Chapter Twenty-Two
The nervousness in the simulation room the next morning was stifling. Neither Gemma nor any of her teammates had had much of an appetite during breakfast, and now, standing next to their sleep chambers, the air was electrified with anxiety.
The last trial had been much more difficult emotionally, mentally, and physically, and today’s trial was their final test. Given Rami’s reputation amongst the Dissent, this round would be brutal. Already, the sweat beaded on the back of Gemma’s neck.
“Your final test is ready,” their android instructor announced. “Please enter your chambers.”
Gemma took a deep breath and climbed inside. Her hands shook as she pressed the button that forced the prods of the machine into her deltoids. Closing her eyes, she focused on the rhythm of her heartbeat and tried to calm its banging inside her chest.
“Welcome back,” their guide said.
Gemma opened her eyes. Their optic wore a beautiful smile as always, though that didn’t make Gemma any less nervous.
“Congratulations on making it to your final test!” it continued. “You have proved yourselves to be amongst the best of this year’s contestants, and if you are successful in completing this very difficult round, we will be proud to welcome you to the Oranos Space Station.”
Gemma swallowed. She’d actually made it to the end.
She was so close to completing her goal, to avenging her sister.
All she had left to accomplish was making it through this last round and poisoning Rami’s drink, and then she could start her life over with Christian as her partner and Imara and Hawk as her friends.
The woman gave them final words of advice.
“One of you will be carrying a map once you’re inside your simulated environment.
This map is essential to the completion of your test. The rest is up to you to discover.
Do note that, this time, only one of you needs to complete the test for your whole team to pass.
“Good luck. It’s been a pleasure serving as your guide.”
Gemma held her breath as her world glowed, momentarily blinding her.
As the blaze began to dim, a cold breeze brushed past Gemma’s face, reeking of sulfur and feces. Perileos had never smelled pleasant, but the odor here surpassed the foulness of Perileos’ stench by one hundred percent. Covering her mouth and nose, she groaned into the palm of a sturdy, black glove.
She glanced down at herself. The uniform she now wore was the same as the armed guards she’d seen everywhere since she stepped foot in Zion. On her hip was a small gun, and there was a belt around her opposite thigh, holding a dagger. That will come in handy.
A thick strap accentuated the small cleavage between her breasts. Was something slung to her back?
Gemma reached behind her and felt the cool metal of what was, unmistakably, a rifle. Her mouth dried. Of course it is.
“Where in the blazes are we?” Imara blurted, reminding Gemma that she was not alone.
She finally took in her surroundings.
The five of them stood on a desolate street, its dilapidated buildings nothing more than hollow shells of what must’ve once been glorious.
The windows were shattered, and the walls were littered with bullet holes and scorch marks.
Some leaned precariously on the verge of collapse, while others lay as heaps of rubble, barely recognizable as nothing more than mounds of dirt, stone, and rusted metal.
Strange symbols adorned the buildings, ones Gemma had never seen before.
She shivered. What in the blazes happened here?
“Seems I have the map.” Hawk waved it haphazardly in the air.
They crowded around him, peering over his shoulder to get a look as he unfolded it to at least five times its original size.
There were so many details; Gemma had no idea what she was even looking at. There was an orange circle off to one side, and someone had scribbled 33T WN 721 603 hlp su in one of the corners in red ink.
“Okay. So, I’m assuming we’re the red dot,” Hawk said.
“Here, give it to me.” Christian held out a hand. “I’ve studied enough of these to make decent sense of this.”
Gemma fought the urge to raise an eyebrow. She didn’t even know there were people in Perileos who had such a skill. How many tutors had his dad paid for?
Christian stared at the paper intensely, his eyes flicking back and forth, up and down. Every few seconds, he’d lift his head to scan their surroundings, then he’d spin the map and examine it even more closely.
Colton bounced on the balls of his feet. “I thought you said you’d studied these.”
“Shut up,” Christian snapped without taking his eyes off the paper.
A moment later, he tapped the series of eleven red letters and numbers that Gemma had noticed. “We are trying to get to these coordinates.”
His finger trailed across the map as he continued. “We need to go north first, cut across this way, go through this area, and into this building.”
He folded the large paper in a specific pattern, and a map of the building’s interior appeared, as intricately detailed as the larger version had been.
Christian held his finger over a red X that had been drawn across a tiny section of the building. “This is where we’re trying to get. Whatever it is we’re looking for, it’s here.”
“That place looks massive,” Hawk said in awe, tilting the map toward him.
