Our schedules are somewhat back to normal much to my relief. For the next few days we'll be training with the Soldier as a group, going over weapons and after those few days we'll go back to having individual sessions with him. We just finished eating breakfast and we're now on our way to the training room. I'm excited to see the Soldier but after last night I'm kind of nervous. When I woke up I wasn't even sure if last night was a dream or not, until I found Lena's bed empty. Most of the girls were quiet during breakfast but Ivan's smile still hasn't faltered since the performance. He's walking around like God just asked him to be his personal assistant.
Instead of going up the stairs to the second floor, we're led to the doors that lead outside. Footsteps can be heard from the staircase and soon the Soldier appears, stoic as ever. He opens the doors and guides us out into the cold. It isn't as cloudy as it's been for the past couple days so the sun balances out the winter air fairly well. We're escorted around the building to the clearing and the first thing I notice is 3 metal tables lined up next to each other. About 20 yards away are 6 targets shaped like the upper half of a person and there are red and white circular targets on the chest and face. Each table has 2 AK-107 assault rifles, the same ones the officers carry around and I'm just itching to get my hands on one. The Soldier stands back and waits for us to pick a table to stand at, Yelena and I go to the table that's at the far right and examine our weapon. The rifle is black, weights a little less than 4 kg, and is a little more than 940 mm long. Looking to the left, some girls have already started aiming at the targets. Soon all you can hear is the sound of gun shots but no one can quite hit the target. Lifting the rifle, I look through the scope and take aim. Pulling the trigger, I feel a jolt from the gun that's much stronger than the smaller one we used a couple days ago. I shoot a couple more times, then lower the rifle. I manage to hit the target but nowhere near the head or the chest. Lifting the rifle again, I aim and fire a couple more times. I'm able to graze the head of the target, gradually getting closer to the center but I can't seem to hit it. Milgred, who's standing at the table next to us, is the first to hit the bullseye on the chest. This encourages the other girls to try harder. Eventually, I'm able to get the bullseye on the head and the chest multiple times. Yelena turns to me with a smile, while Milgred gives me a not-so-friendly look I've never seen from her before. Looking back over at Yelena I see she hasn't hit the target once. Putting my gun down on the table, I step closer to help her.
"Put this part on your shoulder," I guide the stock of the gun to her right shoulder. "then place your left hand here. That should be easier." Lifting the rifle back up, she fires at the target and this time is able to hit it.
After another 20 minutes Milgred, Yelena, and I are the only ones who were able to hit the centers of the targets. Milgred hit hers once, Yelena was able to hit hers 6 times, and I was able to hit mine 12. I still missed a few times but I think with a little more practice I'll get the hang of it, Yelena too. Turning to face the Soldier, who I completely forgot was standing behind us, I find a man wearing a KGB uniform instead and next to him is Ivan. Ivan looks small compared to the man standing next to him. This man is tall, stocky, and hairy. Most of his face is covered in black hair and the bottom of his boots are stained red with blood. There's a trail behind him of red footprints so this must have happened recently. I know for sure it isn't the Soldier's because I can make out another set of footprints that leads back to the building, not to mention the Soldier's far to important to be killed. So who's blood is that?
"Follow me girls." The man mumbles in a gruff voice, turning around and walking back to the building with Ivan following close behind. Like a dog. We place our weapons back on the table and in a single file line we follow Ivan. As we round the building, a black van comes into view that wasn't there before. Holding the door open is Nikolay who looks ready to have a mental breakdown. Inside waiting is a few officers, the Soldier, and 4 more men wearing the same KGB uniform.
"These are officers from the KGB. They will be staying with us for a couple days." Without another word Ivan turns and follows the officers upstairs. They must be here to examine and study us, like the Soldier did on his first day. As Nikolay leads us up the stairs, we pass by a large puddle of blood that's still wet. Glancing up at the Soldier, I find him staring at it. His face is blank and so is his eyes, but his fists are clenched and his jaw is set. This is what gives away the Soldier's emotions and I'm thankful for it because it shows me that he's human, not a mindless killer like everyone else perceives him to be.
