by Brandon Hale
“You’re trying to determine your role.”
It took a moment for Lily to realize that Abbie was talking to her. She looked at the group and saw them all staring at her. “Yes, ma’am, I am,” she said honestly.
Abbie smiled. “Happens every single time.” She pointed at Ellie. “What’s your role?”
“I think that’s obvious,” Ellie said.
“Humor us,” Abbie said.
“I’m a scout,” Ellie answered.
Abbie turned to Grung.
“Combat,” he said. “I’ve been trained in most types of hand-to-hand, as well as most weapons, ranged and melee. I might not have the kills that Lily has under her belt, but I promise you this, I know the fastest and cleanest ways to take down a vamp and a wolf.”
Shit, Lily thought. They think I’m a specialist on the Legion! She felt the beginnings of panic. She knew every person there was just as knowledgeable on the Legion as she was.
“Intelligence,” Scott said. “I’ve worked in the research division of the Day Soldiers for three years. Just got transferred to Covert Ops.”
Lily stared at him for a moment, then looked at Abbie.
“Every time,” Abbie said with a smile. “Why are leaders the last ones to admit they can lead?”
“I’m no leader,” Lily said.
“Really?” Abbie asked. “You planned your attack on the vampires in the woods. And when you saw it was a werewolf, what did you do? You signaled to your sniper to adjust his tactic. And when the vampires took over your town, who led the fight? And when you could have waited until morning, who chose to continue the fight?”
“Okay,” Lily said, “It’s just creepy to hear you talk about my life like that.”
“I do my homework as well,” Abbie said.
“Well,” Lily said, “I can tell you, the events of that night were nothing like how you make it sound.”
“I believe that,” Abbie said. “But what I just gave you were facts, not opinions. You did those things, Lily. How you felt is really unrelated.”
“I’m eighteen years old,” Lily said.
“So what?” Scott said. “I trust Commander Wallace. And from what I’ve heard about Sister Abbie, I trust her. If they tell me you’re the best person to lead our team into enemy territory, I’m prepared to accept that.”
“Same here,” Grung added.
“I already owe Commander Wallace my life,” Ellie said. “So I’m not going to start doubting his judgment now.”
Lily stared at them, dumbfounded. Back home in Iveyton, she’d imagined herself leading Day Soldiers into battle. She imagined it often. But she certainly didn’t expect it on her first day. “Shouldn’t this be something people earn?”
Abbie shook her head. “We learned a very long time ago that leadership in battle is not something that can be taught. Especially when it comes to the Legion. I’ve seen entire squads lost because a squad leader fell victim to a vampire’s gaze. We already know that won’t happen with you.”
When Lily didn’t reply, Abbie looked at Scott and said, “Mr. Vellin, when you had your placement interview with Wallace, how did you deal with the vampire in the waiting room?”
Scott laughed. “As soon as I saw him, I pulled cotton from the couch cushion and stuffed it in my ears. I knew I couldn’t take chances.”
Abbie turned to Ellie. “And you?”
Ellie looked at the road. “I let him out. Wallace had to come into the room and drive him back into the cage.”
“I let him out too,” Grung said. “But I instantly realized what I’d done and I killed him, if that makes a difference.”
Abbie laughed softly. “It does.” She turned to Lily. “What about you, Lily?”
“I felt the pull, but I just ignored it,” Lily said.
“Wow,” Scott said. “I work in intelligence, Lily. I don’t think you grasp how rare that is.”
“And,” Abbie said, “she’s not telling the complete truth. She didn’t just ignore the vampire. She taunted him. She let him think he was influencing her, but in reality she was just evaluating his power. In short, she was having fun with the experience. Am I lying, Lily?”
“No,” Lily said. “I’m just processing all of this.”
“Separate ego from reality, kid,” Scott said. “You know if you can do this or not.”
Lily looked at him. “You can follow orders from someone you call ‘kid’?”
“I can take orders from a kid who keeps a cool head in vampire territory,” Scott answered. “And that’s something you’ve proven.”
“Of course,” Abbie said, “the choice is yours. Confidence is perhaps the single most important trait of a squad leader. If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else can be expected to believe in you. If you don’t want this position, I’m quite sure we can find something you’re more comfortable with.”
“No,” Lily said. “If my team is ready to be led by me, I’m ready to lead them.”
“Did you catch that?” Scott said. “She already called us her team. She’s going to be a tyrant in the field.”
Grung laughed. “I got a taste of that during Abbie’s attack.”
“So,” Ellie said as she looked around the alley, “is this where we’re spending most of our training?”
“Dear child,” Abbie said, “this is where you’re going to spend all of your training. This entire block belongs to the sneakers. It’s your home.”
“Where will we be sleeping?” Lily asked.
“Anywhere you want,” Abbie said. “This is Sneaker City. You will eat here, sleep here, and train here. Sneaker City is designed to replicate your living conditions when in a Legion occupied city.” She made a large sweeping gesture toward the city around them. “Everything you need is here.”
“Cool,” Ellie said. “We have a whole block.”
