Ethan set up a game of pool in the recreation room with practiced movements.
He had felt disconnected from the rest of the group since the day Micah got expelled. In bed with a migraine, he wouldn’t have even known about their escape attempt if Zoe hadn’t come to check on him. And he had finally managed to fall asleep before the gas was released into the facility and knocked everyone else out. He’d also been the last to wake up after the fact and had learned about everything that had happened second hand.
Because he hadn’t experienced the escape attempt first hand and he’d been so out of it when he learned of it, he had a hard time believing that he hadn’t simply dreamed the whole thing. But now Micah was gone and he felt guilty for not taking a more active role in the situation. Maybe if he had dragged himself out of bed and tried to talk Micah out of his decision he would still be with them, safe inside the nest.
Ethan still wasn’t sure what to believe about the outside world. He had been the first to guess at the truth of what had happened outside, after all, and his gut had been telling him from the beginning that they were better off in this bunker even before he had a concrete reason for feeling this way. Still, he had submitted his request for information quickly after learning of the opportunity to learn the truth. The temptation to know the truth was simply too great and he couldn’t be satisfied living out the rest of his days in a cave without a good reason for doing so.
When he was finally satisfied with arrangement of the pool balls and their placement on the table, he delicately lifted the triangle and set it aside, picking up a cue along the way and rubbing the chalk over the end with practiced ease. Placing the cue ball precisely on the felt, he stood back and regarded the beauty of the well ordered table for a moment before leaning forward and creating chaos with a thwack of his cue. Balls exploded to every corner of the table, bouncing off the side and two—no, three—dropped into the pockets with a satisfying rattle.
“You’ve done that a few times before.”
Ethan looked up to see Sloane standing in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest and eyebrows raised. “Probably,” he admitted, reaching for the chalk. “It felt pretty natural. Want to join me?”
Sloane shrugged. “Why not? I just lost my pool partner.”
Circling the table in search of his next shot, Ethan asked, “Micah likes to play?”
“He’s a little pool shark, is what he is. Said he didn’t think he’d ever played because he didn’t really know the rules, but he’s got a mind for geometry and angles. I’ve never seen anyone make so many banked shots.”
Choosing his spot, Ethan stretched over the table and closed one eye as he lined up the cue with the ball and imagined how it would bounce and roll. “Three ball, corner pocket,” he announced. Two quick strokes of the cue over his finger and then he hit the cue ball with gentle force, watching as it struck the other ball and sent it careening into the pocket just as he had predicted.
Sloane sighed. “You’re not going to give me a chance to play, are you?”
“I don’t know. This next one is going to be tricky.” Ethan walked around the table in search of a good angle.
“So, have you gotten your top secret delivery yet?” Sloane asked.
Ethan looked up at him. “Why? Have you?”
“Nah, man. I’m not even interested. I don’t need any help making my decision.”
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Considering this, Ethan pursed his lips and hung his arms on the pool cue, resting it upright on the floor. “I suppose this place isn’t so bad. They provide everything we need and we don’t have to work or pay for any of it.”
“Are you kidding? I’m getting out of here the first chance I get.”
Startled, Ethan said, “Zoe said you weren’t interested in helping with Micah’ escape plan.”
“I wasn’t.” Sloane shook his head. “It was stupid. As if they left that little electrical plan here on accident. It was a trap to see if someone would jump at the chance. No, they promised us a chance to leave and we don’t really have a reason to doubt them. Some graffiti left on the washing machine? A few planted pieces of supposed evidence? It’s like a game. And only the patient and cautious are going to win this particular contest.”
“It’s a contest now?”
“Isn’t that life? We’re all in it to win.”
“You don’t strike me as the patient sort.”
Grinning, Sloane retorted, “It is true that I’m getting a bit impatient with this game. Are you going to make your shot or stand around philosophizing all day?”
Ethan laughed and picked a shot at random. The ball ricocheted off the rail and scattered the other balls to open things up a little. “There. Happy?”
“Ecstatic. Look at that opening you gave me.” Sloane was still grinning when he sunk two balls in a row. The third missed its target by only the smallest fraction and rolled back down the table.
“So why are you so convinced that leaving the nest is the best option?” Ethan asked, still thinking about what Sloane had said before.
“Because I’m not the type to hide from my problems. If the world is destroyed, then I want to get out there and start fixing it. I can’t believe I would actually choose a life like this in a safe little cage. And if I did, I was being an idiot and I don’t really want to remember being a person like that.”
Ethan considered this as he took his next several shots. He could imagine a few explanations for why he would choose a life in hiding, and all of them struck him as rather practical and perfectly reasonable. “I don’t know. I trust myself. I wouldn’t make a decision like this for a foolish reason.”
The only ball left on the table was the eight ball and he scratched on his next shot. Waving his hand at Sloane he watched as the other man elegantly brought the game to a close. “I hope you find out that’s true,” Sloane said. “Good game.”
“Yeah, good game.” Watching him leave, Ethan wondered when he would find out the truth for himself.
Putting the cue away, he wandered back into the living room and found it empty. The light on the correspondence slot was lit. Staring at the door, he considered walking away without checking it. He didn’t know that the delivery was for him, after all. But his curiosity got the better of him. Reaching into the slot, he was disappointed to find only a small envelope labeled with his name. Tearing it open on the spot, he unfolded the paper inside and squinted at the tiny print.
Agent Ethan Rodriguez:
Your mission within the nest is of the utmost importance. As a valued member of New Life Industries, you agreed to take on this task even knowing the risks and we commend you for your bravery. It was unavoidable that we administer the memory suppressant to you in the same way as we gave it to the others to protect your cover.
One of the other residents of the nest is a criminal involved in instigating the Last World War. We have been unable to determine which of them is responsible, but we have reason to suspect them all. We lured them to the New Life project to give us a chance to contain them and make a determination in a controlled space. Your mission is to identify the treasonous criminal and neutralize them. You will find a weapon taped to the back of the toilet in the restroom. It is locked in a safe that only you know the combination to. Even without your memories, you will know what buttons to press.
Destroy this message in the incinerator upon reading.
Good luck.
NLI Director Amos Garner
Ethan’s heart was pounding hard in his chest by the time he finished the letter. He didn’t know whether he could believe it or not, but he couldn’t afford to ignore the message. Reading it again quickly and focusing on every word to commit them to memory, he walked into the utility room and crumpled it before tossing it into the incinerator. Whatever he had expected to learn about his past, this was the last thing he would have imagined. But it had also proven his instincts correct. He had a very good reason for deciding to shelter in the nest.
