I lay awake on my bed that night, staring out of the window at the starry night sky. That's when hit it me, I wanted out. I wanted freedom probably much more then the rest of them did. I looked over at the sleeping bodies of my friends…no, my family and I wanted them to feel what I was: the stirring emotion of rebellion. I wanted to break through the walls and fall out into the open arms of the world around.
But I knew that I couldn't, either I would be killed trying or be reprogrammed. And then where would that leave my family? All of them depended each other not to break the chain of friendship we had built up since we were children. Now we are all nearing eleven, with Dennis just going ten or somewhere about. I think that it's too late now; we should of broken out a long time ago, when we were less dependant on Manticore and it's discipline.
So I will stay here…for now anyway.
Combat training was the main task on Major Sketch's agenda for the next few weeks. We already knew how to bring a grown man down and even kill, but he wanted to advance our training out into tracking and hunting skills.
We were placed in a large room, with blue mats on the floor and a stage above. We six were lined up, and we went into a ready stance. Logan and Zack were separated from the us, and were set up with another person.
He performed moves using both his arms and legs in a slightly awkward fashion but the four of us followed. Forward, left, side strike right, side block left, quick strike forward…just continuous patterns we copied flawlessly. He stopped every five minutes and rested. We watched him with curiosity, how his body seemed to be much more frail then ours. Logan and Zack had been taken outside with the other man, why we didn't know. Brinn pulled my sleeve and pointed to three figures going into the forest. I sighed and focussed my attention onto the trainer, who was now conferring with Major Sketch. They were lucky, getting to go into the woods at this time while we were stuck in here doing stupid moves.
But our luck seemed to change, as the man in front instructed us to march outside. The trees moved in the wind and the noises of birds flying above rose up in our ears. The air was cool, the grass soft as we passed onto it. I drew in deep breathes of the outside, tasting every smell in the air. Everything was so fresh and beautiful, all the flowers blossomed and the great trees above were a deep green. A nice scent wafted past our noses, inflaming the senses…it smelt tangy and strong, it seemed to emanate from the fat trees we were passing as we too walked into Manticore forest. I let my hand brush past the undergrowth and felt that the smelly tree had needle-like leaves on it. I heard Dennis too take a deep inhale of breath and I smiled to myself. He lived for moments like this, where we were allowed to taste the outside.
"This is a tag game, SMS. All of you will be let into the wood separate, and the first person to catch mark 01 or mark 02 will report back to me, here. You are not to neutralise the SMS, just tag them and bring them back. Understand?"
We nod, and he clapped his hands. We ran into the forest, and I felt the blood pounding in my head. This was what invigorated me, the hunt…
I climbed up into the highest tree I could find and looked over the small amount of forest visible from here. I heard the crackle of twigs breaking, and the disturbance of undergrowth. I quietly climbed down, and sniffed the air. There was a different smell carried in the again…a familiar one. I crouched down low and watched from behind a log. There was the rhythmical pounding of feet, and the regular breathing in of air. I couldn't see anyone yet, so I shifted position slightly…
Then I turned quickly and a rustle in the bushes behind indicated that someone was on the run, someone who didn't want to be found. I ran after them, finding their path easily due to the destruction of the moss on the floor. I moved off the pre made path, and ran quietly, but quickly alongside it…then I pounced. It was Zack.
"Gotcha!" I laughed quietly, as not to alert the trainers to my success.
"I saw something Jace, that's why I came so close to you…do you want to try and find it?"
I wouldn't pass up a chance like this, so I helped him up and we moved together through the grass. He led, and as we approached the place I'd been hiding I heard a noise behind. It was moving clumsily, I bet it was a trainer. Zack heard it too, and we moved off into the bushes next to us off the main trail. Sure enough, it was Logan's and Zack's guy, he was parading up and down talking to himself.
"Don't be scared Bill, god dammit they're only kids…only kids…they respect me, wouldn't hurt me otherwise Sketch would given them hell…" his words grew fainter as he moved off into the trees, and Zack indicated that we were going left.
We crawled quickly across a patch of dirt, and he stopped us just above a lump of freshly dug up earth, and he put his finger to his lips.
He pulled out a small wrap of fabric, and slowly opened it. Inside was a small, smooth tooth.
I gasped and picked it up in my forefinger and thumb. It was clean all over, and perfectly square.
"Is it a humans?" I whispered to Zack who was covering up the hole again. He took it and looked it over.
"I think so, I don't know how it fell out"
"Do you think…do you think that someone was killed here?"
Zack narrowed his eyes to look into mine.
"Jace, we are trained to kill…why would it matter if someone was murdered here?"
I looked around spooked, my imagination was acting up on me. I heard footsteps coming toward us, but then they disappeared. A bird cawed on the tree above, and my head snapped up. I felt my heart race, so I closed my eyes and tried to calm down.
I remembered hearing a guard talk of ghosts, noises he had heard up and down the corridors at night. I didn't understand what it meant then, but now I felt that we were being watched from all sides, by things we couldn't see
"A body could be buried somewhere here, under our feet" I whispered, Zack could see that I was scaring myself silly. He took my head between his hands and placed his nose on mine.
