DOOM SAGA I - I'll be home tomorrow

Day 228

Argent d'Nur

"Good.", she heard the Slayer comment as she punched the heavy bag a few times.
"Keep going."
She felt the sweat run down her back while she did as told. Her chest was heaving in exhaustion, but her eyes stay fixed on the target in front of her. Though she had only been doing this for minutes, she was already feeling every inch of her body. The warm-up was more of a workout than the actual training as she was quickly exhausted every day. It would take a lot more time to build stamina than to build muscles again, and she hoped that her body still remembered the times she went to her gymnastics class not long ago.
"Don't forget your feet.", he calmly said and she snapped back into her focus as her mind had begun to wander already, blinking away some pearls of sweat that rolled down her forehead. She grunted, partially because her hands were hurting even with the bandage on.
A few more punches.
A few more rounds.
A few more stretches.
A few more of everything.
When she coughed from her burning lungs and fell to her knees finally done she could still hear the quiet snicker. They never shut up. Their amused smirks and furrowed brows had accompanied her for more than a week now, and as much as she wished to not care about it, it still embarrassed her. She swallowed the anger and her pride with it when a hand held out for her. She gratefully took it and smiled back at him.
"Well done."
She sighed contently and felt just a little lighter than before. She tried her best to continue smiling as he shoved her onwards, and she knew what came next. She began her usual path around the big hall, dozens if not hundreds of men working themselves out like every day watched her pass by. Every time she was intrigued by the strange equipment they were using, and at the same time, it looked familiar to a well-stocked gym back home.
She wasn't using a lot of it, only the sandbag and some light weights. Her steadily increasing body weight was enough to train with, and she was secretly optimistic about her progress.
It was just one of the many places the soldiers could go to refine their abilities, yet it was the biggest. Sandy pits, rows of bench presses and pull-up bars and whatnot, as well as an assortment of weaponry, were spread out in different areas of the arena. It even had a large racetrack all around it, though she had seen whole groups of them running outside, no matter the weather. It was too frigid for her to stay outside for too long, but at least the huge skylight let in some sun during the still short days.
"Io! Can we join you at lunch today?"
The call made her startle. Tobin's bright smile greeted her from the side. As she timidly nodded in pleasure she could see the Slayer monitoring her keenly from the other side of the hall. She had not seen the twins during her jogs. Weirdly, it made her feel a little securer, knowing they'd been there as well.
She finished her two rounds of cooldown and met them and the Slayer at the exit, and to her amazement, he seemed to enjoy their company too. Without any further words, they made their way to the mess hall, yet on their way, they were greeted unusually friendly by many. Since when did all these people treat her so nicely? She had barely looked up from the floor these last couple of days, so she must've missed it. Or maybe it was the boys' presence.
A whole group monopolized Perrin and split him from the rest of them for a moment as they eagerly spoke about the evening and all their plans of fun activities, she understood in the distance. Perrin seemed less eager and more tired about it than the others but had a half-hearted smile on his lips anyway. It surely wasn't easy with his long shifts of just watching over her, but at least they got more time now for whenever she was in the training hall with Slayer.
Her stomach was rumbling hungrily and she stuffed her mouth full of joy, though she eyed the other's portions. Why was she always getting one or two more than everybody else? Even the Slayer only got as much as her. Her mind began to notice how lean all the men looked around her. At first, she had thought it was the neverending physical exertion they went through with constant training and service. But for someone who worked so hard, the portions were measly small. She was always full at the end, just like now, and wondered if there was something else that she was missing out on. The brothers had kept the conversation going all by themselves, and she quietly looked behind them as they left to ready for their next shift.
"Do you wanna join me in the garden later?", he asked her as she let herself fall onto the bed.
"Ngh...mhhh...", was all noise that came muffled from inside the pillow. Her heavy and numb body turned around sluggishly on the sheets.
"I wanted to do some more reading today. And relax...", she said and he silently nodded in approval without her even looking.
"The mud is too annoying anyway..."
A puff showed her that she was right about it. The weather had warmed the last two days and the snow had been melting rapidly, turning everything street into an ugly brown and grey mud that was bit by bit washed away.
"I want to go to town tomorrow. With you.", he said as if she had no other choice but to. He turned around to see her unconvinced furrow and came over to sit on the bed.
"I want to show you around, and the people in the city are different from the idiots in here... They will be more curious about you than hostile. And you can buy whatever you want...?", he offered her but she still wasn't happy about it. She sighed and nodded half-heartedly.
"I'll take you up on that...", she warned him, and a tiny mischievous smirk crept onto her face.
"I hope so!", he laughed before he tousled her hair and got up again.

