by Kunz, C. A.
We hear a resounding “file in,” come from the open door. As we enter the room, I immediately recognize the man standing at the front. He’s dressed in the same dark blue military uniform that he wore on the first day we arrived. His penetrating stare makes me feel uncomfortable as he begins to pace back and forth at the front of the class, like a caged animal.
“Line up!” he barks while pointing to the far wall.
I notice there are no desks activated in the room as I rush over to stand against the bright white wall.
The man stops in his tracks and turns to us while putting his hands behind his back and puffing out his chest. “The name’s Liam Archer. Commander Archer to you lot. I’m your instructor for Strike division. As you can see there are no desks in this room. You will not be sitting in my class. You will stand. No one in Strike fights sitting down. That’s the Tactical Division’s job.” He pulls out a rectangular device that looks like an electronic tablet, but has a see-through glass screen that’s trimmed in shiny metal. I can kind of make out the words through the back of the device and they’re a bright neon blue color.
Someone really likes white and blue a lot. I think everything here is either white or blue with shiny metal trim, I joke to myself.
“So if you don’t mind…what am I saying? Of course you don’t mind. We’re just going to jump right in and begin,” he barks again as he scrolls through the device in his hand. He pauses and looks up at us. “Grayson, Kenley,” he calls out standing right in front of me.
I step forward, “Yes, sir?”
“Where’s the salute, soldier?” he yells at me and I swear saliva flew from his mouth toward my face. I raise my hand and give a proper salute. “So, you’re the daughter of the headmaster, huh?”
“Yes, sir,” I reply.
“Up for a little demonstration, Grayson?” he asks with a smirk.
“Yes, sir.”
He hits a button on the device in his hand and a light turns on, revealing another room in the back of the class. Commander Archer points to the open door and says, “After you.”
The room is made up of large white square tiles that cover the walls and floor and are trimmed in shiny metal. A large glass window looks into the room from the training room. I see all the other students line up at the window as I move to stand at the center of the room. I’m not really sure what to expect next.
Commander Archer comes up behind me. “Are you ready to begin?”
“Begin what exactly, sir?” I ask confused.
He hits another button on his device and a panel on the floor in front of us rises slightly and slides to the side. What appears to be some kind of robot emerges from the opening. It reminds me of one of a department store mannequin, but this one is all metal. It takes a few steps forward and enters into a combat stance with its hands clenched out in front of it. Totally nervous, my body stiffens as I look over at Commander Archer.
“Well?” he asks.
“Well what, sir?”
“Don’t just stand there and look pretty, Grayson. Attack the drone,” he orders.
“Aren’t you supposed to train us first? This seems a little advanced, sir,” I ask hesitantly, hoping he doesn’t flip out and yell at me again.
“What better way to learn than to experience it first hand?” he answers smugly.
“With all due respect, sir, I don’t feel ready to fight this thing.”
“Disappointing, Grayson, truly disappointing,” he states shaking his head and crossing his arms. He presses a button on the electronic pad and the drone goes limp. I relax and breathe a heavy sigh of relief.
I turn to make my way back to the training room, but Commander Archer’s arm stops me. “I haven’t dismissed you, soldier. You said you wanted to train first, well let’s train,” he says and then presses another button on the touch pad. The drone stands at attention and moves to the center of the room. “I need you right here, soldier,” Commander Archer orders me while pointing to the space right in front of him. I take a quick look at Landon and he sends me a look of concern. I turn back and warily make my way over to stand in front of the robot. I would stare into its eyes, but it doesn’t have any. Its shiny metal face only shows a distorted reflection of mine.
“Hit it,” Commander Archer orders.
“But it’s made of metal,” I reply.
“You know for someone who has superhuman abilities, you sure do give a lot of excuses,” he responds smugly. “Hit it!”
