Chapter 7
The trainees had been told about others dropping out during basic training, but so far, no one had. The physical training was hard – even Alex could see that. Luckily, the SAS had been harder, so Alex was the only one who had yet to vomit from exhaustion. He was also the best looking; the others were covered in bruises where they had fallen or been hit during combat practice. Even so, Alex was not spotless. There was mud everywhere, from crawling through muddy tunnels and swimming through muddy water. Alex was thankful for the haircut he'd had just before going to Brecon Beacons.
Another aspect of basic training that the others complained about was the cold. The food was cold. Showers were cold. Clothes were wet and cold. The water they swam through was cold. Alex didn't mind. It was much better than tropical places, and he'd once had to camp in a tent with only his multiple jackets to keep him warm in the Siberian climate.
However, the other trainees didn't whinge much, and they were grateful for the small privileges they were allowed for good behaviour. They thanked Large, Speaks and Smoke when they were given hot drinks at lunch, a warm evening shower and meal. Those who were injured enough to visit the medical centre but not so bad as to be thrown off the course got to wait in a room kept at 22°C, with a coffee machine and chocolate biscuits. Alex had heard all about the rewards one got from a golden injury; he could only dream.
The last five hours of lessons were perhaps the most boring. Alex had already learnt about stripping and cleaning guns, defusing bullets and taking bullets apart during his time with Scorpia. Furthermore, Smithers' gadgets were much more high tech than the Cherubs', so when the trainees were taught how to use them to eavesdrop, hack, lock pick, take photos and photocopy files, Alex found his attention drifting.
Explosives taught by Mr Large were probably the most fun. Alex found it enjoyable to watch the results, no matter how many times they were repeated.
Alex was also well versed in Survival Skills. A year of working as a lone agent with virtually lone backup did wonders for a person's abilities. He already knew about building shelter, edible parts of flora and fauna, fire building and cooking. Even without MI6's training, Ian had taken him on enough spontaneous camping trips with limited supplies for Alex to pick up a few skills.
Last of all were Languages and Karate. The teachers just learnt to ignore Alex when he didn't pay attention. After all, what use is it to teach one who is already fluent in whatever language you taught, or beat you easily in a fight?
xox
It was spring in the Northern Hemisphere and Alex was nervous. The Cherubs were on their way to Australia and he hoped his experience in the country would be better than the last time, when he'd almost been blown up, been threatened with live dissection, canoed down a waterfall and was betrayed by his godfather. However, Alex knew he'd have to come back someday, and what better time than the present?
When they touched down at Brisbane airport, Alex was assaulted with the memory of a similar airport, where he had met the head of the ASIS and was consequently sent to Bangkok. He shook off his memories and followed the other Cherubs to the baggage collection, admiring the sniffer-dogs on the way.
They were then taken by bus to their next location. They'd spend four nights completing basic training several kilometres west of Gympie. The first night would be in a dormitory; the next days would be spent following separate paths on a map to certain checkpoints as fast as they could in their number pairs. They'd walk back to the dorm on their last day, where they would celebrate the return to civilisation, and then leave.
xox
The place the trainees stayed in was in the middle of nowhere, with no air-conditioning and no heated water. There was a building with a kitchen, balcony and carpeted area, and another with dorms for them to sleep in. The dorms each had two beds, and were separated by a hallway. Instead of doors, there were curtains. At the very end of the dorms were two communal showers – one for girls and one for boys. Partners shared a dorm. The instructors slept in a separate building, with a bedroom each.
It was almost midnight and Alex was lying in bed sleeping. As a creak sounded across the hallway, his eyes snapped open. Being a spy, he was able to fall asleep anywhere, but he could also wake at the drop of a pin. He kept his breathing even, eyes open to a slit and peeking out through his lashes. In the bed beside him, he could hear Leon's deep breaths.
He waited as six presences entered the room.
"Do you think he's awake?" one voice whispered.
"Shh!" another voice warned, "He won't be awake; he was out like a light at ten o'clock. Why would he wake up?"
