Battlefield (11 page)

Waking up, Devyn had never felt so entirely comfortable in her life.  With Gerard’s arms coiled securely around her waist, and her head tucked securely in the pocket of his shoulder, she couldn’t have felt safer.  As always, when it came to dreams, some things couldn’t last forever, and such a predicament was the one she was currently in.  Instead of indulging in temptation and catching a few more moments of sleep, if only to try and memorize how this exact moment felt, she pushed all thoughts from her head and got out of the bed.

No sooner than she had, the rest of the Unit followed her down to breakfast, and after another half an hour of digestive time, they finally made their way to the starting point.  The day’s rules consisted of the same ones from the previous day: make it to base without getting killed, and you were that much closer to the Gates of Freedom. 

As Devyn tried to keep her mind focused and away from doubt, she walked in place, if only to keep her heart rate up.  Gerard, standing beside her, could tell she was nervous, especially after seeing what she had the previous day.  In hopes to calm her down, he placed his hand firmly on her shoulder, and leaned down, whispering, “It’s going to be all right.”

Upon feeling Gerard’s hand on her shoulder, Devyn felt her whole body freeze.  Instead of focusing on the mission, she felt herself notice the way his hot breath tickled her neck, or the fact that the shape of his palm managed to mold almost perfectly with her shoulder.  And with this, she felt herself get a grip on her fear, and slowly, her body began to relax.  She would never admit this to Gerard, however, and once the foghorn pierced the dawn sky, causing the nearby birds to fly off once more, they were off, executing Plan 1.

This, of course, meant a separation for the time being, lessoning the chances of getting caught by any other Unit.

For the next two hours, Devyn was careful to scout her environment, and as of yet, had not run into any opposing person.  She took her time in her task, and made sure she was always running low, hiding behind trees, camouflaging quite thoroughly with the surrounding nature.  Though Devyn knew this entire game the Director had thrown together was to get each Unit to kill everyone who challenged their freedom.  Violence, just below sex, made for good television.  She knew that, and yet Devyn wouldn’t kill anyone if she could help it.  She didn’t want to win because she had killed people, she wanted to win because she got to the Gates of Freedom first.

That was her own personal goal.

A branch snapped behind her, indicating someone’s presence.  Devyn didn’t jump; training had drilled into her that someone sneaking up on her in combat was likely, but her body tensed, and in the blink of an eye, she turned, prepared to fight.  But it was only Rachel.  The two young women, happy to see that the other was safe and all right, quickly embraced each other.

“Have you seen Hugh or Gerard?” Devyn asked once the two broke apart.

“Not since we split up,” Rachel said, shaking her head.

There was an unspoken worry among the two females, but both refused to acknowledge it because then that might mean it was true.  If they needed to do anything, they needed to focus.  For all they knew, Gerard and Hugh could be at the base already and were currently stressing about
them
. 

Suddenly, Rachel stopped Devyn, but instead of talking, she used the military signals they had been taught at a young age to show there was a man in front of them, probably a couple of meters off.  Devyn quickly signed something back, and as Rachel responded, her lips curled into a smirk.  At first, Devyn was against the entire idea, but Rachel pointed out that if they did it this way, they wouldn’t have to kill him, just knock him out.  Finally, Devyn agreed.

The plan consisted of Devyn stripping off her shirt and lying down in the grass, quickly making sure her hair and body was quickly covered in dirt so their plan was more believable.  When she saw Rachel disappear behind the tree, she began to make whimpering noises, soft and seductive, but loud enough for the man to hear.  At first, he wasn’t sure what it was, but after recognizing it was a human, he quickly ran over, thinking it might be someone from his own Unit.

When his eyes came in contact with Devyn, who had nothing on but a bra, her pants, and one shoe, he felt his body tense.  Even he could not tear his eyes away from her blatantly displayed body.  She looked like she had tripped and hurt her ankle, and when she saw him approach, she tried to scoot away.  He smirked, knowing that he would kill her, but wanting to take his time while he did so.  However, once he had dropped to his knees, Devyn used the foot that was supposed to be injured to kick him square in the face, and it was then that Rachel made her appearance, skillfully knocking him out with a flick of her wrist.

“Well,” a flat, Scottish voice said from behind the two.  “I guess that’s one way to do it.”

Devyn quickly pulled on her shirt and her shoe while Rachel squealed with happiness, pulling Gerard into a tight hug.  “Oh my gosh, we were
so
worried about you!”  She glanced around.  “Where’s Hugh?”

“I think he’s at base, but I can’t be sure,” Gerard told Rachel once they had released each other.  When he saw the crestfallen look on Rachel’s face, he felt guilt knot in his stomach.  “But I’m sure Hugh is fine.  You know how good he is when it comes to combat…”  He let his voice trail off, doubting that this was helping in any way.

