Chapter 24: The Unspoken Lie
Silas's denial strung in my head all morning: "No, I don't know anything."He said that so many times,It was delivered with such cold,I he was lying to protect a secrets from me." I thought, watching Silas turn and head toward the main sector. His pace was so calm. He knew something, and he was hiding it.
Kenji walked up to me, his face pale and drawn. He hadn't showered, hadn't changed, and bloodstains was still on his shoulder, it was a dark stain that was spreading.
"Fifty minutes left," Kenji mumbled, checking the time on his wrist comm. "Reassignment. Just like that. Do you think he's right? Do you think Jorah is just... forgotten?"Kenji asked,The Captain forgot him the second Jorah stopped moving," I said, my voice flat. "But for Silas I didn't know what he was feeling or thinking.."Rana and Lyna were already walking toward the supply depot, their backs stiff. They were obeying the Captain's dismissal without question.
"Silas is lying, I wanted to tell Kenji," But what if Im wrong and he's not hiding anything continued,I looked at Kenji all he was put his arms on my shoulder and said,"Come on man we have to get sleep for the next mission we don't got that much time! I also just watched a man sacrifice himself so we could save a fucking data core. We need sleep, Reiyo. And we also need to clear this smell off us."
Was he changing to we just witnessed a team member die and he just want to be prepared for the next mission, but I knew I couldn't afford to put my humanity before everything right now. The threat of the Mysterious Woman and the unsettling deadly group, I need rest until I could get a understanding of the game the Captain and Silas were playing.
"The Captain said 'reassignment'," I thought, gesturing to the heavy pack on the railing. "We just retrieved the single most valuable piece of intelligence in the fortress, and now we get sent straight back out? That's not a reassignment; it's a test. They're seeing if we just going to stand and die."
We walked toward the barracks in silence.Every step away from the platform was a step deeper into the fortress's web of lies.
We entered the private quarters we shared. Kenji immediately stripped off his gear, heading for a steaming shower. I sat on my cot, pulling the field vest off. My arm was tingling faintly,
Suddenly, a voice, soft and resonant, spoke from the corner of the room.
"You should listen to your friend. Rest is not a luxury; it is necessary for survival."
I spun around. Standing near the window was Silas. He hadn't used the door, and there was no sound of him, he was like a stealth assassin. He was simply there. He had bypassed everything without me even noticing.
"You're early for the reassignment," I said, standing up slowly. Kenji, halfway to the shower, froze in place.
Silas ignored Kenji. H focused his eyes on me, held that same disturbed recognition from the platform. "I lied back there, Reiyo. I know more about that agent than I admitted but not all. But thats is not why I am here."
Silas gestured to my field vest, where pieces of the dark trace of petrified material still clung to the fabric of my vest.
"The Authority agent must've knew y'all we're there, don't you wonder how did he know y'all exact location. My heart dropping how did he know.