Refinement: A War of Europe

Chapter Sixteen: West: Potential Leader

Eloise~ West (England)

We walked down a sinuous hallway that I had not known existed in the Base until now. Grayson was leading us to the next section of Inauguration, Leadership. None of the nineteen of us knew what to expect, but we followed obediently. Questioning Grayson would probably be the high point of utter stupidity. I walked beside Drew, who looked almost annoyed by my very existence, but that was most of the- to put it in a nice way- struggling kids. There were six ‘struggling’ kids. All of which were a clique in itself, except Drew. He kind of kept to himself in a mysterious way, and no one dared to approach him. We stopped abruptly, and I almost ran into Lex.
“Leadership. The action of leading a group of people or an organization, is one of the most important tracks for those of you who are going to become soldiers,” Oddly, he turned his glance on me, “We are in need of good leaders, and I am confident that we will have some in this nineteen.” Jenny followed Grayson’s gaze and looked at me.
“Now, here is how this will work. You will be divided into teams of two, the leader, and the one depending on the leader. Now, I will choose the leaders and the followers depending on their grade average in Inauguration so far. DO NOT GET ME WRONG, this does not mean that you are safe, this just means that you are temporarily doing well. The order I read your names from the list, is the order you will be proceeding. The order is also the highest average to the lowest,” I wince. I am not looking forward to someone leading me across an obstacle course.
“Saphire, Dorian, Lucas, Lex, Reyna, Arielle, Relle, Alex, Dj, and Eloise. Saphire, you may choose the person you are leading, and proceed into the obstacle course.” My mouth fell open. I was in the top ten?! Maybe I would make it after all!

