Page 188 of Nyx

I arrow for Landon and Rick's house, knowing this is the one they're working to get the inside finished.

Laughter, conversation, and the sound of hammering greet me from the open doorway, and it feels a little weird to walk inside without knocking or announcing myself, but I know it wouldn't be expected.

I step into the back bedroom, drawing the attention of Legend, Signal, and Thumper.

All noise stops as they look at me, but instead of putting a voice to their surprise, I lift my hand in a small wave.

"Anything I can help with?" I ask, feeling like an asshole for being here for two weeks already and not offering before now.

"Do you know anything about hanging sheetrock?" Thumper asks.

"Enough to get by," I answer.

"Can't be any worse than Signal," Legend says with a smile.

Signal chuckles, not taking offense to being called out.

"Know anything about amputations in the field?" he counters instead.

Legend laughs. "Enough to get by."

I grin at his echoed response.

"What about you?" Signal asks, directing his attention at me.

I shrug. "They're usually dead when I'm done."

Signal pauses, his eyes locked on mine as if he didn't expect the response.

"He means teammates," Thumper adds for clarification.

"Oh," I say, hating that the newer teammate might've thought I didn't have my guys' backs if they were injured. "Enough to get by."

A round of laughter rumbles in the room.

"I'm trying to learn," Signal says. "But these two keep giving me shit about my skill level."

"I wasn't giving you shit," Legend says. "But you were trying to use the skill saw with the same precision as a scalpel. My point was it just isn't necessary for something that's going to be slathered with joint compound and covered with drywall tape."

Signal shrugs, but there's still a smile on his face.

"I can cut the sheetrock," I offer. "Just anything you guys need help with."

They could easily question why I'm getting involved now, but they don't.

I head into the living room area where the pile of sheetrock and saw are, waiting for them to holler out measurements for the next piece since all the bigger pieces have been hung and they're working inside the closets now.

The day moves quickly as I cut sheetrock and carry the pieces to them to be hung.

Signal has been given the job of sanding the joints to smooth them out, and he seems just as content to do that as I imagine he would with any other task he has been given.

"How's the combat training coming?" I hear Legend ask him as I enter the room with the final piece for the closet.

"It's going," he says with a sigh. "Of course, I had some when I first went into the military, but what Cerberus expects is pretty intense."

"The workouts getting to you?" I ask, wanting to get out of my comfort zone of just being around and actually trying to be more involved.

"Working out is fine," he says as he continues to sand over a spot on the wall. "I've always stayed physically fit, but the hand-to-hand has taken a little getting used to."