Chapter 34 #2
The entire unit laughed as Isla gave a twirl.
She squeezed in between Damien and Rumi.
Tristian stood in the middle of Unit Seven.
They were more than that. My throat threatened to close at what I had found.
I looked at each and every one of them. They were broken and imperfect.
I shared no blood with them, but they were my unit.
They were my friends—my family. Something bubbled up in the space my beast had vacated. Something good—pure. I let it fill me.
Tristian stared at all of us. Each member of our family. He cleared his throat, and as those green eyes found mine, he didn’t hide the tears brimming there.
“Let’s hear it, Unit Commander,” Damien encouraged, breaking the silence, his throat thick as tears fell freely down his face, splashing onto the jewelry. Levi’s hand squeezed my shoulder.
“It’s been a journey to get here,” Tristian started, “a journey I couldn’t imagine taking with anyone else.
Our success was only possible because we stuck together.
Through every failure”—Tristian looked away from me—“through trials of faith; in me, in our mission, in the future.” He found Patrick, whose arm wrapped around Rumi, his other hand clutching his cross.
“Through the loss of Lily.” Tristian held Ingrid’s gaze, Lily’s shirt fisted in her hand.
“You didn’t give up on Haven, on one another, on me. ”
Tristian took a shaky breath. I found myself desperate to reach out to him. Soon, I told myself, the words we had exchanged still fresh.
“We have hope for the first time. You’ve given the people of Haven a future.
You’ve given me—” Tristian broke off abruptly, shaking his head at the ceiling.
I glanced around to find tears flowing down Isla’s beautiful face.
Damien held her tightly, his own tears still falling.
Rumi stood tearless, but the look on her face…
I had never seen her look like that. Admiration glowing there.
Patrick took deep, steadying breaths, his hand still around his cross.
Ingrid shifted beside me, almost leaning into me, as she trembled. We had done it.
Tristian finally looked at us all again, tears trailing down his face. “You’ve given me more than I can put into words. I will spend the rest of my life in debt to you all. It is an honor to be your commander.”
Levi hooted in response, the others following suit. Patrick banged his clenched fist against his chest.
“Let’s get some of this back to Haven and cause some hell. Then we can celebrate.” Tristian grinned.
“Fuck yes,” Damien shouted, several laughed, myself included.
“Unit Seven,” Tristian called out.
“Yes, Commander,” we responded as one.
“As long as there’s life.”
“We defend it with our own,” we shouted. No beast cowered. No beast answered in me at all.
Tristian blew out a breath, his following words rattling my soul, words he had never called out before.
“For the ones we’ve lost,” Tristian said, his voice breaking.
“We fight in their honor,” the unit answered around me. A tear fell from me.
“We go out as one.”
“We come back as one.”
The next hour was spent exploring while we figured out what we could bring back among ourselves, people randomly crying, hugging one another, and standing still, staring at the countless boxes as a lightness I hadn’t felt since before the war found me, blanketing us all, making it hard to leave.
A part of me wished we didn’t have to, that we could just stay.
As I walked along the endless supplies, I waited for my ghosts to find me.
I found the room with the gems Damien and Isla still wore, running my hands over them.
All I saw was Lara, perched on cushions laughing as a princess.
I clutched a ruby necklace. Even before the war I hadn’t seen something so grand.
I ran my thumb over the oval rubies surrounded by diamonds.
Red had always been her favorite color. I wished I could tell her what I had found. I brought the necklace to my chest.
I didn’t find someone to save me, Lara, but I found someone who stood by my side while I saved myself.
I pocketed the necklace as the memory of Lara in her foil crown cheering me on stayed with me.
I tucked it into my heart as I left the room, letting it grow there.
I passed Levi, Patrick, and Ingrid, stacking boxes on the medical tarp, debating on how much to bring.
I turned in to the room with the pods, shivering against the chill in the room. It was colder than all the others.
Footsteps entered the room, sure confident steps. My lips tugged up.
“Hi.” Tristian greeted me, almost hesitant, as he leaned against the door. His gaze swept over me as if I weren’t real.
“Hi, Tristian,” I responded. His eyes gutted at the sound of his name. I approached him, slowly closing the distance. My mouth found his if only to wipe out the hesitation there. His arm wrapped around me, pulling me into him. There was still so much to say, so much to do.
“You owe me twenty witching hour shifts,” Rumi muttered behind him. I pulled away to find Rumi, Isla, and Damien in the doorway. Isla’s mouth was agape.
“I didn’t believe them,” Isla muttered.
“I still think someone should explain gambling to you. You ask for something valuable if you win,” Damien retorted, still wearing the jewels. “Does this mean we can all stop pretending you two aren’t obsessed with each other?” I heard the smirk in the question.
“It was your shirt Patrick found in the living quarters. You were in the bathroom with her,” Rumi said plainly.
My cheeks burned. “Oh shit. He was right,” Damien said, laughing.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now go away,” Tristian grunted, smiling into my hair.
“We would, but we sorta have to figure out how to get this shit back and also avoid being murdered. And see our own people so we may also do this,” Damien claimed.
“Levi wants you. They’re fighting over how many boxes,” Rumi informed Tristian.
“Also, we’re keeping the jewels,” Damien chirped, tugging Isla away with him.
“I’ll be back,” Tristian told me, his mouth tugging up as he followed them.
“I’ll be here.”
I waited for them to leave, ensuring I was alone before I approached the metal pod once more. I didn’t know why but I wanted to do this alone. My fingers traced the words there. I couldn’t describe it, the pull I felt to them.
Tactical Artificial Biotech Intelligence Tracking Human Algorithm.
What did that mean? Were they all the same?
I peered into the glass window. No smoke swirled beneath. My chest brushed against the cold metal as I leaned down. A clink echoed through the room as the chip hit the surface. My hand wrapped around it to tuck it away. The sharp grooves scraped against my palm.
A soft hiss filled the room as smoke began whirling hypnotically beneath the glass. I stared into the window, my breath fogging the surface. Several sounds rang out beyond the door. Maybe Damien had found more jewels or something else of value.
Steam spiraled. My heart picked up its pace as it cleared. The chip’s sharp pieces dug into my flesh as I held on to it tightly. My other hand swiped across the glass, clearing it. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Something was moving in there.
I stood rooted to the ground, my body cloaked in cold sweat as fear held my frantic heart in an iron grasp. My lungs collapsed as the veil of steam cleared and I could see. Something reached out. I tried to yell for the others, but I couldn’t get any sounds out.
There was a commotion beyond the doors. Shouts—growing louder. I should go to them.
Why was my hand wet?
I stood paralyzed as the thing in the steam moved; something touched the glass before disappearing. It looked like fingers. I trembled in my bones as my heart hit my throat. A single drop of red dripped from my hand onto the glass, the chip imprinted in the palm of my hand.
A flash of white met me as a hand—a human hand—met mine.
Gray eyes watched me through the glass. A human woman stared back at me.
Her smile gleamed as steam poured from the pod into the room.
A gunshot sounded beyond.