Chapter 29 Emery
EMERY
Gage passes out halved sandwiches. It’s all we’re going to get for the rest of the day until dinner because today we’re practicing HALO jumping.
The consensus is that everyone except me has come to terms with it and are now stoked for it.
I’m sorry, but falling from twenty thousand feet and deploying our parachutes at a lower altitude is not exactly exciting. It’s a dangerous form of infiltration and typically only highly trained special ops teams can perform them successfully. Essentially, we’re fucked.
Which leads me to asking flatly, “Does anyone even have experience in skydiving? How am I the only one concerned?” I glower, feeling that I’m raising a very good point.
Damian shoulders me as he takes a bite from his breakfast sandwich.
“What does it matter if we die from hitting the ground or getting a bullet between our eyes?” He chuckles.
Wraith slaps his knee, laughing and pointing at Damian with his half-eaten apple as he tries not to choke on the mouthful of food.
“No one is going to die from jumping. You’ll pull your parachutes at exactly three thousand feet. No sooner, no less,” Thomas grumbles as he brushes through the ratted end of his mullet.
“You’re just sour about the sap we stuck in your hair last night,” Gage says with a wide grin.
I have to admit, I was shocked when he said he wanted to join in on the prank.
It felt nice to have a little fun for once.
Life is way too fucking short. Cameron chuckles at Thomas’s lack of amusement with us.
“No shit,” Thomas growls back, finally breaking through the last of the tangles. It still doesn’t look the same as the rest of his hair though.
“I do,” Wraith says after finishing his apple.
We collectively look at him. Cameron looks at Wraith differently than he did in the trials.
Like he doesn’t have a grudge against Wraith anymore.
I still have heavy reservations about him, but even I have to admit that he’s shown his humanity more in these past several days than he has in our entire time in the Under.
“What?” I ask, swatting Damian’s hand away from the rest of the food on my plate.
Wraith leans forward and grins. “You asked if any of us have skydiving experience. I do.” He repeats the end with a smug tone.
My eyes widen. It’s easy to forget that everyone in the Under had a dark past that they were wise to keep secret. Though, now I guess there’s nothing keeping him from sharing. “Spill.” My voice is curious.
Wraith happily agrees. “I will, but I want your story after.”
“Deal.”
He takes a sip of water before he clears his throat. “I was a skydiving instructor in Nevada. Trust me, there’s nothing like the feeling of the rush of wind and adrenaline.”
Cameron scoffs. “Let me guess, you got caught because too many people’s parachutes wouldn’t deploy.” Cam doesn’t bother to hide his devious smile.
Wraith raises both of his hands innocently. “They couldn’t prove it was me, but before I was formally arrested the Dark Forces picked me up.” He means kidnapped.
“No fucking way!” Damian straightens, his expression horrified. “That’s like the most evil shit. I’m not letting you anywhere near my backpack.”
Gage shakes his head, but he’s grinning too. Jesus, we’re terrible.
Wraith shrugs. “I couldn’t get enough of the look that swept over someone’s face once they realized that death was near. The rush of emotions. The way it made me feel was—”
“Euphoric,” Cam mutters boredly.
“Yeah, but all good things must end.” Wraith pauses and fiddles with his fork before deciding to continue.
“I wasn’t all bad, though. I was the only person providing for my younger siblings.
They were almost out of high school, so I’m sure they ended up okay, but still.
I wasn’t just a murderer.” He makes it sound like he has a point to make.
“I don’t think any of us are only made up of our sins,” I add, tucking my hair behind my ear. No, of course we aren’t. We are so much more than just the bad things. People are complex, with many faces and secrets.
“Does that merciful sentiment extend to Arnold?” Wraith says slowly, implication clear.
Of course not, I want to scream at him, but I see his point.
“I’m sure he’s someone to somebody,” I state with an irritated press to my brow before shifting. “Where is Arnold anyway? Did he get placed on a squad?”
Cameron interrupts. “Yeah, they put him on Ri?t for his ability to kill without hesitating or asking why. Their sergeant wanted him after their recent loss.”
I shudder. That means Arnold is only four klicks away from here.
Will their entire squad be nearby at Finis as well? Waiting to pick us off after our usefulness has come to an end?
“It suits him,” I mutter under my breath. I’ll kill him if I see him out there.
A silence threads through us for a few seconds before Wraith interrupts it.
“Your turn.”
I tell them all about who I am. But I don’t tell them why I did it. They don’t need to know that I killed for my father’s organization just to use the remnants of the bodies as pieces in my nonexistent art show. To make someone notice.
“And now my stomach is upset.” Damian stands and abruptly walks to the bathroom.
Gage cackles at the dramatics, while Thomas only stares at me untrustingly.
“That’s darker than I pinned a runt with pink hair for,” Wraith admits, rubbing the back of his head.
“It’s always the ones we suspect the least.” Cameron throws me a wink.
“Fury Squad, I want you suited up and ready in ten. We’re boarding the plane in fifteen,” Lieutenant Erik orders from across the room.
We all lower our heads to finish eating as fast as we can.
“Hey, what if we made it a contest like the good old days in the trials?” Wraith mutters as Damian comes back and sits down.
“No,” Thomas says, but quickly gets dismissed.
“I’m listening.” Gage sounds excited.
Damian grimaces. “Good old days?”
Wraith’s eyes fill with mischief. “Whoever deploys their parachute last, and lives, wins.”