Free Legion Lost by K.C. Finn Page B

. . . they’re
bad, right?”
    “Of
course they are,” Sheila snaps, apparently offended. “Unless you’d like a band
of bloodthirsty rebels to come and murder you in your bed, Raja?”
    “Not
particularly, no,” I say, feeling my cheeks blush red.
    “So
this is a reconnaissance task?” Stirling asks, cutting in to save me from
Sheila’s glare. The lanky boy walks up to the big screen, surveying the map as
he rubs his chin. “We could go in through the forest in the west and move up,
give ourselves better cover.”
    “No,”
says Sheila without a moment’s pause. “If I wanted a squad to do that, I’d be
letting Briggs send a real task force out, not you sorry lot.”
    “What’s
de problem with de west woods?” Goddie asks.
    Sheila
bristles at the question. “They’re closed off for sweeping,” she answers.
    “Why?”
Stirling pushes. “Have you lost something there?”
    Yes,
they have. Me. They’re still searching the woods near the river for the runaway
Underground girl. I can see the secrecy in Sheila’s eyes, even as she claps her
hands together sharply.
    “Enough,”
she demands. “No more questions. You’ll cross the north wasteland in the usual
way and enter the tree line from there. I want a record of any signs of rebel
settlements, surveillance cameras, or weaponry that might be in place there.”
    Sheila
stands as tall as Stirling, the two redheads staring each other down.
    “You
have your orders, Captain,” she tells him. “Organise your squad. You head out
on my signal, when darkness falls.”
    The
white-coated woman begins to walk away. Stirling watches her every step, right up
until she reaches the Bastion’s doorway.
    “What
if we meet any Highlanders whilst we’re out there?” he asks loudly.
    Sheila
fixes him with her most emotionless stare.
    “Same
rules as always, Captain,” she replies. “Shoot to kill. No questions asked.”
    Once
Sheila is gone, I can’t hold my thoughts in any longer.
    “So
we’re still soldiers?” I ask, my eyes roving over the four new faces in my
life. “I thought the rejects were supposed to be unfit to serve the Legion?”
    “We
are,” Apryl answers, “but that doesn’t stop them from loading us up with their
dirty work.”
    Stirling
walks to where I’m sitting, crouching down to meet my eyes.
    “Whenever
the Legion wants information from a location that’s dangerous or remote, it
doesn’t like to send its best forces, in case they don’t come back. It’s part
of our duty to undertake these missions when they arise. As soon as there’s a
job on, I become your squad captain, since I’m the oldest of the group.”
    “Oh
God…”
    I
look to Lucrece, who is staring fearfully at Stirling. Even her bruises are
turning pale. Her hands tremble as she raises a finger to point at him, Goddie,
and Apryl in turn.
    “That’s
why there are only three of you,” she sobs. “The others . . . The
Legion doesn’t care if you live or die. There have been more of you, maybe lots
more, but you’re the only ones left alive!”
    I
glance back to Stirling, searching for something in his face that will tell me
such a grim truth is not the case. It can’t be right, to simply send the weakest
of the Legion’s youth to die in order to preserve the stronger ones. Lucrece is
smart, though, and her fearful face shows all the realisations that have gone
through her head whilst I’ve been studying the map and thinking only of myself.
The weakest of the rejects die in missions, just like the one we’re about to
embark on. Stirling’s face may as well be made of stone as he stares Lucrece
down. His voice is devoid of humour as he quips:
    “Welcome
to the expendables.”
    The
young captain says nothing more, yanking himself up to jog to the back of the
Bastion’s wide hall. I can see him clattering around in a series of metal
cupboards, pulling out various items and piling them on the floor where he
stands. Lucrece sits with her head in her