07 - Reality Hangover

~~~ Bea’s POV ~~~

A bucket of icy cold water jolts me awake. Confused and disoriented, I look down at my arms, abdomen, and then my surroundings. Different ethnic women held their straight military attention pose in front of me. There are three blue-grey bunk beds equally spaced between them, along the wooden cabin wall. I'm still alive. Was the airplane just a dream? 

-"Wake up, cadet." Connor shouts.

Standing at an arm's length is the girl who wielded the raging storm when they kidnaped me. She motions for me to get out of bed and follow. Her hands held an empty bucket, making me deduct she was the one who dumped the cold water all over me. Stopping at the end of the bunker bed, she props herself to attention. I do the same.

Connor paces up and down the cabin, speaking in an authoritative tone.

-"Remember to be on time. Tardiness won't be tolerated. Your team will be your family from now on." He stops before me. "If one of you steps out of line, the whole team gets punished. Are we clear?" He shouts, making me jump. 

-"Yes, sir." 

-"Good. As punishment for your new cadet's tardiness, you will skip breakfast this morning and complete ten laps around the compound before the training starts."

-"You drugged me, how was I--"

-"Add 20 push-ups to the punishment." Connor cuts me off, his face inches away from mine.

Yesterday's gentle caring man had been replaced with a complete jerk. Not a single kindness trace was left behind. 

-"Yes, Sir." I reluctantly complied.

Satisfied, Connor marshes out the door, the stormy girl following him pronto. After a few minutes of silence, the whole room erupts into chatter while they finish putting on their uniforms. They were mainly complaining about the punishment and how unfair it was. 

-"You better hurry and change into your uniform. Also, don't forget to make your bed. They run quarters inspection while we are out training." A girl with Asian features says, squeezing past me towards the locker next to the bunk bed where I woke up. She opens it, taking out a white and grey uniform just like the one she wears.” Quick we don't have all day." 

-"How long was I out? Can I shower first?" I asked, peeling the wet clothes away from my skin.

-"Showers are after the training. I don't know how long you were unconscious. We didn't even know you were placed in our cabin till Captain Connor stormed on a surprise inspection. Now put this on, and let's go." She pushes the uniform against my chest. "We leave in five." 

She climbs the bunk bed above mine, straitening the sheets and blankets. I guess we are sleep buddies. The bunker had a total of six-bed sets. Ours was by the entrance door.  Before changing, I look around. Changing among so many women watching made me a little shy. Thankfully everyone seems to be minding their own business, so I change into dry clothes, keeping my wet undergarments because nothing I had packed made it here. We are in a hurry, so make the bed without changing the damp linen. I will have to ask where to find a dry bedding set later.

One by one, the girls exit the cabin, waiting outside in a single line. I join them, placing myself behind them. Although the bed capacity was twelve, there were only five girls, not counting myself. The Asian girl comes by and taps my shoulder. Her outstretched hand offers me a hair-tie. 

-"You have to put your hair in a bun. Dress code rules." She speaks. My eyes scan the five girls, whose hairs were perfectly groomed into donut buns. "Move to the front of the line. As a new recruit, you will set the group's pace. We are a team. No one is left behind. Remember that."  

Guess Adrian wasn't kidding when he stated the deal was for me to become a soldier. This place runs up-tight. 

-"But I wouldn't know where to go." I point out.

-"Do you have hearing issues?" She asks. I nod negatively. 

-"Good, then move to the front and start running."

Gathering my hair, I tie it in a bun while making my way to the front. Once there, I run at a steady pace, our boots crunching the snow beneath our feet.  We run through the tall pine tree for a few minutes before the girl who gave me the hair-tie, and whose name I still don't know yet, shouts 'left'. So that's why she asked if I could hear. Following her commands every so often, we lap around the mountain path for what felt like hours, but judging by the sun's position in the sky, which barely had changed, I can tell it had been only minutes.

There wasn't much out there, just pine trees, two more buildings like our cabin, and a bunch of snow. The sun shone brightly in the sky, with no clouds in sight. Back home, I used to run with werewolves which helped me build quite the stamina. Still, after all these laps, my calves burn, and my stomach, like everyone else's, growled for the breakfast food we won't have this morning.

Instead of ordering me to yet another left turn on the last lap, the lead girl tells me to take a right, making us descend the mountain through the recent carved car tracks. We make it to the tarp road, where we run another mile or so before encountering the most beautiful crystal palace I have ever seen. Between the snow-covered mountains and surrounded by a forest of sharp icicles stood an Arabian-like castle with different heights cylindrical towers linked together by covered battlements and ornated silver metal resembling a ribbon. Each building had crystal blue domes and an extended platform near the top. One tower stood out in particular. It sat at the edge of the abyss, connected to the main building by a long blue crystal hall bridge. But that wasn't the only unusual detail about it. Its dome wasn't made of sparkling blue crystal glass like the others but of a burning blue flame instead. It felt as if the flame was dying, though. The intensity was weak and, from time to time, would take on a purple tone. 

