Setting Fire to the Stars (a MM Sci-Fi Romance)

Chapter 30: Breach

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Peter
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The sound of a car trunk slamming shut echoed through the night. Twilight had fallen by the time the car had stopped near a clearing several miles outside Columbus, the dusty road stretching through the barren corn field, worn from years of use.

Boots crunched atop aggregate concrete as a mist-haired man rounded the black SUV. Gael stopped a few feet away, a cloud of smoke rising from his mouth where a lit cigarette sat. His stare was focused to the sky, listlessly searching the stars for something I clearly couldn't see.

This whole time, I had been restlessly waiting for the other metaphorical shoe to drop. The invasion was weeks ago. It was so sudden, so brutally gruesome, but now there was silence. No more ships, no more explosions. Power was still iffy at best and though I never saw ships in the sky, I still couldn't shake the thought that we were being watched. It was surreal.

Since arriving in Columbus, there was a distinct lack of news relayed to the public regarding the world beyond the walls. Most days were so quiet that I could not help but hope that the invasion was over.

A large duffle bag smacked the ground with a thud at my feet, startling me from my thoughts. "All set?" Gael asked, flicking his half-smoked cigarette to the gravel and stomping on it.

"Nearly there." Inspecting my gear for the hundredth time, I palmed the switchblade cleverly tucked away within my breast pocket. It was just a precaution, strictly for matters of life or death. The army uniform loaned from Gael was equipped with so many pouches and pockets that I could barely keep track. "I'm surprised you managed to find all this equipment on such short notice."

"I would have been faster if I hadn't needed to grab so many," the older man rasped, casting a withering glance over his shoulder. "Did you really have to bring them along?"

A muscle in my cheek jumped as I fought to keep my expression neutral. It was pure irony that the older man believed I had a choice in the matter.

During the group meeting, Wyatt proceeded to blackmailed me with exposure if I didn't let him in on our little escapade. After that, everyone wanted in and we decided to wait for Gael. Admittedly, I had been a little worried about the matter of one Doctor Diane Wells. It had been hours since I had left the infirmary with Tobias, meaning that we missed our routinely afternoon checkup. If she hadn't known I was gone before, she definitely did now.

It wasn't too difficult to remain out of sight with the help of the Elyria crew. Reese had established his own little hideaway area in between several large tents without the soldiers noticing. It was a maze within the folds, several tent lines intersecting, and without Reese's help, we never would have found it. He had even dragged a couple of blankets, pillows, and a deck of cards back there without being spotted. If Wells's spies came looking, it was doubtful they'd find me.

Just as promised, Gael returned at sunset on the dime. Of course, his answer to our new group proposal had been a hard "NO" but that was not particularly surprising seeing as I'd said the very same thing myself at first. It took some convincing, but if anyone could do it, it was Wyatt. The blond bombarded Lauren's dad with intricate justifications on how he could benefit from their help, Whitt mentioned how he's apparently a computer genius who'd been hacking their school's intranet since middle school.