We walk up the sidewalk to find a place to snack on our treat. Peaches are my favorite fruit, but I find sliced peaches revolting.
I freeze seeing the police woman again, and she's watching us. You better run Dylan. Getting up I toss the peach seed in the grass, so it can grow.
Waving my hand I motion the others to hurry. We have to run some more. I begin walking down the sidewalk with them. The police woman is walking behind, so once we round a corner I lead them into a sprint. We make mad dash across the parking place swerving between cars, and trucks. I keep glancing back to search for her. Panic rises in my stomach.
Have the UNSC found us.
My heart sank as a second police car drives into the parking place, and I duck down. We're crossing the grass divider to run into another parking place, but this one is smaller. There is less people in this one.
"Hold it right there!"
I instantly freeze in place holding my hands up, and several police people have surrounded us. They carry guns, but this time we can't run away. They'll shoot us. A police woman restrains my hands then she puts me in the back of her car. I have failed them. I was suppose to keep them safe.
I twist my arms to reach into my pocket for the com. The small piece if plastic is still in one piece. I pick it up in my mouth then hide it in my shirt. The rock is missing, so I must have dropped it somewhere. The door on the other side opens, and Mathew is forced to sit down. He won't even look at me.
"I am sorry."
He shrugs, "guess Destiny was right. Now we're right into enemy hands."
"You know what my mentor would say?"
"No, what would he say?" I ask curiously.
"He would say that you're better off dead than in enemy hands because they'll kill you anyway."
I don't reply. However, the police lady comes back to drive the car. There is a metal cage separating us from her. I look out the front window to see where we are going. The police lady takes us to a building that says the city's name then police department. The lady driving this car took me out first, and brought me inside.
"Sergeant, can you relay a message to the Colonel, and tell him we found his runaway children?" She questions another lady sitting at a desk.
She takes me to the back then let's me go for a second. I have thoughts on bolting. 'Can I escape with my hands tied?' I frown angrily.
"Do have any weapons, drugs, or something that's going to poke me as I search you?" She asks me.
'What are drugs?'
The lady fortunately doesn't find the comlink. To be honest death is looking pretty tempting right now. The lady takes the restraints off to let me inside a box. Mathew isn't too far behind.
"Got a plan?" He questions once the lady leaves. I sigh shaking my head then curling my knees close to me. I'll figure it out I hope.
I don't get time to think because the lady came back to get us. She didn't say much, but took the restraints off. In the main area there is a person, and to my dismay he is wearing a black shirt with O, D, S, and T.
Whatever that means. However, it doesn't take a genius to know that they must be UNSC. It seems my greatest fear has come true. Death is looking pretty convincing right now.
Mathew shoots me a look sinking me further into a hole. I know I've failed. Don't rub it in. I return his look with a threatening one.
I'll beat you again Mathew.
They take us outside where a truck is sitting. The officers help us inside then take the restraints off. Sitting in the back is an armed person.
I can't tell their gender because of a mask. I sit down on the seat. Kaleb, Destiny, and Mathew join me. It gets dark once the doors are closed. I turn my attention on the armed guard. I can feel his gaze cross me. I can't show weakness. Not in the eyes of the enemy.
At least it was warm.
I won't dare sleep either. I shake the sleep away even going as far as to rub my eyes with a little spit. I can sense the wheels turning. Traveling. They're taking us somewhere.
Should I ask you? Would you answer? No it might be a sign of fear. I stare emotionless at the adult. He could be looking at me, Destiny, maybe even Kaleb.
Maybe he expects one of us to ask.
The guard sits quietly as I ponder what to make of him. I believe isn't a very old man, but not a too high ranking one either.
What rank is Colonel? Is it a high rank?
My eyes trail the inside of the vehicle. It's a dull green color with UNSC printed on the inside. Underneath is the meaning of UNSC.
I stare at the floor for the rest of the ride, but I got uneasy every time the guard shifted. The UNSC won't break me.
Did I already tell myself this?
Someone grabs my arm, and I panic. I sink my teeth into flesh, so I can kick at my aggressor. Another person pulls me off to throw me onto the ground.
"I suggest you behave" I heard a husky voice. I swear it belongs to an older person. Probably forty, or sixty, or even in between.
Yep old guy.
I get a good look at the person restraining me. Grey hair gives the age away. I am forced to walk beside Destiny as they take us towards a base. The inside of the base isn't too far different from the other one. Dull, empty, quiet other than the occasional soldier. We pass many rooms, and offices.
When I get separated from the others I hold my head up high. Wearing a hostile expression, and pushing my fear away. I relax a little as we arrive at an infirmary. Remember the head wound I had? They must be getting it patched up. The person leading me stops me in front of a woman in a white coat. She motions towards a door, so I step closer to where it opens automatically. I sit down on the bed waiting patiently. Both of them step in.
"You have a name there bud?" She asks me setting a bottle, and some cotton on a table. I can't read it from here. The size, and shape of the bottle as well as the color leave me to believe it's rubbing alcohol. I think it's for lower infection, or something like that. I find a spot on the wall, and stare at it until she is done. The last doctor I was with smacked me if I squirmed.
I didn't even flinch when the alcohol starts to sting. It doesn't take long before she's done. The doctor then takes a light, and shines it in my face.
She lets me get up to go with the old one.
Later
They kept us all together in the same cell, and we mostly just sat around. Well to be honest we huddled up then went to sleep. It was actually pretty cozy. There were blankets that we wrapped up to use as pillows. There wasn't really much else to do except sleep. That, and there was a guard basically listening to everything we said.
