Chapter Sixteen

“Recruits—welcome to St. George Island. You won’t find it on any published map.” The Alpha—Number One—stood at the front of the cabin. He was the oldest active agent and usually worked alone. I’d only seen him once at HQ before. “This exercise will pit you against the Agents.” He held up a paintball gun. “If you are marked ‘dead’, you stay down and play dead because you are out of the game. Those that survive today will get a new objective tomorrow. File out!”

The Alpha missed his calling as a D.I.

“I bet he stands at attention in his sleep,” Sixteen murmured behind me. I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing.

We exited the plane, backpacks on our shoulders, and formed a line to wait for instruction. It was ten of us against six of them.

Jungle was the only scenery around the landing strip.

The Alpha started walking and the Agents fell in line. We shrugged and followed. It felt like we’d crossed into the southern hemisphere, summer heat melting me inside my winter clothes. He led us for several minutes down a supply road, until we reached a group of buildings that looked like military barracks.

“Women on the left. Men on the right,” he ordered, pointing to the two closest structures. The flat gray siding was very bland in the midst of the lush greenery.

Bunk beds were inside. We looked to Four, the senior agent in the room, for instruction. “Pick a bed and get changed, ladies. Alpha won’t wait long to start.”

A set of fatigues was on each mattress. Convenient. I stripped to my sports bra and buttoned the shirt, then hopped into the pants and wrapped the ankle ties around my boots. You didn’t want loose pant-legs in a jungle. With my clothes folded neatly on the bed, I took my smaller survival pack out of the big one and slung it over my shoulder.

Four and I were the first gals outside. “Look after your team, Seven,” she said in a mild Spanish accent, wearing the custom-made suit all the agents had.

“Huh?”

“The recruits. They look to you as the one of them with most experience.” She left me for the Alpha’s building and knocked on the door.

The other three girls rushed out behind me. “Did we miss anything?”

“Nope.” I turned to them. “We have an even-numbered team, so I think the buddy system would be a good idea. Watch each other’s backs.”

“I’ll be happy to watch your backside all day, Seven.” Ugh…Fifteen.

Every group had the annoying person who looked at life as a joke and never shut up.

He was ours.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Fif,” Sixteen said. “This is serious.”

Fifteen was barely sixteen years old and strutted around like he was the hottest stuff in town. He acted like being a monster hunter made him a rockstar, always arriving late to class, disobeying curfew, sneakin’ out of HQ, and generally reckless in training.

I didn’t want him anywhere near me with live ammo.

“Recruits!” We snapped to attention and formed a line. Alpha analyzed us. “This is not a game, children. This team will be trying to kill you.” He stopped before us with his hands clasped behind his back. “There are red flags on the trees marking the boundaries of this exercise. Do not cross those boundaries. Work as a team, survive as a team. The Agents will have a two minute head start into the forest. You will follow carrying these dummy rifles. Shoot to kill, children—head and heart. Your opponent will not stop because you discolored his arm. Understood.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Collect your weapon, helmet, and goggles.” The agents were already fully outfitted and jogged into the jungle minus the Alpha. He had a stopwatch. “Go!”

I didn’t know what time to set my watch to, but the sun looked to be at about nine o’clock—just mid-morning and we were already sweating.

Good thing I had a water bottle in my pack.

We took off for the trees, slowing down to a cautious quickstep when we were close.

“Seven’s idea of splitting into pairs is a good one. We’re too obvious as a group,” Sixteen said. The boys stuck together, and Ten and Twelve disappeared off to my left. “Guess it’s you and me,” she said.

Two pairs of footsteps began following me into the rainforest. I turned around. “Lev?”

“They left me behind,” Eleven admitted. Poor guy. The other boys frequently picked on him.

“Fifteen went off alone, didn’t he?” He nodded, and rolled his eyes. I sighed. So typical. “No big. Just stay low. Your height is like a beacon.”

