“He saved you, Lena. Gideon is not your enemy,” Thora said.
Lena didn’t believe her. Wiping her nose on her sleeve, she looked away.
“Lena, you’re angry. A lot of unexpected things happened tonight. And even more things are happening that I can’t explain.”
“Can’t? Or won’t?” Lena snapped back.
“The Priestess still looks for you, Lena, which makes you very valuable.”
Mistrust filled her. “Is that why you chose to hide me? Because I’m valuable?” Lena’s voice shook.
Thora stared back at her, a look of determination on her face. She leaned towards Lena and pointed a finger at her face. “Taking you into this facility against the Priestess’s knowledge was treason. If she found out, all our lives would be in serious danger.” Dropping her hand, she continued. “Not just yours or mine or Gideon’s but this whole facility. The Priestess would destroy everyone. Everything. She doesn’t take betrayal lightly.” Thora held Lena’s gaze. She saw fear in Thora’s eyes.
“There are people here I’ve vowed to keep safe. If you do anything that will threaten their safety, the Priestess will be the last of your concerns.” Thora paused for a moment, then continued. “The rules remain the same, Lena. You have to find a way to stay hidden in plain sight or you’ll have the death of hundreds of people on your hands.”
Thora looked different to her now. Thora was no longer a servant who had helped her because she hated the Priestess. Thora was now a fighter, a protector. Lena’s thoughts were cut short as Thora took a step toward her. Lena couldn’t help but jump back. Thora grabbed her arm and clamped an electronic cuff around her wrist, the kind of cuff that kept you confined to a certain area.
“I’ve been ordered to keep you in this room. Someone will come retrieve you in the morning,” Thora informed her.
“No,” Lena said, grabbing at the cuff around her wrist. “Thora, please don’t do this.”
Thora walked through the sliding door. She turned towards Lena. “If you try to leave, you’ll be shocked. The more you attempt it, the greater the shock will be.”
“Thora, please!” Emotions flooded her, choking her words.
“Lena, I know you don’t trust me right now. And I don’t think any of us anticipated things working out like this. But these words are true no matter who says them.” She paused. “You have a choice to make. You can either use the position you’ve been placed in to be angry and vengeful. Or, you can use it and do something. You alone can make the choice. It doesn’t matter how you got here and what wrongs have fallen upon your life. What does matter is how you decide to handle it.”
Thora gave Lena one last look before the door slid shut between them. The tears Lena had held back for so long flooded her vision. Collapsing to her bed, she cried until the tears dried up. Her soul felt empty, drained of all hopefulness. And she wondered if she’d ever feel alive again.
Chapter Fifteen
“She’s incredibly behind, Captain. She can’t possibly catch up to the other recruits.” The unforgiving eyes of Captain Wetsel bored into her, but he talked like she wasn’t right in front of him.
Still she stood calm, taking care to hold her head high and her shoulders back. Hands clasped behind her, she strained to keep her breathing even. She wore the recruit training uniform Thora had given her. The black jacket fit snugly against her curves, making her even more self-conscious. She’d never worn something so form-fitting. The pants fit equally tight yet were not restricting. The red insignia shone blood red on her shoulder.
They stood in the conference room on the third floor of the inner ring of the training facility. A huge obsidian table filled the middle of the room. The force field windows were tinted black, giving the room a dark, haunting look. Several of the advanced training staff sat at chairs surrounding the table, while the three basic training staff stared at her from their standing position against the wall.
“You do realize, Captain, “spoke Wetsel, with his thin dark hair and pinched nose, “that training is weeks in and that this servant is behind.”
Lena squeezed her hands to keep them from shaking. Her breath felt shallow and tight as she swept her eyes toward the Captain. He stood with confidence, unphased by the contention among the staff.
“I’m fully aware of the lateness of her enrollment.” He spoke, strong and sure of himself. “And may I remind you that I command this facility, not you, and this meeting isn’t for your approval. It’s merely for your information.”
