[Location: Barracks 404.]
The barracks smelled like stale sweat, gun oil, and hopelessness.
I kicked the door open.
Three faces turned to look at me. I knew them. I knew them all. In Life #3,400, I had buried every single one of them.
Miller: The kid. 19 years old. Shaking like a leaf.
Jax: The heavy. A mountain of muscle with a cybernetic jaw and a laugh that shook the walls.
Elara: The sniper. Red hair, cigarette hanging from her lip, eyes dead as a shark's.
"Ten-hut!" Miller squeaked, dropping his rifle.
"At ease," I grunted, throwing my bag on an empty bunk. "My name is Caelum. I'm your new babysitter. Don't talk to me unless you're on fire."
"Charming," Elara muttered. She didn't stand up. She was sketching in a notebook with a piece of charcoal. "Another glory hound sent to lead the lambs to the slaughter."
"Something like that," I said, stripping off my jacket.
"Hey, Boss!" Jax grinned, his metal jaw clicking. "You're the 'Blue Demon,' right? The guy who punched a Centurion into orbit? Heard you're a real badass."
"I'm just a guy who's hard to kill," I said.
Jax laughed. "Well, that's good! 'Cause we're dropping into Shadow Creek tomorrow. And nobody comes back from Shadow Creek."
I froze.
Shadow Creek.
In Life #3,400, Shadow Creek was where Jax lost his legs to a mine. It was where Elara got eaten by bio-drones. It was where Miller drowned in mud.
I looked at them. They were already ghosts. They just didn't know it yet.
"Nobody dies tomorrow," I said softly.
The room went quiet.
"Excuse me?" Miller asked.
I turned to them, my eyes burning.
"I said nobody fucking dies tomorrow. I don't care what the odds are. You stick to me, you do exactly what I say, and we all come home. Got it?"
Jax looked at Elara. Elara looked at me, blowing smoke.
"You're crazy," she said. "But I like crazy."