The Free City

Chapter Twenty : Two Years Ago

Two Years Ago

"Again!"

Mr. Neth's barking voice was the bane of my existence. I swallowed my complaints and my pain and did the drill again. And again. And again. The echoes of other students being forced to train until they were half dead filled the training center. I added to that noise, completing the drill over and over.

Until I fell onto the mat in exhaustion.

"What do you think you're doing, Stutton?" Mr. Neth came right up to the mat and snarled at me through the ropes. "You calling it quits? You think you have a right to just give up? After all the resources and time spent on you? Get the fuck up, now!"

My arms shook and I tried to get myself up. David stood across from me and he watched me regretfully. His expression pleaded for me to rise. To be strong. He knew what would happen if I didn't get up.

I didn't manage it.

"Holder!" Mr. Neth yelled out David's last name. "Show her how quitters are treated in the Corps!"

David's soft brown eyes were full of empathy and apologies. He had the same buzz cut as all the boys, hiding the natural curls his ginger hair might have had if he was allowed to grow it out. He was on the small side- all of us were- but that came with the lack of food given to the SuperCorps by the city. He looked down at me and I just nodded, my face pressed into the floor. I was so tired, I didn't even care.

David stepped up and taught me again how Supers who quit are treated in the Corps. He tried not to hit me anywhere that hurt too badly, and I appreciated the effort.

I barely had it in me to grunt in pain, and eventually Neth had seen enough. He dragged me out of the ring and I stumbled to one of the private practice rooms. I would hide in there while he was distracted, and maybe I'd be able to get some rest before my punishment.

I clicked the flimsy lock and curled up on the cement floor. My body was sore and I was shaking like a leaf from the exertion, but I knew I'd recover. Everyone always did. Training was our duty, and we all had to go through it.

I was just glad my drill partner had been David and not Hector. I shuddered just thinking about him. My hand went instinctively to my throat in fear, as if I could feel him cutting off my air.

He was terrifying. Easily the scariest student in the entire academy. At least he was graduating soon. Then I'd have a few years respite before I had to work with him in the Corps.

I didn't realize I'd fallen asleep until I woke up hours later. I was stiff as a wooden board and I climbed to my feet with all the grace of an old arthritic woman. I unlocked the door and peeked out. The training center was empty, and the open doors showed that it was starting to get dark. It was probably dinner time.

I weighed my hunger against the chances of seeing Mr. Neth in the dining hall. If he saw me too soon, he'd remember that he needed to punish me for failing.

I decided to just stay in the training room until the curfew bell tolled. Then I could sneak back to the girl's dorm and hope none of the other students ratted me out in exchange for extra food or cigarettes.

With that decided, I left the private training room's door open a crack so I could hear if anyone was coming and I could hide. Although, it wasn't as if my hearing was all that good. Not since that drill where we had to deal with fighting through sirens for hours.

I walked gingerly to the center of the empty room. It had a few concrete support pillars and a pile of second-hand weights and boxing gloves in the corner on the floor. Other than that, it was empty.