The Cold War 2: by Nick Venom (book club reads txt) 📕

The next day, Wix ordered the recruits to complete stamina training by running laps around the perimeter of Ironclad. Ash and Gunner supervised the recruits, running alongside them. Wix followed behind them, keeping a distance between the back of the pack and himself.

“Keep running!” He shouted in hopes of motivating the slowest run, Maci Synder. She was a brunette with black eyes and pale skin. Her skin appeared sickly pale as if she was infected and dying slowly. Even so, Wix ordered her to pick up her pace. He had seen many recruits pushed to the point and they either made it or didn’t. That type of tactic was used in boot camps since the beginning of the war and, unfortunately, many recruits dropped out or committed suicide. It was a sad truth for many instructors. 

She’ll be fine… She just needs some motivation, he thought to himself. A little bit more. 

Meanwhile, Ash and Gunner stay alongside the fastest runner, Havin McKnight, and watch as he slowly tired himself out. He was pushing himself to show results, but he was draining himself in the process.

Ash turned to Gunner, “Wix’s right, he’s eager to show results.”

Gunner nodded. “Let’s keep watch over him.” He said. Ash nodded in agreement, turning towards the recruits. He watched as Havin continued to overexert himself while the others trekked behind him with a comfortable pace. 

“Watch the front, I’ll monitor the middle.”

“You say that so you could slow down.” Gunner teased. 

Ash glanced at him, grinning. “You caught me. Now take the front.”

Gunner shook his head as Ash slowed down to follow the middle of the pack. Ash monitored the recruits who found themselves not at the back but definitely not at the front. He watched as the four recruits trudged through the run, all of them huffing and puffing. 

“When… W-When will it be over?” A kid asked in between gasps of air. The kid was a black-haired female a few inches shorter than Ash’s height of six feet. She was dressed in the same rookie outfit as the others - worn-out camo uniforms that were sizes too large or stretched out by past wearers. 

“Whenever Wix says. Which might be a while from now.” He told her. “Keep running until he says otherwise.”

The kid nodded, turning to face her front. She followed after another recruit, who was slightly in front of her. This recruit was blond, with his hair forming a crude mohawk, and fit but not overly muscular. He appeared as a normal teen who did some mild physical training.

“Come on!” Ash heard Wix shout from the back of the pack. “Two more laps!” He added, receiving a few gasps of relief. The recruits were happy to hear that they had a finish line waiting for them. It would only take the six recruits two more laps to reach. 

Gunner, Ash, and Wix followed them as they completed the strenuous activity. The recruits passed the imaginary finish line and most of them passed out on the other side of the ripped tape. Riaz and Maci, the slowest and unmotivated members, finished sometime after the others. They had broken a sweat, but nowhere as much as the others. It was as if someone poured a penny of water on their forehead while the others were doused in it. 

Wix watched as they panted and gasped for air, staring at all of them intensely. “You have ten minutes, then we’re continuing with yesterday’s obstacle course. I-” He was cut off as a soldier behind him. The soldier wore the same camouflage gear as all the others in the fortress, saluting Wix. 

“Message from General Berets. Alpha Team is to report to him in his office immediately. Black Spirits are to be dismissed from training for the remaining duration of the day.” The soldier informed him.

Wix nodded. “Copy.”

The soldier nodded back before turning around and disappearing some distance away.

Wix, with the soldier gone, turned back to face the recruits. Raiz wore a smug grin while the others were filled to the brim with excitement that training had been cut short. It was a gift from heaven to them. 

“Return to your dorms. Training will recommence tomorrow. It’ll be double the work, so prepare yourselves.” He ordered before turning away and heading to meet with General Berets, the others following behind him.

Now alone, the recruits began to regain their breath, spending several minutes on the cool grass, before heading back to their dorms. It was a joyous moment for them. 

Raiz led them back to the dorms, the most energetic of the exhausted troupe. He had barely suffered physically from the run with the exception of his ears being filled to the brim dangerously by Wix’s shouting. Maci, similarly, suffered the least. She had been hit with Wix’s shouting but had dazed off in the process, ignoring him. She walked at the back of the group, not interacting with any of her comrades. She simply distanced herself.

The others, meanwhile, socialized with one another. They spoke with each other as if they had known them for their entire lifetimes. Though, their lifetimes are worth fewer than two decades of experience. 

They ended reaching their dorms after a few tens of minutes, entering the large three-story warehouse-looking building. They passed through the first and second floor, reserved for the units defending the fortress and the more experienced soldiers, and entered the third floor. The third floor held several apartments, each one resembling a house rather than a one-bed apartment. 