Madame Oksana's waiting for us as we step onto the 2nd floor. She hastily guides us into the ballet studio and shuts the door with a huff, leaning her head back against the wood. It's evident on her face that she's exhausted, there are bags under her eyes and she looks more pale than usual. Standing up straight, Madam Oksana fixes her hair and runs her hands down her dress to smooth out the wrinkles. She then makes her way across the room, her head held high.
"In position." She orders, stopping in the middle of the room. Her voice is uneven but she stands with the utmost authority. We line up across the room and go into first position. For the next two hours Madam Oksana shows us the moves to a new dance and as each minute passes she seems to relax and loosen up. If one of us messed up, she would give us a reassuring smile and tell us to try again. This was very much out of character for her but I can't lie and say I don't like it. I don't remember the last time I've seen Madam Oksana so relaxed like this.
"That will be all for today." She gives us a nod and exits the room. A few moments later Nikolay emerges in the doorway and we get in line to be escorted to Mr. Volkov's classroom. As we make our way down the hall, we pass Mr. Volkov's room and head towards the training room instead. The training room door opens and the Soldier emerges with a few KGB officers behind him. Stepping to the side, he lets the officers pass so Nikolay can lead us into the room. I immediately notice is a table with 6 decently sized knives displayed across it. We line up in front of the table as Nikolay and the Soldier stand on the other side facing us. Nikolay's looking at each and every one of us with a cocky smile on his face, not realizing the Soldier's staring down at him. Glancing up at the Soldier, Nikolay finally gets the hint and leaves the training room. As soon as the door closes the Soldier tells us to pick a knife. They're similar to the knife he gave me a little while ago except a little bigger. The handle is smooth while the blade is long and jagged.
"Today you'll be doing hand-to-hand combat. Pick a partner and don't get stabbed." The Soldier explains with a hint of humor in his voice that no one else seems to catch. To my surprise Wendeliena has already picked Yelena as a partner and the only girl left without a partner is Yulia. I can see it in her face that she's apprehensive to fight with me but I can also recognize a sense of determination burning in her eyes. We take our place on the mat right next to Milgred and Pouline who are already swinging at each other. Turning my attention back on Yulia, out of nowhere she grabs my arm and aims for my stomach. Reacting out of instinct, I grab her arm before her knife can pierce my skin and kick her legs out from under her. She falls to the mat with a yelp but quickly gets back up. Yulia then starts circling me in an attempt to intimidate me which isn't really working. The fear and uncertainty is too evident on her face. She lunges at me again this time going for my face. Grabbing her arm, I slam my head against hers and flip her over onto the mat. It almost seems like she's trying to seriously hurt me, which she should know isn't very wise. She stands back up but before she can make the first move again, I swing my knife at her. She's barely able to dodge it and nearly falls back onto the mat. Again I make the first move and manage to graze her cheek. Something then shifts in her eyes and her body language changes. Almost like it's a completely different person. I block out the sounds of the girls fighting and the burning gaze from someone who is watching from afar. Instead I zero in on Yulia and every little thing she's doing. Her breathing is completely even and she's gripping her knife to the point that her knuckles are now white. I don't dare make the first move. Her eyes shift so quickly I almost miss it. She then jolts towards me but I back up and kick her in the chest. Yulia stumbles back but is quick to recuperate. Thrusting her knife at me again, I hold my arms up to block her but she doesn't stop. Instead she keeps thrusting and lunging at me her sole purpose to make me bleed. I manage to block another one of her attempts and I'm able to make a decently sized gash on her upper right arm. She steps back in shock and I take that moment to look around and find everyone watching us. Yulia lunges at me again, her eyes filled with rage. I don't know what has gotten into her, maybe she remembers what I did to her not too long ago or her being wiped just caused her to snap but whatever it is she needs to stop before she does something really stupid. Taking ahold of both of her hands, I twist both of them to the side and swing my leg up to connect with her head. Yulia falls to the ground unconscious and immediately Pouline and Wendeliena drag her to the edge of the mat to see if she's okay. Walking over to where Yelena and Milgred are, I glance up at the Soldier who's standing behind them and notice that he almost looks pleased but I can't be too sure.
