The Last City (Wattpad Books Edition)

THREE-ARA

"We're here."

At the sound of Kaden's voice, I lifted my head from where I'd buried it against his shoulder. Snow swept through the ruins, the sun nearly set. Even so, the massive wall before us was unmistakable, running in both directions like a scar across the land. The top rose above the buildings around it and blazed with lights, pinpricks burning through the night.

"Welcome to The Last City, Ara," Harrison said, his blue hair filled with snow. "Prepare to trade the plague for some good old-fashioned oppression."

I didn't even spare him a glance, too caught up in staring at the massive wall. Twenty minutes earlier, our small group of riders had parted ways with the wagon of women when the road split. They followed the main highway while we took a quicker path that cut through the ruins and Talia insisted would get us there before the gates closed. I'd barely had time to raise a hand to the women in the cart before they rolled down the road and into the darkness. If Izzie had been with them, I would have insisted we all stay together. But the despair of losing her still coursed through me—along with the cold realization that maybe they were better off without me.

Now our small group of four horses and five riders all stood on the crest of a hill, staring down at the massive wall cutting through the ruins. I wrapped my hands tighter around Kaden's waist. "Have you been inside?"

He shook his head. "No. After I met up with Talia's group, they left a few men to follow the wagon, and then we went to get more men and weapons for the ambush. I only saw the wall."

"We were lucky to come across him," Talia said. "He was about to try to break you out with no weapons, no escape route, no clue really." She paused, as if she expected some kind of thank-you. Keep waiting for that.

The wall cut directly through the ruins, clearly an addition to the city. Before the plague it would have been an interesting structure, but now it felt like finding the Great Wall of China on the moon. "How did they build it?" I said, equally impressed and unnerved.

"Same way history always builds walls," said Ronnie, the last member of Talia's team, in a deep, slow baritone. Unlike Harrison's colorful appearance, the only notable thing about Ronnie was his sheer size and horse to match. "On the backs of innocents."

"No one who makes it to The Last City is innocent." Talia's gaze cut to Kaden and me—I was surprised at the guilty shift in my stomach. "Come on, lovebirds. Join the monster or get eaten by it."

Her horse leapt forward, and the other horses needed no urging, racing down the hill after her. Even with Kaden's warm body pressed tightly against mine, my stomach dropped out beneath me. I'd forgotten what it felt like to ride a horse: the terrifying power, as if you were flying over the ground yet completely out of control.

As we drew closer, I could make out forms walking across the top of the wall, all heavily armed. Blinding lights lined the structure, growing even more brilliant with the darkening sky and falling snow.

It felt like staring into an impossible future—or maybe it was a past I'd thought was lost to us forever. If they had electricity, who knew what else they'd brought back, or maybe never even lost. It felt wrong to hope for a better future when I'd just said goodbye to Izzie, but I couldn't help it.

Our group rode until we came to a path carved through the snow, ruins on one side and the black wall rising on the other. Far ahead of us streetlights burned along a cleared highway.

"Hold up!" Talia yelled as our path ended at a massive gate set into the wall—one that was currently closing. Then, in what felt like an unnecessary addition, "We've got a survivor with us—a woman!"