Page 192 of Aviatrix

TRAGIC DOESN’T EVEN BEGIN TO COVER IT

My boots feel heavy as I follow Jan down the hallway at Camp Obsidian. People whisper ahead of us, shocked we survived another alien attack.

Maybe I should be shocked, too.

But Gary…

He sacrificed himself to try and save lives.

And now, Rourke is dead.

Jan killed him.

She said she served under my dad. But when?

And what about the key Rourke mentioned? Am I it? Is Thea?

“This way,” Jan instructs, cutting a sharp turn as we pass Sasha in the hall. Her knees visibly buckle as she leans against the wall.

“You okay?” I ask, stopping to check on her.

“You’re alive,” she breathes. “I’m so relieved.”

“Keep moving!” Jan barks from ahead.

“We’ll catch up after?” I ask Sasha as Eli jogs up behind me.

“Yeah,” she says.

“Fox and Glitch are about thirty minutes out,” Eli says once we’re walking again. “He doesn’t know about his dad yet.”

“Do you think Gary could’ve survived?” I murmur, just loud enough for him to hear.

Eli’s face hardens. “Anything’s possible, Quay,” he replies. “But that blast…”

There was no way anyone could’ve made it out alive.

“What do I tell Scooter?” I ask Eli quietly.

“You tell him his dad died a hero,” he says without hesitation.

He did. But Gary also died with a mountain of secrets, and I don’t know if those were worth the sacrifice.

“We’re in here,” Jan says, stopping in front of a door I’ve never walked through before.

I open it and step inside.

It’s a small office with a metal desk and three metal chairs. Cold. Sterile. Perfect for whatever this is about to be.

Eli and I take the seats in front of the desk while Jan lowers herself into the chair behind it, the picture of authority in her black pantsuit.

“Obviously, we need to discuss what you saw back in that tunnel,” she begins.

“I didn’t see anything,” I answer immediately, knowing she expects discretion.

“The first time we saw you,” Eli adds smoothly, “you were already in the helicopter.”

She exhales. “You understand what I’m asking then?”