"Hold on, I'm a little confused. So we don't get to go home?" Priar complained to the nurse, his brow furrowed.
The Nurse had been checking on the pair periodically throughout the day, offering food and drink. She had recently cut her hair to a bob, letting it flow freely, unlike some of the other nurses who wore caps. She hid her glimmering skin under a face mask and a long white uniform that came to her knees. Eyeliner painted around the corner of her eyes ending in a long sharp point. She put effort into her appearance whenever she could, it was one thing she was proud of. The nametag on her chest reading "Amani Yam"
An audible sigh left her lips as she repeated herself for the third time "We have left your bags in your room. You will be given your room number in your homeroom." Ms. Yam was all too accustomed to delivering the line. She'd been at the Bramblewood med-bay for so long that she started refusing to read the script. One more line and she would likely kill someone.
Priar took a step away, running his fingers through his hair. Today would mark the beginning of the end. He would need to look over his shoulder from this moment on, until graduation. This place would take shape into his own personal hell and Priar had no way to escape it.
He turned back to them, Slug reasoning with Ms. Yam. "Fine, let's say that we go along with this-"
"I'm sorry Mr. Andrews, you don't have a choice in the matter. The planes have already left and moreover, your guardian signed a waiver that stated you are to be kept here under the school's supervision until your contract is up." she had gracefully danced them into a corner. There was no empathy in her voice. It didn't matter what happened to them, she was only there to fulfill her duty until her own contract was fulfilled.
Priar stepped back into the conversation "What? What wavier are you talking about!?-" he scoffed. Priar's face turned a hot red, despite it, he contained himself. He'd needed to resort to other means if it meant getting back on the mainland "-Look, I just want to go home. I don't know anything about a waiver. I mean surely it isn't a problem if two of the-what? 60 trainees disappear. I have some money left in my bag if you-"
Yam threw up her hands in defeat "If you want to find out more, then I'd suggest going to your class." his attempt at negotiation had failed.
Priar figured there would be no point in arguing with someone that had no power to change their predicament. He'd finally relented. "Alright, so how do we find our homeroom?"
Ms. Yam curled a sarcastic smile, happy to finally move on. She grabbed the clipboard she had set down during the debacle, looking them up on her sheet. Yam nodded to herself, relieved. "Luckily, you're both in the same class. Hall D, room 445."
"Hell yeah!" Slug looked at Priar with a naive grin.
"Your instructor will be…Sergeant Bright." she paused reading the name over again.
"Is that a bad thing?" Priar asked, afraid to know the answer.
She glanced back up to them, recollecting herself. "It's fine, I had just thought he'd be retired by now." She set the clipboard down on Slug's bed and strutted to the door, her shoes dragging against the wooden floor. She placed a slender hand on the doorframe then looked back at the boys. "You coming?"
Hallway D was in stark contrast to the rest of the academy. They had gone down three flights of stairs, each hall looking more and more ramshackle. The once gold trimmed walls were replaced with cracked stone and the scampering of rats hidden behind shelves of dusty china. From Priar's first step, he was thrown off by the putrid smell of sweat lingering in the air. A stench that wouldn't fade until the building itself was burnt out. His eyes darted from the destroyed decor on the walls, to the toppled chairs laid in their way. Rooms were parallel to each other, most doors eaten by mold, others barely hanging on. Priar had explored abandoned buildings in his hometown without dropping a sweat, but for some odd reason this hall gave him goosebumps. There were spirits down here, lost to time. He was sure of it.
Ms. Yam, unphased by it all, brought the two to a closed door at the end of the hall with the numbers 445 carved into the wood. She pushed the broken knob up first before twisting it, opening to a dimly lit lecture hall. In the room sat a greying man behind a desk facing an empty class. His feet crossed over one another while reclined in his chair. He held the butt of a cigarette in his mouth while a small fan on the desk blew into his face. His eyes remained wide open, staring into the ceiling as if it were a calm canvas.
