He knocks his shoulder against Vash. “I have fifty rounds left,” he says.
“Fuck, we’re going to die out here. I can’t feel my fingers,” Vash replies, eyes wide and frantic.
Holger reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small mirror. With care, he angles it near the edge of the hill to see the alpha enemies.
This time, they’re outnumbered. Killian has counted twenty-three of them. Snipers, rifle-alphas, and heavier artillery. They’re posted up, unmoving and relentless with their gunfire. The’ve got an entire arsenal against them.
Vash gives a quick laugh. “Just our luck, right? Seems like whenever we get close to winning her back, something stands in the way.”
Ignoring the joke, he puts on palm around the back of one of his kids. He leans down and kisses each on the head. They smell like Rae. Not fully, but it’s there.
“We can’t keep doing this,” Killian says.
“You tired, already?” Vash asks.
Vash has his revolver ready, but Killian can see the tremble in his hands, too. They’re both scared. It’s a first for them, but these alphas really got the go on them, and time is running out.
“C’mon, brother. It’s time. We made it far enough. We have to give it up. They’ve got us surrounded,” he says.
Vash tightly shuts his mouth. He’s irritated, but he has to know that Killian is right. Lucas used to the be the level-headed one in the group, but fatherhood has changed Killian. He knows what call to make.
Tossing his rifle over the hill, he stands with his hands over his head. “Stop!” he screams. “We give up.”
Vash groans, but he stands and tosses his weapon aside, as well. “Yeah. What he said.”
The alphas stand against the howling wind. At first, Killian wonders if they’re going to kill them, regardless of their surrender. But a few seconds pass, and the man crowd of gunmen step away from the center as another alpha walks through.
It’s… “Cassian?” Killian asks, bewildered.
But it’s not just Cassian. Lucas walks behind him, head facing his feet.
Killian can’t believe it. He can only guess what Vash is thinking.
Cassian stands, facing them in front of his small army of feral alphas. “Ruby, you have let me down, considerably,” he says.
Ruby manages to weakly clench her fist and raise a thumb into the air.
“As for the rest of you, I understand your drive. It’s in me, too,” he says.
Neither Killian or Vash say a damn thing.
“I know, you must be so surprised by my appearance,” he says, digging his right heel into the ground in front of him. “It’s not an hallucination. I’m here. I’ll always be here.”
“I’ll kill you, brother,” Vash growls.
Cassian laughs. “Go ahead. The extinction gene is active inside me. Nothing will survive.”
Killian lowers his head. “It can’t be,” he says. “It’s in Rae.”
Cassian wags a finger. “You shouldn’t believe rumors. Especially ones I made up,” he says.
Killian’s entire perspective shifts. “We should have known. None of the rumors were true. He threw us off the trail.”
Lucas stands behind Cassian. “Vash. Killian. Do the right thing. Come back to the ouroboros. We’ll raise our children the only way we know how,” he says.
“Don’t get me started on you, you cod-fucker,” Vash curses.
“A what-fucker?” Killian mutters.