Destruction - The Oasis Project Book 2 (Complete)

Twenty - Ira

Between playing card games with the Chinese recruits while barely understanding anything they said, lessons on first aid, and vigorous training, I was exhausted. It seemed like the military decided to suddenly fast track me because they wanted me on this extraction mission as soon as possible. Doctor A was barely around anymore, and Nita explained that it was because she had a lot more of a middle-person role with the military than any of the other doctors. When I asked Nita if the situation with Four was getting urgent, she brushed my question aside. "Focus on yourself, Ira," she told me. "Nothing good ever comes out of rushing for others." It made me think of my terrible idea to infiltrate Dell Island, and how the others might have suffered because of me.

Wu and his friends, on the other hand, had a lot to share about Four. Either the Chinese doctors were more prone to gossip or they kept their recruits updated on their missing teammate. "I think they are sending Two from Russia and One from America," Wu told me.

"And just me from here?" I asked.

Wu looked to his friends, who didn't look like they knew either. "Maybe also someone else." He took a sip of fresh orange juice made from the kitchenette. "Not Two. His ability is not useful in this case."

I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that I at least wouldn't have to put up with Desmond. "Do you know Four well?"

"Yes," Eight, the quietest out of the group, spoke up. His black hair was growing past his ears. "She was One."

"She had an accident that took her out of action for a while," Wu picked up when his friend struggled with English. "No one had the heart to push her rank below the top five; she was that talented. She was very, very smart, and her ability was like a superhero's - her cells could rapidly reconfigure so that bullets could pass through her but not damage her, and she had fast regeneration a lot of the time, too."

"So she's in big trouble, then," I concluded. "They're sending Ones and Twos."

Wu chewed his bottom lip and nodded. We stared at the table for a few seconds before he spoke up again. "You are Russian, aren't you? Why are you in China?"

"I don't think Russia wants me back again," I said, and before any of them could question what I mean, I let the hard-to-digest story tumble out of me. It was a relief to talk about it to someone who wasn't Nita, and even though it was the guy I'd almost hit over the same story, I was grateful for it.

󠁌♟♙♟♙

Keshav and I were given the opportunity to go out by ourselves during the day, a luxury as a show of good faith from the Oasis overseers. Blood drained from my face when I realized that Keshav would be driving us into the wilderness because I didn't know the way. I was worried that the boy wouldn't even make it out of the carpark, but overall his driving was smooth, given that we were the only ones on the winding road.

"They let you out by yourself?" I asked. Not having a doctor or a military supervisor around felt like a dream.

"No." Keshav laughed. "That would be irresponsible. If something happened to me, no one would know." After some pondering, he added, "Well, they would through all the cameras built in everywhere, but it would take a while to find me. So, moral of the story, always go out in pairs. Most of the time, a Chinese doctor tags along. Used to be Nita, but now Nita's training you, so."

His words sent a chill down my spine. I had always prepared to die alone with nobody finding me until I was unrecognizable, but looking at the thick forest and the empty road ahead made me freeze in fear. "Where are we going?" I tried to sound like we were having a weekend out like normal people. After all, hard rock was playing as we drove, a little too much on the ears for me at times. Sometimes it sounded a bit soulless.

"Just to the mountains," Keshav said, gripping the steering wheel with both hands. A light stubble had grown over his cheeks, making him look a little more mature. "It's the only place I know, but it looks nice, I promise."

"Is this another thinly-veiled training session?" I asked skeptically.

"Not really," he answered. "That extraction mission being hammered in every day, eh?" I didn't know what to say; I couldn't remember anyone talking about it, but it was all I could think about. I was shown pictures of Four - the petite Chinese girl was not what I had in mind for a near-immortal former One. I forgot where I was until Keshav spoke up again, "I think I'm going too."

"You are?" I managed before he took a turn too fast. The mountains were coming into view, different from the mounds that I was used to. The rock faces looked like they fell away vertically; the ledges looked impossible to grip. Nevertheless, they looked stunning with mist swirling at the peaks.

"Desmond's not going, Five's definitely not going. Anyone with a bigger number might get hurt," Keshav explained. "So, me."

"Why is Wu definitely not going?"

"Oh, he wants to go." Keshav nodded. "He just can't because he likes Four, and he or some of the others might get hurt on behalf of him if something happens to Four."

"That's horrible." I chewed on that thought. Desmond and Celestia came to mind even though I didn't want them to. "Seems like pairing up isn't rare here."

"Well, all we have is each other, really." Keshav shrugged. "How we interpret that is up to us."