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“Thank you.” My manners would never fail me.
He simply dipped his head in acknowledgement, and that was the end of it.
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE VALUE OF TIME
O’GRADY
In all the time I’d been here, watching new groups of fucked up preppy kids come and go, one thing remained certain: all the elite were the same. Each and every single one of them was prepared to look in the opposite direction when it came to all the fucked up shit The Society pulled on a daily basis if it meant that their silver plattered lifestyle kept on turning. Which is why we knew exactly what the weekend would look like.
I pressed my body against one of the big palm trees, leaning all my weight against it as I sipped a beer. It was too early in the morning to be drinking beer, but it was sundowners somewhere in the world, right? I gazed across the pool, taking in the bikini clad women, all stretched out and glistening beneath the sun, while The Society fuck boys pretended not to look.
I noted where all the big movers and shakers were. Raquel lay stretched out on a lounger next to her new friend, all dolled up in a cherry red bikini. Almost every guy noticed her, which made me notwantto even look. Society girls like that were heavy fucking maintenance, and just the thought of Aria O’ Luc gave me a headache. And what-do-you-know,Fuck Boy Number Oneand his sidekick,Piss Stain,were already hovering around them. Ajax SinClaire and Joshua Penn were exactly what you would expect when it came to Society boys, which meant that they had more power than they had brains.
Still, I scanned the area for Holly, knowing full well that it was too early for her. Paul Mae liked to keep her up until the early hours of the morning, which meant that she wouldn’t be awake until midday. I’d cover for her, just like I always did.
I blinked, taking in the way the sunlight hit the surface of the swimming pool, illuminating it in a way that was almost ethereal.
The sun reflected against the water’s surface. It didn’t seem to matter that the puddle was filled with grime - that there had been hellfire raining down here only twenty-four hours ago - because after the storm swept through, the sun didn’t discriminate.
I walked carefully, sure-footed in each step I took because if I was going to get blown up here, I’d rather it happen with a sure-footed step than a half-assed pussy step.
But, then, I wasn’t sure death cared about such things. I squinted up at the sun, understanding that it didn’t discriminate against where it shined- it simply did.
Still, I didn’t look at the rubble that took up half the square - the old building that used to be our base. There had been some fine soldiers in there when all hell had erupted, but almost all of us had been sent out here under the whims of some Society General. That alone made it difficult to determine whether the fire was ever truly foe or if it had been planned to look that way all along. I was under no illusions about what it meant to be a fine soldier out here - I was cannon fodder - something to be discarded. If I survived, then so be it, but I knew that I had been sent here to die - we all had.
I avoided the remains of the building that had been bombed - the one where fellow Society servants in the military had been staying. There were no friends out here - no made family, it was simply a game of survival, one that didn’t seem to follow any sort of rhyme or reason.
It was times like these that I wasn’t sure what I wished for more - the cotton candy tasting pills or this. But even that thought was a lie because I would rather look death in the face each and every time - I wanted to see her when she came for me, I didn’t want the comfort of some sleep-induced high to shield her truth from me. But that didn’t mean I had to look upon the remains of my fellow soldiers.
Fuck. I blew out a breath as I walked carefully across the square. Some of the debris was unavoidable, but that didn’t mean I had to look - had to acknowledge. Because if I stopped for even a moment and truly took in what was going on around me, I would break.
A stronger man might have taken matters into his own hands - might have deliberately walked in the line of fire, but I was not a strong man - not when it came to this. How many times had I tried and chickened out at the last minute?
The truth was - if I simply took myself out, then they would no longer have a hold over me, and Gemma… Gemma would be fine. She had to be.
I hadn’t seen her in so long that she felt like a dream - an illusion, and even when I knew that she was simply a carrot they dangled in front of me, I couldn’t turn away - couldn’t risk her, not when she was the only semblance of family I had. Even now, under the beating sun, I knew I had failed dismally. It had been my job to protect her - to look after us, and I hadn’t just failed, I had led us right to the line of slaughter. I swallowed, my throat parched from the heat as I stood there weighing my options. My entire unit was dead - by rights, I should have been with them - should have died, too. It had probably been planned that way, but I stepped out to go to the pisser when the bomb hit, and, so, here I was - alive. They wouldn’t be happy about that - not that they would say as much. The truth was, I wasn’t happy about it, either. My clothing was hot, sticking to my flesh. My back ached, the blister on my ankle burned uncomfortably with every step I took, but all of those things led back to the same point: I was alive.
“Checking in for survivors, Copy.”
My radio went off, the static making it almost impossible to hear what my commander was saying. It had taken him a full twenty-four hours to check in - to see if any of us had survived the explosion. It told me all I needed to know - they hadn’t expected any survivors, and, for one clarifying moment, I had the absurd thought that I should run - that this was an opportunity to flee - to rid myself of The Society and their bullshit. But I couldn’t - because they were my only link to Gemma.
I exhaled, staring at the glistening puddle.
“Are there any survivors? Over.”
I lifted the device to my mouth, unclipping it easily in a quick, practiced motion.
“One survivor, Chief. Just one.”
I heard his exhale down the line, and, for a heartbeat of a moment, I thought that he might have been relieved - that, to him, I was more than just cannon fodder. But such thoughts were dangerous illusions that served as a sure way to get yourself killed.
“You’re one lucky motherfucker, O’ Grady.”
Yeah. That’s what I was. Lucky.
“We’ll send in a chopper to come and get you. Stand by.”
The glistening water didn’t judge, it simply stood there, waiting under the beating sun for yet another disturbance issued by The Society. And when the chopper arrived, and the wind picked up, causing ripples to stir in that previously still puddle of water, I understood the truth of it all: The Society was powerful enough to change the very static of nature - to disturb any calm surface - to uproot any tree. And wasn’t that a depressing fucking thought.
