The Commanders

Chapter 2: Oliver and I

In the morning,  I am awoken by Oliver when he moves my hair from my face to the strap of my black tank top. We can only wear certain colors nowadays. Black, white, navy blue, dark purple, and grey are the acceptable colors.

"Good morning sleeping beauty," I say.

"Hey! That was supposed to be my line!" he whines, jokingly. His navy blue under shirt, that I put on him last night when the bleeding stopped, makes him look buff, just as the white and black t-shirt he wore yesterday did. Maybe it's not his shirt, but his demeanor.

"How did you sleep?" I ask.

"Very well surprisingly. Must've been the sleep gel you put on my gash yesterday," he said, a sly look on his face. I put it on his wound just before wrapping it in gauze for the simple reason that as children, he had loved the feel of someone putting it on him. He loved the smell and he even loved the disgusting gooey texture of it.

"Only the best for you," I tease, and begin kissing him slowly. The kiss lasts about 15 seconds until I pull away. "I have a training session today."

"Okay," he says, moping.

"I'll bring you lunch from the market, though, okay?"

"I suppose that will suffice," he says, in a joking formal accent.

"You never seize to amuse me, sire," I say, playing along, with a small bow.

Once I'm dressed in a navy blue t-shirt and matching shorts, I grab my training bag, equipped with extra shirts and shorts, a water bottle, a towel and my replacement card. The card is used to retrieve new equipment for the bag based on one's personal training activities of the week. This week I'm only working on strength and endurance so my training bag stayed light.

"Be good, okay?" I say, sincerely wanting Oliver to behave.

"I'll be fine, Mother!" he teases. I sit on the bed next to him, so close I can feel his heartbeat. I lightly kiss his forehead and walk to the door. Just as I begin to turn the doorknob, however, Oliver screams, writhing in pain.

"Oliver!" I yell. I'm stunned. I drop my bag and keys to the floor and run this side. I grab his hand and squeeze tightly, holding him in place, keeping him from rolling around as he was before, which only added to his pain. With my free hand, I grab the health kit and rummage through it, searching for something to soothe his pain. Nothing. I soon remember that the cool feel of something should soothe an injury. I rip my shirt off and place it on his wound. I then get up and head toward the locker in my closet which is separated into three sections. On the top is a preserving container, used to hold things that need to be keep at freezing temperatures. I reach into that section and grab a large piece of artificial ice and rush to put in on top of my shirt, above Oliver's wound.

Oliver sighs. His eyes were closed the entire time. He didn't know that I had taken my shirt off. Just after he sighs, he opens his eyes. His eyes immediately wander to me and my bare skin. His deep eyes widen at the sight of me and a mischievous grin crosses his face. "You're a feisty one, aren't you Carter?" he says weakly.

"I hate you!" I laugh, throwing a random pillow at him.

"Come on. You didn't expect me to do that?" He says. He's right. I did expect him to.

"I did it to help you."

"I know. Come here," Oliver says, holding out his arms. I go, still bare, and sit next to him on the bed. When I reach him, he wraps his arms across my stomach.

"I'm going to be late, Oliver."

"I know."

"You also know how important my next few sessions are. My evaluation is coming up, and if I don't pass with flying colors, I won't get the work position I'm aiming for, Oliver!"

"Oh? And what position is that?" He asks, suddenly suspicious.

I take a deep breath and grab another shirt from under my bed and pull it over my head swiftly. "Nothing. Now I really have to-"

"Carter. What position?"

"A Hybrid Guard," I reveal. It is a security position that trains Hybrids that are captured to help us in battle. A Hybrid Guard also trains young children with busy parents how to fight when it's Hybrid hibernation.

"Was that so hard?" Oliver says. He sits up, his legs sliding around me, finding their place on the outside of mine, and leaves his arms around me, but they slide down, so that his wrists fall just below my waist. "I'm extremely proud of you for taking on such a difficult task, but I'm even more proud of you for choosing the single position that Trainers share a break and lunch with." Did I mention that Oliver wants to be a Trainer? Oh well, now you know. He kisses my cheek and I turn to a position where my cheeks lay directly in front of his lips. I lean into him and he holds my head close to his chest. I sigh.

We kiss for a long while, until reality forces us to break apart and I leave for my training session.