Cassidy opened the door and handed the baby to Cassandra. Then she covered Adelaide's ears and shouted, "WE'RE BACK!!!"
--------------------------------------
"You didn't have to shout," Cassandra said.
Cassidy looked at her and smiled, "Of course I did, it's my duty to announce your arrival."
Cassandra rolled her eyes and Cassidy still smiled.
"We? We who?" said a woman's voice from inside the house. The voice sounded strangely like Cassandra's in its softness and timbre.
Cassandra took off her shoes, holding Adélaïde tightly in her arms. Then she put on her slippers.
Sylvia followed suit, then put on the slippers Cassidy had handed her.
Meanwhile, Cassidy answered her mother, who had just arrived in the foyer. " It's your eldest daughter and granddaughter who just arrived, and Sylvia, Clara." She made a face like she was telling her mother, "Obviously".
Clara walked up to her youngest daughter and smacked her on the shoulder.
"Ouch," Cassidy exclaimed, pouting.
Clara rolled her eyes, "Stop exaggerating. I swear you're just like your father," she said, muttering the last part.
But that didn't stop Cassidy from hearing her, "Hey! No, I'm not," she said with a scowl on her face.
Clara decided to ignore her and turned her attention to her eldest daughter, Cassandra smiled and approached her mother Adélaïde in her arms.
She hugged her, paying attention to Adelaide.
"Hi, Mom."
"Hi, my love."
Clara finally turned her attention to Adélaïde, "And you, you must be Adélaïde." Clara said as she poked Adélaïde in the cheek.
"Your mother has told me a lot about you, little miracle." Clara then looked at Cassandra.
"May I?"
Cassandra understood that her mother wanted to take the little one in her arms and she nodded.
Clara moved closer and gently held out her hand to the little girl, who looked very shy in her eyes.
Adélaïde saw her coming, turned her head to hide, and she began to whimper.
Clara stopped what she was doing and Cassandra began to soothe the child.
"It's okay, baby. Nana just wants to hold you for a little bit. Shhh... It's okay..."
Cassandra continued to soothe her, gently patting her on the back.
"Baby, can Nana hold you?" Cassandra asked Adelaide tenderly, giving her the choice to decide.
Adelaide remained silent in her hiding place. Clara understood that she didn't want to and didn't insist.
But Cassandra was beginning to understand Adélaïde's behavior, so she wasn't surprised when she saw Adélaïde raise her head and look at her.
Cassandra smiled in encouragement. Adélaïde then turned her head and looked shyly at Clara.
"Hi, baby!" Clara whispered softly, not wanting to seem abrupt with the little girl again.
Cassandra kissed Adélaïde's temple to encourage her to speak.
"Hi," Adélaïde said almost inaudibly.
Clara smiled broadly as her granddaughter gradually opened up to her. She thought her grandchild had such a cute little voice and she was such a pretty child. She already loved her so much.
"Ow... you are so sweet!" said Clara as she began to plant kisses on Adélaïde's cheeks when she was finally able to be close to her without Adélaïde feeling afraid or uncomfortable. The little girl laughed at her grandmother's enthusiasm.
Cassandra had panicked at first, thinking the little girl wouldn't accept Clara's gesture, but she silently breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the little girl's laughter.
Cassidy, for her part, had been discreetly filming the interaction between her mother and her first grandchild.
After hearing Charlie's call, they finally decided to enter the house and not stay in the hall.
Charlie was also surprised by his granddaughter's arrival, but joy soon took over, and he couldn't stop laughing and smiling throughout the event.
In the end, Cassandra's family all accepted Adélaïde's arrival in the family, and everyone was overwhelmed by the sweetness of the little girl. They already loved her so much.
The day with the family went well, and it was finally time for Adélaïde to go to bed.
After their nightly routine, Cassandra and Adélaïde went to bed, Adélaïde in her mother's arms, a tablet in front of them, so they called Harmonie.
But no one answered; Cassandra tried three times and got no answer.
Cassandra's eyebrows were furrowed and tears were forming in Adélaïde's eyes when suddenly Cassandra's tablet began to ring.
It was a video call from Harmonie.
She quickly joined the call. Mother and daughter saw Harmonie drying her hair with a towel.
When Cassandra realized that Harmonie wasn't ignoring her, but had just gotten out of the bathroom, she felt relieved.
"Hey!" Harmonie said softly as she stopped her movement and concentrated fully on the screen.
"How was your day?" she asked after getting an answer from her two favorite girls.
"Good..." Cassandra commented and then began to explain in detail how the day had gone, after which she let Harmonie and Adélaïde talk to each other.
Cassandra then asked Harmonie how her day had gone. Harmonie explained that nothing out of the ordinary had happened to her, except for the breaks on the way, they had stayed on the bus, and it hadn't been long since they had finally arrived at the hotel. All they had to do was organize their teams and leave the next morning.
Deep down, Cassandra was happy to see that Harmonie was beginning to open up to her and show her a different side of herself.
She hadn't forgotten Chloé's words, and she intended to take them into account. When the time came, i.e. when Harmonie returned, she would tell her about her past and insist that Harmonie talk about hers.
