A Glimpse Into the Future
"The way his sea green eyes looked….she knew he would be a person she could get along with."
"Alright maggots, listen up! As of now, you are all part of the 98th trainee squad. Over the next year or so I, Keith Shadis, will be your instructor. This will not be an easy stroll through the park. This training will determine if you would survive being a solider of humanity. So, to those this applies to, I suggest crying to mommy now rather than later," a tall tan man bellowed to the rows, and rows, of trainees standing at attention. The beginnings of wrinkles followed the curve of his eyes and serious brow.
Petra looked up at the cloudless sky. Did she ever see it this blue before? She nearly lost herself in a daydream when a ripple of whispers amongst the other cadets brought her back down to earth. He was to far away for to Petra make out any words, but the petite teenager could still hear the rise of his mumbled words as Shadis yelled at a recruit a few rows behind her.
It was easy to tell which row Keith Shadis observed. Everyone in that specific line of trainees stood straighter, almost rigid, with their fists clenched tightly over their heart. No one wanted to be picked for a public interrogation by the instructor. And, by the look of it, Petra was lucky enough to have Shadis grace her row with his presence.
"I'd rather cry about having to look at Mr. Instructor's bald spot all day," someone mumbled off to Petra's left. She couldn't see who assaulted the man's receding hair line, but the copper haired girl could tell it was a female based on the voice. All she could do watch stare at the sky as Keith turned on his heels to face the girl.
"What the hell did you just say?" Shadis narrowed his eyes to stare down at the girl who just hurt his hair's pride. So what if he was going bald? Some women liked it…said it gave him a sense of intelligence…
The girl looked up at Keith Shadis with a smug smirk. "I said I admired how the sun reflected off your head."
"So, we have a little smart-ass here, don't we?" Keith inquired through gritted teeth. A vein popped on his temple, signaling his anger. His facial expression grew soured, though he gained an unsettling grin. The girl didn't reply, having lost some of the confidence she foolishly held a second ago, but held Keith's gaze stubbornly.
"I guess we'll just have to see how funny your joke was after you run a few hundred miles," the black haired man said with a voice an octave lower than normal.
He straightened his back before barking his order. "I suggest you start running, and don't stop until the sun sets!"
The girl stared up at the instructor, her eyes narrowed while gritting her teeth, before turning to her right and jogging off. Petra was able to catch a faint "Fucking hell" as the girl jogged past her.
How long had they been out here? Petra scrunched her nose as she felt a small pool of sweat slowly forming on the small of her back. In her own opinion, she'd been doing well so far. After the first six hours, some people passed out from the sun's merciless heat. True, this was defiantly the most she's ever sweated in one day, but she didn't feel close to losing consciousness.
Keith made it down through every row of recruits, but decided to follow his tracks down each one again; wanting to worm out the weak early. Plus, it was kind of fun. The second, of course, was a secret.
Through carefully planned whispers, Petra learned the tall dirty blonde standing to her right was a seventeen year old boy from Wall Rose named Jonathan Wright. It did puzzle her that she'd never met Jonathan before, since they both lived within the same wall. Notably, Wall Rose was a huge place just meet one person, but her dad knew nearly everyone or heard of people through friendly exchanges of stories due his type of work. Even though she never heard of Jonathan, he's heard of the infamous Petra Ral: the girl with bright copper hair whose angel kissed skin and cheery smile could lighten anyone's mood.
She glanced up at Jonathan while Keith shouted at a teen boy a few rows ahead of them. The way his sea green eyes looked….she knew he would be a person she could get along with.
Curse the sun and its warmth, Petra thought ruefully as the sun's rays caused her body to relax. She let out a soft yawn while her shoulders drooped instinctively.
Keith Shadis was in front of her with an unnatural amount of speed. "Oh, tired are we?"
Petra jumped in her spot. The tall man caught her off guard. "N-no sir!"
"Hmmm.." the tan man hummed dangerously, leaning closer to Petra with his hands clasped behind his back. "Is that so? Tell me cadet, what is your name?"
"Ral. Petra Ral, sir, from Wall Rose," the honey-eyed girl answered while saluting with all her strength.
Petra held Shadis' gaze determinedly, not wanting to seem weak. She needed to be strong for her father and mom alike. There was no way she was going to be weak. Her dreams showed her this was her path to take.
Keith Shadis' eyes widened slightly at Petra's full name. There was no possible way…..but here stood a descendent of the Ral family. There's no way in hell Alain would have agreed to this girl being here, he thought as an uneasy feeling grew in his stomach, would he?
Petra stood patiently, staring up at Shadis, and waited for her verbal harassment. After a few heartbeats of silence her determined gaze turned into something slightly confused.
"Petra Ral," Shadis stated while perfecting his posture. He didn't look at the shorter girl standing in front of him, but chose to stare down the row of recruits instead. "I expect great things from you. Do not let me down."
Petra watched as Shadis walked away without another word. Her mouth almost dared to hang open in shock at the fact the instructor didn't yell out flaws he saw about her. The feeling of eyes boring holes into her shoulders made her glance towards Jonathan.
His soft green eyes screamed 'What the hell was that?'
Oh my, who's this sudden green-eyed fellow? I sense jealousy in the near future. *evil smirk*
On another topic, I apologize for the rather slow update. I'm part of an indoor drumline and I have a pretty hectic schedule between that and high school.Thank you to everyone who leaves a review, follow, or favorite!
Lots of love from Different ^-^
