“That’s your mistake, then,” I say.

“So bitter.”

“You almost got me killed.”

“Sorry about that, love. But this is war, you know.”

“Don’t you dare—”

“—Enough,” Chris growls, and even Harry flinches at the tone of his voice. Chris, after all, is the man that almost snapped his neck on one occasion. And I saved Harry’s life. Epic fail. “You’re here to deliver a message. Deliver it.”

“Colonel Cho sends his condolences for the losses you will take if you do not stop your attempt to exterminate our forces,” Harry says, an irritating smirk on his lips. “I volunteered to represent him at this meeting. I recognized your fighting techniques, Young. You haven’t changed.”

“And you’re still a jerk,” I grit.

“Now, now,” Harry says, raising a finger. “This is supposed to be a peaceful meeting.”

“I should jam my boot down your throat.”

“By all means, go ahead. That would be an amusing attempt to watch.”

“Lydell, why didn’t your Colonel meet us here himself?” Chris interjects, holding his hand up, silencing both of us immediately.

“Because it wasn’t necessary.” Harry folds his arms across his chest. “You’ve made a noble attempt to stop us, I’ll give you that. But you cannot defeat us, and we will kill every man and woman in our path. The solution to your problems is simple: surrender.”

“Surrender is not an option,” Chris replies.

“Why not? Join us. Omega will provide you with food, weapons, ammunition. Be on the winning side.” Harry again moves his gaze to me, smiling wickedly. “When all of this is over, and the new Order is established, you don’t want to be on the wrong side of the border, trust me.”

“You’re asking us to turn our backs on our own country,” Max says. “You’re insane.”

“Colonel Cho is making a generous offer,” Harry answers. “We will unleash everything on your forces if you don’t surrender. I guarantee you, not a single man will be left standing.”

“Don’t threaten me,” Chris warns. “We’re not joining you.”

“Then I suggest you run.”

“We’re not running. You and your allies need to get the hell out of our home.”

“Your home?” Harry sighs. “As if it belongs to you. It’s ours for the taking, and we’re taking it. You can either step aside and bow to the superior power, join us in our fight, or be annihilated. Personally, I prefer option three, but that would be a waste of some talented guerrilla war fighters.”

“Consider them wasted,” Colonel Rivera shoots back, startling me with the venom in his voice. “We’re not going anywhere. We’re going to wipe the floor with your face, kid.”

I press my lips together, fighting the irrational laughter bubbling up in my chest. Harry looks very ticked.

“So is that a refusal, then?” he asks.

“That’s a no,” Chris corrects. “Get off my hilltop. And by the way, the next time you and I meet, I’m going to kill you.”

Ouch.

“Cassidy?” Harry says, swallowing.

“I’m not a traitor,” I reply.

He glares at me.

“You will be responsible for the death of hundreds,” Harry presses.

“Leave,” Chris commands.

“Your mistake. This offer will not come again.” Harry turns back towards the vehicle, the soldiers retreating from the parley. “Just remember that you had a chance to live. It will be the last thought you have before you die.”

He slams the door shut. We stand there in silence as the vehicle rolls back down the hill. I release a breath I didn’t even realize I’d been holding, my heart beating wildly in my chest.

“That was entertaining,” Rivera states. “Let’s get back to work. They’ll be on us as soon as he gets back to his commanding officer.”

“At least we know the name of their Colonel,” I shrug.

“I cannot believe Harry is here,” Sophia gasps. “After all this time.”

“It’s a small world,” I say. “And it’s getting smaller every day.”

“That meeting was meant to intimidate us,” Chris says. “They wouldn’t have stopped to parley if they had as much power as Harry is bragging about. We would all be dead already.”

“He’s bluffing?” I say.

“They’re hesitating,” Chris replies. “And that’s perfect.” He turns to Max. “I want you to join Jeff’s platoon. Sophia, you go with him. Cassidy, you stay with me.” He and Rivera look at each other for a second. Chris simply nods and the two of us head to our vehicle.

I slide inside, wrapping my fingers around Chris’s forearm.

“Chris, did you catch what he said about the ‘new Order?” I ask.

“I caught it.”

“What’s the Order?”

“I don’t know. Maybe that’s what Omega’s calling the new government system they’re going to set up. Does it matter?”

“Yeah. I’d like to know what their evil master plan is.”

Chris strokes my hair.

“We know what it is. Annihilation and domination.” He shrugs. “We just have to stop them.”

“It’s going to be a long day.”

“It already has been.”

You know that feeling you get when you stand on the edge of a cliff? Maybe you do. Maybe you don’t. For me, standing on the edge of a cliff is just as exciting as it is terrifying. If I fall off the cliff, I’ll die. And that’s terrifying. But I’m also looking out over the world. I’m on top of the world. And that is exciting. There’s no way to describe it unless you’ve experienced it.

It’s exactly how I feel right now.

Exhausted as I am, hiding in the mountains again, awaiting Omega’s second push, I’m terrified. Because we might die. But excited, because we might survive, and we might succeed in keeping Omega out of the valley.

Hours have passed since our meeting with Harry. The shock has worn off. It’s been replaced with near boredom as we wait for Omega to do something. Anything. It’s like waiting for lightning to strike the ground. When will they hit us next?

Night comes. There is no moon tonight, just clouds. It makes the hills darker and more difficult to navigate. I sit with my legs in front of me, eating MRE rations, meat and vegetables chemically heated in a bag. It tastes like mashed baby food. But I’m not complaining. This food is better than no food, even if I do have to eat it in the dark and feel for the contents like a blind person.

It’s been a long, restless day. I managed to get an hour or so of sleep, but my body was too wired for anything more than that. Harry’s words have replayed in my head over and over again:

“You will be responsible for the death of hundreds.”

I remind myself that he’s a professional liar, taking another bite of food. Forcing it down. Harry is just trying to get to us, specifically me. He spent enough time with me in the labor camp to know that I have difficulty engaging in warfare. Yes, it’s something I have to do. Yes, I realize that if I don’t fight, we’ll all die anyway, so I might as well go down swinging. But no, that doesn’t mean I’m an emotionless monster who wants unnecessary bloodshed.

Harry’s wrong. You’re not all going to die. He’s bluffing and you know it.

I finish off the rest of my food, toss it aside and take a long drink of water. I hear a distant whining, like the escalating ringing in my ears before my hearing popped back. I tilt my head up, a fat raindrop hitting my nose.

Oh, lovely. On top of everything else, it has to rain, too?

A smattering of cold droplets peppers my face, and the whining grows louder. In that moment realization smacks me upside the head.

“Did somebody order air support in here?” I ask, turning to Chris. “Chris?”

He’s kneeling on the ground, listening intently.

“Those aren’t our jets,” he says simply.

I jump to my feet, shouting this order as loud as I can.

“Take cover, take cover! They’re sending jets!!!”

Fear, raw and real, grabs me by the neck. I can’t breathe. Are we about to get bombed? Our air support has kept the skies clear for us so far. But what if a bogey or two got through? Just one could do some serious damage to our front lines.