Our Garden of Dismay

Part 5

Some more significant time has passed and by now we have trained much more and become more physically fit as well as strong mentally. We know a lot about our enemies and the strategies to take them down. Some retained the info better compared to others but the same could be said for the physical aspect of our training. Everyone can now confidently pass the ODM suspension test with a duration of five minutes, and some of us who are better can last more than ten. Today is our first actual ODM field test, we get to finally fly and learn from experience, how to use our only equalizer with the Titans. We all get equipped with belts that wrap around our bodies like a harness, crossing our chest and wrapping across our legs. The belts only appear occasionally and give a rather cool look in my opinion, but they aren't purely vanity-based. They are what holds our body up with the gear helping our balance and allowing us to stay strapped into the gear. Outside the Armory, we are distributed our personal ODM gear; scabbard and all. I place the device on me and adjust it to fit comfortably. The mechanisms that fire the anchors and the reel aren't particularly heavy, but once I attach them to the gas tanks and fasten the scabbards onto my waist the weight becomes noticeable; this is without blades and I am already not looking forward to the full weight. I took off my jacket so that I could equip the gear without impedance, but once I place it, I feel complete. I roll my shoulders back and feel a sense of power and accomplishment. I grab the grips, which were resting on the floor, and lift them double-checking they are connected to everything else. Every other Cadet is ready to go as well and we all salute, grips in hand when Instructor Vidal makes her way in front of us.

"Today may be the most dangerous portion of your training, The first day of live ODM training always results in several injuries. All you have to worry about is not being in that thirty percent who will inevitably get hurt."

I swallow the lump in my throat and glance at other Cadets through my peripherals. Most look concerned as well until, of course, I spot Dietrich. His expression says it all: he wants to be the best one here.

"A green flare will be fired into the air, any green flare will be your target destination. Make use of the large tree trunks for your anchors and use your gas to increase your momentum to propel forward. The quicker you get to each marker the better your chances to make the top ten. One last word of advice, try and remember your flare colors."

She then grins and walks back into the Armory. Green flares are typically meant to guide the mission objective and point out areas that are safe or needed to be headed to. Red flares signify a Titan has been spotted and that the general area should be avoided unless you have orders to eliminate Titans in red flare zones. The last of the main three colors is black: a black flare is a warning, the spotting of an abnormal Titan. Regardless of orders, black flares should be avoided at all costs. The sound of a flare shot can be heard from deep in the forest, and sure enough, a green flare soars into the sky, erupting from above the treetops. We all sit for a moment, hesitation and fear enveloping us. No one moves for what must be a good fifteen seconds until a shout breaks the silence.

"Eat my dust!"

Dietrich breaks into a full sprint after his war cry, he tilts his hips back and fires two anchors at separate trunks. He reels in, pulling himself towards the gap between the trees; he then begins emitting gas which dramatically increases his speed. The burst of speed is then complimented with the release of the anchors, which in turn causes him to launch into the air. Giordano is next as he follows suit, then the rest of us all begin to mirror our fellow Cadets. Many fail the initial step, mostly due to poor timing or messing up the order of events causing a good handful of injuries within the first minute of today's training. We soar through the trees, using the same order of actions to fly through the forest at speeds much faster than any human could ever run. I'm in the middle of the pack with the majority of other Cadets but I can still spot Dietrich just ahead who manages to make it to the flare first. In a small clearing, a soldier stands with a flare gun in one hand and a notebook in the other. She places the flare gun in a holster at her middle-lower back and proceeds to scribble down names. As everyone begins to land, a few making the landing harder than others, another flare fires off to the west of the clearing. Within seconds we all begin flocking towards it, but this time something is different. A red flare explodes out above the trees just northwest of our position; we weren't given orders to pursue, so it's best to say we should avoid it. A majority of Cadets begin to shift towards the right, avoiding the red flare's general direction entirely. Some Cadets still maintain their track and at the red flare, a soldier writes their names down in a notebook. When we reach the green flare, this time Giordano leading the pack, we all stop and are congratulated for completing the first practice. We all head back to camp and shed our ODM gear to spend the rest of the day getting some much-needed rest. Approximately a dozen or so Cadets require medical attention, the most out of any training exercise so far. As we all begin to disperse I notice a board sitting in the dead center of the camp. When some of us notice and inspect it, what we see shocks all of us to the core: on it is one paper that has a list written out.