"Vale Rowan – passed."
Raine's name flickered on the cracked holo-screen, and for a full second, she didn't believe it. She blinked. Then blinked again.
"Holy shit," she whispered, her chest still tight with the kind of anxiety that claws under your ribs and nests there. "I actually passed."
"Correction," Sienna said, sidling up beside her and nudging her tray forward. "We passed. You owe me your soul Or at least one bottle of firefruit vodka when we get our next ration drop."
Raine huffed a laugh "Deal. But only if we both make it through Combat Tactics tomorrow. I heard second years sliced a guy's forearm open last week just for blinking too slow."
Sienna just grinned, all teeth showing like that didn't baffle her a bit "Then we'd better blink fast." she laughed.
The line in the cafeteria crawled forward, metal trays scraping against dented surfaces.
She could smell burnt protein paste and something that may have once been beans, but had long since given up on that identity. Raine didn't care. She could've eaten a shoe and still called it a victory meal.
Because she was still here. Still in this academy no matter how unqualified she was.
Well not really do unqualified, Arinze said cheating is also a tactics of passing her after all.
The girl behind her wasn't so lucky. She was weeping heavily meaning she failed and 'Expelled' was the Academy's polite way of saying you were useless to us, so kindly get the fuck out before you embarrass the rest of us. And honestly, that was the best-case scenario. If you flunked the trial entrance exam, you didn't get a ride home. You got a body bag. That is If they even found your body.
Raine took her tray, some sort of grey paste with a side of… mush? .
It resembled overcooked porridge, mushy peas, or gruel served in prisons or old boarding schools.
"You hear about Auron?" Sienna asked, plopping down across from her, tossing her damp braid over one shoulder. "Didn't just fail Math. Apparently tried to hack the system to change his score. His dorm was scrubbed."
Raine's blood ran cold. "Scrubbed? The one that said the Academy chose him?"
"yeah, weirdo. He's Gone. His stuff Cleared out like he never existed. Desk empty. Mattress gone. His name's not even on the registry anymore."
A chill skated down Raine's spine " guess the academy didn't choose him after all" She stabbed her mush with a spork, her appetite suddenly gone. "This place is a meat grinder."
"Then don't be meat," Sienna said with a shrug. "Be the damn blade."
Raine let that settle for a second. She was still breathing. She used her inhaler twice before she was able to eat.
"You've had asthma since you were young? Or it just suddenly started?"
"I grew up like this. It was worst when I was born. I'd only survive on oxygen for months.
Sienna paused, mid-bite, her eyes lifting slowly. "Wait. You mean, like... NICU tubes and machines and all that?"
Raine nodded, scooping up a pathetic amount of grey paste and pretending it wasn't sliding like sludge. "Yeah. Mom said the doctors told her not to get attached. I was a goner."
"Damn," Sienna murmured, voice lower now, a little more serious. "Guess you've been defying death since day one."
"But that doesn't work here," Raine said " do you know if they sell inhaler at the the School clinic?. It will soon be a year since I started using this one"
Sienna leaned forward, eyes sharp. " I'm not exactly sure about that. You can check that out "
" I wish we were roommates"
"Are you a pervert?"
"No no. I meant that having a nice person as you as my roommate would be great. That monster man in my room is still not trying to get along"
A low siren groaned somewhere in the building, followed by a hiss of the overhead speaker system kicking on.
"All first-years ," a cold female voice rang out, robotic and entirely devoid of emotion. "Report to the Outer Yard 2 for Combat Tactics Assessment. Delay equals disqualification. You have five minutes."
Sienna groaned, dropping her spork with a clatter. "I swear, these people don't believe in digestion."
Raine pushed her tray away.
They both stood, grabbing their packs and weapons belts, checking twice that their blades were fastened tight and their stun cuffs still juiced up.
Raine's fingers trembled a bit as she adjusted her vest and used her inhaler again. Whether it was nerves or the cold, she wasn't sure. Probably both. Her lungs already ached a little, the weight of panic tightening her chest.
Sienna noticed. "You got your inhaler. Don't worry you will be fine. Your are a man after all"
Raine patted her hip pouch. "Yeah. I guess so"
"Good. Keep it close. Some of those instructors don't give a damn"
They sprinted down the corridor, their boots hammering on steel flooring. Other first-years emerged from side halls, a stream of half-trained soldiers pouring toward the Outer Yard. Some looked excited, others pale as ghosts. A few were already psyching themselves up with quick stretches
Raine just focused on breathing.
When they emerged into the Outer Yard, the cold slapped her across the face. The sky was a low grey lid overhead, pressing down on the academy like it hated them all. The yard was half snow, half mud.
One of the instructors, a woman with cybernetic eyes and a neck tattoo of a black serpent stepped forward.
"Combat Tactics Assessment begins now. Pairs will be selected at random."
A holoscreen blinked to life behind her, names flickered on them.
Sienna crossed her fingers. "Please, let me get someone with two left feet."
Raine just muttered, "Please don't let me pass out in front of everyone."
SIENNA X Rowan
They stared at each other.
Sienna whooped. "Okay! That's what I'm talking about! You and me, let's go."
Raine blinked. "Wait… against each other?"
Sienna's grin didn't fade. "That's how they do it, Rowan It's not a group hug session. It's survival training. One of us walks away with a win. The other, well, doesn't."
Raine's stomach dropped. "You're seriously okay fighting me?"
"I like you, I mean I like that it's like this. I want to test my strength after all and you would be the best bet" Sienna said, tightening the strap on her gloves. "and yeah I didn't come here to make friends. I came here to survive."
Raine nodded slowly. She understood. She really did. Still, as she stepped into the muddy arena, her fingers brushing her inhaler one last time, she couldn't off the shake the thought.