Chapter 48

Planet: Kestra, Elite Training Grounds

First Insurgency War

MAIA

Warmth cocooned her in a soft embrace. Consciousness tickled at the edge of her mind, and she readied herself for the Celestial Aethenium. Eyes open, it was anything but. Gold hushed through the dim bunkpod, but from her slight movement, the lights intensified.

"Ow." Maia waved her hand in front of her face to chase the light. "Dim."

It heeded her command, and she swung her legs over the bed and jolted when it extended out of the alcove unit. Her lucky charm hung off the small desk in the corner. "Huh...?"

Her world spun with her stand, and her door provided support. It slid open to reveal a sterile grey corridor. In front of her, a door emblazoned with the eagle eye of the marksman sect of the Elites.

I'm paired with one already? I guess that's how we do the ranking test...

Bile tickled her throat, and the other door opened the moment she threw up onto once clean tile. On her knees, she waited until she finished vomiting her own acid and what looked like blood. Maia shook her head and peered up at her partner within the Elites.

Black Wolf stood there, dirty-blonde hair dishevelled with his path blocked by her vomit. He scrunched his nose, but it echoed with the taunting grin on his face.

"Celestials fucking—" she managed out when her legs gave in to the weakness and the world went black again.

Beeping overflowed the darkness with serrated white pulses. Back into reality, she sank further into the mattress at a masked Elite looking her over. Every movement sent a twinge of pain through her tendons, but she hauled herself into a sitting position.

"Don't rush yourself, Urtanes," they said. "Here. Take this."

Hand guided to her mouth, she took whatever relief they gave her.

"How do you feel?" the Elite asked while she fought for her bearings.

"Confused." Embarrassed heat washed through her cheeks when her stomach churned. "And hungry, I suppose."

"I wouldn't eat quite yet," the Medic warned. "Let your body catch up with the rest of you."

Her haze cleared into a simple world. Everything returned to perfect focus.

The Medic lowered their hands. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah."

"Drink water. Lunch is being served in the mess hall whenever you're ready." The Medic stood off her bed. "I advise you not overexert yourself. I'll return before lights out to check your vitals and edevic levels."

Maia waited a couple minutes until the Elite disappeared to slap herself on the cheeks. Out of bed for the second time, she sighed when the world never spun on an unseen axis. That has to be a good sign. Outside, someone cleaned the mess she left behind.

Black Wolf's door closed her out.

Fuck. It wasn't a dream. I'm partnered with him. Maia pinched her chin. Karma on my end — at least it's not poetic.

Their pod bunk reminded her of a high-end spotless apartment block. At the front entrance a small conversation pit dug into the floor alcoves with a holographic table for strategizing. On the door, the panel pulsed with the letter A, and down at the other end, she sighed at the separated wash stations. Her stomach complained once more, and she returned to it. I need to eat something, maybe that'll help.

Prismkey in her hand, she opened the door with ease.

It opened to reveal other bunkpods — compared to the D-Level, the corridor to the other bunked apartments stretched long and wide. In reflection, very few doors took up space. On the panel to each door, the Elites within, and not a single person wandered.

Empty.

Cleaners rolled through the tiled halls when she moved out into the expanse. Each one buzzed in her ear while it washed any out of place speck. Maia groaned and brushed a hand down her face, and she got out of the way of one the bots when it wiped down the hard to get corners.

Another masked Elite walked past her when she left the A-Level corridor, where dogtags swung around their neck. A-4. They stopped at the sight of her. "Do you need help?"

"No, I'm just trying to process everything."

They nodded and continued down the hall to the lifts. Maia resisted the acidic feeling and followed behind. Both of them boarded the elevator, and they turned to her. "Main level?"

Maia managed a weak nod and hung onto the metal railing while the elevator descended into the depths of the Elite focused base.

"I'm assuming you were recently injected?"

Their question took her off guard, but there was nothing but polite curiosity within their robotic voice. Another nod was all she could respond with, and the Elite echoed the motion.

"Do yourself a favour and listen to what the Medics told you. Resist any urges as well."

