Chapter 15
My heart slammed against the chest plate, its frantic beats trapped beneath the space suit I now wore.
The heat pouring from the suit increased the sweat that coated my body.
We had eaten massive breakfasts in complete silence before suiting up.
Tristian walked ahead, leading us to the guard shack that would allow us to exit Haven. My breakfast crawled up my throat.
I was going above.
“How you feeling, Sasha?” Damien asked.
“Great,” I mumbled, the helmet beneath my arm too heavy.
Damien smiled. “You gonna puke? You’re looking a little woozy.”
“Bet’s off if you incept her thoughts,” Rumi said dryly from behind me.
“Even if she does puke, she wouldn’t be the first,” Levi said beside me as he stared back at Patrick. “But seriously, don’t puke. We don’t puke.”
“At least I didn’t shit myself,” Patrick shot back, his face bright red.
I glanced sideways toward Levi. He leveled me with a look. “Really, you think he’s talking about me?”
“Unit Twelve, not us. Made for a good call sign though,” Isla quipped as we stopped outside the guard shack.
“I’d venture into the Abyss and never return if my call sign was SPLAT. I mean, have mercy,” Damien claimed.
“SPLAT?” I choked out.
“Shits Pants Loudly and Thunderously.” Levi smirked. “You should be thankful you got yours so quickly, Dame. I could think of quite a few had we had more time.”
Tristian talked with the two people in Force uniforms. A grinding sound filled the air as the large steel doors opened to reveal a steel detoxification room.
“Everyone in, helmets on,” Tristian called.
The two guards within the shack came into view.
My stomach twisted, the contents threatening to spew as Jaxon glared at me.
I hadn’t seen him outside of Formation since I’d run off.
There was no mistaking how pissed he was, but he didn’t say anything to me, which was good. I wasn’t sure I could talk.
“Helmet on, Sasha,” Levi said, lowering his as he strode right past the shack.
Damien bumped into me. “How about now? You gonna puke now?”
I willed my heart to slow and raised my helmet, lining it up.
Green eyes locked on mine. I didn’t know if it was my panic reflected there or his own.
Tristian’s helmet came down, stealing any chance to sort through it.
I donned mine, breathing through the suffocating feeling.
I followed the rest of Seven into the metal room, and a clatter of voices projected into the helmet.
“You’re tainting the bet, Buddy,” Rumi said.
“I am not,” Damien said.
“I’m with Rums,” Patrick said. “You’re gonna ruin it and we’ll be left drawing straws for bathroom shifts.”
“Quit talking about my partner like she can’t hear you,” Levi said.
“Shack is patching in,” Tristian said. They fell silent.
The man next to Jaxon saluted us. “Be on the lookout for Unit Twelve and Unit Five on their return. Good luck out there, Unit Seven.”
“Door will open in t-minus five minutes. Radiation levels 378. Weather is clear, with winds out of the southeast at 15 mph. Temperature 45,” Patrick told us, holding a device like the one I had seen in Burdon’s office. Patrick waited. Tristian nodded.
“Unit Seven, check,” Patrick called out. Everyone fell silent, watching him. Apprehension snaked up my spine. Was I going to puke?
“Radiation gear,” Patrick called out.
“Check,” everyone responded.
He called for weapons and ammunition. Everyone opened their pistol before checking for additional rounds. I followed suit. “Check.”
Patrick asked about items and gear I hadn’t heard of or known existed. Different members responded, confirming we had what was needed.
“Med bag.”
“Check,” I barely got out.
“Audio, Commander.”
“Check.” Tristian’s voice filled my helmet, steady and sure.
Patrick continued, each member confirming. Their voices played in my helmet.
“Audio, Cadell.”
Sweat dripped down my back. “Check.”
“Night vision,” Patrick called out.
Everyone hit buttons on the left arm of their suits. I stared at the series of buttons Levi had given me a rundown on and hit mine. The shield of my helmet shifted to night vision.