Smiling shyly, he nodded again, and fell in behind my right shoulder. We moved into the jungle in wedge formation. The wildlife was noisy at all the commotion, birds calling in every direction. Under the canopy, the light took on a greenish hue, and the ground covering was damp and spongy from the decaying leaves.

I had a feeling for Thirteen’s tactics, but no experience with the rest.

We could expect anything.

“Do you think they’ll start shooting at us right away?” Sixteen whispered.

I mimed zipping my lips shut.

“I’m just wondering what to expect.”

I held my hand up, signaling a pause, and reached in my pocket for a tiny notepad and pencil, scribbled THEY CAN HEAR YOUR VOICE IF I CAN, and showed it to her. She sighed and wrote back I CHATTER WHEN I’M NERVOUS. Eleven sat on a fallen log. I flipped the page and wrote GET OVER IT, showed it to her, and shoved the pad and pencil back in my pocket. If she wanted to give us away, I’d leave her behind, but I’d rather she learned to be quiet.

A twig snapped. We turned our heads to the sound. I dropped into a crouch behind a bush. Eleven held up a rock and hurled it far into the trees. Heck of an arm. We heard the “pop, pop” of a paint gun firing. I pointed in the opposite direction and jerked my head to the side to signal “let’s move”. This wasn’t the area for a shootout.

Sixteen took the rear.

We crept along another few minutes, still not hearing any signs of combat.

Sixteen squeaked behind me. I turned, ready to shoot. There was no need. She was pointing at a snake. Eleven rolled his eyes and kept walking.

Pop.

Twenty-one stood out of the bushes. “Ah, crap.”

“Same team, idiot,” Lev said. He had a blue splat center-torso.

“I heard you coming and—”

“Is he out now?” Sixteen asked.

Pop. Twenty-one got a red paint ball to the side of the head.

“Down!” I yelled.

This is why you didn’t send kids to war.

I crawled among the brush parallel to the boundary, Lev on my heels. Sixteen had run to Twenty-one. I let her go.

The agent was sneaky and fast and the only way to survive was to be hard to hit.

More pops behind us, farther away. I paused behind an extra-wide tree, rolled onto my butt to sit with my back to it, and took out the pad and pencil. THEY KNOW TERRITORY TOO WELL. WE NEED HIGH GROUND.

Lev pointed up.

IN CANOPY?

He nodded.

IF GOOD AT CLIMBING GO FOR IT.

He gave me a thumb’s up, shouldered his rifle, and took a hold of my tree’s trunk. Within seconds he had reached the lower branches. I’d have to start calling him Monkey Man. He mimicked one of the parrot calls, and got an answering cry, then I heard flapping wings to the south. He pointed in that direction and held up two fingers. Two agents. I nodded and gestured for him to head that way. With any luck, they wouldn’t be expecting a sniper.

Took a sip from the water bottle in my pack and considered how to be proactive about this. I had supplies to set a couple non-lethal traps. That took time, though, and I had no idea how the team was doing.

Time to get competitive.

Being on the defensive wasn’t fun.

When I heard, “Sniper! Sniper! Man down!” I took advantage of the distraction and charged deeper into the forest, looking for agents in head-to-toe black.

As the canopy thickened above, less brush grew around the bases of the trees and the light dimmed. The cover was insulator-y, keeping the air humid and hot. Sweat dripped from under my helmet, and down my back. I wanted to leave my fatigue jacket behind, but my white arms would be a dead giveaway against all this green.

Assuming Eleven took out the two, it left four for me and what was left of the team. If we had a team left…I hadn’t seen the other six since we entered the jungle.

Should’ve asked the Alpha how big the engagement zone was. I could be wandering for hours before finding more red flags.

“Seven,” someone said in a hissed whisper. I looked up.

The twins, Ten and Twelve, were in a tree.

“What are you doing?”

“Three almost got us, and we ran and hid up here. You’re the first person we’ve seen in a long time.”

“We shouldn’t talk. Get down from there.”

