by C C Sommerly
After piling my plate precariously full, I took my leaning tower of goodies to the nearest table and dug in. Scraping the bottom of my plate, I looked at Merritt, who sat there opened-mouth staring at me.
“What? I was hungry.”
“It’s just we had our doubts when the Boss told us about you. It’s positively unheard that a hybrid survives on their own as long as you have without being activation or discovered.”
“And this has what to do with my eating,” I asked.
“A large appetite is one of the signs,” said Merritt.
“Oh, come on. You can’t expect me to believe that anyone with a large appetite is a hybrid. There would be millions of them. And this isn’t even all that much food.”
“Teagan, are you aware of how much time has elapsed since you sat down?”
“What? No, I wasn’t exactly watching the clock. I was kinda busy eating as you so astutely pointed out.”
“It’s been 25 seconds.”
That was fast, I thought. And I honestly couldn’t think of a single thing to say in response. I ate faster than normal, and I was usually self-conscious to eat around people. I hated being stared at while I ate. But surely, I’d have been told before now that I inhaled food.
“Teagan, how old are you?”
“If you all know so much about me, don’t you already know that?”
He sighed. “How much did the Boss tell you about hybrids and activation?”
“That we are some mix between mutants and superheroes. I saw hairy people and ones with tails.”
“So, you visited the Salty Dog. While it must seem shocking to you since so much of this is new, most of us don’t hide what we are here. This is the only place where there is privacy and acceptance to be our true selves. Since all inhabitants of The Underground know what we are even those that aren’t hybrids themselves. The non-hybrids here are either family, friends or loved ones.”
Taking a swallow of juice, he continued, “So, the magical age for activation is 25. That is the oldest a hybrid can be activated. If they are not activated at that age, there is the risk that they become a Demented.”
“I’m gonna be a Demented?” Rage heated my face. “I didn’t agree to this. The Boss said my memory could be wiped and I go back to a life of ignorance.”
“Yes, you can, but also know that it might very well be a death sentence and we may very well be sent out to kill you once you became a Demented. You wouldn’t exist except as a mindless beast.”
“I don’t want to be a monster, but I don’t want to be Demented. I’m 23, almost 24.”
He stretched his hand across the table, but at my glare, he stopped. He said, “I know what you’re going through.”
“Oh, really? Great for you.” I said and stood up, “I’m going to talk to the Boss. This was not part of the arrangement. You can either show me the way to him or I’ll walk around creating a ruckus until someone shows me to him.”
“Fine. I will take you to him. I’m just trying to help.”
“Then help by showing me the way. I don’t want to hear about whatever crap is gonna spill from your mouth.”
He stiffly walked away from the table without a backwards glance. Well, good thing he was waiting for me to keep up. Someone was just a little pissed. I didn’t care. I wasn’t here to make friends. I wanted to figure out whatever freaking mystery surrounded the project and get the hell out of here and back where I belonged.
Merritt led me to the Boss, who had the pissy Purple Princess, Ruthie, leaving just as I show up. Whew, dodged the bullet in dealing with that royal witch. I just hoped I could avoid her as much as possible.
The Boss looked up as we walked in. “Ah, perfect timing, I was about to send someone for you, please sit. You can leave Merritt. I’ll take it from here.”
“That’s what I get for being nice. Next time find someone else to pal around with you,” as he slammed the door.
Wow, someone was a tad bit testy. I took in the office. There were black and white abstract photographs on the wall and the desk was a large modern, black metal and glass monstrosity that dominated the office. The monochromatic scheme was very intimidating. There was no softness to this room any more than there was to the man in front of me. Although, he was much more casual today with a button-down shirt with the top few buttons open and leaving a tantalizing gleam of bare, tan skin below. His throat clearing interrupted my staring.
“So, now that you are here, I’d like to set some parameters for the investigation. Every hybrid must go for daily checkups with Doc. He’s at the lab, one of your squad mates can take you.”
