Chapter 17 Emery
EMERY
Cameron leans against the trunk of a pine tree as he zips himself back up. I pull my mask back up over my face and secure my helmet on.
A wry smile splays over my lips, not that he can see it.
I can’t believe he gets off on violence that much, but I saw a chance to enforce good behavior and I rewarded him.
Maybe Bree was right, I can use this in my favor.
A few more of those and he should be putty in my hands, right?
I glance over my shoulder at him, and he quickly averts his eyes.
Yeah, this will definitely work.
The band around my wrist vibrates. Seventy-five cadets remain, and something tells me the remaining twenty-five will move slower than the first ones did.
I really hope none of those soldiers I just killed were Bree or Damian. Honestly, I can’t say I paid enough attention to either of their passive characteristics during the few weeks I had in the Under.
“Twenty-five is a lot at this point in the trial,” Cameron grumbles, staring down at his wristband too. “We should get moving and find somewhere to rest. You’ll need it when the sun comes back up.”
The moonlight brightens as the clouds clear. A colder air settles in between the pines. Where are we supposed to rest out here? I can barely keep my legs moving with the frigid temperature seeping into my body despite the warm enhancements in our gear.
I nod. “Did you have this trial the first time you were in the Under?”
He shakes his head and grins. “Nope. But find comfort in knowing this one is much easier than the one I had.” He stares at me for a bit before adding: “Did you always kill that savagely when you were on a job?”
I almost laugh at the twinkle in his eye. I was worried how he would react to finding out who I was. But I think it really worked in my favor.
“Fuck, no. You think that’s how men in expensive suits fight? This is the dirtiest I’ve ever played.” I had the time of my life too. And the very idea of that terrifies me. I’m as bad as he is. My eyes meet his again. They are bright with interest. “It was…stimulating to say the least.”
“Yeah, I saw that. Where did all those morals you were crying about before go?” he taunts, and it earns him a scowl.
“Shut up.”
He cracks a wide grin under his mask, the edges crinkling where his lips would be. I wish I could see it. “Tell me, how do men in suits fight?” he queries.
“Like they can’t use their shoulders. The fabric keeps them from reaching back as far as they should be able to.” A laugh bubbles up from my lips.
Cameron’s eyes widen and he clutches his stomach as he bursts into laughter. “Are you serious?” He tries to hold in stray chuckles, but they just come out nasally instead and make me laugh again.
“Yeah, sometimes I’d stick a pocket knife up their ass and they couldn’t even pull it out.
” Tears prickle my eyes at the memory of a particularly “ripped” man who went in circles trying to pull a knife from his butt.
I took a picture and finally had to shoot him because I couldn’t focus on the task.
“Pfft.” Cameron bends over and waves his hand. “Stop. Enough,” he begs. “I never want to be called cruel again. That surpasses me gouging eyes out.”
I shake my head, smiling. “I’m surprised you’ve never had to fight one of them.”
Cameron rubs his jaw. “I didn’t grow up in a rich family.
Anyone I’ve ever fought has been average and feral, like most of us are down here.
The missions we’re sent on always involve other soldiers of some sort.
We don’t get the pompous ones like you had, though I wish I could’ve seen it just once. ” His eyes arch with a weary grin.
We are from two entirely different worlds, he and I. While they were both arguably terrible in their own ways, his was much crueler from the small glimpse he gave me earlier.
“I’m sorry about what your mom did to you…” It’s been on my mind since he told me earlier, but I wasn’t sure it was okay to bring it up again. “You didn’t deserve that.”
He blinks slowly and takes a deep breath. “It was inevitable. She never liked me, said I looked too much like my dad. He left us high and dry before I could even talk. It just so happened to play out the way it did.” His fingers glide down his chest and rest over the scar.
I don’t understand how he can be so calm and accepting of what happened, but I’m glad that he’s made his peace with it.
“Let’s find that place to rest, hm?” he says dismissively and I nod, worried I’ve upset him.
Cameron leads as we move through the forest. He’s so quiet that I find myself forgetting he’s there every few minutes. The woods have become a silent hum of winter, and not even the mice seem to stir.
I’m glad we’re looking for a place to rest for at least thirty minutes and recharge a little. Eventually, we come across a hollowed stump. Cameron checks it and nods at me. “You should be able to sleep for a bit in here.”
