The Unwanted Soldier

Chapter 7

"Diese Entscheidung obliegt alleine ihr, meinst du nicht?" (This decision is up to her alone, don't you think?) What was he saying? Whatever it was, Ghost seemed to understand him. I didn't know he could understand German. Well, I didn't know anything about him at all, so-

"Apparently, it does," Ghost answered. Under his gaze, I stepped back from König, away from his touch. The Colonel's hands sank, and he put them in the pockets of his trousers as if they hadn't laid just seconds ago on my waist. "If you're that eager to protect her, go with her to the training hall. She should be training for at least an hour before she can read her books. And before you say something, Seargent Breakpoint, that's an order." Ghost was transparent with his words - my gaze was even more apparent.

In my mind, I formed cursing words to him, but from the outside, I nodded. "Yes, Lieu-" The Colonel interrupted me. "Let her read. You trained with her today, didn't you? Did you not train enough with her? Or is your training that easy so that I need to help?" Surprised, I raised an eyebrow and looked at Ghost. That was an apparent provocation towards him.

A cold glare was the answer. "I train with Seargent Breakpoint tomorrow. She should rest now. And if she likes to read, then so be it." I knitted my eyebrow and turned around to walk off. Whatever the problem these two had with each other had, it wasn't my concern. They were acting like children. And Colonel König should let his hands by himself.

But I couldn't stop thinking about tomorrow. The Colonel was tall and muscular, and he had a strategic mind. Otherwise, he wouldn't be a Colonel. By now, it wasn't only my wish to stay in this Unit. I wanted to prove myself - but my ego wanted more. And that could be both good for me and bad for me.

-

"Fuck." I groaned breathlessly as I landed on the ground. Again, like before, I could only get up from the ground before the Colonel could make his final hit. Millimetres. He missed my chest with his foot by millimetres. My body felt sore. I was frustrated. And angry. I wasn't bad at sparring! But this Mammut of a man seemed to know my fighting technique inside and out. It made no sense!

"What is wrong with Breakpoint? Yesterday, we had to worry that she might kill me, but now she seems like a lightweight compared to the Colonel." Hearing Soap made my blood boil. Again. This man- Fuck!

Being unfocused for a moment nearly caused me to lose once again. The man in front of me wasn't nice to me like yesterday. Colonel König was in his element, sparring for the win and not showing any signs of weakness. So should I.

Standing in front of him, my breathing was heavy. I blew a strain of my hair out of my face, not letting him out of my sight. His breathing was near calm, which made me angrier. Bloody hell. For god's sake, Autumn - calm yourself!

What could be his weakness? He was tall and muscular, very muscular. His eyes were barely visible through the sniper hood over his face. His hands were in dark gloves. He was swift and agile for his height. So my only chance was the same one I had before: to be faster and wiser.

The surroundings were such a damn distraction - the shit-talking from Soap, the noises in the training hall. If only - that's it. Shutting my surroundings out, focusing only on the man before me. As if that would be hard for me. Dodging his attack, I dug into my pockets and plugged in my headphones. Within a heartbeat, music blasted through my ears.

For a second, the Colonel's gaze seemed confused, but it was gone quickly. I knew that the Colonel wouldn't kill me, even if I lost. But I certainly didn't want to be reminded of my first loss in all these Units by a dozen bruises. So, I counted the facts I knew about him in my head. Only one thing could help me win this - his sniper hood.