The Cradle continued to emit a beam of light piercing the clouds. The earth trembled. The Wanderers rushed forward. Each of them had already drawn their pistols, cocked the triggers, and was ready to shoot. Moreover, each of them was prepared to fall in this battle. The fate of the Consolidated Nation and all of humanity hung by a thread. John ran alongside Alexa. At that moment, he realized that, like Alexa herself, James, and Samantha, he was fighting not for himself but for loved ones waiting for them on the other side of the Third District's border. Ioanna was waiting for him to say her last words, to say goodbye. But, unfortunately, she was not destined to wait for him. Fate had decided otherwise.
And here it was, the moment of the first shot. Two armed men stood at the main gates of the complex. Like the Wanderers, they did not expect the Rift Gates' activation to trigger an earthquake. However, upon seeing the approaching travelers, they opened fire. The first bullet was stopped by Samantha's energy field, just inches from her chest. The girl didn't feel any pain or pressure. The response was swift. Amanda fired back. The energy discharge from the commander's rifle pierced one man's forehead, shattering his skull, droplets of blood staining the ground. Amanda also shot the other guard. The charge penetrated his chest. Once again, blood spilled on the dead earth. It seemed there was an unspoken rule: anyone who stepped onto this land was obliged to summon death.
Entering the first building, Amanda stopped. Sterile corridors illuminated by overhead lights led into the unknown. These corridors, like those in the Fracture Compound, transformed into a labyrinth. The Last Ones who restored the complex did so with unprecedented precision. John felt as if he hadn't left the Seventh District, that behind him was the Hall of the Fracture Machine, where Professor Martha Crockford continued her tests. But she was not there. Death awaited them deep within the labyrinth. The collapse that would destroy the Consolidated Nation was gaining strength. Time was running out.
Shots rang out from the east. The energy fields of the Wanderers' suits continued to absorb the blows, but the energy levels were falling, nearing zero. Amanda turned and shot back. Two bodies fell to the floor, desecrating the corridor's sterility with their blood. A few more people rushed into the hall through the opposite door. They barely had time to prepare their triggers when James and Alexa fired. Sterility was once again violated. Blood continued to flow from their bodies. A strange feeling filled Alexa and James. Here was the moment when a person crosses a boundary, breaking a rule not set by any single law of the Consolidated Nation but something deeper — the law of life and death, the law of humanity. And they had just violated that law. By killing the guards, by killing the Last Ones, they had become them. They experienced what only a person from the Old World could know: the feeling of depriving life, the feeling of power over life. It frightened them. Somewhere deep in their minds, they were afraid. But at the same time, they understood why people from the Old World took lives from each other. The answer was simple: to take a life is too easy a task.
"We need to split up," Amanda addressed the Wanderers as three others who appeared in the corridor leading to the Rift Gates hall fell dead.
"Now?" John asked, gripping the pistol's handle. "Didn't the plan change when they activated the Gates?"
"Just in case Samantha can close the rift and stop the collapse, we'll have to run. And it's better to run on the Hawk."
"You'll go alone?" Alexa glanced at the commander.
"If Manuel or Ivan were here, they'd go with me. But as it is..." Amanda lowered her rifle. "I wish you good luck!" The woman placed a hand on Alexa's shoulder. "I'll hold the position in the hangar until the end. And yes..." The commander took a few steps back toward the corridor leading to the hangar. "In case the mission fails... I want you to know. I was wrong. You're ready for the journey to the Center." The woman nodded and dashed down the corridor toward the hangar.
"And now we are alone," James said.
"If we delay, no one will be left," Alexa raised her pistol. "Let's go."
The Wanderers headed down the corridor leading to the Rift Gates. The closed door at the end of the corridor concealed the truth. The truth that would not show the Wanderers how horrific the collapse was, the truth that would not reveal how cruel the Last Ones were. There was the truth that would open doors into their minds and show what the Wanderers truly were.
The door was opened. The hall, with a fountain rising in the center, welcomed the travelers. The Tree of Life poured living water from its metallic leaves. The moment Alexa entered the hall, the earthquake ceased. Only the roar of the Rift Gates could be heard somewhere ahead.
"Why did the earthquake stop?" Alexa whispered, afraid to disrupt the strange silence in the hall.
"It means..." Samantha's voice trembled, "they're establishing the connection."
"They managed," John said, his hands starting to shake; they were falling behind.
"Not yet," Samantha turned to John, "they've activated them. But the rift can't appear so quickly."
"Is there even the slightest chance the rift can be closed?" James asked Samantha.
"I can't say for sure," she replied. "If they're activating the Gates to create a collapse, I don't think they plan to close the rift afterward."
"They know we're be here," Alexa said, glancing around. "A fight will happen here soon."
"But there won't be many of them," Samantha added.
"Why?" John approached the fountain, admiring the shine of the metal and the crystal-clear water. Memories of home awakened in his consciousness once more.
"Why not?" Samantha countered. "If they're planning to create a collapse, why kill many people?"
"Do you think so?" Alexa turned to Samantha.
"We haven't encountered much resistance because there aren't that many people. Probably most of them left Cradle, hiding somewhere to survive Collapse"
John walked on the sterile floor around the fountain. What a beauty it was, he thought. How could there be anything alive in the dead lands? Why had the Last restored the fountain? What was it all for?
"You and John need to go," Alexa sighed, approaching Samantha. "If you're right, the collapse will happen very soon."
"Yes," the girl confirmed.
"It was a good time, wasn't it?" Alexa smiled for the first time in a long while.
"It seems this is the end of our journey," Samantha replied with a smile.
The girls embraced each other, saying goodbye. Then Alexa hugged John.
"Good luck to you!" John said in Alexa's embrace. "We'll do everything we can."
"I have no doubt!" Alexa may have seen her friend for the last time.
James also approached Samantha. Embracing her, he wished them the luck they so desperately needed. Patting John on the shoulder, the guy cocked the trigger and raised his pistol.
"We'll hold the defense until the end."
"We'll be quick!" John took a step back.
Turning around, Samantha nodded to Alexa and James, looked at John, and together they headed toward the Rift Gates hall.
Leaving the Fountain of Life, the Wanderers vanished from sight. Alexa and James were left alone. Following James's example, Alexa also cocked her trigger.
"Thus ends our story," Alexa thought. Years of training, education. Selection into the Wanderers. It all ended here. In the Cradle. Death as a result of the collapse.
"At least it won't hurt," James thought. None of them would feel pain.
Somewhere in the distance, footsteps could be heard. The Last Ones were approaching, and the Wanderers took up a defensive position.