…
The day after
Chloé and Harmonie's side
The instructors had to wake them up very early before sunrise. Some of them complained a lot, but not out loud or in front of the instructors.
Harmonie and Chloé looked a little woozy, but they got ready very quickly. Everyone had to be ready before sunrise.
When they arrived the night before, they were each given a tactical bag with everything they needed.
They also received their uniforms. This was because the instructors had decided that the field trip would be done as a team. Each team had their own uniform. Black trellis pants and a black trellis t-shirt. Plus a black trellis jacket, but on the sleeve there were either one or three colored 1-inch wide stripes, depending on the team and the number given to the person on the team. If the number was more than 3, there were also little stars.
For example, Chloé had a white stripe on the sleeve of her jacket. The number four on her team had 3 white stripes and a white star.
Harmonie's team stripe was purple.
When their bags were ready, they put on their uniforms and their combat boots. Everyone left their rooms and went to the hotel cafeteria for breakfast.
At the end of breakfast, the instructors gave each of them MRE food, and then everyone left.
Each team was given maps to take different routes at different times during the trip.
Each member met with their group to decide on a strategy. Since the instructors weren't going to guide them, and the only instruction was to get to the top safely, everyone suspected there was more to it, but decided not to focus too much on it.
"Well, let's see," Harmonie began, looking at the map she held in her hand with her team members at her side.
"We're going to start by deciding on the pace of our ascent. Either 1, we go up as fast as possible, with very few poses. Or 2, we take our time. Knowing that the first team to reach the top without too many injuries will surely be rewarded. So raise your hand for those who choose 1..." Harmonie counted those who chose one, then asked for two, raising her hand and counting.
"Well, the majority wins 3 to 4, with one abstention, and it's option 1 that the group has chosen. Now let me just decide how to proceed with our ascent, and I'll get back to you."
She walked a short distance to meet the other members of the other groups, who also had to take charge of their group's route.
She sat down on the table, felt-tip pen in hand, and began to annotate the map, indicating at each stop how long it would take, dangerous points, etc.
She felt someone sit down next to her, looked up, saw that it was Chloé, and continued writing.
Chloe saw that she had finished annotating her map, but was writing something in her small notebook.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm writing down things that will probably happen during the climb. I'm not sure, but you never know, it's best to be careful."
"Like what?"
"The instructors have had a sadistic look on their faces since this morning, so it's not going to be a quiet trip."
Chloe raised her head to look at the instructors who had gathered and they were talking among themselves, but she saw nothing on their faces, she knew how Harmonie was and believed her. And more importantly, she knew it was possible from the many stories she had heard from her predecessors.
She nodded and said, "We better be careful.
...
"Okay, I'm done. Red, you need to memorize it now." Red had a strong memory, so it wasn't difficult for him to memorize and reproduce it, just in case they lost the map.
The sun came up and the buses arrived. Roll call was taken in each group, and then the four-hour trip began.
6 hours later
They had been climbing for two hours. The members of Harmonie's team had been caught in two traps, but no one was really hurt, just scratched.
"Right, let's stop," Red said to his team, putting his bag on the ground, unfolding his chair and sitting down.
"Let's talk strategy. This is the second time we've walked into a trap." He picked up the map and marked the locations of the traps they'd encountered.
In total, they'd encountered five traps, and two traps had scratched two of them.
"The reason 5 and 8 fell into the traps is because they deviated from the path we were taking. Fortunately, it wasn't one of the other three traps that were more dangerous," Red said sternly.
Harmonie remained silent, looking at the map that Red handed her back with the five new markings.
The locations of the traps were almost exactly where she had marked them on the map. On the map, there was an uncertainty of about 2.5 centimeters (~0.9843 inches) in radius, so 5 centimeters (~1.969 inches) in diameter, considering the scale of the map in comparison to real-life, which must be 100 meters (~3937 inches) in diameter. But she might be wrong on some points, so they shouldn't let their guard down.
All of a sudden, Harmonie noticed something. 'This is the perfect place for an ambush... Hm…'
She circled the spot on the map, Red saw her do it and then his gaze fell on her. Harmonie lifted her head, feeling his gaze.
"Ambush?" he asked and Harmonie nodded. They discussed their new strategy and plan of
action and left.
Chloé Pov
Damn, just my luck to be ambushed. I have to reload my gun first.
I was hiding behind a tree trunk and someone shot at us. Nothing too serious.
We were using simunition, but that doesn't mean they didn't hurt, and also if you got hit, you were considered either dead or wounded.
And it was the watch on our wrist, somehow connected to our uniforms, and probably the cameras around the perimeter of the trail, that told us the status of our bodies.
One of my teammates got shot in the leg, and we had to do a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.
Even though it was a simulation, you have to stay focused.
I picked up my walkie-talkie, "Captain to Lion, are you there? Over."
"Lion to Captain, go ahead. Over."
Chloe looked in front of her and saw Lion behind the tree trunk.
There was a meeting of their eyes, "I've found a loophole. On my signal, you're going to shoot in front of me to cover me. Panther and you. Over."
