Chapter Six: First Test

Okay, we've got a bit more action in this one. Hope nobody's getting bored _ I know that it's building slowly, but I felt like I couldn't rush things. Anyway, please enjoy!

Classified: RIMTEC "Lone Wolf" Program Trainee Evaluation Set 4

Re: Request for additional individual information

Trainee 5A: McDonnel, Ashlynn

A classic bully, who talks big but is actually a weak coward. His mother committed suicide when he was three, and his father has been in and out of jail all his life. Subject has many sore points, including his name, which he considers to be 'too feminine'. Doesn't have the temperament to be a successful soldier.

Trainee 5B: Milligan, Peter Carl

The smallest and weakest of our selected trainees, a timid, sweet-natured boy. Orphaned from birth, he was adopted but sent back because the family was unable to keep him. Has borderline abandonment issues, and is mentally undeveloped.

Team Evaluation: Deliberately dysfunctional. By putting Trainee 5B in a situation where he has to constantly watch out for himself and reinforcing the message that no one will help him, we plan to force him to become self-reliant. If he survives, he will either be mentally unstable or an extremely effective soldier.

A week passed, and Jan found himself settling into a routine. He rose at exactly 0720 every day, went to the cafeteria with the other trainees, and ate a boring, nutritious breakfast. Then he went to the range, where he spent the allotted hour honing his shooting skills. Within a few days, he had soared past Garcia and was tied with Carson for the number of 'kills' he got, although he considered himself to be better than Carson, since he specifically concentrated on getting headshots.

Then he went to the gym and worked out until 1100 hours, cycling between the rope wall, the track, and the weights. He participated in several more races, and each time, he made sure to continue at full speed all the way to the finish line. No more carelessness.

After two hours in the gym, the trainees were sent to the showers to wash off the sweat. This was the only time that he and Bella were separated. On the first day, a small group of boys (spearheaded by Chang, who quickly developed a reputation as the 'pervert' of the group) attempted to spy on the girls' showers, and was intercepted by an angry Ms. Peterson, who sent them packing.

They ate lunch precisely at 1200, and from 1230 to 1345 they were allowed to mingle in the break room, talking or playing games. The trainees separated almost immediately into different groups, the largest of which was made up of Bluff, Garcia, Morgan, Walters, Greenbay, and Chang, who all got along to some degree. Anderson and Bell, who were best friends, stuck to each other and stayed away from the boys. Worthington and Carson, although they were partners, clearly didn't enjoy each other's company, although it seemed they had developed a mutual respect. At least, Worthington respected Carson and Carson left him alone. Jan strongly suspected that there had been some incident between them that convinced Worthington that it was smarter not to mess with the other boy.

McDonnel also kept mostly to himself, although he continued to harass the smaller boys. Walters was more or less protected by the group of bigger boys, and McDonnel's broken nose reminded him not to lay hands on Jan, but Milligan was undefended and caught the brunt of his abuse. Every day, the little boy sported some new bruise or scrape, and Jan could tell that he was having a rough time of it. He didn't dare try to integrate himself into the group of larger boys for fear of retribution later, when he was alone with his tormentor in their room at night.

At 1345, they left the break room and proceeded to the sparring area. There they received a three hour lesson (with a fifteen minute break every hour) in movement and a martial art called CQC (standing for Close Quarters Combat). They were required to learn how to roll forward, backward, and sideways from standing, as well as master various basic combat techniques. From the second day onward, Creed, who trained them, had them fight practice bouts which more often than not ended with blood being drawn. Jan himself always emerged victorious and uninjured, except for minor bruises, but the others were not so lucky. Bluff got several fingers broken during a match with Chang, and McDonnel fainted dead away after being elbowed in the nose by Carson. Jan noticed with interest, though, that Creed never made trainees fight against their partners. He was relived about that, because it meant that he never had to fight against Bella, and he somehow didn't think that hurting her would be as easy as hurting the others.

By the time they finished their combat training, it was 1830, and they went to the showers once again to clean up. At 1900, they went to the cafeteria and ate dinner. They were finished at 1930, and Ms. Peterson escorted them back to their rooms. The lights, which were on a controlled timer, went out at 2000 hours. By that time, Jan was already in bed and falling asleep. It wasn't that he was worn out from the day's activities - he just didn't want to have to talk to Bella.

After a week of constantly being around her, he had very conflicting feelings. She irritated and exasperated him, but he always stopped short of making a sharp or cruel reply. He assumed it was because she was his partner, and that meant he was supposed to treat her well. But really, whether he knew it or not, the reason he was kind to Bella was because on some level, he liked her. And the reason that he liked her was that she liked him, completely and unconditionally, for who he was. She was the first person he had ever met who felt that way. She never tried to make him change or be something he wasn't.

On the seventh day of their training, they rose as usual at 0720 and ate breakfast in the cafeteria. But when it came time for them to line up and head to the shooting range, Creed had an announcement to make.

"We're going to do something different today," he said. "It's called RCS: Realistic Combat Simulation. This will be the first test of the abilities that you've been cultivating for the last week. Here's how it will work: each of you will be equipped with a D-20 Non-lethal Pistol that shoots paralyzing darts, a blunt practice knife, and a blast helmet. You will be working as teams, and your goal is to 'kill' as many opponents as you can without being 'killed'. You get ten points for every opponent that you incapacitate. However, if your partner gets 'killed', you can no longer make points off of 'kills'. You can still take out the other trainees, but it won't count for anything. At the end, the team with the highest score will get the rest of the day off. Now, follow me to the simulation room and we'll get started."