"And anyway," a third voice joined in, "this is for his own good. He needs to lighten up!"
The others giggled quietly, and someone approached Alex. As they lifted a marker to his face, he snapped his eyes open, jerked his face up and whispered, "Boo!"
The boy jerked back in surprise, banging into the others.
"Uhh. . . This isn't what it looks like," the boy stuttered.
"Of course not," Alex smirked, "You weren't going to draw on my face at all. You were going to prank Large."
By this time, Leon had woken up and taken in the situation. He decided to join his partner. "That's right, you were going to sneak into Large's cabin and draw a smiley-face on him."
The others slumped. They had been outwitted.
xox
The next morning, a yell rang throughout the camp. Giggles were stifled and smiles hidden as a very angry and irate Norman Large stumbled out of his cabin, black pen adorning his face in the shape of a smile. It was a large change to his 'normal' expression.
"When I found out which one of you miscreants –!"
The trainees never learnt what their grisly fate would be, because a large military truck pulled up beside Mr Large. Out of it jumped a man in army fatigues.
"Mr Large, Sir!" The man saluted. Though he tried to hide it, a small smirk found its way onto his face.
Mr Large seemed to deflate, the smiley face remaining as happy as ever. "Alright, Cherubs. Your transport has arrived. Go and eat breakfast; Speaks'll get your gear while I wash this muck off. We'll deal with your punishment later."
The poor man stumbled off towards the bathrooms while the trainees filed towards the kitchen.
xox
The truck took them from the dorms straight after breakfast. The trainees sat on the packs they had been given, wearing their uniforms. These consisted of long, lightweight trousers, long-sleeved, collared green shirts, all-duty boots and light-grey akubras to protect their heads from the unforgiving Australian sun.
Large fitted each trainee with an electronic wristband. The plastic strap locked tightly so that it could only be cut with a very sharp knife and a lot of force.
"Do NOT remove the bracelet under any circumstances," Large shouted over the noise of the engine. "In an emergency, unscrew the button on the side and press it down firmly. A rescue helicopter is on standby and will reach you within twenty minutes. If you are bitten by a snake, press it right away. Australia is home to the deadliest land and sea snakes in the world. We wouldn't want you to get hurt," he added, a nasty sneer belying his words.
"We'll reach the fist drop-off point in a few minutes. All you need is in the backpacks. You have four checkpoints to reach within the next seventy-two hours. If you fail to reach the checkpoints in time, you fail training and you'll have to start again next time. Remember, this is not campus. You won't be punished for mistakes, but you could be killed. Remember your training and do your best to survive."
The truck stopped by the side of a creek. The first pair, Annie and Shaun, hopped out. The truck drove off, leaving them behind in a cloud of dust.
xox
When they reached Alex and Leon's drop-off point, Mia, Aoife, Luke and Alice were looking suitably nervous. They'd been pretty blasé before, but now it was hitting them that they'd be all alone, in the middle of nowhere, with no immediate help. Alex ignored that fact and was busy planning how to divide the hours into walking and resting with enough room for error.
Eventually, they arrived. Alex and Leon hefted their packs and exited the vehicle. As soon as it was no longer in sight, they made their way over to a large gumtree and examined the contents of their packs. Leon took out his mission briefing and groaned. Alex looked over. It was in German. He took his own copy, which was in Russian.
"Don't worry," he assured the younger boy, "I can understand Russian pretty well. My dad taught me; he thought I should know my heritage."
The other boy looked impressed.
Also in their packs were some vague maps, marked with the first checkpoint's position and where they had been dropped; a large machete; compass; three black garbage bags; food rations; two empty water canteens; a first-aid kit; water purification tablets; sunscreen; matches; a Swiss army knife and other various items which seemed unnecessary.
