Chapter 23 Emery #2
Bree lifts the cougar’s upper lip, revealing huge teeth, red with blood from another creature.
Her eyes balloon. “Holy shit. Do the cougars know about the trials?” It sounds silly at first, but mountain lions are intelligent animals with mammalian brains.
If these grounds are used yearly for the trials, then yes, they’d know that Dark Forces cadets are on the table in this season.
“What the fuck, that’s not possible.” Damian sounds unsure, but he glances up at Cameron for confirmation.
Bryce is the first to respond, echoing my exact thoughts to the others.
Cameron extinguishes his cigarette between his forefinger and thumb pulls his mask back down. “Let’s keep moving. We need to cover at least two miles tonight. Stay alert.”
The night drags out. Thankfully, it’s uneventful and quiet, but the freezing temperatures make it hard to keep my firing hand ready. I can hardly feel my fingers by the time we make it to a suitable place to rest.
Sunlight crests the hilltop we’ve chosen. There’s no snow near the trees, and the fact that there’s so little in the surrounding area is an encouraging sign that we’re heading into a better climate.
The green light in the distance fades as the sky brightens.
My legs are Jell-O as I settle onto the ground with a tree at my back.
I let out a long breath and stare out at the valley ahead of us.
We only have two days and a matter of hours before we have to reach the beacon, and it doesn’t seem like we made any progress after walking all night.
Bree plops down next to me and unzips her jacket halfway, expelling an exasperated breath. “This is insanity. Why is this even a trial? Do the Dark Forces really get sent all over the country like this? In places like this?” she grumbles.
Cameron ignores her, holding his rifle close to his chest and staring out into the woods behind us. The dark circles under his eyes allude to his weariness and make it easy to forget what we were even fighting about earlier.
I don’t want you to touch me ever again. I hate it. I hate the way your hands feel on my skin.
Oh, yeah. Fuck him.
I glower and wrap my arms around my knees.
Bryce and Damian sit across from us, their backs to the edge of the mountainside. The backdrop with the sun rising behind them is beautiful. Clouds fall between the treetops and create a misty forest view that’s breathtaking.
“Of course, didn’t you read up on the Dark Forces at all?” Bryce flattens his expression at her, and she gawks.
“Where would I have read up on them?”
“The library,” Bryce and I say in unison and nod once at each other with approval.
She throws her hands up. “You two were some of the only people who went in there…nerds.” She purses her lips. “The rest of us were learning how to kill people and how to keep our squadmates alive.”
I suppress an eye roll. “If you even took a quick look around the books, you would’ve noticed all the information on survival in treacherous places like this, and put two and two together.
” I don’t mention that there were also plenty of books on psychology involving tactics in manipulation and coercion.
My eyes meet Bryce’s, there’s something calculating in them that makes me uneasy.
He certainly doesn’t try to hide the fact that he’s weak.
If I’ve read those books, it’s not a leap to assume that he certainly has too.
“We’ll take the watch in shifts. We only get a few hours to sleep before we need to move again, so cut the chitchat,” Cameron says in a low tone. He doesn’t bother turning around to look at us.
Damian snorts and mutters, “I think I’ve heard him talk more today than I have in a matter of weeks.”
“Shut up, get some sleep, idiot.” Bree tosses one of her MRE meal bags at him. Damian pockets it and winks at her before trying to find a more comfortable way to get some rest. We don’t have many options, so sleeping while sitting up will have to do.
As much as I try, I can’t find rest. My back hurts. My feet are killing me. My bones are stiff. Two hours flies by in a heartbeat, and I’m only more uncomfortable by the end of it.
Cameron moves and is about to shake Damian awake for the next watch when I intervene. “Hey,” I whisper, “I can do the next watch. I’m already awake anyway.”
He watches me rise and stretch my arms over my head. I could use the movement to help warm up a bit. While the gear keeps us from freezing to death, it doesn’t make us impervious to the cold.
I take over where Cameron was standing post and move my legs and arms to get my blood going again.
“Did you get any rest?” His voice startles me.
