Milo POV
Morning rose once again when the door to our room burst open. I yawned, rubbing my eyes. Yesterday resulted in all of us getting used to our new surroundings. Sang had warned us that we would start Bootcamp the following day so we should rest and get acclimated. After having dinner with her, I was left alone with my brothers while she had to do some of her duties. I guess that being gone for a few months without doing her general duties meant that her teams were temporarily under another general who was ready to shift Sang's responsibilities back.
I turned with a smile on my face, ready to greet my sister once again, but was disappointed when it was Axel who was standing in the doorway. He gave me a solemn nod before raising a small canister with what looked like a horn attached to the top. Without any warning, a loud blaring rang through the room, making me cover my ears. I cringed at the loud and annoying sound. When I opened my eyes, I noticed that my brothers were in various states of confusion and disarray. I almost snorted when I saw Luke clinging to Gabriel like a monkey and Owen with his hair sticking in every which way. North had startled and had fallen halfway off his bed. His back was resting against the floor while his feet were still tangled in his sheets.
"What the fuck was that?!" Gabriel yelled, throwing a still frozen Luke off him onto the floor. Luke yelped before scrambling to his feet. A sheepish look was on his face as he tried to regain some resemblance of manliness.
"Good morning," Axel said with a small smirk on his face. "That was your morning call."
"Are we late for training?" Nathan yawned. I blinked at him, trying to jump start to my brain to respond back to him.
"Bootcamp?" Silas said sleepily. He rubbed his eyes before hugging a pillow to his chest. He rested his head against the top of the pillow. Despite his muscles and tall height, he was a big softy and an obvious teddy bear.
I yawned, struggling to motivate myself to depart from my warm bed. It was weird to not wake to a sharp pain in the neck. At the Academy, they would wake us or "correct" us with painful shocks our collars emitted. The perks of being a Prime are so great, right? "What should we wear?"
Axel walked towards a closet and opened the door. Stacks of clothes, particularly workout clothes, were stocked. "Hurry up. I'm leaving in five."
At his words, we were scrambling to make our beds and change our clothing. Within five minutes, we were already following Axel to the canteen. A plate consisting of oatmeal, eggs, bacon, and a small bowl of fruit were placed on our trays. The rest of his team along with Kayli joined us. Kayli gave us a soft smile and nod before turning towards Marc. A glance at Corey with his arm in a sling showed me that he was doing better than yesterday. Raven was hovering around him, trying to airplane a piece of fruit speared on a fork. Their relationship was something I was not used to.
Even after talking to Damien and being around the Toma team, I was still baffled about being with multiple people at once. How could they not get jealous? How can Kayli, who has five boyfriends, not be jealous when two of her boyfriends, though adorable and look like they were created for each other, were practically smooching each other next to her? Why does it seem so harmonious despite the different characteristics of each person? How could they continue with all the negative looks at them?
"So," Gabriel spoke around a spoonful of oatmeal. I smirked at his actions. He really was enjoying his time away from the Academy and sabotaging any training they had instilled into him. "What are we going to do in Bootcamp?"
Axel smiled yet something was brewing in his eyes. It made me shift in my seat in caution. He still wasn't someone I trusted well enough but I knew that Sang trusted him so that was enough. "Workout. We're going to see where you are at in your physical levels then train you in basic fighting techniques. We'll also see how well you are handling artillery, and then more physical training. After that, you are free for the day."
"We can take you on a bigger tour," Marc spoke from the end of the group. He had his spoon on top of his lip and looking down at it cross-eyed. "There are so many activities around here that you can never grow bored."
Brandon nodded sleepily before looking at North. "They have an auto station here. We can work any motors that are not high clearance."
North arched an eyebrow, interest gleaming in his eyes. "Really?"
Corey smiled. "Yeah! There are tailors who are always looking for help, an art center, a swimming pool, gym, planetarium, workshop, library."
And, of course, Kota perked up at that. "Library?"
Nathan snorted. "Always the nerd."
Kota rolled his eyes and sassily responded. "Scholar. Not nerd, Muscle Brain."
Nathan repeated Kota's motions and stuck his nose in the air. "Athlete. Not Muscle Brain."
"Yet they're still both idiots to me," Gabriel deadpanned. Kayli snorted in amusement.
