Inhale

Chapter 33 - Put Your Records On

Cilla was relentless with our training. Not only did she force us to endure troublesome agility training, but she also did scavenging, accuracy, and weight training. For weight training, we were required to preform a hundred push-ups a day plus twice the amount of sit-ups, half the amount of pull-ups, and then battled each other for a small portion of time. Though we were forced to do such activities during basic, this amount is ridiculous. Of course, only Esmae and I complained, since Phillip breezed through it. Screw him and his insane muscles.

Next, after agility (which is self-explanatory), we had accuracy. This was possibly the only thing I was moderately good at. Since I had good accuracy, this was the one and only course that I breezed through. Phillip and Esmae mainly used pistols and stood a few feet ahead of moving targets, while I was given a sniper and a wider range to work with. Good thing I don't suck at shooting.

Finally, we had scavenging: something that made little to no sense. We were assigned one of three roles: scavenger, back-up scavenger, and lookout. The scavenger had to search for hidden goods as fast as humanly possible (dictated as three minutes), while the backup helped them by carrying heavy goods. The lookout, as their name implies, watched to ensure the group wouldn't get ambushed (which happened several times when I was assigned the task). We alternated roles every three minutes, though the roles were typically given as Esmae as scavenger, Phillip as backup, and me as lookout.

A day or two passed, and I'm astonished that my body's starting to get accustomed to the intense training. Looking at myself in the mirror, I finally see some definition on my pale skin, which was a change of pace. Before, I was scrawny—now, I'm less so. Either way, I'm thankful I'm not heaving after each event. The others seemed to notice this, and made snipes at my body's quick adaption. Not that it mattered, since it wasn't like they were having much difficulty.

"That's it for today," the Corporal declared, standing before us as we caught our breath. "Have a good rest."

"Yes, ma'am," we said, sluggishly saluting. Once she turned around, we gave each other high-fives as we heaved for oxygen, with Phillip having the most trouble. With Esmae's help, we maneuvered him towards the bench for a rest.

"Another day, another lesson," Esmae sang, "anyone else tired?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Phillip queasily laughed. "I mean, look at me. I have no stamina—just brawns."

"It's because all your prowess went to your strength," I stated, "you have enough stamina to take on a single enemy, but not enough to fight multiple enemies like Esmae. Your body's a blessing and a curse."

"Isn't everyone's?" Esmae questioned. "Sure, I'm fast, but my aim is awful. I can barely hit anything with a bow, gun, whatever. I can't even do hand-to-hand very well! I'm terrible!"

"At least you have some strength and a lot of agility," I murmured, "you're talking to the person with only precision and endurance."

"If you say so, Al," Phillip laughed, leaning back on his arms, "you know what? It's nice that the three of us are in our own exclusive group. I like you guys, so this exclusion was a gift... if you exclude the whole crazy mentor part, that is."

"You're right, Philly—it is nice. I never thought about it until you mentioned it," Esmae agreed, "thank your dad for me, okay?"

"Why don't you tell him yourself? He's not scary, you know."

"Says you. I'd rather have someone talk to him than do it myself," she said, sticking her tongue out at the boy. She drew back, contemplated at the ceiling, and then turned to face me. "Oh, yeah, I just thought of something. Are you going to mention this to Katherine at all?"

"Katherine," I murmured. My thoughts were filled with thoughts of the older, and I began to smell a hint of cinnamon in the room. Maybe since I haven't seen her in a month or so, I can use that as an excuse to visit her.

I looked over at Phillip and asked him, "Do you you think your dad would let me visit the hospital?"

He nodded, and then replied, "If it's just you, yeah. He wouldn't let me, but he'd definitely let anyone other than his son go out of the base." He glanced at the clock, and then back at me. "But you should hurry. Night rules are strict."

"Understood," I stated, bolting up. Heading towards the door, I turned back to bid farewell to the duo. "See you two later," I stated, delivering a short wave. They waved back, and I bolted away.

Maneuvering through the halls, I made my way to the General's office. Hesitantly, I knocked on the door, and was pleased to hear a welcome. Straightening up, I opened the door and walked inside of the room until I stood in front of General Kingsworth.

"Do you need something, soldier?"

"Request to visit the hospital, sir," I stated, struggling to not stammer as I saluted. He looked up at me through his thick glasses (probably more real than Phillip's) while he tapped his pen against his lips. Sweat began to pebble on my forehead as the anticipation began killing me. Softly.

"Is this regarding Miss Adair?" he finally inquired. I nodded, and he sighed. Tearing a sheet of paper out of his notepad, he scribbled something onto it and handed it to me. Eyeing it, I was surprised to find that it was a legal exit form.

"Go ahead. Just be back before daylight, soldier. Don't lose this paper–it's your ticket in and out of the base."

"Thank you, sir," I stated, marching out of the room. Once the door was closed, I bolted for the nearest exit since I had a ticket to ride. Proudly, I showed the paper to one of the guards and to my joy, he let me pass—I was permitted to travel to the over-world. The journey that seemed to take years took few seconds for me, since I climbed the flights at faster than the fastest flightless bird. Wait.

Heaving, I made it out of the underground fortress and was appalled to find myself not in a warehouse, but near a water source—a lake, to be exact. It was like nothing I've ever seen. Cranes were lazily drifting on the surface of the water, which reflected the full moon that dwelled up above. Frogs croaked and the fireflies creaked as they flew circles around me—the ecosystem was alive. It appeared as if no human had ever touched its wildlife or clear waters, which was unusual for a Kingdom such as Libentina. However, I couldn't let the mere spectacle distract me from my goal: Katherine. Shaking my head and without looking at the wonder any longer, I turned to face the direction of the hospital, whose lights shown faintly in the distance. I breathed in and out, preparing myself my escapade, and then bolted towards my destination—to where Katherine was.

Katherine, put your records on.

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(05/18/16): Okay, it's obvious what came on Pandora at the last part. I mean, I didn't even hint at it—I just blatantly gestured to it. Anyways, even if this isn't going to be posted on the 18th of May, just know that's when this was revised... okay? Alright! Anyways, if you enjoyed that short revision of part of chapter 22 (yes, chapter 22), then you should leave a like, review, comment, whatever! I swear, I'm not desperate! ;A;