by C. G. Cooper
Chapter 12
Training
Even though we stayed up most of the night talking, we got out of bed early and went down to eat together. For the first time since we’d met, I felt like we were coming together as a team. We kept asking each other questions that none of us could answer. Would they keep the five of us together? Would they somehow rank us compared to other teams? Had any kids left yet? Had anybody gotten hurt?
Xander mostly listened, every once in a while adding something to what someone else had said. The anger I’d felt for him hours ago was gone. While he didn’t look depressed, I could tell that there was a lot going on in his head. I shivered every time I thought about his parents. I wondered what had happened to him and whether Xander would ever tell us. I wasn’t going to be the one to open up that box of scorpions.
Once we’d had enough food, we headed down to Sublevel 6, nodded to the mentor manning the door and took the long tunnel toward the mountain at a slow jog. Roy had suggested that if we were getting ready for some kind of battle, it would be important to not only improve our talents, but prepare our bodies as well.
“Dad always said that the best trainers weren’t just the bravest, they were in top shape. I think that’s what we need to do.”
That first jog wasn’t easy. I didn’t know if it was the food, the gradual rise in altitude or just the fact that I was out of shape, but by the time we got to the training area, I was huffing and puffing. The twins had stuck it out without complaint even though they looked as bad as me. Xander was a little better and Roy didn’t even look tired. Horse training and rodeos must really get you in good shape.
That morning we each took turns explaining to the others how we used our favorite talents. I went first because everyone wanted to know how to fly. The twins were quick to it, zooming around our training cavern in no time. Xander came next. Roy came in last. He had a hard time imagining his big body floating in the air.
“If you can’t picture it in your head it won’t happen,” I said. Something about using a picture must have helped because after that Roy was wobbling into the air and landing most times with only a light thud.
Xander’s class was next and he did a pretty good job showing us how to move big objects around the room. He took the job seriously, never acting like a know-it-all. There were things that I disagreed with, and right away I knew I could do it better than him, but I didn’t say anything, letting him do it his way. Kennedy watched it all, not saying much as we went about our training. Occasionally he would nod or grunt his approval, but he never stepped in.
Maybe he saw how we were acting together, that we were in the first stages of becoming a unit, or maybe it was that adult thing where they let you fail and then step in to teach you a lesson.
I had the most trouble with the twins’ and Roy’s lessons. The twins just had this ability to picture things that other people couldn’t see, kind of like a sixth sense. For example, while I could only see a lump in someone’s pocket, the twins knew whether it was a handful of coins or a wallet. In the end I decided that I’d leave the hard core thieving to them.
With Roy’s talent it wasn’t that I couldn’t carve things, but my mind just didn’t work like an artist. My sculptures turned out like bad cartoons while Roy’s looked like something you’d see in a museum. The others weren’t much better. Roy would definitely be the artist of the crew.
By the time everyone had had their chance to teach the others, my stomach was rumbling. I realized that we’d worked straight through lunch.
“Good job for today,” Kennedy said, brushing off some dust from his pant leg. “I’ll give you the rest of the day to do whatever you’d like. Starting tomorrow, and for the coming days, we’ll begin early and finish late. I will introduce you to a new mentor each day who will help you find practical outlets for your chosen skills. It may be challenging, but I feel that this group is up to the task. You’ll have all your meals here, so you won’t have to worry about going back and forth. Any questions before we adjourn?”
No one had any. The adrenaline from the day’s lessons was wearing off, and I could tell everyone else felt as tired as I did by their sagging bodies and droopy eyes.
“Very well, why don’t you head back for dinner and I’ll see you in the morning.”
We headed back to the exit tunnel and for some reason we all broke into a jog as soon as we got there. It was like our bodies knew they had to get ready even though they were exhausted.
No one said a word as we dragged our way through the dinner line and slouched down in our chairs, slowly shoveling food into our mouths.
I didn’t brush my teeth that night and I barely got into my pajamas. By the time my head touched my pillow, my mind was already floating away on dreams of flying.
+++
Over the next few days, we got into a routine. Early wakeup followed by a quick breakfast and then a jog to training. Every day the runs got easier and I could tell that Roy was starting to pick up the pace.
The first day, we were introduced to a burly mentor by the name of Gerard. Gerard was a Destructor who was one of the best architects of the gifted. First, he demonstrated his simple way of designing things with a pencil and a pad of paper. Next he demonstrated how to carve out stone from walls and build a proper foundation. Then it was on to walls and layers. “You must always have an eye on the proper fit and secure reinforcement,” he instructed, then complimented Roy on the work he was doing.
Once again, my hut looked like a rickety snow fort while Roy’s was a neatly carved hut that looked like it could’ve been sitting on the edge of a glistening lake. The twins worked together and their little fort was better than mine but not even close to Roy’s. Xander’s looked like a miniature castle and when I told him so, he grinned for a moment then went back to building.
