“So where exactly do we go to bring the fight to your mum?” Fahz asks as he looks amongst the Delta squad for an answer.
“That thing was not my mother.” Kait replies harshly, as Cole and Marcus, begin to huddle with one another in some sort of debate.
Rolling his eyes, Fahz lets out an exasperated sigh. “Whatever, but I assumed since you're so determined to bring your- that thing down, you’d already have a plan.”
JD stood by himself, thinking about how they could find the Locus Queen, and how their journey thus far, was like they were retracing his father’s footsteps.
“What are the chances she’s at Mount Kadar?” JD looks around at everyone. “Maybe they went back there and rebuilt what the Lightmass bomb destroyed.”
Delta squad looked to their seniors for some sort of response but, they were faced with Cole giving Marcus some sort of warning look, before he turned to address them.
“We should go to Zierra.” Marcus says plainly, which grabs everyone’s attention.
“Zierra?” Paduk was the first to reply. “Why would you want to go there? I hear it’s nothing but ruins thanks to you lot.”
Never hearing about it before, Kait can’t help but ask, “What’s Zierra?”
“It’s a place that no longer exists, and should be left alone.” Cole’s warning tone wasn’t missed on anyone as his attention was focused on Marcus like he was trying to remind him of something.
“All I know about it,” JD sighs as he began to explain what he could to Kait. “Was that it was a COG settlement that went rogue. When they sent in troops, no one wanted to come without a fight. So…” He shrugs, “Delta squad went in and took care of it.”
“That’s what we were told.” Marcus clarifies. “When we got there it was a different story. It was a colony of test subjects. Everyone there was either starving or dying from the experiments they were putting them through. And when they weren’t getting the results they wanted, they abandoned them. We were sent there to destroy whatever was left.”
“Like New Hope?” Kait couldn’t help but notice the similarities.
“Not exactly.” Marcus lets out a groan as he rubs his eyes. “Doctor Andestama ran the physicalities there, and he was actually trying to help the people. The COG turned it to something else. Only a handful of people pulled through.”
“So if it’s nothing but rubble… Why do you want us to go there?” Fahz asks the million-dollar question which Cole quickly chimes in, “EXACTLY! There’s no point.”
“Because we didn’t destroy it.” Marcus exclaims a bit annoyed. “We have a contact there that can help us. He has been doing research on the underground tunnels and getting the settlement back on its feet. If someone knows where the Locus Army is hiding it would be him.”
“He forgot to mention that he is also dead.” Cole graciously points out.
“Let me get this straight.” JD begins as he pinches the bridge of his nose. “The person we need to talk to is “dead”, and the place we need to go to “no longer” exists?”
“Now you’re getting it!” Cole says with a smile as he holds up his hand for a high-five. “Don’t leave me hanging.”
When we arrived at Zierra, the silence, the stark landscape, and the decaying structures created a unique and unsettling atmosphere. Buildings, once homes, businesses, and public spaces, showed signs of decay and neglect. Walls were cracked, roofs tattered, and windows were broken. Roads and sidewalks were now covered in sand and dust.
Men who looked liked civilian soldiers took away our weapons. They didn’t trust us, and they had a good reason not to with what they have been through already.
Marcus and Cole went to see the person in charge. While me and JD stayed behind in the waiting room. I didn’t like sitting idle, and I didn’t like these people staring at me either.
“Where are you going?” I heard JD call after me in a loud whisper as I began to stand from my chair.
“I’m just going to stretch my legs.” I assured him, feeling a bit mischievous. “Nothing to worry your pretty little head about.” I pat his knee, scrunching up my nose a bit before I began to wonder around.