Page 61 of Wrong Squad, Right Mess

It dragged on me, all the uncertainty, the inability to do anything but wait. I couldn’t even study the crystals, had no way to access information to explore theories, nothing.

I had to just sit here.

Yun had stayed by us for a short time before she’d left to explore what she could. The monsters that followed her showed she wasn’t free even if Corsa hadn’t put her into a cage as he had us.

There wasn’t a lot of time, and we couldn’t just wait and watch for an opening. Instead, we had to find a path free from this.

I gritted my teeth together, the frustration eating away at me. I couldn’t sense Yun at all, couldn’t tell anything about her, where she was, what she thought, whether or not she was safe.

It meant the moment she stepped out of my sight, the tension inside me rose dramatically.

Was this how others felt all the time? How on earth did they live with the uncertainty?

Corsa’s interference—though now I wondered if it was due to these crystals—had blocked me from Yun before, though I’d been able to at least send a message when I could see her. Now, however, the barriers erected around us cut me off from using my powers outside the box. I could sense the thoughts of the rest of the squad, but it was as though the world outside this square didn’t exist, like watching a television playing a lie.

It meant I could sense the rest of the squad, but I didn’t give a damn about them at the moment. I knew what they thought, that they were fine. I didn’t like having Yun so close that I could see her but be entirely unable to read or reach her.

In addition, I had no idea where Corsa was, where he had gone, or when he might return.

Had I ever truly felt this blinded? Like the world was a far larger and scarier place than I’d ever felt?

No, not even back at Obsidian. Not even with Mr. Yorn and his sick experiments. He’d never managed to truly blind me, and even the times he’d attempted it, I’d always known I could have broken it if I’d wanted.

This time there was nothing for me to break. Between Corsa and these damned crystals, I had no ability to see or feel anything. I couldn’t do anything.

Was this how Kenyon felt all the damn time? I’d felt his inadequacies in the past, but I’d never really understood them. I did now, though.

I felt useless standing there.

“Relax,” Carter said, having taken a seat on the ground near the center of our prison with Ingram behind him, leaning back to back. They both appeared at ease, as though none of this were out of the ordinary or bothersome at all.

“Yes, because our current situation is exactly one we should relax in.”

Kenyon lifted his head, which made me realize that he lay in Carter’s lap like an anime girl. “Relaxation helps the body prepare for action when it’s time.”

Again, I had to recognize that the people I shared a squad with were quite unhinged.

No, not unhinged. That implied they’d been hinged in the first place, but these men? They had been insane from day one. Perhaps what they’d gone through had upped the danger factor, had made it louder over the years, but they’d never been quite right.

Me either.

I sighed and attempted to better my attitude, mostly because if even Kenyon understood this, I needed to get on board. Pacing and stressing would do nothing to better our situation. It wouldn’t magically give us an answer, and it wouldn’t make the time without Yun any easier to endure.

So I came over and plopped myself down to the side of Ingram and Carter, on the other side from where Kenyon’s body stretched out. I wasn’t about to do the whole head in lap nonsense, but I leaned my back against their shoulders. “I don’t like not sensing where Yun is.”

“Welcome to our world,” Carter answered. “She really is going to be the death of us.” His words appeared light on the surface, the sort of comment anyone would make without meaning any of it.

I knew better, though. It was in the slight drop to his voice, the hesitation between the words that made the sentence take just a heartbeat longer than it should have.

“That might be okay,” Ingram said. “Fuck it, if she’s the death of me, I think I’d take it as a win.”

Kenyon nodded. “Same.”

I went to agree, but never got anything out before a tearing sound echoed through the dungeon.

My gaze slid to the portal, expecting to see it shimmering, to find it collapsing. We still couldn’t work out how long we had exactly, but that sort of sound, echoing through The Pitt, was too familiar to forget.

Nothing. The portal didn’t shift, it didn’t shimmer, it showed no signs of collapse.