“But already recruits have passed much of their basic training and are about to move on to specialty training. How do you expect a lowly servant girl to catch up to that?” Wetsel questioned.
“Are you questioning my decisions?” the Captain asked, his voice rising in anger. Lena shuddered.
“Of course not, Captain,” Wetsel spoke, backing away from Gideon. She wondered if Wetsel would change his mind about he knew how long she’d been listening in on lectures and how Dorry would quiz her in their time together. Her knowledge went way beyond what basic training taught.
“Well if you’re not questioning me, you must be worried about yourself,” Gideon took a step towards Wetsel. “If you’re concerned about your ability to teach this girl what she needs to know, I can easily reassign you. I think a field assignment might be right up your alley.”
Wetsel looked angry, but didn’t respond.
“She does not need much to catch up.” A new voice chimed in. Ameena, the physical defenses instructor, eyed her up and down. “If what the Captain says is true. And she did take down Lucius, she already knows much of the basics of hand to hand combat.”
“I also have no concerns about teaching her, Captain.” The voice belonged to Ruddy, the weapons master. His was the one class Lena didn’t have much experience in. He kept the weapons closely guarded—so closely that Lena felt if she tried to take one to practice with, he would notice. “I can assign a recruit to tutor her if needed.”
“And if she makes a fool of us in front of the Priestess,” Wetsel countered, “will you protect us? Or will you go running to your daddy to retain your position, while the rest of us take the fall?”
Lena’s mind jumped to Zeke. Did most people know of Gideon’s famous relation? She looked towards Gideon. The fire burning in his eyes melted the room.
“General Merak doesn’t oversee this facility. The Priestess does. And the Priestess assigned me, personally, to this position. As Captain, it is my job to provide the best soldiers possible for the Defenses. Which means it’s my job to make sure you’re doing yours. I saw potential in a servant that all of you have overlooked for years. In fact, you should be thanking me because if the Priestess had found out a servant defeated one of your recruits it is you the Priestess would have taken this out on, not me.”
Wetsel looked irate. His lips pressed tightly against each other and his eyes raged toward Gideon, but he said nothing further. The Captain dismissed everyone. After the room cleared, he turned to Lena.
“Here is your schedule,” Gideon said. Her insignia projected her new schedule.
Tutoring
Breakfast
Weapons
Physical Defense
Lunch
Strategy and Tactics
Free study
Dinner
Tutoring
His eyes landed on the cuff clamped tightly around her wrist. “You will receive extra tutoring at the beginning and end of every day, starting tomorrow. If you prove trustworthy, I’ll remove the cuff. Otherwise, you’re confined to this facility.” He paused and Lena waited for him to continue his instructions. Instead, she saw him studying her face. A wave of uncertainty swept over her. “You’re excused, recruit. Hurry, if you don’t want to be late to your first day of class.”
Chapter Sixteen
Walking into her first day of training, Lena felt the eyes of fellow recruits bore into her. Taking a deep breath she steadied her nerves. Standing tall, she strode to the
side of the gun range where the rest of the class waited for their instructor. Whispers surrounded her. Her heart sprinted in a marathon of angst. She didn’t know if she was more anxious about starting as a recruit or of someone identifying her as “the girl of Everleigh.” Both options were equally nerve racking.
Jonah sprinted across the room toward her. In the distance she saw various guns fill the wall.
“Sorry I didn’t get here in time to walk in with you,” Jonah panted. “You were more punctual than I thought.” He smiled, and Lena breathed for what seemed like the first time all day.
“By the looks of all the people here, I thought I was late,” she said.
“Trust me. Nobody’s ever been this early. They are just anxious to get a look at the servant turned soldier.”
Looking across the crowd, Lena easily picked out different groups standing with each other. Most were sizing her up or glaring her down. All wore the same uniform, but it rang clear that they weren’t all equal. There were about thirty of them. A group of eight stood with Lucius while the rest of the class was scattered the room in smaller groups.
