Hawk shook his head. “Not yet.”
“I’m right here, you bozos.” Imara’s voice trailed from the other end of the hall. Several fast strides, and she’d caught up with them. “Now, quit talking so loud, or you’re gonna give us away.”
Christian and Gemma turned their torchlights back on.
“Armory?” Hawk asked.
Christian nodded. “Let’s go.”
With careful grace, the four of them worked their way down a nearby stairwell to the floor on which they’d find armaments. The last time they’d been in that room was before they’d left to find the outpost.
So much had changed in less than two weeks.
Gemma’s heartbeat thumped in her ears, a drumbeat calling her to war. But unlike when she’d arrived in Zion, her confidence in her abilities had dwindled to near obscurity. Without alien assistance, the only thing she was good at was healing people, and that wasn’t helpful untilafterthe battle.
Gemma’s breaths grew faster and shallower as nausea built in her gut. Every molecule in her body wanted to flee as if the fate of the universes depended upon her doing so. But she couldn’t—wouldn’t—leave her friends, her family.
Not now. Not ever.
They reached the level on which the armory existed, and Hawk forced open the door. Chaos reigned as Systems employees rushed to protect themselves from the upcoming onslaught. Voices shouted orders, and people ran into each other on their way in and out of rooms and stairwells.
“They’ve breached the building,” one of the soldiers shouted. “Get moving!”
Gemma’s chest tightened. The battle had truly begun.
Christian, Gemma, Imara, and Hawk jumped into the fray, the hall lit only by individual torchlights, and hurried to the armory. So much had been picked over already that Gemma’s stomach twisted. At least there were enough uniforms left for all four of them.
Not caring about decency, they stripped in the middle of the room and clothed themselves in military gear before tossing their old garments into a corner.
“Grab whatever you think you can use and carry,” Christian said. “No packs, except Gemma. We’re gonna need medical supplies.”
As fast as she could, Gemma strapped a pistol to her hip and knives to her thighs. She’d leave the rifles for those better equipped to use them.
Gemma stuffed extra ammunition in the vest of her outfit before grabbing a backsack and filling it with as many medical supplies she could think of: nanobot injections, sewing kits, syringes filled with anti-pain serum, wraps, splints—anything and everything. She’d never been in an actual battle before, and only had a vague sense of what she was about to face, thanks to the simulations.
“Everyone ready?” Hawk said, swinging his rifle to his front. Unlike Gemma, he carried two pistols and two daggers in addition to his rifle, and he had strapped a belt of grenades across his chest. Christian looked nearly identical—as did Imara, though she’d opted to stay clear of the bombs.
When all heads nodded, they wormed their way to a stairwell and descended the tower, fellow soldiers to the front and back of them. The torchlights on their vests offered ample illumination, which made the march easier and freed their hands, so every person had a weapon prepared for use.
The sounds of gunfire and explosions grew louder the closer they got to the main level. Gemma flinched at every detonation. How many of the Systems’ people hadn’t yet made it out of Zion?
The door to the third floor flew open. Dissent soldiers, dressed in dark brown uniforms, stepped into the stairwell. Their orange logos practically glowed in the center of their vests.
The five Systems soldiers in the front of the line fired immediately, forcing the Dissent’s members back onto the third floor. The Systems’ combatants followed their enemies inside, blasting as many as they could.
“Keep going,” Christian said, now in the lead.
Gemma gripped her pistol until her knuckles were white.
Sweat rolled down the back of her neck and the sides of her face.
They passed the second level, and her heart slammed against her ribs. They were so close, too close.
Christian paused right before the door that would take them to the first floor, moving his three teammates aside to allow the other Zion soldiers to pass.
“Stick close to me, and I’ll cover you while you save as many people as you can,” he told Gemma.
A knot untwined in her chest. Fighting was not her talent but healing people she coulddefinitelydo.
