• This is the second book of The Collected series •
"Those who bring pain are here to save, and those who bring hope will bring death. A great evil rests on the horizon, eating away at each setting sun. Nothing is as it seems while you beg for salva...
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Lithium and Rosco held up to their word and in a manner of hours found us a ship in a nearby village. It wasn't a pretty thing, but with scavenged pieces from our broken ship, it was flyable.
We were on borrowed time, working alongside the two aliens to fix it as fast as possible to make it to the Gathering of Axel's army. Even the Collector helped, where we allowed him to.
I almost wanted to stall; I didn't want to fight again. I wouldn't have fought again if now for Nico and Estelle. If not Zillah, the life we'd lost. We owed it to them. So we continued on.
Finally - and yet somehow too soon - the ship was ready to fly. Goodbyes were quick with the newfound friends, making them promise to keep an eye on the Collector. Lithium and Rosco swore they wouldn't let him out of sight, at least not for a few days. They would have a head-start if nothing else.
Luckily, no one was responsible for flying the ship this time around. After punching in the coordinates, the autopilot made an unsteady lift off and we found ourselves in the sky once more.
Things were falling to place. Or out of it. None of us knew what we were doing. It was by mere luck we were all still alive... or... most of us were still alive. It didn't seem real that Zillah was gone. I hadn't enjoyed the way she assumed herself leader of the group, but now I missed that certainty. It was something we needed. Something none of us felt prepared to provide.
I didn't.
"Are you ready?" Cate came to stand at my side, looking out the skinny window and the endless space outside.
"I'm not sure I'll ever be." I admitted, fearing what was to come. The first time we faced the Collectors we'd barely escaped with their lives. Now we were willing doing it again. Facing the whole of the Collectors army.
We have an army of our own. I tried to remind myself. This was the final stand. Every species in the galaxy were scared of the Collectors, every species had something to loose if the Collectors were allowed to continue. Everyone was angry.
"I think I'm going to find a place to rest." I said, turning away from the small window. I missed our other ship with its individual rooms with almost comfortable beds. "You should too, I don't know when we'll have another chance to."
"I will, in a bit." Cate replied, staying where she was by the window. Her eyes were glossed over and I couldn't help but wonder what it was she was thinking about. I wanted to ask, but in the end decided it was best to leave her be. We all had things on our mind. Terrible, terrible things that we couldn't always share. Didn't want to share.
I hoped none of the things circling in my head would manifest in my dreams. I desperately needed a long, restful sleep. Void of the nightmares that haunted me night after night.
It was strange. Dreams. The way they mirrored the dark thoughts and old pains. I couldn't remember what a nice dream was like. The best nights were always the silent ones. Without the still echoing screams of the Collecting Point. Without the images of my friends - my family - being ripped away. Killed.
