Chapter 24 Emery
EMERY
Three horrifying minutes pass as the ground trembles viciously beneath us. The sound of the crumbling cement beams and snapping electrical wires of what could have been my deathbed, sinks deeply into me.
After the trials and every dangerous thing I’ve done in my life, a goddamn building crumbling was almost the end of me.
I swallow the dryness in my throat.
All three of us lie flat on the ground with our noses to the dirt as the second round of mines go off. The wave of dust consuming everything in its path catches us in a matter of moments, but thankfully we made it far enough to avoid the dangerous debris.
I open one eye enough to see Cameron at my side, his gaze already on me and warms the moment I look at him. As the ground stops trembling and the air becomes quiet again, voices start rolling through Gage’s headset.
He gasps and answers, “This is Volt, we’re in the field about a quarter klick from the northern side of the building.” Gage listens as the other person replies and then lets out an audible sigh. “Copy that. Over.”
“Well?” Cameron grumbles impatiently.
We look ridiculous lying in the field on our stomachs, but it’s also oddly comforting being this close to my squad.
I’ve always worked alone in the past, and I’ve truly been able to appreciate how important a tight-knit team is.
Cameron and I would still be locked up in the hideout if it weren’t for them.
The sensation brings Bree and Bryce back to mind too.
Gage lifts his head and beams at us. “Lieutenant Erik reported that everyone made it back to the helicopter. Mavestelli’s men have already evacuated the area and are fleeing to the city. The squad is going to pick us up in ten.”
That’s the best news I’ve heard in what feels like a fucking lifetime.
The three of us start laughing. I don’t know if it’s from the shock or adrenaline, but I’ll take it over everything we just went through.
Ten minutes floats by and we finally hear the blissful sound of the helicopter cutting through the night sky.
“Hey, Volt, we don’t need to worry about being shot down, right?” I entertain the terrifying idea.
He laughs and shakes his head like it’s the dumbest question I could’ve asked. “Mikah confirmed that she has her systems back up and running, and her jammer is actively blocking all Mavestelli’s missile tracking equipment.”
“That’s reassuring, considering how long it lasted in their headquarters,” Cameron says sarcastically, sounding about as confident as I feel.
We watch with bated breath as the helicopter descends successfully. The three of us board with the assistance of two squad mates. Their helmets are on and masks are secured around their faces, so I’m not sure who they are.
Once on board, relief hits me when I see Mikah with her headset on and computer in her lap. She effectively ignores us like we weren’t just kidnapped for two weeks, but I figure it’s better that she remains focused on keeping us safe from enemy missiles.
Erik clasps his hands on my shoulders, then pulls Cameron in for a hug.
Cameron’s eyes widen with surprise before he hesitantly returns the sentiment and wraps his arms around the lieutenant.
Unease drifts through my heart and I glance away. It feels like I hardly know either of them, even though I trusted them with my life.
Gage plants himself on my side and exhales dramatically as he sets his helmet down at his feet and takes the soundproof headset that Thomas tosses back to us from the pilot’s seat. I didn’t know he could fly.
The helicopter lifts slowly. We’re back in the air and steadily heading away from the city lights below and toward the safety of the coastline.
There has to be a transport plane hangar nearby if Fury crossed the fucking ocean for us.
I don’t doubt that the Dark Forces have connections with potential foreign versions of our secret operations.
The two soldiers that have masks on finally take their seats and uncover their faces.
I smile and hug Damian the moment his hopeful grin lands on me.
The fact that I didn’t recognize him in the Under is a punch to the gut.
How could I lose him and Bree…even Bryce for that matter.
Forgetting Cameron hurt the most, especially knowing now why he always looked so miserable when I was around him.
I change my radio channel on the headset so it only feeds to Damian’s, and he does the same. I’m sure more than a few of our squad mates can read lips, but it still makes me feel better about keeping our conversation somewhat private.
“I remembered her, in dreams and in the simulation. I couldn’t recall her name at the time, but Bree came to me in many different ways,” I say mournfully.
It’s been over a month since she was killed in the trials, but I had no time to grieve properly before she was wiped from my memory like water wicked from glass.
