Commando

Commando Chapter 3

Commando Chapter 3-
The room was silent as I looked at all the cards. Black for Commando, Green for Centurion, Pink for Lafushia, Blue for Tolentino, and Orange for Mala. If I chose black I would become a Commandee. I liked that. I just didn’t want Jason to come with me. But I had to make myself happy. I walked up to the table and slit my hand across the black card. I was the first person to do this and the only girl ever from Centurion to choose Commando. The people whispered back and forth and the announcer had to yell for them to quiet down. He bowed to be and said, “May your life be filled with bravery and honor as you go to Commando to fulfil your destiny.” I nodded and went to stand with the Commando-born initiates. They nodded to me and the announcer called, “Jason Newman.” He looked at me and I shook my head hoping that he would choose what he wanted instead of following me. He looked at all of the cards, grief and pain written on his face but he finally walked toward the blue card for Tolentino and slit his hand watching the blood drip onto the blue card. He looked at me with a look of betrayal. I shook my head and smiled, hoping he would see I was happy with his decision. After the ceremony they let us say goodbye to our family. I walked up to Jason and hugged him. He hugged me back and said in my ear, “I’m sorry.” I pulled back, “Don’t be Jason. It was your choice. I’m glad you didn’t follow me! You need to be happy. I love you Jason. Don’t forget that.” He nodded and kissed my head before letting me go. I walked back to my new group and we started off towards my new home.
We ran along a narrow mountain path on the way to Commando. The mountain had a very narrow side to it and we were crossing that part of the mountain. We had to jump across gaps and climb up some parts of the mountain when we couldn’t cross. The Commando-born initiates were having fun and laughing while doing this while us non-commando- born initiates were trying not to fall or trip. I knew they were more practiced in this but really? Why not a little praise for all our work? But then I heard something that made me stop dead in my tracks. A scream, not just any scream, a scream clearly meaning, “I’m falling!” I looked down and saw an initiate falling, to her death. I put back the sob and kept climbing. I knew everyone was affected by this, but they carried on trying to make it. We didn’t need any more casualties. Everyone practically scrambled up the rock and onto the new path and everyone pressed up against the dirt wall trying to stay as far away from the edge as possible. No one joked or laughed at something someone else said, they all had a serious look. It was like they had been reminded of the dangers that they were facing.
The trek up the mountain had taken most of the night. We had had little lights to guide our way to the Commando city base. None of us actually knew what Commando looked like. For all we knew it was underground. I just wish someone had told us how close to home we had hit. Because when we got to a little patch in the path, the initiates and the two leaders stopped in the middle of the path and looked at the ground. The gaping hole that I had expected we would go around was actually a cover up for a real hole. I guess they didn’t want someone to accidently fall into the real hole and find Commando City. The leaders lifted the fake hole up and moved it to the side revealing the real hole. They looked at everyone and said, “Well? Who wants to go first?” Whispered controversy went around the whole group but no one volunteered. I looked around and walked forward. Everyone parted ways and I said, “Is there something to break my fall?” The male leader smiled slyly and said, “Why don’t you find out?” I shivered at his remark and stepped up to the entrance of the hole. Commando-born initiates whispered feverishly, probably mad that a non-commando-born initiate was out doing them. I looked down and let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding and looked around at the group. Some looked scared, others looked kind of mad. I turned back around and took that one step forward and plunged hard into the hole.
No scream left my lips even though I knew I was scared to death. But when I was plunged into a pool of water I instantly bobbed up to the surface and with a big gulp of air I wadded to the side. A man stood at the edge with a towel in hand and helped me out of the pool. Soon a scream filled the dark quiet cave and a splash echoed across the dark void. A head bobbed up and a huge gasp for air escaped the boys lips. The man who helped me grabbed a new towel and helped him out too. Then he said, “Names?” I knew that now was a new life. I could make a new life for myself. “Layla, Centurion.” He yelled, “First jumper: Layla, Centurion!” A guy I hadn’t noticed ran toward a hole and yelled his new information. The man looked at the boy who had jumped, “Name?” The boy gulped, “Kian, Mala.” The guy yelled, “Second jumper: Kian, Mala.” Again the same process. The announcer introduced himself as Reece and that he would actually be our mentor. We waited for the rest of the jumpers and then he led us in a maze of tunnels. But when you looked at the walls you saw slats that were covered in dirt. He led us towards the farthest outreaches of the city and took us through one of these dirt covered slates. The room was not as I thought it would be. The walls were covered in cement to hold the dirt from falling and the floor was wood slated and then there were stairs up. Reece pointed at the two sets of stairs and said, “Girls on the right, boys on the left.” We all went our separate ways and found a big room at the top. Bunk beds were lined up against the walls and the girls all streamed out to the beds. I hurried towards the first bunk and got to the bottom. A girl stood by herself while the others took beds and bickered with each other. I noticed she kind of stood in her own group and decided to take it upon myself to make her happy, “Hey! Do you want top or bottom?” She looked shocked that I had even talked to her but walked over nonetheless. She pointed at the top and smiled shyly. I nodded at her smiling and she climbed to the top. “Hey. What’s your name?” I asked. “Tasha. You?” She answered back shyly. “Layla, I come from Centurion.” She got down from the bed and sat at the foot of the bed. “I come from Tolentino. Didn’t your brother transfer there?” I nodded, “He wanted to follow me but I told him that he needed to follow his heart, not his baby sister. He wanted to write and paint the stories of his childhood with me and he got that chance. I didn’t want him to follow me.” She nodded, “I understand. My big sister did that. She didn’t want me to follow her. She went to Centurion.” My head shot up and I said, “What? What’s her name?” She must have looked confused, “Annie, why?” I knew her. I knew that she was the girl that my dad brought home. I squeezed my eyes shut tight and sighed. Tasha looked confused, “Is she OK? What’s wrong?” “Tasha, she had an affair with my father. I-I’m sorry.” She looked at me in shock. I knew her head was trying to twist around this new set of information. “You can’t be serious. Can you?” She whispered. “I wish I wasn’t. I’m sorry Tasha.” I silently said. She nodded and got up from my bed silently and climbed into her own and soon by the bed shaking I knew she was crying. I sighed and lay down on the bed trying to forget about what I just had to tell her. I felt bad. It was all my dad’s fault too. The chatter of girls soon quieted down and sleep consumed all of us.