The metallic sound on the door woke everybody up. Axel opened his eyes, rapidly looking around the room. His team members on his sides grumbled as they awakened from sleep. Lila grumbled something meaningless, burying her face into her blanket.
Rise and shine, recruits!" a guard bellowed, followed by another bang on the door. "Your first training is today. Thirty minutes to get ready and report at the training grounds. Don't make us come back!"
"What the heck?" Eli complained, sitting up and wiping his eyes.
"Good morning, sunshine," Ava half-teasingly chimed in, already stretching.
Kaid threw his legs over the top bunk, yawned. "Well, they weren't kidding about getting up early. Guess there's no snooze button here."
"Ugh," Lila moaned, drawing the blanket around her more tightly. "Do we have to?"
"Yes," Atlas said, standing by the door in dress uniform. "And I'd advise you to get moving if you don't want to answer to that guard again.".
"Easy for you to say," Lila grumbled, pushing herself out of bed.
Axel didn't respond. He was already up, fastening on his boots with swift, economical motions. His thoughts were already in front of him. Whatever this training was going to be about, he was going to meet it head-on.
The group of them rapidly cleaned themselves up, splashing cold water across their faces to shake off their drowsiness. The coldness of the water struck home, but it was effective. In a matter of minutes, they were ready and off to the cafeteria, merging with the flow of other recruits moving through the narrow corridors.
***
The cafeteria was crowded, the hum of voices filling the air as recruits waited in line for breakfast. Axel's unit scooped up their trays, making their way through the line. The gruel was before them: sloppy porridge, a stale biscuit, and a glass of lukewarm water.
"This again," Eli grumbled, looking at his tray as if it had wronged him personally.
"Could be worse," Ava said, taking a bite of the biscuit and grimacing. "Okay, never mind. This is the worst."
"Edible," Atlas said simply, already eating without complaint.
Kaid sighed as he picked up his spoon. "At least we're getting something before training. Whatever they're throwing at us, it's better to face it on a full stomach."
Lila yawned between bites, her half-asleep eyes roaming the room. "Does anyone else have the feeling that this building is becoming. heavy? Like, we're all just waiting for something to fall?"
"That's just the nature of this place," Atlas replied, his voice level. "It's meant to wear you down, not make you comfortable."
On the other side of the room, Axel saw Cyrus alone, his keen gray eyes once more upon him. Axel disregarded it, his jaw tightening, and continued with his meal.
***
The recruits were shortly thereafter gathered up by guards and taken to the training facility. The tension was thick, a heavy anticipation being shared among the group as their boots echoed in the long steel corridors.
"Any guesses on what's waiting for us?" Kaid asked, his voice low.
"Something awful," Eli replied without hesitation.
"Probably obstacle courses and drills," Ava said. "The usual boot camp stuff, except with fewer safety regulations."
"Whatever it is, we'll manage," Axel said firmly, his expression unreadable.
The building doors loomed in front of them, massive and fortified, hissing open on a heavy mechanical sound. The strangers entered the building, and gasps of horror swept over the group.
The training building was huge. Shelves against one wall bore lines of thin, high-tech guns—high-powered rifles, pistols, and other firearms glinting brightly. Against the other, there hung melee weapons on the wall—precision-cut blades, axes, and swords with deadly refinement. Obstacle courses spanned the wide room, with climbing walls, swinging floors, and mock combat areas. Holographic training modules flickered to life against the distant wall, their blue light casting an otherworldly sheen over the room.
"This is insane," Kaid growled, staring.
"Terrifying is a better term," Lila breathed.
"Welcome to paradise," Eli said wryly, his tone laced with tension.
"Line up!" a guard yelled, snapping them out of their daydream.
The recruits lined up, standing at attention as they faced the front of the building. The sound of heavy footsteps came towards them, each one resounding with authority.
He was followed by a giant of a man in black military attire that was covered with medals and insignia. There was a prominent scar on his left cheek, and cold, hard eyes scanned the recruits like a predator keeping watch over its quarry.
"I am Commander Rourke," he declared, his deep voice quieting the murmurs. "I am commanding the army here at this base. And as of today, I am the one who is going to take you sorry excuses for recruits and make something of you—if that's even possible at all."
Rourke started pacing in front of the group, his hands locked behind his back. "Look around you. This center is not here to baby you. It is not here to amuse you. This is where we sort out the weak from the strong. This is where you learn to survive—otherwise, you fail."
The recruits were tense. Rourke's scarred face snarled in contempt as he went on.
"Make no mistake: most of you will fail. You'll break under the pressure, you'll dissolve under the strain, and you'll show yourselves to be unworthy of the effort and expense we're investing in you. But for the few that hold out." He let his gaze sweep the ranks. "You might just find yourselves soldiers.".
Axel felt Rourke's gaze linger on him for a fraction of a second longer than the others before moving on. The brief moment left his chest tight, but he refused to flinch under the scrutiny.
"This," Rourke said, gesturing to the facility around them, "is where you'll be forged into something stronger—or broken completely. Welcome to the place of hell."
He stopped pacing, turning to face them fully. His smile was gone, replaced by a cold, steely glare. "Your first training begins now. Prove to me you're not a waste of time."
"Move!" a guard barked, and the recruits broke formation, splitting into groups as they were escorted to different areas of the facility.
Axel's team stayed together for the moment, their expressions tense.
"Good beginning to this one, anyway," Eli complained as they headed toward the weapons.
"It's only the beginning," Atlas said quietly, his voice grim. "Keep your head down and your mind sharp. If you lose either, you won't be leaving this place."
Axel said nothing. His mind was one-track, his will set. Whatever Rourke or this cunning dished out, he was prepared. He had to be.