“Come on,” Sara said taking Eve's hand. “We'll be partners.” They ran up front to a shelf of dummies that were only a head and torso.
Lewis continued his instruction, “These are not toys, do not fool around. Lay the dummy on the ground face up.” He waited while the kids got in position. “CPR requires the life saver to put his or her mouth on the victim’s mouth, and place both hands on their chest.” The children began to giggle nervously. “It is not like kissing,” Lewis said to a pair near him. One of the girls turned bright red and tried to hide. Lewis continued, “Follow my directions exactly. Failure to perform this correctly in real life may kill the victim.” His words settled down most of the students.
Sara and Eve took turns pretending to perform CPR. Master Sergeant Lewis walked from group to group giving directions and correcting technique. He examined every single student, and when he was done, he dismissed the class.
The two girls sat on the ground for a few minutes talking afterwards.
“What do you have next?” Sara asked.
“Focus,” Eve answered.
“Oh, that class meets out here,” Sara said. “Who's your teacher?”
“Saga,” Eve replied. “I asked Danni what the class taught, but her explanation was difficult to understand.”
Sara stood up and brushed off her clothes. “Uhmm... Procedure is like, to teach you group stuff. What to do in certain situations and how to work in a team. Focus is like that but just about you. You learn how to control your powers, or use them in different ways.”
Eve nodded her understanding but looked doubtful.
“You might think that someone who doesn't have your powers can't teach you about them,” Sara said, “but they taught me a lot of stuff when I was little.”
“Then I will make sure to listen,” Eve said.
The two girls waved goodbye, and Eve was left sitting on the ground. A few minutes before class was scheduled to begin, kids started arriving. Shruti showed up walking alongside a man that Eve assumed was Mister Saga. He was wearing loose fitting clothes that reminded Eve of a picture she'd seen of monks. The man seemed to float along the ground rather than walk. Eve wondered if it was connected to his powers.
Shruti looked suddenly over at Eve, having heard her thoughts in the crowd. She waved happily. Then she continued with the man until he stopped and faced the class.
“Good morning, students,” he said. His voice sounded soft, but he was clear enough to be heard over the noise of the children. “I hope you have had time to rest before we begin.”
“Yes, sir,” some of the kids replied.
“Excellent,” Saga smiled. “It looks like I have ten eager minds this semester. I will work with each one of you on an individual basis. All I ask is that you try, and anything you can't do I will help you with.”
Shruti handed him some folders, and he rifled through them. She asked Saga something, and he looked up at Eve, then at Shruti and nodded. With his permission, Shruti walked over to Eve.
“Isn't this awesome,” Shruti's eyes were alight. “It's almost like I'm a full cadet. This is my advisory. They placed me with Saga because I'm so advanced.”
“Mister Saga doesn't mind that you're talking with me?” Eve asked. She was watching him speak with one of the other students.
“No,” Shruti replied. “He likes to talk to every student, so we have some time.” She looked over at Saga who waved her back over. “Never mind, duty calls. Gotta help Jimmy.” She went over to where Saga stood next to a boy. He gave Shruti some instructions then came over to talk to Eve.
“Of Levitas Comes the Eve of Terminus, it is a pleasure to meet you finally,” Saga bowed.
Eve returned the bow and said, “I was not aware that I was well-known, but the honor of this meeting is mine. Please call me, Eve.”
Saga's smile broadened. “Well, you've caught the eye of Colonel Porter, which makes you noteworthy,” he explained. “The last person who managed this much interest was Robert Day.”
“Oh,” Eve said. It was not a response she was used to giving, but hearing Robert's name caught her off guard. She hadn't seen or heard from him since he’d moved off base. Eve also found it curious that Colonel Porter had such an interest in her. He'd only spoken to her those first few days.
“But that is neither here nor there,” Saga said sensing her discomfort. “Today we will try something new. I'd like you to open a portal, like you have done many times, except bigger.”
“Yes, sir,” Eve accepted his instruction.
“Much bigger,” Saga added, knowing she didn't quite understand.
“I will need more shadows,” Eve told him.
“There,” Saga pointed to the motor pool building. “It's shaded, and I think that truck would make an excellent subject.”
“Pardon me, sir,” Eve was sure that he didn't know how her powers worked. “The task would be much simpler if it were darker or the subject smaller.”
“Try,” Saga gently urged her. “If you fail then we will explore why?”
Eve was about to tell him she knew why it wouldn't work, but he bowed ending the discussion. He left her to work on the task, speaking with the next student in line. She would like to do what Saga had asked, although she knew it wouldn't be possible. Under most circumstances, Eve could open a portal large enough for two people. A portal the size of the truck was something that she hadn't tried, nor thought she would need to perform. There was also a slight fear that if she failed the vehicle would be damaged.
Eve was still staring at the truck when Shruti came back. “He just wants you to try,” she said.
“I will fail,” Eve told her. It didn't seem to matter to them that it wouldn't work, or that it was a waste of time and energy.
