The Hunters

Chapter Fifty-Nine*

 It amazed me that Russ never participated, instead giving orders on what the men would do to me. He told them when to slow down or speed up, when to change position or choke me. Oddly enough, his instructions helped me while I was blindfolded, realizing that he was watching my expressions carefully to make sure that I had the best time possible.

Ghost and König didn't last as long as last time, their bodies sore and exhausted from the training. We fell onto the mattress as we panted, our bodies intertwined while Russ was kind enough to cover us with a blanket. "We owe you a bedframe," Ghost grumbled, shifting his position beside me. "'Cause this isn't comfy."

I giggled, peeking up at Russ in the darkness. "Want to join?"

"I'll take the couch," he decided after a moment of thought. "That does look uncomfortable, and I can't be sore for whatever torture you have in mind tomorrow." I giggled as I heard him leave, listening as he sat upward on the couch to sleep due to the small size.

I was just as spent as the others, quickly falling asleep as I felt blissfully protected and happy. By the time my alarm went off, I felt surprisingly rested, hearing the men groan before they released me. I climbed off of the mattress, poking my head out of the bedroom to see that Russ had already left.

Dressing in my field uniform, I then tossed our dirty laundry in the machine before starting on breakfast. "I'll do that," König offered, taking my place so that I could focus on braiding my hair. Ghost stepped out of the bedroom, his hands touching my hips as he pecked my cheek through his mask.

I smiled at the interactions with the men. This felt so comfortable and warm, beginning our day together. We ate and prepared our gear before heading to the meeting spot, where I saw Haugen pounding her second energy drink. "Let's do this!" she growled as I approached, and the others soon gathered while she bounced with energy.

"Good thing we aren't working with rifles today," I muttered humorously while she punched the air. Russ jogged out of the building, his eyes meeting mine to reveal his smugness. "Alright, everyone. Same rules as yesterday. Get this right, and we'll finish this part of the training early."

"Then do whatever Hell you've got planned for us," Larsen grumbled as we began to jog, everyone carrying a full sack.

"It's Andersen's turn to mess with everyone," I reminded her, and Andersen laughed maniacally. "Tomorrow, we will work on sniping, and I'd like our three snipers to take turns training. No excess caffeine, Haugen."

"I can feel my heartbeat in my eyes," she declared. I laughed and determined my plan of action, ordering for Ghost to go down first today. I was curious what they'd learned from yesterday, seeing that they'd distributed the weight differently.

König and Russ jumped into action when Ghost laid on the snowy ground, lifting me into the air the same way they'd done to me yesterday. I admired their teamwork, impressed that they wordlessly agreed to share the weight as they went. Heck, the whole team was working better, and Haugen was doing a better job keeping up.

I noticed that Haugen wasn't acting as logical as she typically did, chugging an additional energy drink as she ran. I spotted her handing one to Soap, realizing with a smirk that they'd kept each other up all night. Dirty girl–not that I hadn't done the same.

We climbed the taller hills, not quite at the mountain yet while Haugen ran along the snowy edge. "Haugen," I called, jogging forward to run behind her. "You're too close. Move to your left."

"I can see, Kalberg," she grumbled, before her right foot slipped over the edge. I cursed and jumped forward, grabbing onto her as our weight shifted off of the cliff. Our names were called as we fell, and I twisted, shielding Haugen before slamming onto the snow-covered surface below.

Haugen's weight hit my chest so hard that I lost my breath, wheezing beneath her while she groaned in pain. My sack had fortunately protected my spine, but items within poked into my armor painfully. "Kalberg!" Larsen screamed, and I looked up to see Ghost and König already climbing down. "Haugen! You two still with us?"

"I think I broke my ankle," Haugen called, before rolling off of me. She clenched her leg when the pain began to hit, and I laid limply on the ground, waiting to catch my breath before I determined if I was injured. My breathing was only worsening, a pained wheeze as I struggled even further.

"Kalberg?" Larsen called, and Haugen panicked, turning to see me as I gripped the collar of my shirt in my struggle. I could feel liquid pooling in my lungs, choking me from within as I coughed and wheezed.

König reached me first, shifting to pick me up when Ghost shouted, "Don't move her!" He froze, wiping something from my face with his glove as I realized that I was going to throw up. That blood was leaking out of my mouth. Ghost slid onto the snow beside me, reminding König, "She might have injured her spine. We need–"

I twisted my shoulders to the side as I vomited blood, coughing as more came out with every wheeze. "I'll get a helo!" Larsen shouted, and several raced back to the base while the pain began to kick in.

The vomiting stopped but the struggle to breath didn't, and I felt their hands on my face and body as they tried to figure out what was wrong. Haugen began to cry, blaming herself as I struggled to remain conscious. What did I break this time?