"Sergeant Bright?" Ms. Yam called. He gave no response, holding that same endless stare.
"Is he even alive?" Slug asked.
"Of course he is…Right?" Priar questioned Ms. Yam for an answer. She shrugged her shoulders.
"Sergeant Bright!" Yam repeated once again.
Bright's eye fluttered as he dropped his legs from his desk. "Whaaat?" he groaned, rubbing his crusted eyes. He looked up to them from his chair, only his eyes did not meet them. Where a bright green iris used to exist, instead glazed over with a dull grey. Bright stood from his chair, hesitantly taking each step until he felt Yam's shoulder and stopped in front of them. Priar's new teacher was completely blind. "Who's that?" he asked.
Yam straightened herself in his presence, "Cadet Amani, sir"
A smile formed on his lips. "Oh! My favorite cadet…Why didn't you call in before you dropped by?"
"The phone down here doesn't work, sir," Yam stated, gripping the edge of her skirt. Slug looked at Priar wondering if they were seeing the same thing. He cocked his head in response, then moved around Yam hoping to finally get to some answers.
As soon as Priar's foot landed on the dusted cobblestone, Bright snapped his head to him. "Who's that?" he questioned
"That's a new trainee of yours, sir."
"Oh really? So I guess today's the day huh?" he asked, clicking his tongue. "Here I was hoping this was a social call," he joked. Yam did not so much as fake a laugh.
Priar stepped forward to introduce himself, but Yam put her hand out to stop him. "I'm afraid not, sir. I wanted to show these boys to your class. It can be hard for newcomers to find their way down here."
"Yes, I can imagine-"
Priar gently pushed her hand away, "If I could chime in for a second-Why is it that I'm not allowed to leave? I've said multiple times that I would like to go home and I've been ignored every time." Priar inserted himself into the conversation. Yam sighed. Slug slowly crept forward, a wrinkle glued to his forehead. Sergeant Bright stared at him for what felt like decades before finally giving him an answer.
"There's a reason you're down here with me, so unless you really like to test my patience I suggest you address me properly." Priar was now getting a good look at Bright's face. Despite the many scars faded over years of battle, underneath it all was perhaps a once handsome man, lost to an endless battle. "Go find your seats now."
After a long and silent wait, the class filled. Ms. Yam had left, returning to her station at the med-bay. The room itself was as worn as the rest of Bright's decrepit home. The whole level was hidden away like the rotten apple of the school, discarded and forgotten.
Priar and Slug sat together in the back of the class, watching as row by row each seat filled with a failure. He recognised the same girl from before, Esme, take a seat on the opposite end of the room. Her and Priar's eyes met shortly before disregarding each other's existence entirely. He'd hated people like her, those that got under someone's skin to satiate her own ego.
The same could not be said for when Jolie stepped through the door. She came alone unlike the rest. She made for the first open seat she could find. She had not given Priar any attention, but he struggled to take his eyes off of her. Jolie was the first and last thing in his thoughts. Regardless of her reasoning, she threw herself in danger to keep him safe. He'd had time to think over the why and it only pointed to one logical reason: she cared.
Slug slapped Priar's arm, snapping him out of his trance. "So, I guess you're still caught up in crazy huh?"
"What? No, man. I just didn't think she'd be here." A poor excuse. Slug saw right through it.
"Uh huh, whatever you say." He kicked his feet up on the desk and laid back in his chair. The class had been dead silent for an hour, their conversation breaking the tension as other classmates began to spark their talks between the rest of the class.
"I doubt she's crazy. She was probably just in the moment." Priar reasoned.
"Whatever you say." Slug responded.
"I know I was too, so it only makes sense… She might be a good person, you know?"
"Whatever you-"
"Shut up," Priar interrupted. Slug smirked.