“That’s not the point,” Shruti said. “Think of this as a test to see if you'll even try. Not if you can actually do it.” What Shruti knew was that Saga believed that in order to learn, one must question everything. Eve thought she knew everything about her powers, which may or may not be true. If she wasn't even willing to try to push her limits, then she’d never know. In fact, part of Eve's training in focus was to learn how to push the boundaries in all aspects of her life. At least that’s what it said in her folder.
Eve grumbled and took a seat to try and move the truck. It was ironic to Shruti, because Eve was good at taking orders and following directions. So good that she had to be ordered to break her preconceived notions and do things on her own accord.
For the rest of the class time, Shruti watched Eve struggle with the task. She was hoping to figure out a way to get Eve to try to be the best she could be.
1:00 PM
Shruti had the rest of her day free, so at the end of lunch she joined Eve in the Residence. They found Jess in her office talking to one of her kids.
“Ah, here are my enforcers now,” Jess said when they came into the room.
There was a small girl sitting across from Jess. The girl was clutching a stuffed rabbit and sat motionless in the oversized chair.
“If you don't talk, I'll have them break your legs,” Jess joked.
The girl forced a smile.
“You don't believe me?” Jess pretended to threaten.
“No,” Eve said.
This time the girl's smile was real, but she quickly hid it.
“Fine, get out of here,” Jess acted upset. “You better get your act together or else.”
The girl slid off the chair with her rabbit and left.
“She's so sad,” Shruti said.
“Yeah, since she’s been here I haven't got her to talk once,” Jess told them.
“Perhaps she doesn't know what to say,” Eve suggested.
“And that's why you're my aid,” Jess smiled. “Who best to understand kids with problems, but someone who has them? Plus, you might learn something from them. But don't tell anyone else about the secret plot.”
Eve had been following along until the part about the plot. “I don't unders
tand,” she said.
Shruti explained, “She's talking about the advisory classes, and the fact that the kids haven't figured out it's a trick.”
“Yup,” Jess agreed. “Instead of throwing you guys in a room with a psychiatrist, we give you advisory class. That way when you're helping a teacher you don't notice you're learning to solve your problems. Like you, Eve my love, have a lot to learn about being an adolescent.”
“Since I've been here many people have told me that they appreciated my non-adolescent behavior,” Eve said.
“Being an adolescent is about pushing things around, getting to know what you can do, what you like to do and who you are as a person,” Jess said. “That's as important as learning math or science. 'Cause if you don't know who you are, how are you going to make choices in your life? And if you don't know what you're capable of, how are you going to be awesome.”
Shruti looked away, because she’d seen this part of Eve’s file, even though she wasn’t supposed to. Jess however was pretty much laying it all on the table.
In Eve's case, her conundrum was that she lived by what her superiors told her. So even if it rubbed her the wrong way, she was going to try to do whatever they wanted.
Part 5: End Of An Era
September, Columbia
Somewhere near the Rio Meta, one hundred miles east of Bogotá, Assault Team Four made camp as they waited for orders. The team had been together six years serving under Captain Torres. For an assault team, it was common to be in the field for long stretches of time. Usually, the Colonel in charge would issue commands from the comfort of his office, and the Captains would execute the commands how they saw fit. This, in Captain Torres’ opinion, was the only reason they were still alive.
Two months ago, the daughter of a government official had been kidnapped. It was The One's policy to stay out of local affairs, but Colonel DeCosta had a liberal idea of such policies. Especially since the government official was a friend. DeCosta classified the mission as civilian aid and ordered AT4 to intervene. Torres reluctantly followed orders and led his men in blind. If he hadn't been so hesitant, or if DeCosta had been calling the play-by-play, they might have lost everyone. As it was, the girl had been murdered before they even arrived, and the place was packed with explosives. It was a trap. He lost all of Green team and two people from Red team, one of which was a Lieutenant.
With eight people dead, AT4 was pulled off of active duty until replacements could arrive. Then last month five fresh-faced rookies showed up at camp. Standard operating procedure dictated that they were supposed to have four teams of five people. Three of the teams led by a Lieutenant and the other by the Captain himself. Except, now they were one man short and a Lieutenant shy. It was typical command, cutting corners, so Torres would have to make due.
He ended up having to give out an unwarranted field promotion, knowing full well that it was a bad idea. So Daniel Muir became the Lieutenant in command of Red team. Corporal Silva had to be moved from Blue team to Red team because Torres didn't want Muir in charge of four rookies. That left the new girl, Lieutenant Godfrey; she took Green team instead of Sergeant Orlando, who did deserve a promotion, but it was bad timing. Godfrey came with a letter of recommendation from Colonel Porter, and that carried a lot of weight. Of course, he'd seen plenty of kids come up on some Colonel or General’s recommendation. Most of them couldn't hack command, which is why he moved Orlando to her team, along with Private Mallory, who was also up for a promotion. Captain Torres took the three remaining rookies onto his team.
Reorganizing teams was never a good idea; too confusing, but it had to be done. The time it took them to adjust would cause a lot of trouble; too many new names and dispositions to get used to.
