Chapter 23: The Shattered Mirror

I found myself behind the gym, staring out at the perimeter wire. The mountains looked like jagged teeth waiting to crush the base. I pulled the letter out and tore it into a thousand tiny pieces, watching the wind catch them and scatter them into the dust.

"Ramírez."

I didn't turn. I knew the voice. Captain James. He was standing a few feet away, his hands clasped behind his back.

"I heard," he said quietly.

"Of course you did. Everything echoes in this place."

"Thorne is being dealt with. Viper has him doing 'extra duty' that will involve a toothbrush and the latrines for the next month." James stepped closer. He didn't offer a hug; he knew I wouldn't take it. He just stood there, a solid, grounding presence. "Is it true?"

"Which part, Sir? The addicts? The cellar? Or the part where I’m just like them?" I finally looked at him, my eyes hard. "That’s why I hide, James. Not because of the vitiligo. Because I’m afraid if people look too close, they’ll see the rot."

James did something then that he had never done. He reached out and gripped both of my shoulders, forcing me to face him. His eyes were fierce, burning with a cold, protective rage.

"Look at me," he commanded. "You are the finest soldier in this company. You are the woman who hung over a cliff to save a man who hated her. You are the RTO who kept her cool while the world was exploding. That rot? That stayed in Ohio. It didn't follow you here."

He let go of my shoulders, his fingers brushing against the skin of my neck.

"They don't know you," he whispered. "But I do."