They removed all the irrelevant heavy items, leaving the light ones just in case. Then they checked the map and compass and set off towards their first destination.
xox
Alex and Leon marched down a dusty hill as they made their way to their first campsite. The air was hot and muggy, and flies were buzzing in abundance. Their heavy packs caused the boys to walk bent almost double at the waist, but both were still as upbeat as ever. Leon constantly rambled on, Alex occasionally offering a smile or adding a comment.
As they walked, their heavy footsteps kicked up clouds of dust. Every so often, a bird could be heard, but most of the time, the only sounds were their footsteps and heavy breathing. Every hour or so, they'd stop, take a sip of lukewarm water and check the map and compass. By the time lunchtime arrived, both boys were tired and dazed, and drenched in sweat from the merciless heat of the Australian bush.
Their lunch consisted of a muesli bar each, with dried fruit for dessert. The taste was tainted by the red dust, and flies swarmed around them like wolves, waiting for the inevitable success of the hunt. They didn't have to wait long – Leon swore dolefully as he dropped a shrivelled apricot.
The flies fed. The boys fled.
xox
The checkpoint was marked with a flag. When they finally arrived, the two relieved themselves of their heavy packs and quickly set up their tent. It was a two-man tent, with a waterproof covering. Under a large tree was a pile of stuff. Among it were cooking pots, cans of fuel, a gas burner and a map leading to the next checkpoint. According to the map, there was a creek nearby, so they changed into swimming trunks went for a quick dip to clean themselves.
The water was brown but clean, and felt refreshingly cool against their hot sweaty skin. They soaked for about ten minutes, just cooling in the flowing water, before they set off back towards their camp. The mosquitoes were coming out, and they covered as much of their skin as they could to avoid being bitten.
By the time it was dark, around 6:30pm, both boys had shared dinner cooked in a gas cooker, and were leaning against their tent, relaxing as they ate. The stars were easier to see than in the city, and Alex gazed at the unfamiliar constellations alongside Leon. As the two lay under the starry night sky, recovering after the long day, Alex was reminded just how far from home he was.
xox
Morning dawned bright and early, the piercing sun breaking through the grey clouds that filled the sky. Taking a look around, Alex could see that it had started raining sometime during the night, and the ground was sodden. After quickly packing up their tent, the two set off into the chilly day while eating a light breakfast of cereal without milk.
Mere minutes later, Alex and Leon came to where they were supposed to cross a creek. Unfortunately, it seemed that the rain the previous night had been more than they'd thought, for the bridge had disappeared under the water, which was about a meter and a bit higher than it. Alex checked the map for a non-flooded route, but the checkpoint had been on a hill and they were surrounded by water on all sides. He discussed with Leon their next plan of action, and the two boys decided that due to their need for haste, they would wade through the creek, carrying their packs on their heads.
The pair crossed slowly and carefully, carrying one pack at a time between the two of them. Around them, the water swirled, carrying branches and leaves, and even a tyre. It was cold, but they enjoyed themselves, taking their time and making sure they wouldn't inadvertently fall off the bridge. Alex was unpleasantly reminded that the most poisonous land and water snakes lived in Australia. He hoped they wouldn't meet any.
When they'd carried both packs to the other side, they squelched over to a conveniently placed paddock nearby. As Alex looked miserably at the disgusting water leaking out of his trainers, he fervently thanked whichever God was listening that their packs were dry. Behind the grassy field they were in, mountains rose up like slumbering giants. Alex checked the map and compass, noting that they'd have to traverse the mountains to arrive at their destination on the other side. They had a quick snack and started the long trek to their next checkpoint.
xox
It was about noon and the two boys had reached the top of the mountain. They sat down, shrugging off their packs with sighs of relief. They'd spent the majority of the walk zigzagging across the delightful scenes of green grass and bubbling streams. What amazed Leon was the abundance of cowpats, which had been almost everywhere, no matter how steep or rocky the ground. Obviously, the boy had concluded, cows in Australia could fly.
Abruptly, Leon started rooting around inside his pack, rather like a pig rooting around in the soil. He definitely sounded like it . . .
"What are you doing?" Alex enquired, bemused at the boy's antics.
