Page 82 of Aviatrix

Eli glances around, every muscle in his body snapping like a chord.

My eyes land on the bulky computer. The screen is dark, except for a glowing silver orb, pulsing softly in the center.

The computer is powered down. It shouldn’t be displaying anything.

“Eli,” I whisper, pointing at it.

No. No, no, no. Not again.

“Captain Kinley Quay,” a voice says. That voice. The one from the Langdon control tower. It slips down my spine like melting ice.

Eli steps behind me, close enough that I feel the heat of him at my back. “What do you want?” he demands.

“We will find the Legion,” the voice replies, smooth and soulless, the orb rocking back and forth on the screen. “We will destroy them. And anyone who stands in our way.”

“Who are you?” I ask.

The only response is static, the sound of rippling water… and something else I can’t name. Something otherworldly.

“You know who we are,” the voice says.

Fear gnaws at my throat, but I hold it back. I was trained for this, to override the instinct to scream, to run.

“What do you want me to do?” I force the question through gritted teeth.

“Find them.”

“I don’t know where they are,” I say, my gaze jumping to Eli. “What happens if I don’t find them?”

Eli’s hand slides to my waist. Breathe, he mouths.

“Find them,” the voice repeats, more distorted now. Hungrier. “Or you’ll be next.”

I’ll be next? Does that mean they’ll kill me? Or worse… make me useful.

The orb flickers, then vanishes. The eerie sound cuts off, leaving behind a silence so sharp it rings in my ears.

A moment later, thunder cracks.

I take a sharp step back, straight into Eli’s chest. My arms wrap around myself instinctively as lightning flashes so bright it casts a white blaze through the barn and raises every hair on my body.

There are too many questions. How am I supposed to find the Legion? Walker was a dead end. And it’s not like help is lining up at the door.

What happens if I don’t find them? I’ll be next? What does that mean?

“We should tell the General,” I say to Eli.

He exhales, the sound heavy and ragged in my ear. “If we tell him, command will…” He trails off.

“They’ll what?” I press as I glance up at him.

His expression warps. “They’ll lock you up, Quay. Or worse, they’ll use you as bait. Either option doesn’t…”

“Doesn’t what?”

“It doesn’t solve anything,” he says as I turn to face him. “It doesn’t fix this.”

I wish my team was here. Gary would have a strategy by now. Scooter and Thea would already be breaking it down, making a plan, moving forward.