When I raced back toward the combat hall there was already a small group of students who were millings around. I could hear Melody's excited babble over the drone, her head bobbed above the rest of the crowd. She was easy to find. When I stood by her side it was if the sun was warming my face. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the front of the crowd.
"Congratulations on your selection into groups 3-6. You are among the elite selected to go into training to protect our society." A controlled cheer came from the group.
"You will continue to wear grey until your final team selection in 3 months. If after this time you find yourself in a top 5 group you will be given black training clothes to finish the remaining 5 years at the academy." The tutor spoke in a monotone voice and I was quickly caught up in the buzz and excitement coming from the body of students. The tutor stood tall, like most military leaders. His hair was a dark auburn and his skin was splattered with freckles like mine. He had a broad nose, which made him appear older than what he was.
"I'm James. Your instructor for the first round of combat training." His smile was surprisingly warm as he looks at the group. "line up." The group moved quickly into a line in front of James. Melody moved to stand next to me. James assessed the group quietly, ticking off the names as he went down.
"We have a broad selection of gene numbers in this group. Training should be interesting. Stretch up." The group moved out to stretch; he went through some basic defensive and attacking technique.
"As you have been selected for a top 9 group it is assumed that you are already competent to begin intermediate training. I will be throwing you into the deep end straight away. In the first exercise we will be split into two groups. One person will be on defense, they are not allowed to strike under any circumstances. The second person has 60 seconds to strike their opponent as many times as they can. Split the group here" He gestured down the middle. We moved to the left side of the room.
"This is the only hand to hand combat you will undertake before going through strength and agility training and testing. From there you will go on to more advance combat including weapons training and hand to hand. This is a little introduction for you. Left side defense – no striking. Who's first?" No one moved. Melody stepped forward. I looked on in awe, admiring her bravery. Another girl from the other side stepped forward.
"Who do we have here?" He lifted his pen to paper ready to write.
"Melody, 62 B 45." Melody was stern as she faced the front. She suddenly looked fearsome. I was suddenly glad to be on the same side as Melody.
"Ebony, 62 B 22." The other girl seemed nervous. James nodded. He hit a button, which activated the countdown on the wall. The girl immediately lunged at Melody, Ana watched in suspense. Melody moved away and artfully dodged the other girl's attack. Melody was quick and was only hit once during the minute. She came to stand back with me out of breath. Her smile was bright as James took notes.
"You should go next." Melody whispered, "Bravery is rewarded." She gave me a little shove forward. My heart sped and my palms were sweaty as fear coursed through my veins. I hoped desperately the other C body type would move forward, he was a man but he looked slow. Instead, a big muscle bound man stepped forward. He had a wicked grin on his oily face, his greasy hair stuck to his head and his beady eyes bored into mine.
shit, shit shit. I nearly stepped back. Surely James would not allow this. It was unfair, this guy was going to beat me up. I looked at James desperately, pleading at him with my eyes. He merely nodded. I swallowed.
"Ana, 68 C 89." My eyes were wide and I quickly sized up my opponent. My only hope would be if he was slow.
"Boris, 63 D 20." I shivered, anything in the 20's usually indicates an inkling toward cruelty. James hit the buzzer.
"Scared C?" He lunged at me, I squealed. I was too fast; but only marginally so. I turned on my heels and sprinted away from the greasy man. I ran toward the other end of the hall, people got out of the way. I could hear him bounding after me. I stopped suddenly and sucked. His swinging fist wizzed over my head. He grunted, angry now. I stole a glance at the timer, only 25 seconds left. I was almost confident. That was until his fist connected with my jaw. I'd never been punched in the face before, it hurt. I stumbled back dazed. I cursed under my breath and he hit me again. This time I fell to the ground. The floor boards had an interesting grain. I hadn't seen it before. My concentration was slashed when he started kicking into my stomach. I rolled away trying helplessly to defend myself. He sat on me and was about to swing for my face when the buzzer sounded. I opened my eyes and moved my hands away from my face relieved.
Saved by the bell. A heavy sigh escaped my lips and I waited for his weight to shift off me. It didn't, instead his heavy fist smacked into my cheek. I brought my hands up to my face. Suddenly a voice boomed.
"63 D 20! The timer is over." James grabbed Boris by the singlet and threw him off me. His wiry body had much more strength than I had expected. I scrambled back over to Melody and she helped me up. I did my best to keep my hands away from my face.
"Good work C, Boris next time maybe go against someone your own size. I am not giving you marks for attacking someone half your size on the first training session. The rules were clear, you had until the buzzer. no free shots." The greasy haired man stayed silent.
"Who's next?" Boris glared at me across the room. Melody propped me up and whispered encouragements in her ear.
YOU ARE READING
Ana: Incipience
Science Fiction"In case you forgot, let me remind you." The headmasters cold voice filled Ana's ears. "You did not earn your skills. You were born and bred to fulfill a purpose." In 2123, embryos are chosen solely for personality, body type and skill. Once...
