Chapter 28. East Tacoma

"Can't sleep?"

The voice startled Bernice, who sat hugging her knees beside the tent. The girl turned her head to see Bone standing nearby.

"I'm not sleepy yet," Bernice replied.

"Nervous?"

The girl nodded. "Yes. Who wouldn't be?"

Bernice was stationed with the Army-Deformity troops east of Tacoma and had been there for almost forty-eight hours. What made her uncomfortable was not the conditions in her camp, but the feeling of waiting without clarity. She must always be prepared for contact with the enemy, with the worst possible outcome. While she was there, nothing happened.

In the so-called danger zone, a few hundred meters ahead, it was quiet.

Even in the camp there were no loud noises and people spoke in whispers. They used sign language, so it was minimal for the enemy to realize that there was a group of people there.

Bernice herself did not know what they were there for. What she did know was this: All the people in Tacoma were dead.<