The Recruit Page 21

  Rebecca nodded. She wondered if the men thought this would be an easy assignment. “How many of them are there, sir?”

  “Three,” the Major said. Then, turning to Dylan: “As agreed. Am I right, Torrence?”

  “Yes, sir,” Dylan answered.

  “Well,” he grunted as he stood up, “what are we waiting for? The clock is ticking.”

  “Are you just going to leave me here?” Rebecca asked him as he touched the side of her face as a gesture of goodbye while taking his car keys out of his pocket.

  Dylan looked at the time and nodded. “I’ll come get you in twenty-four hours,” he winked. “Good luck.”

  “But, I thought…”

  He smiled at her. Then, taking her shoulders firmly between his fingers, he said, “Relax. You’ll be fine.”

  From the main gate to the training camp, she saw Dylan enter his car after waving at her one last time and then drove away. The Major, who had been watching the exchange quietly, cleared his throat before speaking. “Ready, Ms. Sawyer?”

  Nodding absentmindedly, Rebecca followed the Major back into the building. Courtly, he opened the door for her and guided her across the long corridor heading towards the door on the other end.

  “My men will enter the field twenty minutes after you do,” he explained as their feet echoed in the main hallway. “Here’s a map of the camp and a canteen.” He offered both items to her and she thanked him for them. At least she would not be going out there blind.

  The canteen was empty, but she was sure that could be fixed once she found a source of water. She needed to find water as soon as she could, the only other way she could think of satisfying her thirst was with blood and that could not be the first choice; not a choice at all.

  When they reached the end of the corridor, they exited through the door. Rebecca saw the tall wall before her, it kept going in both directions, making her wonder how big the training ground was and how well the soldiers that would soon join her were familiar with it.

  Rebecca waited patiently as she watched the Major open the gate after typing a combination with his middle finger on a key pad. The door unlocked with a loud clank and the military man opened the heavy squeaking door to give her access to the field where she would spend the following twenty-four hours.

  Offering him a forced smile and a nod, Rebecca walked past him entering the protected forest. Inside, all she could see were trees, their trunks started a few feet from the door. They were all a few feet apart and their trunks were empty of leaves for the most part. On the ground, a million dried leaves mixed with sticks, rocks, and mud didn't let a trail available to follow.

  From behind, the Major reminded her once more: “You have a twenty-minute advantage starting now, Ms. Sawyer.” Rebecca turned to look at him and nodded. The Major noted her acknowledgement and closed the gate. Right before his face disappeared, he added, “And please, be nice to my men?”

  The metal door closed with another loud clank.

  The Major was right to remind her she would have twenty minutes to run. Twenty minutes to hide before the trained soldiers with their guns came looking for her. Turning to the sky with narrowed eyes, she now wished there was sunlight enough to tell what time of day it was. Considering the drive and the time it had taken the Major to debrief them Rebecca estimated it had to be somewhere between ten and eleven in the morning.

  “Well, let’s get started,” Rebecca said to herself after taking a deep breath.

  Opening the map in her hands, she studied it. Her first impression of it was bleak. The map didn't offer much help. Apart from an arrow pointing to the North, the map looked almost empty. To one side she saw a circle labeled as LAKE, there was a small rectangle labeled GATE, a triangle reading CAVES, and three rudimentary pictures of houses with no labels to identify them. The map told her where she was, feeling the empty canteen strapped to her shoulder told her where she needed to go. Unfortunately, the lake was the first place those soldiers were likely to look for her which meant she needed to be on her way three minutes ago.

  Rebecca folded her map and secured it in her jacket's pocket, before she began on her way. She wished the path before her resembled a hiking path, but the dry leaves, branches, and tree trunks were just splattered everywhere. The trees were tall, with few leaves that had sprouted from the upper branches. As Rebecca looked in front of her, she could count a plethora of white and black tree trunks as far as the eye could see. She could tell spring was trying to make its way into the world since she could see newborn sprouts on the ground and even on some trees.

  Her pace was slower than she'd like, but since she knew the field was filled with traps the soldiers had set up for her, she had to be careful. Jonathan had taught her how to disarm different types of traps he thought she would find on this day, so as long as she found them, she would be safe. The problem was with those hard to spot. If she fell into one of those, she would regret it.

  As she made her way to the lake, she repeated the rules to herself. Jonathan had explained what the test would assess; her ability to survive without hurting others, her ability to remain human and not to alarm the soldiers of her true nature. To accomplish this, she would have to make sure to be well fed, and to not show her adversaries her fangs or bright red eyes when night came. Failure to prove she could handle any of that would lead the director to re-evaluate her case to make sure she was still a candidate to work for the vampire agency. There was a lot at stake - she had given up her life for this moment, after all. She tried to focus her thoughts on more positive things, like the birds chirping or the leaves rustling. It was easier said than done.

  She had walked for five minutes without finding any danger; as she started to walk faster, she wasn't being as careful. The first trap was well hidden. Rebecca halted when she spotted it, close to activating it. The vine had been only a few inches away from her legs when she stopped. Carefully, she knelt in front of it as she followed the path of the rope camouflaged in the vine. At the end, and hidden under some dry leaves, Rebecca noticed a net. She had almost knelt on top of it and she hadn’t noticed.

