Elodie licked her lips. “He released me from the brig... He and Gunner released everyone from the brig,” she added, dryly.
“As you say. Would you be able to recognize those among the prisoners from those prisoners who had accepted recruitment after being captured?”
“I might be able to, but I’m not sure. I kept my head down most the time. It was safer for me that way.”
“But if you saw them, would you recognize, or at least try to recognize those who worked for Juke and his affiliated organization and distinguish between them and those who escaped with you?”
She paused. “Yes, some I would know. Does that mean I’ll get to see them?” She didn’t want to see them but it was her best chance of knowing whether her dad had been captured. Gunner wouldn’t be among them, not with his history working for the government, but the possibility of it filled her heart with fleeting hope.
“In time.” The suited man turned to leave.
Elodie gripped the bars. “Wait! Please! Please wait,” she begged, her voice hitching. When he stopped and turned back to face her, she could’ve cried. “What happened?” Elodie swallowed. “We were...escaping, and suddenly the ship was off kilter and Gunner had to...get to the bridge to stop it.” She closed her eyes briefly as his bloody body came into view. “Is he okay?” Not knowing was slowly killing her inside. “Anything, please just tell me anything. I can’t stand the silence,” she shook her head. “There’s been too much noise in my head for far too long.”
“Elodie,” he eventually said. “How long have you been in space?”
“My whole life,” she answered quickly.
His eyes crinkled and he nodded. Sadness. Pity. She didn’t know.
“Why?” she asked.
“You shouldn’t bother with a man like him.” He was talking about Gunner. “The smartest thing you can do, when this is all over, is to go back to Earth or one of the other colonies, and try to forget any of this happened.”
She wiped her cheeks, not realizing they were covered in her tears. “I can’t.”
His face softened.
“You don’t understand. I can’t. He’s my friend,” her words hitched. “I love him. It doesn’t make sense.” She dried her face. “I know, but I need to tellhimthat. I need to at least tell him that before...” She couldn’t find the right words. “Before this all comes to an end.” Elodie turned her face into her shoulder. Gunner’s jacket was no longer around her frame, having been stripped and taken away from her in the medical bay.
The soldier stared at her as she tried to compose herself. She waited for him to say something—or to leave—and the longer he stood there watching her, the harder it was for her to maintain any semblance of composure.
Years she had cultivated her brave facade, and now, all of her work had been stripped away.
“Never follow your nightmares.” His voice was sad and she closed her eyes.
Elodie listened to his footsteps as he walked away, and she continued to listen long after he was gone and the door had been shut behind him; she was back within the uncomfortable silence, alone.
***
“YOU SHOULD LET HERgo,” Stryker sighed. His projection was displayed in the center of the cabin.
Gunner slammed his fist into the wall. It wasn’t the first time. There wasn’t much wall left to abuse. He clenched his fist and it came back out of the paneling tangled in wires that sparked against his flesh.
Heshouldlet her go. He just didn’t want to. A day had come and gone since the Peace Keepers subdued Juke’s ship and boarded it. They came like a swarm shortly after, accompanied by a battalion of bots and men, to cleanse everything from within.
They had found him on the floor, twisted and deranged. Elodie had covered him, tried to protect him from the guns that were leveled at him. He’d been a shell of his former self, still hungering for more blood, with the taste of Juke’s cartilage in his mouth. He’d never wanted Elodie to see him that way.
But damn had it had felt so good.
It had been sublime. A gruesome climax experienced through a crimson lens, and she’d been his reward at the end. But as he gazed into her worried eyes, reason returned and he hated that she’d seen him like that.
I should let her go.
He shot a look at Stryker. The Cyborg wore his mask like always, thick and sharp around his face. He didn’t envy the snake, but if it were him, Gunner would never wear a mask. Anyone who came within striking distance would be doing so at their own risk.
Stryker refused to acknowledge that the poison he spewed could be a good thing.
“It’s for the best,” Stryker added.
