Altered Earth (Soldiers of the Earth Book 2)

Chapter 18

The shock and fear leaves our group motionless for a few moments, although it seems like hours. Once it becomes clear that none of us are going to be yanked out of the simulation, Tyler speaks.

"What the hell was that?" His voice shakes.

"I don't know, did he...did he get disqualified?" Olivia offers weakly.

"Disqualified for what?" Tyler's frustration becomes palpable too. But we need to move on if we don't want the same thing happening to us.

"Who knows, maybe he cheated with the Greji. It doesn't matter, we need to finish out our kills if we want to qualify." I give Leah and Olivia a look that I hope conveys that we should stop talking.

"Yeah Tyler, let's go. I need you to help me get more points." Leah says, walking off.

"Psh, ya'll need to help ME." Olivia scoffs with a smile. "Everyone here has way more points than I do, including you Leah."

"Oh, but I'm having so much fun." Leah turns back to us and pouts playfully. "Don't be mad if I take some kills from you, Liv."

"Whatever, man," Olivia rolls her eyes, leading the way now. The rest of us put our helmets back on and follow. With the silence returning as we walk, my mind drifts to Alfie. I think of the Kofali of torturing him again, then wiping his memories away for the second time. That fate could happen to any of us if we aren't careful, and somehow that fear feels deeper than any monster I've faced.

A distant but now familiar roar rips through the once quiet air. Then the rumbling begins.

"It's a nepius," I call out through our helmets. "The weak spot is the underbelly."

Our group seeks out the source of the sound, coming across the massive scorpion-like monster. Tyler and I agree to team up and distract it while Leah and Olivia can try to get the kill shot. I sprint and shoot to get its attention while Tyler climbs up one of the trees. His plan goes perfectly, the nepius raising up to reach him as soon as he begins shooting at it.

The monster screeches loudly, pounding its tail into the ground. It's overwhelmed, the perfect time to shoot. I scream at the girls to go for it. Olivia comes in from the side, as Leah starts to move from behind the creature. Suddenly, a laser beam flies past from behind all of us. Leah freezes and turns, distracted. In an instant, the nepius swings its tail at her. The force of the impact sends her flying, a sickening crunch signifying a break in her armor.

Olivia manages to get a few shots in, the beast disappearing as it dies. I look toward Leah and watch as she begins to fade too. She's one life down. I turn back toward the direction of the random shooter, unable to see who they are with their helmet on.

"I'm so sorry," The voice calls, and I realize I recognize it. Alyssa. "I was trying to distract it."

"We had it under control." Olivia retorts, her voice cold.

"I'm sorry," Alyssa says again.

"You should've known better, Lyss." Tyler says, hopping out of the tree.

"Didn't know it was you, Ty. My bad." Alyssa sounds almost embarrassed, but I can't tell with her helmet on.

"How many lives did she have left?" I ask Olivia.

"Two. Well, one now." Olivia replies.

"She should be fine. Let's get moving. Either we'll find her before the simulation ends or get you another kill." I assure her. The less we talk the less likely I think there's a chance Tyler could trigger a memory and get caught. Or Olivia and I could say something that would give us away.

Alyssa joins us with Tyler's encouragement, telling us about what she managed to do while she was alone. She didn't go back into the cave but had continued to go past it. As she went, she found a native Kofali village. She wasn't keen on getting too close and figured maybe she could get a kill from afar, but there was apparently a native on guard that charged at her and took another life. She was down to one life now.

One of the safe houses comes into view, and we all mutually agree to stop inside. Just the sight of it reminds me how tired and hungry I am, and I'm sure the rest of the group feels the same. We eat and relax, apparently too exhausted to chat much anymore. There seems to be a consensus that all of us have more than enough points to make it to Level One, so we should be able to relax until the simulation ends.

I head off to nap, thinking it will help pass the time faster. It doesn't take me long to drift off, and I soon find myself in a flower field again. The same field from my first dream. Tyler is there again. The sun shines down on us and he smiles at me. He recognizes me. I get the sense that he remembers everything.

But even in my dream, I fear the Kofali are watching. I fear this is just a test. The warmth and happiness that flows through me like honey gets tainted with icy dread. My hand instinctively reaches out toward him, yet as much as I want to I feel I shouldn't. So I force myself to wake.

The sun is set now. The simulation should be over shortly. I rub my eyes and debate just laying in bed until I hear a knock on my door. Clearing my throat and pushing my hair out of my face, I call out for the person to come in, having no idea who it could be or what they want. To my surprise it's Tyler.

"Sorry to wake you," he mutters, and I notice his eyes wide with concern.

"It's ok, what is it?" My heart hammers in my chest, wishing I could just tell him to stop talking. Too afraid he's starting to remember, and he'll say something that gets him pulled.

"I...um....once this is over, text me. Ok? I hope we all made it to Level One, but just in case one of us doesn't, I'd like to talk before we leave." His expression is more serious than I've seen while on the mothership. I don't know what to make of it.

"Ok. I will." I reply, offering him a smile. He nods, doing his best to smile back. With a quiet goodbye, he shuts the door.

It seems like seconds later, I feel myself freeze and everything around me fades away. When I come to, I'm back in an all white room with a Kofali taking the metal discs off my temples. I try to move, but my body no longer feels like it belongs to me. Every muscle feels numb yet stiff to the point of intense pain.

"Did-" I try to speak, my voice barely coming out as my throat aches in protest.

"Take it easy, your body hasn't moved in several hours." The man says soothingly, holding a blue electrolyte drink up to my lips. I gulp it eagerly, feeling my voice slowly come back to me.

"Did I pass?" I try my best to speak louder.

"Your results will be sent to your tablet after the evaluations are complete." He answers, preparing a needle. My thoughts go back to being knocked out. The threat of having my memories erased. I must look horrified, because he gives a small chuckle. "Don't worry, you're not going back into the simulation. This is just for your muscles."

As soon as the Kofali man injects me, I feel my muscles loosen and the pain fading away. Soon, I'm able to sit myself up. The man says I will probably need a few minutes before I can walk, but I am free to rest in this room as long as I need to. With a promise that he will check on me in a few minutes, he leaves.

I try to take sone deep breaths as all the emotions of this experience crash into me: relief, fear, exhaustion, sadness. Letting my feet hang off the reclining chair, I try moving them around. I move my fingers and wrists too, noticing my tablet on an end table next to me. The screen blinks: One new message. I pick it up and open it.

From Tyler.

"I'm ready to meet when you are."

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Author's Note: Woohoo, I'm on a roll here! Thank you so much for continuing to read, your support keeps me going :) I am in the process of editing The Divide and hopefully I will be able to self-publish it one day! I will be sure to let you all know when that day comes and how you can get a free or discounted copy.

Thanks again, love you all!