Chapter 3

Our underground refuge was divided in two parts, strategically placed on opposite sides of our planet. They were called the EAST DORMINE and the WEST DORMINE. The east dormine was protected by the A-squad, and the west dormine was protected by my squad, the B-squad. Each squad was controlled by four special soldiers ranked from the first strongest to the fourth strongest. These soldiers were called CAPTAINS. 

Once every year, we held a fighting tournament to keep our best soldiers kicking, literally. It was almost time for the competition this year and all eight captains were chosen to battle in the tournament. Lucky enough for me, I was one of those captains.

I stepped out of my capsule room and headed towards the military training ground. It was a very large facility that held a variety of heat based training equipments. Everything a soldier would need to boost his strength, stamina and endurance, was kept in this dome like structure our soldiers had nick named 'Hell on earth'. I stepped in, and looked around for what I would start my day with. 

Hearing some military chants build up towards me, I turned to my Commander, jogging around with some soldiers. They were chanting a song which I didn't seem to recognize. I listened to the wordings of the chant.

"Fists we trust to enemies (fist we trust to enemies) Bullet loaded magazines (bullet loaded magazines) Enhanced fighting like the wind (enhanced fighting like the wind) Banging guns that join me sing. (banging guns that join me sing)," were the wordings I could hear my commander and his subordinates yell. My Commander had always been such a good rhymer.

I stared at him leading the soldiers round the field, and figured he was too busy to notice me, but at very bad timing, bad luck struck and he turned to my direction.

"Oh, Kira. You're awake. Come join us," he said. throwing at me, his gentle smile.

"Oh shit," I whispered to my self.

"Uh, Commander, I--my arm still hurts so much. So, uh... I think it's going to take some time before I start, uh... Working... Out," I lied. My arm was perfectly fine. 

Sweat started to roll down my face as if signalling my Commander of my lies. "Oh, really? Well, get well quickly cause the tournament will begin in a few days," he said.

"Well, Sir, I'm not super Micronian. I don't have a high healing factor, or anything of that sort." I lazily said.

"But, you're a B-squad soldier. I expect you to be able to take a little sprain," he defended. "So, why don't you--"

Before he could complete his statement, we both noticed some strange looking soldiers, enter and walk over to the other side of the training facility. 

I turned to my Commander and asked, "Are those our competitors for this year's match?" 

"Yes. They look tough, don't they?" My Commander replied with a weird smile. "Why don't we go say hi?" he continued, and I couldn't help but frown as we both walked towards them.

As we approached them, their Commander came forward and shook hands with my Commander after they had saluted each other.

"Commander Michael. Its been such a long time," the A-squad Commander said.

My Commander chuckled. "Actually, it's been only a year Commander Solomon," he corrected, and concluded "But it is nice to see your face again." 

"Well it's always a pleasure," the A-squad commander replied. He then turned to me. "And who is this young beauty you have here with you?" he asked. 

My commander replied, "Actually she's one of the soldiers that will represent the west dormine in the tournament. She's also one of the best soldiers in the west domine."

The A squad commander smiled at me. "Is that so? What's your name, young captain?"

I looked straight into his eyes and with the intention of saluting, I swung the side of my right palm towards my forehead with enormous force.

"My name is Kira Tyson, sir. Number 27th soldier in the B-squad, Ranked 3rd most powerful soldier in the west dormine, sir."

The A-squad commander, looking impressed, said, "Oh, wow. Third best in the squad, ey? Well, I'd love to see you show how deserving you are of that position in the tournament." 

"Very well, sir." I replied without hesitation.

Some seconds later, my Commander turned to me and whispered, "You saluted with so much force. Say, isn't that the arm that you said still hurt really bad?"

A bit shocked, I stuttered, "Uh... I have nothing else to say, commander."

My Commander laughed a bit. "Of course you don't," he said. 

After a few minutes, he and the A-squad Commander walked away talking about their Commander duties and personal concerns. I was left alone with the A-squad competitors, so i then decided to greet them. 

As I turned around, I met face-to-face with these soldiers, staring at me like I committed some grave offence, you could say they peered at me with death stares. It was starting to get awkward, so I decided to leave the room. 

I took a deep breath and slowly turned away from them, as I walked towards the exit, one of them called out to me. I turned around to see who it was and met face-to-face with one of the male A-squad competitors. He was very tall, muscular, and quite handsome. 

I was a little bit shocked too because his face was close to mine. Very close. He slowly leaned towards my left ear, and whispered, "I heard you survived a blast that literally turned more than a hundred war machines to ash." My eyes opened wide as I heard this. 

"What are you talking about?, it was just luck," I said, trying to clarify that it was nothing to talk about. 

"Luck?" he scoffed in disbelief. "That's what you're going to go with? You managed to survive 2000 giga joules of heat energy almost unfazed and you call it luck? I know you are hiding something Kira. And I'm going to find out what." He said, turned around and began walking towards his team.

An annoyance built up in my chest and filled me with the words that finally burst out of my mouth, "Are you afraid of me? Are you afraid I might beat you and your team members in the tournament?"

He stopped walking and turned around. He laughed a bit, cracked his knuckles, and glared at me. "Why don't you show me what you got, Kira Tyson?"