I get into a fighting stance and ready myself to throw a punch. Reeling back my arm, I breathe in and then out as I push forward, twisting at my hips to give myself more power. I connect with the drone’s face and pain surges through my hand and down my arm. I let out a slight groan as I pull my hand to my chest, cradling it with my other one. There’s a slight dent in the drone’s face when I stare up at it.
“Again,” Commander Archer demands. I give him a look of “are you serious?” and he replies the same, “Again.”
Getting back into my stance, I reel back and throw another punch. The pain is even more intense this time. I peel my hand from the drone’s face and yell in pain while cradling my hand again. There’s blood and a little skin from my knuckles left in the grooves of the dent on the robot’s face.
“Harder!” he shouts. I can hear the other cadets chattering amongst themselves as tears begin to well up in my eyes. “I said harder, soldier.”
“I can’t,” I blurt out.
“You can’t?” he asks smugly, getting into my face and grabbing a hold of my injured hand. I let out a squeal of pain. “I didn’t ask you if you could, Grayson. I gave you an order. Do you really think the Bringers will show you any mercy? Use the pain. Use the fear. Use the anger. They’ll keep you alive.” He leans in closer to me and whispers so only I can hear. “Your daddy is not always going to be there to save you. You have to fight for yourself, even if that’s not how you ended up here.” As he backs away from me, my face flushes with anger and I glare at him. “Hit it again,” he says forcefully.
My bracelet pulses blue and Galileo projects out. “Your vitals are at high levels, Kenley. I suggest you calm down and rest,” he explains.
“Hit the drone!” Commander Archer yells.
“She’s had enough,” I hear Landon roar as he enters the room.
“Back in line, soldier. I’ll decide when she’s had enough,” he barks at Landon while pointing a finger at him.
I look at Landon and mouth, “I’m okay.” He returns the look with one of worry.
“I’m only going to say this one more time, hit the drone, soldier!”
I feel this surge of energy course through my hands and my body. I’m completely blinded by anger as I get into my stance. I notice my hands are glowing bright neon blue and begin to pulse violently.
“Kenley, your vitals have reached critical levels. Risk of overheating is imminent,” Galileo chimes in. I ignore him and ready to throw the punch. I release a guttural yell as I propel my fist straight for the drone’s chest with all my might. Just before I make contact, my hand stops glowing and then crashes into the cold, hard metal. I hear a crunch but am not sure if it was the sound of the metal, or my bones breaking. My hand goes limp and the intense pain brings me to my knees.
“Kenley!” I hear Landon yell as he rushes over. He crouches down next to me, “Come on, we need to get you to the med-bay.”
“That will not be necessary, Shaw,” Commander Archer tells Landon calmly.
“What do you mean? She’s injured. And all thanks to you I might add,” Landon replies defensively.
“You’re out of line, soldier,” he roars as he grabs Landon by the back of his shirt and pulls him to his feet. “Grayson will be fine. Her hand is already healing.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask and then look at my hand. The blood is gone and the gashes on my knuckles are healing up. I can’t believe my hand isn’t a bloody mess. I don’t even really feel the pain anymore, I say to myself. I look
up at Landon and see that he’s just as shocked as I am at the state of my hand.
“The benefits of nanotechnology,” Commander Archer states. “Dismissed, Grayson.”
Landon helps me to my feet and we both make our way back into the training room. As I peer over my shoulder back at the commander, I see him smirk while hitting a button on his touch pad. The drone stiffens and proceeds to walk back toward the hole it emerged from.
Later that night, sitting on the edge of my bed, I think about what Commander Archer said earlier in class. Looking down at my hand, I still can’t believe it’s perfectly healed. Not a single scratch or scar left. What did I get myself into? I ask myself. A range of emotions wash over me and I break down crying. I feel like an idiot for even shedding a tear, but I can’t help it as they begin to flow freely.
“Kenley, I sense a loss of fluid. I do not detect physical stress. Ruling out perspiration by mean of physical activity…scanning database…Kenley, are you crying?” Galileo asks.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Do you really want to know, or are you just programmed to ask?”