I ended up helping Xander because Gerard took one look at mine and said it would probably kill someone. I didn’t mind. Xander showed me his plan and we pieced together a pretty cool castle-fort that even had holes where we imagined sticking cannons and firing arrows through.
And so it went for the next few days. The five of us became inseparable as we discussed that day’s lessons and joked about how Roy had almost crushed himself with a slab of rock or how the twins had nabbed a pocket watch out of a mentor’s breast pocket.
It felt good to be with my friends, and even Xander came around eventually. He never really said much, but he also wasn’t the same punk we’d first met.
Our physical stamina was improving and so was our morale. It got to the point where we really thought we could take on anything. When we had enough energy to go to the game room at night, we always went together and rarely talked to the other kids. Even though we didn’t interact with the others, I got the impression that there were fewer people in the dining hall and in the game room. I wondered if they’d left or if they were just too tired to leave their rooms after training.
Side Note: During those days, we’d also found out that there was a separate hall of rooms on Sublevel 3. We were one of the only teams living on ground level. It made the trips back and forth farther, but none of us complained because it meant being able to see the sky every day, if even only for a few minutes.
One night, after a long day of playing a game of flying tag with a mentor named Matilda, who had wild blond frizzy hair and talked with a nasally British accent, we made it back to the main level and decided to get a breath of fresh outside air. We were allowed to go outside, but we couldn’t leave the villa’s ground. As we lay in the grass and gazed up at the stars, there was a commotion further up the hill.
“Let’s go see what it is,” Lily suggested, not waiting for us before she was crouched and sneaking up the steep incline. The rest of us followed and pretty soon we could make out more of what was going on. There were people talking and occasionally we would hear someone groaning. Finally we made it to where we could see the commotion.
There was a group of four adults huddled ov
er someone sitting on the ground. I realized that the adult standing with a camping lantern was my dad. I strained to listen.
“Where did they find you?” one of the others asked.
The man on the ground groaned. “Right outside London. They knew we were coming. Ambushed us good.”
I could see that half of the man’s face was covered in blood and he had a white shirt tied around his arm. There was blood on that too.
“And the others?” my dad asked.
The wounded man shook his head. “Gone.”
“Taken or…”
“Not taken, gone.”
I knew what that meant. Whoever had been with the bloody guy was dead.
“Let’s get him to the Healers,” said Dad. “I’ll come see you when they’ve got you fixed up.”
The man nodded and one of the others must have used their powers because the wounded guy suddenly floated into the air and followed the procession back to the mansion. We waited until they were gone to say anything.
“What do you think happened?” Roy asked.
“You heard him, they got ambushed,” Jasmine said.
“But what does it mean?”
It was Xander who answered. “It means that things are getting worse.”
Chapter 13
The Announcement
That night as I tossed and turned on the top bunk, all I dreamt about was blood and Mom. The blood was redder than red, a dark crimson that seemed to suck the life out of the whole world. It filled my eyes and my nose. I woke up gagging twice.
The dreams about my mom weren’t any better. Every time, she was tied up to a chair in a dark room that smelled like a dirty wet rag. She kept screaming as someone in the shadows kept doing something to her that I couldn’t see. The screams were enough. I didn’t want to see the rest.
After waking up for probably the tenth time, I glanced at the clock on the other side of the room and saw it was almost sunrise. Moving quietly so I wouldn’t wake the others, I grabbed one of the books from my book bag, and read it with a flashlight under the covers. But even the tales of Wulfgar the Barbarian, Drizzt the Dark Elf and Regis the Halfling couldn’t get the dreams out of my head.
Finally someone else started moving and I shot out of bed, ready to be busy and put the disturbing night behind me.
When we got to training, Kennedy told us that we’d have the day to train on our own. When Lily asked why, Kennedy said he had a meeting to attend. “All the mentors are gathering to discuss each group’s progress and how we should proceed.”
For some reason that made me nervous. What would he say about us? Where would we stack up compared to the other groups? Would we have to take some kind of test? I felt proud of the progress we’d made and wondered if the others felt the same way. I wanted us to be the best. Maybe we would.
But I kept my questions to myself and focused on getting as much out of the day’s training as I could. I had the twins show me how to pickpocket, and was more than pleased when I started to get the hang of it. I even got an old fashioned key lock to wiggle open after a few tries.
I was still pretty bad at making anything that looked halfway decent with Roy, but at least the session with the architect, and the practice with Xander, had shown me how to make a sturdy structure.
We helped one another throughout the morning and ate our lunches while discussing what we thought we could each work on.
“I’m not sure what kind of an artist I’ll ever be, but I could definitely use more help with building,” I said, starting the round of self-evaluation.
Funny enough, everyone else wanted me to teach them how to fly better. So after spending an hour with Roy building everything from a small stone igloo to a block outpost a Viking might have used, we used the rest of the day to fly. We played tag and we had races. Roy suggested we practice taking large objects with us, so for a while we flew with mini boulders and tossed them like we were on bombing runs. I had the best aim, but I could see the rest were getting better. Even Roy hit the target a few times.