Angie sat next to a small fire drying her socks. Her gear was laid out behind her on a tarp to keep the jungle floor from soaking it. Orlando had done the same thing, but was busying himself by brewing coffee. The two of them had gotten along well enough, considering she had killed his promotion. It was the kid who she was worrying about. Jason Mallory was sitting with Muir and his team, talking and joking.
“So these kids are throwing rocks at us,” Mallory is telling a story, “and Danny, who I didn't even see circle around, turns into a wolf and comes up behind them. I swear, when he roared they crapped their pants.”
Red Team started laughing, and Muir soaked up the attention. He and Mallory had been good friends before the teams were reordered.
“I even took a swipe 'r two at 'em,” Muir added to the story. “Not so sure I was trying to miss 'em though.”
Angie’s instincts told her Muir was trouble. They were alike; he had the ability to turn into part wolf, but that was where the similarities ended. Muir’s abilities seemed to influence him more than physically. Even when he wasn't in animal form he acted like one. His leadership was questionable, and he often enticed his men to use more force than necessary.
Muir must have sensed Angie watching, because he called out to her, “Godfrey, if you find us so entertaining why don't you have a seat over here?” He patted a spot next to him and grinned.
Muir was Irish, with thick black hair and blue eyes. Angie saw how most women would find him attractive. However, there was something about him that put her off. And she knew that there were only a few reasons why the European section would send someone to South America, none of them good.
“You should be prepping to move out,” Angie replied. She was looking at Mallory when she said this, but the kid turned away.
“We haven't had new orders for near a month,” Muir said back. “What we should be doing is drinking that booze we confiscated.”
His team agreed loudly.
“Cut it,” Captain Torres said. Earlier his team had made their way up a hill to use the radio. They had reappeared from the trees. “Got orders. We're to patrol the villages out this way. Some rebels are causing problems, and we are to protect the locals and secure supply lines.”
“We're no the bleeding Red Cross,” Muir spit.
Torres ignored him and added, “Colonel DeCosta says to take 'preemptive action' in regards to our orders. Which means we have to sweep and clear thousands of square miles of jungle.” Torres left it at that because he knew if he kept talking it would turn into insubordination. But who ordered nineteen people to search the entire jungle?
Angie was still watching Muir and Red team. None of them had started to pack, and Mallory was following suit.
Orlando, who was crouched next to her asked, “You think it's going to be a problem?”
“Now that we have orders, it should be easier to keep them separated,” Angie answered.
Over the last couple of weeks, Angie came to learn that Orlando had a good head for strategy. It was a shame that he was passed up for a promotion. He would have made a better Lieutenant than Sergeant. She was also surprised at how non-confrontational he was. Another soldier would have hated her or Muir. Orlando cared, but he wasn't going to make enemies.
Angie ordered Orlando to get the team on their feet while she grabbed Mallory.
In The Morning
They traveled through the night taking only a few short breaks. They could spot their destination by the smoke in the air. Before the sun was completely over the horizon, the company found themselves at a small village. It had been built on a muddy hill, and only by a miracle it hadn’t slid down the mountain. Animals were locked in pens near the center, and a fire burned somewhere.
Captain Torres ordered Blue and Red team to sweep the surrounding area for threats. Angie's Green team watched Torres' flank as they entered the village. A pudgy man with a straw hat approached Torres and started to talk. The discussion became heated, and Angie made her way over to see what was going on. Her Spanish was terrible, especially compared to the Captain, who was Columbian born.
The village head sounded angry. To Angie it seemed like Torres was taking it in stride. Then the village head said something firmly and walked away. Captain Torres s
cratched at his neck swearing softly to himself.
“How much of that did you get?” The Captain asked Angie.
“Very little, sir,” she responded.
Torres sighed. “About a week ago some rebels stopped here. They took the supplies we left for the village and killed some of their men. The rebels say, if the village keeps working with us, they'll do worse.”
“That doesn't make sense, sir,” Angie said. “They take the supplies and warn us not to bring more?”
“Two for the price of one I guess,” Torres said. “They get some free stuff and a chance to threaten people. But that is only part of the problem. Tomas,” he nodded to the village head, “is blaming us for everything. He thinks it's our fault his people were killed.”
“Is he saying he didn’t find those supplies useful?” Angie was getting irritated.
Torres laughed because it took a lot to get a rise out of her. “Doesn't matter. He wants us gone, but this is the only waypoint between Yopal and San Jose. So we need a solution.”
“Preemptive aid,” Angie suggested.
“We'd have to be sure to wipe out the rebels,” Torres said, “or these people will suffer the consequences.” He pulled a map from his pocket and looked it over. “How do you feel about taking a trip?” He asked.
“Ready and willing, sir,” Angie stood at attention.
Torres grabbed his radio and called Red team. He ordered them to take a defensive position on the eastern perimeter of the village. Blue team was ordered to do the same on the western side. Angie and Torres’ teams headed south along the same path the rebels had taken. It was likely they had a base somewhere close. There was a main road a couple miles north of the village and another to the southwest. The rebels would try to stay clear of high traffic areas like that. The strange thing was that AT4 had just marched through the area. In that entire time, they hadn't seen a single sign of life, let alone a base. Of course, it was easy to hide out here.
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