Oli brought blankets, three cans of lentil soup and some packs of dried fruit. He drew a sample of Sammar’s blood while Ehzi glared.

  “It’ll be at least six hours for the results. I’ll be in the lab. Through the domicile pod, down a corridor to the east. But it’ll be locked… security. So. Get lax.” Oli closed the steel door behind him.

  “Why did he need my blood?” Sammar asked Ehzi.

  She looked at Mal, fighting the urge to tell the boy the truth. “We want to make sure you’re healthy before you go to Avalon. You’d hate to be sick in front of all those lux, yeah?”

  “I don’t feel sick.”

  “Why don’t you go wash up, get ready to sleep. There’s a sink just through that doorway.”

  Sammar reluctantly entered the portal. When she heard water running, Ehzi turned to Mal.

  “Why are we still here? It’s clear he’s a burner,” she said. “If you don’t deliver him to the camp in time, he won’t make it inside Avalon.”

  “You’re set to see the boy light up.” Mal scoffed.

  Ehzi sucked her teeth, instantly riled. “Who are you to crit me? You’ve treated him like a scrapheap dog this whole time.”

  “So?”

  “You don’t care about him, but I don’t want him to detonate for nothing. He deserves to find his glory inside Avalon."

  “We’re staying.”

  Ehzi snarled in frustration and began pacing. She knew Mal was dogged to a fault when he settled on a course of action, but something felt off. “This is loc. You're acting like you…” Ehzi stopped dead as the swirling questions of Mal’s intention suddenly took the shape of an answer. “You want this op to fail. Yeah?”

  “Watch your words, Ehzi,” Mal growled in warning.

  Ehzi’s green eyes burned. “You don’t want the boy to gain the glory you dodged.”

  Mal snapped. He lunged but his leg slowed him. Ehzi’s blade flashed centimeters away from his eye before he was fully upright. They stared at each other, two predators waiting for the right instant to strike. Violence hung in the air like a spectre.

  “What are you doing?” Sammar stood on the far side of the room watching them with eyes wide.

  In an instant Ehzi holstered her blade and turned smiling to the boy. “We’re practicing… in case we have to protect you again. Want to make sure we get you to the camp on time.”

  She ushered Sammar to join her. He reluctantly moved across the room toward her outstretched arms. She guided him to a blanket she’d spread over two short containers and wrapped it around him as he took a seat. All signs of the fierce warrior ready to slice Mal moments ago were gone.

  “I know what we can do,” she said to Sammar. “You can show us how to find peace. That’d be fun.”

  Sammar looked at Mal apprehensively. “I don’t know…”

  “Come on. We want to learn. Right, Mal?” Ehzi turned to Mal, pushing him with her eyes.

  He grunted and shrugged, his rage slowly fading. He lowered himself back onto the floor and leaned against a stack of crates. He saw his leg wound was bleeding some but didn’t care. Ehzi sat cross legged on the floor in front of Sammar’s makeshift bed and smiled at the boy.

  “Okay. Pretend bombs are falling outside and we’re very scared,” she said.

  “But you’re not scared.”

  “Pretend.”

  “Okay,” said Sammar. He sat up and crossed his legs. “First, close your eyes.”

  “Okay,” said Ehzi.

  “Now take a deep breath. Let it out slowly. Now breathe in again.”

  Mal sighed, wondering how long he’d have to listen to this nonsense.

  “Now,” continued Sammar. “Think about one thing that made you happy. Think about it really hard. And keep thinking about it until it’s the only thing in your mind. Think about it like it’s a pic, not a vid. Just keep your mind stuck on that time.”

  Nekka’s laugh echoed inside Mal’s head. He saw her sitting on the hood of his wheeler, moonlight reflected in her eyes. They’d driven into the hills west of Baho on Azzeh Day to watch the fireworks from a secluded ridge. He told her a joke, he couldn’t remember which, but it was terrible. And Nekka laughed anyway. Laughed like he made her happy to her core. He never understood why he made her laugh when he made most people afraid, but he loved her for it.