"All right, Cap, over."
We nodded as we looked at each other, and then I gave my signal, and Lion and Panther, a.k.a. Lucrecia, followed. I quickly took advantage of the situation and did my best to sprint into the enemy camp without being spotted.
I took cover behind a bush, which gave me enough cover to get a visual on the enemy. I attached a silencer to my weapon to avoid being spotted and began my counterattack in
sniper position.
Headshot
I hit their helmet, but they were down.
Heart
Eye
Headshot
Leg, stomach, shoulder
Of course, the enemy had enough protection to not be hurt, but he was eliminated. The other members of my team took care of the rest.
After all the enemies were eliminated, I decided to regroup my team.
"Right, say your numbers and names in order and your status quickly," I said, then began,
"1, Cobra. Good."
"2, Lion. Good."
"3, Panther. Good."
"4, Zebra. Wounded."
"5, Monkey. Little scratch."
"6. Cheetah. Fine."
"So, except for Zebra, everyone else is operational?"
They nodded and I nodded back.
"Very well, Lion and Cheetah. You'll be helping Zebra... I think we'll have to put him on a stretcher and take turns carrying him."
"Monkey, you're going on a scouting mission. You're the most instinctive. And Panther and I, we'll watch your back. Understand?"
"Yes, Captain."
"Very well, then. Let's build the stretcher now."
...
We had finally built the stretcher out of whatever we could get our hands on, as we had been taught in survival classes. And off we went.
We had to make some progress before we could set up camp. We needed to reach the summit before nightfall. Normally that would be possible at our pace, but you never know what might happen later.
Hopefully, no other team members will be "injured".
Red Pov
Damn... good thing we knew we were being ambushed.
It was bad enough we had two wounded on the team. I grabbed my walkie-talkie. "Ryan, you take the left, and I'll take the right."
"It's Ares, Zeus," Gratia said, well, Artemis.
"What a great idea to name yourself after Greek gods," I whispered, suddenly hearing a voice that startled me.
"It's your fault, we wanted color nicknames, but your name is already Red and you didn't like flower nicknames," Harmonie said with a slight grin in a mocking tone on her face.
Red rolled his eyes and said, "Anyway, you take the left, and I'll take the right."
Harmonie gave him the okay sign. And readied her weapon.
"Go!" said Red.
Harmonie began shooting at anything that moved, Gratia at her side.
Without looking away, she said, "Artemis, cover me."
And she and Gratia began to cut through the enemy lines, taking cover behind a large stone.
Rais Pov
Gratia looked at her and asked, "Do you have a smoke bomb?"
Harmonie nodded and handed her the three she had left.
"When I throw it, when it goes off, that will be my signal for you to go, I'll keep on covering for you."
Harmonie nodded, they heard more explosions and looked at each other, "Looks like we're not the only ones who had that idea."
And Gratia nodded.
For his part, Red, assisted by another member of his team, covered two other teammates.
Red (Zeus) Pov
"Athena, cover me, I'll help the others."
He picked up his walkie-talkie and said, "Poseidon, Hades, take cover."
"Apollo, are you okay on that tree? Do you have a good view?"
"Yeah, I'm good, Zeus."
"And you, Hermes?"
"I'm done, Zeus."
"All right, start the attack on our signal," Ryan, aka Ares, said into the walkie-talkie.
Soon we got the signal.
...
20 minutes later it was over.
"So who's injured or out of action?"
"1, Ares. Good." I heard in the walkie-talkie.
"2, Zeus. Good." I said.
"3, Artemis. Tired but good."
"4, Hermes. Good."
"5, Appolon. Injured shoulder, but still functional."
"6, Athena. Good."
"7, Hades. Good."
"8, Poseidon. Some damage, but still operational."
"Okay, then no one needs help. Let us just get the hell out of here," Ryan says into the walkie-talkie.
...
Rais Pov
Several hours later
The night had already drawn in.
The base had finally been reached by the last team.
"We are complete now," said one of the instructors, "You may enter the base now. Other instructors will greet you by team. And give you your scores. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
Chloe went with her team to the instructor with the 'Savannah' sign. She sent her team's status from the tablet connected to all of her team's watches to the instructor for the point count and took out the card she'd been given at the beginning like the rest of her team. And went to the door with her badge, after going through the identification stages and leaving her bags and weapons with the instructors.
They were shown to their rooms with their roommates and all went to their rooms to prepare for dinner.
...
Chloe was in the shower and Harmonie was on her bed playing with her phone. They had been brought together, not by chance of course.
Their things were already in their room when they arrived. Harmonie wore a royal blue t-shirt, dark gray combat pants, and black combat boots.
Chloé came out of the bathroom wearing a dark purple t-shirt. And the same pants as Harmonie.
Harmonie saw that she had finished drying her hair and got up from the bed.
"Let's go," she said and opened the door, Chloe behind her.
They met people who either wore the same color shirt as them or blood-red shirts. In addition to the markings on their combat uniforms, the everyday t-shirts they wore had a rank on them.
The most important thing to remember was that the instructors were the ones who wore black or white t-shirts.