I heard a knock, and raised my head to see the old one has returned.
"Up"
I wake the others before well rose. The man opened the cell door then I see a second man standing there. This one is younger.
"This is Sergeant Mèndez. He's in charge of you now."
I raise an eyebrow before flinching. Memories break free, and I take a step back. No, they won't hurt me anymore.
A baton.
"Single file" the Sergeant orders. It seems I wasn't the only one who noticed it. Sergeant walks beside us as we head back down the hallway.
Sergeant takes us outside then stops us.
"Have they taught you how to fall in?" He questions, and without thinking I step to the side a couple steps, so that the squad leaders can fall in.
Two ranks of five. I look up at Sergeant to continue.
"If you can march them by all means" he tells me. I wasn't assigned platoon sergeant, but it just clicked in my head to fall them in. Like an instinct.
He's the Mentor, and I am the follower.
Back to being trained I guess. My heart sinks a little further. There's no escape.
No Freedom.
"Right face"
Sergeant begins to walk away down a dirt road, so I assume I'm suppose to follow.
"Forward march" I call a little softer.
I march alongside them as we follow him down the dirt road. This time Sergeant has the baton in his hand.
He's expecting trouble.
I try to calm myself down, but just seeing the baton makes me feel uneasy. Every voice in my head tells me to run away. Can I even outrun Sergeant? I glance at the others. Sophie locks eyes with me, so I give her a reassuring smile. I need reassurance myself.
It will be okay.
The dirt road seems to trail on forever as it curves, and weaves through the trees. After a while of walking I can see another base in the distance. It's more camouflaged by trees.
"You have a name Platoon Sergeant?"
I just now realized that Mèndez is walking beside me now. I hesitate to answer his question. Occasionally I can feel the wind from the baton as I march.
"What did they call you?"
"Dylan."
Sergeant goes quiet again as we come closer to the base. Once we reach the first set of double doors. Sergeant tells me to halt them.
Outside is another man who I believe is also a Sergeant because he wears the same symbol as Mèndez. They hold the doors open, so we can march inside. There is a huge room with hardwood floor. Halfway into the building is another platoon. A much larger one. I swear it has over one-hundred people in it. Of course they notice us immediately. They don't look too much older than us.
So the Insurrection, and the UNSC are training children. Are they fighting each other?
Sergeant tells us to fall in beside them. We stand at the end of the squads, and I feel small compared to them. The older kids are all watching us like raptors to a Parasaur.
"Position of attention!" Sergeant yells across the room. I remember this from when Kesha smacked me when that higher ranking guy came.
"As you can tell we have new arrivals. I suggest you treat them that same way you treat each other" he began, "as family."
"Now. It's time to teach our new cadets how things roll" Mèndez told us to run twenty laps around the barracks. I can see the baton in his hand now. I step sideways a little, and brace myself to run. I'm waiting for Sergeant to fall us out because that's when we begin.
Don't be last.
I listen as Sergeant tells us to stay outside the yellow lines then he turns to face us.
"Well? What are you waiting for?!" He demands before we break away, and I catch up to the older cadets.
You can't be last.
I occasionally glance behind to find my people. There are many of the older ones, so my people are mixed in the middle.
I just have to beat the leader.
I pass other cadets, and I can see a boy in front.
"Who is first?" I ask a girl next to me.
"His name is John"
John. It sounds familiar.
He's tall with brown hair. Behind him is a brown haired girl. Kelly is what she's called. She's the fastest here apparently. I just have to catch up.
After the twenty laps Sergeant directs us outside. I can see a long gravel road. I remember this. I don't want to relive that memory. I run alongside the Kelly girl, and she seems surprised to see me. I guess that she's not used to someone keeping up with her.
The gravel road is about a mile I believe, and at the end is an A.I named Déjà who teaches just about everything. I don't see why though. Kelly says that the first thing they learned was about the ancient Spartans who defeated the Persians in battle. Kelly says it was three-hundred verses a thousand. Déjà is an A.I which is a very small computer person. She's also blue. Déjà has a small building to herself.
"Welcome newcomers there should be extra seats to fill" she says. I hate math.
After Déjà teaches us for a couple hours then Sergeant makes us run all the way back to the barracks. We do PT after than. It has 100 reps of push-ups, sit-ups, squats, lunges, or knees bends then even more laps.
The other trainers kept the pressure up by using the baton. It you weren't fast enough, or doing them correctly they hit you. There was about five minutes in between where they let us take a bathroom break, and drink water. After that it was back to PT, but this time is pull ups. There are bars that you reach up, and grab then you pull yourself up until your arms are ninety degrees. You drop down then pull back up.
Basically a push up, but you're pulling you're entire weight up. I tell myself it was easy, but getting up there to prove it is difficult.
We do other exercises next like back pedal which is basically running backwards. The last thing we did before eating is called fifteen thirties. Sprint for fifteen seconds, and jog for thirty. Sergeant fell us in again, and we marched back to the main base. I'm so tired I can hardly walk back to base.
I didn't realize how hungry I was until I smelled the food. I actually joined John today, and his team is called Blue team. It consists of John, Kelly, Sam, Linda, and Fred. Sam is the nice one in my opinion. He tells me about a mission where they had to find the evac point on map pieces. Sam carved the emblem into a tree, so that they could remember it.
Sergeant came to get us after a while to take us to a big room with many beds. They gave us numbers that belonged to us. Mine is 116 while John's is 117. I didn't realize it at the time, but Sergeant was trying to break us down with all that PT. He was trying to make sure that we wouldn't rebel from being with the enemy.