Walking Ghost Phase (21 page)

Bursts of automatic gunfire echoed over th
e rooftops. “Hear that?” he asked. “That's me emptying a clip in your teammate. Her mother won't be able to recognize her when I'm done.”

Emily darted to the other side
of the shed and stuck her head and gun around the corner. The defender, out in the open and in full view of every city rooftop, sent a round of bullets through A2's dead body. Emily took aim, each breath controlled and precise, and squeezed the trigger. After the first shots cracked the pebbles near his feet, he spun, running for safety. She now jerked the trigger all the way against the metal backstop. A stream of bullets buried into the opposite shed, a ventilation shaft, even dead air. Everything except her intended target. She ducked back behind cover.

“
You can do better.” A hint of nervousness lingered in his voice.

Emily ejected the empty magazine and removed a fresh one from her knapsack. With her trembling hands, she rattled the new magazine
against the bottom of the rifle as she tried to insert it.
Stay focused.
The magazine clicked, and she jerked back on the bolt.

“
Holy shit,” the defender shouted. “This one's still alive. Emily? Is that your name? I think she wants to tell you something. Sounds important.” Shots rang out again, and he laughed. “Oops. I guess she'll have to tell you later.” He fired again.

His gun clicked—the joyous sound of an empty magazine—and Emily sprinted out from behind the shed. By then, the defender was halfway to safety.
Not good enough. “Got you.” Her first shot punctured his ass; the rest planted into his back. He fell to the ground, dead, still clutching his tailbone. “Enjoy the timer.”

Then a burning sensation crawled across her chest, and a boom echoed from a distant building. Emily looked down her body, where her fatigues shined with moisture.
“Oh, no.” Another round sliced through her arm. Her knees knocked against each other, and she crumpled. The wonderful blue sky disappeared in the growing darkness.

The world faded.

You Are Dead!

Overall time:

One hour, two minutes, seventeen seconds.

Squad leader success:

Thirty-three percent.

Adjusted state of death time remaining:

Four hours, twenty-one minutes, thirty-one seconds.

Emily
's ethereal smile pushed the pain somewhere in the back of her mind. She'd achieved something rare, and even if her team didn't win, the idea of extra sleep and bragging rights tomorrow morning sufficed. The re-piecing of broken images could wait. The shortened timer replaced the need to dream.

But less than five minutes
later, the timer disappeared.

The Sim chamber came into focus, and a strange hand pulled the breathing tube from her mouth. A male officer was standing over her when she surfaced.
“Head to your quarters immediately. Don't change. Don't towel off. Just go.”

“
What's going on?”

“
Now,” he shouted. He ran off to assist other white-coats and MPs who scurried around the chamber. After she climbed out of the vat, a scream for help came from the back of the room.

Then t
he out-of-place morning alarm blared. “All trial soldiers are ordered to remain in their quarters until further notice.”

Emily, still dripping with Sim ooze, crammed inside the elevator. Her confused expression mirrored that of her fellow riders, even the defenders, who rarely rode the elevators with attacker soldiers.

Sometime later, she entered her room, where Maggie was toweling a glob of Sim gel out of her ear. “What's going on?” Emily asked.

Maggie shrugged.
“I died almost twenty minutes into the session, but after an hour of darkness, the Sim terminates. Then some nasty MP kicks me out of the chamber.” She tossed the towel on the floor. “But I'm not about to complain. I haven't enjoyed eight hours of sleep since I left home.”

“
Good point.”

Emily turned off her light and curled up in bed. The clock displayed 20:43. She hoped the nightmares let her
sleep, at least for one night.

Once the morning alarm ended, Maggie inched her legs off the mattress and rubbed her eyes. For a moment she stared at the door, squinting.
“What's that?” She knelt down and grabbed a folded paper off the floor.

Emily sat up.
“What's it say?”

Maggie
's eyes zipped left and right and then bulged. “Oh my God.” She shoved the paper toward Emily. “Read!”

Emily took it
.

To All Personnel:

Due to human error, a critical system failed on the ACES module last night. We have conducted an extensive investigation into the matter, and the responsible party has been removed from the OPS controller position and disciplined.

Unfortunately, the nature of the problem had dire consequences. One of your fellow soldiers passed away in the night. Several others were injured but should make a full recovery. Army Command takes this matter very seriously and will make certain that an incident such as this does not reoccur.

We have contacted the family of the fallen soldier and received their approval to honor her with a memorial service. Until that time, all soldiers are required to follow their regular schedules. However, all personnel shall be allowed to attend and honor our fallen ally—

Emily stopped at the name.
“No. No. No.” Tears welled in her eyes.