“You would think they had never seen me before,” Lena said.
Jonah laughed at her naivety. “Lena, ninety-nine percent of these soldiers don’t glance at the help.”
“And the other one?” She glanced around.
“The other one is me, and I guess Lucius and his groupies.”
“Ugh, Lucius. Why did you have to remind me?” Lena said.
“Attention!” Gideon yelled from across the room.
Lena’s heart jumped. Everyone around her stood straight with arms at their sides. Lena glanced at Jonah also standing at attention and quickly mirrored his actions.
“Recruit Lena.” Gideon’s deep voice echoed across the rounded ceiling.
“”Yes,” Lena replied.
“That’s ‘Yes, Captain’, or ‘Yes Captain Gideon’,” he yelled, causing many to snicker at her expense.
“Yes, Captain,” she replied, cursing herself for not exercising more caution. She didn’t know what to expect from the Gideon. But his sternness made her mad.
“You are late starting this training session,” he yelled “ but you will be held to the same standard as the rest of our recruits. Therefore, drop and give me 20 pushups. And next time I yell attention I expect you to give an appropriate response.”
Lena looked at him in disbelief. He had clearly wanted to make a point with others watching.
“Twenty more for your slowness,” he yelled.
Lena dropped to the floor completing her forty pushups with ease, while everyone stood at attention around her. Jumping to attention she caught a smug look on Lucius face.
“Warm up,” the Captains voice commanded.
Everyone scattered. Several soldiers started running in place while others bent and twisted in some kind of stretching routine. Lena looked at the other recruits trying to decide where she’d fit in. Jonah grabbed her elbow.
“You’re with me, newbie,” Jonah smiled. “Just follow my lead,” he said sprinting away.
Lena glanced at the other recruits, most glaring at her from their warm up positions. Deciding that Jonah was the safest option, Lena raced to catch up with him.
“Does the Captain lead this training session?” Lena asked Jonah, keeping pace with him.
“Nah, we have separate teachers that specialize in each area. But the Captain watches everything. He never says much. Just watches,” Jonah explained.
Running next to Jonah, Lena was glad she’d kept an exercise routine over the years. She kept pace with Jonah without much effort. Her new uniform felt unrestricting, much better than the baggy overalls she had worn as a servant. After completing a few laps, they slowed and gathered with the rest of the soldiers at the weapons wall.
Lena bit her lip in an effort not to grin as she gazed at the wall. She had loved shooting with her dad as a child. These weapons were different than what she had grown up using, but that didn’t dampen the excitement she felt.
A short man with a short forehead and eyes that seemed to encompass his face stood at the head of the group. She recognized him as Ruddy, the weapons master.
“His name is Soldier Ruddy,” Jonah whispered in her ears. “It’s told he is the best shooter in the Priestess’ Defense.”
“Really? What’s he doing here?”
“Well, I heard one day while on patrol, he was ordered to shoot a member of the resistance. Unaware that the rebel’s child was watching, he took aim and fired. The child ran into the line of fire. He refused after that to fight. The Priestess ordered Ruddy killed for defying her orders, but somehow he started teaching at the academy instead.”
As Jonah told the story, Lena wondered how many others defied the Priestess and lived. Or was there someone who changed the Priestess’ mind about Ruddy? She kept these thoughts to herself as soldiers started lining up in their assigned range.
“Recruit Lena,” Ruddy yelled, touching a panel of the wall. “You’re in 5.” The room transformed into eight areas, four on each side with an aisle down the center. Each was divided with an electric partition, much like the windows it used a pulse to provide resistance.
“I’m 2 down from you in 7,” Jonah informed her. Lowering his voice he continued, “If you need me, I’m right there, ok?”
Lena nodded, unsure how she felt about Jonah’s offer. “Thank you. I’ll try not to get into trouble.” Turning toward her area, her smile vanished. Lucius and Boarde stood, back to her, readying their guns. Shaking out her hands and swallowing her fear she walked toward them and waited behind them while they shot. Neither turned to acknowledged her.
