Chapter Thirty-Seven
The armory within Zion was bigger than Gemma could’ve imagined.
There were weapons even Hawk and Christian hadn’t heard of.
Luckily, there’d been a specialist nearby to demonstrate how they worked.
Both guys were way too gleeful as they hung on the specialist’s every word, playing with the munitions like toys, while Colton, Imara, and Gemma started packing their backsacks.
Gemma filled hers to the brim with medical supplies—dressings, antibiotics, spidersilk tape, medications. The weight bore down on her shoulders, but she had to be prepared.
Don’t get caught with your hands tied, Nadine would say. Their mother had instilled in them from a young age that it was better to be ready for anything.
Gemma frowned, a stabbing pain in her chest. What would she say when she saw Nadine again? Could Gemma tell her all she’d done? Would Nadine be angry with her?
Gemma squeezed her eyes closed. Now was not the time to think about facing her sister. If she didn’t uncover the Dissent operative’s plans for Zion, Gemma would never even get a chance to go to Oranos.
Wait until after your charges are dropped before you start worrying about Nadine.
Once the five of them gathered all the weapons, munitions, and supplies they could carry, each was provided enough food rations to last ten days—all in pellet form, which would’ve made Gemma’s stomach roll if she hadn’t eaten worse in Perileos.
They were also gifted special suits tailored for the harsh planetary surface of Reva.
The helmets not only protected them from sandstorms and hard falls but also boasted auto-tinting visors to shield their eyes from the sun’s harsh rays, and their basaltweave vests acted as a built-in safety net to protect them from bullets or claws.
But most impressive was the suits’ interior technology. Beneath the sleek black exterior lay a network of micro-channels that functioned as a self-sustaining hydration system, capturing and recycling sweat, urine, and tears back into their bodies.
Fortunately, they didn’t need to directly drink the filtered hydration; it was absorbed through their skin. How, Gemma didn’t know, but she trusted it worked. The Systems’ scientists had developed many extraordinary technologies in the centuries since they’d left the Milky Way.
After a few more instructions, they were told to retire to bed.
They would leave when the sun had set, and the planet was at its coolest temperature.
Resting midday while they traveled, per Zion’s planetary experts, was optimal.
With the shelters they’d been given, they’d find it difficult—but not impossible—to withstand the heat.
Their gear would be stored and ready for them when it was time to leave.
Christian walked Gemma back to her room. “Will you be all right if I don’t stay with you? It’ll be easier for me to rest if there isn’t a beautiful woman lying next to me.” His hazel eyes danced playfully.
“Oh, I suppose.” Gemma exaggerated a sigh, wrapping her arms around his muscular waist. “Do I get a kiss at least?”
He smiled before taking her face in his hands and kissing her with as much passion as he had when they’d made love in the middle of the night. Gemma’s heart skipped a beat as she clung to him.
“Satisfied, Proctor?” Christian said, pulling away, his mouth turned up in a cocky smile.
“Never.” She grinned, and he patted her butt as she turned around to hold her fibroglass ring against the lockpad.
Wearing their black gear and backsacks full of supplies, including a pair of daggers and at least one firearm, Gemma and her teammates left Zion as the sun dipped below the peaks of the mountains.
With the cooler temperature and no threat of bad weather, they’d opted to hook their helmets onto the sides of their backsacks, for which Gemma was grateful.
Being stuck in that stuffy hood every hour of every day would make her claustrophobic.
The thought of being in the desert for ten days already made her skin crawl.
“Where to, Map Master?” Imara teased.
Christian shot her a playful glare at the new nickname. “South.”
She snorted and turned on the tiny torchlamp attached to her basaltweave vest. It was no bigger than the comm they wore on their wrists. Gemma flicked hers on too, and the others followed suit, the glow providing a decent view of the area in front of them.
Their direction took more of a southwest angle from Zion into the rockier terrain of Reva. The stones beneath their feet turned into boulders, and soon they were climbing over them.
Gemma’s legs burned within minutes, and she groaned with every lunge. Her momentum slowed.
“Have you ever done a squat?” Colton taunted from behind her.
She ground her teeth. Not my fault the mines only worked my arms and core . . . Though, he did have a point. She should’ve been more prepared.
At least she remembered to tape her ankles.
Hours later, Gemma’s fatigue weighed on her, every step like wading through mud. She exhaled as they came to a steep, downward slope, but she could barely concentrate on where she placed her feet. Unable to stop a yawn, her eyes closed for a half of a second—her foot caught a rock.
Yelping, she flailed her arms to try to regain her balance, her heart in her throat.
A strong hand grabbed her arm before she could tumble down the hillside. Gemma looked over her shoulder. Dark brown eyes and a smug smirk.
Colton had saved her. Again.
