Fire ignites in my chest. My arms shoot out and my eyes open. Yetic’s face comes into focus hovering over me. I clutch for the firey fingers I’d felt pressing into my heart moments earlier, but the sensation is gone along with the hand responsible for it.
“Calm down, Cal.” Yetic helps me sit up. “It’s just me and Instructor Turon.”
I blink away the fog and take a long few seconds to confirm my surroundings. I open my mouth. My throat’s raspy. “What happened to the chamber?” The obstacles and topography have disappeared, leaving behind a cavernous empty box. I’ve never seen the combat chamber like this.
Yetic looks from me to Turon and back before shrugging. “I guess we shorted out the system.” A smile creeps across half his face.
My surprise at the condition of the chamber gives way to my memory of the final moment before my blackout. I grasp Yetic’s hand. “Did we win?”
He tugs me to my feet. “Of course.”
Turon takes over. “You, Ms. Bluehair, along with thirty-eight of those under your leadership, died. While the entire Jaguar 49 was eliminated, technically rendering Serpent victorious, I would hardly celebrate.”
Turon reprimands Yetic with a humorless stare before continuing, “Now that the danger of Ms. Bluehair expiring permanently has passed, I suggest the two of you hurry to your next class. I have some work to do before this afternoon’s training sessions.” He gestures at the formless void of the combat chamber before ushering us toward the exit.
Still groggy, I let Yetic guide me. We reach the first of the double doors without another word.
As the door retracts, Instructor Turon hails us. “Your poise today, Ms. Bluehair,” he hesitates. “I’d be amiss not to point out the fact that, while thirty-nine of your people died, ten of them survived. Well done.”
I look over my shoulder and nod. “Thank you.”
Yetic and I exit through the second door and emerge into the low ceilinged corridor. The singular passage runs the length of the underground academy and connects its myriad of classrooms to each of the five barracks. In turn, each of the barracks are broken down into eight dorm groups of forty-nine. The 49 is the basis for life within the academy. My 49—the best 49—is Serpent 6. Today, we’ve managed another win, barely.
“That was the most complimentary thing I’ve ever heard Turon say.” Yetic squeezes my forearm. “You should have seen the look on his face after Olin detonated. I missed the best of it because the lights went out for a few seconds.”
“Really?” I ask.
“You better believe it. We broke the chamber, plain and simple.”
“But everyone was okay? I mean—”
“Yeah,” Yetic puts his arm around my shoulders, “everyone else woke up with the standard resurrection command. You had us scared there for a bit.”
“Ah, I’m flattered.”
“No joking.” Yetic lowers his brows. “I had to order the rest of the 49 to class, or the whole dorm would have been there when you woke up.”
“Wait,” I stopped and forced Yetic to stop with me. “What about lunch?”
“Missed it.”
“How long—”
“Over an hour.”
“Xoxochueyi.”
Yetic nods toward the nearest monitoring device while tugging me into motion. “What do you say we avoid being any later than we already are.”
I level a glare at the watching eye mounted high on the wall before relenting. We proceed along the eerily empty corridor at a steady jog. During my entire six months in the academy I have never been so physically alone. I can’t escape the sinking feeling we are somehow out of bounds—that we’re being secretly penalized by some shadowy figure seated behind a bank of displays.
I see him in my mind’s eye. It’s the same mysterious man who startled me in the interview closet during registration, and he’s shaking his head in disapproval.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this scene of Boundaries, Season 2 of The Green Ones. I’ll be publishing FREE daily scenes from The Green Ones until…I die…or something terrible happens. Seriously, I’ve got over 100 scenes written so far, and I’ll be writing more until the story reaches its natural ending. You are totally welcome to read the entire story for FREE! If at any point you decide you would rather finish the story in ebook or print format, just click the buttons below and you can do that as well. If you enjoy reading the serial releases, BUT you would also like to support me as a writer (my kids need wine!) please subscribe to my premium content for bonus scenes, exclusives, and insider access to my process. And of course, I’d be grateful if you would share this post with any of your reader friends who you think would enjoy The Green Ones. Happy reading!