Page 30 of The Outcast
“What’s taking so long? It’s just a simple water test. All the others are long done. Come on already.”
Lilly leaned a little further, but she still couldn’t reach. When Aubri went off on her one more time, I stepped in. “Lilly, give me your left hand.”
She complied.
Locking my arm around the tree trunk, I assured her, “You’re taking the sample, but I promise that I’ll hold you. You won’t fall.”
When Lilly had her sample and ran to her group, Aubri confronted me.
“What did you do that for?”
“Lilly is the shortest of everyone here. She didn’t have the reach and needed a hand. This is why Explorers never work alone. You’ll always have a teammate to work with.”
“Finishing your assignment with the help of an instructor is failing in my book. I expect the same of the women as the men.”
“Why? We’re different, and being an Explorer isn’t about being the biggest and baddest. It’s about working well with others and caring. We’re not training soldiers, Aubri. We’re training Explorers.”
“I know that.” She ignored the rain running down her face.
“Then why do you speak like a general? And why do you make them think they’ll be heroes in France when you know damn well that Explorers are some of the lowest-ranking people in Old Europe? You’re giving them an unrealistic expectation of how people will receive them.”
Aubri raised her chin. “That will change.”
I groaned and pocketed my cold hands. “You can’t know that. Have you learned nothing from living in Old Europe? Explorers will always be seen as the lowest job in France, and can you blame people? Who in their right mind would risk their lives for a job?”
“Lots of people do it here in the Northlands and we see them as heroes. There are police officers, firefighters, drone racers, and extreme jobs of different kinds. The reason being an Explorer in Europe is such a low-ranking profession is that it’s currently associated with criminals and illiterate people, no offense. This program is about to change Exploration work into something that requires skills and courage. Being an Explorer will mean being part of an elite unit, not a group of outcasts. I'll bet you that once the results turn up, your people will respect the work of the Explorers.”
I shook my head. “I hope you’re right, Aubri, but you forget the amazing results and breakthroughs we’ve already had. Not once did we Explorers get any recognition. It’s always the scientists who are rewarded with bigger apartments and prestigious awards. Your friend Victor has a whole park named after him. Never mind that my friend Benjamin died to get him the samples he needed for his research. Nobody ever talks about that part. Benjamin died an outcast but to me he was a hero and I think they should have named that park after him.”
Aubri’s nostrils flared. “Satan’s balls. It makes me so angry that the French don’t appreciate the dangerous work Explorers do, but I swear to you that we’ll succeed, and we’ll have a fucking park named after Benjamin.”
It was hard not to smile at her indignation and determination. Aubri was a powerhouse with great connections and even though I was convinced that she was too ambitious, I still loved her attitude, so I reached out my hand to her. “Deal.”
When we moved on to another hard exercise in the afternoon, tempers boiled over.
The candidates were cold and miserable, and some of the men were getting annoyed with Aubri. She was hardest on Allan, Bjorn, Aristotle, and Franklin, who were professional soldiers. When she shouted at Allan one too many times, he barked back at her. “This is fucking worse than the military.”
Standing by Aubri’s side with her arms crossed, Sparrow told him, “You’re free to walk away any time if you can’t handle the pressure.”
“Fuck you!” Allan sneered.
It made Aubri snap back at him in a hard tone, “What did you say?”
We had all observed occasional lack of respect toward Sparrow from the male candidates, who would flirt with her while at the same time giving her shit when she gave out orders. The four soldiers, especially, questioned her authority often.
Seeing Aubri’s face twist into anger from Allan’s remark made me wonder if her attitude toward the male candidates were her way of punishing them for being disrespectful toward her friend.
Allan stood drenched in rain with mud stains on his face, pointing a finger at Sparrow. “She shouldn’t get to order us around when she’s never been to France herself or worked as an Explorer.”
Aubri ran forward and got into his face with fearless anger. She was a tall woman, but he was taller and still looked down at her.
“Is your problem that she wasn’t an Explorer or that she’s a woman?”
He wiped away rain from his forehead and looked as pissed as Aubri. “We don’t like being ordered around, that’s all.”
“Horseshit. You’re a soldier and you’ve been bossed around for years. You think women are weaker and inferior, isn’t that right?”
“Because you fucking are!”
