“Stop it!” I shout at him, clenching my head between my hands. “Stop murdering them!”
Mori takes a step back and shoots me a crazed look. “What are you going to do about it?” he yells back. An explosion lands in the distance behind him, causing dirt to rain down on us.
A fire burns deep in my soul. Pain that I don’t recognize but is so tangible I know it must be real.
I unsheathe my combat knife and swing it at him. Mori dips his head back and elbows me hard in the ribs. A few of them crack, but I don’t feel anything. We crash into each other as I take him to the ground. Mud plasters over our bodies as we wrestle for the top position.
“You’re evil. I can see it in you. All you care about is following fucking orders!” I scream in his face. His pale blond hair is mussed with blood and dirt, locks of it stick to his forehead in clumps.
Mori’s pupils dilate and he presses his hand over my mouth. “I’ve heard it all, Emery. I’ll kill anyone I’m ordered to,” he growls mere inches away from my face, his haunting eyes sinking deep into my soul.
I bite down on his hand. He doesn’t wince but he pulls it away swiftly to prevent any damage. “I’m not surprised,” I spit, burying my blade into his stomach. His eyes flash at me with fury before I twist my body and throw him off.
My legs tremble as I stand and force myself to run in an effort to get some distance from him. But he closes the gap quickly, plunging his blade into my spine and making me cripple to the ground beneath him.
Everything goes black.
The simulation end screen pops up, but I’m panting so fervently that it’s difficult to catch my breath. I fumble with the headset since my hands are lagging in response, and when the light of the room hits me a wave of nausea swirls in my stomach. I lean over to theside and vomit, but instead of my breakfast, it’s blood. The taste of iron and metal coats my tongue and makes my gag reflex kick in.
My eyes widen. That’s new.
Nolan and his assistant are reviewing notes on their computer. Not seeming at all concerned with me throwing up absolute carnage. Mori did say that it would happen.
Mori shifts in his chair beside me and slowly stands. His eyes are heavy and he looks anywhere in the room except at me. A cold expression is set on his face.
“Did you fucking stab me in the spine?” I snarl at him. Rage moves through me like a living beast. I want to hurt him for the things he said in there.
He doesn’t look at me as he replies simply, “You stabbed me first. What did you expect? A pat on the head?” He rips off the sticky tabs attached to wires and tosses them to the floor. “I’m heading upstairs,” he tells Nolan before he leaves.
My fingers curl into the seat cushion. I want nothing more than to follow him and press him on what the fuck that just was, but I know Nolan won’t let me leave until he finishes up the results.
“Good news, Morphine. You’re stable to continue the series you’re on and clear to go on the mission.” Nolan’s voice is anything but assuring.
My eyes fall to the floor where the black blood I vomited is puddled. “Are you sure?” I ask hesitantly.
Nolan turns with a new bottle of pills in his hands. He tosses it at me and starts removing the tape and wires from my skin.
“Yes, you’re actually progressing faster than anyone else has. With Mori, we were really shooting in the dark, but after the data and modifications we’ve made since, I’m certain that we’ll be able to release this new enhancement for all Dark Forces soldiers soon. Then to the upstairs forces. We’ll be unstoppable.” His tone has sinister implications. The promise of a dark future flashes through his eyes.
It’s the first time I start to question if what I’m doing is right.
Nolan can’t be allowed to achieve this dream of his. I mull over how helpless we truly are in the Dark Forces’s hands. The tracker in the back of my neck keeps me at their mercy.
I consider ways of potentially removing it. It’s my understanding that we were given them for the trials. Do they remove them at some point? Do all Dark Forces soldiers have them or do we earn trust at some point?
My frown deepens as I walk back through the halls of the Under. Rubbing my shoulder where Mori’s sim-twin stabbed me in the simulation. Everyone has long since returned upstairs. The soldiers who dwell down here must already be back at their quarters since it’s late.
The Under has become a quiet, ominous place. Where the steps echo a little more with each stride through the emptiness. Like a slumbering cave filled with secrets.
I shut my eyes and let my fingertips brush against the wall. A sharp wave of recollection awakens my heart. My legs begin to slow until I come to a complete stop. My eyes and mind don’t remember things. But my body does. The touch of the walls along my fingertips is so familiar. The maze that is only familiar in the shadows. Forgotten by the world, forgotten by me. Only to be remembered when I close my eyes and succumb to its whispering halls.
I’ve heard the other squads joke that the Under is the darkest place mankind has made, but I have a hard time fathoming how it couldn’t be true.
Did I spend much of my time in the dark? Tracing the walls to guide me?
I begin walking and let my body remember the paths it once knew. The air smells earthy and like cement. The wall stops but my instinct is to continue to the right, so I let my hand fall to my side and slowly walk through a larger space. I can tell by the draft of coldair that breezes through me. I stop when it feels right and finally open my eyes. I’ve entered the barracks and am standing near the back. Rows upon rows of beds line the entire space.
The cot before me is bare, only a thin mattress and caseless pillow.