“I am programmed to ask, but there is a true inclination on my part to find out how you really are doing,” he replies.
“Well, if you really must know, I’m feeling pretty crappy at the moment.”
“Searching database for crappy…slang for bad…why do you feel crappy?”
“A lot of reasons. Too many really to talk about,” I huff, flopping back onto my bed.
“Care to share? I have been programmed to be a good listener.”
I let out a heavy sigh. “I’m not sure that’s what I need right now, Galileo.”
“Humor me,” he says.
How do I even begin to humor an android? I think to myself. “Well…for starters, I’m not even supposed to be here, which was kind of proven today in class. Earth and my family are in danger. And for some reason I decide to start liking a boy during all of this. Oh yeah, and I’m a highly-modified freak of nature,” I ramble on, counting off every issue with my fingers.
“It sounds like you have a lot on your mind. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“What exactly could you do? You’re just a computer,” I reply, feeling bad about what I said the moment the comment leaves my lips.
“I am sorry I cannot be there for you the way you need someone to be,” I hear Galileo say, and it almost sounds like his feelings are hurt.
“No, I’m sorry, Galileo. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m just venting,” I say feeling really guilty.
“Be strong, Kenley. I believe in you. Whatever that is worth,” Galileo says, and begins playing the song he has programmed for my alarm.
I smile as I look down at the little blue hologram projecting from my bangle. “Thank you, Galileo.”
“My pleasure.”
The week in Strike training begins to take a toll on me. I find myself struggling to learn the abilities Commander Archer is teaching us. He still gives me crap about the first day, but that’s okay because it just makes me work harder to prove him wrong. It also helps me prove to myself that I do belong here.
Every night I slip out of my room to practice in the gym. No one ever really goes in there at night, so I’m free to practice all I want without being disturbed.
As I reach the gym, I hold my bangle up to the door and it shifts open. I grab a thirty-pound medicine ball from the rack and place it in the middle of the floor. Backing away from it and keeping it always in my sight, I focus on the ball and concentrate. I feel a flicker of energy travel through my fingers. Looking down at my hands, they begin pulsing slightly with the blue light again. Clenching my left hand into a fist transfers the energy that’s collected in it to my right hand, which begins to glow even brighter. My focus returns to the ball. I raise my right hand and the ball begins to shake as it slowly drifts into the air, but only barely. My hand begins to tremble and I groan with frustration as the energy becomes too much for me to handle. The ball drops to the ground as the word, “Dammit,” escapes harshly from my lips. I can’t do this, I tell myself.
“You’re trying too hard,” I hear a familiar voice say behind me. Startled, I turn to see Landon standing in the entryway.
“Easy for you to say. This stuff is coming so naturally to you. But that’s to be expected from the son of the great war hero Dominic Shaw,” I respond, sounding defeated.
He smiles and walks over to me. “Have you been coming down here every night?”
“Well, when there’s a test on Friday, and you’re struggling with the material, you take every chance you can to study,” I reply. My heart speeds up as he gets closer to me. Please Galileo, don’t say anything, I think to myself.
“Would you like some help?” Landon asks while placing his hand on my shoulder.
“Uh…sure,” I stutter out while gazing into his eyes.
He smirks and spins me around to face the medicine ball. His hands grasp my waist. “Do you trust me, Kenley?” Landon whispers into my ear, sending a warm sensation down my spine. My heart feels like it’s about to beat out of my chest.
“Of course I do,” I reply softly.
He traces up my back with his fingers and stops at my shoulders. He grips them while applying the slightest amount of pressure. Landon moves his hands along my arms, gently caressing them, and works his way down to my hands. Cupping my hands in his, he brings them out in front of me. I can feel his breath on my neck and I smile. He rests his chin on my shoulder and rubs his cheek against mine. It feels hot and my blush deepens.