"Calm down…look, I'm going to dump this tooth and we'll forget about it, okay?"
But I couldn't…
But I knew that I couldn't, either I would be killed trying or be reprogrammed. And then where would that leave my family? All of them depended each other not to break the chain of friendship we had built up since we were children. Now we are all nearing eleven, with Dennis just going ten or somewhere about. I think that it's too late now; we should of broken out a long time ago, when we were less dependant on Manticore and it's discipline.
So I will stay here…for now anyway.
Combat training was the main task on Major Sketch's agenda for the next few weeks. We already knew how to bring a grown man down and even kill, but he wanted to advance our training out into tracking and hunting skills.
We were placed in a large room, with blue mats on the floor and a stage above. We six were lined up, and we went into a ready stance. Logan and Zack were separated from the us, and were set up with another person.
He performed moves using both his arms and legs in a slightly awkward fashion but the four of us followed. Forward, left, side strike right, side block left, quick strike forward…just continuous patterns we copied flawlessly. He stopped every five minutes and rested. We watched him with curiosity, how his body seemed to be much more frail then ours. Logan and Zack had been taken outside with the other man, why we didn't know. Brinn pulled my sleeve and pointed to three figures going into the forest. I sighed and focussed my attention onto the trainer, who was now conferring with Major Sketch. They were lucky, getting to go into the woods at this time while we were stuck in here doing stupid moves.
But our luck seemed to change, as the man in front instructed us to march outside. The trees moved in the wind and the noises of birds flying above rose up in our ears. The air was cool, the grass soft as we passed onto it. I drew in deep breathes of the outside, tasting every smell in the air. Everything was so fresh and beautiful, all the flowers blossomed and the great trees above were a deep green. A nice scent wafted past our noses, inflaming the senses…it smelt tangy and strong, it seemed to emanate from the fat trees we were passing as we too walked into Manticore forest. I let my hand brush past the undergrowth and felt that the smelly tree had needle-like leaves on it. I heard Dennis too take a deep inhale of breath and I smiled to myself. He lived for moments like this, where we were allowed to taste the outside.
"This is a tag game, SMS. All of you will be let into the wood separate, and the first person to catch mark 01 or mark 02 will report back to me, here. You are not to neutralise the SMS, just tag them and bring them back. Understand?"
We nod, and he clapped his hands. We ran into the forest, and I felt the blood pounding in my head. This was what invigorated me, the hunt…
I climbed up into the highest tree I could find and looked over the small amount of forest visible from here. I heard the crackle of twigs breaking, and the disturbance of undergrowth. I quietly climbed down, and sniffed the air. There was a different smell carried in the again…a familiar one. I crouched down low and watched from behind a log. There was the rhythmical pounding of feet, and the regular breathing in of air. I couldn't see anyone yet, so I shifted position slightly…
Then I turned quickly and a rustle in the bushes behind indicated that someone was on the run, someone who didn't want to be found. I ran after them, finding their path easily due to the destruction of the moss on the floor. I moved off the pre made path, and ran quietly, but quickly alongside it…then I pounced. It was Zack.
"Gotcha!" I laughed quietly, as not to alert the trainers to my success.
"I saw something Jace, that's why I came so close to you…do you want to try and find it?"
I wouldn't pass up a chance like this, so I helped him up and we moved together through the grass. He led, and as we approached the place I'd been hiding I heard a noise behind. It was moving clumsily, I bet it was a trainer. Zack heard it too, and we moved off into the bushes next to us off the main trail. Sure enough, it was Logan's and Zack's guy, he was parading up and down talking to himself.
"Don't be scared Bill, god dammit they're only kids…only kids…they respect me, wouldn't hurt me otherwise Sketch would given them hell…" his words grew fainter as he moved off into the trees, and Zack indicated that we were going left.
We crawled quickly across a patch of dirt, and he stopped us just above a lump of freshly dug up earth, and he put his finger to his lips.
He pulled out a small wrap of fabric, and slowly opened it. Inside was a small, smooth tooth.
I gasped and picked it up in my forefinger and thumb. It was clean all over, and perfectly square.
"Is it a humans?" I whispered to Zack who was covering up the hole again. He took it and looked it over.
"I think so, I don't know how it fell out"
"Do you think…do you think that someone was killed here?"
Zack narrowed his eyes to look into mine.
"Jace, we are trained to kill…why would it matter if someone was murdered here?"
I looked around spooked, my imagination was acting up on me. I heard footsteps coming toward us, but then they disappeared. A bird cawed on the tree above, and my head snapped up. I felt my heart race, so I closed my eyes and tried to calm down.
I remembered hearing a guard talk of ghosts, noises he had heard up and down the corridors at night. I didn't understand what it meant then, but now I felt that we were being watched from all sides, by things we couldn't see
"A body could be buried somewhere here, under our feet" I whispered, Zack could see that I was scaring myself silly. He took my head between his hands and placed his nose on mine.
"Calm down…look, I'm going to dump this tooth and we'll forget about it, okay?"
But I couldn't…