She adjusted her backsack, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment. “Thanks,” she mumbled between exhausted breaths.
“Of course. We are on the same team.” He winked.
Christian watched her with concern. “I think we need a break.”
She shook her head, hoping he’d interpret it as, “I’m okay.” But Imara plopped onto the ground, bracing herself against a boulder as her chest rose and fell rapidly.
Apparently, Gemma wasn’t the only one who hadn’t conditioned for this type of exercise.
Gemma eased to the surface and took a swig of water from the small canteen Rami had provided. It wasn’t much to start with, but he promised they’d come along some cacti eventually.
“How far have we actually gone?” Hawk asked, moonlight catching on his red hair.
Christian tapped at his comm, his map preloaded onto the device. “About eight kilometers.”
“That’s it?” Imara groaned, slouching.
“It’s harder when you’re going up and down elevations,” Colton encouraged, running a hand across his striking, pink hair, cropped short against his scalp.
Well, when Imara and I get left behind, at least we’ll be able to spot him from half a kilometer away.
“You two good?” Christian asked the girls.
Gemma and Imara both nodded before Christian helped Gemma back onto her feet and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. The corners of his eyes creased as he gave her a soft smile, and then they were off again.
Every few kilometers, fatigue forced them to stop, each break stretching a little longer than the last. Luckily, when Gemma contemplated crawling on her hands and knees, Christian halted their progression.
“Let’s camp here,” he said. “It’s as flat an area as we’re going to see for a while. We’ll need to cover a solid twelve hours of distance tomorrow, so let’s rest as much as we can.”
“You’ve done this before, haven’t you?” Colton asked, dropping his backsack.
Christian flinched. “You can only learn so much from reading books.” He pulled his shelter out of his backsack before Colton could peg him with more questions.
Gemma did the same, trying to set up her shelter, but no matter how many different ways she twisted and turned the fabric, it never morphed out of its little square.
“Here.” Christian held out his hand.
Sighing, Gemma placed the shelter in his palm. For as much training as she’d done with the Dissent, she still felt like a complete amateur in nearly every aspect of life.
Her chest tightened. Reymond had prepared her to die, not to be useful. Compared to her teammates, she was worthless.
Christian set the cube on the ground and hit it with his fist. As he stepped back, the cube grew and lengthened until it was big enough to house one person.
“Seriously? You set it on the ground and hit it?” Gemma glared up at Christian.
He smirked, patting her on the shoulder. “I’ll make a hunter out of you yet, Proctor.”
A low, animalistic growl came from a short distance away, and Christian’s eyes turned fierce.
“Get your weapon out,” Christian warned Gemma, loud enough for the others to hear.
The five of them scrambled for their knives and guns then stood back-to-back in the center of their shelters.
“Lights on,” Christian instructed, and they all ensured the torchlights on their chests were illuminated.
A second low growl came from the opposite direction. Then a third and a fourth.
Christian lifted his rifle, positioning it against his shoulder.
Gemma would’ve done the same if she had more confidence in her ability to hit her target. Instead, she gripped her dagger tighter and scanned the distance for any signs of movement.
Red eyes appeared at the edge of the darkness, right where the glow from their torchlights failed to reach. Christian fired, his bullet passing between where the red eyes had been.
But there was no thwap of ammo hitting flesh—and Gemma swore she heard a laugh.
“What are these things?” Imara asked.
“I don’t know,” Christian replied, a deep frown in his voice.
For what felt like hours, they stood, poised and ready to defend, but the red eyes never stepped into the light. The creatures circled them like prey, their growls laced with an animalistic hunger.
“Should we . . . Do we keep standing here?” Imara interjected into the silence.
“They obviously don’t like the light,” Colton replied. “But I don’t know if we should turn our backs on them.”
“Anybody have anything to start a fire with?” Hawk asked, and Gemma heard the shifting of a suit.
“Everyone has an infernoblock in their packs,” Christian replied.
Colton snorted. “Do you even know how to use one, Gallowood?”
“Theoretically,” Hawk mumbled.
Gemma couldn’t blame Colton for asking. All of Hawk’s training had been in a simulator, unlike Christian’s. Fire was prohibited inside Perileos, so almost no one knew how to use an infernoblock.
“Okay, cover me,” Hawk said, and the group tightened their circle around him.
Gemma listened as he unzipped his pack and shuffled through. A minute later, he lit a match, then heat roasted her back.
“See?” Hawk said. “Entirely capable.”
Now bathed in the light from the fire, they agreed to rest until the sun began to rise, the dancing blue-white flames protecting against whatever creatures sought to devour them.
Christian offered to take the first watch, and the rest of them lay on the ground, using their backsacks as pillows, their shelters forgotten.
It took a long time for Gemma to fall asleep.