Fletcher rubbed his eyes as he unscrewed the vent cover. A terrible smell came from inside, so he had the sneaking suspicion he was going to find some vermin’s corpse in there. It made sense since this was the lowest level, the one with the entrance to the catacombs, and George stopped putting traps out now that they kept a guard there full-time. The guards always reported killing the rats and other things that crawled up from the vent when they could, but there was no doubt some escaped.

  Wincing as the smell grew strong, Fletcher used his flashlight to glance around the shaft. Yep. That was a dead rat. Covering his nose with one hand, he reached in with his right hand—which had a glove on it—and scooped the carcass out. He placed it in the trash bag he brought with him and then tied off, eliminating the worst of the scent. One more thing done. He would take this to the incinerator, and then he could move on to—

  A beeping on his wrist pulled his attention from his thoughts. The alarm on his watch was going off. That meant it was already 5:30 am. Deities, where did the night go?

  Fletcher sighed as he tossed his gloves into a different bag and took it all down the hallway to the trash room to dispose of it. From there he returned to his own quarters and changed into exercise clothes. He always started his day off with running, one of the few things that kept him sane.

  General Anders and her team had been here two full weeks now. And it looked like they might finally be wrapping up their investigation. His stomach tied itself into a dozen knots as he realized that meant he’d be learning his fate very soon. Please let it be anything but solitary confinement.

  Fletcher jogged up the stairs and into the cold morning, the wind biting into the flesh of his exposed legs. The guards on duty waved to him as he stretched out. They still didn’t have gym equipment, so this had been his norm for weeks now.

  He pushed himself hard that morning. He liked getting a more thorough workout on the days he forgot to sleep. It helped battle back the exhaustion and the stress which came with it. Honestly, he wished he never had to sleep. Sleeping brought nightmares and memories, and it made him more tired more often than not. He couldn’t remember the last time he slept through the night.

  After his run, he allowed himself one cigarette, and then he went down to the mess hall to grab a quick bite and some coffee. Fletcher drank a lot of coffee nowadays, but unfortunately that meant the caffeine was becoming less effective at keeping him alert, meaning he always had to drink more. Luckily the mess hall was always empty this time of day. Most of Vesi’s personnel didn’t get up until much later, and his mother’s team rarely came to the general areas like that.

  As luck would have it, today was the exception to that. Sergeants Johnston and Sosa were both in the mess hall, grabbing coffee as well.

  “Ah, good morning, Lieutenant,” Johnston greeted him. She had cream colored skin and blonde hair, but no outward signs of Hexing.

  “Morning,” Fletcher murmured as he reached for the coffee pot.

  “I thought you guys didn’t have gym equipment anymore,” Sosa noted. Her skin was a coppery-brown, and her black hair was cut short, just blow her ears.

  “I run outside.” He poured a heavy helping of the steaming liquid into his to-go cup.

  “A bit cold for that, isn’t it?”

  Fletcher shrugged. “I’m used to it.” He then chugged the entire cup of coffee in one go and poured himself another.

  Johnston and Sosa watched him with wide eyes.

  “If you’ll excuse me.” Fletcher walked away without another comment, coffee in hand. He heard them speaking quietly to each as he left, but he couldn’t discern any of what they were saying. Whatever. Let them judge. He was too busy to worry about their opinions of him and his habits.

  Fletcher dropped his coffee off at his desk and then went to shower and clean up. He was just settling down back in his office to schedule the rest of his day when the intercom went off, something that he couldn't remember happening in his entire time at Vesi except for when the Unhumans first attacked.

  “Attention. This is Major Palacios. General Anders has requested everyone, on-duty guards included, assemble outside for an important announcement at o-eight-hundred,” Palacios said through the speaker.

  “Great,” Fletcher muttered. Another thing to fit into his schedule. His chest grew tight as he considered that this was probably going to be the results of their investigation, and there was no chance Vesi Station passed by any means. The place was a disaster, and while it had been long before Fletcher arrived, that didn’t mean that he would be immune to the judgment.

  To keep his mind from winding itself too tightly around worries about the upcoming announcement, Fletcher dove straight into his sensor debugging since that required all of his brain power. He’d been at it for maybe five minutes before someone knocked on his door.

  “Enter,” he called out, not bothering to hide his annoyance at being interrupted.

  Jana walked in. “Do you think we’ll be cellmates?”

  Fletcher looked up at her. “No.”