“And what exactly does the doctor do for a checkup? It shouldn’t matter if I’m not staying.”
“It’s typical protocol of all new hybrids, but more so with those that are activated. Also, I expect you to go out on patrol and do what a normal recruit would do in our organization.”
“What is the point of that? As much as I’d love to be on patrol, being away makes it that much harder to investigate. And, it will take me that much longer to figure out who is hurting the project and your people.”
“It will afford you the opportunity to observe your squad mates. You can assess their motives and by bonding with them, build up trust.”
I waited for him to continue and forced my eyes on his chin and away from that sexy slice of skin peeking through his shirt.
“I know you haven’t made any decisions, but I wanted to set some rules down for you. As you are here longer, you will get more freedom. With that said, we have some strict rules that all inhabitants must follow.”
“We live and die by three rules. One, rank doesn’t matter. Experience and skill are all that we are concerned about here. We have plenty of civilians, including children, with no military experience. Two, the silence code: we don’t talk about what we are or any of the inhabitants. While, I can’t restrict your interactions to only Underground inhabitants, we are all expected to obey the silence code. You stay silent about our location, people, missions, anything dealing with hybrids. Now, one final rule, but this maybe the most important one. If you are AWOL, you’re dead. We shoot all who try to re-enter this base if they go AWOL. Once you desert, we don’t want you back.”
Okay, so these sounded reasonable and standard, except for the bizarre AWOL rule. Seemed like this was a place most people wouldn’t want to run from since it held some of the only other people that could understand your weirdness as a hybrid. I certainly couldn’t see tail girl, from the bar, hanging out in public. And as much as I wanted to leave and might still leave, if I ended up with some weirdness that wasn’t normal – I’m thinking horns or wings or whatever was in store for me, then I couldn’t very well leave or go AWOL.
“Do you understand what is expected of you, Teagan?”
“Yes, sir,” to which I added a salute. Couldn’t have him thinking I was totally cowed. I’d worked for tougher CO’s in my day. Plus, he was too hot to take too seriously. Geez, my thoughts really ran away with this guy. It was getting ridiculous.
“Oh, and I expect 110% from you each and every day because it’s what I expect from all members of the squads. Anything less may very well mean your death or theirs.”
“That won’t be a problem in the slightest. Expect to be impressed with my level of awesomeness.”
He reached out to shake my hand and I made sure to squeeze it extra hard.
“And before you go, you are assigned to a mentor. The next role of mentor goes to Ruthie. It’s a rotation duty that we all share in,” he said.
“Which one is Ruthie?”
Please don’t say the Purple Princess. “The tall woman with …” don’t say it, please don’t say purple, “purple hair.”
The breath whooshed out of me and my fists clenched. “I agreed to your deal, but there is no way you will get me to work with that woman.”
“As far as you and everyone is concerned, I am in charge of you. You don’t get a say. Investigate the team
, deal with whatever issues you have with Ruthie, but do the job I brought you here to do.”
“Fine,” as I got up and left his office, slamming the door as hard as I could. It rocked on the hinges and I got some satisfaction from that. And the smirk dropped off my face when I saw who was waiting for me. If it wasn’t the Purple princess herself. Lovely.
“Do you always throw hissy fits? I expected more self-control from some decorated Marine, especially one that was on the Elite Guard.”
“I could care less what you think. What are you doing here anyway?”
“Training time,” she said as she tapped her watch for good measure.
Chapter 19
I followed the Purple Princess as she led me to a set of stairs carved into the rock walls. We walked down several flights of stairs until we reached the bottom, which opened into a cavernous training area that was easily 100 feet tall and at least double the length of a football field. The training field was divided out with obstacle courses, trenches, barbed wire, sand pits, and all sorts of butt-kicking aides. The smell of grass, dirt, sweat and blood filled my lungs.
