by S. J Woods
Faith was the first to see it. A grey disc-like shape on the horizon, high and steady in the sky. A cry went up throughout the team as the disc darted across the fire’s perimeter, curving in and out in swooping arcs, sending a shower of something fluid and the palest blue as it swung. Behind the craft came several more. They too swung along the furthest edges of the fire, the same shimmering blankets falling from the craft onto the inferno. The fire was already responding, shrivelling a little in height, and in the time it had taken for the craft to dance around the borders, the fire had moved nowhere, just blazing on the spot, helplessly shrinking at the assault. The crafts danced and weaved, silent and slick as they moved in sync across the acres of burning forest. As they neared the team, Dane squinted at the translucent wave that seemed to roll continually from the aircraft. It sparkled like a waterfall, but Dane could see that it wasn’t liquid extinguishing the flames. For a moment, he thought that the crafts were raining down a constant flow of powder upon the blaze, but he realised as the glow of the flames died away and the light of day hit the soft blue ribbons that it was a laser eliminating the fire.
Within twenty minutes, the fire was smothered, with the exception of a few patches of scrub stubbornly smouldering. The team began to descend to the plains beneath to search for their missing comrades. Three of the crafts circled through the air as if surveying their work before swooping away, but the fourth cast a shadow over the group as it hung silently in the air above them.
Dane glanced at it briefly, but the desire to find any survivors was too pressing. He had felt worse than useless, waiting and watching while the earth burned before them, and he kept moving through the hot, charred land towards the river; the only place where they could have possibly survived. He picked up his pace. The land had been destroyed and he turned over the burnt remains of trees with his boots as he moved, barely noticing as they crumbled to ash at his touch. Something inside him told him that he had to be quick.
He moved as quickly as he could, hurdling over the remnants of huge trees that had taken hundreds of years to grow but just minutes to be razed to nothing. The devastation from the fire had changed the landscape dramatically and he had to pause to scan the distance to be sure he was running in the right direction.
“Dane! Wait!” He heard his teammates calling to him, but he dismissed their summons, instead throwing his arm high and gesturing for them to follow.
With the absence of the wood, he made it to the river in what felt like only minutes, but the sweat pooling around his brow showed that he had been running flat-out for longer. He crashed through undergrowth that was still smouldering, more concerned on finding his friends than for his own safety. He cast his eyes up and down the rocky shallows, watching as the river swept huge fallen trees as easily as if they were sticks. He waded in, something inside him screaming that there were survivors. He paused, unsure whether to travel upstream or downstream, trying to calm his racing thoughts and let his instincts take over.
He followed the curve downstream, casting one backwards glance at the landing where they had crossed, and moved through the water, sweeping his eyes along the opposite shore. Ahead of him, a patch of brush had survived the flames, the khaki green standing out against a scorched background and it was only when Dane drew closer that he made out the shape of a body, laying half on the rocky landing, half against the bare earth. He rushed forward, taking in the rips and the scorches to the jacket of the body. His heart was still as he bent over the mass, ready to search for signs of life against all odds.
The streaked blonde hair was singed at the ends, but Dane knew before he saw her face that it was Neha.
“Neha!” He called, his hand snaking to her neck to search for a pulse.
He thought that he felt her warm, shallow breath against his arm and his chest surged with hope. He turned her carefully, flinching at the raw flesh wound that ran down the left side of her face, flecked with dirt from the earth where she lay. Her mouth was open, and her lips cracked and dry, but he could see she was breathing.
He looked behind him for the first time since he’d left his pack behind, hoping that the craft had hung around. The soldier needed urgent treatment, more than he was capable of.
Her eyes flickered open as he cradled her.
“Dane.” She recognised him.
“We’re getting you help.” He promised her, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt.
She swallowed and reached a hand out as if trying to sit up. Dane tried to convince her to lie down, but she was conscious now and adamant that she was ok. Reluctantly, he helped her into a seated position, keeping his arm around her back gently to support her.
“I’m ok.” She protested, wincing at the pain as she moved her lips.
“You were unconscious.” Dane told her, moving her head gently to check for injuries. “Do you remember what happened?”
Neha took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as if attempting to manage the pain.
“Gia took off last night.” She said. “We were setting up camp for the night, and she disappeared. I spoke into my device as soon as I realised, hoping the Officers would pick it up, but just in case, I started to track her. Then the fire started, and I was trapped.”
“She took off?” Dane felt his blood run cold. “Are you sure? Maybe she got lost? Or something happened to her?”
Neha shook her head gently. “She was running away from me. I caught sight of her twice and twice she got away.”
“She got away from you?” Dane asked incredulously, knowing that outrunning Neha would be no mean feat. “But we’re chipped. Why would she do that?”
Neha let out an exasperated sigh. “No idea. She’s been acting crazy for a while.”
“You know her well?” Dane frowned, mulling over the thought of Gia fleeing into the wilderness.
“I know her from our base.” Neha shrugged. “I know her well enough to know she hasn’t been herself since we got here.”
“There were aircrafts,” Dane said, changing the subject. “They put out the fire. I came down here alone to look for survivors. We should try to get back and get you looked at.”
