CHAPTER 168: 168-BREAK A LEG

Clementine:

We were briskly walking back to our rooms to put on the uniforms that had been cleaned and returned to us.

"They said it will be a joint task. There will be no winning or losing team. We need to work together because we’ll be entering the most infested part of the North," I reminded my squadmates. I didn’t want us to be competitive with anyone, especially since I had noticed the white squad and ours exchanging harsh glares. I didn’t want that animosity to get in the way.

"Don’t worry, we won’t do that," Yorick said with a hand gesture, trying to comfort me with the thought that he didn’t plan to ruin anything for the mainlanders.

"And also, they’re giving us maps this time, even food, so I imagine this task is really sacred," Troy added, pointing out the extra help we were being given.

"But you do realize that eventually we’ll have to decide who will be the one in charge of quickly noting down the pattern. Then another will need to be ready with the cloth in hand, wipe it clean fast, and pass it to the one carving again. We can’t leave it to just one person. Even the second wasted when the one with the handkerchief puts it down and grabs the weapon could be critical," Haiden explained, making it clear how important time would be.

"Right. Who’s good at carving or remembering? Someone who will carve without a mistake?" I asked, and our eyes all shifted to Ian walking in front of us. His broad shoulders swung left to right as he walked, held a little too high. I could almost see him rolling his eyes before he raised his hand.

"Of course me," he grunted.

"Then we’ll speak to the other squadmates. Let’s see if they have someone who can be quick in cleaning the stone," I said. Of course, one of us could do it too, but we didn’t want them thinking we were trying to steal all the spotlight. We wanted to let others be involved, so there would be no more complaints and no more animosity.

After we slipped into our uniforms, we met at the hall again, and by then we could tell the white squad had something to say. Joshua stepped forward before the ringleaders came back to hand us the maps.

"Is there anyone who is good at carving? Our squad is just good at little things like hiding things, betraying, fucking someone near the kitchen door, stabbing someone, maybe even their best friend in the back," he started. The way he began his lecture was so uncomfortable.

Our eyes went to Suki, who looked flushed with temper, and then to Jack. He looked shameless. I mean, betraying your friend like this, going behind his back and sleeping with his mate, that was beyond disgusting. And the fact that they kept it hidden from him for so long, while he foolishly supported Suki.

"Ian can do that," I said, pointing at him. Joshua stared at me a little too long before nodding.

"I can remember it, I can quickly draw the pattern," Joshua said, pointing at his own chest. "Who is quick at cleaning?"

I think even Joshua laughed when he said that. Maybe it came out wrong. Everyone just looked around awkwardly because nobody wanted that job. Was it too easy? Or was it too sacred? Whoever had to clean it would need to press hard. It wasn’t like cleaning a floor. Even if it was, why the hell was it so funny to them?

I noticed Troy, Yorick, and even Haiden didn’t want to raise their hands. But Matthias stepped forward confidently from the red squad and raised his.

"Uh, dude, you— I mean, no hard feelings, but don’t you have one eye?" Joshua blurted out, then quickly shut up before going further.

That was when the ringleaders came in, and he stepped back. They brought three maps, and each handed one to their own squad.

"Now go break a leg and come back alive," Mr. Rick said, clapping his hands for us to turn around and head to the train station where we’d find our bags, food, and the rest of the supplies.

Once we left the hall, we noticed the air growing thicker. That had never happened on the mainland. Sure, the sky would turn red whenever someone died, but this wasn’t even that. The sky was murky now, and we could only imagine why. The towers had truly been breached. The net was tearing.

"Break a leg doesn’t mean literally, okay?" Troy teased the white squad, pointing out how hostile they were and how they always relied on violence. But ever since Joshua had found out about the betrayal from his mate and best friend, they hadn’t really been interested in fighting back, at least for now.

Everyone looked anxious because of the state of the clouds, the sky itself. This was a huge responsibility on us, and we were worried that if we fucked up, we’d cost the lives of so many people. After a deep breath, we boarded the train and were brought to the station. We all got on and sat down in our own carriages, with the green squad gone and the blue squad ringleader kicked out since they had been merged into red.

I just felt so lonely now. We never got the chance to communicate with the others or mix with them. I know that wasn’t the purpose of our journey, but still, it would’ve been nice if we all knew each other and worked together.

I was in the middle of thinking about that when suddenly I felt a harsh push against my back and almost fell off my seat. Haiden, sitting across from me, had spread his legs to steady himself and grabbed my shoulders to keep me in place. I held on to his wrist as our carriage shook. The others were holding tight too, and after a while it stopped moving. But then we began to hear mechanical voices.

Our eyes turned to each other, our heads snapping around. Troy got up, trying to look through the glass door into the other carriages. The others looked completely fine. The white squad in front of us seemed calm, just sitting there, discussing and going through the map. Yorick rushed to the back door to check on the red squad, but they sat still like nothing was happening. So what the hell was wrong with our carriage?

Then we heard it. A mechanical, robotic sound, almost like the wiring of the train catching a signal from somewhere, like a distorted call when your phone picks up someone else’s line.

"Was it really necessary?" It was a woman’s voice. The way she pronounced her words sounded familiar, but the distortion made it impossible to recognize her. The real question was, why the hell were we even hearing voices?