I manage to slip inside of it. It’s spacious enough that when I lean back on the side, I’m entirely hidden. “What about you?” I ask, concerned about sleeping while people are actively out there looking for us.
He shakes his head. “I’m fine.” He looks me over once more before disappearing. Cameron is deathly quiet wherever he goes. I know he’s not roaming too far, but I wish he would stay.
The moment my chin falls against my chest I fall asleep.
I wake up feeling like only a few minutes have passed, but the sky has lightened considerably.
Crap. I didn’t want to sleep that long. Frost is layered on my lashes, but my body is warm enough from my gear that I’m not trembling.
I guess the drill sergeant wasn’t lying about the suits having heat capsules.
I listen to the forest as it slowly regains life.
A distinct snap of a branch alerts me. It’s close, somewhere to my left.
It’s not Cameron, that much I know. I watch from the hole in the trunk with my hand wrapped tightly around my combat knife.
A sharp scream rolls through the treetops in the distance and the footsteps quicken, only they’re coming straight for the hollow I’m currently hiding in.
I have no choice but to kill this person.
I move swiftly to the center of the opening, preparing to jump from the hollow and fight to death. They freeze in place and stare at me like they can see their demise coming. I’m about to chuck my knife straight at their heart but my gaze catches theirs. They have a familiar coldness to them.
“Bree?” I mumble, and her chest immediately deflates with relief. She’s already running for the hollow before I can lower my knife. She grips both ends of the opening and searches me.
“You hurt?” Her tone is urgent.
I shake my head. “I was resting.”
She gives me a are-you-fucking-insane look. “Come on, you’ll get stabbed to death in here if you stay.” She offers me her hand to assist me out. I take it and climb out in one fell move.
I consider telling her that Cameron wouldn’t allow it, but decide to leave him out of it. My eyes search the area. Where the fuck is he, anyway?
“Were you separated from your group?” I ask, looking around warily for Damian. I’m still uncertain about her too, but I doubt she’ll try anything in the first trial.
She nods. “Everything went to shit the moment the drill sergeant started the countdown. I didn’t expect them to pull something like this, but it makes sense. If this was a real mission and we were separated, we should know one another more than anyone else.”
As much as I hate to credit the Dark Forces, she’s right. There’s really not a better way to teach us a cruel lesson. It’s no problem for them since they only need a handful of the best.
I’m glad I recognized her cold stare.
I glance down at my watch. Seventy still remain. Damn it. Not many people have been eliminated since last night.
“We need to kill twenty more people, otherwise we’re leaving things up to chance,” I say. My stomach churns and twists from hunger and dread. At least I’m not as tired as I was earlier.
Bree’s dark eyes find mine again. “I’m guessing you don’t like leaving things to chance, do you?” She sets a fast, but quiet pace, leading away from the earlier shouts.
“Of course not. Look at where I am,” I say flatly.
She smirks, her mask alluding as much. “I’m not a chance gal either. So let’s try to stay hidden and find a group of cadets we can take out if it comes down to it.”
There’s a sense of guilt that festers inside my chest at the thought of hunting and stalking other cadets in case we need to level out the numbers. But at least she isn’t outright wanting to end them as fast as she can.
A sinister thought crosses my mind. Who’s to say Bree won’t kill me if it comes down to the wire? Would she take the risk of her tracker going off, or would she kill me? I guess I could ask myself the same question. Is that why she’s being so friendly?
“Where is Mori?” she asks as we dip beneath a fallen log, partially held up on one end by the notch of another large tree.
I look around, unsettled by his absence and knowing that he’s out there watching us. “I’m not sure.”
Bree laughs. “Well, that’s disturbing.”
“You’re telling me.” She has no idea how quiet he really is. How he can sneak up behind a person without a sound and cut their throat before they even knew what was happening?
We fall silent until another scream rolls through the pines. Morning rays of sunlight now streak through the underbrush and warm the air.
I glance behind us, spotting the back of Cameron’s heel as he moves through what shadows remain of the night. I think to mention his presence to Bree, but decide it’s better not to draw attention to him. Just in case.
“I hear voices, get into those shrubs,” Bree snaps. Her voice is sharp and I find myself obeying her readily.
We crouch into the evergreen shrubs and lie low. Three heads appear over the slight incline in terrain about twenty feet away. From the way they’re walking, it looks like two males and a female.