Victor leaned forward shyly. "Is there a piano or other instruments here?"
Axel nodded. "Yeah. They are in the music center. We'll show you there later."
It was at that time Raven spoke for the first time other than cooing at Corey. "So those nicknames aren't wrong?"
Luke tilted his head in confusion which we were all in. "Huh? What do you mean?"
Raven rested his head on his fist. "Scholar. Bad boy. Charmer. Perfectionist. Those are your real- what do you say- attributes?"
Sean was the one to speak. "Kind of. The Academy built on top of something that we actually liked but they changed it to what they wanted. They made it like that was our only characteristic. Take me for example. I am portrayed as a charmer. I was a natural at charming people because I love seeing them smile. Yet even I don't want to flirt with every person who comes across my sight. I'm more that someone who attracts others."
"The Academy must have been awful for you Prime," Brandon muttered.
Owen nodded. "People always think that we are being pampered for our blood, but they don't see the abuse we go through. They just see the lack of physical labor on our hands or clothes. They don't see the psychological abuse we go through to be trained to be their puppets to breed women."
Owen and Sean shared a sad look before Sean continued. "They don't even let us see our families except for an hour once a year. We haven't even seen our children."
"Children?" Corey gasped sadly. He clung onto Raven who seemed still.
Sean bit his lip. "We're 21 years old. That means we've been sexually active since we turned 18." His words were almost drowned out by the noise of the cafeteria but the toma team seemed to hear every word. "I've been with so many women that I've lost count, and I know that our 'matches'-"he sneered at that word- "resulted in children. I just hoped that our kids were female so they would never go through what we experienced. Owen knows this, but I cry at the thought of my unknown son turning four next year to be tested positive for O blood."
Owen's hand fell on Sean's shoulder as he struggled not to cry in front of us. I felt my breath catch in my chest. I never knew that Sean was going through these emotions. He always seemed so cheerful around us that sometimes we even forgot that he was older than us.
"Oh my god," Corey whispered.
Sean shook his head, trying to give his usual smile that seemed so fake. "It's fine. We can't change anything now, but I'm glad that I no longer have to do what I used to do."
The rest of the meal fell silent, and the next thing I knew we were walking through the hallways toward the training room. I looked at Owen next to me. His eyes were carefully blank, concealed under a mask that hid his true emotions. Noticing that the Toma team were busy talking, I whispered. "How come you two never shared that with us?"
Owen looked at me. A sad emotion passed through his eyes. "We didn't want you to be exposed to our suffering. We knew that you eight would experience the same things we went through. Sean and I- we were used, making us feel disgusted with ourselves. Then the torment we went through at the thought that we brought in a child who will suffer in the future. The knowledge that Sean and I have children in this corrupt world weighs heavy on both of us. We didn't want you guys to go through that when you weren't ready."
"I'm s-" I started but he cut me off.
"No. Don't. We couldn't have done anything," Owen said softly. "Know that Sean and I are glad none of you had your first experience taken forcibly away like us."
A thought popped into my mind. I turned towards him with round eyes. "Is that one of the reasons why you want to join Phoenix forces?"
Owen nodded. "One of many. Sean and I might not have had a choice, but we will do anything, including going to hell, to prevent others to experience the same. They can have a chance now. We can stop the Academy."
Our conversation was cut short when we entered left the building. There was a field that was big with dirt and green grass. To the furthest part was an obstacle course. Scattered across the field were ten other people. I blinked at the sight of varying ages. Half of them were younger than me, maybe around fifteen, while the others were in their mid-twenties to thirties. Their eyes landed on our large group and I felt my anxiety rise up.
The Toma team waved us forward to be among the others while they stayed towards the front. Once we were facing them, Axel stepped forward with a stern expression on his face. "Attention!"
The conversations died around us and all of us were looking at the Toma Team whose carefree or tired expressions were replaced with a trained soldier. "This is Bootcamp. Within this week, we will train you and make you familiar with the Phoenix headquarters. Some of you might be from here originally so I want you to be helpful to those who have recently joined us. If I ever hear of any bullying, you will be punished with twice the amount of exercise and be prevented of joining our military. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Sir!" We yelled out.
"Good," Axel smiled predatorily. "Now get your asses moving and give me ten laps! Welcome to hell."