Chapter 20: Training

September 15, 2053

10:01 PM

Dear Diary,

I'll try to make this fast because lights-out was already 30 minutes ago. Where to begin...

So much has happened this last few, what, week? A week since my last diary entry? Goodness. Currently, I'm staying in another secret base right under Ukraine. This is one of the many training camps for rebellion members. Oops! I mean "future Free Army soldiers". Free Army. Short and simple. People prefer that far more than "the rebels". (Though it's the exact same thing...) We're so close to Zaroff's actual HQ, it's incredibly risky. 

My body is extremely sore. Training is brutal. It's your standard military training procedures, but even harder. They're rushing our training...

We're going to war in a few weeks.

~~

September 17, 2053

9:18 PM

Dear Diary,

Another day of ferocious training. My body is seriously starting to break down. I can hardly hold this pencil as it is. Shenbad's words, as always, are the only thing that keep me going. But there are times I still want to quit. I'm told most people give up after the first four days or so. I've been here a little more than a week, so I'm slowly getting into the groove of things. But not much. I wonder how Axel and Lexa are holding up...No doubt Haine is.

I haven't seen any of them since we got to this place. First they split up the males and females and grouped them together by fitness levels. I scored as average, though I wish I'd scored lower. If I had, they would've placed me on a less brutal training program. 

I share a small 15x15 room with five other people. Though, only one of the five actually speak any English. And when I say small, I mean small. You will not BELIEVE the crap I had to put up with to sneak a diary in here. They were all distracted by Shenbad's sword, so I was lucky enough to get it through security. Ever since they took away Shenbad's sword from me though, I can't help but feel a part of me is missing. I'm lonely and anxious more often without that sword strapped to my hip.

~~

I close my diary and shove it inside of my pillow sheet. 

"You're lucky your boyfriend is a top dog." Sheeda sneers down at me from the top bunk. She's a tan woman around my age with one green eye and a blue one, a mutation from ZF she doesn't like to talk about. The first time I saw her, I was shocked...

Her face resemblance to Lucy is uncanny, though that's the only trait they share.

Sheeda is more of a dirty blonde, and while Lucy kept her hair long, Sheeda's is short and spiked back. Her shoulders are also broader due to all the training. Sheeda has been here for almost two months. She's obviously the alpha in our six person cabin and even though I don't care, she still likes to challenge me.

And the greatest difference between her and Lucy: Sheeda is one of the most agressive and competitive people I've ever met. Her attitude makes her quite unpleasant to be around, too. Deep down she isn't so bad, though. Like...deep, deep down.

"Leon isn't my boyfriend." I reply calmly. I know she's just trying to get on my nerves, so I always keep a cool face. "And you can tattle on me if you want."

"Nah," Sheeda grins. "I'd rather you get yourself in trouble." She says that, but we both know the truth. Sheeda keeps a diary too. It's one of those "you don't tell, I don't tell" sort of things. "But seriously, I'm jealous. Everyone was real surprised yesterday at the test. I've never seen General Leon act like such a love-sick puppy." 

"Please don't remind me." I groan. The other day, all of the newer troops in section B-3 (my area) were called to some meeting for progression tests. Kind of like fitness day back in elementary school. You just need to do a bunch of push ups, crunches, pull ups, sprints, etc. Then you're judged and are put into a new rank depending on your performance. Now, let me explain something first:

Everyone here is ranked by fitness. Class ranks go from lowest to highest - D, C, B, A, S. Each of those classes are divided based on intelligence from 1 to 5. Since I'm ranked as B-3, I'm exactly in the middle. Now, there are exactly twenty-three Generals - one assigned to each area. Most people rank close to me, but Generals like Leon are all S-4 or S-5 class. Believe it or not, Braun is actually a general too! He's S-5, no surprise there. Though, because of the cut-and-dry attitude around here, he's been demoted to A-5. (Due to his handicap.)

Back to the progression tests...guess who just happened to be the General of my section? You guessed it - Leon. Everyone knows Leon around here. He's infamous for his brutal and harsh progression tests. Usually, other soldiers come around just to watch and make fun of lower ranks...But when it's Leon's tests, almost the entire camp comes to watch. I was nervous enough as it is...Leon just made it worse. The second he sees me, he pulls me into one of those bear hugs and doesn't let go until everyone's mouths have hit the floor. And during the entire test, he cheers for me from the other side of the room. The entire room's attention was on me.

"General Leon has a thing for you." Sheeda winks. Just as I'm about to reply, the lights suddenly switch off. "Lights out, eh? 'Night."

"G'night." I sigh. The four others in the room mumble "goodnight" in their own languages. Slowly, my eyelids become heavy and I'm drifting off to a peaceful sleep.

Thanks for reading!! Sorry about all the story fluff. I'll get a lot more progression in the next chapter!! x3