“I’m not sure you understand,” Abbie said. “I said it replicates your living conditions in an enemy city. When you’re in enemy territory, you can’t just sleep in beds. You can’t just go to a restaurant and order a cheeseburger. You are Sneakers, after all.”
“Where do we sleep?” Scott asked.
“Here,” Abbie said. “Or any other alley you want. Or maybe just some shadowy rooftop. Frankly, I don’t care.”
“As long as it’s not somewhere comfortable,” Lily said with a smirk.
“Precisely,” Abbie said with a wink. “I can’t tell you exactly what will happen during your missions into Legion territory. Every trip is unpredictable and different. But I am pretty sure that – no matter what happens – you won’t often be sleeping in a bed. As sneakers, you have to learn how to survive in an urban environment, without being seen. You have to learn how to live in the shadows. So that’s what you’ll be doing here for the next eight weeks.”
“So,” Grung said, “we can’t leave Sneaker City at all for eight weeks?”
“Correct,” Abbie answered. “Unless there is an extreme emergency, this city block is your world.”
“Wow,” Scott said.
“You’re training to go to war against the most powerful evil this world has ever known,” Abbie said. “Surely you didn’t expect this training to be easy.”
Oh, Leo, I’m sorry, Lily thought, suddenly remembering her promise to meet him at the coffee shop every day.
“Every day,” Abbie continued, “we will meet in this alley for your official training. This will begin tomorrow at dawn. We start with power objects.”
“What’s a power object?” Ellie asked.
“Crosses,” Scott explained. “Things like that.”
Ellie nodded. “Oh.”
“One last thing,” Abbie said. “Sneaker City is filled with alarms. Every alarm represents a vampire or a werewolf. They are positioned to replicate places you might be seen if you were in enemy territory. If, during your time here, you set off more than te
n alarms, you will be permanently discharged from the Day Soldiers and sent home.”
“Harsh,” Grung said.
Abbie looked at him. “Honey, if you set off more than ten alarms, you don’t belong in this organization. I actually want the limit to be three, but Wallace disagrees. Consider yourself lucky his opinion holds more weight than mine.”
“I have a question,” Lily said. “Is there any way for me to get a message to someone in another division?”
“If you were trapped in an enemy city,” Abbie said, “would you be able to get a message to this person?”
“Probably not,” Lily said, dejected.
“Then you have your answer,” Abbie said. “Be in this alley at dawn. Until then, get yourselves acquainted with each other and your new home.” She turned around and began to walk toward the door from which she’d come earlier.
“What do we do,” Lily asked, “if we need you for something?”
“You get over it,” Abbie said as she stepped inside the building and closed the door behind her.
“Wow,” Grung said. “This is going to be an interesting eight weeks.”
“No shit,” Lily said.
“I wouldn’t worry about Leo,” Scott said.
Lily looked at him.
“I was there when you made the coffee shop plans, remember?”
“Oh, yeah,” Lily said.
“I’m pretty sure,” Scott said, “that the dotters are locked up in their own block, just like us. He’ll understand.”
“Yeah,” Lily said. “I just worry about him.”
“You don’t give him enough credit,” Scott said. “He’s not some timid little kid. He took down just as many vampires as you.”
“I know,” Lily said defensively. “I still worry about him. And I’m sure he worries about me.”
“Boyfriend?” Grung asked.
“No,” Lily answered quickly.
“Yes,” Scott said.
“No,” Lily said, throwing Scott and agitated look. “We grew up together. He’s my best friend. We’ve been through a lot together.”
“So,” Ellie said, “does anybody else have to pee?”
Grung laughed. “I’ll say it again. This is going to be an interesting eight weeks.”
Nobody disagreed.
Chapter 9
Sneaker City
Ellie sat on the ledge outside the apartment window. The others were on the street below her, watching intently. After several minutes of studying the room carefully, she climbed back down to the street.
“It’s definitely a kitchen,” she reported. “There’s a refrigerator.”
“Did you see any alarms?” Scott asked.
“I doubt they’re in visible locations,” Lily said.
“Actually,” Ellie said, “I saw what I think was an alarm. It looked similar to a security camera. It was in the corner, and kept rotating its view to different places in the room.”
“If its sensors are directional,” Grung offered, “maybe Ellie can sneak around it.”
“Maybe,” Ellie said. “I’m willing to try. We have to have food.”
It took Lily a moment to realize everyone was looking at her.
“Your call, Chief,” Scott said.
“Do it,” Lily said, surprised by her lack of hesitation to make a decision.
***
As soon as Lily gave the order, Ellie went back to the wall and climbed up the fire escape. She climbed back onto the ledge outside the kitchen window and began counting as the alarm swept across the room. It took the camera thirty-two seconds to make a full sweep.
Plenty of time.
She waited until the device was pointing in the opposite direction, then darted to the fridge.
Please have food, please have food.
She grabbed the door handle and pulled it open.
***
“I hope she pulls this off,” Grung said. “I’m actually pretty hungry.”
“Me, too,” Scott said. “I wish we could help somehow. It’s not fair that she’s the only one risking an alarm.”
