Chapter 4 Emery
EMERY
Didn’t he say that he doesn’t sleep much?
I cross my arms over my chest and stare down at Cameron. His shoulders are slumped forward and his head hangs to the side. Liar, I muse as I squat a few feet away to observe him.
His fairly new scar that cuts over the inner portion of his eye looks painful, but he hasn’t shown an ounce of discomfort.
It makes sense, given he did say he’s incapable of feeling pain.
I wonder how long that drug lasts. Is it something he has to keep up with, or does it last for extended periods of time? Is there a way to reverse it?
A scraping metal sound echoes through the small cell.
I glance up as the door opens and find General Nolan staring down at me in awe.
His expression quickly turns into a relieved smile.
“Well, what do you know, he didn’t kill you.
” I can’t say I’m all that thrilled to hear the utter surprise in his tone, that means he was likely betting on me not coming out of this breathing.
I’m still squatting in front of Cameron. I look back at him and find his sage eyes burning into me before he sits up and stretches his arm over his head. A weak smile. “I’m as surprised as you are, General,” Cameron mumbles carelessly.
He smiles a lot for someone in his circumstances.
There’s a weight there so heavy it drowns the parts of me that are familiar with his pain.
He must have been thrown away at some point in his life like I was.
How else does someone fall as far as we have?
His brow raises, trying to hide what’s there, but I see his tragic ghosts, as they dance too close to my own.
I force my eyes back to the ground before I get too lost in his gaze.
“Well, this was unexpected. I guess we’d better get you two into the Under and straight into training. Follow me,” Nolan mutters as he steps to the side and waits for me to exit the cell before him.
Cameron stands up and crosses his arms. “Us two?”
Nolan nods, a crooked grin forming across his lips.
“What, Lieutenant Erik didn’t fill you in?
” A beat of silence, then Nolan sighs and rubs a hand down his face.
“Of course he didn’t. Your punishment extends into the Under Trials too, Mori.
In hopes that it will retrain that rotten brain of yours and allow you to prove yourself worthy of your spot on the squad. ”
A weight settles in the air between them.
Cameron’s eyes darken and he grits his teeth. “And how is that fair to the cadets without my level of training, if I can’t stop myself from killing them?”
“Because you’ll need to get not only yourself, but her out of the trials as well.
Your main task is to not kill your partner in the heat of battle.
You passed this experiment in the cell, but what happens when you’re in a hostile environment?
What happens when you two are alone somewhere in the middle of fucking nowhere?
” Nolan tuts. His words make Cameron’s eyes flicker with uncertainty.
Cameron wasn’t joking; we’re real life experiments to them, and I’m guessing it’s going to be hard for him to control himself. Great.
Nolan laughs as he unlatches his chest pocket and pulls out a bottle of pills.
He tosses it at Cameron. My eyes follow the black bottle as it sails through the air.
Cameron catches it, his hand steady as he shoots me a disinterested glance.
I watch as he pops the lid, grabs three or four pills, shoves them in his mouth, and swallows them dry.
He visibly relaxes and lets his shoulders drop.
My eyes dry. He’s addicted to the very drugs he claims are killing other soldiers. What will happen to him if he keeps this up? I swallow the discomfort that bubbles up as I watch him take those death pills.
I don’t know him. I don’t care. But I can’t shake the unease that develops in my stomach.
Nolan leads us down a long hallway. I spare a few glances at Cameron, who seems indifferent to the news of his fate.
More annoyed than anything else. Though the “Under Trials” don’t sound like something that should be taken lightly.
I’m sure I’ll be hearing a lot about them once we’re with the other cadets in boot camp.
As we pass a large gray gym with a group of soldiers doing push-ups, Cameron’s eyes flick to mine and catch me staring. I look away sharply.
“So, what happened to your eye?” I break the silence as we enter the commons of the base, where men and women dressed in military attire walk with purpose in every direction. Most of them are in the standard green camo gear, but some are wearing Air Force and Navy uniforms.
General Nolan’s uniform is black camo, and his badges are unique—a gold circle surrounding a skull with the letters DF at the center. That must be the symbol for the Dark Forces.
“That’s what he got for killing his last partner in the field,” Nolan grumbles, then stops walking briefly.
