Page 33 of Silver Elite

“That was a fluke shot,” I lie. “I’m decent with a rifle but nowhere near that good.”

“Guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

Chuckling, he leaves the cell and locks me inside.

I clamp my teeth together so I can’t unleash a scream. Why did Jim have to teach me how to shoot?

And why am I so good at it?

And why thehelldid he leave me?

You left me!I silently shout at him—at the place in my mind where his signature should be.You fucking left me!

It happens then. The tears spill over, sending two warm rivulets pouring down my face. I collapse on the mattress and cry into my palms, cameras be damned. I have no energy left inside me to maintain the mask. I’m a broken, pathetic girl who’s all alone in this broken, pathetic world. Uncle Jim is gone. Tana and her father will be there for me, I know that, but they’re not Jim.

I have nothing now. No Jim. No ranch.

Except I feel Wolf trying to link with me later, and I remember I’m not entirely alone. My oldest friend is still out there somewhere. At least until they get him, too. They will one day. General Redden won’t stop until we’re all either dead or enslaved to him.

“Hi.”It’s all I’m capable of saying, and I don’t miss the way that lone syllable wobbles.

“Are you crying?”

I don’t blame him for sounding so startled. I’m not the type to show weakness.

“No. I think I’m falling ill. I’m glad you reached out. I need a distraction.”

“Why’s that?”

“Bad day,”is all I say. I’d never endanger Wolf by telling him I’m in enemy hands.“Distract me. What are you doing right now?”

“I’m looking at the ocean.”

Something clenches in my chest. I think it’s wistfulness. One of the few details I know about Wolf’s location is that he’s near the coast, and I envy him for it. I’ve only seen the ocean once, when my uncle and I drove out to the very edge of Z after I spent weeks begging him to take me. At school, we’d been learning about the geography of the Continent before the Last War, and the idea of this vast body of water full of salt and marvelous creatures was one I couldn’t get out of my mind. Ihadto see it. Jim eventually capitulated, and the experience was one I can only describe as humbling.

That day I realized how utterly insignificant we are to this planet.

“It sounds beautiful. I wish I could see it. Is it choppy? Calm?”

“Calm. Not even a ripple.”

“Beautiful.”

“Daisy…why did you have a bad day?”

I want to tell him. I will, eventually, but not tonight. If I talk about Jim and the gaping hole in my heart that the loss of him has left me with, I’ll only break down.

“I don’t want to dwell on it. Tell me more about the ocean.”

—

I sleep in fits and starts. The cell is too cold, the mattress too firm. In the morning, a female soldier collects me from my cell and takes me to a large locker room with a separate shower area. She hands me a pile of clothing and a toothbrush, then waits outside in the hall while I get ready.

The shower is nice, but the clothes provided aren’t. Slim pants and a short-sleeved shirt, both navy blue. Socks and ankle boots, bothblack. The shirt has the wordRecruitstitched over the left breast, with a number beneath it.

Fifty-six.

This is my worst nightmare. I’m utterly defenseless and in enemy territory. Prey among predators, only they don’t yet realize I’m prey, and if they learn the truth, I’ll suffer the same fate as Jim and my mother.

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