Torn

2

2
Halle

    I sit bolt upright as ice-cold water is poured over my face and hair.  I start coughing and shivering before I whisper yell at Markus, careful not to wake anyone else up.  "What in the oku mmuo?!"
He smirks, chuckling quietly,  "Figured I'd wake you up to talk about the game plan before all the others are awake.  Oh, and nice hair by the way."  His smirk grows even wider as he tosses a towel onto my mess of soaking wet brown hair.
Markus sits next to me on the edge of my cot as I take the towel off of my head.  I reach down to grab my stuff from under the bed.  I start to panic when I can't feel it but then I remember it isn't there. 
Sighing, I start to get up to grab my stuff, but Markus stops me.  "Here,"  he hands me my small amount of personal belongings, including a hairbrush, my pearl-handled hunting knife that my mother left me, and an old book from Papa.
"When did you grab my stuff?"  I ask him, raising my eyebrows, slightly confused.
"I figured cause I'm waking you up so early that you wouldn't be too happy.  I wanted to make up for it by bringing your stuff."  He chuckles nervously and stands up, stretching his back.  "We should go so we can be back in here before everyone else is up,"  Markus holds out his calloused hand to help me up.
"I can get up by myself," I stand up and shove his hand away from me.  I walk across the barracks and over to the door, Markus following close behind me.
The moment I step outside I begin to shiver, I left my coat inside and the water that was dumped on me isn't exactly helping.
I lean against the cold granite wall, the same one Markus pinned me against last night, and ask, "So, what's your plan?"  I look up at Markus's tired-looking face.
"Well, you always hang out with Hudson so you could just do that, but just pay closer attention to what he says.  Make sure he doesn't say anything weird or suspicious.  I'll watch from a distance, make sure he doesn't sneak off and meet anyone.  We'd still be working together, but no one would be suspicious because we randomly started talking."  He looks at the dark sky, the sun just rising over the far off palace.  The colours of the sunrise are warm, but I shiver in the cold morning.
"Sounds good,"  I turn to go back inside the barracks, wanting to sleep for a few more minutes.
"Seriously?  I was expecting at least some sort of an argument from you," his voice raises slightly, sounding surprised.
I shake my head and say, "No, sounds like it will work well enough."
"Oh and uh...  I'm sorry about last night, Halle..."  Markus sounds genuinely sorry for what he did, I really don't want to think about it, let alone talk about it.
"Yeah, sure, whatever,"  I walk into the barracks and back to my cot.
I lay down again and cover up with my blankets.  Then the bell to wake us up rings.  "Seriously?!"  I shout, throwing the covers off of me.  Lots of confused faces look my way.
I stand up and grab my clothes, hurriedly heading to the bathroom before anyone else does.

After I've changed into today's clothes, the same as always, dark gray cargo pants and a black long sleeve wool shirt with my fur coat, I put on my knee-high, insulated, waterproof, winter boots and trudge out to the now snow-covered courtyard.
Snow is still pounding to the ground as I walk outside.  I'm still chilled, even beneath all the layers of clothes but I'm used to it.
"You look beat, Halle,"  I get a teasing nudge from Hudson as he snickers, he seems like he's completely unphased by our argument last night.
"Morning nzuzu,"  I laugh nervously even though I've known Hudson my entire life, hearing the news that he could be a traitor has really shaken me up.
I glance behind me to check if Markus is there.  Sadly, he is.  Markus gives me a small reassuring nod, then gestures for me to go on and talk with Hudson like always.
Hudson starts talking once again.  "Hey, I'm sorry I was such a jerk last night.  I've been," he pauses as if he's thinking about the right word to use, "...stressed.  Yeah, I've been stressed lately,"  He yawns and looks around us.
"I am too...  You know, with graduation coming up and all,"  I chuckle a little, rubbing the back of my neck, nervous for no reason, he's not the traitor.  I know it.
"What is up with you this morning?  You really don't seem like yourself.  You haven't even made fun of me once," he laughs and elbows me in the shoulder.  "Seriously though...  you alright?"  He looks down at me, a look of worry covering his face.
"I got almost no sleep.  I ended up sleeping in a cot next to Markus, some puny, blonde chick stole my cot."  I instantly feel guilty about the necessary lie.
"Hm...  I see, well that must suck.  As for me, I slept like a baby," he smiles, laughing.
All of a sudden a roaring voice booms across the courtyard; it belongs to Lord Sandoval himself.  "Good morning young trainees!  I have come to address a problem that my lovely wife has just informed me of.  It seems like we have a rat in the academy."
Uneasy whispering spreads throughout the crowd.  Hudson switches from foot to foot.
"What if it's Markus?" Hudson leans down and whispers to me.  My eyes widen.
I shrug and say, "I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens."  I keep looking ahead, still paying attention to Hudson from the corner of my eye.  I'm scanning his face for some sign of guilt, praying I don't see it.
    Hudson stands up tall as Lord Sandoval continues.  "Once the traitor is found they will be immediately executed.  How they will be executed is yet to be determined."
Biting my lip, I look behind me to see how Markus reacted.  He stands there with a sinister, devil-like smirk on his face.
"That is all I have to announce.  Please divide into your training groups and continue with your day."  I catch a glimpse of Lord and Lady Sandoval retreating to their separate offices.
We split off into our assigned groups.  I approach the rest of my group, one other girl, and eight guys.  I'm the squad captain and the only girl captain in the whole academy.  The morning is filled with army crawling, rope ladders, sprints, a several mile run, and weighted climbing.