As the night passed, the group turned to their tents before dawn. Regan slept for a bit, but she was restless. She couldn't calm until she had done something to help these people. Maybe she was acting out of the hatred she felt for him but her resolve was still burning in her soul.
As the sunlight crept through her tent, Iris came in and woke her up.
"Cornelia," she shook her, "Wake up. The officer is outside. We have to gather with the soldiers. The training."
Regan rubbed her eyes, her muscles hurting and she stretched her arms, "Is it morning?"
"Yes."
"At night. You know."
"Yes. But we have to go."
Regan yawned and slipped away from the rolling bed. She fixed her uniform and pulled her hair in a tight bun. She was thirsty and hungry but pushed it aside.
As soon as they left the tent, Jack was here, his face sweaty as if he had run a marathon.
"Damnit. This damn uniform is very hot. And I'm dying of hunger. Is there any place to eat here?" Jack complained, clearly in a bad mood. Regan sighed and glanced around, noticing the other soldiers gathering nearby.
"I don't know. I'm hungry as well. Maybe they eat in groups, damn them," she grumbled, looking around.
"Whatever guys, let's go to the field track. Maybe they give food there," Iris said, attempting to get them to move from their spot.
Jack smirked, "Oh, you can't wait to see the 'hot' general, can you?" he teased, nudging Iris playfully.
"Shut up, Jack," Iris retorted, trying to push him away.
They walked to the training field and saw a mass of soldiers exercising and some other just waiting for their training. Regan was hungry, looking around, while Jack kept complaining.
Finally, they saw some tents where food was being given. The queue was long and big. Jack went there as fast as possible. He shoved the soldiers forcefully away and got stuck into the crowd.
"He's crazy," Iris teased, shaking her head.
Later on, Jack returned, shoving them again, holding some plastic bowls.
He gave two of them to Regan and Iris, and the other left, to himself, "This is the most liked food here. It was expensive but never mind. I paid with your money." He looked at Iris.
Iris rolled her eyes and began to eat. They sat on a cut wooden tree, the tents shadows falling over, blocking the sunlight from reaching them. Regan wasn't much affected but Jack and Iris were.
The food was indeed fine. If she was on Earth, she'd say it tasted and looked like rice.
After a while they had been eating, the general from far saw them.
"Soldiers, what are you doing there? Come to the track! Now!" He shouted.
"Damn him. I'm not going to go. I'll eat first," Jack said.
"Same," Regan replied.
Iris sighed, "You wouldn't want us to be thrown into a punishment squad, would you?" She asked, knowing that they wouldn't have a choice. "Come on, let's go."
They threw away their already empty bowls and stood up. Regan had never eaten so fast. She knew she was going to have an indigestion. As they were walking towards the track, they heard Jack mutter something about the general being a "son of a bitch". Regan looked at him, holding her laugh.
"You're just jealous, Jack," Iris mocked, patting him on the back.
"He will see it for himself, tonight. We'll ambush him on the way back to his tent," Jack retorted.
"Yes, we will. Let's hope the rebels are high in number and things go as planned." Regan added. They arrived on the field, the general standing there with a stern expression. The sun had just risen in the horizon, and Regan wondered how they were even late. The sky was painted in an aqua blue color with two arched moons visible somewhere far.
"You're late, soldiers!" The general reprimanded, "What were you doing there?"
"We were eating, sir," Regan snapped in annoyance, her voice carrying the hint of a challenge. "And we're here now. Aren't we?"
The general's expression darkened further, but he didn't reply immediately.
Instead, he gestured toward the track. "Soldiers, today we'll be working on endurance training. You'll be thankful for these exercises when you're out in the field." He turned on his heel and began to jog along the track, the rest of the soldiers falling in behind him.
Iris nudged Regan with her elbow, "You shouldn't have done that," she whispered, "he might get pissed off."
Regan shrugged, rolling her eyes in response.
The training began with a series of laps around the track, each lap dangerously hard. Regan knew that Iris would score better while Jack glared at the general, "Just pray that we're going to get over with him, tonight." Regan told him, trying to lighten the mood. Jack just grunted in reply.
The general paused after several laps, forcing the soldiers to kneel on the dirt track, hands on their knees, gasping for breath. "This is what it's like, soldiers, to be outnumbered and outgunned. This is what it's like to have every step you take counted. You must learn to push your bodies beyond what you think is possible. Now, let's see how many more laps you've got in you." The general's words were like a whip, driving them forward.
Iris looked at him in admiration and glanced at Regan, their eyes meeting briefly before they looked away. It was her turn on the field track training. She passed the obstacles with efficiency, not stumbling once.
