Becoming Agent Rider

Fitness and Skills Testing

"Obviously." This time, Wolf got a small smile from the boy. Nodding once, he got up and padded over to his bed. Halfway there, he heard his name as the boy spoke again. Wolf turned around to see Cub walking towards the door of the hut while saying, "Thank you. And my nightmare was about the people I have lost and could have lost."

And then, Cub was gone. Dazedly, Wolf went back to bed, wondering what the boy could have experienced to have a nightmare like that and completely forgetting that his unit could be in trouble with the sergeant if Cub was caught outside during the night. It was only when he was about to drift off to sleep that he realized what Cub had been trying to tell him. He had been one of the people in the boy's nightmare. Suddenly, his youngest unit member's scan of his upper body made much more sense. He had been shot in those exact places at Point Blanc. And after the nightmare, the boy had been reassuring himself that Wolf was still alright. Jaw clenching, he fell asleep with a promise to himself that he would do everything he could to protect his youngest unit mate.

Meanwhile, Alex had headed to the showers to wash off the sweat from his nightmare. Normally, he would have grimaced at the cold water beating down on his back due to having no hot faucets. But it was perfect at the moment. He didn't know why his nightmares had come back in full force but he could see it being a problem at the camp. Especially when Wolf seemed to be a light sleeper. The soldier baffled him. He could be angry with him one minute and almost kind in the next. Alex didn't know where he stood with the man. Sighing, he headed towards the forest again after toweling off and putting his camouflage training outfit back on. Save for reacting on a case by case basis, there wasn't any other way to deal with Wolf for now. He could try to deal with his nightmares by doing combat breathing and meditations though. Once he found a relatively dry clearing, Alex took in a deep breath of the crisp air as he sat down and closed his eyes to start the exercises, focusing on the sounds of the forest instead of his thoughts. Before he knew it, an hour had passed and it was time for breakfast. Getting up, he stretched out his back and legs before warming himself up by running to K-Unit's hut.

"Where the hell is Cub?!" Alex heard Wolf yelling as he approached the hut. "I swear if he got caught out at night by the Sarge, I'm going to skin him alive!"

Alex opened the door to the sight of K-Unit scrambling around to get ready in time so they wouldn't miss breakfast. It looked like they had woken up late. "Right here," he smirked. "See you in the mess hall."

Leaving his unit to prepare for the day, Alex jogged over to the mess hall for breakfast, taking care to pay attention to any trouble that the soldiers might give him. When he walked in, the other units were already there and they fell into a tense silence with curious looks directed his way. Ignoring them, he collected his food from the kitchen staff, thanking them quietly. The staff looked at him with a startled, hesitant smile. He guessed that they didn't normally get any appreciation from the soldiers. Maybe he would talk to them later, if he ever had a spare moment. Turning towards the tables, he chose to sit as far away as he could from the other units. The man that attacked him last night, Lion, was still glaring at him, along with his unit. The other unit seemed to be shooting him furtive glances and communicating silently with each other. His breakfast was uninterrupted for exactly three minutes.