Altered Earth (Soldiers of the Earth Book 2)

Chapter 16

"Rachel," Tyler grins at me. I don't reply right away, my voice caught in my throat. "Wasn't expecting to run into you here. This is great." He moves his arm like he's about to pat my shoulder, then stops himself.

"Decontamination chamber is down the hall." Jason tells him, as if he can read his mind.

"Thanks, man." Tyler nods. "Your name?"

"Jason. You?"

"I'm Tyler. This is Alyssa." He tilts his head at the other armored figure who has just taken off her helmet. Running her hands through her short brown hair, she gives us a smile before focusing on me. Her large brown eyes radiate a warmth despite the fact that I can tell she's studying me. My guess is she's trying to determine if I have what it takes to be a Level One. She's short like I am but much more muscular, like she was some kind of athlete before the invasion.

"You two know each other?" She raises a brow.

"Yes," I clear my throat, finally finding my voice.

"We trained together." Tyler answers.

"Nice." She follows Tyler down the hallway to the decontamination chamber to rinse off. I look over at Jason only to see him frozen with an expression I can't place.

"Hey, are you alright?" I ask him, feeling unnerved. Is there something he knows about Alyssa?

"Yeah," Jason brings himself back to reality, shaking his head. "You ever feel like you know someone from somewhere?" With those words and his tone I know exactly what he means. He does have his memories from before, and she's part of it. But her memories are gone.

My heart feels heavy now, and stays that way when Alyssa and Tyler return. They make some small talk about creatures and points they've earned by killing them, but I can barely listen. The sadness and resentment keeps brewing deeper in me. I hate the fact that we've been forced to fight for the Kofali. Forced to forget each other. I want Tyler and Alfie back. I want our planet back. Then another realization hits me. I know Tyler. Jason knows Alyssa. This wasn't random. The Kofali put us in here together. This isn't just a test of our skill; this is a test to see if their brainwashing is still working. As much as I want Tyler to start to remember and unlock all the memories they've suppressed, if we want to survive, it's vital that he doesn't while we are in here.

I can feel every muscle in my body start to tense. Should I separate from him? What if I unintentionally trigger a memory while we're here? It hasn't happened yet, but the Kofali seem to want to test if we crack under stress. They know we've come from a background of trauma that their violence created.

"When the rain clears," Alyssa announces, and I snap out of my thoughts to realize she's speaking to Jason and me. "There's a cave further down. Past the woods, into the desert area. We weren't able to see what was in there, but our screens showed it's worth major points." She smirks, thrilled at the thought. I already know my point total isn't great. I'll need all the help I can get.

"That area isn't as nice as this is." He takes a bite of one of the red fruits, grimacing slightly at the sour taste. "Hot. Red, dry ground everywhere. No plants, no water. It's where all three of us spawned. Oh, yeah...the other guy with us was Ryan."

"The one that got his face burnt off in that unreal acid rain." Alyssa says bluntly, shivering and closing her eyes at the thought.

"Yes," Tyler's voice gets quieter. We all know it isn't real, but it's still difficult to see people we know die.

Waiting for the rain to pass doesn't take long, or maybe it just doesn't feel that way because all of us got to talking. Tyler and Jason got to know each other better. I learned that Alyssa was a boxer from California and Jason was briefly in the Army before the invasion happened. That explains why they already seemed more skilled that most people trying out for Level One spots.