Regan was on the turn as well and as she passed some barriers, she fell on the dirt while climbing a wall. She cursed under her breath, her already dirty clothes became even dirtier and she turned back on the field.
Jack ended up the same way as her, and cursed under his breath, panting, his face filled on sweat.
"Damnit. It's my homeland but I can't believe what they've turned it into," he vented, "A battle training."
Regan felt a pang of non belonging washing over her. She didn't even have a homeland, "I understand, damn them," she said.
After what seemed like an eternity, the general finally called it quits. Some of the soldiers collapsed onto the ground, and some turned back on the row, drenched on sweat, panting heavily.
Iris turned back as well, the brown strands of hair sticking on her forehead. She tried to collect her breath and wiped the sweat out of her forehead.
"Guys we don't have to get too worked up here. Tonight is going to be important." Regan said to them.
"Of course," Iris breathed.
She sat down on a wooden bench. A soldier approached her and gave her a bottle of water. She looked at him confused, but accepted it gratefully. "Thank you," she said, opening the cap and taking a long drink.
Regan was thirsty as well, her throat burning from the exertion. But she didn't want to drink water from here. She glanced over at Jack, who was looking somewhere else. She followed his gaze and saw the general was coming towards them, but thankfully he wasn't looking at Regan. She released a breath, hoping he wasn't suspecting her. Instead, the general turned to Iris.
"Norma was it?" He said, looking down at her.
"Yes, sir," Iris replied, straightening up.
"You are good for a woman, soldier," he teased with a smirk.
Regan didn't think he would do anything else except yelling and reprimanding .
"You've proven yourself to be one of the best in this camp. I expect great things from you." He continued, surprising her.
Then he turned to Jack. "And you, large bag, need to work on your stamina. You can't expect to win any fight with that body." Jack gritted his teeth, but didn't reply.
Lastly, he turned to Regan, "And you, watch your tongue, soldier," he warned, "you're not here to sass around."
"Whatever you say, sir," Regan retorted, anger evident in her voice. "I'll make sure to watch it out."
Iris shot her a warning glance, but Regan ignored it. Jack, on the other hand, seemed to be holding back a chuckle.
They turned to gather with the other soldiers. Some of them were doing push ups while some had gathered to eat on the ground. A big tend was over them, shielding them from the hot sun. Somewhere far, were some sand dunes and red canyons. A few palm trees were spread apart with few plants here and there.
Jack tried to stir up some conversations with passing by soldiers but they were rude and uninterested.
He approached Iris, giving her a light punch on the arm, "What happened? Did the general's words melt your heart?" He teased.
Iris smiled, "Don't be ridiculous." She rolled her eyes.
Jack left them two and joined the soldiers who were eating and buzzing loudly with their talks.
Iris nudged Regan's arm, "Hey, Ingrid....I was just saying...the general doesn't look that bad. He's not bad looking either."
"So?" Regan raised an eyebrow, knowing where it was going.
"I mean, he's just in his duty. I don't think he has much of a choice. Maybe on the inside, he's not that harsh," Iris said, as if defending him.
Regan rolled her eyes, "He's in charge of your homeland," she whispered, "of course he's harsh. He's in charge of keeping this place running. If he showed any sign of weakness, someone else would take his place." She shrugged. "I don't know why you're even trying to make excuses for him."
She wanted to say something about the rebellion but the area was surrounded with soldiers and she didn't want others to suspect anything.
"Well, I just think we should give everyone a chance, you know. I don't want to judge him so quickly," Iris insisted. "He might not be as bad as we think."
"You can think whatever you want about him," Regan replied, not wanting to argue any further. "But we're here for other purposes."
She approached the tent, an older woman was inside giving food to the soldiers. All Regan wanted was a bottle of water. She walked over to Iris, "I'm very thirsty, can we get some water?" She asked, her voice hoarse.
"The soldier took the bottle he gave me," Iris replied, "let's go and get some.
They walked over to the tent where food and drinks were given. Jack was already sitting on the ground amongst the other soldiers, being too busy in his food and as well telling stories to the other soldiers that seemed intetested to listen.
Iris approached the woman and requested two bottles of water. The woman, who looked exhausted herself, handed them over without any complaints. She took the bottles and gave one to Regan. "Here, take it," Iris said, handing her the water, "it's not cold but it's better than nothing."
They found a spot under a tree, away from the commotion, and sat down. Regan opened the bottle and took a long gulp of water, feeling it soothe her throat. "Thanks," she said between swallows, "I needed that."