  “Keep breathing, and keep thinking about that happy thing. Take another deep breath in… now out…”

  Sammar’s voice drifted away as Mal’s eyes fluttered shut. He tumbled into a deep, deep sleep.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  ///

  The sharp crack of a rifle being racked yanked Mal from his slumber. He tried to jump to his feet but pain shot through his wounded leg and he crumpled back to the floor. A snicker from the tall, dark-skinned man aiming a N5 assault rifle at him. Mal could see three other people in the room, all armed. They wore battered combat gear, and he spotted a red-tinted brand in the shape of a bird with outstretched wings on one of their forearms: Phoenix Brigade.

  Mal looked up at the man standing over him and realized he knew him. It had been decades since they’d last seen each other. Back when they were too young to join a faction, Zelo Willams and Mal often ran in the same crowd, committing petty vandalism against CCDF property as a rite of passage. Zelo had later made a name for himself after joining Phoenix Brigade, leading attacks on CCDF detention facilities and blowing up transmitter towers.

  Mal slowly crawled to his knees. His coil pistol and stunstick had been taken. He saw Ehzi and Sammar huddled together on a container in the corner, two of the Phoenix fighters guarding them. Oli stood by the doorway. He shrugged when Mal glared at him.

  “I told you he was a shitlicker,” said Ehzi.

  “Shut up,” said Oli. He looked at Mal. “It’s going to be okay if you don’t do anything stupid.”

  Mal shifted his gaze to Zelo. “I know you.” Zelo raised his eyebrows, obviously not recalling Mal. “Zelo, yeah? We ran together in Baho – south sector. I remember stealing a CCDF carrier tire with you.”

  A smile crept across Zelo’s face. “Took five of us to roll that huge thing up the hill.” He laughed as the memory washed over him. “I remember that day. It was a good day. Name?”

  “Mal. Mal Gomes.”

  Zelo squinted, trying to see the young boy he used to know under Mal’s grizzled exterior. “Well. Mal. Sorry to meet you again like this after so long. Why don’t you take a seat?”

  Zelo took a step back and allowed Mal to struggle to his feet. He motioned for Mal to sit on a nearby crate.

  “Careful with that one,” called Oli from across the room. “He’s good at killing.”

  Zelo ignored Oli and slung his rifle over his shoulder. “Comrades,” he said to the others. “This here is Mal. That’s Holt and Damron.” Zelo pointed to the two men near Ehzi. “And Serral.” He motioned to the woman sporting the Phoenix brand on her arm.

  “You said Gomes?” asked Serral. “You’re related to Darus Gomes, yeah?”

  Mal winced, nodded his head. Zelo’s eyes grew wide. “Motherfuck. I never knew that.”

  “Save your respect, Zelo,” said Serral. “He’s still just a lancer, selling himself to path-heads like Zeta Dawn for bits.”

  “Can we get on with this?” asked Oli. “I don’t like having so many people in my residence.”

  Zelo again ignored Oli, instead turning his gaze toward Sammar. “Does the boy know?” he asked Mal.

  Mal shook his head. “He knows he’s going to Avalon.”

  “Do you wanna tell him?” Zelo asked.

  “You uppity Phoenix nuks can go screw,” growled Ehzi. “Nobody’s telling him nothing.”

  “Who did you run with?” asked Serral. Ehzi pulled up her sleeve to show her X-10 brand. Serral snorted. The generations-long rivalry between Phoenix and X-10 was still going strong.

  “Yeah we’re uppity,” said Serral. “And we’re still in the struggle for our people. Not sell-outs like you.”

  “Let’s keep it peaceable,” said Zelo to Mal. “You can tell him or we will.”

  Mal locked eyes with Sammar. The boy looked concerned, but surprisingly calm. “You’re not going to Avalon anymore,” Mal said to him.

  “Where am I going?” the boy asked.

  Zelo nodded to Serral, who knelt down next to Sammar. Ehzi put her arm around the boy’s shoulders and pulled him toward her.

