Sword and Veil (Everstone Series book 1 preview)

Chapter 9

"Alright! Listen up!" Renard announced, now that all the recruits were gathered in the sparring room. "Today we are doing two things. First, you will be choosing squads of four. These will be your squad mates for the remainder of the program. It does make a difference who you choose because there are challenges you will overcome together and you will be scored as a whole."

Arlo raised his hand. Renard nodded.

"Like a competition, Captain Renard, sir?"

The Captain grinned. "Exactly like a competition."

Arlo elbowed Eli with a smile, but he wasn't so confident, knowing it didn't require much for competitions to go ary.

Renard continued, addressing the room once more. "Only this is not a friendly competition. You will be competing and judged along the way, and your successes and failures will have a great effect on your continued service, after graduation."

The room stirred, murmurs echoing.

"In addition, you will all be constantly assessed for the position of squad leader. You have no say in who is chosen and our decision is final. After squads are chosen today, we will immediately have our first challenge outside on the cliffside. More will be explained then. Is anything unclear?"

No responses. The recruits gathered which instructors were agreeable to questions, and what questions were acceptable to ask.

"Here's how the squad selection works. We leave it completely up to you. We will choose one of you to start the process. That recruit will name someone of their choice. The chosen recruit can either accept or challenge. If they accept, they are entered into the squad and choose someone themselves. If they challenge, the original recruit may accept the challenge or name someone else. If a challenge ensues, a formal match is then declared and the winner decides whether the chosen recruit joins. We will start with-"

Renard opened his small scroll as he read the list of names.

"Soren Mitchell!"

The room shifted toward the first recruit, an arrogant man who already demonstrated his desire to not only be the best, but crush anyone else along the way. He didn't hesitate to answer

"Sol Richter!"

Of course he would

Sol's voice boomed near the back wall.

"Accepted! Ava Mitchell!"

"Accepted! Arlo Miller!" '

Eli glanced at his friend in a silent question. Arlo shook his head, an expression of 'not on their life'.

"Challenge!" Arlo responded. His voice faded before Ava shouted again.

"Fjord Reacher!"

Eli exhaled a breath he didn't realize he was holding. As glad as he was that Arlo declined, that team now contained the most blood thirsty recruits in the room.

As the name selection continued, no one chose Eli, but Arlo was called out three other times and his challenges were never met. His skills were not going unnoticed. With the program having only begun, Eli wondered how many recruits chose the only people they knew.

Renard called out the first name of the next squad-

"Laranna Nightingale!"

Her response came before the echoes of Renard's voice faded.

"Arlo Miller!"

He smiled and winked at Eli.

"Accepted! Elijah Danon!"