  “Someone’s grumpy today. Come on. We need to celebrate. In less than ten minutes, we’re getting the news that we’re getting out of here.” Jana sat in the chair across from him.

  “You’re only guessing that,” Fletcher pointed out.

  “I think it’s safe to say that General Anders didn’t like what she found here. Not one bit.”

  “And what makes you say that?” he asked.

  “Probably her face every time Palacios opened his mouth. Not that you would know anything about it since you avoided being anywhere near her or her team for the past two weeks. While I admire your dedication to the whole ‘hardworking officer’ bit, don’t you think you should have put at least a little time into trying to earn some goodwill? These people control your entire future, and you more or less snubbed them. That probably didn’t go over well,” Jana continued.

  Fletcher scoffed. “I don’t care for politics. I believe my actions speak for themselves. I don’t need to buttkiss to earn my way.”

  “This isn’t about getting a promotion, Dixon. This is about avoiding something like prison.”

  He shrugged. “If General Anders feels I made mistakes grievous enough to warrant prison, me sucking up to her isn’t going to change that. I have better things to do than pander to officials.”

  Jana laughed. “You really do not care. Incredible. No wonder you chose to come to Vesi. I’m impressed, Dixon, I really am. I just hope this whole thing doesn’t come back to bite you in the butt.”

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “If it does, that will be my problem.” Fletcher glanced at his watch. The announcement was only five minutes away.

  Jana noticed the time as well. “Yeah. I guess we should head up there. Might as well be early to our sentencing.”

  Fletcher rolled his eyes as he stood up. Grabbing his coat, he followed her from the office and up the stairs to the airstrip where a few others already waited. Most of Hazel’s team were there, but she alongside Major Simpson, Lieutenant Teller, and Sergeant Ibara were missing.

  Palacios waltzed up to them, a fake smile on his face. “Hello, Lieutenants. How are you today?”

  “Good. How are you, sir?” Jana asked.

  Fletcher ignored the question, staring out at the city’s ruins. What if Jana was right? What if they were all going to prison for mismanaging the attack? That would suck. A lot. And he knew his mom would only be harsher with him for it. His stomach knotted itself over and over, his chest still too tight for him to take full breaths.

  Jana and Palacios continued their meaningless small talk. Fletcher watched ruins, thinking about Backup. No matter what he’d make sure he got the chance to go back and see his dog before he left Vesi behind. He had to do that much.

  “Attention,” Captain Naeku called out.

  They fell into stiff poses with salutes as General Anders walked out of the bunker entrance, followed by the rest of her team. Everyone from Vesi Station, even George, was out there, watching her as she went to stand in front of them.

  “Good morning, soldiers. At ease,” Hazel began, dismissing their salute. “I am informing you all that the investigation into Vesi Station and its personnel in regards to the recent Unhuman attack has concluded. I will be sharing the results of it now.”

  Fletcher’s stomach might as well have been a rock. His hands were sweaty as he stood there, watching his mother.

  “The stationed personnel at Vesi Station ignored all safety and defense protocols. The officers allowed for a lapse in regulation which resulted in an undisciplined, ill-prepared regiment, unfit to be called soldiers, much less fight as them. There were an exceeding number of undue deaths due to incompetent officers. As per the results of my investigation, I deem that everyone stationed at Vesi Station should be immediately removed from their posts. Personnel will be given their individual results and future recommendations upon arrival back to Cape Town Base.” Hazel’s was cool and clear. “As for the future of Vesi, the notes of the inspection will be reviewed by the security council who will decide if it is worth reinstating.”

  The crowd stood in stunned silence. She thought they were all unworthy to even stay at the base. Fletcher felt a flicker of anger inside that she dared disrespect these men and women who suffered so much during the attack, an attack she could never hope to understand through interviews and reports.

  Major Simpson took over from here. “Everyone prepare to leave the station by seventeen-hundred. I will oversee the individual evacuation while Captain Naeku will ensure that the base is left in proper condition. Sergeants Ibara, Johnston, and Sosa each have command of a section. The list is as follows.” He proceeded to read out the list, putting every person under one of the three sergeants, except for Fletcher, Jana, and Palacios who were assigned under Lieutenant Teller for their tasks.

  Fletcher was in charge of making sure the sensors and their programming were all properly documented so someone else could take over the task, which was surprisingly easy. Jana and Palacios had tasks involving ensuring everyone completed their private assignments and getting everyone onto the plane on time.

