His face was badly bruised, nose broken and flowing fresh blood. Still, he smiled and offered his hand, despite the urgency of all that was happening around him. Rae took his offer. It was the man the mob had beaten at the soapbox sermon.
“Please… do not hurt me. I’m unarmed,” she said, sidling back against the cracked building.
Quickly, he took his coat off and wrapped it around her body, making sure she was covered. “Don’t worry. I’m not here to hurt you. There has been another prison break,” he said. “Follow me. I know of a safe place. We won’t hurt you. My name… my name is Noah.”
“Noah…”
She gave into trust and took his hand, following his lead as he pulled her through a crowd of running people. He led her into an apartment building left over from the last regime, quickly shut the door, and locked it behind them.
“Thank heavens I found you!” Noah fell forward as the plume of smoke whipped inside. Leaning back against the wall, he let his head slump and wheezed. “I have to apologize. You are her, right? Should I bow? Allow me to bow.”
“Do not bow to me, and don’t fucking call me your queen,” she said, zipping up the coat he gave her to wear. “I’m just another woman who has been taken advantage of. Any omega could have taken my place and done a better job. The new leaders have—”
“We know,” he interrupted her. “For years, the television screens showed your face in that cold, blue water. Silent and still, you floated like an angel. We had no one to look to for salvation. They gave us bread, even allowed new industries to rise and reform the city. We were given new freedoms, but no amount of change went to better us. Most of the population still can’t bear children. We aren’t allowed to form families without the right forms of consent, and that costs a considerable fortune. Love is still a dirty word, but we knew you’d wake, eventually.”
“When I woke weeks ago, I was flung into the clutches of power yet again. My children were missing. My husbands, imprisoned and sentenced to a life of sexual bondage, went through their own personal and isolated hells. I’m afraid I cannot lead anyone. I’m still too weak to deny myself a real life. I just want my family back,” she said, suddenly remembering the way her alphas held her when she felt this broken. The safety they provided her was something she had taken for granted.
“We know of your origins in the test facilities. You are the next step for mankind,” Noah said. “Maybe you don’t believe in fate, but we do. It had to be you. You are the one who is going to guide us into the next and final stage.”
A flash of anger rushed through her chest, tightening around her shoulders, leaving her feeling absolutely helpless. “Are you rash? There is no final stage! This world is dying! Do you hear me? Dying. And once that truth sinks in, we will all end with it. The only destiny humanity is fit for is bringing the light back into darkness. Maybe then, things can start over again in peace.”
Noah stared at her without expression. His eyes did not waver as he said the next words. “We knew you’d say that, too. Maybe the world needs an end, but for now, it needs a leader. It needs you.”
“Yeah? And who is this we? As far as I can see, you brought me to an abandoned apartment building,” she said.
Outside, chaos reigned. Gunshots rang out, meeting the swift reply of terrified screams. She’d never wanted it to be like this. She didn’t think an entire world could crumble simply because of her existence, yet it was happening before her very eyes. After Virgil’s display of greed and rebellious licentiousness, there was no one left to trust.
Without saying another word, Noah reached into his pants pocket, revealing a set of old keys. He waved her to follow him as he meandered toward the rusted mailboxes on the we
st wing of the building. “It’s right this way,” he said.
Rae was startled to witness the entire wall move and separate out as an entranceway. Within seconds, she heard the vibrant sounds of eclectic music. As she stepped inside, she quickly noticed how the building had been secretly renovated to fit all of their needs. Endless rows of cots lined the walls. Above them, a library spiraled into the heavens. There were books upon books just begging to be opened. These were the only trophies this place had, besides the massive assortment of potted plants.
Rae felt her heart beat against her sternum, but it was not a motion that brought her anxiety or distrust. Seeing this place made her whole again, similar to how she felt in the forest. Only, this place was a tangible fortress without much outside threat.
“How long have you operated here?” she asked, still staring upward at the vast ceiling.
“The Cathedral has been in place since the First Attack on the city,” he said. “When the buildings fell, there were too many civilian casualties to count. I tried to help in every way I could, but without any money or resources, it was nearly impossible. I slept on the street for days, huddled near the bodies, forced to deal with the cold with unsatisfactory methods. Then, a man woke me. He was an old preacher who came to spread the seeds of rebellion. He helped us build a sanctuary. He named it the Cathedral.”
A lump caught in her throat. “Virgil,” she said.
“He told us you would meet him. I’m guessing all of this has already happened,” he said.
Rae lowered her gaze, and the cloud of doubt swept through her like a phantom. “He… he went crazy. He turned on us, gave us away to Severin.”
But as much as Rae justified her hatred toward the elderly preacher, she knew that this world offered very little clarity toward the situations presented to her. There were wolves that wore sheep’s clothing, but she never thought a lamb might be smart enough to reverse the cloth.
“He wanted you to succeed. It has always been up to you to find the right way,” he said.
She clenched her teeth and stared at the tapestries covering the walls of the building. Endless geometric patterns extended out as fractals. She could look at any point, get lost in the disarray of detail, but if she brought her focus outward, it was obvious how connected everything was. She had never seen shapes like that before, but she quickly understood what he was getting at, despite her hot flushes of anger.
“If he wanted me to succeed, he’d find the one husband who drowned,” she muttered.
“Just as you do, Killian has his own journey. Every person involved in your journey is important. Do you understand?” he asked.
Head clammy and body heavy with exhaustion, she felt defeated. She nodded and hoped things could be fixed. The dream of a utopia wasn’t something that interested her, but she would fight if it meant a better world for her children.
“Just tell me one thing,” she whispered. “Is my husband dead?”