The Scars of Six

18. Training Pt. 1

Listen to Legendary by Welshly Arms

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For the next couple of weeks our training had multiplied. We were in a constant loophole of waking up, training, eating, training, more eating and sleeping. Hans and Gio did not let Santiago and I catch the slightest of breaks, something I was slightly thankful for — for Santiago's body was becoming more sculpted than it already was. It served good for when I wanted a little distraction, although if I could read minds, I'd say he thought the same about my body because I would catch him staring every now and then. Nonetheless, Hans and I had finally found a balance since that night —Argent was still a no show though, something that irked my temper each day that passed.

"You have excellent aim Selene." Exclaimed Hans in a shocked but proud tone of voice.

I gave a slight smile and bowed arrogantly. "I've been practicing, although I can't say I'm surprised." I preached.

"Pray tell why? Have you used a firearm before?" Asked Hans.

I shook my head. "No, but I'm good at everything." I smiled as I looked at my results on the target paper.

Perfect headshot and equally as good with the center mass. My lips curled up into a triumphant smile as I looked at my work with a curious Santiago at my side. "And here I thought that Denali and Elijah were the arrogant ones."

He chuckled and snatched the target paper away from me as he examined it. "You're okay Selene, but the best with guns is Elijah and good luck ever telling him any different." He handed me the paper again while I rolled my eyes.

I scoffed, "In his dreams."

**

More weeks passed and the endless loop continued. I wasn't just trying to keep up with Hans —no, now I had to keep up with Gio and Santiago; all at the same time. My days consisted of hand to hand combat with all of them simultaneously coming towards me and other days it consisted of learning to use new weapons while trying to fight them all off. Some days I excelled in taking each of them down, but other days it was near impossible as they began to learn my tricks —leaving me to come up with new ones. So, whenever our training ended I would go back to the cabin and research new ways to gain advantages. It was a routine that I was very much getting used to until Hans and Gio started showing up at random times throughout the night to drag us out of bed.

Santiago said it was to get us used to the schedule that was to come when we'd be out in the field for our missions. He said we would have to take turns staying up to keep watch and subsequently many times we would not sleep at all or even get to eat. We would have to stay sharp despite our circumstances, because out there it really was life or death.

It wasn't easy and the less sleep I got the harder it became for me to train with ease. I started to make a lot more mistakes and because of that I began to lose a lot more —something I wasn't very keen on. Hans and Gio kept us going day in and day out, there was no time for rest —let alone petty mistakes.

Santiago wasn't struggling much with the new changes, most likely already being used to them from being here so long and his past deployment. Over the past few weeks our relationship had improved significantly, we weren't as close as we once were of course but we let our old grudges go. We talked more, laughed more and of course competed against each other, in which we always came up just about the same. We never mentioned the past or talked about why we ended up here as it would have resurfaced old wounds and some that were significantly fresh in my case.