Freerunner

Chapter 1

The rest of the recruits, who were all used to our pranks, snickered at the sight. I reeled in the knife swiftly and tucked it into my pocket. Stevie leaned back and held out his hand. I gave him a high five, trying to keep myself from giggling. The fire alarm sounded somewhere and for a second, I thought I was caught.

"Don't freak out; it's probably just because the fan started smoking," muttered Stevie, sensing my panic. I nodded. "I'd better go to line up with the convent group, see you at lunch!"

I crawled through the vents, my body twisting and turning at each intersection. The vent system was a useful way of navigating the classrooms, offices and store rooms in the main block discreetly. Before passing over a grate, I always checked to see if anyone was in the room below. However, right now everyone would be lining up so I didn't have to bother with that precaution. As I passed over the next grate, I shuddered. Underneath me was the weapons store. The dark storage area was lined neatly with firearms of all shapes and sizes; assorted melee weapons for various purposes and boxes of explosives that could either stun, slaughter or severely injure multiple enemies. It was the only place I refused to go into. Not just because it was heavily guarded and going in there without permission would put me on clean up duty for the rest of my life, but also because I never wanted to have to hold one of those dangerous objects and force myself to use it on another person.

I wriggled my way out of the opening leading into what Stevie and I called the 'attic'. It was the end storage room closest to the exercise yard. Shelves filled its space and boxes filled the shelves. The roof was half caved-in and would've fallen down years ago if it hadn't been for the support beams that ran across the ceiling. The only windows were up near the ceiling and each glass pane was no bigger than my forearm. No one came here much since all that was in here was recovered items from our destroyed city, useless junk to the untrained eye and rats. I pressed the grate back into place then crawled along the middle shelf, taking care not to knock off any of the boxes. I jumped off it then opened the back door and checked to see if the coast was clear. Once I was sure no one was around, I stuck my cap back on and took off swiftly and silently towards the convent.

The entire base was a giant grey rectangle surrounded by a barb-wire fence. All the buildings were made out of reinforced concrete that radiated a gloomy presence. Just looking at them for too long made you want to dig your own grave. A clearway was left straight through the middle of the compound. Outside the fence wasn't much better. As far as the eye could see, the landscape was an enormous dustbowl with no signs of moisture anywhere. However, at least out in the open you were free until someone took your head off.

Somewhere to my left, I heard the shuffling of boots. I ducked under a canvas and peeked out a hole. Two soldiers walked by with hunched shoulders. Their feet barely came off the ground as they headed to the weapons store to return their rifles. If you looked carefully, you could see the wrinkles in their uniforms, the scuffs in their boots, the battered peak in their cap, the large bags under their eyes and the layer of dust on their hands that never seemed to wash off no matter how much soap you used. These were the lower rank soldiers. They were either guarding the base, coming back from a mission or cleaning up as punishment. I truly felt sorry for these guys. Eventually they were going to die and end up in a hole by the West gate. Given that there was anything to bury; some solders don't get a very graceful end. They would be remembered for about a week on base before we were all expected to move on and focus back on the issue at hand. Then their family will be left alone to mourn for the rest of their lives. Those without families were forgotten forever, their name lost in the sea of deceased men and women.

Once the soldiers were out of sight, I leapt out from under the canvas and sprinted the rest of the way. I could see the L-shaped building that was the convent and ran around the west side. Almost there, I told myself. I was just about to sneak in the window when someone grabbed me by the collar.