PROJECT SPARTA

CHAPTER 10

The Compound

2010

The next day was the physical and mental assessments. Xander throughout the day ran a forty yard dash, bench pressed his max, took a written exam and finally sat down with the Project's psychologist, Dr. Pindar.

They sat in his house, facing each other - Xander on the couch next to the bookshelf and Pindar in the armchair across the room. Xander's features hung, exhausted from the day and agitated by the thought that he was now a lab rat for a mysterious government contractor.

"Okay Xander. We are just going to talk. Our aim here today is to open up about how you are feeling and handling the transition to the Project."

"Okay..."

"So, how's it going?"

"Fine..." A long pause followed the terse response. Many moments passed, Dr. Pindar adjusted her approach.

"It's okay to open up to me. Anything you say here will remain between us." A smirk materialized over Xander's face. "Is something funny?"

"I'm a guinea pig in a fish bowl, trying to figure out how to swim..." Xander shrugged.

"Why did you come to Project Sparta?" Xander hesitated a beat.

"I always knew that I was different after the crash. I saw things differently. I remembered everything and could read people instinctually. Every other kid around me was behind... So I devoured every book I could get my hands on, because I had no friends and couldn't relate to anyone my age. I would have stopped going to school a very long time ago if Ms. Baker hadn't forced me to go. I figured the program was for people like me. What I have seen so far is that each recruit is here for a specific purpose. But I can't figure out what my purpose is? What's my expertise? What makes me special? Why do you people even want me here?" Dr. Pindar jotted down a few notes.

"Colonel Hardy hand selected each Spartan. I do not know why he picked you... but I can tell you this: for the last forty-eight hours I have been speaking with each recruit helping them cope with the reality that they had been selected for a black ops training program and their lives would never be the same..." Dr. Pindar explained.

"So?" Humility blinded Xander to some truths.

"I can tell you that you aren't as nearly as distraught by that reality... so, maybe it is your courage that sets you apart."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Xander couldn't sleep at all that night - morning came and he had not closed his eyes once. He fixed his sights on the fan's revolutions and again assessed his peculiar surroundings. His mind raced attempting to process the mystery and unorthodoxy of the Compound. He reflected on the day, his assessments and how he was being tested by government contractors. He still didn't understand why. Project Sparta's apparent methods and quarantined nature made Xander skeptical of the Project's true intent.

It helped to know other recruits were going through it with him. He had the beginnings of a friendship with Ezra and Jooles, but there was a special, unspoken connection with Fiona. It consisted of guilty, bashful smiles - small talk and awkward interactions. It was something to look forward to each day.

Today was his first day of live training. He fried three eggs that he had found in the refrigerator food supplies, just like what Ms. Baker would make him on his first day of school. He had never been taught but he had watched her one morning and most of the time that was all Xander needed. He walked out into his front yard in his bathrobe and looked up at the dome ceiling. It no longer looked like a ceiling, rather it was imprinting with an image of clouds and birds flying by on the dome ceiling. The concrete walls and ceiling were no longer exposed, the Compound before him now resembled a small mid-western town. Xander felt the warm temperature loosen his skin and the cool summer breeze brush by in a whirl. The lone circular window to the outside world poured bright natural light in for the trees of the Thicket. The Compound now had a pulse. They were in their own world now.