If John lived through this, no more volunteering for field work. In the dark basement, a man held a knife to his throat and hid behind him like a human shield. Another P.O.S. pinned Caedes down with a rebar rod through his spine. Cypher was laid out on the nasty floor. Might not make it. The last time he moved or made a sound was an hour ago. And Teeth… well… Bones was demoted to token defected Icarus.

The commotion upstairs rattled the CoN guards. It sounded like quite the party. Not that he cared much. Starving, dehydrated, and full of holes, John maybe had another hour of torture in him before he begged for death. But he knew in his blood, in his bones, someone would come for them. He glanced down at Caedes, who met his gaze. They all knew. They were a family.

The door burst open, and light glowed from the entry. Before John drew a breath, the man behind him fell with a grunt. The man pinning Caedes crumpled to a heap one second later. A wondrous sound followed.

“John?! Cypher?! I’m here to get you out!”

John cried out in a broken voice, “Rayne!” He fell to the floor without his prosthetic and assailant to balance him.

She rushed over, and the light came with her. It was her. He blinked up into the gentle glow. Their General smiled at him. “Hey, John. I got you.”

He smiled, but it faded as he scanned her. Blood everywhere. A mixture of colors and textures coated her skin and clothes. A slight pang hit him in the chest as he realized she dressed like a mini version of Xelan.

She studied his reactions to her and found them displeasing. A sadness flickered in her gaze as she checked him over. “We can take care of these wounds. I’ll check the others and find your leg piece.”

John rolled on the floor to keep her in sight. Rayne stepped over to Caedes.

Gravel and emotion thickened his throat as the Icarus said, “General Callahan.”

She smiled sadly at him. “Remember. You upgraded to Callahan.”

They stared at each other a moment. Something passed between them as Rayne reached for the rebar with her glowing left hand soaked in blood. He gave her a curt nod, and she pulled it from him.

“Fuck! Ugh!” Caedes groaned and turned his face to the floor with quick breaths. “That was about as much fun as it looked.”

He took the outstretched rebar. Rayne lifted him from the floor. “You’ll be fine, soldier.”

Cypher cried out, “Rayne!” Good. He was still alive.

She rushed over to his side and whispered to him. Caedes found John’s leg in the dark and knelt to reattach it. “You did good, human.”

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John didn’t bother to fight the smile. “Thanks, man. You did okay.”

“Fuck you.” He stood and reached out to help John up.

Hands clasped, they discretely pounded shoulders in a brief guy-hug. Solidarity and all that. John croaked, “I’m never working another recon mission with you again.”

“Oh, believe me. The sentiment is mutual.”

“Guys, are either of you able to carry Cypher?” Rayne asked. She glanced further back in the basement. “I’ll get Teeth out of here.”

As John watched the hole in the Icarus’ spine disappear, Caedes volunteered for Cypher duty, “Got him.”

Rayne ordered, “John, take point.”

“First one out? Not a problem.”

Until he actually stepped out of the basement and into the open. Carnage everywhere he looked. The smell knocked him into J.A. Fair PTSD, and he doubled over to vomit. What a nightmare to walk into. No more field work. Ever. The bastards deserved to die. But like this?

“Where’s everyone else?” Caedes peered around at the scene.

“On their way. I went ahead to scout.” Rayne stepped over to John and missed the respect in Caedes’ gaze as he stared at her back.

“Are you all right?” She carried the headless Icarus’ corpse. The congealed blood covering her made brighter in the daylight.

Rayne killed close to a hundred people. Alone. In minutes. John’s eyes grew so wide his face hurt. He couldn’t help it. She looked away.

Caedes glanced between them. His expression softened as he examined their General. “What’s our next move, Callahan?”

She nodded down a hallway. “Take Cypher to the infirmary and do what you can for him. I’ll take Teeth to his brother-in-arms and direct the others here. This base is ours.”

“Sir.”

The smile she spared him was sad and kind. “I’m glad you’re alive, boys.” As she looked at Teeth, the smile faded. “We have work to do.” With that, their General vanished.

The silence stretched through the empty hangar. Not a sound from the halls or outside. “Is there anyone left that might attack us?”

Caedes headed for the infirmary, bearing his load with ease. “They’re all dead.”

John shivered.

Caedes observed, “I watched you endure two days of torture by a professional, and you never once looked this scared.” He tilted his bald head to the side. “Honestly, I’ve lost a little respect for you.”

John grunted. “I can’t help it. At the beginning of this year, Rayne was just a girl I had afternoon classes with since we were freshmen. Now…” He peered down at his prosthetic leg. “Everything takes getting used to. And as soon as I get used to one thing, it seems like another thing shows up also requiring getting used to.”

“God damn, you’re young,” Caedes groaned. “That’s what life is. A series of shit to get used to. Has yours been a little more interesting than others? Sure. But you can’t face everything with fear first. How do you expect to survive the war if you struggle with every battle—”

“I don’t.”

“…What’s that?” The Icarus glanced over his shoulder to John.

The human shook his head. “I don’t expect to survive. Every encounter we have, I keep thinking will be my last. I’m waiting for whatever will finally kill me. I guess that’s why the ‘professional’ didn’t scare me that much. I was sure he was the end.”

“What happened the last time you almost died?”

“Rayne kept a pylon from crushing me.”

Caedes nodded along. “And the time before that?”

Another pleasant memory of the disgusting cafeteria at Fair. “Kyle saved me from an Icarus that tried to take me out.”

“How many times have they saved each other?”

John blew the air from his cheeks on a whistle. “Dozens. Several dozens at this point.”

“You have a rare gift, human.” Caedes paused and looked back at him. His deep green gaze held a gravity John struggled to fathom.

“Yea?”

“You have a family that won’t let you die.”

As Caedes turned into the infirmary, John looked down at his bum leg. And smiled.