but then the point of a gun appeared in the window and fired randomly down towards some buildings to the right. Charleston followed the line of fire and just caught a glimpse of two figures darting between buildings in Dublin’s direction. He moved his aim to the left, searching for a break in the buildings where he guessed the two figures would reappear. Just as he thought they should pass by the opening, he heard another burst of fire.

“Damn it!” Dublin shouted from his perch.

Charleston looked up to see red lights fill the room Dublin was in as White Ship’s crew opened fire on the cornered boy. They’d caught him unawares while the ones on the ground were distracting him.

“Idiot,” Charleston muttered. He dropped back behind the building and thought. He and Sofia were separated and outnumbered. He only had a few minutes before they searched the buildings surrounding the square and found one of them. He had to get to her first. He ducked back out of the building and made his way as quickly as caution would allow to their rendezvous point, hoping she would follow the plan better than Dublin had.

A shout broke the silence off in the distance. It was too far away to be the whitelings who shot Dublin. It must be another one of their groups in battle. He really needed to find Sofia. He picked up his pace, rifle at the ready. The buildings on this side of the square were much larger, many with empty spaces in front and back that were once probably yards. It took Charleston a long time to clear each building, but he couldn’t risk leaving them unsearched in case White Ship was hiding in wait in one of them. Or in case the flag was there. It was easy to forget in the heat of combat that eliminating each member of White Ship was not the primary goal.

He was just leaving a particularly well-preserved ruin when a flash of movement drew his eye. He raised the rifle and aimed at the spot. A few seconds later, one of White Ship’s crew stepped silently into view between two buildings. Charleston pulled the trigger. The whiteling dropped with a small cry.

Charleston held his aim for a few seconds, waiting to see if anyone came to the boy’s aid. No one did and Charleston was about to move, knowing the sound of his gun would draw the enemy towards him, when, from the corner of the building to the fallen boy’s right, a rifle suddenly appeared. One of the whitelings was carefully searching for Charleston. Unfortunately for her, Charleston had seen her first. As soon as the girl’s head came in view over her scope, he fired again. She, too, dropped motionless to the sand.

Charleston didn’t want to press his luck any longer from his current position. He dashed back the way he’d come and further from the square in the opposite direction of the rendezvous point with Sofia. He was counting on the remaining crew from White Ship searching for him among the buildings bordering the square. If he could get far enough away, he would be able to double back and around them, either catching them unawares or finding Sofia.

More shouts in the distance and the sound of laser fire accompanied his maneuvering. Something big was going down in Savannah’s direction. He wanted to get there as soon as possible, but he couldn’t just run off and find out. He had to keep moving cautiously and methodically or he could easily get caught in an ambush or miss the flag. He cleared several buildings as he moved further from the square before doubling back.

The buildings in this part of the fallen city were big, multistoried behemoths that must have been quite nice at one point. Now, however, they were cavernous, empty shells of their former selves, ceilings long since collapsed and disintegrated by time and weather. It took Charleston progressively longer to clear each building as he made his way back in the direction where Sofia was hopefully waiting.

He had only just entered another giant structure when a soft clack sounded from where he’d been standing. It was too quiet to be a laser shot. Charleston crept back to the entrance and carefully peered back out the way he’d come.

There was no one.

The clack came again, this time right behind him. Charleston spun. Nothing. He scanned the interior of the building, but there was no sign of anyone. Suddenly, a flash of movement caught his eye. He turned in time to see a small pebble bounce off the wall. It has to be Sofia, he thought. Carefully, he moved to a gaping hole in the outer wall where a window had once been and peered out.

There was no one there.

Charleston almost cursed in frustration, but then Sofia’s head poked out of a window in the building across the wide street from where Charleston hid. The two made eye contact and Sofia smiled. Then she held up two fingers and pointed behind her. Charleston nodded. There were two whitelings somewhere on the other side of Sofia’s hiding spot and she couldn’t move without making herself vulnerable.

He signaled as best he could that he would circle around and come at the whitelings from behind. Sofia nodded back and Charleston quickly made his way through the building he was in and began another wide arc that would put him directly behind the enemy.

He completed the arc in a few minutes, checking each building he passed through for any signs of the flag or the enemy, but there were none. Eventually he stopped and crouched behind what looked like an outer wall of a large mansion. He was mostly certain he’d circled around far enough to put the whitelings between himself and Sofia, but he had no way of knowing if the enemy had moved on or not. He thought for a second and then made his decision.