"Pouline." The Soldier orders, stepping onto the mat and pulling out his knife from his belt. Pouline looks up almost in horror but nonetheless reluctantly approaches the Soldier, the grip on her knife tight. He twirls the knife in his right hand subconsciously, waiting for Pouline to get in position. She holds her knife up and waits, debating on if she should make the first move. But the Soldier quickly makes that decision for her and tries slashing at her face, he's not going to go easy on us. He manages to make a small cut on the bridge of her nose that immediately starts to bleed. One after the other more and more cuts appear all over Pouline and she looks just about to give up. Finally he dismisses her with a nod, allowing her to stand back in line with the rest of us. The Soldier then looks over at Yelena who looks uneasy but confident. Wendeliena has a few cuts here and there from Yelena so I hope she can land at least one on the Soldier, she's been doing surprisingly well the past couple days and I think she might even be one of the last girls in the program. If I don't make it out of here, I hope Yelena does. As soon as Yelena makes it onto the mat the Soldier lunges at her. Surprisingly she moves away just in time and kicks at one of his legs. The Soldier doesn't budge and instead grabs one of her arms and flings her to the ground. Yelena manages to barley catch herself and doesn't waste time getting back in position. The Soldier again attacks first but Yelena moves out of the way and tries to cut at the Soldier's chest. The knife didn't pierce his uniform but the Soldier still looks pleased she managed to land one on him. Yelena gets back in line with a smile and Wendeliena takes her place in front of the Soldier. It doesn't take long for the amount of cuts on Wendeliena to double and she soon walks off the mat in shame.
"Natalia." The Soldier calls for me while his back is turned. I tighten the grip on my knife as I approach him and notice he's cleaning the blood from his knife off on his right sleeve. I wait for him to turn around but instead he takes his sweet time cleaning his weapon. I start to get irritated knowing he's just messing with me. Right when I'm about to charge at him, the Soldier spins around and swings at my face. His blade scrapes my cheek but not deep enough to draw blood. Falling to the floor, I use all of my strength to kick his feet out from under him. He falls to the mat with a loud thud and I fling myself onto him, my knife at the ready. Before I can get anywhere near his face, since that's the only part of his body that's showing, he grabs me by my forearms and flips us over so he's on top. The Soldier holds down both of my arms above my head and a faint smirk appears on his face which makes my irritation grow. Slamming my head against his which makes the amusement promptly disappear, I manage to pull my right arm out from his grip and slash at his face. His head snaps to the right as blood starts to drip onto my right cheek. Bringing my legs up against my chest, I place my feet against his stomach and push him off of me. Sitting up, I look over and see the Soldier grinning up at the ceiling. As we both get to our feet, he dismisses me with a nod as he wipes at his cheek with the back of his hand. Milgred is the only one left to go against the Soldier and doesn't look all that excited. She's biting at her lip nervously as she steps onto the training mat. The Soldier goes a little easier on Milgred than the rest of us but she's still barley holding her own. Soon enough the Soldier's finished with her and she has almost just as much injuries as Wendeliena. The Soldier places his knife back in his belt and makes his way to the door. We all place our knives back on the table and follow him. Looking over towards the corner of the room, I see Yulia still on the floor unconscious and I wonder what will happen to her now. When he opens the door, Ivan and the same KGB officers are waiting for us. The Soldier holds the door open for us as we exit the room but instead of following us out, he goes back in the room and closes the door. We follow Ivan downstairs to the dining room where we'll be eating dinner. Today went by fairly quickly and for some reason I'm already looking forward to tomorrow. When we enter the dining room a few more officers are present as well as the rest of the KGB officers. They're all standing at the back of the room at attention. As we eat dinner they don't move a muscle and they don't seem to mind when the girls start to strike up a conversation. When we finish eating dinner Nikolay accompanies us up to