Tethered Souls | Books 1, 2, and 3

{Book Two} 122.1 | Infiltration I

∞ The Tethered Ones ∞

Chapter 52.1
(Original Ending)

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• Luna •

Luna and Amir left the house cheerfully Sunday morning. They found the stone to rescue their family from the facility. BARDA was their enemy, and once things settled down, she was ready to make their lives hell. She spent little time with her family since she wanted to finish the infiltration and return home. Liberty hugged Amir and Luna with the tanzanite, and the crew joined the training.

Everyone knew their plan, and failing on Sunday would be their last opportunity. They were already putting themselves in danger.

Ethan stood alone. Amir kept giving him predator's eyes. "The time period stays. We have fifteen minutes."

"And what if something goes wrong?" Cami anxiously twirled her hair.

Amir gripped Hisyl. At this point, they could all handle it for about a minute and a half. And the small tanzanite piece made no difference to Amir or Luna.

"We should be fine." Ethan tossed the rock back into the pile. "Most of us can handle it for more than a minute."

"But that's just a rock," Cami remarked. "We still have to deal with it being sprayed in our faces."

Ethan neared. "Nothing changes. These shards contain the same liquid chemical. All they made us do was physically handle it. Not to drink it or feel it on our skin."

"No. Something's wrong." She released her hair and faced Amir and Faisal. "Handling this is different. I'm fine with picking up a piece of Hisyl. I wasn't with you last time, but I'm pretty sure the spray was different."

Cami was right, but they had no choice.

Faisal grasped her hand and grinned. "Everything will be fine. Cam-Cam, you'll be fine. I promise."

"You call her 'Cam-Cam?'" Luna asked, and Amir grinned.

Faisal nodded. "She's my little Cam-Cam."

"What's your nickname for Faisal, Cam-Cam?" Amir asked.

"Teddy," she said.

"Anyway, moving on," Dominique said, eager to be done with this. "What Ethan said about Hisyl is true. I gathered it in the army, and they distributed it to everyone."

"What about those lasers? We have lasers to worry about," Vikram threw in, frowning.

"Yeah, that's another obstacle," Ethan said. "They won't be a problem, though. The emergency doors open when an alarm sounds, and we'll be fine if everything goes smoothly. Hopefully, none of us will set one off."

"That's a big hope," Zoe murmured.

Yes, it was a big hope, but Luna and the others were going all the way. But they had to do this.

After another brutal Hisyl session, everyone went home. Vikram, Ethan, and the Hales left. Cami walked into a house as Amir, Luna, and Faisal stayed outside, and he disappeared around the house.

Amir grabbed Luna's hand and sat on the fourth step, bringing her down between both legs so her back was against his chest. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I am," she said. After each session, he asked the same question. She loved him for it. "What about you?"

"Oh, I'm okay. I just want this to be over with."

"Me too," she whispered. "I love you, A."

"I love you, Moon. Let's go see Sarah and the family. Then pray. I want to pray for a few more minutes than usual. This time, I don't want anything to go wrong."