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“In the first year after the Rise, our teams registered strange seismic activities all over the globe as the old gods woke from their deep slumber and broke out to the surface. It helped us find and identify most of them. But one activity in particular caught our attention. That one god might have never been found otherwise. It’s in the remote underwater caves in the mountains of Venezuela that he dwells. Urara can only be described as a giant eel or knifefish. But your imagination would come short of the truth. He’s as long as a train and wider. His viscous skin is harder to pierce than stone. He uses his abilities to see in the underground darkness. The few survivors who came back from the expedition could only describe with shaky vagueness the giant creature who travels with fear-inducing efficiency in the wide underwater caves. And so few came back… Because what makes Urara more fearsome to face than many gods who walk on the surface is the massive electric charge that he releases around him. He will stun—or often, kill—anything or anyone that comes close.

Thankfully, a member of our team brought a few samples back. We have Urara’s DNA in our possession. I can’t wait to see what we can create with it. Or, should I say, who we can create.”

Video transcription of a video log from Dr. Simone Chastain, a scientist who worked on the Revival Project.

I dreamed of the jellyfish again. They floated above me, beautiful and deadly. Their thin tentacles danced in the artificial current of the cylinder tank. I stayed at the bottom, too afraid to even swim to the surface. And yet, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from their beauty. Their bodies, so soft and colorful, invited my touch. But I knew better. I had felt their sting before. So, I watched and feared them.

A slap to my ruined face brings me back to my painful reality.

A man is screaming at me, but I can’t understand what he’s saying through the buzzing in my ears. One of my eyes is swollen shut, but I can see well enough with the other if I focus.

It’s the beautiful man who came with Helios. The ginger. His skin is marred with the fern-like burns I gave him with my electricity a day ago. I didn’t hold back; it’s quite a feat that he survived.

“Wake up, you motherfucker!” he says, slapping me again.

I grunt from the pain and glare at him. Can’t he fucking let me die in peace?

The horned mutant buried his two swords in my gut, and I’m bleeding out. And Helios… Helios left me to die here.

A great boom echoes in the surrounding bunker. Dust rains from the rocky ceiling and the walls. More explosions? Someone is really going at it. I feel a twinge of sadness and regret for my short-lived dream of an underground city. But I find solace in the fact that it’ll die with me.

I wish the entire world could die alongside me.

Another slap.

I sneer and reach for the ginger with a weak hand. If only I could burn his insides to a crisp. Cook him alive. But my power is leaking out with my blood, and I can barely move, much less defend myself. The devil’s swords pierced the organs that I used to produce electricity.

“How do I start the aircraft below us?” the man asks. “What’s the password?”

So, he found my secret exit. Only a few of my men know about it. He must have torn the information out of one of them. I sent him to the dungeons yesterday, and he escaped. Resourceful, to say the least. Sadly, for him, he’s stuck here with me.

I chuckle faintly. “It’s set to only obey my voice and command…”

The small aircraft was the last resort to save the President of the United States if the bunker fell. But the President and his convoy never reached the bunker, and so the aircraft stayed in the dark for twenty-seven years, accumulating dust. I found the secret exit two years ago and hired a hacker to change its setting to obey my command. I kept it for emergencies.

The ginger slaps me again.

I thought I was too far gone to care, but burning hatred surges to the surface. I want to choke the life out of him. I wish to see his eyes dim as I kill him slowly…

The man disappears from my blurry vision before I can plot fun ways to torture him. He leaves me to die alone, just as Helios did.

Helios…

The little whore left me ten years ago, only to go find himself a new monster. There’s a hole in my chest, and it has nothing to do with the deep wounds his devil gave me. For years, when I thought that Helios had died, I contemplated death in my darkest hours. I imagined that if there was an afterlife, he would be waiting for me on the other side.

But lo and behold, the man is alive, and he has just found himself a new monster to care for him.

I gasp and dig my nails into my chest. I lie in my growing pool of blood, pondering my short life. I hope there’s no afterlife. I’m fucking tired of existing.

The ginger should have finished me off before leaving. Dying is taking me far too long.

A great roar shakes the surrounding mountains. An old god is attacking Bunkertown, I realize. Good. Let it all burn.

I close my eyes. Death can’t come soon enough.

It’s not death that comes first, but the ginger man. This time, mercifully, he doesn’t slap me. There’s blood on his clothes and blisters on his face and arms, courtesy of me.

But he looks fierce as he says, “Get on.”

He has brought along one of the floating mine carts that we used to clear the rubble in the tunnels. How does he want me to climb on a cart? I’m fucking dying.

He kicks me in the ribs. “Get in!”