Sergeant Bright finally stood from his desk. "Alright fish bait! Enough chatter" his voice boomed, cutting out voices like split ends. He walked around to the front of his desk, running his fingers along the edge. "One of you worms asked me when you all got to go home. Can the shit-eating maggot that asked me such a stupid question stand up please?" Priar remained seated, looking at Slug who had been fast asleep. "I SAID STAND GOD DAMNIT" Priar jumped out of his seat, the legs of the chair screeching against the floor. Slug fell back, hitting the ground with a hard thud. "What's your name?"
"Priar, sir"
"WRONG, your name is WORM and if I hear anyone call him Priar, I will make your life HELL." The vein in his forehead rested once again as he sat on the top of his desk facing the class. He gestured for Priar to sit down, and he did so, quickly dragging the chair beneath him. "You all are fortunate that I'm in a good mood, so I'll tell you what's going to happen as politely as I can." He took a moment to regain his breath. "All of you are bottom of the barrel, unworthy of being spit on. You should be lucky you have me because without me, you all would be cleaning latrines for the next 4 years of your life. This is your 1 and only chance to prove that you are worth a passing glance, so don't fuck this up." one of the trainees raised their hands, Bright of course didn't notice. "Pryce!" he yelled. Jolie stood from her seat, rigid as ever.
"How were you eliminated from the orientation?" he questioned. Jolie's eye twitched at the word 'eliminated'
"I underestimated my opponent. It won't happen again."
"It better not. I don't like losing so it'd be best if you kept me happy." he hopped off of his desk and walked down the aisle to Jolie's seat. "You're wrong, Pryce. The reason you were eliminated was because they singled you out. Any good soldier would know that they can't fight a hidden enemy all alone, you'd be an easy target. Had any of you stuck to groups bigger than four, most of you would've passed. Sure, they were more experienced than you, but that also meant they weren't going to take risks on a larger threat." Priar nodded to himself, he hadn't thought of that in the moment- or even considered the possibility that hunters would be limited to groups. In the heat of the moment, all he could worry about was saving his own skin.
How pitiful.
Esme stood from her seat, "Sir, how were we meant to group up with people we'd never met before? How could we trust they weren't going to do something stupid like charge headfirst into the first team of hunters they saw?" she fixed her gaze on Jolie. Jolie did not feed into the bait.
"That's a mighty fine question, and the truth of the matter is you can't. Just like how you can't stop a sniper's bullet from entering your skull. You have no idea how someone on your team is going to react. Once you're in the shit you ain't gettin out." Bright said, his analogy sending a shiver down Priar's spine. Bright felt his way back to his desk and faced the class once more. "All you can do is charge with your fellow soldiers. With a numbered advantage, your chances go up, but even then- it's really just a game of luck."
"So you're saying we all just got unlucky?" Slug questioned, picking up his chair, only catching the cliff notes of the conversation.
"I'm sorry, What's your name?" Bright asked
"Slug, you know, like the bug."
Bright laughed to himself "Oh, I think I'm gonna like you." he clapped his hands together. "Alright! Since you worms can't catch on, I'll spell it out for you. I'll be putting you into groups and appointing your leaders. It is your job to do everything they say, otherwise; you fail."
Bright began calling names by memory starting with team 6. He'd been loud, foul mouthed, and a bit of a jerk, but Priar knew when to give praise. To remember 30 trainee's first and last names was something he doubted even the smartest of lawyers could do. He'd questioned if Sergeant Bright even had a human brain.
He'd gotten to team 11 finally calling on Slug. "Simon Andrews" Slug gave an embarrassed look before sauntering up to his team, he'd been the last one. Priar was a little hurt knowing he'd be split from his only friend, but what could he do about it? "Congratulations Simon, you're the new leader of team 11." Slug's jaw hit the floor. "And as for team 12. Lance Lefraun, Rudolph Redd, Esme Kelly, Priar Witt and Jolie Pryce as the leader, welcome to the regiment."