"No problem," Iris replied. She unscrewed the cap of her own bottle and took a sip. After a moment, she leaned in closer to Regan. "You know, maybe the general is not that bad."
Regan rolled her eyes, feeling slightly annoyed, "Alright Iris, it's not like we're gonna kill him. He can make it out alive. But just don't forget our resolve. We're not here to make relationships." She took another sip of water, her throat already feeling better. "And besides, even if he's not harsh or whatever, he's still the enemy."
The brunette pursued her lips, "I know. But we don't have to kill, right?"
"I don't want to kill," Regan retorted. The thought itself made her shiver, "I want them to pay for what they've done. I don't want the innocent to get hurt either," she said. For a moment, she remembered everyone she hated. She remembered Sirius, did she want to kill him? Then, she remembered Agnar, she really wanted to kill him.
Remembering Agnar, she thought about her sister. What was she even doing? She fell lost in thought about the sorcerer as well. Was he even informed of what they were doing? She hoped he wasn't. If he was, she didn't know what she'd do then.
And so, they passed the time. They took part in training again, Iris being the most efficient one, while Regan and Jack were getting mocked around second by second and receiving scorned looks by everyone.
"I want to see their faces when we rise the rebellion," Regan said through gritted teeth.
"Don't worry, Ingrid. They don't know what we're capable of," Jack replied, nodding.
Regan looked up at the sky, the sun had lowered into horizon. The dusk was approaching. She was more than eager and hopeful for their plan to work.
The brunette approached them, her eyes lingering on the general. Regan eyed her suspiciously, wondering that she might really have a real thing for him.
"Norma, you know you shouldn't do this," she said, her voice a tinge of annoyance.
"Yes, she's right. You're getting all over him." Jack added, a teasing smirk on his face.
"I'm not. I wasn't even looking at him," the brunette turned away, blushing.
Regan's eyebrows furrowed. She couldn't wait to gather with the rebellion in the old warehouse. She hoped the rebels were high in number and brave enough to face the soldiers. She didn't want the innocent ones to get hurt and she hoped it wouldn't escalate to that. Otherwise, the guilt would eat her up alive.
"Alright soldiers! The training for today is over!" The general ordered. The soldiers sighed in relief and they slowly departed, each on their tents. Some, stayed on the track, doing extra practice.
"Come on, let's go." Regan said, her expression firm and somewhat irritated.
"Alright...." Iris mumbled.
The general noticed the trio standing. He walked up to them, his face stern but not unkind. "And what if I told you that you should stay?" he asked, his voice commanding as he looked at Iris.
Iris's cheeks flushed, her heart racing. She looked up at the general, her eyes meeting his. "We'd say that it's not our place, sir."
Regan's eyebrows furrowed. They didn't have time for this, "Do you have any duty for us, sir?" She interrupted, her voice slightly irritated. The general gave her a scorned look and turned to Iris.
"What if I said it was?" He asked. Iris's cheeks flushed even more. She looked up at the general, her heart racing, her mouth going dry. "I would say that we are loyal soldiers, and we would follow your orders, sir," she managed to reply.
Although it had nothing to do with Regan, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed. She glanced at Jack, he was smirking.
The general studied Iris for a moment, his expression unreadable. "Very well. Dismissed." He turned on his heel and walked away. Iris let out a shaky breath, feeling a mixture of relief and unease. As they turned to leave, Regan gave her a disapproving glare.
"Norma, what was that? We don't have time for such distractions," she said looking down, playing with the hem of her shirt.
"I didn't do anything," Iris quickly defended.
Jack let out a laugh, "You wanted to faint on his arms, didn't you?"
"No, I didn't!" Iris retorted, looking annoyed. "I was just being polite."
"Right, sure you were." Regan rolled her eyes.
They took the way to turn back on their tents. They were tired but Regan knew this was going to happen tonight. The rebellion was going to take place tonight.
"Guys, there must be some drinks to increase stamina here. You both seem too tired," Regan said to them both.
"Well, maybe because I took part in most of the training," Iris retorted with a smirk.
Jack rolled his eyes, "They sell energy drinks in those tents. Let's go and look for them."
They started to walk towards the tents, their steps a little faster as they anticipated finding some energy booster. The camp was still bustling with activity, soldiers marching around, training and preparing for the night's patrols. The sun was slowly setting, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink.
As they searched through the tents, they came across a small stall. Jack brought three energy drinks in small bottles. They were made of some exotic fruit and had strange symbols on them. He handed one to Iris and another to Regan.
Regan drank it, it had a taste of grapefruit, she could say. Sweet.