When The World Ended, I Stole Tomorrow

Chapter 11: Ash and Iron

Get up, Ronan told himself.

The voice in his head was not the system. It was the memories of the special forces commander screaming at Ronan to keep moving.

Ronan dropped to his knees. The heavy Vanguard-Class Plasma Rifle fell to the ground, hitting the concrete with a noise. The blood from Leos and Elias' bodies was around him. It had even reached his boots. The leather was warm and sticky with blood.

He had done this. Ronan had tried to run from the bad things that were happening, but he had led his brother into danger instead. Clara had helped their enemies by selling them out. Ronan had given them the chance to do it.

Ronan reached out. Closed Leo's eyes. They were empty and still.

I will burn them Ronan said quietly. I will burn everything to the ground. Make them pay.

Ronan felt a pain in his head. He was dizzy. Had to grab his left shoulder. The cuts from the monster were bleeding a lot. The bad stuff from the monster's mouth was making his skin turn gray. If he did not stop the bleeding, he would die soon.

He had chosen to take the plasma rifle or something to heal himself. Now he had to deal with the consequences.

Ronan pulled himself backward. Leaned against the cold wall. He took the plasma rifle with his hand. His fingers were slippery with blood. The gun was still hot from the fight earlier.

He bit down on his jacket. He did not have anything to make the pain better. He only had the gun.

Ronan pressed the barrel of the plasma rifle into the cut on his shoulder.

The smell of burning skin was very bad. The pain was worse than anything he had ever felt. It was like his skin was on fire. His muscles were moving on their own. He did not let go of the gun. He held it there until the bleeding stopped.

When he finally took the gun away, Ronan fell to the side. He was breathing hard. His vision was blurry.

System Alert.

The blue screen came on. The words were a little messed up.

Your body is very hurt. It is getting better.

Warning: The Origin is in Sector 4. The Covenant is not following the rules. Time is running out.

You need to survive and get out of here. The Blackwood Silo is not safe anymore.

Ronan looked at the screen. He was breathing hard. The silo was lost. He had spent a lot of money to make it safe. It was gone. Clara and the Vance Group had destroyed it. The Covenant had made the lower levels very bad. The mountain was not safe anymore.

Ronan heard something that made him listen. The system talked about The Origin. He did not know what it was. The Covenant was very scared of him.

Ronan made himself stand up. His left arm was not working well. The skin was tight. Hurt a lot. He took the plasma rifle with his hand.

He did not look back at the bodies. He did not have time for that.

He walked out of the cell and into the hallway. He stepped over the monsters he had killed earlier. The big doors were locked. Even if he could open them, the hangar was probably very bad.

He needed to find another way out.

Ronan thought about the bunker. He knew it had a way out. There was a water pipe that led to the mountainside.

He found the water pipe. Shot it with the plasma rifle. The metal melted away.

Ronan climbed into the pipe. It was very tight and cold. The water helped a little with the pain.

He crawled for a time. He was very tired. His body was hurting a lot. He kept moving.

Finally he saw some light.

He pushed the vent open. Climbed out. He fell to the ground, breathing hard.

Ronan looked up at the sky. It was not what he expected. The clouds were. Had bad energy. There was a black structure in the sky. It was like a pyramid. It was upside down. It was rotating slowly.

The Origin.

The Covenant had not just sent killers. They had brought something from their world into Earth's sky.

Ronan stood up. He was. Alone. He did not have anywhere to go. He had the plasma rifle.

He looked at the city. It was burning. The Covenant was destroying it.

Ronan was not sad. He was angry.

The system, in his head, was talking to him. It said he had a chance.

Archive Upgrade Unlocked.

You are alone now.

New Protocol Available: The Architect of Ruin.

Ronan took the plasma rifle. He looked at the city.

Let's see what happens tomorrow, he said to himself.

He started walking down the mountain into the bad place.