Raiz entered their apartment and approached the couch, plopping down like a bag of potatoes. He reached out to the coffee table in front of the couch and grabbed the remote, pressing the power and channel button in succession. He turned the television on and switched to one of two channels playing, a re-run of a series long out of production. The show displayed two men and two women as strange college roommates. 

“I’m surprised you could still stomach this series.” Katrina Wildes---the black-haired teen---remarked. “I got bored after the third re-watch.”

“It still has its worth. Plus, it’s better than the comics we got.”

“I like the comics.” Havin chimed in. “We don’t have them in order, but they got recaps… so who needs to have them all.”

“Yeah, but starting from the first issue and then going to the fifth issue sucks out the fun. This show, at least, has all of the episodes available. Or I think so anyway.” Raiz retorted.

“He has a point.” Evelyn Oakley, a light brown-haired girl muttered. Her voice, unlike the others, wasn’t deep or loud. She had a voice that, seemingly, couldn’t surpass a whisper. It almost reminded everyone of a cat’s meow… or at least that what’s they been told it sounds like. 

“Well, anyway, you should be training earnestly,” Havin told Raiz. “This is the best opportunity we got. We’re being trained by experienced soldiers who helped stop a siege with only half the forces as Delta’s. They’re like godsends.”

“Ha!” Raiz exclaimed. “I’ve heard of tall tales before. I doubt that any of those men actually helped out. I’m sure they hid in a corner and allowed the actual soldiers to defend the base. Then they squirm out their corners and claim the credit.”

“Hey, don’t be rude,” Katrina said with furrowed eyebrows. “We all know that you dislike authority or whatever, but you can’t talk about them behind their backs. Plus, I’m sure we wouldn’t be given inexperienced soldiers as trainers. We are the future here.”

“I don’t have a problem with authority.” Raiz declared as he swung his legs onto the ground. He got up and turned to face Katrina, who was behind the couch. “I have a problem with fakes who think they’re better than me. I haven’t even held a gun or seen one in these so-called “training sessions” that they’ve been forcing us in!”

“Maybe they’re waiting until we’re ready to handle a gun? Have you thought about that?” She retorted.

“We’re almost adults, why are they treating us like kids?”

“Because we’re not adults. We’re teens, which is one step up from being kids. But how you act, you don’t deserve that promotion.”

Both Raiz and Katrina engage in a glaring contest with neither side wanting to concede. It was only until Havin stepped in that they stopped.

“Calm down both of you. Go to your rooms.” He ordered them. Raiz shifted his glare to Havin, who glared back at him. Raiz then buckled under the pressure and listened to Havin, heading to his room. Katrina did the same, leaving Havin and Evelyn in the living room portion of their apartments. 

“Sorry about that, Eve,” Havin told Evelyn. “You would think that they would mature already.”

Evelyn shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, I’m used to their scrabbles already.”

Havin nodded. “Yeah… unfortunately, so am I.” He added before looking around. Maci was nowhere to be seen, seemingly slipping away during the conversation without anyone noticing. 

“Where’s Maci?”

“I think she left to the bathroom,” Evelyn guessed. “ Or maybe she went to the cafeteria?”

Havin nodded. “Okay… well, good night. I’m going to sleep.” He said before leaving the living room and falling asleep in his room. Evelyn stayed back, her stare lingering at the door. No matter how long she looked at it, no one was entering through it. 

Strange.

***

Maci slipped out of the apartment and headed to the public bathroom on the third floor. She entered the female bathroom and went into one of the many empty stalls. She sat on the toilet lid, staring at the stall door. 

When will it end? Was the first thought that entered her mind. When will this nightmare end? Will it ever end? Should I make it end? Can I make it end? 

She heard someone banging on a wall, far away from her. She looked in the direction, but her lack of x-ray vision only captured the sight of the stall wall. She couldn’t see farther than it. 

“Maybe someone is drunk or… maybe they just crashed into the wall or something.” She thought out loud. “It doesn’t affect me. Nothing will anymore.” She then heard the scuffling of feet entering the bathroom. The scuffling feet stopped outside her stall. 

“I’m sorry, it’s occupied.” She told the person on the other side.

“Oh, I know.” The voice responded. “I heard an interesting thought from outside. I figured I could be of assistance.”

Maci’s eyes widened as she recognized the voice coming from the other side of her stall. She tried to escape the stall, but it was too late.

TBC…

“Speed up the process?” Wix exclaimed. He stood