Collateral Damage | Jason Grace Fan Fiction

Chapter 1: The scum of the Fourth Cohort

Christina woke up to a loud ringing in her ear, her shock from the sound sent her falling down her own bed. While her entire vision was covered by her blanket, she heard the roaring laughter of other campers. She removed the blanket from her face and saw the campers of the Fourth Cohort laughing at her.

"You look like a scum on the streets!" one of the girls, Denice, daughter of Ceres, laughingly said while holding her stomach. She clenched her fist behind her to resist the urge of punching Denice in the face. 

"No, even better, she looks like a Faun!" Elena, a daughter of Venus, teased which made the entire barrack laugh so hard, Christina is a hundred percent sure they're heard in the Via Principalis.

Christina has been here for four years, after beginning her journey in the Wolf House when she's 12 years old, and for the her first three years she was adorned, feared and looked up to by everyone. But for this year, after that incident, everyone's impression of her turned into a full 360 degrees. 

And as much as she wants to fight back to the girls who had been bullying her for the past months, the probatio tablet hung heavier on her neck as if a chain restraining a beast from lashing out. 

"Having fun, aren't we?" a deep taunting voice said from the entrance and suddenly all the laughter stopped. Slowly, they all turned around to face the angry looking Max, son of Mars, who's the newly promoted centurion of the Fourth Cohort. He had just become the centurion three months ago and he already made so many changes in the rules of the cohort.

"Is this how you greet your centurion?" he grunted which made everyone rush towards their beds and stand in front of it at attention. They all had time to fix up their appearances and even wear their proper camp attire because unlike Christina, they woke up early.

Ever since that incident, she never had a good night's sleep, something that her centurion nor anyone in the legion doesn't understand. In the morning the legionnaires torments her for her past while its ghosts haunts her at night. 

Christina felt her knees buckle and her heart beating loud against her chest the moment she saw herself in the mirror on the wall. Her brown hair looks like a bird's nest, her eyes were almost bloodshot and she still had dried saliva on the side of her mouth.

"Are you all finished with your morning duties?" Max said in a loud voice as he slowly walked down the middle of the campers with his hands behind his back. When he started inspecting each camper, Christina felt her body grew heavy like a rock.

"W-We're just about to do them, sir." Elena stammered as she tried to avoid his gaze. Max stopped in front of Christina and she could already feel his piercing glare as she stared at the wall behind him. As regular campers, they are not allowed to look their centurions in the eyes.

"Then go." he bluntly said. "I want you all gone in five seconds except for Davenport."

Before he could even reach three, the entire barracks was empty except for Christina and Max.

"You slept in again, Davenport." he grunted. "That's the third time this week."

"I-I apologize, sir, it won't--"

"I don't need your apology, Davenport. You know, every first time campers always sleeps in, forgets their duties or do badly in combat and even worse on war games." he said, walking back and forth in front of her "And we centurions are trained to be understanding of them. We are here to train them to become better."

He stopped walking and turned to Christina with so much loathing.

"But you have been a good Roman soldier for three years! And yet for past months, you have been nothing but that! It's like you're doing it on purpose! The previous centurion was kind to you, even let you off hook because of what happened to you. But I am different, Davenport!"