A stern female voice announced over the motor yard’s internal PA system: “Each recruit will be called by name. When your name is called, exit the door and enter the rear left door of the vehicle waiting outside. Do not hesitate, do not look around, do not waste time”.
The recruits glanced at each other nervously.
“So we are to be separated? I thought this would be an assignment to test as as a unit?”, recruit Wills whispered with an edge of panic in his voice, no sign of his earlier enthusiasm evident.
“It makes sense,” whispered recruit Hickey, a short, attractive girl back at him, “Xs operate alone as often as in a unit. The XAA is probably to test our skill in completing a task independently”.
The PA system crackled for a moment, silencing any further conversation and then announced: “Recruit Bennett”. Recruit Bennett swallowed audibly in the silence, glanced at his unit and promptly marched out of the door into the blinding light. The recruits were called alphabetically, one by one, at intervals of about 5 minutes, until only Beth, recruit O’Mally, recruit Wills and recruit Watts was left.
When recruit O’Mally was called he looked at Beth for a moment with a strange expression, seeming to be on the verge of saying something before shaking his head just visibly and then departing. Beth frowned slightly at this.
A minute or so, knowing that she was next, Beth started breathing faster, as if having been running. Her name was called and she departed from the last two recruits without a word. She walked into the sunlight and took half a moment to have her eyes adjust to the light. In front of her stood strange 4 wheeled vehicle. It was roughly the same size as the humvees that normally transported them to the further corners of the fort’s compound. This vehicle however had pitch black tinted windows and was heavily camouflaged. Clearly a vehicle that had to move around stealthily outside of the compound. The left rear door stood open and Beth climbed in with a tiny backward glance.
The door closed behind Beth a moment after she got in and she was surprised to see that the front half of the vehicle was completely sealed off from her. She also noticed that her windows were in fact not tinted but were blacked out. She could not see through them at all. The vehicle was dark inside, only two small lights providing illumination from the ceiling. The vehicle started moving less than 10 seconds after the door being closed.
The sensation felt wrong as Beth could hear basically nothing and see less. She noticed a tablet on the seat next to her and she started reading the instructions.
“Greetings Recruit
Welcome to your X Assessment Assignment. Your orders are simple:
Proceed to the point indicated on your map, which will be made available to you upon reaching your infiltration point, and destroy the target. The time in which you may complete your Assessment is two weeks, starting the moment the infiltration point is reached.
You will be extracted once your target is destroyed.
Inside your gear is an emergency device. Once activated, for whichever reason, you will be extracted. Activating the device automatically ends your assignment, the consequences of which is the same as failing to destroy your target in the allotted time.
Failing to complete your objective will result in failure of your X Assessment Assignment and transfer to a suitable military department. When the allotted time is up your emergency beacon will be automatically activated and you, or your corpse if found, will be retrieved.
Good luck and Godspeed”
Beth read the paragraph a second time and swallowed loudly. “Just what am I about to face?” she asked the vehicle’s interior.
***
“Not too much longer” she whispered to herself in an attempt to soothe her nerves.
She wasn’t exactly correct in her assessment of the remaining distance. More than an hour of bumpy and painful jostling followed before the vehicle suddenly stopped. A small speaker somewhere in the ceiling stated in a clearly recorded voice “You have reached your infiltration point recruit. Leave the vehicle and get your gear from the trunk. This vehicle will stay in this location for several hours before leaving. Good luck”. A moment later the door clicked and opened wide, leaving Beth once again squinting against the bright sunlight.
Beth got out of the vehicle and started surveying her surroundings. The vehicle had stopped in a depression between a number of hills, each being at least a mile away. She could see nothing but sloping terrain in all directions. She sighed and knew she’d have to figure out where she was when she climbed one of the hills. She walked to the back of the vehicle and collected the single pack. She thought about going over her gear first but reconsidered, deciding to do so when she reached the top of the hill, wasting as little time as possible. She pulled out the map and saw that her target, marked with a red circle, was in the eastern part of the island. She knew that the fort was in the western side of the island, which inevitably meant that she would be traveling East. She glimpsed at the sun, judged that it was still before noon and started hiking with the sun in her face towards the Eastern hill before snapping a quick salute to the unseen driver of her vehicle.