I grunt. A few of those ribs might be broken. I hope one pierces my lung, so I can die faster.

I glare at him with all the hate I can muster. “I can’t move… you dipshit…”

He kicks me again, this time on my dislocated left shoulder. White light explodes behind my eyelids from the pain.

I might have lost consciousness because when I come back to myself, the ginger is dropping me on the cart. He’s stronger than he looks; I must be twice his weight. He leaves me on my side, one leg dragging on the ground, as he pushes me out of the room. I spare one last glance at the large pool of blood on the floor. It looks as dark as oil. A normal human would have died already. But I’m not normal. My mutations make it hard for me to die. Sharing genes with a monster of legend is a blessing and a curse.

Another mighty roar echoes in the mountains, followed by an earthquake. The ginger swears and pushes the cart faster down the stairs and through dark corridors. I almost fall off twice. The emergency lights are our only guides.

“Which god dwells in those mountains?” he asks me.

I say nothing because I don’t know. This place was supposed to be secure. No old god was ever seen wandering these parts in more than twenty years.

The tunnels are deadly quiet. Everyone has already evacuated Bunkertown. Not one of my men thought to come and rescue me. So much for loyalty…

We pass a few corpses. All guards. Helios’ devil cleaned the place up before reaching my quarters.

My captor finds his way to my secret exit without my help. He must have learned all the twists and turns. There is a small door that looks like a closet. The lock is already broken. He pushes the floating cart inside, walks over disregarded tools and cleaning supplies, and opens the second hidden door. It leads us to a cavernous room under a waterfall, where a state-of-the-art aircraft is waiting for us.

The Firefly was an army prototype before the Rise. It’s a slick vessel, painted all black except for the gold lines along the hull. Four aero engines allow it to fly at low altitude. It can’t go high. Its only purpose is to allow fast travel over difficult terrain. It’s supposed to be undetectable by other aircraft. Not that it matters nowadays.

The ginger opens the cockpit’s vertical door. “Give me full control.”

My cheek rests on the side of the cart. I can’t move.

“No…” I say.

If he thinks I’m offering him my aircraft on a platter, he’s sorely mistaken. He’s staying here with me until the underground city caves over our heads.

He pulls out an army knife and angles it under my chin. “Give me control.”

I chuckle faintly, blood on my tongue. “Or what…? You’re going to kill me? Please, do me the favor…”

He stares me down. Most people would be panicking by now. But he’s just… calculating.

He hits me on my dislocated shoulder again with the butt of his knife. I let out a string of insults as pain shoots through my entire body.

He pushes the cart around the cockpit, to the other side, and pulls me over the co-pilot’s seat.

“Okay then, you’re coming along, Sparky,” he says.

For fuck’s sake… He really can’t let me die in peace. And I hate when people call me stupid names. Some have tried to call me Olive instead of Oliver over the years. They’re all dead now.

As he sits on the pilot’s chair, the interior lights up, and a male voice says, “Identification, please.”

The man turns to me, waiting. I keep my mouth shut.

“You know,” he says after a while, a wicked smile on his beautiful face, “if you don’t start this aircraft, I’ll make sure to keep you alive and let you die slowly. So slowly, you’ll curse the day your men captured me and brought me here.”

I offer him a weak smile of my own. If he thinks I’m that easy to—

He pulls his army knife out again and stabs toward my dick. I can do nothing but freeze as the blade cuts into my pants, so close to my balls.

“I’ll cut your delicate parts off, then make you eat them,” he says. “I’ve heard that mutants like you have monstrous cocks. It’ll be difficult to swallow. Then, I’ll cauterize the wound with fire to make sure you don’t bleed out to death, so I can keep you alive a while longer.”

There’s a gleam in his dark eyes. He’ll enjoy every moment of it, I’m sure.

But he was wrong. I already curse the day my men brought him here.

“Firefly, start the engines,” I say quietly.

The aircraft immediately obeys my command, and the engines come alive.

“Hello, Mr. President. Who is sitting in the pilot chair?” the AI asks in a robotic voice.

I hesitate for a moment. I could admit that the ginger is threatening me, and the AI would refuse to allow him access. The man gives me a pointed look, the blade of his army knife reflecting the artificial light. He must have stolen it from one of my men.

“He’s the one who’ll fly us today…” I say to the Firefly’s intelligence.

There’s no way in hell I’m giving him full command of the aircraft. He’ll just toss me out as soon as I do.

“Very well. Identification, please,” asks the AI.

“Jude,” says the ginger. “I’m Jude.”

Such a cute name for a ruthless creature.

“Nice to meet you, Jude. I’m Fyfe. Where are we going today?”

“Away from this hellhole,” says Jude.