Picking up a small piece of brick from the collapsing wall, he took aim and tossed it towards one of the buildings furthest to the left from where he thought Sofia was hiding. If she had been able to get his attention with this trick, he thought it might work on the kids from White Ship.

He waited half a minute, rifle swiveling between the empty spaces leading to the building, then threw a small stone.

Just as he was about to reach for a third, he saw the top of someone’s head poke out from one of the neighboring ruins. Charleston smiled. She was looking to see where the stones were being thrown from. Charleston aimed his rifle at the spot where the head had been and lobbed another rock. Before it could clatter off the wall, the head popped out and turned in Charleston’s direction. He fired and cursed as his shot went high.

The whiteling disappeared behind the wall, then blindly fired several shots in his general direction.

Charleston scampered along the wall, away from the whiteling. He was going to cut across the street dividing them and get behind her.

Just as he made a break for it, the sound of laser fire sent him diving back for cover. But it wasn’t aimed at him. He peeked around the wall again, rifle at the ready, just in time to see the girl he’d shot at make a break for his side of the street. He raised his rifle and let loose a burst of shots. She fell hard to the dusty road.

“Char?” Sofia called to him from inside one of the buildings opposite.

He hurried over to her and they exchanged relieved smiles. Her face was raw and red from the wind and sand.

“What happened to Dublin?” she asked.

“He didn’t listen. Got cornered and shot by those two, probably,” he shrugged, indicating the girl behind them. “You got your guy?”

“Yeah. When he heard you and the girl exchanging fire, he broke cover and I sniped him.”

“Good shooting,” he complimented.

“Thanks!” she smiled. “I thought it’d be harder to aim. What now?” she asked after a pause, running a hand through her short blonde hair in an effort to dislodge the sand trapped in it.

“Did you hear those shouts from the direction Savannah and her group should be?”

“Yeah. Wanna check it out?”

“Let’s, but we still need to search for the flag.”

“Let’s find Savannah and them and worry about searching each and every building after.”

“Good idea,” he said. “We clear just those buildings we pass for now.”

“Agreed,” she replied, and the two set off in search of Savannah’s group.

They made good time. They’d taken out a third of White Ship between the two of them. It was likely the remaining enemy was searching other parts of the city. They hadn’t heard any shouting or laser fire in awhile, so Charleston led them as best as he could in the general direction of where he remembered the sounds coming from. After ten minutes, he could see an opening between buildings ahead of them.

“It looks like another square,” he whispered to Sofia. “Let’s find a vantage point from one of the buildings on the edge.”

Sofia nodded and they picked their way carefully through the ruined buildings.

“Is that the flag?” Sofia asked in something less than a whisper. They were at the edge of the square now. A white cloth was blowing in the wind from the remains of a well located right in the center of the large open space.

“Looks like it,” Charleston replied in a subdued voice. “And that’s not all,” he added grimly.

Lying at the halfway point between the well and the buildings opposite from where they now hid were two bodies.

“Is that Arizona?”

“Ragnar,” Charleston corrected. The Viking was lying face down in the sand, the muzzle of his rifle still gripped in his hand “And Vienna.” She was lying not far behind Ragnar. Why is he holding his gun backwards? Charleston wondered. And what is Vienna doing here when she’s supposed to be in New York’s group further east?

None of that mattered now. They’d found the flag and, from the looks of it, so had White Ship. He wondered how many of the enemy were hidden in the ruins around the square. And how many of their own.

“What now?” Sofia asked, excitement audible in her voice.

“I’m not sure,” Charleston replied. “Clearly, White Ship has eyes on that flag, and I’m assuming we do too. Savannah and Aurora may still be alive, and if Vienna’s out there, that probably means New York and Paris are too. I think we need to find them. The only question is, do we split up to do it, or go together?”

Sofia gave him an odd look. “After what happened the last time we split up, I think we stay together.”

“Okay. Let’s start searching to the right of us,” Charleston said, indicating the direction Savannah and her team would have come to reach the square.

“Wait a second,” Sofia stopped him. “What’s the point of finding them when they’re obviously in a stalemate with White Ship?”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Let’s go the other way and ambush some of the whitelings,” she said, her eyes gleaming. Charleston hadn’t spent enough time with Sofia to know this side of her, but now he was seeing her with new eyes. She wanted to win, and not just as a team. She wanted to be the one who won it for them.

Charleston smiled. “Let’s do it.”

