James stood at the edge of the rooftop, scanning the ruins his enhanced eyes letting him see for miles. The building they had climbed was about four stories tall, the highest point in this part of the city. If the others had made it to the ruins, he should be able to spot them.

  Then, he saw movement.

  “There they are,” he muttered. A battered Bradley and a few figures moved along the outskirts of the ruins to the west. They were still intact, thank whatever god was left in this hellhole he can still get paid. It should take them about thirty minutes to reach the others, provided nothing else decided to try and kill them.

  “I know where we have to go,” James said, turning around.

  Ryan, however, wasn’t paying attention. He stood frozen, his back pressed against the rooftop’s water tower, his face pale. His grip on his rifle was tight, his knuckles white.

  James smirked. “What’s the matter, kid? Not one for heights?”

  Ryan swallowed hard. “Can we just get the hell off this roof?”

  James chuckled, shaking his head as he led the way down the fire escape.

  The descent was quicker than their frantic climb up, but James remained cautious, scanning the alley below as they neared the ground. He didn’t hear anything scuttling around, but that didn’t mean they were alone.

  Once their boots hit solid ground, they set off, keeping their pace brisk. The ruins stretched around them like a maze of broken streets and crumbling buildings. Ryan stayed close, his rifle raised, eyes flicking to every shadow. “You think there’s more of those things?”

  James nodded. “Always. You're never alone in a wasteland even if you never noticed it before there will always be something waiting.”

  They weaved through the shattered remnants of the city, moving between rusted-out cars and piles of rubble. James kept an eye on the western horizon where the Bradley was stationed.

  They had covered about ten minutes of ground when Ryan stopped suddenly. “Wait. You hear that?”

  James stilled, listening. A faint clicking sound echoed through the ruins, followed by a wet, dragging noise.

  He motioned for Ryan to move into cover behind an overturned bus. They crouched low, rifles aimed at the street ahead.

  From the remains of a collapsed building, a lone mutant emerged. It was smaller than the ones they had fought earlier, but its elongated limbs twitched unnaturally, its jaw hanging open as it sniffed the air.

  Ryan tensed. “Shit.”

  James raised a hand, signaling him to wait. The creature was alone—probably a stray. If they didn’t make noise, it might move on.

  It didn’t because things could never be easy.

  The mutant’s head snapped in their direction, its hollow eyes locking onto their position. Then, it screeched and charged.

  James fired first, the round tearing through its shoulder, spinning it sideways. Ryan followed up with a burst 2 shots going wild with one hitting the creature's chest dropping it to the pavement.

  They waited, listening.

  Nothing. No more movement.

  James exhaled. “Alright, let’s keep moving.”

  They picked up the pace, keeping to the shadows as they navigated through the ruins.

  The Bradley loomed closer now, and James could make out Laim and Raven standing outside, keeping watch while the driver crouched near the tracks, working on repairs. As James and Ryan approached, the two mercs turned, their expressions shifting from surprise to something resembling mild amusement.

  “Damn, you’re still alive,” Raven said with a smirk.

  James grinned. “Good to see you too, Raven.” His eyes flicked to the damaged Bradley. “What happened here?”

  Laim let out a tired sigh, crossing his arms. “We ran something over in the storm. Must’ve been some buried debris—it knocked the track off. Should be fixed soon.”

  Ryan wasted no time, heading straight inside the Bradley, no doubt eager to get warm after nearly freezing to death. James, however, took a moment to catch up with Laim and Raven. The exhaustion on their faces was evident—none of them had expected this mission to be this much of a mess.

  After some time, the driver finally stood, wiping grease from his hands. “Alright, we’re all set.”

  With that, everyone piled into the Bradley. James had barely settled in, expecting at least a moment to breathe, when shouting erupted.

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  “What do you mean you want us to go back?! We don’t even know what we’re looking for!” Raven’s voice echoed through the cabin, her glare locked onto Bradford, the lead scientist.

  Bradford, just as furious, shot back, “YOU WERE HIRED TO DO A JOB!”

  The argument spiraled into a screaming match, neither side willing to back down. James, watching from the side, sighed heavily and glanced at the other scientists. They looked more like they wanted to be anywhere but here. The remaining guards also seemed uneasy, clearly not thrilled with the idea of pressing forward.

  Only Bradford was fighting to keep going.

  Then, Aurora spoke up, her voice cutting through the tension like a blade. “That’s enough.” Everyone turned toward her. “Bradford is right. We’ve come too far to turn back now. But I don’t need all of you to come. If you want to stay here, you can.”

  Silence followed. Then, Aurora met James' gaze, waiting for his response.

  James sighed. “Don’t worry, I got your back.”

  The astonished looks from the others were almost comical. Raven and Laim looked like he had just lost his damn mind. Even some of the guards glanced at each other in disbelief.

  Bradford, of course, just had to open his mouth. “Finally, you’re doing your job.”

