A Touch Of Hate

Chapter 5

Verity

He was intimidating, his presence loaded and icky. My skin prickled from the sheer thought of catching his attention. Yet when he stared at me, his cold gaze scraping me raw, I forced my chin up and met his eyes. Unknown strength overtook me as the stupidest remark of my life left my mouth.

And then I smirked.

Smirked!

To humanity's strongest and my new captain!

I swear, sometimes it seemed as though my body had a will of its own. And apparently, its will was a soon-to-come death. I shuddered just remembering that moment. Part of me still wondered why I had spoken up at all. It was so unlike me. Yet something pushed me to open my mouth back then.

The cold morning wind only added to my shivering, and I crossed my hands around my chest, trying to warm up. ODM gear weighed me down, rough leather straps cutting into my shoulders and hips. The first time I wore it, I thought I could get used to how uncomfortable it was.

Well, I couldn't.

The bulkiness and heaviness of the whole mechanism made me feel small and weak. Although, the clenching noises of the scabbards and cylinders made my blood boil with anticipation. The rough surface of the sword handles scraped my palms. Still, I only greeted it with excitement, pushing all too familiar anxiety out of the way.

"You must cut down as many dummies as possible within the timeframe. Mind that some of them can move. Are you ready?"

I nodded, ignoring my wobbling knees, as I stepped forward. A girl a few years older than me stood back, waving her hand at the technicians controlling the dummies. I glanced at the captain, standing to the side, preparing to jump into the air after me so that he could examine my ODM skills up close.

I would have never thought that humanity's strongest soldier was so short and prickly. Not that I had thought about it before. But Capitan was nothing that I could have imagined. He wore a suit when I saw him in the commander's office less than an hour ago. It was meticulously ironed and perfectly fitted. He looked out of place, wearing it inside a military facility. His black hair was styled in the undercut, long strands falling on his face and partially covering his grey eyes. He scowled the whole time I was in there.

I felt him studying me, his gaze slow and scrutinising when it slid across me like a physical touch. It made me sick to my stomach. My skin prickled, and I couldn't focus on anything but his drilling stare. Hot and cold waves of nausea rocked me, and cold sweat ran down my back, making it hard to concentrate on anything the commander was saying. I felt danger coming off him, like a delicate perfume. But I also saw something... else in him. He looked somehow familiar, yet I couldn't quite place it. The way he held himself made him seem taller. His demeanour was impossible to ignore. The pressure was that of a quiet dungeon cell, invisible yet unbearable.

Captain turned to me then, his eyes meeting mine. It felt like an electric impulse sent down my spine. He looked disinterested, bored even. But his eyes were alert.

"The time is ticking, you know," the girl near me said, jerking me out of my stupor. And I turned towards the forest, nodding and readying myself.

My hands clutched painfully around the sword handles. The release button quietly screeched underneath my fingers, and the cables flew up, connecting with the closest tree. My body was jerked forward, and I had to regroup in the air, shifting my weight and controlling airflow, just like Kenny had taught me. Before my legs touched the trunk of the closest tree, I released another cable, changing direction. My body twisted in the air, adrenaline rushing through my veins like a drug. Excitement and pure ecstasy poisoned my blood as I flew towards the first titan dummy on the training grounds.