Dragon Team Seven

by Toby Neighbors

  “Great, someone will be down in a minute to take you to fitting,” she said.

  “Fitting?” Kal asked.

  “That’s right,” Baker said. “You’ll all get special suits before you’re shot across the galaxy. Enjoy the ride.”

  He turned and walked away. The woman in the personnel office frowned. “What’s eating him?”

  “We don’t know,” Ember said.

  “That’s his default personality,” Ty said.

  “Well, that kind of attitude won’t fly here,” the woman said. “Dragons do have special suits, with different types of armor that can be changed according to the environment you’ll be shipping out to. But the armor links to your BIO-suit, which is custom-made for each specialist. We’ll get you measured and fit for your BIO-suit, then you’ll go down to the pit for orientation. Good luck.”

  “The pit?” Kal asked quietly.

  Ember just shrugged her shoulders, and Nick looked down. He had known that the training for the recon division would be intense, but he didn’t like the sound of a place called the “pit.” They didn’t have long to think about it before they were taken to a waiting room and told to strip down. Nick didn’t like getting naked in front of other people, but he was learning to redefine his sense of privacy. They all gave their friends the respect of not staring, but it was a relief when Nick was sent into a separate room. A three-dimensional laser array took exact measurements, including a scan of his neural pathways. The fitting lasted less than a minute, and Nick was then sent into a separate room where fresh clothes had been laid out.

  A few minutes later his friends were with him again, and they were taken to another room where they were told to wait. It was becoming a familiar routine. Nick didn’t like being treated as if he couldn’t think for himself, but he understood it was all part of being new in the Corps. Once they finished their training, they wouldn’t have to be herded like cattle from place to place.

  “Ten hut!” a voice shouted, and a tall woman walked into the room. She had a scar across one cheek, pale skin, white hair, and eyes so light-blue that they almost looked white. “Look alive, recruits,” she ordered them. “You’re about to be put through the toughest test of your lives. Recon training isn’t like anything you’ve ever experienced before. It will be hard, it will be frightening, and it will make you want to die—and that’s just during the first week. The only thing you need to know is that you can quit at any time. That’s right; if you don’t want to complete your training, just tap your data-link three times.”

  She held up her arm and mimed tapping her own data cuff with her index finger.

  “It’s called tapping out. You tap out, and we’ll make the suffering stop. You can have a shower, get some sleep, eat a hot meal, and most importantly, receive a new assignment. Do you all understand?”

  They nodded.

  “Good,” she declared. “My name is Gunny Tveit. If the five of you manage to complete recon training, you will be Dragon Team Seven. The six of us will be the most dangerous people in the galaxy. But first, you have to prove yourselves. Are you ready?”

  “Yes, Gunny Sergeant,” the five friends said.

  “Good. I’ll see you in a few days.”

  She turned and walked out of the small room.

  “That was weird,” Kal said.

  “She’s intense,” Ty said.

  “I like her,” Jules added.

  “What do you think she meant by—”

  Ember didn’t get to finish her question. The floor suddenly dropped out from under them, and their training began.

  Chapter 20

  Nick fell for what felt like a full minute but was only a second. He landed in a thick, gelatinous substance that softened his landing but trapped him in the sucking mire at the same time.

  “Oh, god,” Kal said. “What is this?”

  It was dark. The only light came from the room above them—until the floor that had fallen out from under their feet closed and left them in pitch-darkness.

  “It smells,” Jules complained.

  Ty wretched. “I got it in my mouth,” he said, sputtering.

  “Ember?” Nick shouted.

  “I’m here,” she replied. “But I’m stuck.”

  “Me too,” Kal said. “This is nasty.”

  “Must be the pit,” Nick said.

  “Oh, man. How long will they leave us down here?” Jules said.

  “Gunny said three days,” Ty said.

  “They can’t leave us down here for three days,” Kal complained.

  “Why not?” Ember said.

  “It’s not sanitary, for one thing,” Kal said angrily. “We could be hurt.”

