Save Us!

Chapter Three (Cedrik)

 [CEDRIK]

September 8th 2059

“The offspring of riches: Pride, vanity, ostentation, arrogance, tyranny.”

Mark Twain

I went back to the doctor a few days later to get my ankle checked out. When I walked in, I was surprised to see the strange boy I’d seen earlier was still there. He looked even worse this time. He appeared to be unconscious and he had bruises on his face. I wondered if he’d protested. I shook my head. Stupid Rebellion. They obviously weren’t smart.

“Sit down, honey,” the nurse said when she saw me. I walked over to the table (I’d ditched the crutches yesterday) and sat down. “Is it healing alright?”

“Yeah, I think it’s fine now. Hardly any pain.”

“That’s good. Let me just take a look…”

As always, I zoned out while she fussed over me. Besides, I couldn’t help but stare at the rebellion boy. He looked about my age, and I wondered what he was doing ruining his life over some hopeless cause when he could be doing something helpful…like I was.

“Looks like it’s all better!” the nurse said. “The things new technology can do… when I was your age –”

“– Thank you,” I said, interrupting her. I wasn’t about to sit here and listen to some aged anecdote. “I should get going.”

She looked a little taken aback, but nodded.

I got up and tested my ankle, and it seemed perfectly fine. I let out a breath of relief. Now I’d be able to train normally. With one more glance towards the boy, I left the room.

As I walked down the hallway, I passed Leon.

“All healed?” he asked when he saw me.

“All healed.”

“Cool. Join us again sometime?”

“Sure thing.” I grinned and continued towards the training room. The Commander had said he wanted me to do some training to make up for time lost during my injury. Agent Mills had been sent to work with me since he was back from training the Subs.

When I got to the gym, he was waiting for me. Cody Mills was one of the younger Agents. He had skipped grades in school and had flown through training, so it wasn’t a surprise when he became Agent Five after only a year.

“Ankle all better?” he asked when he saw me.

I nodded.

“Great. And you already have your gear on. Do some warming up. A good jog about the track should do it.” He smiled at me.

“Yessir,” I said, and took off around the track. He was, like Bern, a lot nicer than Richter, but we weren’t really acquainted like Bern and I were.

I circled around and around the track, my shoes squeaking against the shiny floor. I could feel sweat creeping up on my forehead and neck. I shook my head and pressed on. I’d lost count of how many laps I’d done. Just when I was starting to lose my breath, Mills had me stop.

“Your endurance level is one of the best I’ve seen as of late.”

I grinned at his praise. “Thank you, sir. I’ve trained hard for it.”

“I can tell. Commander Kaiser thought it would be beneficial for you to practice agility as well as strength.”

My heart sunk. “Agility, sir? I’ve never had to do –”