“I choose Carlton, my boyfriend.” Everyone looked at the two of them, and watched their lips touch each other’s greedily. My nose wrinkled when I saw a tongue go into a cheek, and the kiss was so bad that I didn’t even know whose tongue was going in whose mouth. Grayson, obviously shocked and annoyed at the same time, jabbed a needle into Carlton’s neck.
“This will blind you for the rest of the day. Hopefully not having sight will keep you from kissing like that in public. I also advise you keep to yourselves. Babies mean automatic send-home.” I snickered. Carlton laughed, but Saphire blushed.
“Don’t have to worry, Grayson, your favorite soldier isn’t going to be lost.” She flipped the side of her hair that was not shaved, and led Carlton into the room. Grayson frowned. I walked over to him.
“Grayson,” He gave me a stern gaze.
“What do you want?”
“There are nineteen of us.” He nodded.
“Way to count, El.” I moaned at Grayson’s sudden impulse to be difficult.
“One person is not going to have a partner, and I have a feeling that person could be me.”
“You’re going to have a partner.”
“Well? Who is it going to be?”
“Me.” It took me a while to process what he had told me. “Although, I wish you hadn’t gotten into the top ten. Now, I have to depend on you.”
“Well, this’ll be a challenge.” I muttered. He laughed.
“I will try and make it as easy as I can for you.”
Saphire burst through the door looking quite faint, and Carlton barely standing.  He was leaning most of his weight on his new girlfriend, and his eyes were looking crazily around him, searching for light. Grayson sighed, and called for the same girl who worked on my arm, and took them both away. Suddenly, I was looking forward to leading Grayson even less then I had before. What if I got Grayson killed? What if he lost a limb? What if he was put out of commission because of me?!
Hours drifted by, and few turned out unharmed. Leaders chose those their followers with much thought, most of the ‘talented’ kids were paired with the Top Dogs of the group, leaving- er - the less fortunate to the leaders further down the line. Lex chose Jenny, a surprise to no one (“It is my honor to choose her lovely majesty, Jenny liz Redmon, my little princess.” He said, making even Grayson smile. Which made me wonder if he had a family.) Arielle chose a girl who looked very sick. She looked about fourteen, she had thin blonde hair, and teeth that protruded from her lips. Her name was Gabi.
It finally came to my turn. Grayson and I were the only people left in the room.
“Ready?” He asked.
“No.”
“I am injecting the serum now. It will make me blind, and I would really appreciate it if you could bring me to my parent’s house so they can take care of me while I can’t see-”
“You have parents!? In the Base?!” Grayson stumbled, and grabbed my shoulder. I was glad he couldn’t see my body tense at the touch of his strong fingers.
“Eloise, you have met them. I am Grayson. Grayson Lewis.” My mouth fell open in disbelief. Lieutenant Polly... is Grayson’s MUM?!
“Oh my gosh.” I muttered, “You have a little sister on the way.”
“Yup. It was a surprise, I assure you. Now, lead me into the obstacle course. Let’s do this thing.” I obeyed. The door slid open. I immediately saw a twenty feet tall rock wall. The hand holds looked like splotches of a rainbow scattered around a large black slab. I turned around, and saw needles impaled into a wall that was slowly, but surely, compressing towards the rock wall. Grayson muttered a cuss word.
“What is it?!” He asked frantically.
“It is a rockwall, and there are spikes compressing upon us. Start climbing.” Grayson did remarkably well for being blind. He kept up with me just fine. My hands and feet started to sting, and both of us started to slow, though we didn’t need to.
“Eloise, I can’t find a place for my foot.” Grayson explained helplessly. I reached down, grabbed Grayson’s ankle and placed it on a blue foot hold. I don’t know why, but we both blushed when I grabbed his ankle. It is strange having Grayson depend on me.
We pulled up onto the top of the rockwall, and my limbs were slightly shaking. Exhaustion grazed my arms and legs. I stared down into the depths of a pool of clear water. The pool was a number of blues weaved together carefully. Each drop having his designated place.
“What now?” I had almost forgotten about Grayson. He tried to start to walk, and I grabbed his waist just before he took the plummet into the depths of the water.
“Woah, now. It is a 20 feet drop into water. Looks like there are some obstacles. You are going to have to hold my hand.” His empty eyes looked amused.
“Knowing my parents, the water is probably going to be freezing cold. It is going to be hard to breath.” He grabbed my hand. His hand was thick and rough. It was big enough to swallow mine, but it was surprisingly gentle. I held it tightly, and readied myself for the plunge. We both fell effortlessly. My black hair was whipping in my face. I was like a raindrop, falling with no sense of direction or purpose. My only thought was “Fall”. I drifted Grayson’s and my head toward the water, and guided his arms to go before his head. Water. It surrounded us like a million needles pinching our skin. My lunges compressed themselves into a deflated balloon. Air. I needed it. Desperately. Senses. I need to regain them. I swam despite my nagging need of oxygen. I drifted through the water, never letting go of Grayson’s strong hand, that wrapped mine in warmth. The only warm part on my whole body. Our flesh together created a warmth that not even the coldest water could penetrate. I led him through the obstacles, over, under, around stone walls. Air is a necessity. I saw a ladder that would lead my lunges to ecstasy. I placed Grayson’s hand on the ladder, expecting him to climb up before me, and then it would be my turn to give my lunges what they so desperately need. But, instead, he grabbed my hands, and placed them on his waist, hoisting us up to the oxygen at the same time. Air. We gasped for it.
“I am cold.” I blurted through my gasping. Grayson nodded slightly, “Well, uh, good job.” I looked at him with a smile that he couldn’t see. But I am sure he felt it.
“Let’s us continue then.” A door slid itself open, revealing a white room. I screamed.
“Explain!” Grayson ordered.
“It is a room filled with scorpions.” I squeak. Okay, plan. Plan, plan, plan. I could not carry Grayson through the room, he is half my size. I analyze the room. There is a coil of rope in the corner, with scorpions weaving in and out maliciously. It was almost completely covered with them. Analyzed. There was a metal bar hanging in the middle of the room. YES.
“Grayson, take off your shoe.” Grayson’s useless eyes tried to search my face, but instead found darkness. He was obedient. He gave me his army boot. “Stay.” I ordered. I was having way too much fun with this whole ordering-Grayson-thing. His eyebrows pulled themselves together into a concerned way. I inched toward the rope, with the occasional crunch sound that comes from a scorpion losing his life valiantly.
“WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” Grayson shouted, his eyes darting around like bees.
“Shut up!” I shouted back. I grabbed the blunt end of the rope, pulled it carefully with me as I pulled it back with me. One by one, the scorpions angrily marched off of the rope. I patted Grayson on the back to let him know I hadn’t left him.
“Dang it, Eloise. What are you doing?”
“Making a grappling hook.” Grayson’s face was soon overcome by a grin.
“You are brilliant.” With that, I threw the shoe, and it looped around the bar perfectly.
“I know, now hold on.” He held the rope, and I looped my arms around his neck. We swung across, both of us smiling. There is nothing more satisfying than swinging on a rope. We jumped off the rope and landed three inches from the door. Without a word, but a sense of satisfaction, we entered the next room. There was a round piece of metal in the middle of the room, balancing on an axis point. There was about a foot from the ledge where we were standing to step on it, and get across the room.
“What is it?” Grayson questioned beside me, holding my hand.
“Uh, it is a balancing circle. Pretty bad fall.” Grayson’s face told me that I wasn’t making any sense. I sighed. It was going to come down to my brain to pull us out of this. Someone could sprint across to the middle of the circle, and lay flat on the ground, staying there until the balance is regained.
“Grayson. Do precisely as I tell you.” He nodded. “Stay.” I ordered. I ran to the middle of the circle, and tried to ignore the plummet my stomach made as it fell with my weight. I dropped flat to the ground.
“Alright, Grayson. Listen carefully. Take one step.” I said standing carefully. As he took one forward, I took one in the other direction. I kept telling him to do so.
One
Two
Three
Four
Five steps and I made it to the door, but I stayed where I was. Grayson was dead center. He would have to break for it. “Alright, Grayson. When I say go, you run as fast as you can.”
“Eloise?”
“Yes?”
“I want to live to see my baby sister, thanks.” He said it jokingly, but that just piled my shoulders with pressure.
“Go!” He ran. The circle kept tilting down. He wasn’t going to die. Not on my watch. Grayson jumped. I caught his hand. He almost died. A rush of adrenaline rushed through me, and I hoisted him up, landing on top of me. His torso on mine. I looked up into his stunning grey eyes, and almost lost myself in them. He cleared his throat, and stood.
“You did exceptional. I think we are the first to escape without an injury. Well done.” His cheeks turned a pink shade. I smiled.
“Never should have doubted me, soldier.” I laughed, and grabbed his arm.
“Let’s get you home.”

