Chapter 12

Hey everyone! I know it's been awhile, yet again. I've been going through a lot of things. With school, family, friends, and my mental health I just haven't had time to write or publish. However, I am not abandoning this story. I love writing The Curse and hopefully all of you guys enjoy reading it. I've been reading all the reviews for me to continue this story and I'd like to thank all of you for your support. Please write a review and who know maybe you'll idea will become a part of the story! This chapter is a long one, so buckle up and delve back into America's life.

Chapter 12 - Training

Monday

Today is the first day of training. I have no idea what to expect, and I am extremely nervous. Over the course of this week I am going to learn how to fight, how to get information out of Maxon, and a story as to what happened when my family and I disappeared. I am looking forward to lying to Maxon the least. I know that I am still in love with him and that I need to get over it, but I can't help feeling like I will never stop loving him.

I walk out of my room and down to breakfast where Georgia meets me.

"Hey America! It's your first day of training! Come this way," She says as she leads me through the compound and into an elevator. She presses a button I had never even noticed, it is blank and underneath all the others.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"Down." She responds bluntly.

When the elevator doors open I see a world I didn't even know existed. There is movement in every area and corner of the room. Rebels are practicing combat, fixing weapons, and mapping out attacks. I even saw some creating custom weapons for themselves. I've been living a normal life upstairs while all of this has been going on every day, and I didn't even know it was here.

"Welcome to rebel training. You are going to be spending a lot of time here over the next week," Georgie said as we stepped out of the elevator.

"If this is training why is everyone here?"

"Northern Rebels are constantly training, improving, and strategizing. This is our area away from the families and children to practice and talk about things that no one else can know, without worrying. This is our safe-zone that no one knows about and no one will, right?" After she said this everything kind of clicked in my mind. This was where the rebels are rebels, not up there.

"Right," I respond.

Tuesday

I wake up and my entire body aches. I'm not surprised, yesterday, I worked a lot with weapons but mostly on hand-to-hand combat. I was bad at it. Every time I started to win a little, my opponent would bring me to the floor yet again. And today I must do it all over again. Yay.

I get out of bed and get dressed in the new clothes Georgia gave me for training. They are supposed to have special padding in them to help when fighting. It must work because all the other rebels wear it. I walk out of my room and to the elevator.

When the doors open, Georgia approaches me, "So after yesterday, I decided to get you a special trainer just to help with you combat skills. America this is Daniel. Daniel, this is America."

Daniel is taller than me, but not necessarily tall. He has dark bushy hair and hazel eyes. His face is shaped like a rectangle in a way, and his teeth aren't straight when he smiles.

"Pleasure to meet you Daniel," I say sticking out my hand for a handshake. He grabs it and shakes it firmly.

"The pleasure is all mine." He says, leading me over to where we will train.

"So, America, how much do you know about combat?"

"Absolutely nothing."

"Well then we have a lot of work to do. Let's start with the basic rules. First, you wan to be the leader in the situation. You lead where the fight is going. Set the example for your opponent. Second, you should control everything physically. If they punch you, you punch them harder. Next, move to influence the action. You should throw the first punch. Now the most important of all of them, you need to make sound, quick decisions and forcefully execute them. No second guessing yourself EVER. Got it?"

"Um I guess."

"Okay let's try it then."

Wednesday

I wake up aching again, but not as bad this time. Daniel really helped me understand how to fight. He taught me the dos and don'ts. I am getting pretty good at fighting. I think he's going to put me up against opponents today. The padded clothes helped a lot too, so I am putting those on again.

I walk out of my room and to the elevator, again. When the doors open, Georgie greets me.

"Where's Daniel?" I ask.

"You won't need him today. Follow me." She leads me to a small room with a table and a map on it.

"Today we are going to begin teaching you where you have been for the last few weeks. You need to be ready for any question they might ask. This is your new memory." She says.

I already hate where today is heading. The idea of creating a story and lying to Maxon just to suck information out of him makes me sick. I don't even know if I'm ready to see him. I hate everything about this mission but, I put on a mask and pretend that I am ready to know the lie I will be telling him.

"Okay. Where have I been for the past three weeks?"

"You've been hiding."

Thursday

All last night, I dreamt about the lie they pounded into my head.

The southern rebels knocked on my door and I convinced them to take me and leave my family. I told my family to go home and hide there until I came for them. The southern rebels tied me up and threw me into the back of their truck. Somehow, I was able to escape the ropes and open the back of the truck. I jumped out and ran as fast as I could. I hid in the forest until they gave up searching and were out of sight. Then I tried to come back to the castle, but I didn't know the way, which is why it took so long. I arrived but didn't know if it was safe, so I stayed in hiding and went back home to my family. I told them to stay there and came here.

Mostly, I dreamt that Maxon could tell I was lying and would hate me for it.

Today is going to be extra-long. I am practicing combat and perfecting my story. Today is the day when I become perfect at everything and tomorrow is the day I do everything right. So no matter how long it takes, I need to perfect at everything before tomorrow.

Friday

I don't want to get up, but I know that I must. I spent yesterday getting grilled with Georgia and getting beat up with Daniel. It took over 12 hours of training, but I am ready now. I can beat every opponent and answer every question. Today, I will only be training for five hours, then I will pack and spend time with my family before I leave tomorrow.

I head downstairs and walk over to Daniel. Next to him is a line of opponents I need to face to officially be ready. I can beat every one of them until Daniel steps up to face me. Daniel is the best rebel at combat. There is no way I can beat him, but I do my best anyway. Of course, I lose.

"It's okay, I didn't expect you to beat me. But, you did put up a great fight. You're ready." He says to me. It means a lot when your mentor acknowledges your growth and tells you that you don't need them anymore.

"Thank you so much Daniel, for everything," I say as I walk over to hug him.

"I hate to break this up, but, America, it's time for you to come train with me."

I say goodbye to Daniel and walk into the room with Georgia.

At the beginning of the week, I absolutely hated this mission, especially the part where I must lie to Maxon, but now I don't care as much. Instead of thinking about how the lie is deceiving and minipulative, I think about how it needs to been done so that Maxon can tell me what he did and I can help him. The lie is more good than bad.

I sit down and expect Georgie to start badgering me with question, but she doesn't.

"Pretend I am Maxon and tell me what happened." She says

"What?"

"Pretend I am Maxon and you need to tell him what happened. I need to hear tou tell the story as if it actually happened, with pain in you voice."

"Okay," I say and then recount the story I was told. I try to make it sound as real as I can with emphasis on certain words and worry in the tone of my voice. When I finish the story I look to Georgia and wait for her response.

"That was amazing. You're ready," She says and stands to lead me out.

We walk into the elevator and I ask,"Georgia, you really think I can do this?"

"Absoloutly," She says.

I walk out of the elevator and towards my room. I have to pack then eat dinner with my family. My stomach fills with butterflys as I suddenly realize at this time tomorrow I will at the castle with Maxon.