Revenant Slaves Chapter 45: Chapter 44: Ash

Read chapter 45 of Revenant Slaves by Zee on NovelPedia.

Chapter 44: Ash Ash struggled to breathe through the heavy scarf wrapped around his face. The goggles did little to help; the ashfall kept blurring the glass, and he had to wipe them every few seconds just to see the shape of the person in front of him. The ground trembled again. Ash reached out instantly and grabbed the figure ahead of him before the shaking could knock one of them away from the other. The figure grabbed him back just as tightly. Their bulkier environmental suits were already caked in layers of grey ash, and their faces were hidden behind sealed helmets and dark visors. Everything about them was the same dead color as the storm around them. But Ash knew who it was. Maya. The two of them lowered themselves toward the ground together, trying to keep their balance as the tremors passed beneath their feet. It would not do for either of them to get separated now. In this storm, even being a few steps apart could be enough to lose someone. Ash held on tighter. Around them, Mortrum howled. Eight days ago, the world had already started breaking apart. Now it felt like the planet had committed to it. The ash storms were constant. The acidic rain still came when it pleased. The earthquakes had grown worse. Whole stretches of the northern continent had become impassable without losing people. The outer reaches of the continent had become death traps, and even the cities no longer looked untouchable. The sovereigns’ forces had abandoned most of the edges of the continent. They had pulled back into the larger cities, then further inward still, toward the central regions where the world elevators stood. The outer settlements, the mines, the calderas, the refining zones, the rail stations. All of it had been left to die. Mortrum had become more deadly than ever. Ash had not thought that was possible. The shaking turned violent all at once. Both he and Maya were thrown down fully this time, crashing shoulder-first into volcanic dust under them. Ash felt the impact all through his ribs, but he did not let go of her. Maya did not let go of him either. The worst part was never the falling. It was the sound. That deep, terrible grinding beneath the ground. The tremor passed. For now. Ash kept breathing hard through the scarf and stared into the grey blur where Maya’s visor was. No one knew why Mortrum had become like this. The sovereign they had captured swore it was not their doing, but Ash did not care what that fat bastard swore to. The sovereigns had ruled this planet, profited from it, bled it dry, and now that it was dying, they were retreating to the center and leaving everyone else to rot on the edges. If this was not their fault, then it was still theirs to answer for. Ash would make sure of that. That was why he was here. He had insisted on being in the strike force heading for Cinderwake, the same city he had fled from with Zain and Maya only eight days ago. Back then, getting out of it alive had been enough. Now they were going back to take it. Because Cinderwake was the path forward. From there, the pathways to the inner continent opened up. From there, they could start pushing toward the world elevators. From there, maybe, just maybe, they could get off this dying planet. Miru needed it. Rain needed it. All of them did. The rebels had argued for restraint after they captured the sovereign. Maya and Zain had both refused to let the mob tear him apart. They talked about discipline. About control. About not becoming animals in their rage. Ash had hated them for it then. He still wasn’t so sure about them now. The rebels talked about senseless violence as if it were some abstract danger. But they had not grown up under the sovereigns. They had not lived in the settlements. They had not watched people get worked to death, beaten for amusement, or sent to the balancing when their bodies wore out. Which wasn’t the place of peace they were told it was, it was another lie. They had not stood in the wreckage after the first