CODIE: Revenant Protocol

THE WARNING

With a more relaxed mind, Codie stepped out of the locker room.

Papunta na sana siya sa bench kung nasaan ang mga ka grupo niya pero naharang siya ng bolang robot na dumikit ito sa balat niya na parang gagamba. It has a glossy shell pulsed with soft blue light as it scans her body, humming faintly.

"Codie Delara. Pulse steady. Blood sugar is slightly low. Left shoulder tension: 4.3. Suggest hydration and guided muscle reset."

She waved Lili off at her wrist. "Noted." she muttered, shaking her head. The system always noticed things before she did.

"Here," came a soft voice just behind her ear. "Chocolate. To improve your sugar." Codie looked at the chocolate, then at him his calm eyes unreadable as always. There was something annoying about how he always noticed everything first.

He held out a single wrapped piece of dark chocolate between his two fingers. Codie raised an eyebrow, then took it without ceremony.

"Thanks." she said, quiet and clipped.

Kaelen didn't respond. His emotion never gave away to show whether he was amused, impressed, or two moves ahead. He just gave her unreadable half-smirk before walking off, hands in his pockets.

Hindi na niya pinansin ang ugali ni Kaelen, because she is obviously worse and just unwrapped the chocolate, popped it in her mouth while walking. Her eyes were already locked back on the range; the next shot mattered more than his smirk.

"Hey!" She looked at Sir Marco, who was starting to walk with her, adjusting the strap of his tablet bag slung across his shoulder.

"Bakit?"

"Something's pulling your aim." She turned fully to face him with a sharp gaze. The lines of her face, normally unreadable. "Mind if you tell me?"

"No." Short. Clear no.

Marco exhaled through his nose and gave her a long look. Not of disappointment, but of a coach who had seen enough champions crack under pressure to know when to press and when to step back.

"Code, I know I can't force you, but whatever it is," he added, "fix it before the match. Or he'll beat you." He left her his assuring smile and patted her shoulder once before turning to leave.

Codie stood there for a second longer, until Marco disappeared to the hallway view. She just shook her head on what she heard then walked toward the shooting lane.

Down the hallway, a different kind of machine welcomed her, cleaning machines like a small vacuum machine that walked around the floor sucking up chalk dust in silence.

Sa hindi kalayuan nakita niya ang team, Runa and other were huddled around a holo-table, watching Jaine inside of the shooting range on spot.

On her way a small hologram at another team's holo-table caught her attention. It is the replay of last year tournament kung saan siya at si Baron ay hindi naka sama dahil abala sila sa pag rereview para sa exam.

Each movement slowed down on the reply and it analyzed each movement of the player.

"Vireon Slide" , a shooting stance tweak Kaelen had developed last year "adds 0.02 to your draw time," Jace muttered.

"Whatever," Mina replied, popping a nutrient patch on her neck. "He's still smug. If Codie participated last year he would be just a second." Mina added.

Kaelen's team had just wrapped up their three-hour break and was now casually watching footage like it was a game.

Codie walked past them without saying a word. She had to mind her own business.

Inside the range again, she pulled down her visor, a lightweight AR-shield that displayed wind flow; it can predict the bullet and target movement. It was more advanced than the things that she used to use 4 years ago, yes. But at the end of the day, she still preferred her skills to do all the work.

The target glowed 20 meters away. Her pistol calibrated its internal coil with a soft hum, syncing again to her skin temp and finger pressure.

"Welcome back," Marco's voice came through her earpiece. "Let's beat that damn 10.9."

Codie didn't answer. Her eyes sharpened.

"You still didn't beat my record? I have been resting for an hour now." Codie smirked at Kaelen, who was now practicing at Line 3.

"Then we'll see." She pulled the trigger.

After the training, she received a questionable message from her dad.

As Codie wiped the grip chalk from her fingers, her wristpad blinked,  a message notification.

From: Dad

"How's training, anak? I want you to go home now after the training, please close the gate, door and window properly. Don't believe anything the government puts out tonight. No matter how official it looks. Also... I won't be able to come home. Take care of yourself."

Codie frowned.

The message was not hard to understand.

But it still didn't make sense, why the hell would she not trust the government when he is obviously working for them?

"Of course I will, Ikaw din." The only thing that she replied, because Codie really has no care about the government. But one piece of news from the government makes her heart beat fast.

She was still staring at the message when the sharp beep of the screen in front of them where their scores were being announced.

The female reporter voice echoed through the entire training hall like a final shot: "Good News Everyone! Zone 9 is finally open again. "

Codie froze. Around her, the people cheered faintly, unaware that her stomach had dropped cold. Zone 9 was where her sister and her mom vanished...

"They're not supposed to return," Marco whispered, his voice colder than the air. 

___

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