"Oi! You with the corpse!"

Trent froze.

So far they had been the perfect Tectans. Between their silence and the grey they had donned, they were practically invisible.

All the way downstairs and out of the building not a single grey-clothed, gas-masked savage had looked in their direction. He had told his team that the key to a successful infiltration was in the confidence they exhibited. And up until this point, he had been right.

They obviously hadn't put an outfit on Pikkins, he was their key to getting into the tank. But it didn't mean Trent was going to let them abuse him either.

Although as he stood in the centre of the large courtyard, surrounded by hundreds of Tectans, it didn't look like he was going to have a lot of choice.

"Yes?" Trent faced the approaching savage with his head held high.

"Where are you taking that mole?" the Tectan demanded, jabbing a finger in Pikkins' shoulder. Behind him, Dex stiffened. At least that's where Dex was supposed to be standing. It may have been Freya or Axel for all he knew. Their disguises were virtually identical.

"Mole?" Trent repeated uncertainly, Pikkins wasn't a mole, why would they say something like that?

"Because they live underground?"

Trent continued frowning behind the mask. It may have been a play on words, but he wasn't sure if it was appropriate to laugh.

The man sighed, "You know what, never mind." He jerked his head towards Pikkins instead and Trent could have sworn he heard a small chuckle, "Where are you taking him?"

Trent motioned his own head to the giant shuttered building, "There." Especially since he had no idea what the building was called ... or if it even had a name.

A muffled scoff sounded from inside the gas mask, "Why?"

Trent took a deep breath to calm himself, cool and confident was the only way he was going to find the hypothetical tank.

"Because I had an idea," Trent said, "we can use him as leverage if things go bad." He was vague. Hopefully if the savage was just as much an idiot as he hoped and would just tell him where the tank was.

But no one spoke.

Trent could have begun counting the ticks in their uncomfortably long silence.

"It's a good idea," the Tectan finally admitted, "you should run it by the boss first. But why do four of you need to carry the body?"

This was almost certainly an interrogation masked as a friendly chat. Trent would feign a smile if it could do him any good, but with face-concealing gas masks, it seemed unlikely.

"There can be five if you prefer," Trent suggested casually. As long as no one screamed and had them surrounded, as long as he could make it back to the comfort of a dark, confined space, everything would be okay.

Another pause, this one somehow longer than the last.

"Boss isn't in there," the Tectan said, and while Trent couldn't see the savage's expression, the way the man had stiffened was unmistakable, "it's too early to sleep."

Trent swallowed.

This was a test.

Either the savage was lying or he wasn't, but right now he definitely didn't trust Trent.

The man's body and posture had toughened just before the last part of the sentence. That meant that sleeping was the test. He wouldn't test Trent about sleep timings. Everyone slept during the day since the Event. That meant the test was either the place or the person.

A 'boss' wouldn't sleep when a mission this important was taking place so close to dawn. So it couldn't be the person. The fact that the boss wasn't sleeping wasn't a lie. It had to be the place.

But Trent had no idea what the building was, he couldn't glance at it too often without looking suspicious. People were carrying boxes in and out, which meant it was either a storage unit or a dump site.

So he took a calculated risk, "Why the hell would the boss be sleeping in there to begin with?" Trent demanded.

The Tectan's shoulders slumped first before a laugh rang across the open courtyard, "I'm just messing with you!"

"Sure," Trent responded in a thinly-veiled, dry chuckle of his own.

"Come on," the soldier began walking towards the wild forest, "I'll take you to the boss."

Of course the lunatics were in the centre of the forest. Why wouldn't they be surrounded by the very creatures that had destroyed life on the planet? And yet they wore masks because they believed the air was toxic.

Nutjobs.

Out of the corner of his eye, Trent caught one of his soldiers running a hand over their rifle. It had to be Freya. She must have thought they were walking into an ambush.

Perhaps they were. The Tectan leading them was walking too fast, it was a clear sign of agitation. Maybe Trent had failed the test after all. But the further away they went from the crowd, the more confident he felt.

It wasn't until the ground beneath their feet had switched from polished granite to wild grass that the Tectan spoke again.

"This place freaks me out," he said, "even at night."

Trent didn't respond. Maintaining his fake identity wasn't really that important now. Once they got to the 'boss,' they could use him as leverage to find the tank. And then escape.

His plan seemed to be constantly changing. But it wasn't the worst thing to happen. He was still alive, most of his team was.

They began climbing up a grassy hill. The Tectan's pants were the only noise in the complete stillness of the night. The forest was getting closer and closer.