Damian’s frown is stiff, he’s had time to mourn the loss of her, and it shows in his weary eyes.
I can’t imagine all the sleepless nights.
All the missed conversations. “I’m surprised you didn’t remember me kicking your ass the first day you came down into the Under.
” Damian winks. He pauses and lets his gaze shift coldly to Cameron.
“Do you remember what happened in the last trial? I’ve had my suspicions, but of course the few of us who survived weren’t told anything,” he says quieter.
I nod slowly, looking down so I don’t accidentally make eye contact with Cam or Erik.
“Yeah, I’ll tell you about it later… Speaking of which, will you be staying in our barracks now?
” My tone is cheerier knowing I’ll have a friend close by.
Even though I very much consider Gage a friend too, it’s different having someone you went through the trials with. It’s a tighter bond.
Damian leans back in the seat and ruffles his hair. “Well, yeah. Where else would I sleep?” He laughs. I take a relieved breath, it’s the comforting news I needed to hear.
“Who’s our additional teammate?” I glance over Damian’s shoulders to the man sitting beside him. He’s staring out the window and not interacting with the others.
Damian’s expression drops and his brows pinch together. “You’re not going to like it.” My stomach instantly plummets when he says those words, and I hesitantly lean forward to see more of the soldier.
His hair is rich brown, tuffs of his curls peek out from beneath his helmet. He’s taller, like Cameron is, and the rigid way he sits is familiar.
Oh God. Damian sees the realization hit me.
“Yep,” he chirps like this is amusing. Which I’m sure it is to him, having been stuck with this soldier in the Under all this time.
“Why Wraith of all people?” I glower as Wraith instinctively turns to glare over his shoulder at me. Those dark eyes are filled with evil as far as I’m concerned, though he does have a somber air about him now.
The asshole in question raises a brow and smiles at me. It instantly makes me bristle. “Miss me, runt?” I can’t hear him with my headset on, but I read the words from his lips just fine.
I flip him off and turn the other way. There’s no way in hell I’m going to willingly get along with him. I’m actually a little relieved that it’s not Arnold. I might’ve killed him myself by shoving him from the helicopter if it was.
The thought of that brings me a little solace as I watch Lieutenant Erik and Cameron share a conversation that abruptly stops the moment they notice me observing. They stopped before I could really get a feel for what the discussion at hand was.
My gaze shifts to the ground, and I let my mind dally on everything that happened tonight.
I’m really not looking forward to having the conversation with Cameron and my estranged uncle about what the fuck is going on.
So I lean back like Damian and enjoy the short flight to the plane hangar while catching up with him. After about thirty minutes, I rest my head on his shoulder and fall asleep.
It’s downpouring when we finally land somewhere along the northern coast of Germany. It’s too dark to be able to discern the area by landmarks, but I notice a shedlike structure a few hundred yards away from the landing pad. Beyond that is only heavily wooded terrain and an enormous plane hangar.
We quickly race through the freezing rain and enter the hangar that doubles as a base of some sort.
The top is domed and the main entrance is made up of huge gliding barn doors that allow the entry and exit of aircrafts.
The sound of the water pelting against metal makes it clear that the domed roof and most of the walls are made of steel sheets.
While the remainder of the building is intricately structured with bricks and iron-framed lancet windows on the second story.
Who knew airplane hangars could be an aesthetic, I muse, wishing my father would’ve acquired more places like this in our family operation.
It’s the middle of the night, probably pushing past 3:00 a.m., so we don’t run into anyone besides the manned twenty-four seven stations.
They consist of two men in dark gray uniforms that are nearly identical to ours.
A man in a pressed officer’s jacket dips his head knowingly at our lieutenant as we walk in.
Cameron has been keeping a close eye on me the entire flight here and knows that there’s a chance that I could slip into a violent state.
I still haven’t quite figured out what brings them on, heightened fight-or-flight responses, sure, but Cameron doesn’t seem overly worried, I know it’s the last shot in the series that made him lose himself, so I’m hoping this one doesn’t have much of an effect on me.
I try not to dwell on it. I’m just kicking myself for going through with the experiment like Nolan wanted.