One of Christian’s eyebrows flicked upward. “You could say that. Let’s focus on getting there, and I’ll figure out where we go once we’re inside.” He folded the map into its smallest size and tucked it into his protective vest.
Gemma glanced at the rest of her teammates, realizing they, too, wore the vests. The knot in her stomach released a little. It was slightly comforting to know they each had some sort of permanent protection.
Maybe it would save them if they were hit in the chest.
“Let’s go, then,” Colton said. “Get this blasted test over with. Estou farto dessa merda.”
Imara pointed a thumb at him. “What he said.”
“Guns out.” Christian slid the strap over his shoulder, gripping his rifle in both hands. “Our guide said just one of us needs to make it to the end of this. Be ready for anything.”
Despite the fear racing through her veins, Gemma couldn’t help but grin at the way he’d taken charge. She mirrored his movements: readying her rifle; checking how many bullets were in its magazine; finding where the additional one was lodged in her vest.
A corner of Christian’s mouth rose as he eyed her. “Do you remember how to use that?”
Gemma’s cheeks warmed. He must’ve noticed she was copying him. “Point, aim, and shoot.”
He chuckled. “Stay close to me, and I’ll cover you as best I can. And please remember to turn the safety off this time if you step out to fire.” He tugged playfully on her braid.
She grinned ear to ear, picturing what it must’ve looked like to watch her crawl away after she dove into the dirt to avoid a bullet hitting her face.
Imara smirked when Gemma caught her watching them, and when Christian turned to lead the team in the direction of their destination, Imara skipped to Gemma’s side.
“I see things went well last night,” Imara mused.
“Keep your dirty thoughts to yourself,” Gemma replied. “None of what you’re thinking happened.”
“Yet.”
Gemma nudged her friend away before they caught up with the guys.
The team’s footsteps echoed like thunder as they trod down the road, their feet crunching against rubble and broken glass. Christian, Hawk, and Colton all swiveled their heads back and forth, eyes scanning every building.
Unease wormed its way through Gemma’s stomach. Every hair follicle on her head prickled as though an entire crowd of people stared at her. She tightened her grip on her rifle, unable to shake the feeling that something was about to happen.
Christian halted, snapping his rifle to attention the moment the air rang with a dull thwap.
Hawk’s body jerked sideways, his head bursting like an aneurysm. Blood and chunks of what had once been his brain blew out from his shattered skull. The gunshot’s boom followed a second later.
Gemma froze, wide-eyed, as Hawk’s lifeless body flopped to the ground.
“What the fuck?” Imara screeched.
“Sniper,” Christian shouted. “Get off the street. Now!”
Gemma couldn’t move, could barely hear the others. She’d seen blood and broken bodies and plenty of cadavers. She’d been at her parents’ sides when they’d died. But watching a brain explode from the skull of a friend sucked the oxygen from her lungs and rooted her feet to the ground.
Christian grabbed her arm, the yank snapping her out of her trance as he dragged her alongside him.
The four of them raced into the nearest building, and Gemma instantly tucked herself into the closest corner, blinking rapidly to erase the image of Hawk’s lifeless body from her mind.
“Stay here,” Christian commanded before leaving them to check for enemies, his rifle pressed firmly against his shoulder.
Colton stood guard over the area where they’d entered, keeping an eye on the street for any who might have followed them.
Imara paced between him and Gemma.
“Stay away from the window,” Colton warned Imara.
“What? A couple tests and one day of training in the sim, and you’re suddenly an expert in battle tactics?” Imara chided.
Colton glared at her. “Just do what I say.”
Her nostrils flared. “Who in the blazes do you think—”
“Stop! Both of you,” Gemma interrupted, trying to bite back nausea. “We barely got here, and one of us is already dead. Quit fighting each other, or we’re going to lose.”
Imara’s grip on her rifle tightened, her knuckles turning white, but she clamped her mouth shut and leaned against the wall.
Christian returned several moments later. “There’s no one else here. Give me a minute to figure out another route to this place.” He yanked the map from his vest.
“That’s about all you got,” Colton said without looking away from the entrance. “There’s a group of bounty hunters headed this way. If they spot us, we’re done.”
Christian’s expression flickered from fear to pain to fury. He didn’t meet Gemma’s stare, but she already knew what he was thinking.
Bounty hunters were some of the worst criminals in all of the United Planetary Systems. They were known for their efficiency with even the evil, dirty jobs that no one else was willing to complete.
People paid them exorbitant amounts of money to do these deeds, and yet somehow, they excelled at evading authorities.
These were the people who raped and killed his mother.
And if these were who their team was expected to defeat, none of them would make it to the end.