Chapter 10 Emery #2
I eagerly nod and smile. “I’d like that.”
“We have to get going,” Mori interrupts, nudging me toward the door.
My brows knit, but I force a cheerful tone as I mutter, “We are leaving for a mission tomorrow, but I’ll find a way to be in contact with you when we get back.” If we make it back. I quickly discard those thoughts.
Chances are he might be replacing me.
Damian gives me a hopeful grin, but his expression sours when he looks at Mori. Why does he keep doing that?
General Nolan is waiting outside the room for us. He guides us down a few hallways before we come to a metal door with a keypad to the right of it. A rush of cold sweeps into my bones.
I’ve seen this door before. An image of two men standing in front of it and going inside surfaces in my mind. I look at Nolan and Mori with wariness.
The room is similar to the one I woke up in at the trial’s bunker.
The walls are painted black, it’s dimly lit in here, and medical tables and chairs are lined up along the left side of the room.
Syringes are prepped and set on top of trays.
An assistant waits patiently behind a computer, entering data for our session maybe.
“This is welcoming,” I retort. Mori smirks but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
Nolan huffs, his impatience isn’t unexpected.
“Did Mori brief you on what to expect for your test?” he asks as he waves me over to a chair.
I shake my head. “You’ll be entered into a VR simulation that is geared at triggering your response to danger.
As you know, these medications enhance everything in the human body including your aggression and fight-or-flight reflexes.
We’ll be monitoring if you’re still mentally sound or if your brain is already deteriorating due to the drugs. ”
My breaths become uneven and my fingertips tingle with the rush of anxiety.
I kept telling myself that I wouldn’t be afraid if this did kill me, but now that I’ll actually find out if it is or not… I’m afraid.
Mori won’t look at me. His jaw muscles are feathered with tension.
Does he care whether I’m going to survive this or not? I don’t know when it started to matter to me, but the feeling stirs deep inside my chest.
Nolan gets us both hooked up to machines similar to an ECG. Sticky ends of wires are placed around our torsos before we’re each given VR headsets. They are black helmets that completely cover the head, much like a motorcycle helmet.
I take a deep breath before placing it over my eyes and ears.
Darkness shrouds me instantly. I hesitate to lift my head and study my surroundings, but the sound of a deep breath steals my attention.
I look to my side and see Mori there, he’s sitting up and staring back at me.
He’s shirtless, and against my best efforts I can’t help but let my eyes soak up every inch of his skin.
Long scars trail down his chest and ribs.
Tattoos dance and weave between them like ivy does mossy statues.
His entire chest is like a tapestry, a story of all he’s endured and experienced. A pang of longing to know him more than I’ve been granted stirs within me.
This might just be a simulation of him. The idea sparks. We could potentially each be in our own world right now.
“Is this…” I start but let my words fall.
“Real,” he murmurs. “We can see each other through the simulation.” I’m half alleviated and equally as mortified.
My throat bobs with unease. “Are you the one that’s going to trigger my responses?”
A wicked smile pulls up at the corner of his lips. “Who else, Em?”
My body has a visceral response to his voice, and I have to swallow down the warmth that fills every cavity of my body when I look at him. He does things to me. Unspeakable, cruel things.
Our eyes remain locked for a few seconds, and then the world around us erupts into a battlefield, one filled with fire and mud. Explosions shaking the ground beneath my feet and making me nauseous.
My eyes flick back up and Mori is now dressed in tactical gear. His black vest is covered in blood and dirt. His helmet has massive cuts along the side and his face is bleeding profusely. His eyes and lips drip with red liquid, and yet he still blinks through it and shouts at me, “Move!”
Sharp pressure blooms across my shoulder as I force my legs to run to him. I turn to see what’s causing the odd sensation and find a blade buried deep in my back. Horror rises in my throat as my eyes lift to the soldier who’s behind me.
His eyes are a sea of green. He looks identical to Mori, but I know him by another name. One I’ve long forgotten. An overwhelming thread of betrayal consumes me, even though I’m not entirely certain why.
It’s just a simulation, I remind myself, forcing my eyes forward and sprinting ahead toward Mori.
His eyes are wild and mania spills from him, infecting the air with nervous energy.
“Who is that? He looks just like you—”
“It’s just Nolan fucking with us,” he snaps at me defensively. I look into both his eyes, finding doubt. I nod, but there’s something vile that he’s not telling me.