These two were too young for this life at fourteen years old, in my opinion. Amelia said anyone with the gift had to be trained, and I agreed with self-defense and warning them about what might come, but I’d been too young to handle it a year ago.

How were these two going to survive when they were afraid of a paintball fight?

Ten wasn’t carrying a weapon. I held up my rifle and looked at her questioningly. She hung her head. I sighed, pulled a whistle out of my pack, and wrote on the notepad IF YOU SEE ENEMY APPROACHING, BLOW THIS. She read it, nodded, and took the whistle. I shooed her back up the tree.

Her sister gestured for me to lead the way.

Guess the Agents were making a point that real hunting could have you wandering, searching for a long time before finding your prey. I’d expected them to be more aggressive, make an example out of our inexperience.

The waiting would’ve made me paranoid a year ago.

Was I more used to this life than I thought?

Picking a quick pace weaving through the trees, I kept my eyes and ears open.

A body dropped behind me and I spun to land a kick in the intruder’s solar plexus.

It was Lev. He doubled over. “Nice reflexes,” he groaned.

“Sorry!”

He coughed; tried to stand up straight. “Geeze, Seven, you kick like a mule.”

“The hip sled is my friend. Can you move?”

He nodded. I nudged Twelve into walking again and resumed a slower course.

Eleven got his wind back after a few minutes.

I passed him a note HOW MANY DID YOU GET? He held up three fingers, then bent one down. ONE INJURED? I wrote. A thumb’s up.

Cool beans…if we came across the “wounded” agent they’d have to act hurt.

“I’m hungry. Has to be close to midday by now,” Twelve said.

“Be quiet!” Lev hissed.

“But I’m bored. This is like a Predator movie without the Predators.”

Lev said, “A Predator would eat you for lunch.”

“Nuh-uh…they only take trophies.”

“Shut up or go back to your sister,” I said.

“Who made you the boss? Eleven actually got kills.”

I walked up to her and stared down the three-inch difference in height. “Fine. I don’t need tag-a-longs to survive.”

“Seven, don’t go like that…” Lev said.

“Wouldn’t piss her off, Recruit. Might get a right hook to the jaw.”

Thirteen.

I took cover and glanced around for him, but couldn’t tell where the voice came from. Lev had his weapon up, his back to a tree. Twelve froze in place.

“Been followin’ us, Coach, or just get lucky?” I called.

“Can’t give away all my secrets, kid.”

Lev and I aimed our rifles to my right.

“Care to test how much I’ve learned?” I asked. He liked challenging me to show new ideas. I hoped he couldn’t resist a challenge in general.

“Two against one? Odds aren’t in your favor.” The other side. He was circling us.

Wait, two…? Crap.

Twelve ran off.

Coward.

Lev rolled his eyes and crouched with me. “Is he a good shot?” he whispered.

“Even blindfolded.”

“Damn.”

“Yup. He’s playin’ with us right now because he doesn’t have a clear shot.”

“Makes us equal for the moment.” An optimist.

I got out my pencil and wrote YOU GO. HE’S NOT A SPRINTER. YOU HAVE A LONGER STRIDE. He shook his head: an emphatic no.

Smiling my thanks, I wondered what to do next.

We were saved from deciding by a firefight running between us and where we last heard Thirteen. Five, Twenty-five, and Seventeen were being chased by two agents who’d both been winged by blue paint. Lev and I exchanged a look and shot at the agents. Seventeen went down before we hit one, but Five was able to regroup and shoot the other.

That left Thirteen against four of us.

“You two been hiding here all day?” Five teased.

“Fight’s not over, hot shot. Thirteen is still nearby.”

Twenty-five and Five instantly formed the other two points of the compass so we covered all directions with our backs to each other.

“Why didn’t he join the other agents?” Lev asked.

Good question.

Territorial respect, probably. And pride.

They shouldn’t need help against a bunch of kids.

“What’s he waiting for?”

“Maybe he left now he’s out-numbered.”

“He hasn’t given up,” I said.

“He should. There are easier targets out there.”