"Looking for food. I'm hungry."
With a shout of triumph, Leon held up his prizes: a box of crackers and a jar of vegemite. Looking at the yellow and red label with an expression of profound puzzlement, he read out the name.
"Vegemite… What's that taste like?"
Alex laughed. "I've heard it's very salty. I advise you to only put a little on your cracker."
Too late, the other boy had stuck a finger-full of the black substance into his mouth. Making a face and forcing himself to swallow the vile substance, he yelled, "Yuck! Who eats this stuff?"
Alex snorted. "People who aren't as greedy as you." He used a finger to spread a very small amount of vegemite on a cracker. Taking a bite, he grinned. It wasn't so bad when used sparingly.
Soon, it was time to start moving again. Leon groaned as they stood up, complaining about many things, including the aching of his feet and the sting of his blisters.
xox
By 3pm, Alex and Leon were nearing their final destination for the day. Their backs were sore, and they couldn't wait to drop their bags and go to sleep. When they finally arrived, Leon let out a piercing, girlish squeal of joy. It sounded like a dying cat.
Alex followed him as they dropped their packs and sprawled on the grass, basking in happiness. Lying in the grass with the sun on their faces, it was easy to forget about his mission and embrace his persona as Jack Starbright, now Alex Ivashchenko. Unfortunately, Alex knew that they'd have to get set up before it got dark, and so it was with great reluctance that both boys sat up and started setting up their tent in the light of the setting sun.
When that task was done, Alex walked to a nearby creek to fill up the water supply and give himself a quick wash, to remove all the sweat and aches of the day. He was joined by Leon, and both spent a peaceful five minutes in quiet camaraderie, sharing in the moment.
Afterwards, they cooked dinner for themselves. The food was bland, but after hours of constant exercise, it was welcomed gladly by the two.
When they'd finished, Alex and Leon washed their dishes in the creek, then walked back to their tent, where they went to bed and had an early night's sleep. They'd have to rush the next day.
xox
Alex and Leon were woken on their last day of basic training by the sound of crickets chirping incessantly. With disgruntled groans, they left the darkness of their tent to venture outside into the cold air. The sun hadn't been up for long, so the dew was still evaporating, filling the air with an icy mist. The two boys packed up their gear, ate a quick breakfast and headed off to the third checkpoint.
The dirt under their boots crunched as the boys followed the map to their destination. Around them, the susurration of the trees and the crickets' chirping combined to create a maddening cacophony of noise. Alex and Leon found themselves drifting off into their own worlds.
Being with Leon, Alex was reminded of Tom Harris. He'd called Tom after leaving Brecon Beacons, and the boy had laughed with him at the naivety of the Cherubs. Even Tom was better at manipulations than they were, but maybe that was just a result of having a habit of not finishing assignments and having to lie to the teachers.
As they walked, Alex found himself observing the other boy. All throughout CHERUB basic training, he'd found himself growing closer to the younger boy. For a Cherub, he wasn't too bad.
In a way, he admired Leon because though he had dealt with many bad things, he was still able to keep his innocence as a child. Alex was not so fortunate – ever since joining MI6, he'd became more and more world-weary with each mission.
xox
By lunchtime, the air was hot and muggy, made humid from the rain of the day before. Alex was struck by how contrary the Australian climate was.
"Can you see the checkpoint?" Leon asked him.
"No," he replied, peering around in the glare of the hot sun. "Though I think it's on the other side of the hill."
Leon looked up at the hill. "As a wise, little red engine once said, 'I think I can!'"
With those wise words, he stepped up the pace and marched up the hill, repeating his motivational mantra all the while. By the time he reached the top, he had moved on to 'I know I can!'
True to Alex's prediction, the checkpoint was at the bottom of the hill, inside an indigenous-looking bark hut. Inside the dark hut, there was a box. In that box were four envelopes, each with the names of a pair. Leon grabbed the one with his and Alex's names, ripping it open in his haste. Inside were maps and briefing papers in Russian and German. Alex scanned them quickly. They were to take a different route east, and get to the fourth checkpoint, fifteen kilometres away, by ten o'clock that night.