The lift came to a jolted stop, and she swayed on her knees. "What?"

The Elite left her question unanswered when the doors slid open and released them both onto the main floor. Maia wandered through the familiar base, full of odd silence and down the same path she took many times before. Noise returned to her ears when she stumbled into the chow hall, but not as much as she had grown accustomed to. Few of the people she recognized, but a strange air filled the atmosphere.

Zombies.

Most of them appeared dazed, confused, and sick as she felt in her stomach.

Celestials, do I look like that?

Black Wolf sat in his regular corner, and compared to the other Elites around him, he held neither confusion or sickness. In fact, he ate his sandwich with little struggle. Anger bit at her veins, and she took a seat in front of him and crossed her arms on the table. "So, Black Wolf..."

He responded to the calltag. For a haunted, frozen second, crimson swallowed hazel — nothing short of utter bloodlust, no longer lifeless and uncaring, but the sharpened gaze of an efficient hunter, a predator. He flicked his gaze across her frame, as if sizing her up like a chunk of meat.

"Can we finally talk?" she squeaked at the eerie glance.

Black Wolf set his lunch on the tray, and his fingers laced together with his lean. "You squeak when you're nervous," he observed with a tug at the corner of his lips. "Do they refer to you as Mouse? I'm going to call you that, I think it fits."

Flames raged through her edevic laced blood. It screamed at her to act. "I hate mice."

He sneered at her and rested his cheek in his fingers.

Does... he want a fight?

Temptation screamed, but resistance strengthened in her muscles.

"I suppose that's too bad," he said with a glance at the silent tables full of living zombies. "I'm sure they'd crown you the mouse queen." He returned to his meal without further comment, but if it was his attempt to chase her out of their team, he had another thing coming.

"Look, Black Wolf—"

"Mouse."

Maia clenched her jaw. "My name is Maia."

"Maia Mouse."

Oh. He's aggravating me for the hell of it. Maia chewed on her cheek, and he smirked with boyish delight.

"I'd rather not have Mouse as a code-name," she grunted. "You got called Black Wolf. Mouse isn't nearly as intimidating."

Black Wolf shrugged with a wider grin. "Can't always get what we want, Mouse."

"Maia. I said my name was Maia, jackass."

His smile dropped into a frown. "What do you want?" His tone sharpened into one of annoyance.

"You always sit here alone," she pointed out. "We're going to change that. We're partners — a team. We need to get to know each other."

"Sounds like something a Mouse would do." He snarled with a scoff. "You sure you're not too afraid of me, the 'Big Bad Wolf?'"

"Not anymore. He's actually really pissing me off."

"Ah." He gave her a toothy grin. "You're a mouse-rat amalgamation instead. Good to know." He leaned closer. "I'm not interested in being friends. We're here to work. We don't need to know anything else but that simple fact, Miss Mouse, so go squeaking somewhere else."

Embers whipped into an inferno which tickled the back of her head. Any bile bubbling in her stomach popped all at once in a few energized moments. Her body fell into control with a mind of its own, and she leaped into a breath of space. Needles swept through her bones and set them alight. Her last view was an eerie smile growing on his cheeks, eyes blood-red.

Maia tackled him to the ground through her phase, and caused the rest of the new Elites to twist at the commotion.

As she wrestled him to the ground, the air of victory swelled within her lungs. Her fellow zombies came back to life.

"Woo! Go Maia!" one of the guys hollered as he stood on the table.

Her lapse in judgement lifted morale.

White lines pulsed with each breath and the heartbeat of her opponent. One goal in mind, Black Wolf, and to wipe the stupid grin on his face. She ignored everything else to lean closer to him with her own sneer.

Energy, pure and full, danced through her skin when she dug herself into Black Wolf's legs to keep him flat against the ground when he made to push her. "Well now," she hissed through the strain while their strength clashed. "Guess you're not so tough after all, Black Wolf," she said and learned. "You sure you're not just a little lamb in sheep's clothing?"

Black Wolf's grin dropped into a scowl, and he swiped out his legs, but she leaped off and around an empty table as he straightened himself out, swiping at her departure.