They ducked out of their hiding spot and began the slow process of circling out and around where they thought White Ship would be holed up, much as Charleston had done earlier when Sofia had been pinned down. His adrenaline was pumping as they cleared each building. It was just a matter of time before they found the enemy.

“You two sure are loud,” a familiar voice came from behind them.

Charleston spun to see Arkhangelsk smirking from the doorframe of a house they’d just checked.

“Ark!” Sofia said in shock, her voice too loud.

“Shh!” Charleston quieted. “Let’s find cover and we’ll fill you in,” he said, trying to hide his annoyance that she’d snuck up on them.

“What happened to the rest of your team?” he asked as soon as they found a secluded spot in one of the nearby ruins.

“Same thing that happened to yours, probably,” she replied shortly.

“They disobeyed orders and got themselves shot?” Charleston asked more nastily than he meant to.

Arkhangelsk looked at him for a moment before answering. “No, not exactly. We made it almost the entire way around our half of the city when we ran into six of White Ship. They were trying to ambush us, but we sniffed it out. Still, they outnumbered us and Jax and Mads went down. We took at least four of them out before they ran. I followed, but I didn’t want to engage them until I met up with reinforcements.”

Charleston was relieved she’d followed Savannah’s orders and not attacked when the advantage was the enemy’s. Maybe the others will start obeying, too, he thought.

“They’re watching the flag, then,” Charleston replied and went on to explain the situation and their current plan. Arkhangelsk made a disapproving face when she heard of Ragnar and Vienna, but otherwise remained impassive.

“I’m in,” she said simply when he’d finished.

Charleston was momentarily worried she’d try to take charge, but she waited until he started off to step in behind. She really was deadly silent when she moved. Even knowing she was behind him, Charleston couldn’t hear her.

It didn’t take them long to find White Ship. It just didn’t happen the way they’d expected.

They were approaching the side of the square where they figured the remaining whitelings would be when a pop sounded and Sofia dropped to the ground with a curse. Charleston and Arkhangelsk both leapt and rolled in opposite directions as more pops sounded, laser fire lancing over their heads. They’d walked right into an ambush.

Charleston poked his head around the corner of the building he was hiding behind to find the shooter. “See anything?” he called out.

“Somewhere up,” Arkhangelsk replied.

Charleston peered around the corner again and ducked back quickly as more laser fire sounded.

“Cover me!” Arkhangelsk said as she leapt up and zigzagged her way towards where the shooter was hiding.

Charleston barely had time to react before she was in the open. He fired blindly in the direction of the enemy a few times before leaning out to get a look, never letting off the trigger. He thought he saw movement in a second-story window and quickly sent several shots through the opening. Arkhangelsk was nowhere to be seen. He ducked back behind the building just as more laser fire sounded, but not from the sniper. It was coming from the square where the flag was. He could hear shouting as well. He had to get to that square.

He waited another moment, then decided to risk it. Either Arkhangelsk had found the sniper or she hadn’t, but he couldn’t wait around while the rest of White Ship captured the flag. He darted out from his hiding place and sprinted through the sandy streets towards the square. It didn’t take long. He skidded to a halt just on the square’s edge and brought his rifle up. Three whitelings were making a mad dash for the flag, while at least two of his own were firing from the cover of the ruins on the opposite side.

Unfortunately, they weren’t having much success hitting the enemy, as the whitelings kept darting unpredictably in various directions, all while maintaining an angle towards the flag and returning fire as best they could.

Charleston shouted something even he didn’t understand and dashed out from hiding. Just as he did so, Savannah burst from her hiding place opposite his own. She was silent as she ran, but she never stopped firing.

The whitelings were close now, only a dozen yards from the flag. Charleston stopped running, steadied the gun on his shoulder, and fired. One whiteling dropped. Meanwhile, Savannah was still further from the flag than the enemy.

A second whiteling dropped. Charleston turned to see Arkhangelsk take aim at the remaining one.

Savannah got the shot off first, though it came at a cost. The final whiteling tagged her at the same time, and both fell mere feet from the flag. Charleston and Arkhangelsk rushed to the well and snatched the waving white cloth, shouting in adrenaline-fueled triumph, each holding a corner of the flag. From the ruins, New York and Paris emerged, smiles splitting their faces.

They had won.

The Podkind is a science fiction/fantasy novel written by Johnny Cycles. The next installment is scheduled for December 6th!

Photo by Ruslan Valeev on Unsplash