Leon grinned. "This'll be easy!"
Alex looked at him in disbelief.
"Right," he said eventually, "there's a catch."
xox
Perspiration ran down Alex's back as the two boys canoed down a river. The boat had been waiting for them at the water's edge. Ever wary of traps, Alex had checked it thoroughly for holes, and had found nothing. The boat seemed a little heavier than normal, but Leon had told him it was probably just their fatigue showing. He still wasn't sure, but he could find nothing else wrong, so they'd decided to use to for the time being.
By six o'clock, it was already dark, and Alex was still paddling. A while back, Leon's arms had really started hurting, so Alex had let him take a rest. He didn't mind, really; he'd gotten used to taking care of Tom during camping trips, as he was more experienced and physically stronger than others his age.
As they floated past dark trees, a light flashed overhead. Leon immediately snapped awake.
"What was that? Was it a signal?"
Alex shook his head. If it had been a signal, there'd have been some shouting to accompany it. In the silence, he made out a high-pitched whistling noise. If he hadn't stopped paddling after the flash, he'd never have heard it.
Following his ears, he determined that it was coming from inside the hollow of the boat. Shining a torch at the plastic, he noticed an object sticking to the inside. A quiet beeping was accompanying the whistle.
"Leon," he murmured, "I think they've strapped some explosive to the boat. After I've got rid of the packs, gently let yourself fall out of the boat. Try not to make any sudden movements, as they could set the bomb off. Swim ten metres underwater, then resurface. Be careful not to make any sudden movements. The shock could set the bomb off. Of course, it'll probably go off anyway, so be ready to dive down to minimise the force of the explosion."
Leon gaped at him. Alex carefully lifted their packs out, and pushed them away. The two boys slid out the boat and swam towards their packs. As soon as they touched them, the boat exploded. Alex quickly dived under the water, making sure not to resurface until he could hear nothing.
When Leon had also resurfaced, Alex advised that they keep swimming. Leon agreed, as it would be much quicker than going to shore and walking the rest of the way. They swam on their backs, packs to their chest, using survival backstroke.
xox
Basic training pushed Cherubs to their limits. They were pushed to their limits, but it prepared them for worst situations. However, at the end of the day, there was no truly life-threatening danger. The route downriver had been carefully selected to pose minimal harm, and the explosives had been weak.
This was not to say that it was completely danger-free, though. There were eels and water snakes that could still harm Alex and Leon, so they were careful not to make any sudden movements when swimming, so as not to antagonize them.
Three hours before the deadline, Alex and Leon arrived at the checkpoint. They made their way to shore, climbing out onto an open field, with mountains surrounding them. There was a mud-brick cabin off to the side. Ever paranoid, Alex peeked into the room and found Mr Speaks sitting on a bunk reading a book. Leon followed him inside.
"Had fun?" Speaks asked, giving them a once-over.
"Yeah," Alex grinned.
Meanwhile, Leon was sneakily making his way over to a bottle of water sitting on a table. Speaks snapped his gaze over, smirking as Leon flinched in guilt.
"Help yourself. There are fresh packs, equipment, food and water. There's also a rainwater shower, if you want. The jeep will take you to a road 200 kilometres from the end. You've got until 1000 hours tomorrow to make it in time."
xox
Through the night and into the morning, Alex and Leon walked as briskly as they could manage. As they walked, they ate, drank and checked their direction constantly.
They reached the final checkpoint an hour before the deadline. They were the first ones there, and the first to shuffle towards a wooden building. The building was locked, but they drank water from a tap on the outside. Alex and Leon both washed their hair under it, cooling themselves down in the process. They slumped against the shady side of the building.
xox
The instructors led the other teams inside when all had arrived. All were blindfolded and seated while the instructors set a final test up. Smoke tied up their legs.
