* * *

Tobias tried to clear his visor again. That only smudged someone’s blood across the surface, blinding him even further. Well, he hoped it was someone else’s blood. It could be his, he wasn’t sure he’d notice at this point.

He removed the visor, and the dark corridors became crisper.

Static occupied the air, but in his ear, a quick command sounded with perfect clarity. An alarm had gone off; the enemy knew they were there. They were to plant the explosive device and exit as quickly as possible.

To his left, Dragon shot down a guard and moved forward, signaling the rest of her team to follow. Griffon was right behind her, and he and Cypher brought up the rear.

He didn’t understand why there were so few guards this deep into the compound. He’d expected his team would’ve encountered more resistance the closer they got to their target.

They raced through the maze of corridors with ease. The layout as described by Phoenix was more than accurate. He hadn’t expected it would be so perfect.

His heart sped up. Today they would end the fighting.

Maybe then they could honor all those they had lost along the way. The ones who had died trying to find the passageway: Phoenix, Unicorn, Zeus. Just a few of the countless lives that had been lost in the struggle.

Tomorrow their world would be theirs again, as long as they blew this entire place to hell.

Large doors awaited them at the end of the hall, standing open.

Scorpion already had the room secured. Bear was lying dead on the ground beside her, one more name to add to the list.

“No activity that I’ve seen,” Scorpion said, leading them inside the dome-like structure.

The team fanned out as Scorpion kept watch by the doors, setting up the explosives in pre-determined positions. Cypher sat down at the closest computer.

Tobias wasted a moment to marvel at where they were. It wasn’t as if he’d have a chance to see it ever again.

The room they were standing in was like the inside of a giant dome. It was enormous, maybe the size of a small stadium. The dome’s transparent walls exposed its rock casing, revealing it was underground. When it blew, the place would be buried by tons of rock and rubble.

In the middle, splitting the dome precisely in half, there was a transparent sheen to the air, giving the illusion of a thin sheet of water falling constantly between them and the other side of the room.

An invisible barrier of sorts, and one whose boundaries he wasn’t willing to test. Sometimes, depending on the angle, it would reflect their image as if it were a mirror.

It amazed him that the thing hadn’t collapsed by itself. Several kilometers below the surface and without any visible support beams, it stood there, strong.

And thus the explosives.

He finished setting his charge and checked with the others. Dragon ordered the retreat, but she was still at the computer station, having taken Cypher’s place. Cypher and Griffon had already followed Scorpion out the way they’d come. Tobias hung back, waiting for Dragon.

When she finally nodded and stepped away from the console, the world seemed to blink.

All of a sudden, another team appeared as if out of nowhere. Guns were pointed at them and everyone stared at each other, frozen.

Maybe that was why the place was so empty. This place was empty. Tobias glanced towards the explosives.

No one had shot at anyone so far. That was a good sign.

The other team had five members, all of whom were also wearing masks and similar attire.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

A voice in his ear asked where they were, told them to get out. Both he and Dragon ignored it. Hopefully, the rest of the team would make it to safety in time, though that had never been a major concern. This dome was coming down even if they had to be buried in its rubble to be sure.

He looked around the dome again. There was no other door except the one they’d been heading for. The only other option was the center of the room—the passageway itself. Cypher shouted something over the com and he tried not to listen. There wasn’t much time now.

“Identify yourselves,” Dragon ordered.

“You first,” a man countered.

Tobias shook his head. There was no time. They were almost certainly dead, but stalling was fine unless these people weren’t guards either.

“Who do you answer to?” Dragon tried again, her voice still uncertain. Her finger twitched on the trigger.

“Are you New Nation?” Tobias asked, tossing the name in there in an attempt to get something out of them. He already had his suspicions.

The other team exchanged glances.

“No, we’re not,” the man who’d spoken before said. His weapon faltered, his stance relaxed a bit. His reaction resonated through them all.