A slew of soldiers attack us from ahead. It’s like we’re actually on a battlefield. All the faces are ones I recognize but cannot place. A beautiful woman with dark skin and brilliant braids lifts her rifle to shoot me.
I’m frozen in place as I take her in. Chills erupt over my arms and tears prickle my eyes when I sense a strong loyalty to her.
Who are all these people? And why do they fill me with so much sorrow?
I can’t find it in me to shoot them. Mori doesn’t hesitate though, he pulls the trigger effortlessly. They fall like paper planes into the ocean.
A surge of adrenaline pulses through me and my head starts throbbing. It’s the first pain I’ve felt all week and it’s so intense that my teeth gnash together.
The urge to kill Mori becomes overwhelming. To stop him from killing people I once knew. Sweat slicks down my temples and my breaths are heady and raspy.
“Stop it!” I shout at him, clenching my head between my hands. “Stop murdering them!”
Mori takes a step back and shoots me a crazed look. “What are you going to do about it?” he yells back. An explosion lands in the distance behind him, causing dirt to rain down on us.
A fire burns deep in my soul. Pain that I don’t recognize but is so tangible I know it must be real.
I unsheathe my combat knife and swing it at him. Mori dips his head back and elbows me hard in the ribs. A few of them crack, but I don’t feel anything. We crash into each other as I take him to the ground. Mud plasters over our bodies as we wrestle for the top position.
“You’re evil. I can see it in you. All you care about is following fucking orders!” I scream in his face. His pale blond hair is mussed with blood and dirt, locks of it stick to his forehead in clumps.
Mori’s pupils dilate and he presses his hand over my mouth. “I’ve heard it all, Emery. I’ll kill anyone I’m ordered to,” he growls mere inches away from my face, his haunting eyes sinking deep into my soul.
I bite down on his hand. He doesn’t wince but he pulls it away swiftly to prevent any damage. “I’m not surprised,” I spit, burying my blade into his stomach. His eyes flash at me with fury before I twist my body and throw him off.
My legs tremble as I stand and force myself to run in an effort to get some distance from him. But he closes the gap quickly, plunging his blade into my spine and making me cripple to the ground beneath him.
Everything goes black.
The simulation end screen pops up, but I’m panting so fervently that it’s difficult to catch my breath.
I fumble with the headset since my hands are lagging in response, and when the light of the room hits me a wave of nausea swirls in my stomach.
I lean over to the side and vomit, but instead of my breakfast, it’s blood.
The taste of iron and metal coats my tongue and makes my gag reflex kick in.
My eyes widen. That’s new.
Nolan and his assistant are reviewing notes on their computer. Not seeming at all concerned with me throwing up absolute carnage. Mori did say that it would happen.
Mori shifts in his chair beside me and slowly stands. His eyes are heavy and he looks anywhere in the room except at me. A cold expression is set on his face.
“Did you fucking stab me in the spine?” I snarl at him. Rage moves through me like a living beast. I want to hurt him for the things he said in there.
He doesn’t look at me as he replies simply, “You stabbed me first. What did you expect? A pat on the head?” He rips off the sticky tabs attached to wires and tosses them to the floor. “I’m heading upstairs,” he tells Nolan before he leaves.
My fingers curl into the seat cushion. I want nothing more than to follow him and press him on what the fuck that just was, but I know Nolan won’t let me leave until he finishes up the results.
“Good news, Morphine. You’re stable to continue the series you’re on and clear to go on the mission.” Nolan’s voice is anything but assuring.
My eyes fall to the floor where the black blood I vomited is puddled. “Are you sure?” I ask hesitantly.
Nolan turns with a new bottle of pills in his hands. He tosses it at me and starts removing the tape and wires from my skin.
“Yes, you’re actually progressing faster than anyone else has.
With Mori, we were really shooting in the dark, but after the data and modifications we’ve made since, I’m certain that we’ll be able to release this new enhancement for all Dark Forces soldiers soon.
Then to the upstairs forces. We’ll be unstoppable.
” His tone has sinister implications. The promise of a dark future flashes through his eyes.
It’s the first time I start to question if what I’m doing is right.
Nolan can’t be allowed to achieve this dream of his. I mull over how helpless we truly are in the Dark Forces’s hands. The tracker in the back of my neck keeps me at their mercy.