Genesis | Book One, The Genesis Series

THIRTY-TWO

Dylo was honestly beginning to wonder if there was a single place on earth that wasn't freezing cold. He shivered in his seat more and more as the aircraft neared the infamous area of bluster and ice.

The crisp, harsh atmosphere gnawing and biting at his skin only made him more uncomfortable, and the fact that he desperately needed to go to the bathroom definitely wasn't helping.

"Aw man, now I gotta pee." He complained, pacing back and forth across the aircraft, fidgeting a lot more than usual. "Any chance we could turn this thing around?"

"We told you to go before we left." Eliza said, posted up against the wall as she twirled her dagger through her fingers.

"But I didn't have to go then." Dylo whined as everyone else proceeded to tune out the sound of his voice.

Amber would've chuckled, but she was too busy counting her arrows. A single arrow missing could spell catastrophe for her out in the field. Resting in one of the seats near the exit door of the jet, she whispered to herself as she made a mental note of each set of arrows.

Her arsenal only consisted of 25 conventional arrows, and two of each type of trick arrow. After the assault on the facility, her arsenal had been nearly depleted. Not to mention the fact that her bow had been slightly damaged.

Today, she'd have to make do with what she had, but then again, she'd always have her cryokinetic powers. The freezing temperatures of the environment would theoretically amplify her abilities to insane levels, so she figured she'd be alright.

"Explosive, tranquilizer, sonic, grappling hook, smoke, cryokinetic..." Amber muttered to herself as she noticed that her electric arrows were missing.

She threw her head back in frustration as she mentally chided herself. Unbelievable.

Leo noticed the girl's frustration as he walked over to her table, slyly smiling. "Looking for these?" He asked, pulling out a trio of blue-tipped arrows. "I knew you'd forget them."

Amber's facial features lit up as she sighed in relief. "Hey, I didn't forget them, I just misplaced them. Two completely different things, you know." She protested.

"Yeah, sure." Leo remarked as he sat down in the seat adjacent to the girl, leaning his titanium staff up against the padded chair.

"Shut up." She chuckled, but her smile immediately faded as worries about the future flashed back into her mind. She averted her somber gaze to the table.

No matter how much she wanted to believe otherwise, she knew that there was no way that all of them were making it through this. She didn't know if this was the last time she'd see Leo or not. She needed to let him know something. Something important.

"Something on your mind?" Leo inquired, his face now adopting a more serious tone as he began tapping the metallic desk lightly with his gloved fingers. "You seem a bit stressed."

"I'm just wondering how all of this is gonna end. We've all grown pretty close in the past few months, you know? I just don't wanna lose that." Amber stuttered out as her voice quivered and shook. "I don't wanna lose you."

Leo's heart thundered with his chest as his mouth grew dry. His body shivered at the thought of losing Amber. Kai may have been their leader, but to him, Amber had always been the glue that held the group together, the heart of the team. A beam of light.

Because that was what she was. A bright star in a hopelessly dark universe.

He extended his hand over the table, grabbing Amber's. His cobalt eyes drilled into her own, and she couldn't look away no matter how hard she tried.