“Now, I want you to concentrate on the medicine ball,” he whispers. I feel a sudden rush of energy in my hands and look to see both of ours glowing bright blue. “Concentrate, Kenley,” he repeats. Landon closes his left hand into a fist over mine, transferring the energy to our right hands. The energy is so bright, it lights up the whole gym in a blue glow. He takes my right hand and begins to raise it into the air. Immediately the ball rises with the motion of our hands. Suddenly, it soars across the room into the wall, and then sits there spinning in the hole it created.
I realize I don’t feel Landon holding me anymore. I turn around to find him standing a short distance away with a huge grin on his face.
“See, all you needed was a little push. You did that last part all on your own,” he says, moving closer to me again.
“Thank you,” I say shyly, totally embarrassed by the intense moment we just shared.
“No problem,” he replies, pushing the rogue strand of hair from in front of my face and placing it over my ear.
“Landon, what are we-” I begin to ask, but then he puts his finger to my lips and shakes his head. His hand is glowing and I feel the energy as it caresses against my mouth like a cool flame. His blue eyes begin to pulse as he brings his face closer to mine.
“What’s going on in here?” A voice asks from the doorway.
All the energy fades from Landon’s eyes and hands as we both look over to see Dr. Patel framed by the doorway. I should have recognized the distinct British accent. She stands there with her arms crossed, her head slightly tilted, and an eyebrow raised. She’s dressed in workout clothes, which is not surprising since we’re in a gym after all.
Dr. Patel’s attention moves to the thirty-pound medicine ball that’s still spinning in the wall. “Did you do that with your biotics?” she asks with surprise present in her voice.
“Uh, yes, ma’am. We did,” I reply, putting a little distance between Landon and myself.
“Fascinating,” she remarks, walking over to inspect it closer. “It’s still spinning.” Turning to look back at us, she smiles. “You two better get back to your quarters. Tonight’s a school night, remember?”
“Yes, ma’am,” we both say in unison and salute.
“At ease, soldiers,” she says with a quick laugh, and we both hurry out of the room.
Approaching Landon’s hallway, he stops and grabs my hand. “Well, I guess thi
s is goodnight.” I go to say something, but he catches me off guard and silences me with a scorching, mind-numbing kiss. He draws back slowly, “Goodnight, Kenley.”
After sending me a quick grin, he turns and begins heading toward his room. I’m left standing here a blushing mess, watching one of the most gorgeous guys I’ve ever laid eyes on walk away. I feel my cheeks and they’re burning up.
“Did that just happen?” I ask under my breath. I head down the opposite hall toward my room with a huge smile etched on my face.
On the day before the Strike final exam I wake up an hour earlier, deciding to do an impromptu training session in the gym before breakfast. While getting dressed I run through all the things we’ll be tested on. Out of the three abilities we’ve learned so far, telekinesis is my strongest one. Of course, I give most credit to the cooperative effort with one Landon Shaw. I notice that I smile every time I think about him or his name.
As I go to leave my room, I hear a knock at my door. It slides open when I get close to it. Joey’s standing there with a solemn look on his face.
“What’s wrong, Joey?”
“Something’s happened.”
“What?” My voice shakes, dreading to hear the next words out of his mouth.
“California…It was attacked. Most of the state’s been leveled. They were showing video up and down the coast on the news,” he explains.
“Oh no, Landon. He’s from there,” I choke out. “I wonder if he knows.”
“You should probably go find him,” Joey says as he touches my shoulder. He gives me a worried look just before I run out of the room.
I hesitate when I reach Landon’s door. I want to knock, but then think of how I’d be feeling if I just found out news like this. But what if he doesn’t know? I ask myself and then decide to knock anyway. There’s rustling on the other side of the door before it opens. Landon is standing there with his back to me. His hands are glowing and there are several holes in the walls. I don’t blame him for getting angry. I did the same thing when my brother died. I remember feeling helpless and completely lost. I can’t even imagine how I’d feel if I lost most of my family and home.