Trent froze again.

Jolted out of his thoughts just as suddenly as a majestic brown turret came into view. So there was a tank after all. He grinned. Wider than before because he knew no one could see him as they reached the top.

"He's probably inside," the unaware Tectan rambled as the vehicle appeared in front of them, throned atop the wild, green hill.

"Good," Axel said taking a swift step forward. He placed one hand on each side of the Tectan's neck and twisted.

Snap!

The man fell limply onto the grass.

Freya was next. She placed a hand on the side skirt and then cartwheeled onto the hatch. She pulled back the hammer of her sidearm, "Hey boss?" She called the Tectan.

"Yeah?"

Bang! Bang!

Freya jumped in and a final bang echoed in the silent night, "All clear!" she called.

Trent jumped onto the hatch, with Dex and Axel carrying Pikkins behind them. Freya stood in the centre of the spacious inside, her gun poised at a Tectan whimpering on the floor.

"Sure we can't kill him Captain?" she asked.

"No," Trent disputed, tearing off the stupid, hot mask and suit, "he'll be more useful alive."

"Okay," he turned to his team clad in the familiar black again, "Axel, get rid of the bodies and seal the hatch." He raised his own gun at the wounded Tectan, "Dex knock this idiot out, then take control of the driver's seat. Freya, weapons."

Absolute silence followed as they bustled around the place for a few minutes. Trent didn't lower his gun even after Dex walked up to the savage.

"I don't have any anaesthesia on me," they said, "so this will sting." And they slammed the man's head against the floor with a loud crack.

"Smooth," Trent remarked with an eye roll, "you weren't supposed to kill him."

Dex placed two fingers on the man's neck "He's not dead," they assured, and while their voice was flat their eyes were ablaze.

"I'll tie him up." Trent walked over to the medic before the soldier inadvertently killed their captive, "Go, drive." He glanced at the youngest member of his team, "Comms," Trent ordered, "Let them know we're coming home."

And even if none of the three surviving members of his team were looking at him, Trent saw the smiles. The content. It was almost over.

The entire sputtered to life with a roar, the ground beneath his feet let an almighty shudder and the creaking tank began to move.

"Fast as you can Dex," Trent said, walking over to his medic once the Tectan had been thoroughly bound. "We don't have a lot of daylight."

He walked over to Axel next, the young soldier was sending a burst of beeps on the only black device inside the white interior. Trent didn't need to ask if Axel had been successful, they'd all know if he was.

He wasn't sure how long they'd been moving when the second shudder came.

"Captain!" Dex called, their voice loud and trembling, "dawn!"

"Don't stop." Trent locked his arm around the ladder to secure himself better. "The Vines can't possibly know we're inside." He attempted to look through the periscope nearest to him, but all he could see was green.

Another jolt.

"I think they disagree, Captain!"

"Axel?" Trent turned to the communication centre only to receive a shaking head.

Trent clenched his jaw, "How far are we from the Tectan base?"

Dex's eyes were wide, "A couple of clicks, I think ... maybe."

The whole tank shuddered once again.

"Kill the engine."

"What?!" Freya spun to him first, "Trent if we kill the engine we're sitting ducks!"

"Kill the engine and shut up," Trent repeated, "the Vines thinks the tank is alive because it's moving and it's warm." He wasn't looking at Freya anyway, he was looking straight at Dex.

The tank seemed to be shaking sideways now.

The medic nodded and the noise from the engine died. They stepped away from the control to Trent, "If you're wrong, Captain?"

"We'll see Pikkins again," Trent said, his eyes darted nervously to the ceiling. He really hoped he wasn't wrong though.

No one laughed.

No one spoke.

The next tremor was fainter. Trent grinned despite himself. It was too soon to celebrate, but it didn't look like they were going to join Pikkins after all.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

It almost sounded like knocks now.

"It's working?" Freya got up from her seat very slowly.

Trent nodded, throat too tight to speak. It seemed like it was. He peered through the periscope again.

Grassy plains and a clear, blue sky.

Trent grinned, feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, "Okay," he whispered, "We have ten hours, I think we've earned a nap." Axel chuckled behind him, more out of relief than anything else.

"We can sleep in shifts of two," Dex said promptly, they walked away from Trent to place a hand on Pikkins' lifeless body.

Trent didn't argue. He was too exhausted to care anymore. As far as he was aware, they'd escaped the Tectans and their base. And in a few hours they'd be heading home.

Back to the solace of darkness.

Back to the Absolute Rule.

(1837 words)
(Total Tally: 9999 words)