Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,297

while placing his hand on my lower back. Was he worried about my soul? Was he worried that the Ash he knew was gone forever?

Or was that just me?

“I know.”

End of the Walker

Chapter One

Dormas was gone. Completely gone.

I stood in the dirt, staring out over the destruction with a deep slump to my shoulders. Ahead of me was nothing but ash and billows of smoke filling the afternoon sky. Little embers were still eating at the collapsed buildings, taking the ashes and consuming them whole.

Based on the level of destruction, we assumed that Dormas burned to the ground last week. The moment word got out that Cavil was dead, the empire had erupted in chaos. His loyal guards destroyed the town without reason, probably as some half-assed attempt at retribution. It was no secret that the Dormas Leadership Council was responsible for his death. Everyone knew he was keeping Cyler and Maverick captive.

For the last few weeks, Resistance groups, Scavengers, and Walkers alike all banded together to fight what was left of Cavil’s men. They had weapons, but we had heart.

Well, our allies had heart. Mine was beating, yes, pumping blood through my malnourished and exhausted body. But I wondered if the thing banging against my chest actually felt anything these days, if it were still really capable of emotion. Because if I had a heart, shouldn’t I feel guilty about killing Commodore Cavil?

I didn’t. I really didn’t. And now that I was looking out over what was left of our home, I wished I could do it again. I never thought I’d be the type to approve of murdering, but I felt nothing except relief to have Cavil’s blood on my hands.

The other companions abandoned us the first chance they got, and I didn’t blame them. Madam B was killed during the riots. Kemper said he saw her murdered by stray heat. It was hard to think that all that was left of the passionate, hardened, and boisterous woman was dust. Her home was destroyed, too. We never knew for sure what had happened to Jade, though. We all assumed that she was still in Cavil’s building when it exploded. Blythe, Lowe and I mourned the loss of our spunky friend, they more so than I. But once again, loss was common in the empire. It bonded us but also tore us apart. Now that the job was done, there was no real need for us to be together. Our camaraderie was circumstantial and crumbled at the first sign of adversity.

We stopped the transport and parted ways with a simple nod. Later on, I regretted it; I should have insisted that we stick together. Alliances were crucial, and there was something to be said about safety in numbers. But at the time, I was too focused on Cyler and Maverick. My, how I’d come a long way from being the timid little Walker girl of Galla. It was every man or woman for themselves. And I only had enough emotional capacity for the six men I loved, Jules, Mia, and Payne. Loving people was a dangerous game at the end of the world.

“Babe, come on,” Cyler said while drawing me out of my thoughts of that fateful night and reaching out to grab me. He looked abnormally pale, and I noticed how his hands trembled when he brushed his fingertips along my skin. I knew his exhaustion was a side effect of the death pill. It took him and Maverick much longer to wake up than it took me. Their bodies liked the idea of death a little more than they loved living. I spent almost two days staring at their chests, praying that they’d wake up, while Huxley drove us to the Scavenger camp where Payne was supposed to be.

I still remembered crying in a heap on the floor, begging them not to die. In a moment of weakness, I pleaded to Josiah to give them back. I wasn’t a religious woman; the empire had given that up centuries ago. But I knew that my childhood friend gave me my men back. Or maybe I was crazy.

I’d never forget the disappointment I felt when we found the camp abandoned. Now we had no idea where Payne was or if he were even alive. Aarav and Mia were missing, too. I’d never seen Jules cry, but she sobbed at the sight of the abandoned tents and debris. Hell, I even felt a pang of disappointment at the idea of