Devil's Knot

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One week later an announcement rang through the cafe, calling everyone, soldier and trainee alike, to the central room.
We managed to get everyone in there, and I was near the sides, close to a speaker. Rin, Doe, and Cier were all close to me.
Tap tap tap...!
Three loud raps on the mic silence us all; were on edge from the sudden gathering.
"Thank you all for being here, we have an announcement to make." General Bob pauses. He's the head of most speeches and is famous for waiting to tell the big news.
"We are going to war, in three weeks." He let's it sink in for a bit.
"Now, trainees, pair up with one other person. Go left, everyone else, go right." I cross the room to the right side, passing familiar faces along the way.
"Now...LINE UP!" General Bob roars into the mic. We all jump a little, but get into block.
"The person in the exact opposite spot of you, is you mentor!" He yells at the trainees.
"Mentors, find your person, one row at a time." We all assemble with our two people in a matter of five minutes.
"Now, each of you Seniors will initiate both Trainees. Take four days at most." The lights and mic go off as a deadly silence fills the air. Eventually, the light is back.
"Trainees, I'm Kenta, call me that. Now, your names?" I ask bluntly.
"Aron." Says the boy.
"Emise." Pipes up the girl quietly.
"Great, lets get started."

I lead them into a small room off in the corner of the Camp.
"Alright, tell me about yourselves, but train at the same time." I command.
"Fake fight!" I yell as they hesitate.
Getting started, they have a casual conversation with me, telling me what they're like as people.
They're brother and sister, and they can both read auras.
Emise is a black, she says, which shows her driven personality and formalness. Aron, on the other hand, is rose, which shows his happiness, selflessness, and outgoing personality.
After an hour, they're both dripping with with sweat, and can barely keep conversing.
"Good, you're done!" I yell. They both collapse onto the knees, breathing hard.
Now, run a lap with me," I chuckle as they groan. We jog a lap around the huge building, by the end of the night, they're both laying on the floor, wiped out from the hard training.
"We start initiation at five sharp tommorow morning. At the rec room." I leave it at that, but not before pulling them both up and clapping them on the back. I walk to my room and shower, a little tired myself because of the late hour.

Six hours later, the door opens to the rec room and Emise and Aron walk on with light bags under their eyes.
"Tired?" I ask loudly.
"Mmhmm..." They mumble. I grab two cups of ice water and splash it on their faces as well as throwing the metal cups to the ground. Making a loud clang.
"Awake now?" I shout.
"Yes, ma'am!" They shout, dripping wet, but awake nonetheless.
"Okay," I say, opening the tool cabinet. "Choose two weapons. The one that attracts you the most, and the one that repels you the most." This isn't how mine went, but I'm not trained for this, and this is the best I could think of.
Emise immediately grabs a small gun and long, thin scythe. Aron, on the other hand grabs a sword and a crossbow.
"Okay, put the one you dislike most on the ground." Emise places the gun down, and Aron drops the sword.
"Okay, now, Aron, first take aim with the crossbow, and shoot, only one arrow, at that target over there. Emise, would you mind taking a break, and sitting over there?" I point across the gray room to a row of backless benches, and then to a circle with three different colored rings around it, red in the middle.
He takes a stabilising breath, and raises up the crossbow. The arrow slides back with a clean shing and the arrow flies out of the bow's hold and directly into the center. But nothing happened. I sigh, and Aron looks at me confusedly. I take both weapons back to the shed. I grab a slingshot with darts, and bring it back to him.
"What...?" His question hangs in the air. I nod my head, and he hesitates, but lifts his arms. Then he notches a thin black dart, a stark contrast against the white, rubbery string, and caramel colored wood. His breath cones in slowly, and then hitches in his chest.
The slingshot glows a bright gold color and changes rapidly underneath his fingertips. His eyebrows scrunch up against the heat, which I remember like it was yesterday. After another second or so, it stops glowing suddenly, and the wood is now a deep purple, the string a pattern of intertwined colors. Aron holds his hands to his sides, but the pain has faded, now it's just shock.
"Congrats, kid." I clap him on the back and he coughs out a thanks. After a second he asks me what for.
"You've been initiated," I nod my head and smile, "welcome to Camp Clandestine." He chuckles a bit, but salutes towards me. I salute back.
"Thank you, Kenta." He picks up his colorful slingshot, and then heads over to Emise. She looks up at me, fear prominent in her eyes. Then she looks to Aron.
"Did it-" he shakes his head, cutting her off.
"Just go." He says smartly, then extends a hand. She takes it and they "bro hug". Emise walks over here, and grabs the scythe.
" Swing it." I instruct. She nods, and I back up, just in case. She swings it around, spinning through the room. But, like most cases, nothing happens. She sighs, and then walks over to me.
"No?" She asks. The hope in her voice hurts me.
"No, kiddo, not this one." I take both weapons, one from her hand and the other from the floor. I put them away, and grab a smaller scythe, made out of dark metal. Emise tries that one out, and a couple of other scythes, swords, and spears, but nothing clicks. By the end of practice, her face is sad, and tired. Aron sits in the back, yawning. I call out his name to get his attention.
"You can go back to your room, kid." He nods and rubs his eyes, slowly walking to the door.
"Thanks again." He says. The wooden door clicks soundly behind him. Now it's just me and Emise. I see her pacing the room and I sigh. Her attitude is driving me nuts. This whole time she's either been angry, sad or moody. I stalk up to her side. My combat boots clap against the floor and she looks up.
"Tell me what the hell you're doing here." She squints at me, as if she's trying to figure something out.
"Same as you, I'm here to serve, and save the people of our world." She replies.
"Okay, then why are you so upset?"
She looks to the ground. And her shoulders start to shake. I grab her chin and direct her eyes into mine. Tears fall in wet lines down her face, that's matured too much for someone of her age. But this is war.
I blink and take a step back.

I don't want to do this.
But I will.
Because I should, right?
So I do.
I bring my hand up and slap her hard across the face. She lets out a forced breath, and her head flicks to the side as I hit it.
"Get a few hours of sleep, be back here tomorrow morning, four am. And stop crying, kid, this is war." I leave her then, in the rec room, standing alone with a red cheek, and lot to think about. She probably won't get any rest tonight. And neither will I. I have to decide what kind of weapon she fits with.

The halls pass by me and I navigate the twists and turns easily, getting to my room in no time. The familiar pattern of wooden scales on my door calms my nerves, and I draw out my hand, still stinging from hitting Emise. Maybe that wasn't the right thing to do. But I hope she's okay.
Lingering jumpsuits lie in the corner of my room, but other than that, the bed is made, and everything is organized. I walk over to my desk and pull out a sheet of paper and a pen. Before I start, though, I set my alarm for three thirty, just in case I fall asleep. And if I don't, then it's a wake up call.

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Hey guys! So I know it's early but I finished this chapter and I couldn't wait for you guys to meet Aron and Emise, pronounced em-eese, rhymes with geese. And while we're on the subject of names, Cier, is pronounced See-air. Also............... WE HAVE REACHED 200 READS (actually 205) HOLY CRAP GUYS LETS GO! Well, on that AWESOME note, I hope you liked this chapter and I'll see you guys next Sunday! Bye! =]