  James turned his head and shot him a glare that could kill. “My only requirement is that he remains behind.”

  Bradford’s face twisted in outrage. “You can’t be—”

  “Done.” Aurora cut him off without hesitation, her tone final.

  The scientist opened his mouth to protest but quickly realized he had no ground to stand on. His face burned red with frustration, but he said nothing more.

  Ryan, still looking worse for wear, tried to volunteer, but James shook his head. “Not happening. You’re barely standing as it is.”

  The kid looked like he wanted to argue but stayed silent.

  James took a deep breath before addressing the group. “Alright, here’s the plan. We need to flip the jeep back over. I’m not walking miles through the wasteland.”

  Nods of agreement followed. With that settled, the Bradley rumbled to life, moving toward the overturned jeep. James leaned back against the cold metal interior, closing his eyes for just a moment.

  James took the brief moment of travel to do what he did best—shut off his mind and rest. He had long ago trained his body to fall asleep on command, conserving energy whenever possible. The rhythmic hum of the Bradley’s engine was a familiar lullaby, and within seconds, he was out.

  A gentle nudge roused him from his sleep. As he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Raven’s face, her sharp gaze watching him closely. It was just the two of them in the cabin now.

  “Are you crazy or something?” she asked, arms crossed. “Why the hell are you risking your life for this?”

  James exhaled through his nose, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before meeting her stare. “I risk my life every time I take a contract. I knew full well what I’d be facing by coming here. Sure, I didn’t expect to get into a firefight, but I knew the risks all the same.” He leaned back slightly. “The real question is why are you so wary? You had to know this was the kind of job where you were more likely to die than walk away.”

  Raven hesitated, her fingers tapping idly against her thigh. After a moment, she admitted, “You’re right. But knowing it’s deadly and actually going through it are two different things.”

  Before James could respond, the cabin door swung open, and Ryan stepped in. “The jeep’s all good,” he announced, looking between them. “We even managed to fix the radio.”

  James gave him a nod before standing up, but before stepping out, he glanced back at Raven. “If you make it back, you should reconsider this line of work.”

  She scoffed but didn’t say anything as he left.

  Outside James saw the jeep freshly flipped and back in working order. Laim was already sitting in the passenger seat, giving Ryan a grin as he saw him approach.

  “So, you chose to come, old-timer?” Ryan teased.

  Laim smirked. “Who you callin’ old? I’m forty-seven, kid. And someone’s gotta have your raw back.”

  James winced at the remark, feeling the dull ache still lingering in his muscles. The wounds had all healed by now, but his body was still sore.

  “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” James muttered as he climbed into the driver’s seat.

  As they were getting ready to leave Aurora finally entered the jeep, moving with her usual composed grace. Without a word, she input the coordinates into the system.

  James glanced at her before asking, “So, do we finally get to know what’s going on now?”

  She didn’t even look at him as she replied with a simple, flat, “No.”

  James sighed, gripping the wheel. “Figures.”

  With that, James took off, guiding the jeep back into the endless expanse of the desert. The midday sun loomed high, casting harsh shadows across the dunes, but James barely registered the heat—or rather, the lack of it. The desert may have looked like the ones from old pre-war holovids, but it was nothing of the sort. The wasteland was frigid, unforgiving, a graveyard of a world long gone.

  It didn’t take long for their destination to come into view. They had only been fifteen minutes out when they first spotted the remnants of the previous battle. The insect swarm had moved on, leaving behind the shattered remains of vehicles and bodies, both human and otherwise. However, what caught James’s eye were the few jeeps still intact—each one marked with a familiar insignia EHD.

  Eclipse-Horizon-Dynamics.

  James’s grip tightened on the steering wheel. This was no coincidence. That was the second time in one mission they had run into these guys, and he doubted it was by chance. Whatever was going on, it was bigger than some classified SDS operation.

  As they pulled up, James immediately saw that whatever they had come here for, it wasn’t a satellite.

  What lay before them was a concrete foundation. Whatever structure had once stood here was long gone, eroded by time or perhaps destroyed intentionally. But what stood out to James the most was the breaching equipment—heavy drills, cutting torches, and a few scattered detonation charges—all laid out around a massive steel hatch embedded in the foundation.

  James let out a dry chuckle. “Nice satellite,” he said, stepping out of the jeep.

  Aurora didn’t respond. She walked straight toward the hatch and placed her wrist against a nearby scanner. The mechanism let out a soft beep, then, with a deep metallic groan, the locks disengaged, and the hatch slowly lifted open.

  She turned to James. “Follow me.” Then, shifting her gaze to Laim, she added, “Guard the entrance.”

  James arched a brow but didn’t argue. He glanced at Laim, who gave him a small smirk and a nod. “Good luck,” the older merc said.

  James exhaled before gripping the ladder’s rungs and descending into the unknown.