There’s been a shift in his demeanor. His jaw tightens and he shakes his head once as if to lose whatever thoughts have slipped into his mind. He secures his pants back around his waist and turns away from me.
“Don’t stay down here long,” he bites out curtly as he heads to the exit without another word, leaving me alone in the underground hell wondering what he’s fighting so hard against in his mind, and why he loathes me so much.
11
EMERY
Gage carelessly tossesme an MK-17 and a few grenades. I almost drop one and shoot him a death glare. How fucked up would it be for us to go like that?
I blow out a frustrated breath.
“Keep sharp, Morphine!” he jokes as he lowers a box filled with ammo next.
I grunt as the weight is passed to me and march down into the thicket where we’re setting up a temporary camp. Lieutenant Erik has his tent up already and is reviewing the plans with Mikah.
There’s still an air of mystery about her. She’s sharp and tight-lipped, both traits leading me to be overly suspicious of her. Maybe if she said two words to literally anyone on the plane ride from Alaska or the five-hour drive across the Great Basin desert, I’d feel different. But she definitely knows more about what’s on the flash drive than she’s letting on.
Mikah must feel my eyes because she spares a quick glance at me as I approach the other supply crates. I offer her a curt nod and shereturns it. Her bronze hair is slicked back into a ponytail as tightly as it always is. She’s no longer wearing her business attire though, now she’s dressed in beige-brown camo clothing. Not quite tactical gear, but not civilian wear either. A bulletproof vest is strapped over her chest, but other than that, she’s vulnerable.
I huff.Well, besides us being her designated meat shields.
Kayden and Thomas are getting their tent pitched near a circle of boulders that cover the back side, while Mori is setting ours up adjacently across the camp.Ugh.I’m not sure how I’m going to sleep tonight with him so close to me. That’sifI can sleep at all. I have a sinking feeling that has lived in the pit of my stomach since we arrived.
After I set down the ammo crate, I make my way over to him. “Need any help?” I say as I hold down one of the corners of the tarp so it doesn’t move on him while he stakes down the other side.
He spares me a disinterested glance before resuming fixing his corner to the ground. “Why ask if you’re already doing it?” he mutters sarcastically.
I purse my lips, choosing not to respond because he’ll just deflect it with some other kind of comment like he’s been doing all day.
He’s pulled back significantly since last night. The plane ride here was awful. I’m pretty sure everyone could sense that there was something wrong between us because of the awkward looks and silence.
Mori can try to keep his distance, but we’re going to have to sort this out tonight before the mission tomorrow.
Don’t focus on it. There’s a lot more important things going on,I chide myself, recentering my attention to the mission at hand.
Mori makes quick work of finishing the tent. We set our small backpacks of supplies inside and help the others with the beige camouflage netting that blends our camp from an aerial view. Then,a quiet meal as we listen to our lieutenant go over the final plans for tomorrow.
We are to sleep in our tactical gear in case of an invasion. It’s unlikely with our drones keeping tabs on the hideout and sharing intel with Erik, but it’s better to be prepared. At least we’ll know ahead of time if it comes down to it.
Mikah leans against a wooden crate as she pokes at her MRE with a plastic fork. I decide to chat with her and see what things are like on the IT side of the Dark Forces. I doubt they had to go through anything remotely close to the Under Trials, but somehow the more I think about it the more likely it actually sounds.What, do they have to hack faster than the other IT recruits before a timer goes off?I muse.
She gives me a quizzical look as I settle beside her.
“I hear you’re the newest recruit on the Fury Squad,” she mumbles. Her remark is a dry attempt at small talk, but I appreciate it nonetheless.
I lift my shoulder and drop it. “Yeah, too bad I don’t remember much from my time in the trials.”
Mikah raises a brow. “At all?”
“I retained the things I learned physically…but I don’t remember anything about the Dark Forces, the Under, my life before this, or even who I was. Only some of the gory details of the deaths that took place.” I stab my cornbread and stare at it, thinking about the girl I saw in the simulation yesterday. I can’t get her out of my mind. I even dreamed of her lying in the snow, her throat slit and eyes dull.
A heaviness grows in my bloodstream at the thought of not remembering who she is, but vividly recalling her face in death.
“Have you remembered anything since then?” Mikah asks as she sits forward more. I blink and I’m back in the present.
I shake my head. I don’t want anyone to know that I’ve been getting small pieces back yet. With the small snippets I’ve beengetting, I’m not sure who I can even trust anymore. The man with the ominous message in my dream made that evident.
She grunts as she mixes her protein powder with water. “That might be a good thing though, don’t you think? I mean, we’re all criminals down here after all.” Her blue eyes watch me carefully as I consider her words.
