The Anomaly Project

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

AUTUMN

The sound of footsteps approaching camp shocks me awake. My eyes fly open, and I bolt up into a sitting position. Brooke, who's sleeping on the floor beside me, yawns and looks up at me. "What is it?"

"They're back," I tell her excitedly. It's only been a day; maybe not even that much. But I've still been missing Noah, and the others, like crazy. I want to tell him about that weird pain I had in my gut last night, and the hollow feeling I still have now. Maybe he'll know what it is.

"Guys," I say loudly, hoping to wake the others. "They're back from the mission!" There's a bit of groaning from everyone, but I don't wait around to listen to it. I throw off my blanket and push open the door to the dormitory, followed closely by Haley, Brooke and Travis. David must still be asleep.

Walking toward us, looking exhausted and dirty, is Todd, Tessa, and Colton. My brow furrows for a moment. I don't see Noah, but I dismiss it immediately. He must be on his way, I think.

I can see Travis and Tessa hugging out of the corner of my eye, and Brooke and Haley are attacking Colton with questions, but I go straight to Todd. We wrap our arms around each other and stay like that for a good twenty seconds.

Finally, I pull back and study his face. It's covered with bruises and a few new scrapes. His shirt in torn in a few places, and he looks generally pretty battered and grimy. Obviously, it was not just a simple recon mission. "Did you run into some trouble?"

He pauses slightly. "You might say that."

I don't have time to ask what he means, because then Tessa is there, hugging me, and I wonder why she's holding me so tightly; like she's trying to comfort me. Colton hugs me in the same way, and the hollow feeling in my stomach grows more intense. I turn to Todd. "Where's Noah?"

He bites his lip and looks down. I glance at Colton and Tessa, and they both wear the same expression on their faces. I address Todd again. "Todd. Where's Noah?"

"He's..." he starts to say, and then stops. Thinks hard. "He didn't... make it out."

Oh. I know what he means, I know, but I don't want to accept it. I can't. Accepting it will make it true. So instead I say, "You mean he's still there? Let's go save him, then; what are we waiting—"

"Autumn," Colton breaks in, and I stop. His dark eyes are wet, which surprises me. Colton is not one to cry. He's not one to show much emotion at all, really. But here he is, standing before me, with tears about to fall from his eyes.

"Noah was captured and killed while we were in the facility. I'm sorry." A tear breaks loose and spills down his face. "I'm so sorry."

My legs go numb. My whole body goes numb, in fact; except for that one hollow spot in my gut. It fills up with pain, a vivid, intense, fiery pain that I've never felt before, and the only thing I can think is no.

"No," I say. My voice is tight.

"It's true, Autumn," says Todd. His eyes are dry, but the sorrow on his face sends knives into my heart.

"No," I echo. "It's not. It's not true."

"Autumn," Tessa whispers. Her voice breaks.

Todd reaches out to me, to touch my face, but I shove his hand away. "Don't touch me."

He steps toward me anyway. I back away, shaking my head, slowly at first, and then vigorously. "He's not dead."

"He is." Todd's voice is barely louder than a breath. He reaches to his hip and pulls a sword off his belt, holds it out to me. "I managed to grab this."