The Pause

Chapter 5

"WELCOME TO THE NEW GOVERNMENT TRAINEE PROGRAM" Andrews proclaimed to the line of students in the courtyard , all of them lined up with a each with a different look in their eye. Some gleamed with hope and excitement, whilst others were filled with dread. "Here you will experience rigorous training to determine whether you have what it takes to join our ranks" he continued, pacing up and down the line of nervous teens. "A select few of you will make it. Those few will be sent on a recon mission to receive intel from a group of traitors. This training will not be easy, so I suggest the weak willed walk away now" this statement sets in over the students. Nathan sees Elliott consider leaving. He grabs Elliott's shoulder as they stare at each other. "You are not leaving this" Nathan whispers, "but why" Elliott replies taking care not to be heard by anyone else as Andrews continues the lecture. "I'm clearly not built for this. The only reason I signed up was to get my dad off my case" Elliott sighs as he looks to the ground. A silence then builds between the two boys, "that may be true" Nathan mutters, "but I am not giving up on you. We stick together okay?". Elliott looks up at Nathan, "okay" he responds.

Nathan did notice some other students leaving however. Which made him think if they were in a similar situation as Elliott. But that wasn't his main concern, what he really wanted to know was where the girl he saw earlier went. His thought was soon cut off as another announcement by Andrews took place. "Now I won't be the only one overseeing your training" the Private bellowed, "joining me is our leading general who has worked tirelessly with The New Government since 'The Pause' began. It is my honour to introduce to you, General Jonathan Sykes" Nathan  had to take a minute to process this. As the man who walked forward was unmistakable the figure from the apartment building he noticed when he entered the facility, and somehow Nathan felt as if Sykes recognised him too.

Sykes' presence filled the courtyard with a very unsettling atmosphere. It was easy to see why, one look at him would send chills down your spine. He was in his mid fifties yet could easily be mistaken as older. His face littered with scars as if they were stroke-marks on a canvas. He had long greasy, fading grey hair tied up in a pony tail and a beard that hadn't looked tamed in years. He lurked over all the students standing over six foot. Yet his most prominent and terrifying feature, that which sent a wave of disgust and fear into the teens' hearts. Was his right eye, completely devoid of any sort of life, still heavily covered in infected and damaged tissue, as if it hadn't been treated after a severe wound.

"Well, these are the new trainees" Sykes inquired, he spoke softly and timidly. "An interesting lineup" he said walking past the students as he inspected them all, he and Nathan made eye contact. They both seemed familiar with each other, although in this case. Neither could figure out if that was such a good thing. Sykes returned to his position next to Andrews. "What is the next plan of action private?" Sykes asked as he put his hands behind his back and took in all the new students. "The next point is to get them into teams, they're going to answer a serious of questions to test their knowledge of the battlefield, then comes preparation for the target practice, obstacle course challenge and of course, 1 on 1 combat". Nathan had been both dreading and dreaming of this. The physical challenges would be no problem for him, he spent his life running around ruins and looting. He was prepared for the field side of things. Yet he had no idea about how any of the theory of combat worked.

Sykes soon left and Andrews had to sort out the students. Nathan just prayed he would not have to work with Mike, he felt it was bad enough sharing a dorm with him, never mind having to be in a team. He then realised there was a very high chance he'd be working with people he had never met before. Which terrified him, although they had spent very little time together and barely knew each other. Elliott was Nathan's only real friend. He had spent 16 years of his life only with his father and sister to interact with. But this was a chance for change as Nathan hoped.

Andrews read out the students names and what team they would be a part of. There were four teams. Of course almost all the names read out were unknown to Nathan, apart from Mike who thankfully was not on Nathan's team. 3 of the 4 teams were read out meaning the remaining students would make up team 4 which was designated a Burgundy colour scheme, the other teams had orange, green, and for Mike's team. A dark navy blue. The resident members of team 4 were of course Nathan and thankfully Elliott, Roberto was was another name read out. Nathan hadn't taken notice of him other than he was a tall handsome Hispanic boy that seemed like a good asset for an obstacle course. However it was the last name called out that grabbed Nathan's attention. Emily. Immediately he knew exactly who this was, he turned and saw her properly for the first time. Her hair in full flow, her beautiful dark eyes. She was about as tall as Nathan and wore old military boots, worn and torn jeans and a tight fitting black top. She made eye contact with Nathan and smiled.

"For the remainder of this training period you will be working with your team, hopefully guiding them through every challenge to make it" Andrews began stating. Nathan quickly zoned out. He couldn't believe his luck. He knew this team was not only his way of making it to the top. But also he hoped that they would become his lifelong companions