  Standing up, she located the origin of the trap, the place she would need to reach to disarm it. Carelessly, she gave a few steps back, not realizing there was something else there.

  It all started with a click.

  The branch she broke was connected to a wire, and the wire to a tree trunk wrapped in barbwire that was let loose from up high. Before she could react, the spiky log had fallen on her legs, burying the tiny thorns on her thighs.

  Grunting, Rebecca tried not to scream. As she gritted her teeth, she felt the fangs under her lips slide down automatically. Below her waist, her pants were covered in blood. Pulling the tree trunk off her legs with both hands, she dropped on the dry leaves as the pain numbed her limbs.

  This test was serious business. These soldiers thought she was just human and yet this trap had caused her significant harm. If she hadn't been able to heal like she did, they would have defeated her right then. How come she wasn't allowed to harm them when there were ready to harm her? They didn't know she was a vampire which meant they were willing to harm a human woman.

  The pain coming from her legs downgraded to a stinging in a few seconds. Soon, she felt like nothing had happened, and the blood left on her pants reminded her she needed to be more careful.

  “Wonderful,” she muttered. If the soldiers hadn’t thought to look for her by the lake area first, they would make it their priority destination now. She had just helped them by leaving them a trail to follow by activating that trap.

  Jonathan had suggested to disarm as many traps as she could find, to clear the field. Perhaps he'd been wrong. Perhaps there was a different strategy that would work better for her. How long had it been since Jonathan had been in this field, anyway? It was possible things had changed since then.

  The canteen on her shoulder reminded her she needed to reach the lake. But, how? If she walked careful not to fall into a trap
, the soldiers would find her. She couldn't let that happen. She could feel the dryness in her mouth; she was already thirsty. She would be hungry soon, too. Rebecca needed to do something.

  How much time had she wasted? There was no way to tell.

  To make matters worse, she could not remember which direction she had been walking from. Where had she been coming from when the trap stopped her? She no longer saw the tall wall, and all she saw around her was tree trunk after tree trunk in front of her.

  The Major hadn’t given her a compass, perhaps she should have brought her own. No one had said anything about a compass. Maybe she should have brought a watch, too. Why hadn't she thought of that? Why hadn't Jon or Dylan warn her? If only she could see the sun above to follow the direction of its light. Too bad nature had chosen a cloudy day for her. Up above, she saw too many gray clouds covering the sky. She even wondered if it would rain later that day. That would be unfortunate.

  Maybe it had all been a mistake? Every morning she taught the Mommy and Me class back home, and instead she was here, trapped in a dangerous field where trained soldiers yearned to hurt her. Was teaching the Mommy and Me class a better choice? No. She didn't see herself as a dance teacher anymore. She had changed since becoming a vampire. She was a different person, and all she had to do was survive twenty-four hours without hurting a soul. Who cared if they hurt her? She would be all right. It wasn't about that.

  Right now, she needed to act. Turning back, she retraced her steps until she figured out where she had been walking from. Her footprints weren't hard to see at all, which worried her. If she could see them clearly, so would they. Knowing where she was headed, she began to move again.

  It wasn't long until the next trap appeared. This time, she studied it to decide how to best disarm it. Disarming it, while easy, was time-consuming. Her twenty-minute advantage was almost up, she was sure.

  Just then, she heard a clank, which told her the main gate had opened - Clank, and it had closed.

  They’re coming.

  Those had been a quick twenty minutes.

  At least the sound the gate made helped her confirm her location. Now she could hear the soldiers' footsteps and smell their blood. She still had the advantage, but not for long. Besides, they had set those traps themselves, which meant they would move faster to reach her, knowing where to step.

  Once again she considered a different tactic. A way to move faster without having to worry about all the traps that were in her way. Looking up, she had an idea. Why hadn’t she thought about it before? The tree trunks were rough, yet sturdy; ready to be used. With her hand, she felt the texture of the one closest to her. She considered her options. Jumping from tree to tree would consume more energy, but it would allow her to travel faster and safer.

  The rough bark would hurt her hands, it would make her palms bleed. She was ready for it.

  Rebecca bent her knees as much as she could to achieve a higher jump. Once her feet left the ground, her vampiric ability took her several feet in the air. Taking the first tree trunk with both hands, she positioned herself six to seven feet over the ground. The few leaves that had grown on the branches rustled and the sharp pain in her hands lasted but a second. She was ready to start tree hopping to the lake. Before she did, she climbed a little higher to see if she could get a better look at her surroundings. The soldiers were still a few yards away. She still had time.

  Or so she thought.

  Her hand flew to her neck when she felt a bug bite on her skin, yet when she touched it she found - a dart?

  No.

  The soldiers were yards away, but apparently they had long-range weapons and good aim. Now, why hadn’t she thought of that? There were a lot of things she still had to learn; things she would gain from experience and not just from hearing Jonathan speak or watching Dylan do. Perhaps that was the ultimate goal of this examination, to show her what reality would be like and test her willingness to do a job like the one the agency was asking her to perform.

