The Hallowed War: A Military Sci-Fi Series by T.E. Bakutis

Author:T.E. Bakutis [Bakutis, T.E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aethon Books
Published: 2022-03-28T16:00:00+00:00

24

I SUPPOSE THAT’S PROGRESS

The only girl, a light-skinned Hallowed with short blond hair who looked about my same age, eagerly raised her hand. She all but hopped up and down in padded shoes.

Ashford smiled. “Yes, Bowman?”

“What’s it like to fire a Barghest cannon?” Bowman asked.

I frowned. “Like a kick in the gut.”

Bowman fluttered her eyelashes. “Oh, that’s no fun.”

Another recruit raised his hand, a darker-skinned boy with short black hair and narrow nose. “Did you really train with Captain Sato? Can she really cut a whole Cloudhopper apart with one swing?” The tag on his fatigues read “Nguyen.”

I hadn’t heard anything about her chopping up a Cloudhopper. “When did Captain Sato do that?”

The recruits all glanced at each other, and then Bowman smiled at me again. “So she can do it.”

“I mean…” I glanced at Ashford, who offered absolutely no help. The subtle grin on her lips told me she was enjoying this way more than I was. “Sure, if she wanted. Her sword’s incredible.”

“Cool,” Nguyen said, and his eyes went distant. “Man, I’d love a sword like that.”

A third recruit opened his mouth, probably to pepper me with yet another question, but I raised both hands. Shockingly, they all listened. I really was starting to feel old.

I glanced at Ashford. “Am I being interviewed? Or are you punching me in the face?”

Ashford’s smile grew. “Pay attention, class. Now that I have an experienced partner, we’ll be demonstrating a number of techniques for taking down a charging Class Four opponent.”

“Hot damn!” Nguyen shouted. “I wish I was you right now, corporal!”

Bowman thumped him. “Quiet, jerk.”

I glanced one last time at the four fresh-faced kids, at their easy laughter and the way they stood close together. I’d be damned if they didn’t remind me of Ashford, Lincoln, and Prescott … and me. They hadn’t seen people ripped apart yet. They hadn’t watched anyone they knew die.

I turned back to Ashford. “What’s the game?”

Ashford took one step back and settled into an easy fighting stance. “Why don’t you start by charging me like a Mute. Try to tackle me. We’ll demonstrate some takedowns.”

Takedowns, of course, were me getting my ass thrown into, flipped into, or knocked into the mats repeatedly. Despite my best attempts to tackle Ashford, it seemed like she’d only gotten even more talented at flipping me on my ass since we practiced during training.

Still, one particularly showy takedown involved her locking both her legs around my head to immobilize me, then holding me there until I “blacked out.” It hurt, but also, it was stupid hot. She locked her legs around my head way longer than she needed to, or maybe I imagined it.

I really wanted to think I hadn’t.

Eventually, once Ashford had taken me to the mats more times than I’d been clobbered in weeks, she helped me to my feet once more and turned to her class. She spoke again.

“As with your sparring, I’ve asked Nine to record this whole training session for later review. Going hand-to-hand

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