Chapter 7: Please, avoid death at all times!

I thought train like this was harsh, barely a second to consider how futile my situation was. I was up against seasoned soldiers and, per Dr. Simoms request, they were actually trying to kill me.

Of course, if they went all out, it probably wouldn't be that hard. So, I'd been provided with a, as Bobby put it ", a comfortable handicap."

It didn't feel comfortable. Comfortable was sitting in front of the fireplace in winter with a nice cup of cocoa, or my bed during those extra couple of hours of sleep on a Saturday morning.

Not this. This was the literal antithesis of comfortable.

My 'handicap' was that Hazaal would not be able to move from her sniper nest throughout the duration of the exercise. Bobby was also not allowed any weapons, nor was he able to grapple in any way.

It didn't seem to hinder them much.

I found myself redefining my understanding of fractures from this. Having such a large training area obviously struck me as strange. Could fractures be so effective on such a large scale? Were they as destructive as this reinforced area would lead me to believe?

The large dome-like structure, about the size of a football stadium like the one those big Spanish clubs have, was multi-terrain.

Similar to Football stadiums, the entrance was like walking out of the tunnel onto a pitch, a large flat grassland. Unlike a pristine football pitch, however, this field had varying lengths of grass all over, some patches long enough to crouch and hide in, others short enough to not get in the way of low sweeping kicks.

A small number of trees could be found scattered around the centre. From my former days as a historian studying wars and military history, I could understand why there was only a small number, deliberately scattered around.

If this was a training area, where fractured train against each other, whether its 1 v 1 or as teams, practising what to do when being drawn out into the open against unfavourable odds was smart.

In place of where the stands and VIP areas of a stadium would be were large sloped areas, split into four separate types of terrain.

On one side, towering at various heights were spires of orange-brown desert rock, like the sort you'd expect to see a daredevil rock climber hoisting themselves up. This was where Hazaal was camped out.

Opposite the rocky area in stark contrast, was a stinky swampy glob of trees and other humid-loving foliage. Warm, humid air colliding with cooler surroundings created a noxious misty cloud, which even at a distance, retained a rancid stench.

Lengthways, on both sides of the rock and swamp area, was dense forests, containing a plethora of different species of trees from fur to silver birch.

It was this area I currently found myself in, reluctantly cowering under the cavernous roots of a large oak tree. Preferably, I'd be out there, actively making an effort to complete the current challenge. But what was that? I was told not to die, that was my single objective for this exercise. So, while it might not be courageous to hide, I was, in essence, doing what I was told - if it kept me safe that is.

Bobby and Hazaal weren't pulling their punches either. At least I don't think they were. Bobby was telling the truth when he said he could dig through anything organic too. My only qualm about this hiding spot is that, earlier during the exercise, I thought I was safe in a nice rocky cove.

How naive I was. I was tucked securely in there for less than 2 minutes, just long enough to give me a false sense of security, before Bobby burst through the wall out of nowhere. It was only for a split second but he genuinely looked like a crazed, rabid mole hunting their prey.

Hazaal on the other hand was working from a distance. It was still unclear what her fracture was because she was still using a damn rifle, with impeccable accuracy might I add.

Presumably, either out of sympathy or because she liked me, possibly even both, Hazaal told me the first shot she landed wouldn't be a fatal one, but rather a warning hit in my upper right arm.

Well, my right arm had a nice hole in it and if I wasn't careful, my head or chest could be next.

Tucked away in my cubby hole, hoping to avoid the dangers of my fellow fractured, my mind wandered. Had Abi and Dion hidden like this, in all manner of dirt while I was in stasis, oblivious to the perils around me?

I huffed a sigh, relieving the pit of emotion building in my stomach. My emotions taking hold of me in a situation like this is exactly why I needed training. Compartementalising to separate my feelings of guilt and retaining focus is what I needed to do right now to be able to continue breathing.

Getting ahold of myself proved to be necessary as well. Not 10 seconds after I'd been spacing out, dirt began to crumble and fall from the arch of my small make-shift hideout, as vibrations began to reverberate the earth around me.