I jolt and look at Cameron. His mouth is set in a firm line, I’m assuming because he doesn’t like when people answer for him.
“He decapitated the last one with his KA-BAR. Do you know how much effort it takes to saw off a head with only a combat knife, Cadet Maves?”
My throat bobs. I do know, actually.
Nolan’s eyes narrow at me when I don’t seem as grossed out as he was expecting. “He deserved that scar. He’s lucky that he’s our most prized asset or we would’ve already tossed his ass in a ditch or left him for the Ri?t Squad to deal with.”
“Okay, she’s heard enough, let’s get on with it,” Cameron complains, gruffly crossing his arms and avoiding my gaze.
Nolan scoffs but resumes walking at a fast pace. I have to lengthen my steps just to keep up with the two of them. “How many squads are there?” I can’t imagine that there are very many; it would be harder to keep them a secret if there were several to keep track of.
“There are four elite active squads at the moment. Warsaw, Ri?t, Fury, and Malum.” Nolan sounds like he’s on autopilot and lackadaisical in educating me on the matter.
Cameron seems mentally checked out too, staring blankly at the soldiers doing workouts and chatting casually at the far end of the area.
I stare at Nolan expectantly. “Four teams for a reason?”
The general lets out a half laugh and explains, “Yes. Ri?t is hands down the worst squad, and you should be grateful you’re not queued up for them.
They are the ones we send in to snuff out traitors, runaways, or soldiers that have lost their usefulness.
We keep them on the eastern side of the country.
Warsaw is the A-team, sent to high-profile and society-set missions in big cities.
They’re the most precise and detail-oriented. ”
A few soldiers bump into my shoulder as they pass us and shoot glares at me. That’s probably not the last time that will happen. Cameron’s brows are pulled together, and he looks like he’s going to say something, but he only firms his lips before looking away.
Nolan doesn’t acknowledge the rude soldiers either and continues: “Malum is the squad that goes where no one else can or will go. Quite literally the last resort. Then you have Fury, the squad that we send to remote, highly dangerous places. Their missions are at the top of the boards in the Dark Forces. The success rate is one hundred percent and the death rate of the squad is 30 percent. The squad we send on suicide missions.”
My eyes shoot up to Nolan’s. He gives me a wry smirk.
“Let me guess,” I say in a vexed tone. “That’s my assigned squad.”
The way Nolan’s gaze lights up is sickening. “That’s correct, Maves. Most of the deaths aren’t even Mori’s.” He laughs at my stiffened expression. Cameron lets out a deeply irritated sigh.
Thirty percent death rate? I chew on my lower lip. Those odds aren’t good considering I have to worry about Cameron too, who’s already promised to kill me later. I can’t determine if he actually wants to spare me or if he just enjoys dragging things out for his victims.
Nolan leads us to the end of a long hallway where an emergency stairwell is located. We descend several stories, at the bottom of which a black metal door awaits. My legs are basically jelly from the ten flights of stairs.
I wasn’t aware buildings could even be built this deep into the earth. Each level we pass makes the knot in my throat grow.
General Nolan pulls a card from his pocket and scans the back of it. The color on the panel goes from red to green and then a loud locking mechanism shifts. Nolan opens the door and motions for me and Cameron to walk ahead of him.
We step inside the doorway and enter a small middle chamber. About ten feet away is another identical ebony door. Nolan shuts the first one and makes sure it’s locked before heading to the next.
Damn, the security is high. It makes me a little nervous about what’s waiting inside.
Cameron has his hands shoved in his sweatpants pockets and doesn’t seem the least bit concerned.
He’s already been through boot camp before, so it makes sense that he’s not anxious, but it’s still unsettling that he’s not even a little worried.
As the heavy door opens, I’m instantly overcome by the sheer size of this underground facility.
The ceiling is at least forty feet tall with huge steel beams running across for support.
Armed soldiers are sprinkled around the room in no particular order, but all of their eyes are locked on the cadets dressed in tactical uniforms in the center of the room.
The walls are white, and the arena we’ve just stepped into is lit up like a prison.
Since we’re all heinous criminals, it’s fitting that this is like a prison with high security doors and guards standing by.
“Wow. When you said underground forces, you literally meant underground,” I say in a sarcastic tone. My mood is foul this morning, credit to the psycho I had to share a cell with.