Shell

Chapter 9: Secrets Uncovered

I was the first to wake up after we had all turned in for the night. I hardly slept after what had happened however, my mind lingered on what the masked sniper had told me. We were on a side that deep down I knew was wrong, yet I had gone along with them because I didn't know any better. I pulled the feather out of hair and looked at it, the sniper's words echoed in my mind.

Show this to her, she'll know what to do.

What is Caren really up to? And why would she know that guy? I asked myself mentally before putting the feather back in my hair.

About another hour passed by until sunlight slithered through the spaces between buildings. Vincent and Ares woke up about now.

"Oh hey Artemis, sleep well?" Vincent asked.

I nodded.

"Man I'm ready to get the hell outta here." Ares yawned.

"We haven't even been out here that long though." Vincent remarked.

"Shut up, its kinda sad to see this place all run down is all."

"Yeah I'm sure this place was bustling around this time a day sometime ago." I added.

"Well evac is supposed to contact us around 0800." Ares said.

"Well then lets head back to the rooftop where we were dropped of." Vincent said as he grabbed his gear.

"Roger that." Ares replied doing the same.

I grabbed my rifle and we headed to the rooftop and waited for the helo before it took us back to the hanger. We got out and the man who walked into the room when I first woke up was waiting for us.

"Hello there, anything to report from the city?" He said in his very thick accent.

"No sir, the city was a ghost town from what we could find." Vincent reported.

"I see, well thats why I sent Reapers, if there was anything to find they would have found it and taken care of it. Well I'll let you three be on your way I'm sure your all tired."

The three of us gave a slight nod to him. We made our way to the Reaper housing before parting ways to our separate rooms. I walked into my room and set my rifle on a stand before taking off all my gear and stashing it in my closet. I took off my combat gear and traded it for my black clothes I had picked up before.

I need to see Caren...

I headed to the door but stopped myself before I opened it. Something felt wrong, I walked back to my closet and grabbed my knife and attaching the sheath to my belt in a way that would it would be concealed by my jacket. I walked out the door this time and headed straight for Caren, I walked into her office and found her reading again. She looked at me and noticed the feather in my hair and for a moment I thought I saw a look of surprise on her face.