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Chapter 13 : Training & Trainer
ELENA
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The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the smell. It was everywhere. A strange, heavy scent covered the entire room, making my eyes open instantly. For a moment, panic rushed through me before I forced myself to look around. The room was still the same. The walls were still standing. The bed was still underneath me.
Nothing had changed. I released a breath I didn't realize I was holding. “Oh… everything’s alright. Thank God.” My voice was barely above a whisper. Then my eyes moved toward the window. It was slightly open. And that was when I saw them. Tiny particles drift inside through the small gap.
My expression immediately dropped. “Oh, for fuck’s sake.” I got out of bed quickly and walked toward the window, shutting it closed with more force than necessary.
The sound echoed through the quiet room.
Another day. Another reminder that the world outside was no longer normal. There were days when the air itself felt like it was trying to kill us . I used to think the infected were the only thing humans had to fear. I was wrong. The world itself had become an enemy. I walked back toward the bed and noticed my diary sitting beside me, still open from last night.
The words stared back at me. My own handwriting. My own thoughts. Slowly, my eyes moved across the pages.
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"Dear diary,
Day two since I escaped the Reestablishment and found a new shelter.
This place is amazing. I am starting to understand why they say everyone here is like family. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have found this place. I just wish Nowella was here. She would have loved the school and the children’s training center. It’s beautiful. Even in a world like this, where everything is falling apart, they still try to enjoy the present. They still try to create happiness. It gives people a reason to keep going. A reason to believe there is something worth fighting for.''
My fingers slowly touched the edge of the page. Nowella. My chest tightened. My eyes hovered through the words written in the pages further more ,
"Yesterday was Ian’s birthday. I realized something. Since he grew up here, everyone loves him. Everyone cares about him. But there is something about him that I noticed. He hides things. He doesn’t express his emotions easily. He always makes his own pain seem smaller compared to everyone else’s. Ian looked like he was fine. Even when he wasn't.
I wish he understood that he has the right to be angry. He has the right to be hurt. His problems matter too. I don’t know everything about what happened before he came here, but something tells me he has carried a lot alone."
I looked away from the diary for a moment.
Because my mind immediately went back to last night. After the birthday celebration ended, everyone had eventually left. I returned to my room. I don’t even know why, but the other side of my bedroom window was open. The strange thing was…
It faced Ian’s bedroom. I was sitting there writing my journal when movement caught my attention. I looked up. And I saw him.
Ian. At first, I only saw part of his room.
But then I saw the other side. And I froze.
Weapons. Everywhere. Shelves filled with them. It was almost frightening. A side of him I hadn’t seen before. Then he walked inside. He removed his shirt. And that was when I noticed. The scars. Across his back.
My eyes widened slightly. They weren’t normal scars. They looked painful. Like someone had hurt him badly. Like someone had tried to break him. They look old ..
I quickly shook my head and stepped away from the window. I reached for the curtains.
But before I could close them completely He noticed me. My entire body froze. Ian looked at me. For a second, I thought I should disappear. Maybe the universe would open up and swallow me whole.
But instead… He just smiled. A small smile.
Almost like a smirk. And somehow, that made everything worse. Because my heart started beating so fast I thought he could hear it. Then he mouthed something. Goodnight, princess. My brain stopped working. Literally stopped. I somehow managed to stay still. Somehow. I smiled back and mouthed, Goodnight. Then I immediately closed the curtains. Only after that did I realize something. I wasn’t wearing my normal clothes. I was wearing the shirt I begged Diana to give me. Because I couldn’t sleep in the tactical suit.
And I couldn’t sleep without clothes either.
I covered my face with both hands. “Fuck.”
A pause and I wasn't wearing any fucking pants underneath the fucking t-shirt . “Fuck my life.” The embarrassment was unbearable. Then I looked at the diary again trying to distract myself from the embarrassment,
"Katherine. She told me I needed to start training immediately. She was going to assign someone to train me because honestly… I could barely use a gun properly. And if I wanted to save Nowella…
I needed to become stronger. I couldn’t depend on others forever. I needed to be able to protect her myself. Not when my sister was waiting for me somewhere out there.
— Elena
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I closed the diary. Took a deep breath . Then suddenly . My eyes widened. “Oh crap.” Katherine. I completely forgot.
I immediately got up from the bed and rushed toward the bathroom. Training started today. And I was definitely not going to be late . News flash I was already late as fuck.
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IAN
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The children’s laughter was something I never wanted to lose. For a moment, standing there inside the school grounds, watching them run around during their break, it almost felt like the world outside didn’t exist. No infected. No ruined cities.
No blood. No constant fear. Just children being children. And maybe that was why I loved being here so much. Because somewhere deep inside… I saw myself in them. The same hope. The same innocence. The part of humanity that the world had been trying to destroy for the past four years. The bell rang. The sound immediately pulled everyone’s attention.