the third floor to wash up. Most of the girls need to take their time because the blood from their cuts dried up during dinner, making it harder to wash off. Turning the shower on, I duck my head under the cold water. As the water runs over my face I feel a slight sting on my cheek from where the Soldier cut me. I finish scrubbing my body and turn the water off. The other girls finish at the same time and we all start to get dressed. Clothes is always left by the door when we shower, sometimes Nikolay or Madame Oksana drops it off. But this time it's Nikolay who brought us our clothes, I know this because he's standing by the door watching us get ready. I quickly throw my clothes on not wanting Nikolay's gaze on me for long. When we all finish getting dressed, we line up by the door and follow Nikolay down the hall towards the stairs. As we make our way down the hall, the Soldier turns the corner and passes us on his way to the washroom. The Soldier keeps his eyes forward, not daring to glance at any of us. Just as he passes me, he lets his right hand brush against mine making a smile appear on my face. Thankfully no one notices because I'm the last one in line. When we reach the basement, Nikolay starts cuffing us to the bed. Just as he tightens the cuff around my wrist, Yulia walks into the basement. She doesn't look at anyone and just gets in her bed hand cuffing herself without a word. Nikolay goes to check her cuffs, then leaves the room. It's quiet, almost like theres no one in the room. I lay there staring at the dark ceiling, waiting for everyone to fall asleep. 45 minutes later I can hear everyone's even breathing. Reaching under my mattress, I find the key that I'm now hiding there and unlock the cuff. It was too risky hiding it under my pillow, anyone could have lifted it up and found it.
I know sneaking around is risky, especially with the KGB lurking around but I need to get to the roof. I know no one's in the kitchen because the lights are off but I still check just to make sure. It's quiet, but I don't expect the KGB officers to be very chatty. They carry themselves different than the Red Room officers, they seem much more professional and dry.
Making my way towards the stairs, I notice the rest of the lights are off in the building but this doesn't make me put down my guard. This is probably one of the worst ideas I've ever had, apart from pretty much every other decision I've made. Quickly, but quietly I take two steps at a time all the way up to the 8th floor. Not wasting any time, I open the door and my eyes immediately find the Soldier. He's sitting at the edge of the building wearing a white shirt and sweatpants that I'm really starting to like on him. Taking a seat next to him, we stay quiet for a few moment. No words are really needed. Glancing over at him, I notice the cut I made on his left cheek. The skin around it is red but nothing really to worry about, I almost feel proud. I try not to because pride can get to your head and that will make you reckless. I don't turn my head back when the Soldier looks over at me. Instead of turning back around like I expected, he holds his hand out. Opening my hand, he drops a small object covered in a shiny red wrapper. The Soldier also has one and I watch as he starts to open it. Doing the same, I peel away the wrapper to find something I've heard about and shamefully dreamed about many times. Chocolate. Turning back to face the Soldier, I watch as he pops it in his mouth. Looking down at the one in my hand one last time, I place the candy in my mouth. Almost instantly it starts to melt. Creamy chocolate slowly disintegrating on my tongue. It's probably the most delicious thing I've ever had. The food they serve us isn't really tasty but this is like nothing I could have ever imagined. Surprisingly I feel tears welling up, but I don't dare let them spill over. It's not that I'm afraid of crying in front of the Soldier, I don't think there's much I'm afraid to do when it comes to him but it's more like I don't want to admit this weakness. I'm becoming weak, because I care. I care about Yelena and the Soldier, that's weakness. Now I'm crying over chocolate, it's like I don't know myself anymore. But even though I'm having all of these feels, I just can't seem to bring myself to hate it.
I'm not sure how long we sat there but all we did was watch the colors, occasionally glancing at one another. Neither of us talked, because there wasn't much to say. Instead we enjoyed the city, with the faint taste of chocolate still on our tongues and a distant stinging on our cheeks.
Шоколад (Shokolad)- Chocolate