Chapter Three

The sun, red as blood, hung lazily over their heads, casting shades of orange-scarlet light across the field. Amynta, along with the other teens, stood in the center of a grassy field, arms slack against her waist. Trees lingered in the distance, bark white as bone and layered with stripes of pink moss. Water glittered beneath the bridge they had walked over to get here. Beyond the field lay a bridge that spanned the length of another body of water, where fish swam. Amynta thought she could spot a pink-spotted tortoise, but she wasn’t certain.

She risked a glance left and right. Most of the newbies were people she hadn’t known in her two years of preliminary courses. The Green Cadets. Each of their faces were lined with hardness, eyes traced with varying emotions. Like Amynta, they all wore dark, tight clothing tucked into beige pants looped with belts that would eventually house their tools of choice. The backs of their vests were emblazoned with one of the Corps’ symbols of choice: A stallion racing against a field of lightning. This year, the number of new Cadets seemed smaller. Amynta could only count twelve people, including herself and Corinna. They were waiting for one of the staff to arrive. How long has it been? It felt like they had been standing here for hours.

A girl whose shoulders barely reached Amynta’s arms leaned closer. Her face was shaped like a heart, skin kissed by the sun in the form of a creamy brown complexion. Slate-colored eyes gleamed with mischief as they peered up at Amynta. Her hair was tied into two bushy, brown pigtails that fell past her lithe shoulders. She wore the Corps uniform in an almost slovenly manner. It made Amynta’s jaw set. Such disrespect! Is Yan okay with this? Oh, right. These are this year’s new batch of Cadets. What could I possibly be saying?

“Yes?” Amynta whispered.

The girl ignored her and broke the line, boots trailing dust as she stepped in the center of the field. Murmurs surfaced among the group of teens; Amynta flattened her eyes with a sigh. What is she doing?

“Attention,” the girl said with a hand on her hip. “Don’t ya wonder why we’re standing here for some flippin’ long? Aye, I think it’s dumb!”

A girl whose blonde hair was looped into a tight bun atop her head cleared her throat sharply. This silenced the murmurs.

“Astrid,” the blonde said. “Is there a point to this foolishness?”

“I think the system’s broken, is all! Why, we risk our lives to come here, and for what? To eat slop meant for pigs? And aye, not only is the food crappy, the grown-ups are mean! It tells ya everything that’s wrong with the system of this world! Yer just too dumb to see that I’m right, aye. Expected ya to join me, Emma, but I guess yer just too caught up in yer own little business.”

“Wait a sec,” a boy with black hair said with lifted hands. “No need to fight. Er… I mean, we’re all here for a reason, I think. So let’s try to be nice to each other.”

“Oi!” Astrid jabbed a finger at him. “Who might you be?”

The boy held his neck. “M-my name’s Taner.”

“Heh,” a girl said from beside Taner. “Is this some bratty attempt to try and make us like you? My mom always said that loud people are the ones who hate themselves the most. If you feel so strongly about this ‘corrupt’ system, are you here to do something about it? Or are you just going to go on and on about change? People like that make me sick.”

“Don’t bother,” Emma murmured. “Astrid loves to prate. Astrid. Come back before you make yourself look like an even bigger fool. I’ll give you one thing, though. You’re correct about one thing. The system on which society runs is flawed for sure. We work hard. We suffer as a result, yet we don’t give up or anything. It’s what makes us human. We also want things we can’t have. Such is the nature of humanity. I’ll be honest: I’m only being this open because I hate fools who hide their true feelings. It’s best for us to all be honest and direct. Just stay out of my way and we’ll have no issues.”

“Oh, looks like we’ve got a brooding one here. How’d the hell did someone as negative as you weasel their way into the training corps? Then again...I grew up on a farm. Red weasels are fast little buggers… so I guess it makes sense. So you wanna be a lone wolf? Heh. Good luck with that. You know, I saw a cremator on the way here… it wouldn’t shock me if your ass became the latest fuel.”

“Brooding?” Emma said the word slowly, as if she’d never heard it before. “No...just realistic. I hate idealistic people more than anything. Want to know something? Trainees that are part of the Green Cadets end up dying fairly easily and quite often. The death toll rises. And the higher ups continue to fatten themselves on the work done by the deceased. Yeah. I said it. We’re all just test subjects. Dependent variables, if you will. I’m a fan of Sorin’s theories.”

“So?” the girl crossed her arms. “Think that scares me? Sweetheart, we all have to die at some point. A calm death? Pft. Well...I’m no fan of some famous person… Hell, I don’t even know who Sorin is. But I was raised to not let stuck-up people get under my skin. I’m gonna be a great Cadet. Ever see how the Saints, Knights, and Hunters are mostly full of dudes? Total sausage fest! I want to be the first woman to ever be noticed by the Holy King and Asonia.”

“Then you’re just a fool. Though there’s not much to expect from a low farmgirl like yourself. You—”

The girl’s face reddened with fury. She broke the line and stopped in front of Emma. The height difference was almost funny. Amynta felt like her throat was glued shut. She had always kept out of arguments, especially petty ones. It wouldn’t be wise to get caught up in petty debates. This conversation stoked something that usually sat deep inside her, though.

“Mind saying that again?” the girl spat.

“Linnea!” A girl with blue hair hurried over to her and clasped her arm.

“Get off me, Ari!”

“But you’re being...er….I don’t know the word, but just stop. Please? I don’t like it when you’re like this.”

Linnea glared at Emma. “Better watch it, sweetheart. Making enemies on the first day isn’t exactly smart.”

