Hours of walking in the desert heat brought perspective. Unwanted, but maybe not unneeded. The power suits worn by PanTech soldiers were composed of multiple bulky sections, but the bulk didn’t come from poor design. The thing had its own environmental containment system. Kept you cool in the heat, and warm in the cold. It kept the body hydrated, sealed wounds, and even filtered body waste. A gross concept, but convenient for any mission. My armor, as this heat was reminding me, did very few of those things despite being more advanced. It filtered my sweat back into my body to keep me from dehydrating too quickly, but no built-in air conditioning.

It also stimulated optimal muscle use and protected me from damage. It would deflect virtually any blade and harden upon a sudden blunt impact. That wouldn’t stop my organs from being turned into soup if I was hit hard enough. A rifle carried by an Adversity Management soldier would do the trick.

I pulled my black ponytail tight, wiping the sweat from my dark skin, scanning the landscape with my narrow, brown eyes.

Would Mother be proud of me for taking better care of my hair than I did when I was a teenager?

Better yet, why was this thought even crossing my mind?

“You’re going in the right direction,” Ghost said, swooping down and landing next to me.

“What made you think I didn’t already know that?” I snapped, letting the heat get to me.

“Because you’ve been changing directions every few minutes. You aren’t focusing.”

“What?” I shouted. “You couldn’t have told me that earlier?”

“I assumed you knew what you were doing,” Ghost said, flying off again.

Just a few years was all it took, though I still wasn’t quite ready to admit it. It was much harder for me to keep my direction in the desert, distracted or not. Even with this suit helping a bit, I couldn’t handle the heat like I once could. Barely a day into this mission and I was already doubting myself.

It probably had more to do with coming home. This adversity zone, in particular, was the trouble. Too many memories. Many wounds that had barely closed. In a few moments, I’d be stepping into the market where Linus, the rebel PanTech soldier I’d fallen for, was gunned down by other PanTech soldiers. I still had the nightmares sometimes.

I wondered if the village chief had stopped terrorizing the young girls here, like Linus made him promise he would. Probably not.

As the market came into sight, it became abundantly clear this village had more than just a couple of soldiers guarding it. There was one stationed at the gate, though luckily he was distracted. I’d have to take a bit of a detour.

It was coming back to me now. The layout of the village naturally popped into my mind as I approached. A less-used alleyway a bit to the side. If a soldier was stationed there, I’d have to handle the problem directly.

I sighed at the thought, veering away from the village again until I was out of sight. Once I was confident I could no longer be seen, I sat down behind a large boulder.

Ghost flew down, staring at me quietly for a moment.

“What is it, Ghost?” I asked, drawing random characters in the sand below. “If you have any questions, just ask.”

“You decided it may be easier to sneak in during nightfall. There’s nothing to ask,” he said.

“You know, you could just ask me questions to make me feel better.”

“What questions make you feel better?”

I sighed, leaning my head against the hard surface, then growled in frustration. I looked over to Ghost, thankful he was holding together better than I was.

“I guess I just really don’t know what I’m doing, or if this is even something I can do. There are a lot of adversity zones, and this is the only one I’m actually familiar with. I grew up here, but I’m struggling already.”

“Human psychology is a strange concept to me. You appear to be stalling. Do you know why?”

“St-stalling?” I asked, the realization sinking in as soon as Ghost said it aloud. “Yeah… I guess I’m stalling. Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Ghost asked. “This is your mission. I’m just accompanying you.”

“I think I’m just apologizing to no one in particular. Myself, maybe. I guess.” I picked up a small rock, drawing another animal in the sand before rubbing the image away violently with my hand and sighing. “If you want to hunt for a bit, I think I need some time to settle my mind down.”

Ghost tilted his head. “Are you sure you’re alright, Taylor?”

“Yeah, go ahead. I’m sure it’ll be nice to hunt familiar prey again. I’m going to wait a couple of hours after dark before I sneak in. Maybe I’ll take a nap until then.”

Ghost hesitated a moment before flying off.

Maybe a nap is exactly what I need. I rested my head against the rock and almost instantly fell asleep.

***

I’d become a light sleeper. It seemed to be one of the side-effects of using an enhancer. Hyper-awareness of one’s surroundings, often involuntarily enhanced during sleep. With the older, more powerful, brain frying version, it wasn’t unusual to hear the wings of an insect flapping across the room. The sound of a person’s heartbeat before they were even close enough for a conversation. Yet, here it was a comfort, as my current observations confirmed.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been asleep. A couple of minutes, or hours. I couldn’t sense Ghost, but the heartbeat of someone approaching quietly from behind. So quietly their steps were nearly silent, even as I strained my enhanced hearing to detect them.

Whether it was curiosity or animosity, I didn’t know, but they were clearly trying to be very quiet and sneak up on me. Without the enhancer, I’d have no idea they were approaching.

A sudden swish in the air told me an object was being swung toward me, and I reacted accordingly. Rolling forward, I drew Twisted Key and pivoted on the balls of my feet. This person didn’t wear a power suit. Pushing the enhancer again so soon it could be an issue, not to mention what would happen if I started to rely on it for every little thing.

A weapon shot forward again, and I sidestepped, spinning Twisted Key in an upward arc to deflect it. Using the opening, I charged forward, but the figure dashed back with astonishing speed. An enhancer?

No, not quite. This was a regular human, but very athletic. Maybe I’d need the enhancer after all, or maybe I could hold out for Ghost. He’d be back soon. Any moment.

I was careful to attack with the side of my sword. No need to cut the person into pieces if I could help it. A moment later, I realized I was being extended the same courtesy. A counterattack struck me in the arm, the impact being largely negated by my armor, still sending me stumbling.

A follow up attack came from the spear-like weapon. Eager to stop my attacker’s momentum, I caught the shaft of the spear under my arm, turning as I did and shoving my attacker off balance. However, they quickly released their own weapon and lunged forward. I had no choice but to release the spear, so it wouldn’t hinder my own strike.

But the figure rushed in too quickly, landing a fierce kick to my chest. Could this be…

No, it couldn’t be.

Could it?

I caught her wrist as she launched a blow toward my throat, twisting my hip and throwing her over my shoulder. To my surprise, she landed gracefully, wrapping her legs around my arm, grabbing it with her other hand, and pulling me to the ground in an arm bar. Had I not been wearing the armor I’d be in serious trouble. Sensing the hyper-extension of my elbow, the suit hardened and resisted the movement, effectively making it useless beyond restraint.

Seems I’d have to use the enhancer. Just a bit.

Shifting my weight forward, I quickly stood to my feet again, stepping my foot toward their throat. A woman.

Her reaction was quick, and she released my arm before trying a sweep. My legs didn’t buckle, again thanks to the suit.

A moment later, I could hear the subtle flapping of wings closing in.

“Ghost, wait!” I shouted, causing Ghost to veer off to the side at the last moment.

“Taylor?” the woman asked with a shaky voice, pulling the scarf down from her face.

“Good to see you again, Mother,” I said, smiling.

My mother stepped forward, saying nothing before pulling me into a tight embrace. I wanted to say something else, but the sound of her sobs cut me off.

“Welcome home,” she finally said.

“It’s good to be home,” I replied, no longer able to fight back my own tears.