Beth reached the top of the hill, higher and steeper than she had initially judged, and sat down in the shade of a small tree. She checked her pack and discovered that her gear consisted of the map, two canteens of water, a small pack of trail rations, a wide brimmed hat, a knife, a small first aid kit, a metal pot, a spoon, a flint and what she took to be the emergency device. She knew she would rather die than active the device. She couldn’t shame her parents by forfeiting. She noted that there were no explosives and therefore she would have to improvise once she found out what her target was.
Beth was thankful for the hat. Her fair skin was not very fond of the sun, as evidenced as by the light dusting of freckles on her nose and cheeks. She quickly tied up her long, shoulder blades length red hair into a ponytail and secured it under her hat. She stood up and surveyed her surroundings, quickly learning her general location and the direction of her target. The sun was shining brightly and warmly. She undid the bottom half of her fatigue shirt and tied the loose lapels around her waist with a loose knot, exposing her flat stomach to the gentle breeze. She gently ran her hand over her stomach, secretly pleased with its physical attractiveness. A lifetime of exercise had left her with an athletic body, flat stomach and strong legs. She was not very tall but was fit and strong.
Beth took off her boots and socks, allowing her feet to cool off from the surprisingly taxing climb and also allowing her socks to dry out in the sun on a nearby rock. She would not allow herself to dehydrate. She looked at her toes and smiled to herself. Painting her toenails bright pink was the only overly feminine pleasure she allowed herself.
She stuck her legs straight out in front of her and surveyed her map again. She was not sure exactly where she was but she was sure of the general direction of her target. She knew that the XAA wouldn’t be a race against time and therefore she was assured that she would not have to walk as fast as possible. She allowed herself five more minutes of rest before setting off again.
***
Dusk found Beth a few miles east of her infiltration point in a lightly wooded region. She had been searching for a water source since setting off, knowing that water would always be the most important concern. Her first canteen was half empty already. She was also looking for a sheltered spot to make camp for the night. She walked a few minutes longer when she started hearing what sounded like flowing water. She turned in the direction and found the stream. It was not wide or deep but the water was clear. The water was also flowing East. She knew that it would not be irradiated as the radiation spill was on the eastern edge of the island.
She glanced at the sky and knew that she had only a few minutes of sunlight left. She quickly found a sheltered spot, a large jutting rock next to a thick stand of trees. “This should shelter me from the wind” she thought to herself. She took off her pack and immediately started gathering wood for a fire. It wasn’t cold enough to need the heat but the light would be a comfort, especially to someone who had never been alone outside for more than a few hours.
With the small fire burning merrily she walked to the stream to refill her canteen and pot. She knelt next to the stream, the canteen in one hand, resting her other hand on what she took to be a rock right next to the water for support. The moment she touched the object she knew that the failing light had deceived her eyes, but it was too late, her momentum carrying her hand downward and crushing the massive mushroom. The mushroom was hollow except for its dust-like spores, which exploded all around her, going into her mouth and eyes. At least she was quick enough to exhale immediately and did not breath any of it in.
She immediately threw herself into the stream, washing her eyes and mouth. The water was freezing but she did not care. The spores could kill her for all she knew. She emerged from the water several minutes later, fairly certain that she was safe. She quickly refilled her canteen and the pot a few yards upstream from the devious mushroom and headed back to camp. She briskly climbed the short incline to her camp and put down her the pot and canteen.
She stood back up and suddenly felt the world spin. She stood still for a moment, wondering if she had breathed in any of the spores after all. Another wave of dizziness hit her suddenly and she lurched awkwardly and tried to grab onto a nearby branch. She felt a blinding sting in her right hand and belatedly realised that the branch was covered in small sharp thorns. She let go of the branch instinctively and the last thing she saw was the ground rushing up at her at an alarming rate.
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