Amber figured that after stopping to vomit three more times, James would have finally emptied his stomach and start feeling better. Sadly, he began dry heaving when there was nothing left in his belly. Every time they had to stop, every minute James spent hunched over a shrub put Amber on edge. She didn’t like having to wait for him to finish, and certainly didn’t like the idea of dying while waiting on somebody who clearly hated her.

The plan was to travel downhill until they could find some source of water so that they could drink and James could rehydrate, but that was proving to take longer than they had planned. At one point, the group had even heard gunfire ringing out in the direction they were moving, and had little choice but to change their course to try and avoid a fight with one man down.

James, to his credit, seemed to handle things well when not having to stop and attempt at throwing up. Amber wasn’t sure if it was the fear of getting caught, or the hope of another hit that kept him going as long as he did. Though, he would eventually tire out. One moment he was trudging along through the forest, and the next, he had fallen face first to the ground. Clay was the first to reach him, kneeling down and pressing a finger to his neck to feel for a heartbeat.

“Weak, but he’s got a pulse.”

“We did everything we could.” Amber said, folding her arms and staring at the unconscious man. “We need to move.”

“I told you, I never left a man behind.” Clay retorted, kneeling down to lift one of James’ arms over his shoulder while Dane swooped in to take the other.

“Guys, look at him. Do you really believe that there is anything more we can do?”

She looked as James’ head hung low, and his feet dragged across the floor while Clay and Dane carried him with them.

“If he’s got a pulse, he’s coming with us.” Clay said sharply. She could understand why Dane might be so opposed to abandoning him, taking it personally after seeing family die from their drug use, but she couldn’t think of why Clay would care so much. It was possible he didn’t want someone around he couldn’t trust to fight with him. Well, Amber couldn’t really blame him after the first day they had.

And so, she followed. Not too close, in case their struggle might give them away to others who could be waiting. The group would eventually stumble upon something that gave Amber some relief: an open field. After spending so much time among trees, it was nice to have a change of scenery. Spanning ahead of them was a large landscape that stretched out into the horizon. Amber could make out what looked like a small town far off in the distance, but there was something much closer that had her attention. The single story building would be of almost no significance if it were not for the large radio dish on the roof. The door was closed, the windows intact, and it looked like nobody had gone inside yet.

“Let’s set him down in there.” Dane said. But Clay didn’t move, scanning the horizon and the tree line that could be seen from where they stood.

“Hurry.”

Amber drew her weapon and followed the two as they rushed several dozen feet. Her heart pounded as she looked back and forth, praying not to see the white contrast of opponents shirts as they ran from the brush. She reached the door of the building and opened it for the two as they dragged James inside, and slammed it shut behind them.

The building was largely empty. The walls were faded where equipment and furniture used to be, replaced with a few seats, a sofa, and a large crate sitting against the back wall. It was identical to the one that they had all taken equipment from yesterday, when they first landed. Clay and Dane laid James down on the sofa, while Amber inspected the crate. She ran her hand along the surface, noting the symbol of the cog struck in two by a bolt of lightning. She then undid the latches, and lifted the lid open. Inside were a few of the wrapped meal bars they had eaten before departing, as well as two large jugs of water. Next to it, was a small automatic firearm. Not the size of the rifles that PK officers used, but it was the most complicated weapon that Amber had ever gotten to hold. She lifted it up, feeling the weight of the weapon in hand as she realized how much power she was holding. Well, at least compared to what she was used to carrying on her.

Something else caught her eye as she looked through the crate, a white metal box with a bold red cross, small enough to hold with one hand.. She took it out, and felt that it hardly weighed a thing.

“Hey, found something.” She said, taking it over to the sofa where Clay and Dane were James lay passed out, while the other two caught their breath. They both watched as she opened it, revealing a padded interior that housed a syringe filled with a clear liquid.

“Is that supposed to be medicine?” Dane asked, while Clay leaned down to look at it. He took the box from Amber, and let out a sigh.

“I’m guessing it is, but it could just be sugar water for all we know.”

He looked back over to James, skin clammy and pale as he rested motionless on the sofa. He carefully lifted the syringe from the box, pulling the plastic cap off of the needle.

Dane stood up to protest. “Wait, we don’t even–“

“He’s dead if we do nothing.”

Nobody objected further as Clay knelt down and felt around for a vein. His lower arm covered in bruises that Amber had not noticed prior, but Clay must have thought it was good enough to inject the mystery substance into. He stuck in the needle, and pressed down on the plunger.

They all waited. Nothing seemed to happen for a moment, though James’ chest did rise ever so slightly.

“Ok, good. We can take quick break and–“

Glass shattered before Amber could finish speaking. Behind her, gunshots were ringing out from the outside as the three scrambled for cover. There was nothing in the room that would suffice, and all they could do was duck behind one of the two windows. Glass crunched under Amber’s boots as her heart raced. She had always wondered what it would be like to be shot at, and it was just as terrifying as she imagined. A few more shots rang out, and she heard the thudding of bullets connecting with the other side of the wall she was hiding behind.

