Beyond What's Known

Chapter 7

Alana led the way through the Outland Reach. The ride was silent. No one had the heart or energy to make small talk. The adrenaline from the fight was starting to wear off, and the severity of the situation was starting to truly sink in.

Eli Shane was out there somewhere, possessed and determined to destroy the 99 Caverns. They had just been beaten by him once, and they would probably only have one more chance to stop him and cure the Goon. Otherwise...

Alana swallowed down the fear creeping up her throat as she remembered the cataclysmic fall of the Western Caverns. She turned around to look at the rest of the Shane Gang, following silently behind her as they approached town.

Trixie was staring at the ground in front of her mecha, Pronto looked asleep, and Kord was keeping an eye on his passenger, who was slumped unconscious behind him.

The slinger hadn't stirred once since the gang had started their journey. His Infurnus had gone back and forth from sitting on Midnight's head to chitter with Burpy and Ash to hopping over to sit on his slinger's shoulder, which is where he was at the moment. The Infurnus looked somber at his slinger's exhausted state, but undoubtedly relieved he was free from the Goon's control.

Alana tore her gaze from the black-haired slinger and spent a few minutes scrolling through Midnight's control panel. Some of Alana's equipment, including Midnight and her blaster, shared location data with the rest of the gang.

As far as Alana was aware, Lucky did the same, but when Alana tried to track Eli's mecha, she had no luck. She doubted it was a coincidental technical difficulty, but whatever the reason, the gang had no way of confirming whether or not they would run into Eli any second.

Luckily, even though the Gateway town was still empty, the streetlights were still on, showing the way out of the barren Outland Reach and into the small, winding streets. The town was completely silent, the footsteps of the gang's mechas echoing around the still buildings.

"King's mansion is probably the best place," Alana noted, gesturing to the mansion on the top of the hill that overlooked the rest of town. "Plenty of room, high ground, and the walkways around the roof help us see in every direction. And I doubt the King will care if we bunker down there."

Nobody objected, so she led them up the dirt path to the top of the hill and hopped down from Midnight to push open the tall golden gates leading into the estate. She stepped to the side to let the rest of the gang ride through the entrance before leading Midnight and the Eastern slinger's mecha through, closing the gates behind them.

"Let's get inside and we can figure out who needs Mage and Doc," she called, parking her mecha in front of the mansion's front steps. The others quietly did the same.

Guilt squeezed her heart as Alana led them into the mansion, which was unlocked either due to the King of Sling's forgetfulness or in the rush to evacuate the town. If she'd been able to come up with a way to save Eli, he would be with them now. They could be on their way home.

The entry room had several couches and cushions, and none of the tired slingers felt like climbing up stairs, so they settled in there. Kord carried the unconscious slinger in, at first moving to set him on the floor, but a raised eyebrow from Alana encouraged him to set him on a couch instead.

"I don't like just keepin' him here," Kord grumbled, collapsing down on another couch and staring at the old Dark Slinger. "We don't know what he's gonna be like when he wakes up."

"Arachnet," Pronto grumbled from where he was laying face-down on a loveseat. "And then go to bed."

Alana snorted at the tired molenoid's attitude, but nodded and loaded her Arachnet.