Page 62 of The Program

Ihad just kicked off my shoes and unbuttoned my shirt when there was a knock on my door. I eyed the bottle of alcohol resting untouched on my kitchen counter and the two glasses sitting beside it. Only one of them would have been used for the alcohol while the other would have contained juice for Addy, but now the only one that got any use was mine.

And today I was apparently not even getting that far.

With a weary sigh I trudged over to the door, pausing briefly to don my mask of professionalism before I opened it. Then proceeded to drop it again when I saw that my visitor was only Markus.

‘Hey, what are you doing here?’ I asked, opening the door wider and stepping aside to allow his entry.

He took the invitation, but instead of situating himself on the couch like he normally would he stayed by the door, worry lines etched into his face and a backpack secured over his shoulders.

‘I just got word from T. Artemis is gathering the group. Apparently the Forbidden Planet isn’t going to work as a rendezvous point so there’s been a change of plans. We need to mobilise now. The rest of them are on their way to the facility to break out Addy, Reece and the children.’

The breath left my lungs in awhoosh, and my legs felt unsteady at the news. I collapsed against the wall, using it to keep me upright when I could barely stand on my own as it was. Artemis was here. She was on her way to rescue Addy and Reece. We were leavingtoday.

‘What does she need from us?’ I asked when I finally found my voice. It still came out weak and croaky like I was talking around a ball stuck in my throat.

‘The message was to wait in the hangar bay until given further instructions,’ was his unhelpful answer.

‘So they just want us to sit around with our thumbs up our asses while they head into danger? I don’t think so,’ I snapped, the adrenaline coursing through me spurred on by the anger. I knew I wasn’t really angry, I just couldn’t stand not being useful while Addy needed me.

‘Xan, if we interrupt we could cause the whole operation to go south and we’ll lose our chance to get them all out,’ he appealed to me, hands raised as if he were readying himself to use them to restrain me from doing something reckless.

I released my anger with my next breath, knowing he was right. ‘Fine. We wait in the hangar bay.’

He scrutinised me before nodding once after finding whatever he was looking for. Probably compliance. His point was valid, and if they were heading in to rescue Addy and Reece now, then I’d be a fool to get in their way.

I brushed past him to get to my bedroom where I pulled open a loose wall panel. In it I’d stored Addy’s go-bag beside mine. I collected them both, slinging them over either shoulder, and met Markus where I’d left him by the front door.

‘All right, then. Let’s go.’

Despite the knowledge that I would likely never return to this home I still locked up behind us. It was bittersweet to say goodbye to the only place I’d truly considered my home. I’d made a lot of memories here throughout my time in the IU’s military, and I had hoped to one day turn it into a family home for me and Addy. Now I had to let it go, and all that I represented. Nova Station was no longer my safe haven. It was time to find a new one.

Markus and I walked side-by-side towards the hangar bay where we were met by none other than T’s mother. They hadn’t explicitly stated their relation to one another, but it wasn’t difficult to deduce from their mannerisms. Their expressions softened whenever they looked at one another, visible even from behind their signature gas masks.

She was a large woman, even for a Tornu, strength and resilience the very core of her being. The black spikes running along her head, spine andarms were long, sharp and deadly, and currently bristled with agitation that matched the flash behind her burgundy eyes.

‘Gentlemen,’ she greeted.

‘M,’ Markus and I responded in unison.

‘I think it’s safe for you all to call me by my real name, now,’ she offered her hand for us to shake. ‘I’m Morgrid.’

I took her proffered hand with a firm grip and shook it once, twice, then released her to allow Markus a turn.

‘Well, Morgrid, it seems we’ve been relegated to thumb-twiddling duty,’ he joked.

Her dark red lips, a natural colour on her that many pale-toned individuals paid good money to achieve, pursed at clear disapproval for her delegated task, but she gestured for us to follow her anyway. ‘Come. We will wait in the control room. It is likely we will be needed there.’

Relief scorched the tension inside me, allowing me to breathe deeper than I had since Addy had been taken. Morgrid was giving us a task, providing us a means with which to feel useful while we waited. I could’ve kissed her.

We followed behind her like she was the second coming – or at least I did. When I held the door open for Markus, he wasn’t right behind me like I thought.

‘Mark?’ I called out, but there was no answer.

‘Leave him. If he wants to run off on his own that’s his own choice, but we’ve been given our orders,’ Morgrid shrugged. She settled in behind one of the monitors, the others vacant.

I tried to call Markus back again but the result was the same. I had a feeling he was trying to get in one last search for Jorna before he’d be forced to leave her behind. She was still missing, and he was struggling in her absence. Truthfully, I hadn’t known if the two of them would last. Jorna was always a fun time but never the settling down type, and neither was Markus. That all changed when The Program killed her team three solars ago on a mission gone wrong, her bright and bubbly personality snuffed out alongside their lives. Her relationship with Markus had been new, but I’d seen a real shift in both of them in the short time they’d spent together, but that didn’t change the fact that I’d known both for a long time now, and neither one was the type to get serious with another individual.

I let him go for now with the promise to try again in a little while and chose a seat beside Morgrid’s with a monitor that was already on. After a closer look, it seemed that she’d been using multiple to keep track of different areas. Without any words spoken, I knew I’d just volunteered myself for whatever task this monitor was being used for.

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