They were still coming.

CHAPTER

61

00:14:13

00:14:12

00:14:11

The ants did not come in a great wave, but trickled out in ones and twos, hurling themselves at the wall with suicidal abandon.

Many were missing limbs, or leaked ichor, as they limped and crawled over the dead. For every ant that reached the low wall, a higher magnitude of swords stabbed and slashed, overwhelming the hardy creatures by the fury of their onslaught alone.

Cade’s gun had done its task. Enough to give them a fighting chance.

He stood on a nearby stump, watching Marius bellow orders and spread the exhausted survivors among the new wall’s defenders. The barrier of river stones, hardly more than waist high in places, was held up by gravity alone.

Looking into the tunnels, Cade could see the human bodies mixed in among the ants. Few and far between, but at least ten, with more hidden by the darkness within. They had made the ants pay dearly … but they too had taken losses.

More ants came, their antennae twitching, seemingly dazed as they emerged into the light. And to Cade’s sudden relief, he noticed their condition. Hardly any of them were in one piece.

“We’re going to make it,” Cade whispered.

His contenders were alive. His friends were alive. Bloodied, terrified, but alive.

They stood, unyielding, at the very center of the wall, their long blades held high. He was proud at the sight of them. And ashamed.

Ashamed of the lies he had told them. Of the decisions he had made for them. The betrayal of their trust.

Now, he would ask much more of them. More than he had the right to. He would wait until the last vestiges of the ant army had emerged … and trigger the EMP.

He wished, more than anything, that he could ask them. Pose them some hypothetical. Ask if they would trade their lives for the pantheon’s. Live out their days in this place to ensure the safety of Earth.

Cade let his pack fall from his shoulder and reached deep within. He had wrapped Song’s toy in sackcloth, and it was some relief when he took it out and saw it was intact.

He had purposefully not looked at it to avoid suspicion—for it was only supposed to be a memento, some reminder of his battle against the Grays.

Now, he held it in his hand, looking at it as if it had some deeper meaning to him. He had to be ready.

“Congratulations, Cade,” a voice said.

Cade spun, startled.

The timer still hung in the air, but it showed an entirely different number than what he had expected to see.

00:00:00

00:00:00

00:00:00

“What’s going on?” Cade demanded.

Even as he spoke, he heard cheers from the Romans. He did not turn, instead staring at the Codex. Sure enough, the little girl appeared, replacing the timer.

“My opponent forfeited,” Abaddon said through his avatar. “That is, the pantheon member that leads the Formids, as I call them. He realized it was no use throwing his whole army away when you will all be returned to your planet once the battle is over regardless, and he will need them to defend now that he has lost his top place. In exchange for his forfeit, I have returned the remainder of his army, rather than let you fight it out. Don’t say I never do anything for you.”