“I don’t think she means what she said,” Amynta said softly. “It’s a bluff.”

“What would you know?” Emma murmured.

“I can read between the lines. Your words are a direct result of your dissatisfaction. Nothing more. You are unsatisfied with the direction your life is heading in. Admittedly, I am rather clueless in regards to what you have experienced, but I have lived with harrowing pain in my heart ever since I was a child. I can recognize individuals whose hearts are the most disposed to dissatisfaction.”

“This some kind of awful attempt to be cordial? Have I not made myself clear already? I have zero interest in making friends. We all die eventually. Forming interpersonal relationships is just...silly.”

“Oh, but where have I given any indication of wishing to form a friendship with you? You are just disillusioned as a result of your life experiences. I see myself in you.”

Emma stepped out of line. Every muscle in Amynta’s body grew tense. The rostai flowing from Emma’s pores reminded her of an octopus’s tentacles. It twitched erratically; Amynta moved as well, soon looking into Emma’s silver eyes. The words she had uttered moments ago rang in her mind. I see myself in you. Why had she said that? Instantly, she was pulled back to the night of her parents’ deaths. The night where she had become an orphan, a vulnerable child whom had no inkling of capability to provide for herself and her sisters.

“Is that right?” Emma said. “I’m like you? Don’t make me laugh. You’re just like the rest of these incorrigible imbeciles.”

“You say such a thing without even having any clue about my life. Rather arrogant of you to assume I am like anyone standing here.”

“Because you are like them. You say I’m disillusioned. Sure. Easy for an orphan to say. You—”

Amynta clutched handfuls of Emma’s uniform tight enough to leave a web of wrinkles in the fabric. Her mind was like a storm. Thoughts zoomed through it, many of them thoughts she was not a stranger to. Marco’s face came to be in front of her eyes. Her loving father. He had been so strong and capable. Her eyes burned from fresh tears.

“Say whatever you wish about me,” she snapped, “I would suggest you leave my personal life out of your attempts to belittle me. I—”

“That’s enough!”

Amynta’s eyes snapped to a slab of glass suspended behind them all. A man with a shaved head and tufts of green hair streaking a boxy chin emerged from the glass, dressed in the typical Corps uniform. He towered over Taner; Taner paled and looked away quickly as their instructor stepped forward. Astrid’s throat bobbed.

“I hope this was just a friendly quarrel,” the man barked at Amynta. “Barbosa. Still the same temperment, huh… You remind me of a mutt. Your temper needs work! Let Tinna go.”

“I’m Emma.”

Amynta released Emma and resumed her position in the formation; Corinna’s eyes found hers, the typical smugness fractured and replaced by a look of pure bewilderment. Amynta was still coming down from her sudden rage, yet she found she didn’t care much about the way Corinna was eyeing her. Let her. I don’t care. The instructor held out a gloved hand over Astrid’s lithe shoulder; Astrid looked ready to faint, wearing a nervous grin.

“And what the hell are you doing?” he said. “Trying to copy me? I would touch you, but these gloves are clean. I hate getting them dirty. Step back in line.”

“Aye, Stermis. Was just havin’ some fun, that’s all…”

Astrid eyed her feet as she stepped back to stand beside Amynta. Stermis rubbed his forehead before dropping his arms to his sides. As if on cue, everyone mimicked his movement, backs straight. The animosity that overwhelmed the field still crackled as an invisible tension in the air; Linnea was clearly trying not to glare at Emma.

“Now,” Stermis said. “I was late, wasn’t I? Perfection takes time. Get used to it. Yan told to brief you wimps. I’ll be in charge of the mock battle! See the sun? A blood moon cycle is about to be before us. With it, Voidbreaks can happen whenever, and gia is a lot more flexible. You can do a lot more with it. The perfect time to host a mock battle, if you ask me. You each will be split into cells of three. Got it? The cells were already made, so don’t bother moaning about it. When you’re called, stand where I tell you to.”

Amynta’s gut boiled. Who would she be paired with?

“Bosof!” Stermin jerked a finger at Taner.

Taner throat bobbed. “Ah, I’m actually—”

“Don’t care! Stand over there. Next: Linnea! Over here. Goran! You, too!”

A boy with unkempt black hair moaned at that. His uniform was stained in several places and hung lazily over his evidently toned body. He stepped towards Taner and Linnea, the latter rolling her eyes at him. Goran yawned in response.

“Next up! Astrid! Aldric! Ari!”

Astrid shared a look with Aldric after they all reached the indicated area.

“Sweet,” Aldric said. “Working with two hot girls? It’s like a dream come true. Minus the fighting part!”

Ari paled slightly yet forced a smile nonetheless. “Pleased to meet you… I am in your care.”

“Oi,” Astrid said to Aldric. “Say anything else that’s sleazy and I’ll have yer head, aye.”

Amynta watched as the next cell was called.

She realized with sudden fear that Corinna and Emma hadn’t been called yet.

Uh, oh.

As if sensing her fear, Stermis’s gaze zeroed in on her like a hawk divebombing towards its prey.

“Last but not least,” he grumbled. “Amynta. Emma. Corinna! Over there!”

Amynta swallowed. No big deal… A Saint must work under conditions that are not always favorable. This is fine. She stopped where Stermis indicated; Emma said nothing, though her hands were curled into tight fists. Something told Amynta that she wasn’t angry at the decision made by Stermis and the rest of the staff.

Her rage delved deeper than that.

It was a feeling she could relate to.

That was what scared her.

As Stermis instructed them and directed them across the bridge, she felt her gut churn. Amynta exhaled softly. She could do this.

She had to.