This isn’t good. I yank Keegan’s jacket before he can fixate on the spot where Sheldon used to be. His eyes snap to my face with unbridled fury. He grabs my arm and the rest of our small group advances under a hailstorm of bullets. With three hundred yards to go, I begin hoping we can pull this off. My eyes can’t help but take in our surroundings as we run.
The sun breaches the horizon, reflecting off the metal roofs of the houses and bringing a clear view of the Hole with it. Smoke billows over the buildings like dark fingers reaching toward the sky to escape the carnage. I grimace at the smell of charred flesh and my eyes burn fiercely. I wipe them with my sleeve. Through the haze, I view the stark outline of the hospital and wonder how the assault on the training center is going.
I trip over a body riddled with holes and keep going. Come on, Isaac. Come on. Come on and blow the doors.
The large main doors of the commander’s residence blow open with a deafening blast that makes the wall beneath us quiver. Rocks and cement rain down on us like hail. Dust mixed with smoke makes sight impossible.
I pull my jacket over my face to breathe. Minutes pass, but they might as well be days. We continue sprinting toward the entrance as bullets zip over our heads. No doubt, the guards will reinforce their lines soon.
I glance back and see more of the rebels have arrived to support us, and relief sweeps through me. They got my call.
As we storm the entrance, I notice Sutton off to my right. The hope within me continues to build. I’m breathless from carrying guns and inhaling mouthfuls of thick dust. If Sutton made it, then Cole should be here too.
“They knew we were coming,” Keegan shouts to Sutton over the war waging behind us.
“Part of the assault wasn’t timed properly. Didn’t happen fast enough—gave them time to figure it out.” Sutton’s voice is raw and his words scratch out.
“Where’s everybody?” I try yelling to make myself heard.
“All communication was cut off.” Sutton’s face is covered with a mask of dirt, but I can still see his worried eyes and thinned lips. The gun strapped to him doesn’t look natural after being used to seeing him in scrubs.
Our group and Sutton’s group break off to search the compound for the commander. We head left down a wide path toward the commander’s quarters and Sutton’s group heads right toward the main control room. Knowing we’ll rendezvous in the middle gives me confidence. If we, or they, don’t show up, we’ll go looking for each other. The darkness inside swallows us whole as the temperature drops.
I follow Keegan, the new point man, into the abyss of a hallway. The cement construction smothers almost all light from the outside. Staying close to Keegan, we hug the wall on the left side, keeping our weapons readily available. It reminds me of playing hide-and-seek in the woods with him. But this is for keeps. I focus on breathing and strain my eyes, seeing dark shapes in the hall. The black plays with my mind, but I keep going because this is what we trained for.
Keegan abruptly stops, and I smack into him as Zeus almost bowls me over. Bending down, Keegan points to a delicate, thin wire stretched across the hall. A tripwire. This place is trapped. Nausea and fear climb up my insides, but I push them back down. I point it out to the person behind me as I step over it.
About a hundred feet past the wire and around the first corner, they wait for us. Little, glowing red dots from their guns light up the wall in front of Keegan and then a barrage of gunfire blitzes us.
I return fire with the others, but we’re pinned down. A thunderous explosion resounds from behind and I’m blown forward in a violent motion. Debris smashes into me midair, and I land on my side. For a moment, I’m completely disoriented.
I feel the warmth of Zeus’s tongue licking my face, trying to rouse me. Mass chaos ensues around us, but I can’t see anything, so I pull Zeus close. Everything echoes around in my head, bouncing off the insides of my skull. Despite the constant chattering of guns, screaming, and moaning, I feel around with my hands and army crawl toward where I believe the wall is. Or was. Though my adrenaline is juiced up, I feel nagging pain.
Are my legs still attached? I reach down and feel that my pant legs from the knee down were torn away in the blast. My fingers feel slick and bloody from cuts I know I have. I don’t know where my gun landed. It was ripped from my hands in the blast.
“Keegan! Keegan!” I shout through the darkness and deafening shots. I hope he’s alive.
A hand grabs mine from out of nowhere. It’s sweaty and rough and squeezes mine tight. When it lets go, I feel confused. Should I stay along the wall or grab it again? Then it roughly pulls me through a doorway and my shoulder smacks the right side of the frame. Clenching my teeth, I scramble against the wall and cover my head with my arms. Then a small light, like a book reading light, flips on and I see Keegan crouching across from me. He looks awful. His face bleeds with multiple cuts, and he’s covered in a mix of dust and residue. Yet, he seems concerned about me and does a quick inventory.
“You all right?” His eyes travel from my head to my feet as if he is taking a mental tally of all my injuries.
I shake my head and shout, “I can’t understand.” I cover my ears. “I can’t hear.”
“Are you all right?” he shouts.
I nod, yes. “Still kicking.” My eyes roam the room.
It’s a storage room of some sort, with collapsed racks of cleaning solvents and towels.
“Where’s your gun?”
I shrug.
He hands me a .9mm Glock but keeps his M16. I have no idea how he held on to it.
“Where’re the others?” I draw in as many deep breaths as I can in an attempt to clear my head of the dizziness. I rest with my hands on my knees and look at him as he stands up.
Now it’s his turn to shrug. “Can you keep up?” He pulls a towel from one of the racks, causing a clatter of noise, and then wipes his face with it. His hand holds out another for me. The salt and grime from the Hole ooze off my face.
“I’m ready to take him down.” Even though I’m terrified, I won’t be a coward.
“I know.” His face beams with pride, and I can’t help but feel that he views me differently now. Like I’ve finally earned my place.
“Our only choice is to hunker down for a while. Rest for now. Okay?” His hand encloses my face for a moment.
I nod my head and rest it on the wall behind me. I focus on the task at hand, taking down the commander. I can think about the losses after it’s all over. I slip down the wall and sit on the dusty, cold floor.
Keegan slides down the narrow wall between the closed door and the shelves.
The room vibrates from the battle outside, and occasionally more explosions make the walls groan.
It’s impossible for me to rest with these demons loose in my head. I try to close my eyes, but all I can see is Veronica’s mouth full of blood, Sheldon slipping over the edge, Alyssa’s last breaths, and Cole. My nightmares don’t compare to this. Then I realize Zeus didn’t follow me into the room.
“Zeus! Damn it, where’s Zeus? I completely forgot about him—I thought he was right behind me.” I’m on the verge of a breakdown. In our haste to get out of darkness, I left him behind.
“Don’t worry about the dog—not now! Stay focused or you’ll get yourself killed,” Keegan says.