Revenant Slaves Chapter 11: Chapter 10: Zain

Read chapter 11 of Revenant Slaves by Zee on NovelPedia.

Chapter 10: Zain Zain was wearing one of the fallen knight’s communicators. He had synced Maya’s channel into a narrow slice of enemy frequencies, a fragile, temporary measure. That was why they kept communication to an absolute minimum. This was the first message she had sent since entering the temple with the others. Dread made him hesitate for a fraction of a second, but he swiped on it instantly, spinning away from Ash to read it. It wasn’t a text but a short audio file. Zain pulled out his earbuds and put them on. “Z, H took a hit before we got to the objective. Escape on your own. Remember the mission. Channel no longer safe. No further communication.” Zain punched the wall, leaving his fist’s imprint. The smile that had painted his face had long since vanished. He looked at Ash, tense and already highly alert. ‘Good,’ Zain thought before addressing Ash directly. “Ash, how far outside the city is your settlement? And in what direction? I need you to be as accurate as possible.” Zain could see Ash weighing his options; it seemed he didn’t trust him enough. “Ash, take it. If you don’t trust me, then shoot me now, because we don’t have much time,” Zain said, taking out his blaster and presenting it to Ash. Ash looked down at the gun and accepted it. Zain’s mind was already preoccupied with Maya and the others, but it seemed Ash had decided to trust him after all. “It’s about ten kilometers north of the nearest checkpoint to the temple. The settlement is near the refining plant.” “Got it. We need to move out now. I’ll carry her, you cover us. We won’t be using the checkpoint to exit the city; we have our own entrance and exit point. Once outside, you will take over and guide us to the settlement,” Zain said. Ash’s face immediately turned sour. Zain could see he was about to argue. ‘No time for this.’ “Can you get her out on your own in this state? Do you trust your temple buddies enough to know you both won’t be killed without a trial? Keep the blaster. My strength comes from an exoskeleton support suit. It isn’t armored; it gives me strength to bear your world’s gravity and makes me more agile. But that’s it. Anything more uses too much energy, so I can’t go around performing superhuman feats. This should be enough to make you trust me at least until we reach your mother. You can kill me then if she tells you to.” Zain struggled to keep his voice calm. ‘Keep calm. Anger is a bad crutch,’ he chastised himself “Oh alright! Let me cover her properly at least,” Ash finally said. He quickly moved to where Miru lay sleeping. Zain took this opportunity to text Maya one last time. Her warning be damned, he would not leave her out to dry if she somehow made it out of the temple. They would meet again. They had to. [Mission partially successful, information updated at rendezvous, GET OUT ALIVE] He hit send and waited, with bated breath, for Maya’s communicator to receive it. And it did. ‘Small victories. We’ll meet again, Maya aapi.’ Zain checked the loot he had taken off the fallen knights: two shock batons, four communicators, and two blasters. He had given his own blaster to Ash. “ASH! Catch!” Zain threw one of the batons at him, which he caught in a fluid motion. “Let’s head out.” Zain stepped forward to see Miru lying unconscious. Hoping she stayed that way until they exited the city. Ash cocooned her inside an oversized coat of one of the knights, protectively wrapping her arms by her side. He then used the coat's empty sleeves and tied them across Zain’s chest. Ash made Zain wear another hooded cape, which fell down on his back, covering Miru. She was now completely safe, at least from the rain. Zain took the lead. He kept his left arm on Miru’s sling at all times, and in his right, he had his blaster. Zain and Ash rushed as fast as they could. The rain wasn’t as heavy as it had been at the beginning of the night, which wasn’t a good thing. They could have used the cover. Zain and Ash exited the temple grounds without another