Chapter 66 - The Outside Perspective

  “Two, one, three. Transition. One, one, two. Aim and shoot, don’t just swing and fire. Three, two, three.”

  Cole watched Nona transition between her carbine and her pistol and back, moving, if not smoothly, then at least purposefully. The three silhouette targets ahead of her on the outdoor DOR range slowly became peppered with holes in the A and B zones, the two innermost rings, as he told her what order to shoot them.

  “That’s enough for today,” said Cole.

  Nona put her weapon on safe, then pulled out the magazine and cleared the chamber, like he’d taught her. Not particularly fast or accurate, she was at least comfortable with the manual of arms enough to shoot both her carbine and her sidearm, clear malfunctions, and clean and maintain them. Even if she couldn’t handle the weight of an assault rifle for long periods of time outside a Lewis Field. Cole had set her up with a pistol caliber carbine with high-grain bladed rounds and a lightweight, integrally suppressed barrel. The weapon might not have nearly the stopping power of 7.62, or even 5.56, but it was quick, quiet, and lightweight. Plus, the magazines were interchangeable with her sidearm.

  Nona might prefer to operate from the shadows, but Cole had been determined to make sure she could defend herself, and that every member of his team would be able to count on her to watch their back without accidentally putting a round into it. Now, the night before the jump to Babel, he was seeing the culmination of three weeks training on the range and in the shoothouse.

  Cole nodded his approval. “All right, Nona. Looks like you’re going into Babel strapped.”

  She looked back at him with a flat stare, then walked past him into the DOR armory. The shoothouse instructor had told Cole she had an attitude. But the problem was the opposite. Being on Earth cut Nona off from a portion of her soul and flattened her affectations, limiting her emotions. Even off world the woman had been furtive and suspicious. But now she was part of the team—fully a member, if not close friends with everyone yet. How would she react to that once back in a true Lewis field? Tomorrow, the real her might come out for the first time.

  Back inside the armory building, Jefferson was putting together kit for the Kickers and staging weapons and equipment. Cole got the weapons checked back in and marked for Nona’s battle rattle himself, along with 400 rounds of ammunition. They’d all be carrying extra ammunition, this time.

  By the time they left, crickets were already chirping as the sun dropped below the horizon. In twelve hours, they’d be on another world.

  Cole sighed. “Strange to think we’re going to a world that’s just a big structure. I never would have imagined.”

  Nona shrugged. “My world had legends of doors that opened to welcome heroes or teams of soldiers. Tempted them with great prizes if they could overcome harrowing dangers. It’s not so strange.”

  Cole looked at her. “I suppose for you, it wouldn’t be. But ninety-nine point nine nine percent of the people on Earth don’t believe in magic or portals to other universes.”

  “Then they’re stupid for discounting the possibility,” said Nona.

  Cole wanted to argue but didn’t see the point. DOR worked extremely hard to make sure other worlds stayed fictional in the minds of most of the population.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Babel wasn’t our name for the place,” added Nona, looking far off. “We called it Terrogar, the spire that connects many, or the Hall of Dallemonte.”

  “Wait,” said Cole. “It’s actually the same place?”

  With the girl being half-blooded otherworlder, Cole couldn’t begin to imagine what her upbringing must have looked like. How cruel it must have been for her to reject it entirely in a desperate attempt to find the homeworld of her birth mother.

  “It is. I never knew anyone who went. But I always believed it was true. Now I’m finally going. It’s…” she struggled to find the right words. “On Earth, children want to be space men or fly airplanes.”

  “Astronauts and pilots,” said Cole. “Yeah. So?”

  Nona looked at him. “In other worlds, children want to ascend Terrogar and claim both its riches and its secrets.”

  “Did you?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t remember. Maybe. I think I just wanted to find my mother.” She looked away.

  Cole didn’t press. Nona’s mother was a sensitive subject—like a hot wire or an exposed splinter that you didn’t dare even trying to touch. “Alright. Go get some sleep. I’ll see you at the muster.”

  The recalcitrant Kicker headed for the billets. Instead of leaving, Cole headed to the gym. A few Kickers were working out, trying to raise their baselines to eke out a little extra power from their enhancement metrics. He spotted Roxy on the bench press and walked over, leaning over the bar. Her eyes widened and her cheeks puffed with effort, trying to muscle past the surprise. Her back arched, and she managed to get the bar back up and onto the rack.

  “Cole!” she gasped.

  “Shouldn’t you be resting up for tomorrow?” he asked.

  “This is resting. I’m nowhere near my PR. But since you’re here, you can spot me. Grab another pair of tens, would you?”

  Cole shook his head but couldn’t help smiling. He grabbed the two small plates and slid them onto each side of the bar while Roxy refreshed her grip and got back in the zone, brow wrinkling as she concentrated. Cole put his hands under the bar, ready to support if the weight proved to be too much. But Roxy was kind of a beast, and she pumped out five full reps at the heavier weight before re-seating the bar and sitting up.

  She toweled her face off. “This doesn’t feel like Curahee or Vael. I feel ready, Cole. I’m not a bundle of nerves.”

  “Makes sense,” he said, leaning on the bar. “You’ve seen what we’re up against and that you can beat it. Must be the Amazon side of you coming out.”

  She flicked him with the towel and laughed. “Actually, I like that. Say it again.”

  “You’ve seen what we’re up against and that you can beat it.”

  She settled back underneath the bar and set her feet. “Now call me a warrior woman, again.”

  “You’re a fierce Amazon queen.”

  She grinned, looked to the side to make sure no one was close enough to hear before lowering her voice. “Now tell me we’re going to do some cardio tonight.”

  “I thought you hated cardio,” he teased.

  “Cole!”

  Cole leaned down. “You’re going to be limping into Babel.”

  Her knuckles tightened on the bar and she pushed.

  * * *

  Leaving the gym, he checked his phone to see an alert from Howie, where he’d posted a picture of him in front of a Jenga tower giving the thumbs up with the caption: Practicing for tomorrow. Which made less sense the more Cole thought about it, but at least his team’s mage was in a positive head space for the impending mission. No need to check in on him. For Besson he sent a simple “Squared away?” text. Besson didn’t reply, other than a thumbs-up emoji, and Cole left it at that. With nothing left for him on post, he got in his truck and made the drive home.

  Even though his team was set and calm and everything they needed was staged, Cole found he was the one unable to relax or sit still. Twice, he caught himself pacing as he went over the mission in his head, reviewed the details and forced himself to remember Beth Black, the teenager trapped in a realm of nightmarish monsters while a god watched from outside his terrarium. This wasn’t like him. The pre-mission jitters. It had to be something else.

  Terrogar, the spire that connects many.

  Just how many other worlds were connected to this place? More than DOR had catalogued, surely. Not as many as Earth, maybe. But the people there might know. But why did he care so much about that?

  Because Ryan might be out there, somewhere, he thought. That realization settled his restless energy. His brother, never found after a car wreck that killed both Cole’s parents. Bricker said to let him lay, but there was no way Cole could. If there was one place with information, it was in Babel.

  He just had to find it.