“How is this possible? You have grass and pits filled with water and the size of this.” I knew I was babbling, but I couldn’t help myself. I’d always been competitive and seeing this course, I was gunning to work off some of my pent-up stress. It also kept me distracted and less likely to punch her. Just the few obstacles I could see would be a challenge, but I desperately needed to work off this stress and nothing like some pain to do just that. Heck yeah.
“One of the hybrids happens to be able to move rock. And, he made some changes to the existing cave structure and built those stone stairs we came down on.” She fixed a glare on me, “Quit stalling, you need to get to work on that course and pretending to do idle talk with me isn’t endearing you to any of us.”
And just like that, reality intruded. Between Queen Witch and the days on the road, I needed this more than anything. I started stretching and loosening up my muscles. While, their course looked impressive, I wasn’t worried about completing it. As a member of the Elite Guard, we had some of the hardest physical requirements. Think of it as the Marine version of a SEALS, Green Berets, and other type of special forces all rolled into one. As members, we go through a rigorous series of physical and mental challenges. We typically trained four hours a day at a similar course.
“Are you ready or not?”
She takes out a stopwatch and looks pointedly at me. “I had the course cleared for you, which means other people aren’t training. You are holding up people that are more deserving of training than some wannabe hybrid.”
Wannabe? I wanna be smashing her face. The Boss was going to hear about this, and I would demand a new mentor — unless he wanted me to kill her.
“Because we can’t be sure how you will handle this, we are starting with the easiest and working our way up. I want to see how you engage the course. You will be judged on time to complete the course, physical and strategic strengths and weaknesses. It’s also a good baseline to see what you are capable of when you aren’t activated.”
We walked to the starting line. Normally, I like to study a course and see which obstacles might give me trouble or need to be hit from a certain angle, but that was obviously not happening today. I’m sure that was intentional. Purple Princess wanted me off my game and was testing me. Let her. I could handle whatever she threw at me. They must not get many Elite Guard here or she would know this testing was total bullshit and not needed. I can hold my own with whatever mission I get sent out on.
Purple Princess let out a shrill whistle, yelling, “Better get your ass moving Elite Guard girl. Let’s see what you got.”
And with that, I was off. I’d show her just what made us so elite.
The first course was a water one. Nice. The course designers knew that getting wet made for a harder course run. Wet boots and clothes were much heavier and clung to you — obstructing your movements and slowing your run time. This obstacle had 12-foot wooden planks floating above a pond of muddy and stagnant water. Mid-way down the plank a rope was suspended on a bar for swinging to the other side of the pond. And at that end were short walls, so if you didn’t swing hard enough and tuck your legs in, then you’d hit the wall and bounce back or worse, fall in the brackish water.
“Tick tock, Teagan.”
God, she was annoying. I took a few steps back and sprinted for the planks. As I put my weight on them, they began sinking. Speeding up, I sprang for the rope and used the momentum to successfully swing over the wall. Dropping down from the wall, I eye balled the next challenge up ahead.
Pits were dug into the ground and descended downwards until the hit the middle and then veered sharply up basically making a v. Okay, no worries and definitely doable.
I dove face first into the nearest pit and slid on my stomach in the gravel filled tunnels. It scraped up my arms and knees until I slammed into the center point. That was gonna sting. Now, with my gravel-filled clothes, I propped my boots on either side of the tunnel and do a crab-like hop to gain forward movement. Once I was close enough to the edge, I reached the lip of the tunnel and pulled myself out. I took time to strip off my blouse and shake out the gravel. I wanted to keep some of my skin. My boots needed to be emptied next. I’d have to make up the time on other parts of the course.
The Purple Princess just shook her head and taped the stopwatch. Witch. Shirt and boots back on, I ran for the next obstacle. It was a series of five punching bags suspended above the ground. The goal would be getting from one to the next without touching the ground. I needed to hit the first one right and get a good grip or I wouldn’t be able to hold on. Or, worse, I would bounce off.
