“We’ve got a mountain to knock down,” Six adds.
“Exactly. We’re going to bury Setrákus Ra in there. But first we’ve got to make sure whatever twisted experiments he’s concocted are destroyed.” I point into the depths of the mountain, down twisting corridors and across narrow rock bridges. I remember the sounds that came from those depths from the last time I visited the mountain base—animal screams, tortured cries. “We figure if Setrákus Ra is anywhere, he’s down here. That’s where the vats are. It’s where he’ll be working his experiments.”
“You assume he doesn’t come up to say hello when we knock,” Nine says.
“You’re right,” I agree. “He might come out to fight us. Either way, he and everything he’s touched gets destroyed. By the time the sun rises, he’s dust in a fucking crater.”
“You make it all sound so easy,” Five mutters.
“Oh, it won’t be easy,” I reply. “But we can do this. We have to do this.”
“It’s everything,” Six adds. “This is for everything.”
I can sense some of my friends looking at me expectantly. I try to think of the kind of speech I would’ve given a few days ago, when Sarah was still alive.
“Look, there’s nothing more I can say. We’ve come this far together, and we’re going to get through this together. No more running, no more hiding, no more words. We fight until we win.”
Nods all around. I look at every face, meet every set of eyes or eye, and I’m amazed by how calm I feel. I look beyond the mountain map on the window, into the night. The stars are out.
It’s time.
“I’m going to go scout the Anubis,” I say. “I’ll tell you when you’re clear to approach.”
“Be safe,” Marina says, her words echoed by most of the others.
“Adam, help me work the airlock, would you?” I ask on my way out. The Mogadorian raises an eyebrow at me, surprised to be asked to help with a task that he knows I could do on my own. He doesn’t make a thing about it, though. He simply nods and follows me into the hallway.
Together, we walk down the empty corridors of the warship. The signs of our earlier attack still linger, Mogadorian ash crunching beneath our feet. Adam doesn’t say anything. He waits for me to speak.
“Listen,” I start, when I’m sure we’re out of range of any enhanced listeners. “Once you disable the force field, I need you to come back up to the warship.”
“Okay . . . ,” Adam says.
“There’s a chance things might not go as planned down there,” I continue. “If that’s the case, I’ll let you know telepathically. When I tell you, no matter what, no matter who on board might try to stop you, you’ve got to fire the warship’s cannon. Destroy the mountain. Erase it. It doesn’t matter if some of us are still inside. Setrákus Ra and his work can’t be allowed to see the sunrise.”
Adam stops midstride and grabs my arm. “You’re serious?”
“You know I am.”
His hand tightens on my arm, then drops away. He keeps his tone measured. “Why . . . why are you asking me to do this, John? Because I’m the Mogadorian that means I’m cold and heartless? That I don’t care about what happens to you all?”
“No,” I say, taking him by the shoulders. “I know you care, Adam. I know it’ll kill you to do it. But you also know that I’m right. That stopping Setrákus Ra is more important than . . . than anything. If worse comes to worst, you’ll pull that trigger.”
Adam holds my gaze for a few seconds, then looks away. He steps back so that my hands fall off his shoulders.
“Okay, John,” he says simply.
“Okay.”
I don’t actually need him to help me with the airlock.
Alone, I pass through the warship’s ravaged docking bay, open up the exit and fly into the night. Wilderness passes by beneath me, peaceful and untouched. The wind plucks at my clothes, cool against the sweat on my back.
The mountain rises up before me. Dark purple in the night. Waiting for me.
I go invisible.
The Anubis hovers over the mountain, an insectoid guardian. Its metallic hull reflects the moonlight. Searchlights from the warship’s underbelly comb the side of the mountain, the cleared space around the cavern entrance, the sparse woods beyond. They’re expecting us. The Anubis does a slow circle around the mountain’s peak, prowling just like it did in New York City.