Tell the Wolves I’m Home

By Moya Tobey

I looked over the maps one last time, clenching my fist and grinding my teeth.

“Don’t worry, Xander,” Lykos said. “Everything is set and in place. They don’t suspect a thing.” He knew me all too well.

I gave a curt nod to the other three—Obelius, Leo, and Claus. We only numbered five, but we would be enough.

“Remember who we fight for, men. Not for us, but for everyone who should be on a shuttle to the colony. We fight for them.” I made eye contact with every member of our little rebel group, the Wolves, as I spoke. My eyes lingered on Lykos, then I swiftly exited, heading for the shuttle control center.

The street was dark and shrouded in polluted air. It was 3021, and the Earth was dying. Though it was nearly midday, it looked as if the city had fallen into an eternal night. Buildings were crumbling, and people were starving. So our leaders looked to the stars and got lucky.

Anxiety gnawed at my stomach as I snuck into the outskirts of the city to the control center less than a mile away. Lights pierced the smog, into the sky. A shuttle was scheduled to leave, and it was our job to stop it.  Previous efforts to overthrow the shuttle crew and allow the poor to board proved fruitless. Now, we hoped a bigger statement would cause them to change their ways.

Angry citizens filled the streets with signs and cries of hate. The mob swallowed me whole and made the perfect cover. I yanked my hood over my head and moved with the flow of the people. My people. I kept my head down.

A blur of silver fur caught my attention, and I jerked my head to the left. A rat stared up at me with its beady eyes. Typical gutter vermin, I assumed. But the eyes weren’t right. Too metallic. My stomach dropped. I cursed under my breath and lurched away, breathing into my coms, “I’ve been spotted! Abort mission, I repeat, abort mission!”

“Xander, we’ve come so far, and there isn’t another shuttle launch for—”

“It’s too risky. Do as I say,” I fought my way through the crowd. “We meet at the rendezvous point as planned. Alpha out.”

It was only a matter of time now until they found me. The mechanical whir of a vessel overhead urged me on. I finally broke free from the throngs. Somewhere in my rush, my hood fell, and people started pointing and crying for joy because my presence could only mean one thing. Salvation.

My heart fell at the knowledge no such thing would happen today. These people deserve so much more than this. The vessel grew louder with every second. A blaster fired behind me, and screams followed close behind.

Decrepit houses passed by in blurs, and the ancient ruins of sky towers formed an impossible maze. A support beam there, an air powered engine here.

“Xander of the Wolves!” The booming voice made my heart plummet. I halted in the ruins. “We have you in our sights. Surrender now, and your life may be spared.”

I was surrounded. There, atop the ruins of what was once a great symbol of power, I lifted my hands in surrender.

“It would seem that even the infamous Xander of the Wolves is fallible.” Cronus, the head of the Shuttle Project, looked down at me mere inches from where I was forced to kneel. “Tell me. What were you trying to accomplish?”

“I was trying to give the people what they deserve—a chance at life,” I spat.

“And, as we’ve explained to the public, there is only so much life that can be supported on the colony.”

“It’s necessary for all that life to be society’s elite?”

“If we wish to survive, yes. You rebels are the scum of society. You would only hinder the colony’s development.” He paused. “I don’t suppose you would be willing to tell us where the rest of your little group is?”

I remained silent.

“That’s what I thought.” Cronus turned away and waved his hand. Two guards yanked me to my feet and dragged me away.

I wrenched myself from their grasp and snapped, “I’m capable of walking.”

We turned down a narrow hall and walked several paces before I heard a sickening thud and felt one less muzzle on the small of my back. One of the guards had smashed the butt of his blaster atop his comrade’s head. The guard’s helmet dissolved to reveal a friendly face. Lykos.

“We must hurry. Guards will flood this wing in less than a minute.” Lykos handed me his blaster.

I nodded and grabbed his neck, pulling his forehead to mine. “Thank you, Lykos. It has been an honor. And please, tell the Wolves I’m home,” I whispered.

Lykos nodded and gave a weak smile. I raced down the hall and took a sharp right to the control center at the end. Two men guarded the door, and I ended their lives before they could make a move. I barged into the room only to find it empty, so I set to work immediately. Mumbling every step through dried lips, I put the finishing touches on the detonator as the sound of rushed boot steps reached my ears. Several men barreled toward me, blasters in hand. Before I could change my mind, I smashed my thumb into the detonator.

It wasn’t supposed to go like this. I wasn’t supposed to die. But here at the end of it all, I knew this was the only way. And as my body died, I smiled because I knew I did not die in vain.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Moya Tobey is a college student in Michigan who spends her days doing homework, reading books, and living in worlds far from her own. She has a passion for God and enjoys spreading the love of Christ on a daily basis.

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Author Website