  The dart made her feel dizzy; losing her grip on reality made her let go of the tree. Rebecca fell to the ground as gravity pulled her. She felt her arm breaking before she lost consciousness. It was her bones snapping back into place that woke her up. She doubted she had lost a lot of time.

  This way! One soldier said almost cheerfully. I got her!

  Rebecca pulled herself up with her elbows, shaking her head to get rid of the last traces of the sedative. The soldiers were closing the distance, approaching in her direction. Whatever she needed to do to get out of there, she needed to do it fast.

  It took her a second to stand up and return to the closest tree. She was a little disoriented, but knew the way to go: away from the soldiers. Jumping from one tree trunk to the next, she felt like a monkey in the jungle. Soon, she had increased the distance between her and the soldiers.

  Where is she? It was a woman’s voice she heard, one of the soldiers. You got her, I’m sure, she told someone. Rebecca kept on jumping until she spotted the lake. She felt a rise in her adrenaline as she realized what she could do.

  Maybe he missed, she heard a male voice reply. It was coming from farther away now.

  No, said the shooter, I’m sure I did. I got her. She fell right here. Look at the leaves. Then, The sedative should have lasted for a good twenty minutes, at least.

  His buddy then added, I think she just lost her balance and fell. I don't think you hit her. You must’ve missed.

  But-

  Enough!

  The conversation died abruptly and by the time it did, Rebecca had reached the lake. Jumping off the last tree, she ran over the rocks by its shore until she reached the edge of the body of water. She kelt down with her open canteen to fill it with the clear, fresh liquid. She drank it all before refilling it again. Behind her, she heard the soldiers preparing their new plan of action after getting over the fact they had lost her.

  Even if you didn’t hit her, she’s hurt; you saw the blood back there, the man who sounded like their leader was saying. If she’s hurt, that will slow her down for sure.

  Rebecca caught the sight of a few fish swimming close to her as she heard the soldiers talk. If she had any more time, she would catch one to eat. Right now, she needed to get out of the clearing and back into the safety of the forest. Perhaps even head to the caves pictured on the map or search and disarm traps while the soldiers looked for her.

  The voices came to her again, She can’t be that far away. I say we start toward the lake, the woman was saying. It was like having a radio set to their frequency.

  You’re right, the leader agreed. She’s hurt and more likely still bleeding. I say we cover a half-a-mile radius. Heller, you stay behind while Francis and I start toward the lake.

  Yes, sir, the woman replied.

  Heller, Francis, those were their names. This was Rebecca’s cue to move back between the tree trunks. If she went directly North, she would get to the caves. To the Northwest was the first cabin. Thinking there could be supplies there, this would be her next destination. If the cabins were empty, then she could return to the caves; although the way they were drawn on one corner of the map made them look like a dead end, an easy way to be trapped there. Maybe not such a good idea after all.

  Whatever she did, she needed to stay one step ahead of the soldiers at all times.

  Jumping from tree to tree brought her to the first cabin. The scent of the small mammals around her was distracting her, she was hungry. Their blood wasn’t appetizing at all- disgusting even - and it wouldn’t be as efficient on her body as eating meat or drinking human blood, but they were better than nothing.

  It was better to be distracted by animals than tempted by the scent to the soldiers' blood.

  She was a safe distance away from the lake when she started to hunt. Rebecca channeled her senses to find small mammals hiding around her. They weren't hard to spot if she used all of her senses to find them, except she needed to disconnect from the soldiers while she did. It
was worth it. She fed on a few animals, hiding their drained bodies between tree branches, before continuing on her way. Her senses focused on the soldiers again, they were not hard to find.

  She estimated it had to be close to noon by then, but she could be wrong. It didn’t matter. She was faster than the men and woman pursuing her and she had the ability to know exactly how far away they were. All she needed to do was keep them at bay for a few more hours. Even if they didn't sleep, it should be easy to stay away from them. The test wasn't a real hardship so far.

  Rebecca would soon find out how wrong she was. It was far from over.

  It was her overconfidence what made her make a mistake. A branch broke under her foot, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground. She failed to land on her feet and when she sat up, the pain from a sharp branch that had gone through her abdomen made her flinch. Moving through the pain, Rebecca took the branch with both hands, breaking it in half. Then, she pulled it out from her back. It had been such a stupid mistake. She gritted her teeth as she struggled to stand up before the wound had healed. Once more she had left a clear trail for the soldiers to follow. Her blood was everywhere, and she had made a loud enough noise to let the soldiers know where she was.

  She heard one of them run in her direction. She tried to get back on the tree, but the pain in her abdomen was still too strong; she needed to wait for the wound to heal more before doing any harsh movements. All the time, the soldier kept getting closer and Rebecca started to walk away making sure she didn't step into any traps.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow too close to her. She needed to get away. She couldn't wait any longer, she needed to be up in the tree trunks and create distance between them no matter how much her wound still hurt.

  She had barely touched the bark when she felt another dart on her neck. There wasn't any doubt these soldiers were good at their job. They had excellent aim. Once more, she lost her footing, falling back to where she had started. Once more, everything turned black for a few seconds.