“Check.” I clicked it off.
“Navigation systems.”
I pressed the next button, and a map appeared with eight dots showing our location. “Check.”
“Partner communication.”
I hit another button, and Levi’s dry voice filled my head. “Last chance to run, Sasha.”
“I’m not running,” I told him, even as my heart battered against the plates of my gear. He nodded at me, and we switched back to the unit channel. “Check.”
“Oxygen level,” Patrick prompted.
I hit the last button, and my oxygen level projected on the helmet shield. I didn’t know if I would adjust to the helmet. I responded, “Hundred percent.”
“Mission is a go, repeat, mission is a go.” Patrick gave a thumbs-up to Jaxon and the other member of his unit who stood at the shack.
I finally looked at the shack itself just once.
I hadn’t seen the small hut in almost six years, when I had sprinted to it, demanding care for Lara, barely clinging to life in my arms. I closed my eyes at the memory.
Jaxon hit a button, and the steel door began to close on the shack and all of Haven, the only home I had known since the war. My heart hit my throat as the man called out, “Door closing; Exploratory Unit Seven is in the holding box.”
Levi tightened the straps of the med bag.
Rumi and Patrick danced around each other; whether they talked or simply moved off muscle memory and deep recognition of each other, I didn’t know.
Tristian and Ingrid both moved, but it wasn’t coordinated.
Multiple times, Tristian’s helmet swiveled in the direction of Levi, his partner of seven years.
Guilt settled in my gut at the partnership I had ended.
Damien and Isla began executing an elaborate handshake—a fist-pounding, hip-bumping dance that ended in a bow.
Levi’s voice filled my helmet. “Just us. You good?”
“Would it matter if I said no?” I asked, my gloved hands sweaty.
“Yes, it would matter to me,” Levi said, his helmet shield shifting to me until I saw my reflection. Surprise hit me at the formidable force I beheld in his shield.
“Door’s shut. Switching communication to the group channel,” Levi told me.
Tristian cleared his throat, and everyone fell silent. They drifted toward him, forming a circle of sorts. “There’s no one else I’d rather do this with. You know our mission.”
Patrick shifted his weight between the balls of his feet, Rumi silent next to him. Isla and Damien bumped lightly into each other. Ingrid was stiff. Levi was a steady presence next to me, the arm of his suit resting against mine. For once I welcomed the contact.
“You ready, Cadell?” Everyone’s helmets were directed at me, and my heart picked up its pace. Could they hear its frantic beating over the communication system?
“Yes,” I said breathlessly. I had to be.
Tristian’s helmet met mine. “Good.”
I wondered what he hid behind his helmet. Did Tristian smile, or did he hear the fear in my voice?
A hissing began behind us, large metal doors slowly peeling apart. I was going above. The realization slammed into me as the light started to peek through the growing crack. The temperature reading began to drop as cold air slithered in. Fresh air. The metal doors ground open.
We’re almost there, Lara; hang on. We’re almost there.
Lara’s pale, too thin form heavy in my hands, slowing me down as I attempted to sprint. The entrance coming into view.
It’s okay, Sash. Go on without me.
No, I will not leave you. You have to hang on. They’ll help you. They’ll save you.
It’s okay. I’ll be with Mom, Dad, and Eli. I’m ready. I’m not scared. I’m ready.
No, no. You have to stay with me.
Her eyes closed.
Lara, don’t leave me. Stay with me. I’m not ready. I’m not ready. Help me.
Blinding lights forced my eyes closed, so all I saw was her pale face. She wouldn’t grow to be beautiful.
“As long as there’s life,” Tristian called out to the group.
“We defend it with our own,” Unit Seven answered.
I opened my eyes. There was still life. Not my family, but there was life. I couldn’t fail again.
“We go out as one,” Tristian continued. Time froze as the bright light framed his massive form. His back to the world above. His focus on his unit.
A chill ran up my spine as Unit Seven answered:
“We come back as one.”