Eight of Hearts: The Vision - Book 2

Chapter 25

Shyla reached for the pistol at her waist, but she stopped when James stepped forward, placing himself directly in front of the barrel of the rifle.

"Rocky? Is that you?" James said to the man with the gun. "So you did make it back!"

'Rocky' hesitated, his eyes widening as he recognized James, though he kept his gun trained on him. "You're that guy from Kaya's vision! What are you doing back here? Did she send you to hunt us down?!"

"What? No! What happened here, anyway? It's like this room got turned on its side." James seemed unconcerned by the gun still pointing at his chest as he gestured at the mess.

Shyla kept her hand on her gun just in case; everything she knew about the Lost indicated that they were prone to violence, so she couldn't lower her guard as long as they were in their lair. They were a collection of inter-dimensional criminals that worked to hamper the HDSF's efforts. Every mission she was sent on to arrest some madman bent on obtaining from other worlds came with the risk of running into these fugitives. So far, their base had remained hidden from the HDSF, but now here she was, inside the hornet's nest. It was as thrilling as it was terrifying.

"It's not just this room," Rocky said bitterly. "The whole base is like this; it's been turned and twisted until the majority of it stretches up in a vertical shaft. Many people were seriously injured when it happened."

"How did it happen?" Jonas asked, his eyes glinted with intense curiosity at the man. "Seismic activity on that scale should have crushed everything in here, not just tossed it around."

Rocky hesitated a moment, then lowered his gun. "Alright, come with me; Peter can explain things better than I could. We're holed up in the armory for now."

Peter Thompson cursed loudly when he saw who Rocky was escorting in. He struggled to sit up in his cot, hoping he still had at least a little dignity left to confront the young man with the blasted magic sword.

"Nice to see you too," James said, glancing around at the men and women that were crammed into the armory, curled up on the floor, or sleeping with their backs against the wall. "You look like you've seen better days," he added, gesturing to Peter's splinted leg.

"Don't let the bandages fool you; I've seen worse days too," Peter said, slapping his leg. He winced at the pain that lanced through it. "I thought I'd never see you again once you flew the coop; what in blazes happened in that prison anyway?"

James's expression sobered as he recounted the rescue mission. To his credit, he didn't gloss over anything: his intentional misleading of the Lost over the intercom; his choice to force the conflict to clear a path to his girlfriend; the fate of many who fell in battle; and then the discovery that the people they had fought and killed were the same people they had come to save. Through all of it he spoke candidly, quick to take responsibility for the terrible outcome. The other strangers that were with him kept silent the whole time.

"I led the Lost into that conflict, so any deaths are on my hands," James concluded.

Peter caught the look of relief that flashed across Rocky's face, and he realized just how much guilt the man had been carrying since he returned. He should be commended for bearing it after being berated so harshly, he realized.

Peter sighed, rubbing the stubble that grew unchecked on his cheek. "There's no clean hands in war, son;" he said, allowing himself to relax, propped up by the canvas bag he was using as a pillow. "You couldn't have stopped Kaya from crushing every obstacle between her and her brother any more than I could have. That's water under the bridge now; what I want to know is what happened to the survivors? Rocky said you were planning to send them back through that portal of yours."