She heard footsteps outside as she tried to focus and control her breathing. For the first time in a long time, her instincts had kicked in and told her to run. To run out the back window and to not stop until she collapsed. But even the thought of such a thing brought back memories of that nightmare, of the cold dark void and the terror she felt. She remembered who she was fighting for in the first place.

Amber crouched down and walked to the other window along the wall, and gently poked as little of her head out as she needed. She saw only two figures running towards the building, a man and a woman with pistols in hand. Their weapons lowered, they were putting everything into a mad dash for any type of cover.

Amber took advantage of this. She quickly raised her new weapon and aimed down the sights, pulling the trigger as a prolonged burst of fire rang through the room, and hot brass flew past her face. Amber didn’t expect the weapon to kick back as much, and the firearm flailed wildly. Thankfully, it was enough to do the job. The woman making the sprint looked like something pulled her back as let out a cry and fell to the ground. The man beside her stumbled down, and ran around the building, out of sight.

“Cover me!” Clay barked, rushing over to the door and gently opening it. After a brief moment with no shots coming his direction, he looked both ways and left. Amber kept her eyes set to the outside. Nobody else in her field of view, or hiding in the trees. It looked clear.

Shots from two different pistols were fired, and stopped almost as soon as they started. Amber began to worry that Clay might have been hit, and creeped closer to the door to look around. She didn’t see Clay, nor the man he was chasing. Just as she felt real dread set in, he spoke up.

“I think we’re clear.”

Amber let out the breath she had been holding in, and turned around to check on James. He was still out cold, and a few pieces of broken glass covered his body, but he looked unharmed. Amber knelt down and felt for a pulse, only to be met with a loud snore and James’ hand swatting her away as he rolled over.

“James is ok.” She said.

Clay stepped back into the building, wiping sweat from his brow, his eyes fixed on the weapon that Amber had scavenged. He pointed to it while looking at her.

“Your shooting was sloppy, but you’ve got potential.”

She was ready to comment on how it was clearly good enough, because she took out one of their attackers. But she didn’t quite make the connection until then. The adrenaline was waning thin in her blood, and her mind was working more clearly. She had shot and killed somebody, somebody likely as desperate as her, or who had been tricked into this blood sport. Then again, she was also somebody that had shot her first.

“Any advice?” Amber asked, stepping past Clay to look out the window. The woman she had shot laid on her back, head slumped to the side and looking away. Amber could just barely make out the few holes scattered about her vest. She probably thought it was going to keep her safe. Amber looked down at her own, patting it for any sign of damage, wondering if hers might work any differently. To no surprise, she hadn’t been hit at all.

“You let it fire for too long.” Clay said, leaning against the wall beside her.

“Huh?”

“You let it fire for too long. Half the shots probably flew into the air instead of near your target. Next time, keep a wider stance and a firmer grip. Shoot in shorter bursts until you get a hang of it. I would tell you to practice, but you’re gonna have to learn on the job with this one.”

“Right. You sure you don’t want it? You seem like you… know what you’re doing.”

Clay shook his head, and smiling with a look of, was it pride? “No, you use it. I can manage without. You need all the extra firepower you can get, I’m sure.” He teased.

Amber let out a soft chuckle, pointing over to the crate where she had found the firearm. “More of those food bricks and some water in there, we should take the chance to rest up.”

“At least until he’s back on his feet.” Dane said, finally speaking up as he kept an eye out the window. “But, we should probably keep our eyes peeled. Just to be safe.”

Amber and Clay ate and drank their share as they sat on the floor, Dane pacing back and forth between the windows, doing his best to keep a low profile and cover the rest of his team.

“How do you know how to shoot so well?” Amber finally asked, after finishing her “meal”.

Clay looked up, chewing for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. “What do you mean?”

“Well, these kinds of guns aren’t exactly cheap or easy to find. I just think it’s a little funny how you know so much is all.”

Clay glared at her, unmoving, daring her to finish that thought.

“Did you used to be a PK, or something?”

“No.” He said, curtly. “Never was. But I’ll tell you after we get picked up on that shuttle out of hear. How’s that sound?”

Amber shrugged. “Alright, but I’m holding you to that.”

She would take watch after that, so Dane could rest and eat. Then Clay took her spot. Amber found it nothing short of a miracle that nobody had come by to investigate the sounds of fighting that they had clearly given off. Maybe… everyone else was gone? Wishful thinking, Amber decided.

The sun was high in the sky when James finally opened his eyes. He looked around the room and at his team, confused about his sudden change in location. His eyes were fixed on Amber’s new weapon, and he scratched his arm where Clay had given him the shot while speaking in a ragged voice.

“Did I miss something?”