The voice on the com came back, brisk and concise, announcing the others were clear. Enemy combatants would arrive at their location in ten seconds. Tobias held back a smile, enemy combatants… That would have told him Wolf was on the other end even if he hadn’t recognized the voice.

Ten seconds, that sounded good enough. The countdown would near its end soon. Nothing left but one desperate dash then.

“This place is about to blow,” Tobias said, holstering his gun as a sign of good faith.

Dragon gave him a sideways glance, but lowered her weapon. She was probably as aware as he was of how much time they had.

The others remained staring at them for a second, unmoving. He wondered if they didn’t believe him. Maybe they didn’t believe him because they didn’t know him or, scarier still, because they did know him and didn’t trust him. There was always that option, as they had learned in the most painful way.

The other group came alive, heading back towards the center of the room.

Tobias grabbed Dragon and thrust her toward the invisible barrier that represented the gateway.

As he ran, he followed the countdown in his head, jumping through the transparent sheen as it reached zero.

The explosion grabbed hold of them momentarily, but it didn’t feel like it should. Not that he’d ever been blown up before, but he had felt the shockwaves a few times.

Part of the world—or half of it, to be precise—was gone in a second. The air didn’t appear to be different, but somehow it was. The flames made their way towards them in slow motion through the passageway, almost crawling against a resistance, then the center of the room vanished, and they were all left in a half-empty dome, as if nothing had happened.

Tobias opened his eyes, tried to focus. He was vaguely aware of someone from the other team leaning over him. He reached for his gun out of reflex, but his hand barely moved.

He tried moving his head instead, searching for Dragon to see if she was alive, but his vision was blocked by a woman. He couldn’t will himself to rise, his body wouldn’t obey.

“You’re losing a lot of blood,” the young woman said, her voice calm.

She was holding him down and pressing something against his chest. Debris littered the ground around them. Maybe the flames had gotten through after all. But from what he could see of the ceiling, it hadn’t been affected.

He wasn’t sure if he closed his eyes or blacked out, but it didn’t look like he lost much more than a few seconds. The woman was saying something to her companions. He couldn’t make out the words.

She turned back to him when he stirred. His breath caught when he met her gaze. There was not even the slightest hint of recognition there. But he recognized her, her voice, her eyes. He wasn’t mistaken.

Tobias wanted to take his mask off, but his hands failed him again. He tried not to focus on any of that, but it wasn’t as if he had any illusions about his current condition. Something had hit him, even if he wasn’t sure what.

He tried to reach for his mask again, and this time the message went through to her. Reluctantly, as if she were afraid of moving him, she took off his mask for him.

Recognition came then, if not in the way he expected. She didn’t say a word, but there were tears in her eyes. He wondered if she’d lost him already, like he’d lost her. A wry smile formed. Once should be enough for anyone.

Commands were being shouted in the distance, but nothing seemed to intrude on that moment.

She blinked away the tears, but she didn’t take her eyes off him. “I never meant for you to die. I’m sorry.”

He wondered if she was more confused than he was. Maybe shock was contagious. She couldn’t really be talking about him, not the him that was there, dying.

He laughed. And then he wasn’t sure what he thought was funny.

Everyone did always say he had a twisted sense of humor. Apparently, they were right.

“It’s not me,” he whispered, thinking it had sounded much better—not to mention eloquent—in his head.

She shook her head stubbornly. “It was you I saw.”

“Not me,” he insisted, unable to elaborate.

She pulled her mask away as if the thing were suddenly choking her. He almost smiled. It really was her.

For a moment, he let himself pretend she’d been the one he’d been missing all this time. The one he’d lost.

“Sarah…”

She wiped at her eyes. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stop it. I’m so sorry. I didn’t understand.”

Not knowing what she was talking about, he frowned. He didn’t care. He took her hand and closed his eyes, pretending.

* * *

Watching the man’s breaths become more labored, Sarah swallowed back a sob. “I did see you. I’ve seen all of this… Again and again… In my dreams.”

But he hadn’t heard her. His hand released hers and fell limp on the ground. He was gone.