“Would you like to fly manually?” asks Fyfe.

“Fuck no. Just get us out of here. And keep us low. There is something out there that might be waiting for us.”

“Understood.”

The Firefly lurches forward. Water washes away the dust on the windshield as we cross the waterfall.

“Fyfe…” I breathe out. I’m about to pass out from blood loss. “What’s waiting for us is not a human aircraft or human enemies… It’s an animal of a sort. A giant creature…”

“Very well. Re-calibrating evasion protocol,” it says, diving toward the mountainside.

Jude gives me a look.

“Fyfe is a rudimentary AI used in the army back in the day,” I say. “He hasn’t been upgraded since before the Rise. He’s not aware of the world we live in now. He was programmed to defend the President against human threats…”

Jude sighs. “It must have been nice to only fear humans.”

“Not really. We’re the worst threat by far…” I whisper, my eyes drooping.

Humans were the ones who turned lush forests and green pastures into wastelands. Who rendered entire territories too radioactive for life when they dropped their nukes. And they’re the ones who inflicted the worst wounds on my body and soul. Helios, with all his smiles and broken promises, did more damage than any old god on a rampage.

I close my eyes, and I imagine how peaceful death must be.

“Hey, don’t die just yet,” says Jude, slapping me again.

I lurch on my seat, reality sharpening with painful clarity. This man really loves to slap me. A punch, I would understand. But slaps feel so much worse. They bruise one’s ego.

There is a first aid kit open on my lap. I recognize it as the one I kept in the Firefly in case I needed a fast escape. There is also food and water to last us a month. I doubt that I will survive long enough to enjoy it, but Jude certainly will. The fucker.

He pulls out a coagulating shot. This thing costs more than fuel. Without warning, he stabs me with it in the chest, just above my worst wounds. I wince as the needle pierces the skin. He waits for five seconds for the serum to enter my bloodstream before pulling it out and throwing it behind him. It’ll stop the bleeding.

“Why waste it on me?” I ask.

Jude glares. “Dumdumb informed me that if you die, I won’t be allowed to fly the aircraft.”

“Dumdumb?” I ask.

“Your AI,” he explains. “I’ve encountered a few AIs over the years, but this one wins at being the dumbest and most useless one.”

“I am programmed to be of service to the President of the United States,” says Fyfe in a toneless voice.

“Yes, yes. Do you know he’s not even the President?” Jude retorts, pointing at me. “There are no more United States.”

“As long as the President is safe, the nation survives.”

Jude groans. “Fucking dumb…”

He pulls out a few tablets of painkillers and other medication, and rams his fingers down my throat. I try to resist, but I’m too weak to do much. Then he shoves a water bottle between my lips and forces me to swallow.

Rage burns my face and eyes. If I survive long enough to regain some strength, I’ll fucking kill him. I’ll electrocute him until his face melts off his skull.

Jude takes a few steps back, and that’s when I notice that we’ve landed on a rocky path.

“Look at that,” he says, pointing to the horizon. “Your underground city is burning.” He sounds delighted.

I focus my good eye over the mountains and see the dark smoke rising in the sky. And flying above Bunkertown is a fucking dragon.

I stare, speechless.

“Didn’t know that one, either?” Jude asks me, pointing at the faraway dragon. “And I thought I had seen everything.” He laughs. “He must have been sleeping in the mountains, and we woke him.”

We’re really far, but I can still see the leathery wings, long tail, and horns.

Those horns… It looks like my recently acquainted brother—Helios’ new lover—was created from the dragon’s DNA.

I curse the day when I found that starving kid in the wastelands. The day I opened the door to feelings. Everything would have turned out better if I had really been as heartless as they all say I am.

Something caves in inside me as the dragon breathes fire through the entrance of Bunkertown. That will do it. My home, burning and beyond saving. My shelter. After spending years in the wastelands, I found a place with water, food, and space to grow. People flocked to join my dream. Some even abandoned the Highwaymen to join us. I was building an empire.

Until Helios and his devil brought it all down. And now a fucking dragon is finishing the job.

I drop my head back on the headrest and close my eyes. I’m fucking tired of seeing the world.

I don’t even resist when Jude ties my feet together with one of the shackles we used on our slaves. It feels heavy on my ankles.

I feel a breath on my face, and I can’t help but peek at Jude’s face just in front of mine.

“Karma’s a bitch, huh?” he says with a wicked smile.

His buzzed ginger hair looks soft under the sun. And from this close, I can count the freckles on his cheekbones and nose. The delicate pattern of the burns I gave him took away nothing from his beauty. But his eyes… His eyes are cruel and soulless as he watches me.

It takes all I have not to cringe away from him.