Salvation Mercenary

Chapter 2 - Louise

I whipped out my phone in resentment, tilted my head and check the screen. I glared at the door behind me he is such a git. A hot git. But a git none the less. My phone turned on and I walked towards the south wing. Scanned my key card ID accompanied by my finger print and attempted to walk through the south wing doors heading for my cell. My cell wasn't far it was the sixth on the right. But the door wouldn't open. I tried again. Wiping my finger on my jumper. Still denied. The door wouldn't open. Forcing me to turn back and go towards the gun range and talk to General Liam again.

I walked confused down the corridor. I hung my head to look at my key card. Looking for cracks and scratches but it was spotless and clean. My feet took me where I needed to go. I didn't pay much attention. Until I looked up and I was magically outside the gun range. I knocked on the door and opened it. And there he was. Just sitting on his phone on top of the desk. Lunch resting in his lap. Chewing on a bite of what seemed to be a chicken salad wrap.

He glanced up at me and rolled his eyes. Swallowed and began to talk.

"Yes, Cadet?" He said with an undertone of distaste in his voice.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir, I know it's lunch, but I can't seem to get access into the south wing corridors." I asked with a serious blended amount of curiosity and stress.

"That's because you have been down ranked. You were to be notified and have a meeting with you previous commander, Commander Lucas, tonight at five o'clock. But what you have said it seems that your ID card has been deactivated early." He said nonchalantly, like it didn't matter that I had lost south wing rank.

"Why have I been down ranked? To what? Where do I go? How has the card been deactivated, I haven't left it anywhere, sir?" I asked in a rambled panicked tone. I had been here six months and had worked my way up quickly. " I was the best in my class what had happened, sir?"

"You have been moved back down to the west wing, I'm sure you remember sharing a cell with one other person. You will be in the sixth cell from the main door. West wing zero zero six. The card is digitally modified using an encrypted computer. And what happened is that you are the slowest in gun assembly practice, as well as the obstacle course, you have the lowest grades in the south wing in all your languages and most other subjects and the truth is three west wing members have excelled you and one will be taking your place. You will find that you can now access west wing only and you no longer have spa privileges. I'll have all your clothes and belongings moved before the end of lunch as well as the girls who has replaced you. I'll call her in now to congratulate her. Goodbye Cadet Louise. I'm sure you will get along with your old teachers." He smirked at me. And I took the opportunity to leave.

Fuck.

I sulked my way back through the canteen with my head hung low. I placed my key card ID against the pad followed by my finger. It bleeped and the door opened.

Fuck

The doors passed by me.

Zero zero one -

Zero zero two -

All the way up to six. The door was already open. A man in a cleaners uniform dropped a few boxes and picked up a few more and walked out of the cell door and down the corridor towards the canteen. I walked in the door. And immediately saw Olivia. My best friend.

"Oh my god! This random cleaner came in and said that he's taking Ray's stuff to another room in south wing. And that my new room mate will be arriving soon. And I was just thinking who's going to replace Ray from the south. And oh hunny I'm so sorry. Its okay. We will be together now!" She said acknowledging my sadness knowing not to press it any further.

I sat on top of her bunk bed with her. Looks like I'll be in the bottom one. More likely to be squashed. She guided me to turn around so my back was facing her. We were both sitting cross legged and she grabbed her hair brush and brushed through my hair in silence. I loved my hair being played with. She began to french plait my hair.

I was watching her do it from the mirror hanging opposite the end of her bed in the wall. A mirror she had brought from her mothers. At least that's what she said, we both knew full well that she or any other member of her family could not afford a mirror like that. It was gold with fancy floral flamboyant patterns swirling around it like blissful clouds on a summers day.

I could still remember when we were thirteen years old and Olivia would wake up at seven o'clock in the morning, bung her hair in a quick ponytail and head to my house so I could plait it for her, because her family couldn't afford a mirror for her to see what she was doing.

I taught her how to plait her own hair without a mirror, it was all about muscle memory, she can do it without a mirror now.

Smiling at fond memories, remembering the days that were so simple, just a she-said-he-said fight not an, I'll-use-an-RPG-and-blow-your-head-off-fight like it is now. At least in the SM-EDU-B1.

"No I didn't steal the mirror!" She exclaimed, as if reading my mind.

"I wasn't thinking that!" I lied. "I was thinking about how you used to come around mine so I could do your hair!" I said honestly, at least half. She nodded and carried on. So it's one of them nights, the I'm-going-to-be-grumpy-for-no-reason night. I rolled my eyes and quickly finished the plait, she was almost done anyway. I jumped off of the side of the bed and rooted through my boxes that the cleaner had brought into the room. I found my purse and strutted out of the room, to make a point. I know she was being nice but she is meant to be all kind and happy tonight. I just got demoted. I'm meant to be grumpy. And I couldn't be dealing with her grumpiness tonight!

Swearing on my fathers grave, I felt her her eye roll deflect off of the mirror into the back of my head. Letting myself soften I gave a small smirk.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, unlocked it and scrolled through my phone until I found my friend Sydney's contact. I messaged her about what had happened with the general.