“Um…”  Rachel took a couple of steps back.  “Yeah, I’m going to go to base then.  Just to check, you know?  I’ll see you later.”  And before they could stop her, Rachel had disappeared.   

Gerard and Devyn walked for another hour.  Instead of splitting, they decided to remain close, just in case.  Gerard would never admit it, but he wanted to make sure nothing happened to Devyn.  He trusted her abilities and knew just how skilled she was in combat, but it served his own selfishness rather than her; if he wasn’t with her and something had happened to her, he wouldn’t know what to do with himself.

He watched her closely.  They had yet to encounter anyone, but that could mean anything from Units knew how to hide and camouflage and remain quiet up to because this was the second day, not many people remained.  He was glad either way because this way, he knew Devyn was safe, and he knew that he was safe as well.  He didn’t want to get ahead of himself, but he really, truly believed that they would –

Before he could finish his thought, he accidentally ran into Devyn, who had stopped abruptly in front of him.  Gerard grabbed her waist, as though he planned to steady her, but it was as though she hadn’t even noticed.  Her eyes were fixed on what was happening below the small hill they were on.  Base was just a couple of yards to the left; they had a few feet and they were there.  Yet Devyn wasn’t moving.

And then Gerard caught onto why that was.

There was a woman that Devyn had gotten along with, despite the fact that they were from different Units, and whenever Rachel was sick, the two were training partners.  However, the woman wasn’t alone.  The man that Rachel and Devyn had previously knocked out jumped behind her and within a manner of seconds, snapped her neck.  At that moment, Gerard knew exactly what was going to happen, and quickly grabbed onto Devyn’s waist once more in order to prevent her from going down there.  She fought against him, but then he expected that to happen.  With one swoop, he had her over his shoulder and made his way over to the base where they were finally safe.  At least for the day.

Because the rules stated once a person was at base, they couldn’t leave it, Gerard put Devyn down, knowing that no matter how badly she wanted to leave, she couldn’t.  And then without thinking, he pulled her into a tight hug.

One of those damn camera crew guys thought that this was a perfect time to interview the pair, but one look from Gerard sent them away.

It was then that Rachel and Hugh entered, and Rachel immediately went over to Devyn.  Somehow, she knew why Devyn was upset, and skillfully transferred Devyn over to herself from Gerard.  “It’s okay, sweetie,” Rachel murmured, stroking her friend’s hair.  “It’s okay.  We got him.  Hugh and I got him.  He’s gone.”

Hugh and Gerard shared bleak looks, but at least everyone was here and everyone was safe.

Day Two was done, one more to go.

The wet drops hit her fully clothed form, but she couldn’t feel them.  Devyn was sitting in the shower, her knees brought up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them, and her cheek leaning against one knee.  She knew that logically, she shouldn’t even flinch when someone was killed in front of her.  That was what training had prepared her for.  Even if it was someone she knew, even if it was Gerard or Rachel or Hugh, she would have to keep her focus and not even blink.  But she didn’t do that.  Devyn didn’t even know Jackie for very long; the two were acquaintances more so than friends, and yet she couldn’t help herself when she saw the way that guy just killed her.  She didn’t even have a chance.

Devyn didn’t know how people could do that to other people.  They were genomes and they knew how to fight.  The least the guy could have done was approach her, indicate that he was going to kill her, and then fight for it.  Jackie should have been allowed to fight for her life.

And if she and Rachel had just killed the guy when they had the chance, Jackie would still be alive.

No
, a sharp voice in her head scolded. 
No, Devyn, you can’t think about it like that.  Right now, your friends need you to stay on your game.  Gerard, Rachel, Hugh – they need you, and you can’t let them down.  Do you hear me?

Of course Devyn heard the voice, but that didn’t stop the guilt from leaving her body.  Hell, she could feel her insides coil at the sight, and yet she couldn’t stop the scene from playing and then replaying over and over in her mind.  Devyn could have done something, couldn’t she?  Devyn could have shouted, gotten Jackie’s attention, startled the guy,
anything
!  Yet she didn’t do anything.  She couldn’t.  Devyn was rooted to the spot.

Would that happen if it was Rachel or Gerard or Hugh who needed her help?  She wanted to think that there was no way that would happen, that she would jump in and fight for them, but if she couldn’t even do it for Jackie –

Her thoughts were interrupted by someone opening the shower door.  She didn’t even notice, and to be honest, she really didn’t care.  It wasn’t as though Devyn was actually taking a shower.  However, her curious eyes rolled up, and when she saw that it was Gerard, she looked away, comfortable enough to know that he wouldn’t ask too many questions.  It didn’t surprise her when he took a seat next to her, fully clothed as well, letting the water hit him without a second thought.