Alive.

Maia leaped over the table, but Black Wolf responded with a kick, forcing the row of tables out of the way with ease. Some of the new Elites fell onto the ground, though the older ones continued to eat, ignoring the commotion.

"Didn't learn your lesson the last time, did you?" he said with venom when she raced for him. He jabbed, but she dodged, swiping his hit out of the way of her shoulder. Hand on his collar, she set herself into position to choke-slam him back into the dirt from before.

"I'm not the one that needs to learn a lesson," she hissed, and forced him to her side, one hand on his shoulder.

Another strong heartbeat entered the fray before she could kick Black Wolf's legs out from underneath him.

An arm threw itself around her neck with a tight grip. Black Wolf grunted in time with her gasp when their heads smashed together. Tossed to the floor with ease, Maia rolled over to view the new contender.

"That's enough," a familiar voice thundered.

General Falae.

Her world spun while the older woman loomed over them with her arms crossed. "Maia Urtanes and James Ranier," she said, her own eyes blazing red. "You two are top of the Unit, act like it. This is the Strike Forces, and not a collegiate cafeteria. Am I crystal clear?"

It returned to a semblance of normal, and General Falae dragged them to their feet with ease. "You two will come with me."

Black Wolf's stupid grin returned in full force, frozen from the previous moment. His body trembled with excitement, where crimson mixed with hazel. Maia sank into shame when General Falae pulled them back into the elevator, and clicked the upper levels. Once it slid open, General Falae led them to a door at the end of a long corridor, and nudged them inside the circular office.

"That was extremely dangerous," she lectured. "You two have no control over your abilities." Maia's queasy acid bubbled her stomach once more at her sigh. "As I'm sure you two have now figured out, you were paired based on skill and ability level." Maia glared at Black Wolf, to which he returned, but General Falae continued, "You two have to work together. This animosity between you two ends here and now."

"I mean," Black Wolf broke in. "She hit me first—"

General Falae wrapped the small parchment in her hand then whacked him over the head with it. "You're going to need to wake up, Ranier," she growled. "Our compromise still stands. You have been extremely lucky up to this point, so don't push it."

Black Wolf scowled and folded his arms with a jutted lower lip, but no other argument left him. General Falae sighed, and her attention drew to her instead. "Maia, James is a special case of mine. I'm trusting you with his well-being while in the Elites Corps," she said and stepped between them. "He is eighteen quadrums, and you'll note, below my preferred age of Elites."

"But..." Maia gaped at her. "The injection—"

"I know." General Falae huffed. "You're a Guardian now. It is your directive to keep him safe — including from himself. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good." General Falae returned to Black Wolf. "As I said, James, you're lucky, so don't waste it by pushing yourself when you don't know what you can do."

Black Wolf bowed his head, and they were shooed out of the office. Out of earshot of General Falae, she growled, "I cannot believe I'm stuck with you."

"You can complain or you can accept it."

"So easy for you to say, Black Wolf." Maia pushed past him and headed for the elevator.

"James."

Maia stopped in her tracks and turned. He hesitated with a blink, then scoffed and snubbed her once more. "As much as I like the code-name... my name is James. If we're going to be paired up and working together, you might as well use it. Or you can keep calling me Black Wolf, I don't really care either way." He walked past her without another word.

"James."

He stopped, and Maia caught up with him to needle for information. "Do you remember anything from the injection?"

"Why, do you?"

Knives swept through her spine at the recollection. "Everything. I think every time my heart stopped, I floated away. Every time I came back, I crashed onto the crags. I kept cracking my head open and got turned into spaghetti, but then it all healed in an instant. Until I stopped fighting it and I woke up."

Thought filled the hazel. "Interesting."

"Why is that interesting?"

James shrugged. "I don't remember any of it."

"Well," Maia drawled as she took the lead to the elevator. "Lucky you, James Ranier."

"I was born lucky, I suppose," James mumbled, and for once, the smile on his face wasn't predatory, malicious, or haughty.

It was genuine, and full of haunted, insurmountable pain.


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