Chapter 2
Saffi has me complete five more missions before I am allowed to leave, working me until the very last possible second and giving me just ten minutes until school starts. I have just enough time to change out of my sweaty clothes, grab my tablet containing my school books, and make it to my first class, History with Civics Applications, before the bell rings. Today we are learning about the formation of our country, the NAA, a topic that I’ve heard thousands of times. I doodle idly on my tablet, my attention drifting free of the over packed classroom. The sound of my name being called brings me back to reality and I glance up to the front of the room. The teacher is looking at me expectantly and I blush at being caught daydreaming.
“Uh sorry, what was the question?” I ask.
“I was wondering if you could explain to the class the significance of the Unity Act,” she replies sweetly, clearly aware that I hadn’t been paying attention. Thankfully, I actually know what the Unity Act is and I fumble to put my thoughts in order.
“Um, well, before the Unity Act, The United States and Canada were two separate countries. But when the Climate Disaster of 2088 struck both governments failed in the chaos that followed. Most of the U.S coast was underwater and desertification made the southern states uninhabitable. Extreme temperatures turned northern Canada into an artic wasteland. Refugees from the affected areas were flooding into the safe zones causing pandemonium that the current governments weren’t designed to handle. The Unity Act rescued us from destruction and brought back order by combining the remaining portions of the United States and Canada into one country, the Northern American Alliance and created its three governing councils: the Public Safety Council, the Public Welfare Council, and the Public Defense Council.”
The teacher nods in approval, “And can you tell us how the Islands came out of this?”
I struggle to remember the exact history behind the Islands. “Well, after the NAA was formed, crime rates were still soaring and they ran out of room in the prisons so the PSC had to come up with a solution, so they decided to create the islands.”
“That’s right, the three councils met in the National Security Convention of 2096 to talk about the formation of the islands…” She goes on to talk about the politics behind their creation and eventually I feel that it is safe for my mind to wander again.
The rest of the day passes with tedious slowness and when the last bell finally dismisses us, my mind is numb and I want nothing better than to return to my living compartment to sleep. However, after a hurried dinner, I force myself to make my way back to the fitness center for the second half of my training. But when I trudge into the gym, it’s not Saffi who is waiting for me.
“Brie!” Someone shrieks excitedly and a tall brown haired girl collides with me, pulling me into a tight hug. “I haven’t seen you in forever!” she shrieks and I extract myself from her arms. It’s my Sera, my best friend, and the girl I practically grew up with on Innocents. Being a year older, Sera was already assigned her official occupation last year and therefore I rarely get to see her anymore. It’s only until I see her standing here in front of me that I realize just how much I’ve missed her.
“Sera! It’s been so weird not having you here,” I tell her, “Next time it better not be a year before I see you again!”
Sera shrugs apologetically, “Sorry, it’s been really busy on Crazies lately. They wouldn’t let me take off until today. So, I hear your test day is coming up this week,” she says happily, “I’m putting my money on maintenance duty on Addicts.”
I shudder; any work on Addicts are the least desirable jobs, assigned to the least talented recruits.
“You nervous?” Sera pries.
“I’d kind of be crazy not to be.”
Sera rolls her eyes, “Come on, you’re practically guaranteed guard duty at Murderers. I mean, by the way Saffi goes on about you, I am totally expecting you to be some kind of bad ass Ninja warrior who can take on, like, six people at once.”
I shrug, “Well, the most I’ve ever attempted was five.”
“See, you have absolutely no reason to be nervous. Take it from someone who has already taken the test, it’s no big deal.”
I laugh “Well, you can’t have done that well on it, since you’re assigned to food and maintenance duty on Crazies. I mean, that is not exactly a very sought-after position.”
Sera brushes this off, “Actually, I’ve been helping with the clinical trials lately,” she informs me, “Anyway, I figured that if this is your last week on Innocents I wanted to be here, and I intend to make the most of it.
I grin, “Do you have anything specific in mind?”
Sera’s blue eyes twinkle mischievously, “You’d better believe it. But that’s going to have to wait until you’re done here. Saffi would eat me alive if she saw me distracting you.”
I look around for the familiar face of my Guards Instructor but can’t find her in the crowd that has gathered here for their lessons. “Have you seen Saffi yet?” I ask.