“Good point,” Lily said. “If she doesn’t succeed, we’ll stay on the ground and continue our search. We all need to share the risk here.”
“Sorry,” Scott said. “That sounded like I was questioning your decision. I wasn’t.”
“Scott,” Lily said, “please question every decision I ever make. Ever. All of us will be risking our lives out there. Every person on this team has a voice, whether they like it or not.”
Grung chuckled. “You sound like Wallace.”
“Agreed,” Scott said. “You sure you’re not a—”
The alarm’s scream blasted across the alley.
“Dammit!” Grung said.
Ellie climbed out the window and began to scurry down the fire escape.
“Is she…” Scott said as she climbed toward the ground, “shirtless?”
Ellie jumped from the bottom ladder, landing softly on the ground. Her shirt was now a make-shift sack that she held in her hand. Her upper body was completely bare except for her bra.
“I need a backpack,” She said.
The alarm continued for a few more seconds, then turned off.
“What happened?” Lily asked.
“I made it to the fridge, but everything in it was spoiled,” She explained. She looked at Scott and said, “Stop staring, perv.”
Scott’s face flushed slightly.
“Damn,” Lily said. “We should have thought of that.”
“Yeah,” Ellie agreed. “We didn’t expect them to be bastards about food.”
“Makes sense,” Grung said. “If this were an occupied city, they wouldn’t have much use for refrigerated food. Whether it’s blood or meat, they prefer their food fresh.”
“Nice,” Ellie said. “Now for the good news.” She opened her shirt-sack and showed them its contents. “Canned foods,” She said with a grin. “Beans, peaches, green beans, and more. In all, I think I snagged ten cans.”
“Hell yeah,” Scott said. “Score one for the scout.”
“I saw the cabinets as I was sneaking out,” Ellie explained as she slipped her shirt back on. “When I saw them, I hesitated, which is why the alarm got me.”
“I’m sorry that happened,” Lily said.
“It was worth it,” Ellie said. “Now we know those devices are indeed the alarms. Once it started screaming, I thought, screw it, and checked the cabinets.” She grinned again. “Besides… I’ve still got nine lives left.”
***
After a couple hours of searching, they found a restroom in the back of a gas station that didn’t have an alarm. The hallway leading to it had an alarm, but it was easy enough to sneak past. They took some bottled water from the gas station, took turns in the restroom, then decided to make their way back to the original alley for dinner.
“Something just occurred to me,” Grung said as they entered the alley. “How are we going to open these cans?”
Ellie immediately pulled a can opener from her pocket and tossed it to him. “Give me a little credit,” she said. “I sacrificed one of my ten lives to get this food. You think I’d have left that kitchen without a can opener?”
Grung laughed. “You’re the best scout ever.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” Ellie said as she pulled four small spoons from another pocket. She handed each member a spoon.
“You really do need a backpack,” Lily said.
“This is what I’m saying,” Ellie said as she sat down on the street and picked up a can of food. “Any bean lovers?”
“I’ll take it,” Scott said.
Ellie tossed him the can and picked up another. “French Cut Green Beans.”
“I like green beans,” Grung said.
Ellie tossed him the can then picked up two more. “Well,
fearless leader, would you prefer home-style baked beans or beans and franks?”
Lily laughed. “Either one is fine.”
“I’m in the mood for baked beans,” Ellie said as she tossed Lily the beans and franks.
They sat in a small circle on the side of the street and began to eat their dinner. “So,” Scott said between bites, “is this the get-to-know-each-other portion of the evening?”
“Sounds good to me,” Lily said. “Scott, you brought it up. You start.”
“Hey,” Scott said, “we’re off duty. You’re not the boss of me.”
“Spill it,” Ellie said. “And I don’t mean the beans.”
Scott laughed. “Not much to tell. My family was pretty well off. I went to private schools and was always top of my class. My family had some connections, so my parents got me into a nice, safe college in southern Florida. They had it all worked out so I would be as far away from the war as possible.”
“Looks like the plan was a huge success,” Grung said.
Scott chuckled. “We lived in Georgia. I agreed to everything, the college, the easy life. For my high school graduation, they bought me a nice car. I was accepted at the college and we had this big going-away party. We said our goodbyes, and I got in my shiny car and began the drive to my shiny college.”
“I love shiny things,” Ellie said.
“Me too,” Scott said. “But those particular shiny things were too expensive. The price was my soul. Instead of going south, I went north. I drove to the nearest Day Soldiers recruiting center and signed up. The placement tests immediately got me in the information division. And the rest, as they say….”
“How’d your parents take it,” Lily said.
“They didn’t talk to me for over a year,” Scott answered. “Eventually they got over it. I mean, really, the only reason they did what they did was to keep me safe. I appreciate that. Once they realized they weren’t keeping me from this war, they were actually proud of me. Scared for me, but proud of me.”
Lily could tell Scott’s entire story was memorized. He’d obviously told that to many people since joining the Day Soldiers. How many times will I have to tell my own story? she asked herself. She immediately knew the answer. Too many.