I debate on ignoring him, but figure it won’t lead anywhere, so I slowly shake my head. The piney air turns to birch as he stands closer to me.
“You’ll only be a nuisance—”
I exhale sharply, cutting him off. “Why can’t you just let me be?
I’m trying to be useful. I can’t sleep out here, and I probably won’t be able to until tonight, so can you just fuck off?
” The heavy glance I throw him over my shoulders gives him pause.
I’m stunned to find that he’s removed his mask; his white hair is ruffled.
He tugs down on his collar to get more comfortable, revealing his neck tattoos.
I force my eyes away and stand firm.
When he doesn’t leave and just continues to awkwardly stand there, I tighten my grip on my rifle and start walking toward the deeper brush.
“Where are you going?” he asks almost instantly, his steps just behind me.
Don’t hit him again, I scold myself.
“I’m going to patrol the area. Get some rest or you’ll be a nuisance,” I mock, then hear his hand fly to his mouth. I turn, brow raised, not in the mood for his shit, but I have to stifle a snort at his twisted expression trying to hold in his laugh.
“That was bloody ridiculous.” His eyes are narrowed in amusement, but I’m still pissed.
He stops once our chests are merely a foot apart. He has to angle his head down to look at me while I have to tilt my chin up.
“What do you want, Mori?” I ask, short and to the point.
His mouth flattens, and the amusement flees from his face. “I don’t like when you call me that.” His voice is smooth and deep.
“What? Your code name?” I take a step back, but he follows seamlessly.
“You call me Cameron,” he murmurs.
I hate that he does this. He’s so hot and cold. “I’m not an object you can fuck around with. You don’t get to always have things your way just because you think you’re special, Mori,” I snap at him, a muscle feathering in his jaw as he lowers his brows.
“You want me to leave you alone?” he says callously, and I sharply nod. His sage eyes study me for a moment before he concedes and turns to head back to camp.
This is for the best. After all, he’s going to be my demise sooner or later anyway. We might as well be indifferent toward one another rather than friends or whatever was happening between us. I grit my teeth, knowing that it was so much more than an acquaintanceship.
The better part of an hour has passed as I make it back to camp.
I walked what I would consider is a reasonable perimeter before returning.
The woods are eerily quiet, especially for this time of day.
A nagging feeling keeps rearing its way up into my mind that there are squads watching me this very moment. Each step feels heavier than the next.
“There you are,” Bree chirps. Everyone is awake and eating their MREs. My eyes shift to Cameron. He isn’t eating, he’s just staring out into the valley below. “Here, you should eat.” She hands me one, and I offer her a gracious smile.
“Thanks, Bree.” She returns the grin and starts doing some stretches for the day ahead of us.
I wonder if we’re heading out soon. I’m just hoping that tonight I can get more rest than I did this morning.
“Anyone want to dip their knives in poison before we get going?” Bryce waggles his vial around like it’s a hotcake. God, he looks crazy when his mask isn’t on. His fawn hair has big curls that go in every direction. They add to his harmless appearance.
“I do,” I say, shoving a cracker into my mouth before unsheathing the white combat knife. Bryce dips his finger into the vial and smears one smooth line of the red liquid down the blade. He smiles, clearly pleased with himself. My brow quirks. “That’s all?”
“That’s all,” he says proudly and looks to the others. They all shake their heads. He shrugs. “Suit yourselves.”
I grin and wait for the concoction to dry before resheathing the blade. “What does it do anyway?” I ask, curiosity getting the best of me.
Bryce’s smile is wide. “It’s a powerful paralyzing agent mixed with a strong coagulant.”
My eyes widen. “Oh shit.”
Cameron glances back at us. “Sounds lethal.”
“That’s sort of the point, Mori,” Bryce says sinisterly. Chills spread up my spine at his tone. He opens his mouth to say more when I watch as Cameron’s eyes zone in on something behind us. His eyes dilate in a fraction of a second, and I know something terrible is about to happen.
“W-wait!” Damian shouts at our backs, his voice rings through the air like gunfire.