Only the Strong Survive

Chapter Nineteen

Nina Pov

I didn't sleep. We were preparing for attack. Some of my division were out with the other soldiers. One of the normal ones came over and asked, "CO Nina-"
I scowled. "Don't call me that unless you want to loose a good chunk of your face." I snapped at them.
"Ok.... Are your troops ready?"
"Why wouldn't they be?" This guy was pushing my patience. "Just making sure ma'am."
I frown at him. He backs off. Note: my troops were not ready.
"Hey Ni, how's planning our great attack going?" Landon asked coming over. I sit down in front of my plans. "I can't figure out a way to get everyone out before the bomb explodes......" Landon looks over my shoulder. "What if you sent in the people that would be more likely to survive in first? Like you and James, fire resistant people..... People with like Kitty Pryde powers, the walk through walls thing. Metal people. And then the people who can't survive that are more-"
I cut him off. "Closer to the exit! You are a genius!!!" I scribble some notes and look at my division list. "They can go in pairs, the ones that can protect the other..... But hopefully that won't be necessary...." When I determined everything I was happy. My phone buzzed in my boot and I ignored it. "Landon get everyone out here so I can explain this before we leave." He nodded and ran off. The first signs of the up coming winter were upon us. It was getting colder. Hopefully we wouldn't be out here that long. A whole winter could kill someone. I was dressed in my new camo skin tight uniform. It had some patches sewn on last minute to match the rest of the army. There were black arm guards and knee pads, my new brown boots with my phone. Landon at first laughed at the arm guards. Then I hit him in the arm. Bet he wished he had them then.
Mr. Co-minus-two-fingers was still in the infirmary, being looked after by Johann and Isabelle. He was lucky.

The selected few I thought were mandatory to this mission from the mutant division loaded onto trucks. We were the first to sneak in at dusk, and it was a longer drive than anticipated. When I was planning in the early hours of morning, I realized that I didn't need to bring my whole division. Just a few. The rest of the people coming would meet us there.
My whole group was wedged into one truck. I spent the first thirty minutes explaining everything through again and answering questions. Then we sat in silence, bumping over the road. The driver called back a while later. "Ten minutes till drop zone!"
All of my soldiers looked nervous. They were gripping their weapons with sweaty hands, their knuckles turning white. The youngest one was me, and I was leading them into a war zone. Such a great teacher I am. I reminded myself it could be worse. I could be preparing a bunch of five year olds. I take in a deep breath and stand when the vehicle stops. "Move out." I said calmly jumping down. "Phoebe any guards?" I ask as we all hide in the bushes. "Two on the left door, three on the right. A telepath on the weaker side.... I'm blocking his thoughts. He can't hear us." She said as she concentrated. Alex had binoculars. "Right entrance. Average looking men, left entrance, big burly guy, wimpy looking guy. People on the roof." He passes me the binoculars. Doesn't look too bad. One of the others asked. "I'm still confused. Why are we attacking them?" I looked at them. "We are going to blow up this base before they have a chance to stop us."
"Why?"
"So we can try and end this before it starts." I say climbing up over our hiding places. "Landon, and shark bait." I said looking at them. James smiled slightly at the use of his nickname "Get the left. Phoebe, Alex, right. You three come with me. You four, split up and follow them. Clear?"
They all nodded and we snuck up closer to the base. "What are we doing?" One of my group asked. "We..." I started as we approached an unprotected part of wall. "Are going to take out roof security."
They looked at me. Then one of them, a girl with a bit of African in her who everyone calls Camilla, said. "I know I could get Jacob up, but I'm not sure about you or Stephen.........."
"I don't need you to get me up." I said unsheathed all of my claws. "Who's the lightest?" I asked. Jacob was pushed foreword. "Hop on my back." I ordered. "Ma'am, I'm not sure this is the best time or place-"
"Shut up. That is an order. Now climb on."
Jacob climbed up on my back. He was twice the size of me, and an estimated 175 pounds. I had him beat by almost 100.
Digging my claws into the bricks, I started to pull myself up the side. Camilla was struggling slightly with Stephen but she managed. Camilla had beautiful emerald green beetle wings sticking out from between her shoulder blades. When we were close to the top of the wall, I stopped, waited a second, and when I heard the fighting at the main entrances. "Hang on tight." I told Jacob. Using all of the strength I had in my arms, I swing up over the side, right into a guard. I plowed him over and kicked away his gun. We were on a mission to kill. So that's what I did. "Entrances clear, going in." Alex said over my com. "Meet you down there." I replied.
After killing a bunch of people and making it to the main center of the building, we had to crack the door to get the locations of the other bases. This was what I was worried about. The rest of the army was coming to blow it up in around five minutes from now, and it didn't matter if we were all inside or not. To them we were just pawns. There were only really two sides, against the humans for your rights, or with them because you don't want another world war.
Alex cracked the door code in seconds and we piled in. Phoebe ran a hand through her considerably shorter red hair, a worried look on her face. "How are we going to find that in all of this stuff?"
The room, estimated at ten by ten feet, was piled up to the celling with things. A bomb shelter I realized. Papers here and there stacked to the ceiling, some had fallen and scattered. Weapons were in one corner, a lot of ammunition in another. We were looking for one paper in particular, the map. "Where do you think the most recent documents were put?" I asked them. "Closest to the door?" Stephen suggested. "We'll start there then." I said bending down. Three minutes later, still nothing. "What if someone tipped over the paper on purpose?" Alex asked. "Then wouldn't it be under everyt-"
"I found it!" Landon yelled. It was tapped to a wall, all the way in the back of the room. "I'll get it." He said running through the papers. I looked at it, and it was just as it was described to me. "One minute, let's get out before we get barbecued." I said pushing them all past me. We bolted to the main doors. And they were locked. The steel doors were welded together. "How the-"
"Ah, clever ones thought you could get in and steal my map did you?" A half dead mutant looked up at us. His hand was flaming, and I think he had something to do with the doors being locked. "Your betraying your own kind! You'd rather have the humans hate you than live freely?!"
I frown. "We don't have time for this." I unsheathed my claws and slashed through the steel. "Your making the wrong choice! We are the next evolution. We are the race fit to rule the world!" I pushed the rest of my group through the door. "How would you know? You the one about to die." I said before slipping through the hole and sprinting after the rest of them. Just as the building exploded. I could feel the heat from a considerable distance.
One of the COs looked at me. "Nice job." I handed him the map and he looked at the image. "Looks like there's only fifty more like this one. But that's only Germany. You think your up for it?"
I nodded. Why not?

