Don't Hold Your Breath

Chapter Seventeen

"I'm Jeremy, Jeremy Wood. Call me Wood, if you don't mind. I'm the head of squadron formation and management here. In the Supernatruals army, we form squads by ability and connection- the natural bond, whether friend or more, between wolves. We want to make sure that there is a true bond between every single soldier and those in their squadron. We've made sure of this in a new test- you were scanned upon entry to the facility, so we formed squads from bonds found in the scan. I'll read off your names with what squad you're in; once you're called, go stand in the square with the corresponding number. You will be called alphabetically," Wood said. At six feet tall, he was a middle aged man with a sand colored hair and deep set hazel eyes. He had an aura of authority that made you want to listen to him; so naturally, we all did.

Behind him were red squares, about seven by seven, with bold black numbers directly in front of them, ranging from 713 to 720. Wood reached into a leather bag on the floor and drew out a piece of paper, and started to read names off the list.

"Aarons, Ethan- 713," he called out. Ethan strode forward with his hand firmly on his belt, nodded toward Wood, and went to stand in the square labeled 713.

"Carter, Alyssa- special access soldier, third level security clearance- squadron 713," Wood announced. I narrowed my eyes slightly, but stepped forward anyway and saulted Wood. "Third level security clearance?" I asked.

"Only four levels of security. Queen and a select few are level four. You're the soldier with the highest clearance here, Soldier Carter," he nodded at me, using my official name.

"Thank you sir," I nodded politely again. I walked briskly over to the 713 squad square and stared ahead, pointedly ignoring Ethan.

"Carter, Jake- squadron 713," Wood read aloud. I wrinkled my nose and pretended not to notice Jake as he came up to the square. He tried to stand beside me, but I stuck my foot out, so he moved past me and stood alone.

"Dayton, Kristina- squadron 713," Wood said. I grinned and waved to Kris, who dashed forward, hastily saluted to Wood, and rushed over to me.

"Evans, Chase, squadron 713." Ethan's best friend marched forward, saluted quickly, and joined us in the square.

"Grey, Jason-" Wood began. I heard Ethan muttering behind me, "Please no, please no, please no..." I ignored him and waited for the number.

"Squadron 713." he finished. I smiled slightly, and gave Jason a small wave as he walked over.

"Squadron 713, completed. Continue to grand hall to await orders," Wood said, dismissing us. We marched off silently, weaving our ways through the complex halls, until we arrived at the great hall. The massive iron door, once opened, would release us onto the battle field. The hall was filled with other squadrons, whispering nervously. We all stood in silence though, too nervous to speak.

A side door opened, and in came a red suited messanger of the queen. He nervously leaped from foot to foot, searching the crowds anxiously. His eyes locked with mine, and he smiled, running over quickly.

He stopped directly in front of me, smiling. "Soldier Carter, the Queen has a message for you. Here you are," he said, handing me a thin white holo.

"Thanks," I said, inspecting the holo carefully. I connected it to my com link so only I could hear it, and switched it on.

"Alyssa, it's the Queen. We have recieved intelligence from trustworthy shades that the rebels' base has been located, not even ten miles from here, in an abandoned mine with the mansion above it. We want you and your squadron to infiltrate using the tunnels that connect the mine to a cave within our area. Then, you'll plant the bombs inside the base's power generator, set the bombs for thirty minutes, and escape through the shafts. The bombs will destroy the base completley, because the generator's power source is made of a substance called anthleslen, an oil based element that's extremely flammable. Will you do it?"

I thought for a minute, thinking of everything that could go wrong with the mission. But what if we suceeded? What if this was all it took to end a war that had gone on for centuries?

"I'll do it," I said firmly. "And I'll inform the squad."

"Good. Report to the armory in half an hour. We'll be suiting up for the mission," the Queen responded, hanging up.

I turned to the squad and huddled them together, filling them in as quickly as I could. They all agreed with me, even Ethan.

"We can do this, Alyssa. Don't worry," Jason reassured me. Jake spoke up for the first time in ages.

"Alyssa," he said, his voice strained. "We need partners. It's regulation. You choose one person to stick with if your squad has to break up."

"We'll deal with that later," I brushed him off.

"Right now, we've got a mission to start."

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I know how incredibly short this is but it's necessary. The next three chapters will be extra long because they're crucial.

thanks :)

Btw I typed this on mobile for you guys so plz excuse any errors!

Ari :)