  “It has to be part of the training,” Nick said.

  “So we just stay down here?” Kal asked. “We just hang out in this cesspool for three days?”

  “Maybe,” Nick said. “Or maybe we’re supposed to find a way out.”

  “I can’t get free,” Jules said. “I’m up to my waist, and my legs aren’t going anywhere.”

  “You’re lucky,” Ember said. “I’m up to my chest.”

  “Can you reach the walls?” Nick asked.

  “I can barely touch one wall,” Ty said. “It’s metal and slimy.”

  “This has to be a mistake,” Kal said.

  “I don’t think so,” Nick said. “Let’s just try to get to the walls. If there’s a way out, it will be on the wall.”

  Just then, a chute somewhere in the darkness above them opened. They heard the metal grating together, and then a load of filth poured down onto the group. Nick bowed his head and covered his ears, but he could feel the slimy filth pelting him. It was a chunky, wet slime that smelled like sewage.

  “I’m gonna be sick,” Kal said.

  Nick felt his own stomach roil inside him. He couldn’t imagine staying in the pit for three whole days, but he didn’t see any other choice.

  “What is this?” Jules said. “It smells so bad.”

  “It’s what you think it is,” Kal complained. “We’re in the septic tank of the whole space station.”

  “Can anyone move?” Nick asked, frustrated as the sucking muck held him fast.

  “No,” Ember said.

  “Me either,” Jules answered.

  “Almost,” Ty said. “It keeps sucking me back down.”

  Nick writhed. The muck was up to his stomach, and he tried to push himself out with his hands but they just sank into the filth. They struggled for what seemed like hours, but there was no way of knowing how much time was passing. Nick tried checking his wrist link, but either the muck had broken the device or someone had disabled them when they were dropped into the pit. The only way to mark time was by the occasional dumping of more sewage onto them from somewhere above.

  Exhausted, Nick eventually quit trying to move. Without some outside assistance, it was impossible to do more than sink lower into the muck. Nick slumped over, careful to keep his face away from the sludge. He was covered in the terrible slime—there was no escaping it. But he feared falling asleep and drowning in the thick liquid.

  “I’m not getting used to it,” Kal said. “I thought I would get used to it.”

  “How long you guess it’s been?” Ty asked.

  “Days,” Jules said.

  “No,” Nick said. “Don’t think like that.”

  “I don’t know if I can take it,” Kal said. “I feel like there are bugs crawling all over me, man. And I can’t breathe.”

  “Kal,” Nick called to his friend. “You have to trust me. It doesn’t feel like it, but we are safe.”

  “How do you know?” Kal complained. “There could be anything in here.”

  “But there isn’t,” Nick said.

  “He’s right,” Ember added. “All we need to do is wait.”

  “We could tap out,” Jules suggested. “I mean, if we all do it together, we’ll probably be shipped somewhere else together.”

  “Maybe,” Ty said, the uncertainty clear
in his voice.

  “I don’t think so,” Nick said. “They’ll ship us to different divisions. The only way we stay together is if we don’t give them the chance to split us up.”

  “I ain’t gonna make it, bro,” Kal said. “This is killing me.”

  “No, it isn’t,” Nick said. “Don’t you dare give up, Kal. You hear me? We’re in this together.”

  “Yeah, we can do anything as long as we’re together,” Ember said. “And this won’t last forever. Just a few days.”

  “We can hold out a few days,” Ty said.

  “That’s right. There’s nothing we can’t endure for a few days,” Nick said. “Just sit tight.”

  At some point, Nick fell asleep. He woke up with his back aching and his stomach in a knot. They had all wretched at various times. There was nothing left in Nick’s stomach, so he heaved for a bit, then slumped over in exhaustion again.

  “Nick, you okay?” Ember asked. Her voice sounded small and weak.

  “Sure, he’s just peachy,” Kal complained. “We’re dying down here.”