  Hazel left to do deities knew what, along with Teller. The rest of her team barked orders, getting everyone inside and dividing people into groups to do their personal packing or do the cleaning and last bit of maintenance around the base. Fletcher cringed when he thought of the others doing maintenance work because he didn’t think they’d do a good job, but that didn’t matter now. Vesi Station was no longer his to worry about.

  As luck would have it, being over the sensors meant he had a genuine excuse to go out in the ruins, and since everyone else was so busy, he could do it alone. That was what he did first once everyone got settled into their tasks. He had to say goodbye to Backup. Taking a good amount of rations with him, Fletcher jumped in the jeep and drove out to the city.

  He found Backup at their usual spot at the edge of the city. The dog jumped into the jeep, and then Fletcher took them to one of the sensors he hadn’t been to in a while. He pretended to do some work on it for a few minutes before setting it to the side and giving his full attention to Backup.

  Fletcher made sure the dog got lots of snacks and lots of play time. They spent a full hour playing fetch, but he didn’t mind. It was his last moments with the closest thing to a best friend he had anymore.

  But eventually he couldn’t justify staying out any longer. There was a lot to do back at the station, including his own packing.

  “Backup, I don’t know how to make you understand this, but I won’t be coming around anymore. I’m leaving for good. I’m sorry. I wish I could stay,” Fletcher said, rubbing the dog’s ears.

  Backup looked up at him with the softest eyes.

  “I’m going to miss you.” Fletcher gave the dog a kiss on the forehead. “Be a good boy. Look after Trevor and the kids.”

  Spreading out more rations for Backup to enjoy, Fletcher bid him one final farewell, and then he got in the jeep and headed back to the station. Once he arrived there, a group was already waiting to take care of the jeep and get it properly sealed away in the garage until the station’s fate was decided.

  Fletcher spent the rest of the day making thorough notes about his code for the sensors along with tips for getting the finicky devices to work properly. Figuring Jana and Palacios weren’t all that prepared for their tasks, Fletcher also made notes about other parts of the station, including maintenance work and problems he routinely encountered with the out of date systems and any workarounds he figured out for them.

  And then there was only one task left to do. Returning to his room, Fletcher did the simple job of packing up his few belongings. It wasn’t like he brought a lot with him from training, and Vesi wasn’t the kind of place one could acquire a lot of other possessions. He packed the photo album which was stuffed full of letters—both ones he wrote and never sent and ones he received from his family—into the middle of his bag to protect it as much as possible. He didn’t know what he’d do with all the letters he wrote, but he’d figure that out once he knew what his sentencing was going to be when they got back to Cape Town. Based on his mother’s general assessment of the station, he had a feeling Jana might be right, and all the officers would end up in prison.

  As long as it wasn’t solitary confinement, he supposed that wasn’t the end of the world. And it meant he wouldn’t ever have to kill again, so that was a silver lining as well.

  Five o’clock arrived, and Fletcher took his things and went up to the airstrip where the rest of the personnel waited. A large plane took up the entire width of the runway, the biggest plane he’d ever seen at the small station, but it had plenty of room for everyone to board.

  Fletcher watched everyone else head inside it while he waited so he could be last. Vesi Station was a mess, but it was his mess, and he was sorry to leave it behind. There was so much he left undone. And not to mention the garden was just reaching the point of continual sustainment. That was one project he’d sorely miss.

  Boarding the plane at last, Fletcher buckled up in a seat as far away from the others as he could. He was a little surprised how unbothered everyone else seemed given they were getting taken from the place that had been their home, but then again, most people hadn’t come to Vesi of their own free will.

  As it was preparing for take off, Fletcher noticed something. Or rather, it was who he didn’t notice among the passengers.

  “Where’s George?” he called out.

  Nobody responded.

  “George?” he asked again. “Has anyone seen him?”

  Again, no response.

  “Crap.” Fletcher unbuckled. He’d been so caught up thinking of himself, he’d completely forgotten to check on the [Insectoid] who was probably taking the news of having to leave Vesi hard. It was basically the only home he’d ever known.

  “Dixon, leave him. General Anders and her team left explicit instructions for us to leave promptly. We can’t waste the time,” Palacios said to him.

  “I’m going to get him. Give us fifteen minutes, and if we’re not here, leave without us,” Fletcher said.

  He jogged away, ignoring whatever response the others had for him. He didn’t leave people behind, and he wasn’t going to start now.