By the time we reached the castle, I was ready to move on to the afterlife. No matter how much stamina you have, running like this will make anyone huff and puff. Every girl behind me felt the same way. They were all bent over, heaving for air with hands on their knees, vivid pink nose tips, and cheeks. We barely had time to catch up when the leader girl instructed us to form a line and start the push-ups. Gosh. What did I get myself into?

A group of probably fifty people exits the building, joining us in the courtyard. Connor is among them. He waits for us to finish before commanding twenty sit-ups. The lead girl and I pair up, me going first while she secures my feet to the ground.

-"What's--Your--Name?" I ask between sit-ups. 

-"Amaya." She answers.

-"Beatrice. But--everyone--calls me--Bea." Connor’s whistle goes off, and we switch positions.

-"How long have you been here? If you don't mind me asking."

-"A year, give or take." She responds effortlessly.

-"Is everyone here a phoenix?" 

-"If by everyone you mean the people training in this courtyard, then yes. The mortals live in the small town a few miles away from here, except for a few royal family servants."

-"Did they kidnap you too?"  She looks taken aback by my question.

-"Kidnap?"

Before I could elaborate, Connor whistled again. We created a circle, and after doing some stretching and articulation warm-up, he randomly started calling names for sparring. Of course, being the new girl, Connor made sure I wasn't forgotten. He paired me with one of the boys called Jacob. Dark skin, curly hair, fit figure. Jacob appeared to be agitated, constantly tugging on his uniform's grey turtleneck sweater. Maybe he wasn't feeling too well. It was cold outside, yet I could see the sweat beads running down his temporals. 

When he came to strike his first move, I sidestepped left, blocked his arm with my right, and punched his ribs with my left fist. We shared uppercuts, sidekicks, and a few over-the-shoulder throws. Annoyed I haven't been the easy target he hoped for, his eyes glow a strange purple before an ice chain forms from the palm of his hand to the floor. Using it like a whip, he assails me. I use my arms to block the lashes left and right as they come. 

-"Use your powers, cadet!" Connor shots while passing back and forth. 

The wiping becomes more aggressive, leaving a burn behind every time it meets my skin. That's when I noticed the ice chain had now blue-turquoise flames. My opponent might be strong, but he is predictable. His movement comes in a pattern that I memorize and quickly start to dodge. Bothered with the fact his chains are no longer effective on me, he dissipates it to conjure fire spheres he throws in my direction—the moment they hit the ground, the area freezes. 

-"Use your powers." Connor anxiously demands. 

How am I supposed to do that exactly? Blizzard had been quiet this whole time, skeptical about making his appearances. Even if he did speak now, I still wouldn't be able to control my powers. That's why I am putting up with all this bull***t after being kidnapped. These people have the answer and the training to help me. Suddenly Jacob falls to the floor, twitching as if he was having a seizure. People attend to him, but his erratic movements throw them off. Anguish scream penetrated deep in your soul while the gory images of Jacob peeling off his own skin traumatize any sane mind. The one-person commotion settles down, reviling another disfigured monster, just like the one in the Alpha's mansion. Its mouth points to the sky as the creature seems to gag something up, to then spit a dark purple flame sphere in my direction. 

-"Bea move! Don't let it touch you!"  Connor shouts like a cat on a hot tin roof. 

I jump out of the way, just in time to avoid the attack. Connor rushes past me, an ice sword in one hand and a shield in the other. Most of the students had taken cover behind the various crate piles scattered around the courtyard. Amaya and I were the only ones still up close to the fight. She tries to drag me to safety, but I stop her.

-"We have to help him." I step in Connor's direction, and she blocks my way.

-"If that thing touches you, you are dead. Do you understand? The poison will corrupt you."

-"We can use the tears to cure the poison, just like we did with my friend." I state, remembering how we cured Liam.

-"No, they can't. The healing tears don't cure a poisoned phoenix. It only cures those that aren't like us."

-"So, we are just going to leave Connor fighting alone? What happened to no one is left behind?" I enforce my point. We need to help. There must be something we can do. I grip her upper arm, expressing my urgency.

-"Girls, watch out!" Connor warns.

One of the purple fires heads towards us. Instinctively I push Amaya away while also trying to dodge it myself. The corrupted flame hits the ground near my left foot, freezing it in place with dark crystals. The beast builds up yet another giant energy ball, throwing it in my direction once it reaches the desired amount of energy. Anxiety builds as I won't free my leg in time to avoid the attack. I protect my face with my arms and brace myself for what will be a painful blow.