Undead Rises

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ᴏɴᴇ

ᴄᴏʀᴀ ʜᴇɴᴅᴇʀꜱᴏɴ

After Aria was able to calm me down, we made our way back to the couch. We sat in the dimly lighted storage room talking. We spoke about everything we thought mattered. Our childhoods, our embarrassing teenage years, and the moments in our lives that made an impact on who we were as people.

I don't remember falling asleep, but the next thing I knew, Aria was gently shaking me, lulling me out of my sleep. As soon as I opened my eyes, she sent me a gentle smile. "As much as I'd love to be here all day, your late for basic." she said and I closed my eyes with a sigh, today was going to be absolute hell.

My muscles ached as I stood up and straightened out the uniform I was wearing, I realized that I didn't even have time to catch a shower. I groaned causing Aria to laugh as we walked towards the exit of the archive room. "Just do what Jackson says, he has a soft spot for cadets. You'll be fine." she reassured me, placing a hand on the door, keeping it closed. Aria leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on my lips, my stomach flipped. "I'll see you later." she said before quickly placing a kiss on my forehead and leaving.

I tried not to think too much about it or else I wouldn't have left the archive. I ran through the halls towards the training room, trying to remember the twists and turns we had taken yesterday.

The first thing I noticed when I entered the training room was Tobias and Kai. Both of them were running laps, like we had done yesterday. A loud whistle echoed through the room, and they came to a halt. Sergeant Jackson was looking directly at me. "You're late." his eyes watched me, and his face was emotionless. I stepped forwards. "I'm so-" he cut me off before I could finish.

"I don't want your excuse. Kai, Tobias. Take the boy and find Sargant Hall. He'll go through weapons training with you." he said to them, without looking away. Kai and Tobias did as they were told, sending me looks of pity as they walked out. 

I knew that Jackson was about to put me through hell, but I didn't care. I wasn't scared. I understood that the training, the pain, was something that I had to endure. I had to push through so that I could be stronger, tougher, faster. I needed to endure it so that I could protect my family from assholes who hurt them. David Smith may have given us space in his compound, but I would make sure he never lays a hand on Aria again. 

"I see that anger behind your eyes, Henderson. This isn't a therapy session so don't come crying to me about it." he spoke as he walked towards me, I realized that I had subconsciously stood in a rigid attention stance. "But I can tell you one thing. That anger you have, use it. And maybe one day you won't need someone else to fight your own battles. Now, get down on the ground and give me fifty."

"Yes, sir." I yelled before dropping down and started doing the pushups he demanded.

I didn't complain. I didn't cry. I didn't need Jackson to push me until I broke, I didn't need to be broken. I needed to be stronger, and that was exactly what I was going to do.

...........

After putting me through countless of drills, Jackson told me to stop. My muscles were shaking, and my lungs were screaming. "Come on, Sarg. Is that all you got?" I asked him with a smile, my body couldn't continue but my mind was wide awake.

"You are something else, Henderson. Go grab a shower and eat. I'll be training you separately tomorrow, be here tomorrow before dawn."

"Wait, why are you going to train me separately? Don't the guys need training to?"

"Something tells me that you're gonna need the space. Trust me, Cora. I've been a Sargeant for a long time and you aren't going to get stronger if you have people constantly trying to protect you. You're dismissed." he left the room without another word, and I was left alone with my thoughts. 

It made sense. Kai and Tobias refused orders to see if I was okay, if we trained together then neither of us would make any progress. 

Once I felt like I was cooled down enough, I got up and made my way to the empty dormitory, where I found clean clothes and soap. I got myself into the shower and washed away all the sweat I had accumulated through the day. My thighs would slightly shake when I shifted my weight from one leg to another. My body had never been pushed to its limits before, but something told me that it was worth it. 

The ache I felt was a reminder. A reminder that I was getting stronger.

Once I was dressed in new clothes, I left in search of a particular person. Ben. It felt like since we had been here, I hadn't made much time for him. Eventually I found him sitting in the cafeteria with a piece of paper and pen in his hand. Kai was sleeping on his arms across the table. I chuckled to myself and walked towards them. Ben stood up and hugged me before getting back in his chair to draw.

"Kai!" I yelled, he immediately shot up in his chair, his eyes barely opening. "Go sleep. I've got Ben." I told him. Kai stood up and gave me a tired nod before walking away. Ben and I laughed to ourselves. "What're you drawing?" I asked leaning over and taking a look.

This place wasn't built for a kid so the paper he was drawing on was clearly old paperwork, and the pen wasn't as colorful as a crayon. On the paper was a drawing of eight stick figures and I smiled to myself knowing who they were. The one with a lot of frown lines was Joseph. The one with a band-aid was Jasper. There was one for each of us. 

However, two of the stick figures were little holes, it looked like a bite mark. I looked around, hoping no one else had seen his drawing. "Ben, you can't draw stuff like that. Not of us, the soldiers might get scared and make us leave." or worse kill us. But I didn't say that. There was no point in trying to scare him.

"We're special. No one else has them."

"I know, but you can't tell anyone. Remember what your mom told you about being special?"

"People wouldn't understand?"

"Exactly."

Ben sent me and understanding nod before hugging me. I returned the hug and slightly messed with his hair which caused him to giggle. I took his drawing and started to neatly fold it before placing it in my pocket. "I will keep it safe with me. You're like the next Picasso. Come on, let's go." I told him as I stood up from the table and held my hand out to him. Ben stood up and took my hands.

"Who the heck is Picasso?" he asked as we walked away. I explained the great painter before we made it to the dorm, it wasn't late in the evening, but most people were preparing for bed. 

"Tell me a story." Ben practically demanded as he climbed the ladder to his top bunk and shimmied under the tightly pulled covers. I sent him a smile before helping him get comfortable.

"There once was a young prince who lived in a grand castle. The walls were so high, only birds could fly over them. And then one day, a magic apple appeared out of nowhere. It was gold. The little prince was the one who found the apple, he wanted to show the world how perfect it was. However, there were thieves in the castle. They were planning on stealing the crown, but they saw the apple and wanted to steal that instead."

"The thieves were pirates, sent from a rival king. However, the golden apple gave the young prince superpowers. And he kicked the thieves out of the castle before they could even blink. The young boy was deemed the bravest boy in the whole world." I finished the story, hoped it was enough to get Ben to go to bed.

"Could he fly? The young prince?" Ben asked as his eyes drooped slightly closed before opening them again. "The magic apple gave him any superpower that his heart desired. He could fly higher than any bird could dream of. Stronger than any knight too." I lightly brushed my hand through his hair and his eyes finally closed. "Goodnight Ben."

"Goodnight Cora."