  “Maybe tapping out is the only way out,” Jules said. “Maybe they want to see how long it will take for us to come to our senses.”

  “You saying this is just a test?” Ty asked.

  “Maybe,” Jules said. “The sooner we tap out, the higher our score.”

  “No,” Nick argued. “That’s not right. We don’t tap out. We don’t give up. This is just to see if we have the mental toughness to survive in a hostile environment.”

  “I don’t think I do,” Kal said.

  “Think of it as a vacation,” Nick said. “Our training will probably never be this easy again.”

  “He’s lost his mind,” Kal said.

  “I don’t know,” Ember spoke up. “It’s not pleasant, but we don’t have to do anything. It isn’t like running for miles on a treadmill.”

  “I’d rather be running,” Kal said.

  “I miss light,” Jules said. “I feel like I’ve gone blind.”

  Above them, the sound of a chute opening echoed down.

  “Incoming!” Ty shouted.

  They all bent their heads and covered their faces while an extremely large dump of refuse was poured down on them. When it finally ended, Nick arched his back. He wanted to wipe the slime from his face but his body and arms were covered with the sludge. There was nothing clean to wipe his face with.

  “Nick,” Ember said urgently. She was close by, but out of his reach. “I’m in trouble.”

  “What’s wrong?” Nick asked.

  “I’ve sunk down to my face,” she said, spitting something from her mouth and sending a chill down Nick’s back. “If they dump again, I’ll be covered.”

  “Oh, damn,” Jules said. “We have to help her.”

  “Don’t worry, Ember,” Nick said, already fighting the sludge in an effort to reach his friend. “We’re coming.”

  “Just keep talking, Em,” Kal said.

  Nick had been frustrated by the sucking nature of the muck; it held him fast, no matter how hard he tried to climb free. The upper layers were liquid and the lower layers a thick mire, but Nick was more determined than ever to reach his friend. He thrashed around, reaching toward her.

  “Keep talking,” Jules told Ember.

  “It’s hard,” Ember replied.

  “Can you get your hands free?” Nick asked.

  “Maybe,” she replied.

  There was a wet, sucking sound, and Ember managed to drive her hands up out of the muck, but in doing so she sank a little further. Nick jumped, clawing and scratching in hopes of pulling himself free.

  “She’s under!” Kal shouted.

  Their voices were echoing off the pit’s metal walls.

  Ty cursed. “I can’t get free!”

  Nick felt a desperation he had never experienced before. He thrashed wildly, his arms slapping against the wet muck, his legs straining in the thick mire. Finally, after an agonizing moment of fear-induced raging, he felt himself move. There was a rancid, kissing sound, and his right leg rose up. He lifted it clear of the muck and pressed his shin down into the glop. It sank several inches, but the length of his lower leg from knee to foot gave him more lift—and with a hip-stretching effort, he pulled his other leg free.

  He shouted in triumph as he crawled across the mud toward his friend. It took four agonizingly slow steps to reach Ember’s hand. As his fingers found hers, she grabbed onto him, her grip amplified by terror.

  “I’ve got her!” Nick shouted.

  He tugged, expecting to lift her free, but she didn’t move. He pulled harder, the pressure sinking him into the bog. It wasn’t clear if she was pulling free or if Nick was just sinking into the muck with her, but he refused to give up. His heart was pounding hard, and fear made him feel cold all over. All he could think was that he couldn’t believe she might die.

  There was a sputter, then a cough as Ember’s head finally rose out of the slime. Nick grabbed her shoulder, then her other arm. He was sinking faster, but he didn’t care. In that moment, all he wanted was to get Ember out of the slime.

  “I’m...I’m okay,” she said.

  “Oh, thank God,” Jules said.

  “Good job, Nick,” Kal said.

  “That was too close,” Ty added.

  “I thought I was going to drown,” Ember said.

  “Never,” Nick said. “We’re in this together. No matter what they throw at us, we don’t give up and we don’t leave anyone behind.”

