The Dark Mist

The Beginning, the Escape

                                                                                                   1

Becca took off her glove with her mouth, then used her free hand to take off the other one. She put the gloves in her locker, grabbed her water bottle and downed some water. She didn't know how much, just whatever came down and cooled the sweat that draped her entire body. Jennifer was beside her rubbing her head and squinting her eyes as she put her gloves in her own locker and followed Becca's lead in drinking some water. Becca took a deep breath, closed her locker, made a motion with her head and led Jennifer to the showers. Becca stripped off her clothes and opened one of the stalls. She turned on the shower, turned around and let the hot water scrape her back. Tilting her head, she smiled as the water cooled her off, which was ironic since the water was hot. She wasn't one for cold showers, though there were others in her unit who went hardcore with the cold showers. Cold showers were optional and the preferred method of the elite. There was nothing wrong if you didn't take a cold shower, but they said that you would function higher if you took a cold shower rather than a hot one. Becca wasn't ready to make that leap yet. She enjoyed her comfort. Becca arched an eyebrow as she heard a knocking on her door. She opened it a peep. "Almost done."

"Looks like you didn't even start yet," said Jennifer shaking her head. Jennifer was one of the cold shower ones. She was already wrapped in a white gown. "I'll wait for you."

"No, you go ahead, I'll join you in the room before dinner."

Jennifer nodded and Becca closed the shower stall door again, thankful for the peace and quiet. It was her last shower, she wanted to enjoy it. Of course, she couldn't stay in there too long, they, or someone might worry if she was okay. Becca soaped her hair with the shampoo and let it lather her blonde hair. She smirked at that. For a blonde looking Barbie, she sure packed a punch. Although she never did have a Barbie doll as a kid, not that she remembered anyway. She did have a doll but after five years old, the training began for all of them. They were the Soldiers of Darkness, or the future Soldiers of Darkness. Becca sighed into the water as she rinsed off the shampoo from her hair and then proceeded to soap her body with the sponge they provided. She wondered if she'd be able to take the sponge with her. Though she wasn't allowed. Couldn't really remember what the rules were, but she knew for sure that perfumes or soaps wouldn't be allowed. Plus she could get that when she was out in the real world. For now, Becca had to be content to just take what she could. Survival. That was the key. She had money. They all did. After all, they did jobs at the compound. Becca did cleaning, she also tutored some of the young people. She was out of high school now. Definitely a good background for teaching ten year olds. Becca washed the soap off her body, turned off the shower, opened the stall door, and put on a gown that was next to the stall. Each day, new gowns were placed by the stall. When you finished your shower, you put on a gown, went to your room and changed. Then toss the gown into the hamper to be recycled for others to use. She couldn't really tell what system it was. Not exactly Communism, but it was like a commune. Everything was shared. It was a good life. But not the life for her.

Becca picked up her workout clothes and put them into the hamper. Behind her, a couple of girls were entering the shower area after a good workout themselves. She, herself, had been in the boxing ring with Kiko, one of the members just like herself. Kiko was good, heavy and packed a good punch, but he wasn't light on his feet like her and that was what helped her. She was really light on her feet, almost like a dancer. When he threw his right punch at her, she balanced on her right foot like a swan and moved her body, to first duck the blow, and give a punch to his belly. It took him aback for a second, giving her time to balance on her left foot and go for the TKO. She cheered again and got a look from Squadron Leader Sam who shook his head. He hated when she cheered like that because it was not what they were supposed to do. This was serious business and not a game. She quickly clammed up, helped Kiko up and shook his hand. Sam didn't talk to her afterwards. Probably tired of having to tell her to stop cheering, though Becca did get the message. She couldn't help it, it was habit. She also loved winning which wasn't the point of victory, she knew that. It wasn't about winning, it was about . . . destruction. Power. Control. That sort of thing.