The others had no choice but to do what he said. James was the captain of the squad. If they wanted to pass this exam they had to follow orders. James could feel the disapproval from the other squad members, except from Cody who was behind his captain.
“C’mon your captain gave you an order!” he said, sounding a little like a cowboy in that Texan accent of his. His words were true enough though and the rest of the squad, albeit somewhat reluctantly, followed James who led the way into a small village just off the coast of the island.
The group had been prepared for combat the second they disembarked the vessel but strangely enough, they had not seen a single person from the moment they had arrived on the island. The five members of squad A, led by James, proceeded in formation through the small village. They were on guard, but there was no one to be seen, not a soul. All the small houses had the front doors opened and the group checked several of them but found nobody. Furniture and other items were scattered here and there. It looked as though the owners of the houses had been in a rush to leave.
They continued on through the village for several hours, eventually arriving at a market area. The market was in a large location in the centre of the village, which stood between three different pathways leading East, West and North. The Northern path seemed to lead deeper into the village, whilst the Eastern path led back to the beach. The Western path however led into a forest in the distance and a huge stone like tower could be seen in the middle of the woodlands. The group walked into the market area from the Southern path they had been traveling along, still remaining in the formation.
Midway through, Cody suddenly broke formation and starting walking normally. “There’s no one here man.”
“Cody don’t break formation,” James ordered, but it was too late, all the squad had come to a standstill.
Cody walked over to a market stall and picked up an apple from the fruit section. The rest of the squad looked on bemused as Cody proceeded to take bites out of it. He noticed the rest of the group staring at him. “What? It’s not as if anyone’s going to miss it out here.” Cody stopped midway through a bite, spotting something in the distance.
The others turned around and spied a group of people dressed in black clothing making their way up the western path that led out of the village and into the forest. The way they covered ground was military like, definitely not how a group of civilians would move. James gave the squad hand signals to follow the group dressed in black and they gave pursuit. James and the others followed in silence from a distance of around one hundred yards. The group dressed in black attire were around nine in number and wore dark masks, similar to that which a ninja might wear. The students followed the group on the western path, which led into the forest. The forest terrain was uphill and the members of squad A found it harder to remain silent whilst standing on twigs and leaves on the forest’s ground.
James, whose hearing was far more advanced than any of the others, (another ability he and Chad shared) overheard the ninja group talk about captives in the tower. Captives? Is that why we haven’t seen anybody else? Still, there’s no way Chad could have been caught! He knew that Chad shared the same special gifts of enhanced strength, stamina and resistance to pain that he himself possessed. No one else knew this, of course, not even the professor was aware of the full extent of their skills. James knew there was no way Chad could have been detained, as he, like James, could handle himself. If he hasn’t been caught, then where is he?
James quickly snapped out of such thoughts and kept his mind focused on the job at hand. The ninja group continued onward through the forest and toward a large stone tower located in the centre of it. James and the others followed in total stealth…or so they thought. Alberto lost his footing on a loose twig sending out a loud crunching sound. The members of squad A froze, nervously awaiting to see if the group they were pursuing had picked up on their presence. The ninja group carried on as normal and they all breathed a sigh of relief. They continued to follow the group when suddenly one of the ninja’s quickly turned around and launched a metal bladed throwing star in the area where Alberto was standing. The object went right into Alberto’s hand, piercing through the flesh and driving it into the trunk of a tree. The Italian couldn’t move, effectively being pinned to the large oak. Alberto screamed out in pain as blood poured from his hand. The group of nine ninja’s quickly advanced on the squad. Cody reached for his gun, but a throwing star quickly knocked it out of his hand. A battle ensued between the ninja’s and the members of squad A, minus Alberto who was stuck to the tree with the throwing star edged through his hand.
The squad were outnumbered, Nine ninja’s versus four of them. The squad had James though, their ace in the hole. James used his unnatural speed to disarm and overpower three ninja’s who tried to rush him. He weaved in and out of several throwing stars the ninjas hurled in his direction. The remaining squad members, Cody, Sophie and Sato were slightly overmatched by the ninja’s although they tried their best to hold their own. Sophie struck one of the ninja’s down by expertly throwing one of her knives over Forty feet, right into the man’s heart. When another ninja engaged her in hand-to-hand combat, however, she was clearly outmatched. Cody noticed her in trouble, but he had problems of his own. Cody had studied the art of Jujitsu and had exceptional talent in the skill. This was why he was recruited as a trainee. However the ninja he faced off with matched his attacks blow to blow. Then his foe launched an attack and began to give him a good beating. Sato faired no better. One ninja had Sato’s arms behind his back whilst another punched him repeatedly in the stomach. James came to Sato’s aid, taking the ninja’s sword, which was attached to his back in a sheath. He sliced the man’s legs from right underneath him, sending the ninja crumbling to the ground in pain. James quickly overpowered the rest of the ninja’s knocking them all out. The fallen squad members picked themselves up from the ground. All were bleeding slightly however the greatest concern was for Alberto; whose hand was still nailed against the tree by the metal throwing star the ninja had thrown.