Neha looked at him wordlessly for a moment, before trying to get to her feet. Dane helped her to stand and, unsteadily, they made their way back to the flat ground. The rest of the squad were moving towards them; the aircraft nowhere in sight.
“Where have they gone?” Dane asked, flushing with annoyance that they’d been left here when they needed help. Five of the team, including Gia, were still missing as well as their Officer.
Faith ignored his question, rushing to Neha’s side.
“Are you ok?” She asked, concerned.
Neha nodded, but allowed the woman to slip a supportive arm around her as Dane passed her over to Faith.
“They’ll be back,” Niall told him. “They’re looking for the others.”
“Oh.” Dane nodded, slightly appeased, before adding. “They can’t have looked very hard. Neha was knocked out, down by the river.”
“The others must be in a worse state then.” Salim shrugged. “They’ll be back. We just need to wait.”
The aircraft arrived back a little while later. It stayed in the air, hovering over the ground but releasing an empty, transparent capsule that floated to the ground. Dane looked at it, unsure what to do, but the rest of the squad brushed past him, somehow slotting into the cylindrical vessel.
“Get in then, dummy.” Faith called.
He cast one last look at their scorched base camp, hoping that all the others had been rescued and reluctantly edged in. With a whir, the capsule sealed itself and they were pulled upwards by an unseen force. The capsule reopened into a holding pen, slotting into a metal base in the ceiling with a clang. They were being contained in the belly of the aircraft in a circular room, half of the walls lined with a padded bench, the other half barred by a heavy door. Faith seemed to be the only one who knew what was expected of them and she gestured for them to sit.
A high-pitched noise emitted a warning before they felt the craft lurch once and they were propelled through the sky at high speed.
SIXTEEN
The aircraft deposited them back at the hangar, and Dane was too tired and dazed to take notice of the hive of activity going on around the previously deserted airfield. Neha was whisked off for treatment while the rest of the squad were parcelled into the transport capsules and whizzed back to the Command Centre.
Officer Williams was waiting for them in the transportation hub. Her clean uniform and washed hair looked strange next to the team in their battered, worn fatigues. Without any preamble, she ordered them into formation and they followed her to the Commanders’ shared office.
“The others?” Dane asked hopefully once they were seated for debrief.
Officer Williams shook her head, holding his gaze for a moment, forcing him to see the sadness in her eyes. “They didn’t make it. I’m sorry.”
The survivors around him shifted, and Dane looked away, feeling the gut-wrenching loss deep in the pit of his stomach.
“The fire was started deliberately.” Officer Williams continued in a low voice. “Two more teams are out in the mountain range, already defending strategic posts. Intelligence shows that Latheians are on their way, and they’ve assumed the identities of Apatian civilians. We’re very much needed back out there right now, but I appreciate that losing members of your team will be difficult for you all.”
There were so many questions starting to form in Dane’s mind as he listened to their Officer, but something in her tone commanded no interruptions and so he just listened passively, feeling his skin start to prickle with the realisation that this was it. The country was at war.
“The Commanders will speak to you each individually before we return.” She continued.
They were called in one-by-one and on exit, Officer Williams sent them freshen up and rest. Dane was still waiting, stunned into silence by the revelations, when Seraphine, Riku and Teonie appeared at the door. His eyes sought Teonie’s across the room, but she kept her head lowered. Dane felt his chest ache in sympathy for her loss.
“All go ok?” Officer Williams asked Seraphine quietly.
Seraphine’s mouth turned up at the corners in a self-assured smile. “Of course.”
Dane frowned in confusion at her response. Members of her team were dead. How could she not be reeling? Seraphine must have realised her mistake and she lowered her gaze.
“It’s been tough.” She said simply. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t there.”
Officer Williams inclined her head, as if in acceptance of Seraphine’s words.
“Fifty Ninety-Eight.”
He was called by the Attendant manning the desk outside the Commanders’ Office, and he rose to his feet. He turned back one last time to Teonie, not wanting to leave without saying something. She seemed to feel his eyes on her and she lifted her head briefly, meeting his gaze across the room with a steely, fixed stare. He froze, disconcerted by her expression. He realised, as he turned away, that he had been expecting her to be tearful, but she looked calm and determined as if she was preparing herself for whatever came next.
“Sit down, soldier.” Commander Wilkins was sat behind a chrome and glass desk.
Dane looked around the sparsely furnished room, taking in the identical desks bare of anything except large computer screens. Commander Nichols entered the room from another door and moved around to stand just behind her colleague’s shoulder.
“Well done on rescuing Forty-Eight-Three-Zero.” Wilkins steepled her hands and smiled at Dane.
Dane nodded his head, acknowledging the praise but unsure how to respond.
“You knew to go to the river.” Wilkins continued, and Dane looked up, puzzled by the statement.
“I just thought if people couldn’t get to the mountain, they might have been able to get to the river.” Dane replied.
He saw Commander Nicholl’s raise an eyebrow slightly.
“The bodies of the other soldiers,” Commander Wilkins continued. “Have been recovered by our aircraft.”