“Like Ten and Twelve,” Lev muttered.

“HELP!” Someone called out from the wilderness.

“Is that Fifteen?”

“SOMEBODY!” Crap…what had he gotten his butt into now?

I took off in the direction of his voice.

And almost fell into a sinkhole.

My foot slipped down the edge. I caught an exposed root and stopped my fall, then scrambled back to my feet. The brush nearly disguised the entrance.

“Fifteen?”

“Down here. Hey, cutie. I heard voices and hoped I wasn’t hearing things.”

I dug a flashlight out of my pack and shone it down the hole. “Are you hurt?”

“Knocked myself out for a bit when I landed, but otherwise okay. Tell me you have rope or something.”

“Give me a minute.”

The guys caught up as I took the line out of my pack and started fastening it around a tree. “What’s going on?”

“Seven is being a doll and rescuing me,” Fifteen said.

I tugged on the knot, making sure it would hold, and dropped the length of rope down the hole. As long as he wasn’t too injured to, he could climb up on his own.

“Girl Scout in a past life, Seven?” Five asked.

“I take this job seriously. My mother needs me to. How ya comin’, Fifteen?”

“How many of you are up there? Just pull me up.”

I stepped aside for the boys and gestured be my guest. Had to be around ninety degrees by now and high humidity, making me grateful I remembered the water bottle.

“Good work. No hesitation to rescue.” Thirteen stood behind my left shoulder, whispering in my ear. A shiver ran up my spine.

I froze. “Gonna shoot me, Coach?”

“Exercise is over. No one left.” We watched them pull a dirty Fifteen out of the hole and start ribbing him for not looking where he was going.

“Doesn’t answer the question.”

“No. Extenuating circumstances. He should be looked over by the medic and it’s the team’s job to get him home.”

“Very generous of you.”

He didn’t reply.

I turned around and he was gone. Some day, he’d have to tell me how he did that.

Fifteen had a bump on his head and generally felt bruised all over. He started complaining about his ankle hurting on the way back.

When we broke into the clearing, the recruits cheered.

Thirteen showed up five minutes later. “Guess I missed them,” he told the Alpha with a shrug.

Supper was cooked over a fire pit. Aside from the barracks, we were roughin’ it. There was running water from a well, but we only had five minutes for showers and the water was cold.

We sat on hewn logs waiting for the Alpha’s next speech. My reward for helping Fifteen out of the hole was gettin’ out of KP.

“You recruits are a bunch of sissies! Could smell the lot of ya across a street with your perfumes and body washes. You know what that screams to a predator? Lunch! Your average vampire has a nose two times more sensitive than a bloodhound. Gee-zus—think, children.” His face was especially red in the firelight as he dressed us down.

Well, not me personally. Mama had allergies, so I’d grown up on fragrance-free soaps. Couldn’t do anything about my shampoo, but I didn’t use a strong-smelling version of that, either. If there was means to smell not human, I’d be willing to learn, but Amelia hadn’t mentioned one, yet. She was too concerned with me being able to rattle off monster stats at a moment’s notice to chat about hygiene.

I sat staring at the flames and thinking of the fireplace at home, hoping Mama was keepin’ warm. There’d been snow in Guthrie this winter.

“You look far away from here,” my mentor said, joining me on the log.

“Home.”

“Ah.”

“Ever think of yours, from before?”

He stared into the flames, too. “Sometimes. I’m human. You did a good job today.”

“Thanks.” I bumped his shoulder. “What’s up?”

“Can’t I chat?”

“Sure…but we’ve never just hung out, Coach.”

“Alright… A team is going to L.A. soon. I want you on it.”

Los Angeles? “But we were warned away. When I told Amelia who the message came from, she was scared and wanted me at HQ post haste. Why would they want you to do that?”

“It’s undercover work. A rotating schedule of intel gatherers. We’re not abandoning innocent citizens just because Juliet thinks she owns the place. She’s just as vulnerable to a stake through her heart as any other vamp.” He spoke with conviction, the correctness of his cause adding righteous indignation to his voice.