  “You’re coming with us, Sammar,” said Serral. “We’re going to take care of you now.”

  “Fuck you are,” sneered Ehzi.

  “Don’t upset him,” Serral warned Ehzi. Her tone made it clear she wasn’t going to put up with any more outbursts.

  “Just take him,” said Oli. “This is idiotic.”

  “Shut it, Oli,” said Zelo. “This is our op.”

  “You wouldn’t have an op if I hadn’t contacted you!”

  “And you’ve been squared. Cut the yab.”

  Ehzi spat at Oli. The gob splashed near his foot. “Snitch! Scabber! Ratshit!”

  The Phoenix members chuckled as Oli’s expression darkened. He muttered bitterly to himself as he moved further out of Ehzi’s range.

  Serral motioned to Holt, who aimed his rifle at Ehzi, daring her to move. Serral gently placed her hand on Sammar’s wrist and smiled at him. Ehzi opened her mouth but Holt stepped closer before she could speak, positioning the muzzle centimeters from her forehead. Sammar looked from Ehzi to Serral and back again, his anxiety quickly escalating.

  “It’s all good,” cooed Serral. “Everything will be fine.”

  Mal coughed to get Zelo’s attention. “There’s something you need to know,” he whispered.

  Zelo leaned forward to listen and that’s when Mal lunged. He wrapped one hand around Zelo’s throat and clutched the N5 with the other. He heaved the Phoenix fighter toward him, using his momentum to flip him onto the floor.

  Mal used his weight to pin down the thinner man, yanking the N5 out of Zelo’s hand and snapping the sling. He trained the rifle at Zelo’s head, stopping Serall and Damron in their tracks. Holt kept his rifle trained on Ehzi, who pulled Sammar close.

  Mal should have fired. Eliminated the threat. Taken out the other fighters before they could react. But he didn’t. He could make out Sammar’s small huddled form on the edges of his vision. He stared into Zelo’s eyes. And he didn’t pull the trigger.

  “This is what’s going to happen,” Mal said through gritted teeth. His leg throbbed. He knew he couldn’t hold his position long. “You’re going to drop your weapons and any transmitters. Then you’re gonna skut to your vehicle and drive till you’re back in Solara District.”

  “We can’t leave the kid.” Zelo gasped for breath but didn’t try to move.

  “This ain’t a parlay.” Mal looked at Damron and Serral. “Drop the damn weapons.”

  The Phoenix fighters didn’t move.

  “What are you even doing?” asked Ehzi. “Why is Phoenix trying to stub a Zeta op?”

  “An unsanctioned op,” said Serral. “We need to bring the boy to command. The Faction Council will deal with Zeta Dawn.”

  “Mal, they’re going to snuff him out and cut him open,” Ehzi said.

  Oli slowly inched his way toward the door.

  “Don’t be dim, Mal,” said Serral. “You shoot Zelo, we shoot you and the woman. Everybody loses. We need to be standing together, not killing each other. Let us take the boy, no more quibs, and we all get out of here alive.”

  Oli reached for the door handle.

  A piercing siren echoed through the room. Oli jumped away from the door and scurried to a monitor mounted above a small table. He flicked it on and live feeds from multiple surveillance cameras filled the screen. On a feed showing the main path to the facility, ten armed men could be seen quickly approaching in the darkness of night.

  “Motherfuck,” muttered Oli.

  “Your crew?” Mal asked Zelo. He shook his head.

  The armed men diverged at the mouth of the path, moving out of the camera’s view. On the rooftop feed three of them could be seen climbing up the outer wall of the west-side pod.

  “I disabled my defenses for you,” whined Oli, shaking a gaunt fist at Serral. “This is all your fault.”

  Mal climbed off of Zelo and moved to get a better look at the monitor. The other feeds showed the men taking positions around the facility to cover the accessways. One of the men on the roof stepped into the illumination of a floodlight, shadows playing across his burn-ravaged face.

  “Remu,” hissed Mal. “Zeta Dawn is here.”

  O Negative: