Triple Point

Chapter 65: 10 DEC 33AE, 1800 MT

10 DEC 33AE, 1800 MT

Yellowstone Camp, Squad Quarters H08

The only thing Camilla could feel was numb as she stared at the remains of her squad's tent strewn across the ground at her feet, slowly being buried under the falling snow. It felt like only a few minutes ago that they were getting ready to turn in after another long day of fighting, until a set of a dozen or so blasts threw them and multiple other squads all off their feet like ragdolls.

She wanted to be angry with Team Three for letting Exodos slip by their defenses completely undetected, but she knew she couldn't do that. If anything, she should be mad at herself for not reacting faster. But after spending the past hour ripping herself apart with self-hatred, she was having trouble feeling anything at all.

"Cap?" a timid voice called from behind her.

It took awhile for the single syllable to sink into Camilla's brain, and even longer for her to respond to it. When she finally did, she saw Caffrey watching her, nervous.

"I—I know you said to stay at the med tent," Caffrey said. The bandage on his forehead showed a little red that had soaked through the gauze, and one of his hands fidgeted with the brace on his other wrist. "But... they said we could see them now. I thought—I thought you'd want to know."

Camilla felt herself nod, but it took her feet a moment longer to actually move. In a daze, she made her way back to the med tent with Caffrey trailing behind her.

As expected, the medical tents were bustling with activity as both meta and non-meta medics rushed in and out in a hurry. Outside, several guardians were gathered off to the side, some visibly nervous while others looked just as numb as Camilla felt, their eyes as glazed as ice. They paid no mind to Camilla and Caffrey as they walked by, headed towards the tent where they last left the other two members of their squad.

As they got closer and closer, Camilla couldn't help but remember the words of a group of guardians as they gossiped about her after the Barracks attack.

If she ever becomes a captain, she would probably get her entire squad killed.

Her body tensed with the memory, but she did her best to shove the thought from her mind. She had more important things to worry about at that moment, like making sure the rest of her squad was okay, and she didn't have the time or energy to worry about herself. So once they reached the entrance to one of the med tents, the only thing on her mind was her squad.

A few medics rushed out of the tent just then, and Camilla and Caffrey stood back to let them pass, not wanting to get in the way. They entered once the coast was clear, and Camilla immediately scanned the room, searching.

Mack's muscular figure at the back of the tent was easy to spot, even though the bandages scattered over his body made him look smaller than normal. In the bed next to him, Pala looked scrawnier than ever, and their dark skin looked abnormally pale under the washed-out lights in the tent.

As they made their way to the back of the tent, Camilla and Caffrey dodged the activity around them before safely sliding themselves between their two squadmates. If it hadn't been for the injuries that covered them, Mack and Pala both looked like they were peacefully sleeping.

Suddenly, Camilla felt a slight tremor coming from beside her, and she turned just in time to catch Caffrey before he collapsed to the ground. From beneath her hands, she could feel his body shaking uncontrollably with his ragged breaths, and while his eyes were wide, she doubted he was actually seeing anything. Camilla steered him towards Pala's bed and had him sit on the edge, then she knelt down to meet him at eye-level.