"Welcome to the ultimate test," Large began. "Before you puny little maggots become fully-fledged operatives, we need to know that you can cope with the worst thing that could ever happen to you. Number eight, what do you think is the worst that could happen on a mission?"
"Death," Luke answered.
"Death would be easy by comparison," Large informed them. "Well, what do you think, number four?"
Alex quietly answered, "Torture."
"Correct. What would happen if you were caught on a mission and you have knowledge some people would do anything for? They wouldn't have mercy just 'cause you're children. They'd still chop off your fingers. Rip out your eyes. Send thousands of volts of electricity through your tiny little bodies. Who knows; they might even forget their initial aim and just torture you to death."
The trainees were silent.
"We hope it will never happen to you, but we have to prepare you for if it does," Large continued. "This test will show us if you can tolerate pain. It will last one hour. You each have two buckets in front of you. Miss Smoke is placing a jellyfish in front of you. Its tentacles contain millions of microscopic spikes; each one filled with poison. A few minutes after contact, your skin will feel like it's been doused in pure hydrochloric acid. Within ten minutes, the pain is almost unbearable. A few years ago, an operative ripped through barbed wire and shredded his face. He told me it was less painful than this test.
"The antidote is in the bucket on the right. It will take only two minutes of contact with it to remove all pain."
The trainees' heads were grabbed, and mouth guards were placed in their mouths.
"You are being given mouth guards," Large explained, "because it is easy to bite off your own tongue when in extreme pain. You will each place your hands in the bucket, hands fully submerged. You have to tolerate the pain for one hour. Anyone who touches the antidote or removes his or her hands before time is up will be failed. Begin."
Alex leaned forward and placed his hands in the bucket. After numerous torture sessions in past missions, he was confident he would survive the test. The water was tepid and he could feel the sliminess of the jellyfish, reminding him of Herod Sayle's man-of-war.
Beside him, he could hear the others begin to pant.
"Two minutes," Large announced, "You should be beginning to feel the pain now."
Alex sat, frowning. He couldn't feel any pain yet, but the others seemed to.
"Five minutes!"
Alex spat out his mouth guard. "If I volunteer to stick my head in the bucket, do the others get to stop?"
The others gasped as well as they could with mouth guards in their mouth.
"It's just," he continued calmly, "I can't seem to feel any pain. In fact, the jellyfish feels a lot like a squid. No long, stringy tentacles."
He pulled his blindfold up and saw Leon do the same. The younger picked up his 'jellyfish'. Alex saw he'd been correct that it was a squid.
"This is completely fake," the other boy laughed.
"Glad you enjoyed my little trick." Large grinned at them. "Don't forget to untie yourselves before standing up."
The others removed their blindfolds.
"Look under your chairs," Annie said.
Underneath were grey shirts. Alex picked his up and unfurled it. There was a winged baby sitting on a globe and the acronym: CHERUB.
"Awesome!" Shaun yelled.
The kids pulled off their blue shirts, replacing them with the grey shirts as quickly as possible.
"Congratulations," Large said, his tone belying the words.
xox
During the plane trip back home, Alex wrote up a report on basic training to send to Blunt, in the guise of a letter in Russian to a friend back 'home'. Operatives weren't supposed to wear CHERUB uniforms off campus for security reasons, but all the others wore theirs under normal clothes, to celebrate their achievements. Alex thought the uncomfortableness was not worth the sentimental value.
Everyone was feeling happy. Even the instructors, who were allowed a short break before the next batch of trainees, were considerably more cheerful. Leon and the others bought a card at the airport gift shop to give to Large, Speaks and Smokes. Alex signed it with the rest, making sure to use his Cherub name.
They were taken by bus from the airport back to the training building. They gathered the stuff they'd left in their lockers and changed back into uniforms. Most kept their blue shirt as a souvenir; Alex kept his to give to Blunt. Hopefully the man would be pleased and would give him a short rest.
I'm impressed. My ploy worked. 10 reviews in one day!
To xDarklightx: This story will be about nine chapters, plus a very short epilogue.