  Chapter 21

  Nick and Ember huddled together for a while, but the dark, dank pit continued to wear on the group. Finally, Nick convinced Ember to climb up and try to explore the pit’s walls.

  “You’re the lightest of all of us,” he said.

  “And if you use your lower legs like snow shoes,” Kal insisted, “you’ll be safe enough.”

  “But it will push Nick lower in the slime,” Ember said. “What if he drowns?”

  “If I can’t get out safely, we’ll stop trying,” Nick said. “But there might be a way out of here. We have to try.”

  “He’s right, Em,” Ty said. “This might be our only chance.”

  “Okay,” she finally relented.

  Nick struggled to stay above the thick slime as Ember pushed against him to crawl free of the sticky mire. The sludge was up to Nick’s underarms by the time she was on top of the bog.

  “I can move,” she said.

  “Stay close to the wall,” Jules said.

  “And move slow,” Kal said. “We got nothing but time.”

  “If you start to sink, use the wall to push yourself free,” Nick told her.

  She went slowly, moving on her knees but trying to balance further back so that her lower legs distributed her bodyweight across a wider area. The pit wasn’t small, and the walls were covered with a layer of sludge that made her wonder if she would even notice a door or hatchway if she came across one.

  “Anything?” Kal asked.

  “Not yet,” Ember said.

  “Give her time,” Nick said.

  A few minutes later, Ember found a square protrusion sticking out from the wall. She had to scrape slime off of it and discovered that it felt different from the metal walls.

  “I’ve got something,” she said.

  “What is it?” Jules asked.

  “Feels like a cover,” Ember replied. “You know, like the plastic boxes they used on the thermostats at school to keep people from turning up the heat.”

  “Or like a safety cover,” Ty said.

  Ember pulled at one side of the square protrusion. Nothing happened. She tried the other side and after a second, it moved slightly.

  “I think it opens,” Ember said.

  “Careful,” Nick cautioned. “If it’s a safety cover we might want to keep it closed.”

  “So she should just quit?” Jules argued.

  “I didn’t say that,” Nick countered.

  Ember scraped away more of the slime
that had built up and crusted over the square protrusion. When she pulled at it again, it swung open, and at the same moment bright orange lights began to flash above them. The light wasn’t very bright, but after hours of total darkness, it still caused the group to shut their eyes until they could adjust to the sudden light.

  “What the hell?” Kal said.

  “Those are safety lights,” Ty said. “Orange means danger.”

  “Maybe not to the Proxy,” Jules said.

  Nick strained to see Ember. She looked different covered in brown sludge, as if she had gotten smaller and more fragile somehow. She was bent over, looking at something on the wall.

  “I don’t see any words,” she said. “It’s just a button.”

  “What color is it?” Ty asked.

  “It’s brown and covered with slime,” Ember replied. “Just like everything else in this place.”

  “So push it,” Kal said.

  “No, wait,” Nick said. “We don’t know what that button does.”

  “It’s probably a way out of here,” Kal insisted.

  “My guess is it’s a release valve,” Ty said. “A way to empty this septic tank.”

  “Right, so we empty it and get out,” Kal said.

  “Think about it, dude,” Nick argued. “Where would you empty a space station’s room full of sewage?”

  “Oh,” Kal said. “It probably just vents out into space.”

  “Holy crap,” Jules said.

  “Maybe you should close the safety lid,” Ty suggested.

  “No, if she does that the lights will go off,” Nick said.

  “But if she accidentally presses that button, we could be sucked out into space. No one would ever find us frozen in a massive chunk of human waste.”

  “This could be Proxy waste too,” Jules said.

  “Oh man, I didn’t think about that,” Kal whined.

  “Let’s look around while we can see. Maybe there’s a way out,” Nick urged them.

  “Hey, look at this,” Jules said pointing. “It looks like a ladder built into the wall.”

  “Where’s it go?” Ember asked.

  “Up,” Ty said. “Out of this nasty slime.”

  “Can you get to it?” Nick asked Ember.