The simulation room was a multi-leveled maze, with corridors, ramps, ladders, and holes to jump down through. In the center was a tower with a conical roof and a balcony with a solid railing around the edges. Jan instantly knew that the basic strategy was to control the tower, the only defensible spot in the room. If he was up there, he could sit back behind cover and pick off the trainees below with his pistol.

They were issued their equipment and deployed at various points throughout the maze. The D-20 was shaped like a regular pistol, but it was orange and black in color. The sides of the grip were clear, and he could see the darts stacked inside. They looked like needles, with barbed tips so they would go through clothing and stuck wherever they hit. By his estimation, he had about thirty shots before he was out of ammo; easily enough to take out all the other trainees if his accuracy was good.

His and Bella's starting point was on the lowest level, which suited Jan just fine. He'd rather not be up on one of the catwalks, where he could see everyone but everyone could also see him.

Creed blew a whistle: their signal to begin. There were two ways to go ahead of them - a ramp that led upwards, and a corridor to the right. Jan chose the second one and set out, moving as quietly as he could and turning the corners with his gun first.

Right off the bat, he happened upon Morgan and Walters, who seemed to be having an argument about where they should go next. Neither of them noticed Jan. He lined up the shot and fired, hitting Walters right in the shoulder. The skinny boy dropped like a stone. Morgan shouted in surprise and stared wildly around, not even raising his gun.

Too easy, thought Jan as he fired again. The D-20 was almost totally silent, making only a slightly clicking noise when he pulled the trigger. Morgan was down, a dart sticking out of his chest. Jan would have preferred headshots, but the helmets prevented him from getting them.

"Two down, ten to go," he said. "Come on, Bella."

There was no reply. Jan looked around.

He was alone. No Bella standing right behind him, and he, who was usually very perceptive, hadn't noticed. How long had she been gone? Just now, or from the very beginning? He had gotten so used to her presence that he hadn't even bothered to check if she was there.

"Shit!" he muttered. I can't call out for her. That would attract attention. I'll just have to retrace my steps. I just hope she hasn't gotten into trouble or been eliminated already.

He ducked around the corner and almost ran straight into her. She squeaked and stumbled backwards, tripping and falling on her butt. Jan groaned.

"Where have you been, Bella?"

"S-sorry," she stammered, getting back up. "My shoe came untied and I had to stop to fix it. I tried to say something to you, but you were in such a hurry that you didn't hear me."

"Alright, well … just stick close to me, okay? And keep an eye out behind us."

She nodded, and Jan turned around once again and continued further into the maze. Bella said nothing as they passed by Morgan and Walters, who were rigid and unmoving on their backs. Only their eyes moved around.

Jan passed by several ramps, content to stay down below. But the corridor he'd chosen ended in a blank wall, and he had to go back. He found a different corridor and went through it, with Bella on his heels. It opened onto a wide space, and on the other side was a door that led into the tower. Jan checked around and saw no one. He was about to leave cover and make a dash for the tower when Anderson and Bell appeared from a corridor on the other side of the area. Moments later, first one girl and then the other fell to the ground. There were two darts in the base of their necks, right above the collarbone.

Someone's in the tower already, Jan realized. I'll have to give up on that idea.

He was about to retreat when something heavy pressed against his back. He spun around just in time to catch Bella as she fell forward. There was a dart in her back. Looking up, he saw Chang and Greenbay at the other end of their corridor. The Chinese boy was the one who had shot Bella.

Jan rolled to the side just as Chang shot again. He fired back, but it was a hasty shot and it missed the other boy's head by a few inches.

This is bad, Jan thought. I'm outnumbered two-to-one, and I have no place to take cover. But if I bail out into the open area, I'll be sniped by whoever's in the tower.

Chang was aiming again, with the slow deliberation of a cat who knows he's caught his mouse. But Greenbay suddenly cried out and pointed his gun at someone out of Jan's sight. A moment later, he was down. Chang instantly pressed his back to the wall and started blind-firing around the corner.

You made a mistake to ignore me, thought Jan and he pulled the trigger. Chang fell sideways across Greenbay's legs with a soft thump, still clutching his gun. Too bad I won't get any points for 'killing' you. Why did Bella have to get herself knocked out? Now I have to deal with whoever shot Greenbay, not to mention the guy (or guys) in the tower. My situation has hardly improved.

A dark hand holding an orange-and-black pistol appeared around the corner, followed by Garcia, with Bluff at his shoulder. The Spanish boy frowned when he saw the corridor strewn with motionless trainees, and he pointed his gun at Jan.

"Freeze!" he said. "Drop your gun, and I won't shoot you."

Maybe I can take advantage of this, thought Jan. He held out his D-20 as if he was going to let it go, then suddenly dodged to the side. But right as he was about to fire, he felt a sting in the back of his right ankle, and his muscles seized up. He collapsed heavily on his side.

Damn it, he thought angrily. Shot in the foot? That's pathetic!

Bluff and Garcia moved up and took cover in the spot that he'd been in moments before. They were speaking, but his brain couldn't register the words properly; they just sounded like a bunch of disjointed sounds. Jan sighed inwardly. The only thing he could do now was wait until the paralysis wore off and the combat simulation was over.