“
What?” Maggie asked. “Do you know her?”

“
Raven, I'm so sorry. Please, forgive me.” Emily dug her fingers into the sheets.

Maggie cradled her arms around Emily.
“Who was she?”

“
We rode here together. She was in the Sim with me last night. I was the commander…she followed me to her death.”

Maggie tugged on Emily
's arm. “Let's get you to the shower. It'll be good for you.”

Emily stared ahead, her face blank, as Maggie pulled her into the hall.

At 5:57, the shake-enforcement officer watched as she drank the pink liquid. Her eyes watered, and for a moment she thought about letting a few drops of the shake trickle out of the corners of her mouth. Maybe the officer wouldn't notice, too distracted by the screech from her stomach. Then he grabbed her wrist. “That's good enough.” She didn't argue with him.

Once she stepped through the door, the eyes of her classmates immediately focused on her.
 It seemed that the gossip surrounding Raven's death had included her squad members' names, so Emily stared at the floor until she neared her row, when Sarah rushed into the aisle and hugged her, sniffling, gasping in short breaths. “I'm going to miss her.”

“
Me, too,” Emily said. Her voice was low. “Me, too.”

Then Sa
rah nodded toward the door. As soon as Emily looked, she flinched, and a layer of sorrow eased from her heart. Matt wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “She was a nice girl, a good person. She didn't deserve this.”

Emily stared at him, speechless.
Where were you? Why did you miss class? How did you get a day off?

Stop. This isn
't the time.

She remained silent as
Matt led her through the aisle. Soon Captain Stallings entered the classroom and skipped his usually cheerful greeting. As he studied the somber faces, Emily slid lower on the stool to avoid his gaze. “You've all heard the news by now.” He shook his head. “The memorial service will be held tomorrow morning. Under the circumstances, the base commanders have agreed that cancelling tonight's ACES session is in the best interest of the trial.” His expression hardened. “But make no mistake. This
is
a trial, one with risks. There has always been the possibility that this might occur, but the accident will allow us make corrections to the system. Raven McDonald's death was not in vain.”

A chill ran up Emily
's back.
Anything for the experiment to continue.
Cold. Bitterly cold.

Stallings and Emily exchanged glances.
“Are you ready to hear your results?” he asked.

“
Yes, sir,” less than half the class answered, but Stallings said nothing.

Emily tuned out the numbers—meaningless times—and thought about her friend. An accident, not war and not a terrorist act, had stolen a beautiful girl from the world. If only Emily went the other direction; if only she made Raven stay behind the shed; if only she refused to play the defender
's game; if only she hit him on the first try; if only—

Then a slight sting raced across Emily
's thigh, and she shuddered. The slap didn't quite seem loud, but the entire class still looked at her. She glared at Sarah, who jerked her head toward the front of the room.

“
What?” Emily whispered.

“
Private Heath?” Stallings shouted, and slammed his fist into the wooden podium.

Emily
's posture stiffened. “Sir?”

“
Did you forget your name?”

“
No, sir.”

“
One hour, two minutes, seventeen seconds. Nice job. Excellent strategy, but next time try to remain aware of your surroundings.”

For the next several hours, Raven
's last moments replayed in Emily's mind: The defender standing over Raven's body, brass shells ejecting from his rifle, his taunting New York accent. He had goaded her into playing his game, and now his voice in her brain reminded her.

Stallings, perhaps out of sympathy, ended class an hour early, but when Emily tried to leave, he grabbed her arm. Matt and Sarah waited, looking confused, but
Stallings motioned them to go to the hall. After they did, he pulled Emily closer, his breath sounding like an ocean in her ear. “It was an accident. Nothing last night happened because of any mistakes you made.” Before she could utter a word, he escorted her to the hall and slammed the door as if he feared a prolonged moment.

Not more than twenty feet from the classroom, Sarah rocked her hips and waved a finger in Matt
's face. “Come on. Fess up. Where'd you go?”

Emily heard Sarah
's question and took three gazelle-like strides to reach her friends.

“
I was sick,” Matt said. “Couldn't make it to class.”

Matt
's cheek twitched, and Emily narrowed her eyes.
Suspicious.

“
What a load of shit,” Sarah said. “I have bruises all over my body. Other than last night, I haven't slept more than three hours since orientation ended. But
you—
you get excused because you're sick?”

“
That's what I'm saying,” Matt said.

“
At least tell me they gave you the needle,” Sarah said.

“
Nope, just a good night's rest.”

“
I knew this place was sexist. I'm going to file a lawsuit when I get out.” Sarah rubbed her fingers around an invisible dollar bill. “Retirement, here I come.”