By the time the dinner announcement came over the loudspeakers, we were ready for a break. We jogged back to the mansion repeating a cadence that Roy plucked out of nowhere, “I don’t know but I’ve been told, that gifted kids are mighty bold!”
Just as I finished my first helping of food, a stream of adults entered the dining hall, my parents bringing up the end of the line. My dad nodded at me but Mom didn’t even look. I lost my appetite immediately.
Some of the mentors were pulling a small stage out of a side closet and setting it close to the middle of all the tables. When it was set up, my dad took the stage and asked us to come closer.
Most kids left their food where it was, although some, like Roy, kept eating despite the surprise visit. Once the scraping of chairs died down, my dad said, “I know you’re all wondering why we’re here, but I promise I’ll keep this as short as I can. If you have questions after I’m done, please direct them to your assigned mentor.” Dad looked around to make sure everyone understood and then continued. “I’m sure more than a few of you are curious about where we go from here. Those of you who are left in this room have shown us that you have the skill to be a Destructor. Some of your peers asked to go home, and still others lacked the aptitude for what we’re currently looking for. I’m proud of you all. I know we’ve given you very little information, and we did that for a reason. You probably think it’s because we’re adults and we like keeping you in the dark, but that’s not true. The truth is, some time, possibly in the very near future, you may encounter a situation where you know very little about what is going on, and you’ll have to make a decision about how to act. Each of you has proven to your mentors that you can do that, so congratulations.
“Now, back to the present. While the majority of you think you’re here for training that will prepare you for life in the real world, that isn’t exactly the case.”
There were whispers in the crowd as kids tried to process what my dad was saying. They were confused and probably a little mad. I understood how they felt. Dad put up his hands to quiet them.
“I know how you feel. If I were in your shoes, I’d feel the same way. But I’m going to tell you why we did what we did. You see, there are bad people out in the world, gifted people who’ve chosen to use their powers for the wrong things. They’ve made some trouble in the past, and the adults you see here have dedicated their lives to stamping out that trouble, but it’s been centuries since the other side banded as one. You see, just like the wars you’ve seen on TV since you were small, a war is coming to our world.”
This time the whispers were louder, the confusion and worry building. Again Dad put up his hands for silence.
“War. It’s a scary word. Most kids your age never have to think about that word until they’re older, but we’re different, aren’t we? We can do so much good with our gifts, and yet, there’s a growing army that wants to see our good deeds stomped into dust. They want control. They want all the power. I won’t try to explain why they’re doing it because I really can’t relate to their motivations, but I will tell you that there have always been and will always be bad people in the world. They take what isn’t theirs and try to control those they see as weak.”
Dad took a few moments to look at each one of us, a small smile on his face.
“So now you have a decision to make. Other adults would say you’re too young to make the call, that ten-year-olds aren’t mature enough. But I say they’re wrong. You’ve each proven you’re more than capable to stand strong, make the tough choice and work as part of a team. You may have noticed a change in the number of kids staying here. I already told you about those who wanted to leave, but now I’ll tell you about the rest. We’ve relocated all new Growers and Healers to other locations. They’ll be kept safe and away from harm. They’ve made the same decision you’re about to make.
“You’ve got two options: one, stay and continue to train. You’ll probably be sent somewhere els
e for more advanced lessons, but the majority of you will remain here. Don’t worry, we are safe here. The second option is to pack your bags and go home. As long as things go well for our side, you should be okay if you keep your gift to yourself. You can live out the rest of your life like a normal kid, doing normal things, growing up to be a normal adult. Before anyone thinks that’s not the brave thing to do, I’ll tell you you’re wrong. Living a normal life is an honorable thing and something many of us have tried to do in the past. But it’s your choice. Take the night to think about it, and in the morning you can either continue here or we’ll fly you home. Either way, we’ll all part as friends and hope to see you again in the future.”
Dad looked around one more time, this time his smile a little strained. He stepped down from the stage, grabbed my mom’s hand and left the dining hall.
Kids were talking. Some were running up to their mentors with questions. Some were even crying. I guess the announcement would come as shock if you didn’t know about it.
My group went back to our table and finished eating. We didn’t say much, but you could tell we were different than the others. Sure, we’d already known most of what my dad had said beforehand, but in a way it was a relief. The truth was out in the open and I could only imagine I felt the same way that a soldier might when he’s been training for years and finally gets the call to go to war.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little scared, but I had Roy next to me who seemed more solid than before. I had the twins, Lily and Jasmine, who I could see were already coming up with a plan for something. And then there was Xander, the kid who could’ve been my enemy but had slowly turned into my friend. For the first time since telling us about his parents, he seemed like he was back again. Not the annoying show-off with the big mouth, but I could tell by the way he no longer avoided my eyes that his confidence was back. I had a small feeling that he was more relieved than anything. He might finally have the chance to avenge his parents’ deaths. I understood that need.
