Shadow War: Book 3 of the Shadows Rising Trilogy (WIP Rough Draft)

39. A Very Long Day

2nd of Arestre

I stared through the window as we rounded the bend above the shale slip, and the trees opened up, revealing the valley bottom.

A flying ship sailed low across the width of the valley, a sleek silhouette pitch-black against the glow of the clouds. A bright pinpoint of searchlight swung to and fro, scanning the ground beneath it.

My breath snagged.

The medical sector building was gone, burned away as if it had never been there at all. In its place stood an odd, unnaturally perfect dome that glowed orange and umber, like cooling glass. I couldn't make sense of what I was seeing from that distance. It didn't look like a blast crater from a rail gun round. Maybe Rushidi was right, and it wasn't an attack. Whatever it was, it had the Coventry stirred up like a kicked wasp nest. We passed four platoons of soldiers with dogs, their searchlight lanterns flashing in the dark.

Beside me, Ayago kept his eyes glued resolutely on the road, his young face tight, his hands gripping the steering yoke so hard his knuckles stood out pale against his tan.

"Do you know what happened?" I asked quietly, breaking the relative silence inside the two-man.

Ayago's jaw flexed.

Normally he would have answered, eager to practice his Low Altyran so he could find his 'nice Tettian girl' upon the Coventry's illustrious reclamation of the Homeland. His gaze flicked to my knees, then back to the road, and his jaw flexed again, his upper lip rising in disgust.

I glanced down. I was wearing my jumpsuit. It took another few seconds for my exhausted brain to realize he had never seen my in my jumpsuit before. He had always picked me up at the Agriculture Sector Office after I had already changed into the required staff uniform.

His reaction sent a fresh wave of panic sluicing between my shoulder blades as another realization dawned: it was too late to stop to change. We had already passed the gate to the Agriculture Sector Office, and from the breakneck speed Ayago was driving, there was urgency behind the command to bring me back to the headquarters building.

That prim skirt and hat provided scant protection, but at least it was something. I had never been in the same room with the High General while wearing a slave's jumpsuit.

I took a deep breath and tried to push the panic back down, but it only receded to my stomach, where it roiled and churned and threatened to send up my meager dinner. The urge to wrench the door open and jump free of the two-man was nearly overwhelming. This whole day had been one nightmare after another, and I couldn't keep up. I was so tired I could barely feel my face, and my bones ached to lie down. My slender thread of control was quickly coming apart, and when it snapped there would be absolutely nothing left.

I swallowed hard and closed my eyes, fear lodging in a hot lump in my throat. A tear trickled down my cheek.

Calm down, kid. Right hand, left foot, left hand, right foot... just keep moving. Focus on the task in front of you, not on how far it is to the ground...

I was probably going mad, but I clung to that deep brogue that whispered in my head, holding onto it like a lifeline. Somehow, I had to dredge up the strength to face whatever waited in the headquarters. One more time.

~~~

The communications room was in a state of well-oiled uproar. The staff had been called in, many of them from their beds, and the whole building echoed with quick footsteps, hushed conversations, and the frantic clicking of rollopress machines.

I barely had a chance to register any of that before I was whisked through the main communication floor and on into the translation office.

The young soldier who had conducted me in from the underground parking yard didn't have anything to say. He simply escorted me to my station, turned, and marched back out, leaving the door open in his wake.