“I’m not going on missions until after graduation. Amelia and I have an agreement. If you still need me in summer, I’m yours.”

Side-eye. “Everything has to be on your terms, doesn’t it?”

“Don’t sigh at me like that. There are much more experienced agents that’d be better for the job and you know it. Look, I promised my mother, okay? It’s the last time she’ll get to see me do somethin’ normal.”

“Okay, okay. I know how much she means to you.”

“Thank you. So, is the Alpha torturing us tomorrow, or was this it?”

A shrug. “I don’t know. No two years are the same.”

“Great.”

The Alpha woke us at 5:00AM with an air raid siren. Lord knows how long it’d been on St. George. We scrambled into clothes and hurried outside. I took my pill and vitamins with a gulp of water on the move.

We were sent on a run around the perimeter of the island with the condition if we didn’t finish, we didn’t get breakfast. Back when I trained with Thirteen, he called this running ‘til you puke. Half the recruits left remnants of supper on the beach trail.

Fifteen walked most of the way ‘cause of his ankle, but even he made it.

The Agents had cooked while we were away, and served breakfast once we hydrated.

The Alpha entered the camp circle. “Who of you can swim?” Everybody raised their hand but me. Uh-oh. “Seven, you’re telling me in all the time you’ve been with The Agency you haven’t been in the water?”

“No one asked me to, sir.”

“Not a single lesson in your civilian life?”

The recruits stared at me while he fired off his questions. “No, sir. There were more important concerns at home, sir.”

He muttered a few curses. “Well, what am I supposed to do with you, then, Recruit?”

“I-I don’t know, sir,” I mumbled, and dropped my eyes to my lap, the attention making my cheeks burn.

“Agents—take the recruits to the beach to run water rescue drills. Not you, Thirteen.”

What did he need Thirteen for? I hated disappointing authority figures. I’d always minded my teachers, been a good student, not talked back at home…

“You tested this girl, correct?”

“Yes, sir.” No grin present on my trainer’s face this time.

“And you didn’t put her in the pool.”

“There’s no pool or nearby lake at the New York base, sir.”

More curses from the Alpha I didn’t feel old enough to hear.

“Ms. Thornhill is her guide, sir, for almost two years. The oversight lies with her, if anyone,” Thirteen added. “You can’t fault the kid for lack of instruction.”

Ooo, Amelia would not like him throwing her under the bus.

As much as I butted heads with her at times, I thought it was a dick move, too.

But…there were pools in Guthrie.

And the lake.

The Alpha opened his mouth to respond, or argue, then paced a few feet away and back again. “I suppose you’re right, Agent. You’ll take the girl back to HQ and follow up on any other holes in her repertoire. Seven, you’re done on St. George.”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

He nodded curtly and left us.

I bit the inside of my cheek so I wouldn’t cry.

“Hey, you’re not a failure, so stop thinking it.”

I shook my head. “Know why I don’t swim? It’s not that I haven’t been to a lake before.”

Thirteen sat next to me. “Okay…”

“I’m afraid to put my head underwater, to be completely engulfed by a substance I can’t breathe. Mama told me once that my father tried taking me to a toddler class at the Y before he bailed. I freaked in the pool, she said. Never took me back. Mama had to worry more about puttin’ food on the table once she was alone.”

“Do you remember the lesson at all?”

“No. Only the fear. I’d wade in the lake a bit when my youth group made trips, but I always conveniently ‘forgot’ a swimsuit so they wouldn’t ask me to play. Pathetic, right?”

“Nah. We all have phobias in here somewhere,” he said, tapping his temple.

“What’s yours?”

“Oh, no…you’ll have to get me drunk first.” He stood and started walking to the barracks. I hurried to keep up.

“But I just shared mine.”

“And I’ll keep your secret, but no.”

“Awww…please?”

I tried to get him to fess up the whole way home, but he wouldn’t budge.