City of Flames (ON HOLD)

Chapter two

****note: Sorry for the long wait! I didn't have internet for a looooong while and I was trying to download some writing software since I'm not too interested in the one I have now and I was finishing up this chapter quite slowly. It's a bit of a filler, however. Anyways, I'm already working on chapter three and hope it goes by much faster than it took me to write this one.

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I am standing in a horizontal line with other girls that mostly look older than me. My hair has been pulled up into a tight rubber band along with the other girls. We all wear the same uniform. A dark navy blue suit with black shirts underneath and an odd fabric that lays on our shoulders. The fabric is odd and reminds me of a horse’s tail, but I can’t touch it at all. That would be a sign of disrespect, I think. I've only been here for a couple of days, but I haven’t had any nightmares since the one where I pictured my own death.

The Head Officials zoom in on our faces as they walk back and forth in a harsh pace. I’m not sure why they have to be so hostile, but the tactic has been here for literally ages. And from what I can tell, it’s worked. There’s fear instilled in nearly all of the girls that have been here before me. Terror mixed with respect is the only emotion that is visible on their faces.

After a few more minutes of the officials inspecting us, they lead us into the training center, where we grab and load up our guns, getting ready to shoot some targets and participate in simulations.

I press my back into a wall and steady my breathing, making it shallow. There’s only one girl beside me, my training partner, who I think calls herself Jade. We look at each other as the starting bell rings. The arena turns dark, and I hear Jade curse silently beside me, since the night-time sessions are usually the hardest.

We gingerly move across the wall, and Jade pulls out a small light to illuminate our path. I hold my pistol in front of me cautiously in case something jumps out at us. There’s a light static sound coming from above us and soon we’re able to hear the general’s voice.

“Evening, ladies,” her voice booms over the speakers. We look up at the pitch black darkness and Jade waves her flashlight to the ceiling.

“Your mission for this practice sequence is a rescue mission.” There’s a hint of amusement in her voice, possibly because she has very high hopes that we’ll fail, since they usually test these types of missions only with higher ranking Officials rather than rookie ones. Jade rolls her eyes but continues to listen intently.

“Now, the rescue is about only two blocks west from where you’re standing, I’ll ring you in once you’re close.” West.

The direction complete opposite from where we were going around. Jade looks at me and as if almost reading my mind, turns around slightly. “Oh, and Official Elea, I’ve heard good things about you from your Revelation results. Don’t let me regret giving you this mission.” Looks like I was wrong about her wanting us to fail.

“Godspeed, ladies.” The Official says through the microphone once more. Once she finishes we hear the familiar voice of a computer say “The rescue sequence will begin in three, two, one,” from the speakers in the ceiling. I take a deep breath and prepare myself. The lighting changes from being completely pitch black to a dark, navy blue with stars fading in the distance. It almost looks like an actual nighttime sky. Jade snaps her fingers in front of my face.

“We have to head out.” She says, annoyed.

“Sorry,” I nod for her to go ahead. I notice the white floor has turned into thick grass, and it actually feels like real soil underneath our feet. I’ve only been inside the training facility one other time, but not for training simulations like this one.