Page 68 of Aviatrix

We don’t speak. We never had to. The silence with him was always a kind of peace.

“You ready, Quay?” he finally asks.

I nod, but my throat stings as I look up at him. “Yeah. But… can we stand here another minute?”

He tilts his head. “Something wrong?”

I swallow. “I don’t know if I’ll ever see another sunrise,” I whisper. “I think I’d like to see this one. Just in case.”

He exhales. Just enough to let me know he feels it, too. The weight of not knowing what tomorrow might bring. Or even what today holds.

Our lives are one giant question mark. But this moment—this sunrise—it feels like something I can control. Even if it’s fleeting.

We stand there as the horizon shifts. Red deepens into purple. Then comes pink, soft and sudden. And finally gold, brushing the edge of the world.

We don’t speak. We don’t move. We just watch until I’m sure it’s not only the most beautiful sunrise I’ve ever seen, but the most meaningful. Because we’re only given so many. And none of us knows how many we’ll see before it’s over.

“I’m ready,” I say to Eli.

He gestures forward as we start the short trek back to the hangar. “Flight time’s just under two hours. We’re taking an alternate route. Supposed to keep us off the radar.”

“Undetectable,” I smirk. “Is that even possible?”

Eli shrugs. “No idea. Just following orders.”

“From who?” I arch a brow. “The mysterious CO you still won’t name?”

“From the General,” he says, like that should’ve been obvious.

“I’m still convinced your CO is General Salamander.”

He barks a laugh, then turns and starts jogging backward, facing me. Our eyes lock, part challenge, part heat, maybe both.

“If that’s what you want to believe,” his grin widens, “then believe away, Quay.”

“Oh, I will,” I promise.

“Before we take off,” he says, slowing to a stop, “where did you get that VAL-X?”

My mouth drops open. “You know what it is? How do you kn—” I cut myself off as the pieces fall into place. “Right. Clearance to view classified docs.”

“I know there were only two ever made,” he says, eyes narrowing. “Who gave it to you?”

I could lie. I could pretend I know. But the truth is, I just climbed in. And she accepted me.

I shrug. “No idea.”

Something in his expression shifts, like he’s just realized I’m holding a live grenade.

“You climbed into a jet, with capabilities not even leadership understands, without knowing who sent it?”

The thing is… I’d been wondering that, too. I just didn’t want to say it out loud.

“The crew at that desert base seemed pretty confident I’d be able to handle it,” I say, lifting my chin.

He runs a hand down his face. “I don’t even know what to say.”

“How about, ‘Let’s hit the road, Quay. We’ve got a buttload of aliens to blow up’?”