The Renegade

Chapter 17

 "They're going to get revenge on the Civilization." Hayl's dark eyes are round and serious. "He said those exact words."

We stand on the edge of the joyous Family gathering as new parents gather their grafted children into their arms. I hum with anxious energy--revenge.

"What more can he possibly do?" Orrick asks from beside me. "We saw that footage in the Tech Center. The Civilization will never return to what it was."

I turn to Ior, expecting some sort of confirmation or denial, but his mouth presses into a tight line. "Have you studied the footage?" I demand. "What do you know?"

Ior hesitates, his eyes scanning the crowd to where Audra stands, wiping tears from he eyes with a white handkerchief. "We haven't been able to do any real reconnaissance," he confesses, "so it's hard to tell what's still there, but the entire left wing and the majority of the outer buildings have been destroyed. I'm not sure what can still function."

The Underlings may not have enough food and supplies stored to keep the survivors alive under the remains of the Civilization Center, but I don't say anything with Ior here. Luk trusts him and that should be good enough for me, but I can't endanger our only remaining allies, if they're even still alive.

Ryke sneers, flipping his long hair over his shoulder. "What are they going to do? Bomb us? They already know that won't be enough."

But Ryke's wrong--yes, the Civilization is still there even after the bombs, but if Domus continues their onslaught, even the stalwart Civilization Center will completely crumble.

"Revenge," Elz murmurs, that distant, ethereal look in her opaque eyes that don't rest on anything in this world. "Haven't we had enough of that?"

Her whispered words silence us all, but this won't stop. How can it? Domus wants revenge, and whatever remains of the Civilization wants to atone for their losses. If Domus restarts this war, it may never end.

"Why, though?" I say, kneading my lip between my teeth. "They got their children back. What more do they want?"

Luk pulls away from me. "Why? Haven't you seen Ila?"

I sigh. "Of course, Luk, but the rest of the children are alright." The Civilization's experimentation destroyed Ila, not the evil drug they concocted. By the merry laughter ringing through the dome, I can tell the children have recovered their memories. "I just don't understand why your dad's so desperate for revenge."

Luk doesn't say anything in response, his eyebrows knotted. I'm not sure he understands either.
"We have to go back," Hayl says suddenly.

"Go back?" Tali asks with a snort. "Have you lost your strafing mind? Have you forgotten about--" Tali stops mid-sentence and looks at Elz. None of us have forgotten about Laird. Both sides are to blame for his death, but what if he was just the first casualty of many?

Even though I've considered returning to the Civilization, I don't want to. My stomach churns just thinking about facing it again, the Underlings and the Civilizers. I hate Domus, but I don't love the Civilization. I'd rather avoid them both, but I may have to choose between them.

"Yeah," Hayl continues. "My mom's back there, and...and tons of other innocent people. What if they need our help?"

Ryke laughs, the sound acerbic. "What the shell can we do? We have nothing and we're good for nothing."

He's right. We may have saved the Doman children, but they were our only bargaining chip. Now we're worthless, criminals in the Civilization and outcasts in Domus. Even the Underlings won't want us and our questionable loyalties.