                                                                  ~~~

“Grayson, baby, hold Jasper for me. Your dad and I were just trying to pick some more soldiers for the raid- Eloise!” Lieutenant Polly spewed. I looked intently as she tried to hide what she had just said.
“What raid?” I almost shouted.
“The one where we get your folder back.” Grayson tried to tower over me as he explained, but he just looked adorable holding his smiling baby brother.
“I’ll go!” I volunteered.
“Absolutely not. You have not made it through Inauguration yet! Not even considering Agglutination. This does not concern you-” I interrupted Grayson, feeling quite hot-tempered.
“Doesn’t concern me!? It has EVERYTHING to do with me! MY folder!”
“No. There are laws against it, Eloise Tyler. Report to your room immediately.” I grunted.
“Some thank you I get after hauling your butt through an obstacle course.” I mutter.
“OH, Your immaturity doesn’t ever stop, does it, El? You are a child!” Anger grips my throat and holds tightly.
“WE ARE ALL CHILDREN. This war consist of kids ripped away from the people they love, to kill! This is a joke! All of it. Toy soldiers on a plastic battlefield. Except, EXCEPT, PEOPLE DIE. Like my dad, and my sister. That is the point, isn’t it? Get the children angry so they will fight for revenge. Well, it worked. I live everyday of my life thirsty for it. You’re welcome, West!” I left. I had made up my mind. I was going to Russia to get my folder, and no one could stop me.