Page 124 of Us Defiant Few

“You can call them for one minute.” Serene rolled her eyes.

“I agree with Serene,” Derek added.

Brock muttered under his breath and pulled out the walkie. He raised the antenna and adjusted the frequency.

“Come in, Jack. This is Brock, over.”

A disjointed voice emitted from the walkie, but the words kept cutting out. “Th—es—ak. Rea—er.”

“Say again?” Brock leaned in.

“This is Jack. We read you, over.” Jack’s voice finally came through, and they let out a collective sigh.

“It’s good to hear your voice,” Brock breathed. “Did you make it out of the city?”

“We had some equipment hiccups, but we’ve made significant ground on the journey. We’ll meet you at the rendezvous point on the third pass of the sun.”

Three days. With a vehicle, that was definitely enough time for them to reach Prometheus and head to Apollo.

The slick anticipation surged through their group, but Brock remained calm and focused. “Copy. We’ll be there.”

“Were you able to pick up your scientist?” Jack asked.

“Yes, we got him.”

“Everyone else crossed the Death-Zone safely?”

The pressing question filled the air. None of them could look at each other. Especially Khalani.

Her gaze descended to the ground, the same ground that cradled Elise’s dying weight.

“We lost one.” Brock swallowed. “Elise.”

Jack didn’t speak for a long time.

She’d suspected that Jack and Elise had known each other in Hermes, long before she’d arrived. The pain was tangible over the speaker as he finally found his voice.

“I’m sorry to hear that. She was—” Jack coughed, as if he were concealing a deeper emotion. “She was a good kid. And she’d want us to finish this. You make sure to bring back everyone else safe.”

“I will,” Brock promised, his voice firm.

When he cut the call, Khalani still stared at the floor as Elise’s face haunted her, replaying the moment she let the knife go.

“Khalani.”

She lifted her head in surprise. It was the first time Adan had spoken to her since the previous night. His expression was similar to when she’d first arrived in Braderhelm Prison.

Present but not really. Alive…but not really.

“What happened to Elise wasn’t your fault,” he stated, a spark lingering in his eyes. “She chose to come with us of her own free will. We all accepted the risks, and even though I didn’t have the privilege of knowing her long,” his lower lip trembled, I believe that if she could go back in time, she’d do it all over again. I don’t care what that picture showed or where you come from. We’re in this together. So, if you need to go to California and find answers before we end it all in Apollo, I’m right behind you.”

She waited for someone to refute his words. To yell that it was her fault. That she was a failure and probably not even human.

But they didn’t grant her demons validation or ammunition.

The dark voices in her head were slowly silenced as every single person stared at her with understanding, empathy, and…love. As if Adan’s words were an extension of what they’d known from the very beginning.

And even though Khalani was terrified of facing the truth, she stared into the eyes of her family, realizing that no matter what happened, she wouldn’t be left alone.