Chapter 17 Terror in After Domini
A bus-sized jet descended from the clouds and landed directly at the site of the massacre. The aircraft’s ramp lowered, revealing several Ingo, and Troy at the lead. They carried stretchers and immediately began loading the dead victims into the plane. None of them spoke. Their movements were clean, precise, and disturbingly calm, as if death had become routine work.
Meanwhile, the Dronage patrolled the edges of the forest, scanning the ground for any human remains they might have missed. Their metallic wings buzzed like insects. Red, Call, Kit, and Ursula pressed themselves into the bushes, fighting the urge to breathe too loudly. Their bodies were coated in sweat, their clothes sticking to their skin. None of them dared to shift. If the robots detected movement, it would be the end.
Fortunately, the smaller flying units didn’t enter the woods, keeping their search limited to open ground.
Troy finished storing the last container, then scattered a strange capsule across the site. Within seconds, artificial vegetation grew, covering every trace of blood with fresh grass. The explosion of green felt wrong, like nature being forced to lie. Once satisfied, the group returned to the jet, the ramp sealed, and the plane took off, followed by the faint buzzing of Dronage units escorting it.
When the robots finally drifted away, Red released a shaky breath.
“I think it’s safe,” she whispered, pushing out of the shadows.
They stepped out together, Ursula’s heavy footsteps following behind them. The grass-covered ground looked peaceful, but they all knew what lay beneath. Kit stared at the scene, her expression twisted in disbelief.
“Why cover it with grass? Is that their way of hiding a massacre?”
“It’s murder. Obviously,” Call muttered.
Red remained silent. Her heart ached. Aamon had done this, and she still didn’t know how to reconcile the man she once trusted with the monster that made this choice.
“Are humans really allowed to kill each other outside Cirque or the Savage Glory arenas?” Kit murmured.
“And the Guild? Where are they in all this?” Call asked, voice unsteady.
Kit shook her head. “I don’t know anymore.”
Red straightened, forcing herself to focus. “We should head to the city. Maybe someone there knows what’s going on. We’ll look for answers.”
Call and Kit hesitated, but eventually nodded. They didn’t have another plan.
The walk back to After Domini took thirty minutes. When they arrived, chaos had already swallowed the streets. Smoke drifted across the entrance, stinging their eyes. People were running in every direction, screaming warnings.
“What’s happening?” Red breathed.
Before anyone could respond, a laser shot cut through the air. It hit a man in front of them, and half his body turned to ash. He fell without even a scream. People shrieked and rushed toward Red’s group, trying to hide behind Ursula.
“Help us!” a woman cried, her clothes soaked in blood.
“We have to retreat,” Call yelled. “Red, now!”
More beams tore across the streets. The three found themselves trapped between incoming fire and the desperate people seeking shelter.
“We’re going to die here! Do something!” Kit shouted.
“What am I supposed to do?” Red snapped back.
“Get us out!”
Red scanned Ursula’s chest with her left eye, and her consciousness linked to the robot. Ursula’s body moved as if it had a soul, responding to every direction of Red’s hands. She grabbed Kit and Call, lifting them like nothing, and sprinted through the battlefield.
Bodies were scattered across the roads. People fired in blind panic, not caring who was hit. Troy advanced in formation, their weapons aimed at whoever stood in their path. To them, crowd or criminal didn’t matter. Anyone resisting was a target.
“Red! Another route would’ve been better!” Call cried.
“Are you trying to get us killed?!” Kit screamed.
“Quiet!” Red barked. “I’m handling it.”
She spotted a line of trees. Without hesitating, she threw both Kit and Call toward the branches. They landed tangled among the limbs, shouting in shock as Red kept running.
“Sorry!” she yelled over her shoulder.
Kit growled from the tree. “She’s insane!”
“She’s trying to save us,” Call muttered, steadying himself.
Down below, Red ran directly into the gunfire. Bullets struck Ursula’s armor and ricocheted harmlessly. Sparks flashed, but she kept moving.
“Stop!” Red roared. Ursula’s voice boomed across the streets. “If you keep firing, more innocent people will die! This ends now!”
“Get lost, you AI-lover!” someone yelled.
Another barrage tore through the air. Behind Red, bodies kept falling. Her heart pounded. The androids weren’t the only problem; the humans were fighting like a mob, driven by fear and greed.
“Cease fire!” Red shouted again. Ursula’s palms opened, energy surging between her fingers.
A blue sphere formed, humming with violent power. Everyone saw it. Everyone remembered what Ursula was capable of. Slowly, the humans began lowering their weapons.
But Troy did not.
They turned their guns toward Red.
“This is a warning. Any violation will be punished,” they announced.
Red held her ground. “I don’t want to fight. Stop attacking the humans. They’ve surrendered.”
A moment of silence. Then Troy lowered their weapons and marched away, leaving Ingo to collect the dead.
Red disconnected from Ursula, stumbling slightly as she stepped out. Kit and Call rushed toward her.
“You okay?” Call asked.
She lifted a thumb. “I’ll live.”
Then Call froze. His eyes widened at the sight of a small body lying by the sidewalk. He ran. Red and Kit followed. It was the little girl they’d met at the gate. She still clutched the water bottle he’d given her.
Call sank to his knees, voice cracking. “We should’ve taken her with us. I should’ve—”
“There was nothing we could’ve done,” Kit whispered.
An Ingo approached. “We will take care of her. She will receive a funeral.”
“Make sure she does,” Call muttered, trembling.
Red stared at the ruined street. Everything had been peaceful for decades, but the moment the claws appeared and Savage Glory returned, the world spiraled into chaos. Viz had set this in motion. The others were just following orders.
People were already stealing bracelets from the dead. The androids didn’t stop them. Trouble was spreading like wildfire.
“We’re leaving,” Red said quietly. “Into the woods. Anywhere but here.”
Call and Kit nodded. Together, they slipped away from the city, heading toward the trees, toward uncertainty—because staying meant dying.