Nuclear

Chapter 15: Crash

"Drugged?"

"Yeah. It was good food though. I woke up in her apartment."

"Nice of her," Cass comments.

"Except I kinda felt like I was invading her life, so... there's that. What's the Jake story?"

Cass sighs, making braids in her hair subconsciously. " Before we came to Tachyon, both me and Ren knew each other. Jake was... the cool kid, still is, I guess, at our school. He invited us to a party one day at his house. Ren didn't like him from the beginning, but we still ended up going." She finishes a braid in her hair before undoing it and braiding it all over again.

"Why didn't like Ren like him?"

"She knew he was arrogant, selfish, and just a bully sometimes. she wasn't wrong. Anyways, we got there, but nobody except him and his parents were there. He helped them ship us off to Tachyon."

I nod. I disliked Quinn for the exact same reasons, but Dani seems to trust her. and with the whole life-or-death situation, I've learned to put my hatred to the back of my mind. I can say that it has dissolved at least a little bit though.

"Lesson learned. Don't party with strangers."

Cass swats me. "Shut up," she says, trying to hide a grin. Her expression sobers. "After Jake got to Tachyon he tried to avoid us. We wouldn't let him. He and Ren began this battle of inconveniencing and annoying each other. I can't say I'm completely innocent either, though."

"Fun." I squint at the double moon in the sky through the gaping hole in the roof. The nights are cold but my ability warms me up quickly. It gets me thinking. Would Squadron A have abilities too? I voice my question to Cass.

"Yeah, probably. They survived the trip here, right?"

"Yeah, but where did they land?"

"Dani knows. Why?"

"If we found the crash site, we might be able to figure out what happened to them. You said radios wouldn't work with them, and I'm guessing a signal fire would be too far fetched. So we go to the crash site and work from there."

"I doubt you'll find much, but go ahead." Cass tucks her hair behind her ear. "There must be locals here to have built this building, and I don't think either of us wants to meet them. If you do find people, it might not necessarily be Squadron A."

"Yeah, I know," I sigh. "Look, I'll take the Kaisers to the crash site tomorrow. They might see something that I won't."

"Harley, don't you need to rest? Using your ability isn't easy."

I give her my best smirk. "I'll be fine. Besides, I want to get out of here before we all die of thirst."

"If you use your ability, you won't be able to walk back," she warns.

"I'll get the Kaisers to carry me."

Cass rolls her eyes. "Brilliant plan."

"And plus, I'm pretty much resting right now."

"Dani's the one you'll have to convince, not me. Only she and Quinn know where the crash-site is. And I don't think it's the best idea to wake Quinn for that."

I sigh. "This will be so much fun."

As soon as dawn breaks, I go find Dani. She's already up. I take a deep breath and approach her. "hey Dani."

"Hey," she replies as she rolls up her sleeping bag. "What do you need?"

Of course Dani would know when I want or need something. I have no way of bringing up the topic eloquently, so I just say it. "Do you know where Squadron A landed?"