The holographic targets moved like soldiers across a holographic battlefield. Lena surmised that the goal was to shoot the soldiers. Holographic numbers soared above the hit target, indicating the score. The deadlier the shot, the higher score you got. The total score hovered across your area when complete.
Boarde went first, missing more targets than hitting. Lucius looked on with a smirk but said nothing as his friend finished. Trading places with Boarde, Lucius raised his gun, shooting every target with precision.
Lena moved toward the shooting line. She had picked a pistol from the weapons wall, the cold steel familiar in her hands. She raised it in front of her, taking aim at the moving targets.
“I see you already know how to hold a gun.” Ruddy, the weapons master, stood next to her, raising his eyebrows in amusement. “Don’t see that from many servants. Guess the Captain was right in recruiting you.”
Lena felt her cheeks grow hot and lowered her gun.
“You’re going to start on a stationary target,” Ruddy spoke, reprogramming her range to show a target at the far side. “You’ll gradually move to harder targets, such as the holographic soldiers as you’ve seen. You’ll need to work hard to catch up to the rest of the class.”
Nodding, Lena asked, “Does it matter what gun we use?”
“You’ll learn how to use all guns,” he answered.
Nodding again, she aimed at the target and started shooting. Ruddy stood next to her for her first few shots, giving her tips on how to increase her scores before continuing on to the rest of the class. In the years since she last held a gun, she’d lost some of her skill. She frowned. She had missed several targets. Lucius snickered behind her.
“Knock it off, Lucius, “ a wiry female voice chimed from the next area over. Her curly black hair hung unencumbered over her shoulders. Lena wondered how she pulled off wearing her hair down without getting in trouble. Reaching her hand over the metal barricade to shake Lena’s, the girl spoke “I’m Birdee. Welcome to the Chaos!” Her body looked tough but her huge smile filled Lena with warmth.
Lena smiled back, extending her hand in return. “Lena,” she offered back.
“Ya, I heard. Stars above, everyone’s heard.” Lowering her hand from Lena’s, she swatted the side of Lucius head.
Lucius glared but didn’t s
ay a thing. “Frankly, if you ask me, you deserve being here just as much as the next hurdy turdy person.” She looked pointedly at Lucius.
“Thank you,” Lena smiled politely but felt uncomfortable with all the attention.
“You bet. Us women of the war, gotta stick together. They’re ain’t much of us here,” she spat to her side. Shocked, Lena looked at her with wide eyes.
Finished with his rounds, Jonah strode to their partition and leaned against it with a lazy grin. “I see you’ve met Birdee.” He smiled at her and winked. “She probably hasn’t told you this yet, but Birdee here is the best tracker the Defenses ever had.”
Lucius sneered. “What do you expect from someone who grew up on varmint?”
“Better than growing up acting like one,” Birdee replied.
“What’s that suppose to mean?” Lucius sneered.
“Rat!” she hissed at him.
Both of them stood on the tips of their bouncing feet as if ready to spring into action if the other said one more word.
The ringing of Ruddy’s voice sounded over the few remaining gunshots. “Class dismissed.”
Birdee glared at the sneering Lucius. Jonah, stepping between them, grabbed Birdee’s arm. Looking into her eyes he spoke the warning his lips needn’t say. Slowly the bitterness in her eyes melted into a less fiery gaze.
“Come on Lena, I’ll take ya to your room,” Birdee spoke, still looking at her enemy. “I got word that you’re going to be my roommate.”
“Jonah, you comin’?” Birdee yelled.
“To a girl’s room? Sure thing, Birdee.” Smirking, Jonah skipped a step to catch up with them as Birdee rolled her eyes.
Glad to get away from her tormentor, Lena followed.
“So it’s true then?” Birdee asked.
Lena looked at Birdee confused. “What’s true?” she asked.
“You really took Lucius down.”
The Mir Chronicles- The Complete Series Page 8