“Get it off me,” Shouted Alberto, who was clearly in a lot of pain.
James examined the star in his hand and reached out to it.
“Be careful,” said Alberto as James put his hand onto the weapon embedded in his hand.
James yanked the star out of Alberto’s hand quickly without warning.
Alberto cried out in pain. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Stop crying,” James said coldly. He wasn’t pleased with Alberto, for it was he who had given the squads position away. He did sympathise with him a little, though, as he realised the blade cut right through to the bone.
James wrapped up Alberto’s hand, which was now useless. “Stay behind us from now on, you’ll be no good to us in a fight.”
The Italian nodded. Deep down he realised that he had messed up.
The squad continued on west through the forest. They reached a stone path, which led out onto an opening on a cliff. The large stone tower the group had seen in the forest earlier was now clearly visible in its entirety. The tower stood several hundred feet tall and on closer examination had woodlands growth all over it. James spotted the entrance to the structure at the base of the cliff they stood on. He suddenly picked up on a rustling in the trees above his head, almost as if someone was watching him. The squad leader took out his gun, placed his silencer onto it and quickly fired a bullet up towards the tree’s top.
A person in ninja attire quickly jumped out avoiding the bullet. The ninja landed right next to James and kicked the gun out of his hand before landing a punch to his stomach, which surprisingly sent James hurdling to the ground. James coughed on the floor clutching his stomach; the punch had clearly winded him. James was stunned; normally a punch from a regular person didn’t faze him at all. The rest of the squad, besides Alberto, advanced on and attacked the sole ninja. Sophie threw a knife in the ninja’s direction but he quickly kicked the knife whilst it was in mid air to
divert it away. Cody had to duck out of the way to avoid having his head taken off by the knife. The ninja easily floored the remaining squad members. James picked himself up from the ground and launched a huge punch at speed towards the ninja’s head, utilizing his ability’s somewhat. The ninja causally caught James’ fist with his hand and began to laugh. I’ve heard that laugh before.
The ninja removed his mask with his free hand revealing what James suspected. A young man with dark hair and brown eyes lay behind the mask. It was Chad, now twenty-two years old, a year older than James. Chad was a little taller than his friend and cut a slightly more muscular figure.
“You took your time getting here didn’t you?” Chad said to James whilst glancing around at the other squad members.
“Where have you been? We’ve been looking everywhere for you. For that matter where is everyone else? Where are the full active members, and the rest of your squad and why are dressed like that?” James Demanded.
“Slow down, one question at a time.” Chad did not enjoy a question overload at the best of times.
James was very impatient however and just wanted to know what was going on. “We were meant to meet up with the other members at the beach but they weren’t there.”
“Well you won’t find anyone out here expect those ninja types I’m sure you’ve bumped into already.” Chad deducted this fact by the condition of Alberto’s hand, which he had noticed whilst listening to James ramble on.
“Come on Chad, what’s going on?”
“All the other squads are in there,” said Chad, pointing over to the large stone tower that could be seen from the cliff the group were stood on. “They all got taken inside.”
“Everyone?” James asked.
“Yeah they were all rounded up by these ninja characters all over the island. I’m a little disappointed to be honest. I thought full members were meant to be tough.”
“They are tough,” said Cody sounding very defensive. “These ninja’s fight in a style we’ve never seen before…”
Chad interrupted Cody. “Or maybe this government group are not as good as they think they are…a bit like you!”
“What?” Cody said, sounding even more defensive.
Chad grinned. “I saw how badly you got your arse whipped back there in the forest. You were like a little child.”
Cody became boiling with rage. “You were watching? Why didn’t you help us?”
“Because once in a while you have to stand on your own two feet Cody.” The sarcasm in Chad’s voice was evident. Chad’s ability and skill had made him a little arrogant over the years. He was good and he knew it. He also had no problem letting others know this fact.
James tried to restore a little order. “So you’re the only one who avoided being captured then?”
“Not exactly.” Chad put two fingers in his mouth and whistled out. Three people in ninja costumes jumped down from the trees. They took off their masks revealing Rick, an African American from Miami. Rick had a shaved head and was very tall in size; around 6ft 5ins. He was also very well built, even more so than Chad. The other two were the female twins, Jade and Rachel. Both brunettes who; at first glance seemed quite timid. However, the pair were excellent acrobatic fighters. These students comprised the members of squad D.
“So what do we do now captain?” asked Jade putting her arm on Chad’s shoulder and leaning her chin on it in an affection way. Chad had a close bond with these twins. Ever since he joined the trainee programme for the secret organisation, the twins had latched onto him. They often socialised together in their spare time and even as they grew through their teenage years, they still remained close friends. In fact, the twins loved him dearly. They were a beautiful pair and could easily rap many of the young men on the training camp around their little fingers. Chad was above all that, though. People looked up to Chad on the facility, as did the twins. Jade and Rachel had feelings other than just friendship for him, but they would never admit that to anyone. Chad was a cool customer and knew this all too well, but he kept it to himself. If truth be told he liked the attention.
