Page 102

“Clear,” I whispered as I ran back toward the direction of the ridge, falling in line with our soldiers that had been raiding other buildings.

The last row of buildings before the stretch of desert came into view.

“Bryn, look up!” Aaron yelled.

But I didn’t need to look up to know what was coming.

They hadn’t called off the strike. Just like the day when this had been reality and not a simulation.

I knew what was going to happen next. But Aaron wouldn’t be the one doing the saving this time.

The first bomb dropped a hundred yards away, disorienting us all.

I unhooked the child from my arms and set them on Aaron’s back, pushing Aaron and the children down against a building, throwing myself over them before Aaron could argue.

The blast from the second bomb blew into me, the pressure so great I didn’t feel pain as my ribs shattered around my organs, my head hitting the side of the building, my helmet splitting in two.

My ears were ringing, and my eyes were shut tightly, but I could feel my mouth and throat working, saying, “Get them out of here.” My only thought was to save Aaron and the children.

Time seemed to slow as pain started to sink in.

Even in complete blindness and deafness, I was acutely aware I was dying.

Flame and shadows danced across the darkness of my vision, the beauty of it making me smile through the blood and sand in my mouth.

I felt hands on my face, and the touch of a helmet against my forehead.

Aaron had come back.

Even though I couldn’t see him, I knew he was there.

“I’m sorry for what happened,” I mouthed, unsure if I was speaking out loud.

I needed him to know I was sorry for the role I’d played that had led to his drowning. I needed him to know that I wished it were me who died in the pool that day, and not him. But my mouth had stopped working. The beat in my chest slowing.

“It wasn’t your fault,” I heard him say through the ringing in my ears. “Please forgive me, Bryn.”

I tried to shake my head, needing him to know that I’d forgiven him as soon as I came to and realized what had happened in the pool.

I mustered my last bit of strength to open my mouth. “I forgive you.”

I felt his hand squeeze mine and felt peace.

I was getting the chance to say goodbye to him.

I had gotten the chance to tell him I was sorry.

The lightness I felt made my last moments easier.

“You can’t trust him, Bryn,” Aaron whispered as my last breath left my lungs and the earth turned to quicksand around me. Pulling me into her. Only to spit me back out.

My lungs restored. My heartbeat strong.

My eyes opened to find I was somewhere new. The stench of rotting eggs sticky around me like a spider’s webbing.

I sat up slowly and was surprised when there wasn’t any pain.

My body had been completely restored.