The children froze. Their break was over.
I looked at them and smiled. “Alright, little warriors. It’s time for school again.” A collective groan instantly filled the area.
“No!” , “Five more minutes!” , “Please, Ian!”
I laughed. They always did this. Every single time. I crossed my arms, pretending to think about it seriously. Honestly, if I had the choice, I probably would have stayed too. But Katherine had asked me for a favor. And when Katherine asked for help, you helped. I looked at them and said,
“I promise you guys, after school ends, we’ll play football in the playground.”
Their faces immediately changed. Every single one of them became excited. “How does that sound?" “Yes!" They all shouted at the same time. The synchronization was so perfect that I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Alright, alright. Go before your teachers come looking for you.” The children ran back inside. I watched them disappear through the doors with a small smile.
Then I turned around and started walking toward the training center. That smile slowly faded. Because my mind moved back to why I was going there. Katherine usually handled most of the training. Especially with the women who came into the shelter. But sometimes there were too many people. That was when she assigned them to me, Hog, Thomas, or Rhys. My steps slowed slightly. Rhys. My mind almost went there. Almost. But I stopped myself. I wasn’t ready to think about it again. Not yet. Not when every memory still felt too fresh. I pushed the thought away and focused ahead. If it was one of the refugees from yesterday… It wouldn’t be surprising. They looked like they needed training. They looked like they had been through hell. And honestly? Most people who arrived here did. When I reached the training area, I immediately spotted Katherine. She was standing there with her arms crossed, checking something on her tablet. The moment she saw me, she walked over. “Well, the girl I wanted you to train is actually late by…”
She checked the time. “15 minutes.”
She sighed. “I know your time is valuable, and technically this was Rhys’s turn but…”
She paused. The silence said everything.
“You know.” I looked away for a second.
Yeah. I knew. Katherine continued. “I talked to Hog. I suggested that Dameon should take Rhys’s place.” My chest tightened.
Dameon. I could already imagine how difficult that conversation would be.
“He said he’d talk to Dameon about it. So for now, you had to jump in with this one. Whoever gets assigned as Rhys’s replacement will take the others.” I forced myself to smile. A convincing one. At least, I hoped it was. “It’s not a big deal. I’m always happy to help.” I paused. Then added, “So who am I training this week? One of the refugees, I suppose?” Katherine nodded. “Yes.” paused and then added , “I thought she had some training, honestly. Considering the armed situation.” I frowned. “Armed situation?” I looked at her.
“Those refugees weren’t armed.” Then realization hit me. Before I could say anything . The door opened. A familiar voice came rushing in. “I am so sorry, Katherine. I know I’m late.” I looked toward the entrance. Elena. I blinked. “Oh lord.” I say under my breath and , I heard her mutter under her breath. “For fuck’s sake.”
I raised an eyebrow. That was not exactly the reaction I expected. Katherine looked between us. Then cleared her throat. “Elena.” Her tone immediately became serious. “You are 20 minutes late.” Elena’s expression dropped. “I can forgive you because this is your first time, but you need to understand something.” Katherine’s voice remained calm but firm.
“Everyone here has a lot to deal with every single day. You need to respect our time, just as you respect yours.” She paused.
“The faster you train yourself, the sooner you can go outside with the other soldiers and start looking for your sister.” The moment she mentioned her sister…
Elena changed. Her expression softened.
The guilt. The sadness. The desperation.
It was all there. She was trying so hard to stay strong. But anyone who looked closely could see how much pain she was carrying. For some reason… Seeing that hurt me. Maybe because I understood.
Waiting for someone. Wondering if they were still alive. I knew that feeling.
Elena lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry. I know.”
She took a breath. “I’ll be better next time.”
Katherine nodded. Then turned toward me.
“Well, you’ll have to teach her everything from the beginning.” She looked at me confidently. “I trust that won’t be difficult for you. You’re a good soldier.” A pause.
“One of our best.” The appreciation in her voice caught me off guard. I nodded. “Alright.” Katherine gave us both one last look before leaving. The door closed. And suddenly… It was just Elena and me. The training area felt strangely quiet. My eyes met hers. And immediately. My mind betrayed me. Last night. Her window. Her room. That moment. She had been standing there wearing only a simple shirt, her hair messy, a pen between her teeth around her lips . It shouldn’t have been anything special. But somehow… She looked completely different. Not like a survivor. Not like someone running from a nightmare. She looked peaceful. Almost unreal. Like someone untouched by the world outside. Like a princess. I blinked.
And forced myself back into reality. The room suddenly felt smaller. Even though it was huge. I cleared my throat. “Well…”
I looked at her. “Let’s start.”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1lkFN70SMe
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