I got a good start and lunged for the first bag. He was slippery, but I managed to wrap my arms around it in a bear hug and pressed my feet to the bag in a similar manner. I needed to get the bag to spin, so I would be facing the right direction to jump to the next bag. I leaned to the right, getting a light spin and reached out with one arm and loosened my legs enough that I could press my feet into the bag for springing of the bag. I hit the next bag just as hard, if not harder than the first one. Again, my grip slipped. No way was I going out on obstacle 3. Screw that. I tightened my grip and repeated the steps until I was on the last of the bags.
Next up was a ladder, which led to a platform. I wasn’t the biggest fan of heights. Not that I would let anyone know. They would exploit any and all weakness to get a leg up on me; although, I would totally do the same, so it’s not like I could judge.
Once I climbed on the platform, I got a better look at the obstacle. There was a rope connected to the edge of the platform, stretching across a sandy, water-filled pit and ended at a post some 75 feet away. It was probably quicksand. I’m sure the hybrids got lots of laughs seeing people fall in it and struggle out.
So, I had to travel the length of the rope, 50 feet up, without falling into the lovely quicksand. No problemo. I placed myself stomach down on the rope and let my other leg dangle towards the ground to provide a counterbalance. I got this. Just as I got my rhythm going without making the rope sway too much, I hear noise on the platform behind me and I carefully look back to keep my balance and see none other than Purple Princess baring her teeth at me and what looks suspiciously like a lighter in her hand. She wouldn’t dare. She takes a lighter and lights the rope on fire — making things that much more difficult. She dared. Thanks for the motivation to get my butt moving.
“Better hustle, Teagan,” as she grinned broadly at me. Uh, yeah, thanks. As if I didn’t already figure that out. I was really starting to severely dislike Purple Princess. She was enjoying this a little too much. I picked up my pace and tried not to think about the fire eating away at the rope. A twang was the only warning that the fire had burnt through the rope. On instinct, I gripped the rope and held on as I swung down over the quicksand. I needed to get to the other side without going through the quicksand, but I was still a good 20 fee
t from the goal. This really was starting to suck.
I hit the quicksand hard, knocking the wind out of me. Holding onto the rope, I start pulling it taunt. I could use it to pull myself through the quicksand. If I hurried, I wouldn’t sink completely before making it the remaining distance. At least I gained several feet from the force of the fall. Only 18 feet, now 16 feet and I was buried to my stomach. Even if it wore me out, I had to speed things up. Come on, do it. I finally reached the edge and pulled myself up and lay panting on the ground. Fuck me. Just needed a minute to catch my breath. There were still quite a few obstacles left. These hybrids were no joke, and these were some surprisingly challenging obstacles. Still panting, I look ahead and see the bleachers filled with my squad mates and other people. And, I’m here face in the dirt while they had a front-row seat to my humiliating moment.
I sprinted to the next obstacle, which was a familiar one since it was standard in military obstacle courses, but always a difficult one. Now that sand and water weighed me down, it would be that much harder. Tall logs were driven into the ground and reached upwards at difference lengths. My goal was jumping from log to log until I reached the platform at the opposite side. There was a four-foot-tall log that was supposed to be the starting point.
I hopped on it and a few logs in, an arrow sailed by my head. No way! Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. If I don’t want to end up looking like a porcupine, I better get my ass moving!
What I didn’t see incoming was the body that was thrown towards the edge of the logs. The torn and bloody body of a camouflaged wearing soldier laid there like a broken doll – limbs at odd angles and blood leaking from his eyes and mouth. An alarm sounded as I looked for a way down to reach him. He coughed and blood spewed out. I shimmed down the log closest to him and as I hit the ground, I was thrown on the ground.
“Don’t do it. Stay away from him,” said Ruthie.
“Are you kidding me? He’s hurt. Since when do we not assist a brother-in-arms?”
