Delta 1

Luka

Hey guys! Sorry I didn't post yesterday, I'm trying for a part a night. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Hell Week again. A week with only 5 hours of sleep, and intensive training so difficult, people have died on it. I've seen someone die during it.

We were picked from the ranks of the normal military, chosen because we were better. Me, Timmy, Keeran, Julian, Zack, Samuel, and Seth.

We traveled to Avecren, the largest desert, that reaches up to 47 *C during the day, and -4 at night. From there, bags filled with bricks and stones were dumped on us. We had to run 6 kilometers in 18 minutes, then get back, fill it up with more rocks, and do it again. That lasted the whole day, and by the time I was done, I was about to collapse from exhaustion.

"When do we get to sleep?" Timmy asked at around midnight, after we were forced to do 300 push ups.

That earned a screaming fit from the Commander. "Give me another 30! All of you!"

And then we had to pair off, and try to beat the other person senseless. Well, until they surrendered. Blacking out would be a form of sleep. That wasn't allowed.

So I faced Seth. He was much bigger and slower than I was, but one hit from him could hurt like hell. He swung at my head, and I ducked around, trying to aim at his chest, only to jump back to avoid his fist smashing into my nose.

Hand to hand combat was my favorite type of fighting. I loved the adrenaline rush that came with it, the feeling of winning. Weapons were cool and all, but hand to hand was old-skool.

I managed to beat Seth fairly easily, which caused him to be sporting a black eye. My ankle was killing me, but that was my fault. I screwed it up at the beginning of training just after by parents died and one of the elites found me, and I haven't gotten the chance to heal yet.

We were explained what would happen next. We would hide, and they would sent trackers and scouts to find us. I didn't know what would happen if we were caught, but definitely something bad.

So we ran, only given a 10 minute head start. I knew I needed to get up high. I loved heights. People always thought I was crazy for wanting to sit on a roof,  or climb a really big fence. I claimed it was because I liked the view, but really, it was the peace. I didn't have to listen to anyone or do anything. I could just be up there and relax.

So I found a giant tree ad climbed it, falling into the familiar movements. I stayed up there for what felt like hours, watching in amusement as the trackers passed below me. Then I heard heard a voice behind me say, "They're really bad trackers. They Don't even know we're here. But I think that's because they're chasing after Zack. He was being really noisy."

As Timmy was talking, I whirled around, nearly losing my balance. "Jesus Christ on a fucking skateboard," I hissed. "First, don't sneak up on me. Second, shut the hell up." 

"I'm not even talking that loud." I winced  at how loud his voice was. Then there was a flash of light. I was momentarily blinded, and in those few seconds, I felt myself falling. I hit the ground, my shoulder burning, and I held back my cry of pain. I probably dislocated it. Easy fix, but would hurt like hell for the time being.

A bad was dragged over my head, ropes trying my hands behind my back. I gritted my teeth against the wave of nausea that came with my arm being bent. I wouldn't give whoever was doing this the satisfaction of seeing me in pain.

Now, it would've been obvious who was doing this. It was the punishment for getting caught, but this was also against the law. If anyone found out about this, the higher ranking officers would get in a shit ton of trouble. Would they take the risk?

It could actually be an enemy attack. A small, logical part of my brain said that was absurd, but I was kept without any sleep or food for far too long. My imagination was getting the better of me.

And when they locked me inside a cell and took the bag off, I could've sworn I'd seen the shadows move, almost like they were grinning at me. Yeah, I was definitely going crazy.

They kept me until morning, never showing me their true identity, and asked questions about me, and information that only those serving in the army were classified to know. I kept silent, even as the bent my fingers back to breaking point, or applied pressure to my arm, or was thrown into a wall. The second it hit 6:00 AM, they took off their masks, and I wasn't relieved to see it was part of  the Commander's crew. That was fucked up.

The next day was even worse. We were forced to walk north with all out equipment until the day  ended, and only then did we get to go on a ship  to Bezien, which was basically the water world. Ships were really rare and hard to get, so we didn't waste them in a fight. They didn't have any weapons or defenses attached to them because that was too expensive. They were just pieces of metal with rockets that were able to fly.

We strapped on the gliders and were told to jump, and meet him by the beach on the bottom. But I was so exhausted after a 3 nights of all working and little sleep. I lost focus halfway down, the altitude affecting me even more. 

I was in a room so hot, it hurt to breathe. It felt like I was inhaling fire, but that made sense, seeing as the walls were lined with fire. The floor was polished black marble, the ceiling high and arched.

There was a throne in back of the room, with 2 emotionless looking men, their eyes empty black pits -- as if they were just a shell, and there was nothing inside them -- standing on either side.

And sitting on it, was the figure told in every children's story to frighten them into going to bed. The one that people laughed about, but were secretly terrified of. The Prince of Darkness. The Devil himself. He smiled. Well, to say that he smiled would be saying he bared his teeth at me, but it was just the cruel twist of his mouth that spoke of thousands of years of hatred and bitterness. It reminded me of the shadows back in the cell.

"We'll be seeing each other soon," He said, voice like a purr. As the vision started to fade, I heard, "Very soon."

 I woke up to Seth pulling at my arm, just a little above me.

"Wake up!" He screamed, voice nearly lost to the wind. I blinked up at him uncomprehendingly, still feeling disturbed from the dream. it was just a dream, right? Before I remembered. Cursing, I redirected to avoid  slamming into a tree. I hit the group and ran a few steps to take away some momentum, then unstrapped myself.

Saying "beach" implies a nice warm, sunny stretch of sand. Nope. It was covered with trash and jagged rocks, with the coldest ocean in the world. We had to untie knots, swim to the end of the shore with all our gear, putting at on along the way, then wait for a few minutes risking hypothermia and death.

But when we were untying the knots, Seth didn't come up. I pulled him up while trying to stay a float myself, but my fingers were starting to  become numb. With Zack's and Julian's help, we managed to bring him back to the shore. I collapsed next to him, the rocks cutting into my arms, shivering. I just lay there for a little, unable to move, when I jerked up suddenly.

"He's dead," Zack said sadly. We didn't know each other well, but still, a death was a death. And Seth was gone. He was a good person, but all I could think were those horribly intense, slit pupiled red eyes staring through me. We'll see each other soon. Very soon.

WC: 1393

Sorry these first few were so short. The next ones will probably be a little longer, because now I actually know where I want to take this story. If anyone has any suggestions though, please comment them. And please don't hate on this book. Anyway, I hoped you liked this part.