ROGER

T W E N T Y - E I G H T

Flashing lights, falling stars, sparks came at me from all directions. My ears rang. And as the world spun, with me spinning with it, time stood still.

An array of muffled voices and shouts hit my ears, but I couldn't hear them over the ringing. My mind was as clouded as the hall filled with smoke; my body as heavy as the hot air around me. I struggled to turn and flip on my back, to look at the ceiling, but I saw nothing but shades of grey and black.

And shadows of them.

"Xerses!" I made out Roger's voice, stifled by the clouded mess. His shadow moved around the smoke beside me until he became clear, glowing in the light of the sparks that spit out from small flames. Concrete slabs slid off his back; blood dripped out of the ripped corners of his suit. There was no pain when he moved, as if he didn't feel the deep gashes on his arms and legs. I reached out to touch him, but he didn't see me.

"Xerses!" he shouted again.

With trembling hands, I turned on my stomach to look around. The walls were done, wires exposed; power still ran through the panels destroyed in the blasts. Four blasts; four bombs.

"Bombs, really!" Roger pushed over parts from the fallen ceiling. "You tried to blow us up, you coward!"

I wiped dirt and gravel off the side of my face as I looked back behind us. The walls were destroyed there, too. How had he done it? And why? Destroying these computers meant the Codes had no home to return to... which meant the citizens were lost in the system. Dread filled my belly as I squeezed my eyes shut.

Fuck, what had he done?

A low groan made me turn my head. Matthews lay a foot from me, face bloodied and cut. The hand pressed to his chest still clutched his gun. Through the grey that separated the air, I reached for him, straining my fingers to grab his hand. When I touched him, he opened just one eye. "Clara."

Struggling to sit up, I pulled him close to my lap and checked his face. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm—" he coughed and squeezed his eyes shut, "—alive."

Roger shouted again, this time with no words. The sound hit me, went through me, and made my head snap up fast. The dizzy spell that came over me left just as quickly, and I watched him, felt him. His rage was as hard as his breaths; my heart beating with the same ferocity. I knew, because once the ringing faded, I heard the static instead—his static.

"Roger..." I whispered his name.

He looked back, just as screams echoed above us. His eyes turned bright, pulsing at the sound of gunfire and explosions. The Domes above us were overrun, crumbling from the surface down to the lower levels, and he knew; he knew it was more than Xerses' attack.

"No, Roger!" Xerses' voice was loud and clear within the hall. "You don't understand!"

Roger's head snapped back around. He stepped back once, then twice, but it wasn't enough space between the two of them. Xerses jumped through the smoke with outstretched arms, and he collided with Roger head on. My heart screamed as the two, both injured and bleeding from various wounds, crashed back into the collapsing walls.

"Traitor!" Roger punched Xerses in the jaw, bringing him down to one knee; and when he stood, Roger swung again. "After all I've fucking done for you!"

"You? For me?" Xerses caught Roger's fist before it met his face. He pulled Roger's arm down, drawing out a cry of pain. "You've done nothing for me! All you've done is destroy my life!"

"Me!" Roger's cry turned into a growl as he pushed back. When Xerses stumbled, he pressed his arm into his neck, but Xerses pressed back, fingers just under his chin. Fire broke out of the wall beside them, the light sending rage into their eyes.