"And next: A well-known competitor for this year's top three medals! The black forest fox, Io!"
The loud applause was far away as she focused on her entrance. Every muscle working along the choreography, toes and fingers stretched elegantly, and a confident and gentle smile adorning her face that was brightly lit by the spotlight. She raised her arm as she was readily standing in front of the beam, taking a deep breath and letting the calm and focus flood her system. Never had she been more ready.
"Io.", a strange voice said, with its sound omnipresently around her. She shook it off and jumped onto it with a light pose in the middle of her movement.
"Io...!"
Confused she looked around. The nearest person was a couple of meters away. The light began to swirl and wash, the crowd in the dark steadily disintegrating. She struggled to keep her balance as she threw her head around bewildered.
"Wake up..."
The ache of her muscles as she straightened her back was strong enough to let her see flashes of light and she needed a moment to orient herself again. She was still sitting on the chair at the large table, her face hurting from lying on the hard surface. It had gotten pretty dark as a cold rain was quietly knocking on the windows, but the fires gave the room a warm hue.
"Io...", the man said as he touched her shoulder softly, yet she flinched.
"Lorz...?"
She must have fallen asleep while reading and couldn't even remember what it was about.
"Is something wrong...?", she asked sleepily.
"No, no. I, and the others, wanted to invite you; would you like to come to the Owl's nest? I thought I could show you something that only a few know about on the way-a little secret."

With wide eyes, she watched the little passage open in the corner of the hallway, barely wide enough for him to slip inside. At first, it seemed like a shady little nook, but as soon as she stepped in the opening was closed behind her she could clearly see the light that shined every few meters apart along the walls. She pulled her cardigan tighter when she felt the drop in temperature, but it was still bearable as soon as one would adapt to it. The tunnel must be open to the outside at some points, as she could feel a light draft in her neck. Lorz raised a finger to his quirked lips to sign her silence and began the path down the narrow shaft. The walls were so high that not even the dim light found their end above their heads, and as they went up some stairs and stopped at a little platform before the stairs went down again she could suddenly hear noises. He nodded towards what looked like obscured windows from where you could see over the main crossing of hallways on the ground floor. A good dozen of men were walking by or chatting with each other, and she needed all her will not to burst out loud. His amused smile assured her amazed stare and her mood changed immediately. Again he raised his finger to his lips before signing her to go on.
And for sure they were able to look over every public space from back here. The path led up and down, crossing over hallways without anybody noticing. So that was how they surveyed everybody, she thought, as they came by the training hall. Intrigued she look down where she saw him, peacefully lifting some weights over and over. The hall was much emptier than during the day, maybe two dozen soldiers left.
"He doesn't know.", Lorz whispered into her ear cautiously, which made her raise her brows in surprise. A soft snicker came over her through the thought of having at least one secret to keep.
Soon the paths began to end here and there, and Lorz mentioned that the others would probably already be waiting for them hungrily.
She had gotten comfortable quickly, strolling behind her companion and looking into the darkness above as she felt another breeze sneak into the tunnel. She shivered and stopped as a sudden hard gust nearly pushed her over. She opened her eyes, at least that was what she had thought to do, but the black didn't disappear. Dizziness struck her as she hastily reached out for Lorz and grabbed onto the first bit of fabric that she felt. She pressed her face and body into him, hoping for hold as the floor began to flee from under her, trying her best to ignore the creatures crawling towards them in the darkness.
"Io...?!", Lorz stammered in surprise. He moved under her grasp and just a minute later, a new light appeared as he had ignited a new torch. His mouth opened, and closed again as soon as he look down at the girl clinging to his side. Still unsure he carefully laid his arm around her, and when he heard her suffocated sniffle he embraced her tightly.