“Let me speak with my friend here for a second,” Chad said to the girls. He motioned for James to join him at the cliffs edge. The two crouched down and lay flat on the floor to observe the tower over the cliffs edge without fear of being seen by the ninja guards below. “What do you think then?” Chad said with a hint of excitement in his voice.
“What do you have in mind?” James asked, but he already knew the answer. He’ll want to mount a full on assault.
“Let’s storm the place!”
James rolled his eyes. “How did I know you were going to say that?
“Why? What’s the matter with that?”
“Everyone else has been taken in there right? We can’t just storm in there all guns blazing.”
Chad seemed bemused. “Why not? They can’t handle us. You know that as well as I. We could take them all down, get the hostages and get right out of there.”
James shook his head. “Exposing ourselves to everyone.”
“James, I’m sick of holding back all the time.” There was a hint of bitterness in Chad’s voice
“We’ve been through this, besides, now is not the time nor the place.”
The two talked for up to ten minutes. The longer they talked, the more animated they became. The conversation between them began to get heated.
“Are you two all right?” asked Sophie.
“We’re fine!” James shouted over from the edge of the cliff, not even caring to turn to her as he spoke. James continued to address Chad. “I’m not having this argument again with you. Let’s just find a way to get quietly in the tower and see what we find, ok?” James made his way from the cliffs edge without even waiting for Chad to reply.
Chad stood up from the ground and followed, not looking best pleased.
“Alright we’re going to sneak into that tower,” James said to the members of both Squads.
“How are we going to do that?” asked Rachel.
“We can use the ninja suits we have as a disguise,” said Chad as he re-joined the group from the cliff’s edge.
“What about us? There is not enough suits for everybody,” said Sato.
James and Chad looked at all the squad members and then looked at each other as if a plan had come to mind. They tied up the hands of the group members who didn’t have a ninja uniform on, Sophie, Cody, Sato, and Alberto. James took Rick’s ninja gear and put it on. James had come up with the plan of marching down the cliff disguised in the ninja uniforms and pretend to have prisoners. This way they could gain access to the tower and roam freely without raising suspicion. It would also allow them time find out what the strange ninja group were up to in the tower. Chad had overheard some of the ninjas say that they invaded the island to specifically take control of the tower in order to obtain something from it. If squads A and D launched an assault on the tower, besides the fact they would be heavily outnumbered, they wouldn’t have the opportunity to look around and find out exactly what the ninja’s wanted to obtain. Only James and Chad thought this was a good idea though. The others were heavily against it, especially as they were the ones being used as bait.
The twins didn’t mind, but then they were still disguised in ninja uniforms and pretty much went along with whatever Chad said. Also, Sato and Cody thought that the squads were going beyond the call of duty. This was after all an exam, and they were meant to be following the orders of the full members on site, not rescuing them. James and Chad were squad leaders though and part of the exam was to obey the squad leader’s commands so they really had no other choice.
“This is the dumbest idea ever,” said Sato as James tied his hands together.
“You hear that, he called you dumb,” Chad said, referring to James, who was the one that had first come up with the plan of a sneak attack, whilst using the others as bait. James was definitely the more organised out of he and Chad and it was, for this reason, he took
control of strategy. Chad would rather have just stormed into the tower all guns blazing, which would have been fine for him and James, but the others wouldn’t have lasted long if the group launched an all out assault against the huge numbers of ninja’s likely to be inside the tower.
The plan in full was for the group to gain access to the tower without causing a scene. They would then hand over their ‘hostages’ to the ninja’s inside the tower. James had deducted that the ninjas would lead the new hostages to the place where the other members were being held captive. This enabled the group to learn where their friends were being held, without having to waste time searching the tower themselves. Whilst all this was going on, James and Chad planned to slip off and investigate the tower further. Chad was intrigued to know what the ninjas had taken control of the tower for. James however just wanted to get their friends out and make their escape. Their mission was to take back control of the island from the enemy force, nothing more. Exploring why the ninja’s were here was not their concern but Chad insisted. James simply went along with it; he didn’t have a choice really. Chad was a squad leader on the exam, just like him, and they had to share decisions because of the capture of all other members. And I can’t be bothered with having another argument with him, thought James.
“When you find the hostages, radio me quietly,” said James who had hooked up wires to the two twins. “Don’t make a move until we say so, understand?”
The twins nodded. They were a little nervous if truth be told. This was the first time they had ever been involved in a live mission situation, and they hadn’t expected this type of scenario.
Chad picked up on their nerves and stood in the middle of them. He put his arms around the pair trying to raise their spirits. “Don’t worry about a thing girls. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, am I?” The girls seemed a little happier after that. “You’re my girls remember! We’ll be partying it up big time tonight, mark my words.”
Clash Of Worlds Page 6