Gerard knew that what Devyn had seen had affected her more than she was willing to say.  All throughout dinner, she was picking at her food and wasn’t speaking as she normally did.  Despite the constant teasing he gave her concerning his preference to eat in complete silence, he couldn’t help but miss it.  And when she left, he knew exactly where she was heading.  Initially, he had wanted to go after her, but upon second thought and a quick chat with Rachel, decided that maybe right now, she just needed some time alone to sort everything through.

After a good fifteen minutes, he went after her, and that was where he was now.

“How did you know I wasn’t naked?” Devyn mumbled after a moment of silence, but kept her eyes firmly ahead of her. 

“I thought you were,” Gerard teased, nudging his shoulder with hers.  “But when my hopes were dashed by the damp clothes hanging from your frame, I decided to join you.”

The corners of Devyn’s lips turned up, but the strained smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, nor did it remain on her face for longer than a second.  Even the effort put into a simple smile was tiresome for the young woman, and Gerard felt his heart constrict at the thought only because he knew Devyn quite well, and as a result, knew how happy-go-lucky she always was.

It was interesting because even though she was brought up this way for entire life – hell, she was literally created to do this – she was almost naïve to the situation she was currently in.  Of course Gerard knew Devyn expected to see death when she started this whole mission, and yet, when she actually saw it…  Her naivety was fading fast and she soon would build this shell around herself to keep from getting hurt again.  Gerard hoped that the core of who Devyn was, the woman he had found himself falling for, would still be there.

Yes, he was most certainly in love with her.  And once this whole thing was over and they had acquired their long-sought after freedom – because they
would
win this entire thing – he would tell her, and hopefully, she would admit that she felt the same way.

Without warning, Devyn’s head found a place on his shoulder that she had silently staked out as hers.  She needed contact, and she wanted it from no one other than the man sitting next to her.  He always made her feel safe.  Gerard rested his cheek on the top of her head, a small smile littering his face as his arm coiled around her waist and pulled her even closer to him than she already was.

They stayed there until Gerard reminded her that California had a water crisis, which happened to be around the same time the water turned cold.

--

The next morning, Devyn felt better, and she knew that it was because of her friends.  She stayed with Gerard again that night, and though her sleep was dreamless, it was comforting.  When she woke up, she was well-rested.  Her focus had come back to her, and all she wanted to do was finish this stupid thing, walk out of those Gates, and never,
ever
look back.  Due to the fact that she hadn’t eaten much dinner, Devyn took more than she should for breakfast, but another half an hour was permitted for digestive purposes.

With that, they lined up where they were going to start a little earlier than expected because Gerard had another one of his speeches planned.

“There’s really not that much to say,” he began, his voice laced with mist so when he spoke, it looked like smoke formed with every word.  And yet no one from Unit 121 noticed the cold.  “We’re nearly there.  We only have a half a day if Plan 3 goes through well, and then we’re done.  We’re free.”  He paused and glanced at the three people he had come to call his friends.  “I’m not going to say goodbye or tell you anything just in case none of you make it because that’s not an option.  Our other teammates, their deaths were not in vain, you hear me?  We’re going to make it.  And there’s no reason to doubt it.  We’ve come this far.  It would be pretty silly if we’ve come all this way and not succeed.  What I
do
want to say, however, is this: I’m proud to have known you three, to be on your team, to fight for this with you.  I consider you all my friends, and I hope when we do get out of here, we’ll keep in touch.”

Rachel snorted.  “Hello!” she exclaimed in an obvious voice.  “We’re getting an apartment together.”

The foghorn went off, and then, at least to Devyn, everything was a blur.  She encountered the opposition, and somehow, her body responded each time.  She didn’t even have to think about out.  To be honest, Devyn couldn’t tell one way or the other if she had killed them or if she had just knocked them out.  And maybe that was for the best.

When her eyes caught sight of the famous Gates, she felt her heart swell up.  It wasn’t long before she was met with the rest of her Unit, none of which were injured in any way, thank God.  They began to dash toward their freedom together.  Rachel started laughing at the ridiculousness of it all, the luck of it all, and soon, Devyn had joined.

However, such a moment was short lived.  The camera crews were there filming, of course, and a slew of paparazzi were waiting outside the metal gates, taking pictures, shouting questions even now.  But that wasn’t what made Devyn freeze in place.  That wasn’t what made her entire bloodstream go cold, and she suddenly realized that something else was going on, that this game wasn’t exactly over.

The Director, Stewart Hall, was applauding, the only person to be doing such a thing at that moment.  However, he didn’t seem too pleased at the prospect, and the look on his face was somewhat condescending, and even enigmatic, as though he knew something that they didn’t.  When Gerard noticed Hall, he grabbed onto Devyn’s wrist and put himself in front of her, ready for a confrontation if it came to that.

But Stewart Hall had something completely different in mind.