She stopped speaking and tilted her head inquisitively at Dane.
Dane nodded his head to signal that he understood that they were dead.
“I imagine,” Wilkins paused for a moment. “That this is very difficult for you, given your relationship with Gia Vercelli.”
Dane felt his chest tighten as he recalled his hushed exchanges with Gia through the woods, and her last emotional conversation with him about Arielle. In his mind, he could see Teonie’s grim expression and something told him to tread carefully.
“She was part of my team.” Dane nodded. “They will all be missed.”
The room fell silent and Dane fought the urge to look away as Wilkins regarded him with a curious interest.
“Dane,” She said after a few moments had passed and it was clear that he had nothing further to add. “We’re aware that Gia tried to speak to you.”
Dane resisted the urge to swallow nervously and instead ran a hand over his cropped hair, submitting to the natural impulse to fidget. He had no idea how much or how little they had seen or heard. He willed himself to stay calm and tried to conjure up a thoughtful look.
“She seemed a bit stressed out,” He decided to refer to the incident that all the squad had seen. There was no way it wouldn’t have got back to the Commanders. “I think we all tried to talk to her, to see if she was alright.”
Wilkins blinked once but not before Dane had registered the look of disdain flicker across her eyes.
“You had some common background.” Wilkins stated coolly.
“Apparently so.” Dane nodded, hoping he appeared thoughtful and not obstructive. He couldn’t keep dodging their questions without them suspecting him of hiding something. He needed to give them something. This was starting to feel like an interrogation. “She had a similar experience like…” He paused, realising that he had no words to describe Arielle. He was going to say, “my sister”, but somewhere in the depths of his mind, he knew that he couldn’t show any signs of sentimentality over the “mix up”. He may have been young, but the secrecy and the way his parents seemed to censor their emotions in the time after she went was still vividly engrained in his mind. He knew that, as much as calling her anything other than his sister seemed coldly disloyal, he shouldn’t show them any emotion. Something bad had happened, whether Gia had caused it or not herself, and instinctively he knew enough to know he needed to avoid their suspicions. He shrugged his shoulders finally and finished with “Like my family had.”
Wilkins nodded her head, confirming that he had been correct in his assumption.
“We’re aware of the unique circumstances that surrounded your sibling.” Nicholls surprised him by moving from behind Wilkins’ seat and taking up a new position, leaning against her own desk so that Dane had to turn in his seat to face her.
“That must have been hard,” She continued, offering him a sympathetic smile. “For your whole family.”
Dane felt a prickle of anger and struggled to keep his face neutral. “I was so young. I don’t remember. It’s just one of those things.”
“We looked into it.” Wilkins spoke again now, causing him to twist back. “Yours and Gia’s were the only cases in the whole country. Such a coincidence.”
The thought had never crossed his mind that this had happened to anybody else, and he hadn’t even considered the odds when Gia had volunteered the information, but the way Wilkins phrased it told him that she was lying, and it hit him like a bolt that there were others like Arielle and his family.
“I hadn’t thought about it,” He said levelly. “Gia seemed upset about it, but I don’t know if maybe she had something else going on?”
“Any idea what?” Wilkins asked, sitting up a little straighter.
Dane shook his head. “I didn’t know her that well. Sorry.”
He turned to face Nicholls. “Is everything ok?”
He watch
ed, feeling a hollow satisfaction when confusion crossed her face. Nicholls looked to Wilkins as if unsure what to answer.
Commander Wilkins sighed softly and leaned towards him.
“Vercelli had been acting out of character for a while.” She told him quietly. “We have reason to believe she was under the influence of someone or something. She started the fire, killing our soldiers.”
Dane’s chest constricted at the accusation. His mouth dropped open and he exhaled slowly. He had no words for this revelation.
“I had no idea,” He said finally. “But she died too?”
Wilkins nodded in confirmation.
“We’re piecing together the past few months of Vercelli’s life,” She told him. “We’ll need you to go over your conversations with her for our investigation. I’m sure you understand why this is important.”
Dane felt his blood run cold. “Of course.”
“I know your Officer had briefed you on the current threat from Latheia,” Wilkins continued. “We need all specialist forces back in position asap, but I want you to take a little while longer to digest everything we’ve said today.”
“What do you mean?” He asked.
“Take a few days,” She repeated firmly. “Go home, see your family. Duque and Perez will be doing the same. We’ll complete an assessment in five days and, providing you’re all fit and well, we’ll send you out to join the rest of your team.”
Dane wanted to protest. There was an immediate threat to Apatia. He should be out doing the job he was paid to do. He could understand Neha needing a few days to recover, and Teonie would want to mourn her cousin, but he had no reason to not be out there. He could see Wilkins wasn’t going to back down and he had no choice but to agree.
He left the office and headed to shower and change his clothes. The rest of the squad were sat around, quietened by the news, but he hung back to the outskirts waiting for Teonie to appear. He imagined she would be receiving a grilling about her cousin. Finally, she stepped tentatively into the hall, scanning the crowd as if looking for someone. He raised a hand, hoping that she was seeking him out and she beckoned him towards her.