Sera nods, “Yeah, she’s in the back. Another instructor called in sick so she’s stuck teaching Newbies.” Sera leads me to the back of the gym and I see Saffi surrounded by a group of young Innocents. She’s demonstrating how to properly execute a drill and I marvel at how well she manages to fight one-handed. I rarely get to observe her from an outsider’s prospective.
I join her group and wait until she is done with the demonstration. I have to smile at how fixated the young Innocents are on her, their eyes never leaving her blade. They remind me of myself when I first came here, eager to learn and in awe of Saffi. Saffi catches my glance, smiling as if knowing what I was thinking and then turns to her class.
“Everyone, I’d like you to meet my top student, Brie Vanguard. She’s going to be teaching you about different types of parries and cuts.” Ten faces turn to stare at me and I give Saffi a disgruntled look. It would have been nice to have a little warning that I was teaching beginners today. Sera smirks at my expression and takes a seat at the side of the gym to watch.
I smile at the class, “Hey guys, I’m Brie and I guess I’m your instructor for today.” I give Saffi another pointed glare. First, I demonstrate a series of moves and explain their fundamentals. I then have them pair up to practice. I carefully observe each group as they attempt the handful of new skills that I showed them. I stop briefly to correct a tiny strawberry blonde girl who is twirling her knife so exuberantly, I’m afraid it will go flying out of her small hand.
“Remember,” I tell her, “In a real fight scenario, you’ll tire quickly, so try to keep your actions controlled to save energy.” The girl nods, her eyes wide. “What’s your name?” I ask her.
She looks away shyly, “Jordan,” she replies quietly.
“Okay Jordan, Pretend that there is a glass wall two feet in every direction of you; keep your knife within those walls as much as possible.” I do a quick demonstration and Jordan looks at me in awe.
“Someday, I want to be just as good as you,” she exclaims proudly.
I grin at her, “If you listen to Saffi and practice hard, I think you’ll be better.”
Jordan smiles giddily, “Miss Saffi says that you’re going to be a guard on Murderers! Is that true?” She squeaks excitedly.
“That’s the plan,” I tell her, “I have to take the test first though.”
Jordan stares at me with wide eyes, “You have to take a test? What happens if you fail?”
I try not to laugh, “It’s not that sort of test,” I assure her, “You can’t pass or fail. It just tells you where you’ll best fit in.”
“But what if the test tells me I have to work on Crazies?” She shudders at the thought of it.
“Just work hard now and you won’t have to worry about that,” I tell her bracingly, “Besides, one of my best friends works on Crazies and she insists that it isn’t nearly as bad as they say it is.” Jordan still looks worried, but she returns to her practice with renew
ed purpose.
By the end of their training period most of the students have gotten the hang of the basics and I dismiss them with a feeling of pride. Maybe someday when I’m too old to be a Murderers’ Guard, I’ll come back to teach. It would be nice knowing that I’m still helping to defend the NAA by training the next generation of guards.
It’s only 7:30, so I still have a half hour left of training, and since the Gamer is in use, I spar with some of the advanced students for the rest of my session. Saffi has me take on several of them at a time and even outnumbered, I manage to defeat them without a problem. As I finish my last duel I look around the fitness center reminiscently. Since tomorrow is Friday, and we don’t have lessons on Fridays, this may be the last time I’m in here for a while, being that I am taking my Occupational Test on Saturday. Saffi comes up to me and gives me a half hug,
“I’m going to miss teaching you, Kid,” she says. I smile at the use of her old nickname for me. Since Saffi only teaches the advanced pupils, when I was assigned to her at the age of eleven, I was her youngest student and for the longest time she never learned my name, insisting on calling me Kid.
“I’ll miss you too, Saffi,” I tell her, and it’s true. Ever since I came to Innocents, Saffi has been the closest thing I’ve had to a parent.
“I probably won’t see you before you take your test, so good luck. I know you’re going to shine,” she says, and I’m amused to hear that she sounds a little choked up.
“Good bye, Saffi,” I say, “And thanks for everything.” She gives me another hug before heading out the door.
I meet Sera outside the fitness center and together we make our way to the living compartments. Since Sera now lives in the workers quarters on Crazies, she has to stay in the visitor’s dorm on Innocents. We say our good nights and I head to my building. I shower, washing off all the sweat from training, and change into a comfortable pair of shorts and an old T-shirt. My fifth floor room is hot and stuffy and I’m tempted to open my window. However, the smoke from Thieves is still much too thick so I lie on top of my covers and fall asleep.