This sensation was all too familiar. I'd experienced Bobby's surprise attacks a couple of times in the beginning stages of this exercise already. The first came shortly after I was given a 1-minute head start while hiding among the rocky area, the second came in transit from the rocky area to the forest, while Bobby was hunting me down.

Both times the vibrations of his fierce digging were prominent, even over the sound of blood rushing through my ears from my racing heart.

I had to move, and quickly. I hadn't discovered what his method of attack would be yet since my last encounters were fleeting. He wasn't allowed to use weapons and if he was going to opt for hand to hand again, well, I'd already been on the end of his beatings today.

Moving cautiously out from under the tree, I scanned the area, on the lookout for any signs of Bobby. I wasn't sure if this would do any good anyway. Bobby could be underground for all I knew. I still didn't know exactly what he was capable of, so I had to learn on the fly.

Running along the dirt tracks, weaving between the trees, I rushed as fast as I could, as far as I could away from the former safe embrace of the oak tree.

My mind was ablaze with activity, tripping over itself trying to think of a solution.

'fwoarh! damn swamp stinks' I thought, practically able to taste the stenches with every laden breath.

That's when it came to me. The god-awful smells igniting my synapses like matchsticks fizzing into life.

Bobby could dig through earth, he said anything organic. When I was in the rocky area and I felt the vibrations, he appeared relatively quickly, within seconds. But sat underneath the tree, the length of time Bobby's fracture shook the ground was distinctly longer.

The sheer fact I was able to get away without him appearing meant one of two things. Either the length of time he was taking to reach my position was taking longer, or he was intentionally herding me toward an area he wanted me to go.

I suspected though, due to the fact there seemed to be no trace of him chasing me as of yet, that different sediments were easier and harder for him to dig through.

If my suspicions were correct, the viscosity of the sediment he was digging through made it either harder or easier to navigate. So, having taken countless breaths of the rancid swamp air, it made me think that softer ground might be more difficult to traverse for him.

That's where I'd go then. Hopefully, I could dart around in the swamp, frustrating his chase and securing a method of evasion for myself. As an added bonus, the canopy of the tree's should also provide cover from Hazaal's fire as well.

It might not have been the best plan, but it was the only plan.

At my current pace, I was about 10 seconds out from the swamp.

The only thing rushing through my head was 'I can make it, I can make it!'

My ankles were coping well with the bumpy terrain and the physical conditioning I had been doing had improved my cardiovascular fitness.

My morale was high, I was adapting to the challenge in front of me and the object of this exercise was becoming more clear to me. I had to think on my feet under pressure... and avoid dying... obviously.

So, it came to my surprise as I was about 20 meters away from the swamp, a great big grin on my face, as several trees fell ahead of me blocking my path into the disgusting pit of mud and stagnant water.

I stopped in my tracks, the focus I had dispersing, allowing panic to once again seep through the cracks of my psyche.

I turned back and forth, trying to figure out my next move. My surroundings were alien to me, the world felt like it was spinning as my brain was being overloaded with information.

That's when it happened. Bursting out of the floor like a jack in the box springing into life, Bobby cackled as mud and pebbles scattered outward with his momentum.

In our tactical lessons, both he and Hazaal taught me that high ground was always the most advantageous and versatile. So, why did Bobby choose to unearth himself from the lower ground further down the hill?

"Sorry man, looks like we win!" he shouted, emotionless, as if he was avoiding humanising me and simply viewing me as an objective.

Bobby's gaze averted from me to the base of the tree he was standing next to. Lifting his leg from the ground and stamping into the dirt at the base of the tree, I realised what he was about to do.

My lack of information on Bobby's fracture led me into a false sense of security. I wasn't aware of the versatility of it and thanks to this, he was able to employ tactics I wasn't even able to comprehend.

It only took a second or so. The shade that had been shielding me from Hazaal's sight began to clear as the ground Bobby had just collapsed consumed the tree he was next to. The space the branches and leaves had been in was now wide open, with a perfect view of Hazaal's nest.

Like history repeating I heard was the brief snapping of an explosion, this time Hazaal's gunfire, and then everything turned black. I returned to slumber once again.