Logan Pov

After a long day of yelling at students and running after bad guys, a man just wants to take some time off and sleep. But that didn't happen. At least not tonight. Almost the whole school was watching a live broadcast from the war zone. Some official people were bing interviewed to see how the progress was going, they were doing this whole two hour segment on the war, fighting tactics, medical things, everything. All the students were yelling at one another to get out of their spot and that they couldn't see. And I had had enough.
"All of you settle down, and be quiet, or you will be sent to bed!"
They looked at me, and sat down, knowing that I wasn't one to mess around with.
The news cast started.
"Good evening, this is Susan Neilson with-" the kids were yelling.
"Shut it!" I yelled. And they were quiet.
"I am in Germany, at the American army base. Tonight we will be interviewing some of the top officials in the United States Army. This is general Samuel Harlow, general Harlow, how do you feel the war is going?"
The older man stood up strait and said. "It could be going better, but at this moment, everything is going smoothly and has stabilized."
Susan flipped her hair and asked, "Has their been any recent attacks on the base?"
The general frowned "There was one last week, an isolated incident, nothing to worry about."
Then some crazy guy came over and pushed the general out of the way. "Them evolutionarys did this to me! They blew my fingers right off my hand, ya see?!" The man waved around his hand that was missing two fingers, right at the camera. "That's why them mutants need to be killed! They need to be squashed before they can do any worse to us!"
The kids were cowering in fear as the man continued on and on, even though he was only on the screen.
He was pulled out of the line of camera, and an official looking doctor came on. "I am very sorry, my patient must have slipped past the nurses."
"It is ok," Susan said cooly. "And you are?"
"Forgive me, I am doctor Johann, from Berlin. Now if you will excuse me I must get my patient back to his bed," he went off camera. "Phoebe, Alex will you help me?"
They walked past in the background, and all the kids were screaming, "I know them!" And "what did she do to her hair?!"
Later in the newscast, Susan was walking around the base, when she came upon the training section. Nina was doing her normal exercises, and Landon was nearby, watching her. The cameras taped Nina doing all sorts of outrageous things, easily flipping over obstacles, that kind of thing. When she touched the ground again, I could hear Nina ask Landon. "Why is there a camera crew?"
"Just go with it." He replied running a hand through his already messed up hair.
Susan and the camera crew rushed forward. "Hello, I'm Susan with Fox News, do you mind if we interview you?" The kids were screaming again.
My daughter shrugged. "Why not?Nina." She said not bothering to shake Susan's outstretched hand.
"Ok, Nina, do you mind telling us a bit about what you do here? Where your from?"
Nina sighed. "I'm from New York, I work at the Xavier school, I'm a teacher there.... And if any of my students are watching this, I want you to know that I think about you all the time." She said with a small smile. The kids were all smiling and talking back to the screen as if she could hear them.
"Oh, how sweet. Now tell me, what is a teacher doing in the middle of a war zone?"
"Fighting a war. What else would I be doing?" Nina asked confused.
There was an awkward pause, until Susan spoke. "What are some of your jobs around here?"
"Oh you know, the usual soldier jobs, polishing your boots, practicing things.... But my main job in this army, is to be a human meat shield."
She did not just say that on live television! I Facepalmed.
Susan looked shocked. "Is that like a metaphor with some deeper meaning? Like sacrificing yourself to save others that need protecting?" Susan was going out on limb. I was inwardly hoping that Nina would go along with it. Sadly, didn't happen. Nina shook her head. "Nope. I mean like an actual meat shield." Susan's shocked look forced her to clarify.
"I'm in the mutant devision. Metal claws, healing factor. Yep. Nothing can stop me. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to show this punk how to do a proper backflip." She said playfully punching Landon.

The rest of the news cast was very boring. Worst one ever. Half of the kids fell asleep and guess who had to help bring them all to their beds if they wouldn't wake up? Yep, this guy.
I remember when Nina was little and she would train all the energy out of her, so I would have to carry her to bed. Those were the good days. When I finally laid down on my own mattress, it was well past midnight, and a nice long sleep after a day's work, seemed very far away. There's always tomorrow......

Comments? Questions? Feelings? Anything? Please comment. Thanks. PlatinumAngel7