Camping is a perfectly fine activity (I advise you to avoid the booby traps though)

The day after I agreed to meet Fifteen and Eight, we had brainstormed over when and how we were planning to do it without raising suspicions.

The two were constantly surrounded by friends and were in open areas that hindered any attacks. We were left with a dilemma: we'd have to sneak up on them, preferably somewhere secluded.

Fortunately, field training was coming up. We'll be sent to the forest and forced to run through a series of tasks meant to familiarize ourselves with working in natural surroundings. According to the syllabus—graciously read to me by Squishy—there were obstacle courses, the usual spars, and lessons on survival skills: meaning what to eat, what not to eat, and how to make do with your surroundings.

Field training only started when you were deemed competent enough. Meaning you weren't liable to die by: accidentally shooting yourself in the foot, breaking the equipment, or—God forbid—eating dubious-looking mushrooms.

(We've already had quite a few casualties due to the latter.)

Lately, we've been spending a couple of nights in the forest surrounding the facility.

It was pretty fun.

We were left to our own devices the whole time until the morning when the supervisors checked to make sure we were still alive. Once we made camp and secured our resources, we were set for the rest of the exercise.

There were times when we would have to avoid and hide from our instructor in an impromptu game of hide and seek. Avoiding the seekers was a cinch due to our abilities, so we were safe. If you were caught, however, well...let's hope you weren't.

A finger poked my forehead, the action knocking me out of my morning daze.

"You good to go, Bratishka?" Squishy asked, a teasing tone to his question as he plopped himself next to me on our bed.

He knew I wasn't a morning person like he was, preferring to stay up and work during the night instead of being productive in the godforsaken early morning hours. It was the norm for him to lead me around in the morning. He would often tug on my sleeve to keep me on the right path if I veered off unknowingly in a daze.

"...Mm."

Crawling out from the covers and onto the floor like a mutant worm, I stood and raised my hands above me to stretch, bending over backward far enough that my fingers were nearly touching the floor. My back gave a series of satisfying cracks that never failed to make my brother shudder in disgust. Despite all the questionable things he's done and eaten, hearing the sound of cracking bones never ceased to disturb him.

After weirding my brother out enough, I pulled myself back up and made my way to the bathroom with a scratch on my head. I cringed when the sensation of artificial light from the ceiling fell on my skin, feeling like a wrinkled piece of paper balled up in a trash can.

Following after to help me get ready, Squishy giggled like the abomination he was (who even laughs in the morning?) and armed himself with a comb.

^^^^^^^^^^^^

After packing up, we met up with our advisors who led us outside to the training area. It took quite some time due to how deep it was in the forest, but we eventually arrived at the large clearing.

There were etchings in the ground set aside for various uses, as well as a multitude of weapons held in boxes. Let's not forget the obstacle course—the absolute menace that it was.

Lined with spikes and barbed wire that will have you on your knees, praying that you won't make contact, the obstacle course wraps around the area with rock walls. Littered around the area were pits filled with mud and rocks (that were suspiciously sharp), a balancing bar with a feature that readjusts its height at random intervals, and many other haphazard obstacles.

God, I hate that obstacle course. If only because of the memories it brings up of my grandmother. She was fond of making me run through many during my childhood before I left for college. Mind you, we lived on a mountain, so she had to get creative.

Very creative.

With a nod to my twin, imperceptible to anyone but us, I split away from him and strode towards the opposite side of the group.

Divide and conquer was the name of the game we were playing.

And we were playing to win.

^^^^^^^^^^^^

Left.

Right.

Duck.

My opponent was sweating and heaving with exertion as the sun's harsh rays beat down on us. It was clear that she was beginning to lag, judging by her weakening punches.

Compared to her, I was as right as rain. The day's training didn't leave me winded compared to the others; nevertheless, I had to show that I was affected somehow. Hence, why I was (fake) gasping for breath and tripping every so often to indicate that I was exhausted somehow.

"Aargh!" The girl growled in frustration as she missed her next punch. "Just! Stay! Still!"

Funny you should say that while swinging your fists at me; but sure, I'll throw you a bone.

Slowing down a smidge, I let her fist come close to my waist and curled in to soften the punch. It doesn't hurt much, but she didn't know that, so I just let out what I hoped to be a convincing hiss of pain and clutched my side.

The girl, Seventeen, smirked with pride at landing a hit on me. Her heart pumped with glee when she heard my hiss of (fake) pain.

I could hear my twin trying to keep his composure as he fought in the sparring ring from the other side of the area. His sudden shortness of breath probably looked like he was trying to hold back a painful breath to others, but I knew better.

The little imp was trying—and failing—to stop his laughter from escaping him. I could feel his amusement as his connection with me shook. As if it were laughing in place of his physical body.

Pulling my attention back to our spar, I decided it was about time for me to go on the offense since you can only take so many hits until you're deemed weak and easy to bend. So after checking to make sure our instructor was busy giving pointers to another group, I switched my stance a bit and tilted my body precariously. This caught Seventeen off guard when she tried to send a kick to my head

"Wha—?"

With our pace suddenly broken, she stumbled, leaving me an opening to exploit.

Dashing forward with a speed she didn't expect to come from me, I tilted my head to easily dodge the reckless right hook that swung and wrenched her wrist forward while hooking my foot behind her ankle. All it took was a swift kick for her to lose footing and collapse—

He's turning.

At the last second, I yanked her towards me, letting myself fall on my back in the process. All it took was some quickly placed swats to position her above me. This seemed like she gained back control and overpowered me before I hit the ground. Just in time for our instructor to witness as he turned his attention back on us.

Seventeen's heart stuttered in surprise, the only sound coming from her being hard pants while I assumed she tried to recall what happened in the seconds between my hand on her wrist and her body on top of mine.

At the last minute, there was a shift in the wind that had me picking up on something interesting.

Ho?

^^^^^^^^^^^^

Huh?

Prepared for the fall, Anna closed her eyes for the pain to come, only to find herself on top of her opponent and pinning him down.

"What the hell—?"

"Seventeen wins! Two, go back to your assigned group and take a five-minute break. Thirty-Two, you're up next!"

The instructor cut in as Anna started talking, distracting her long enough for the winded boy below her to shuffle out from under her and walk away. She tried to stop him, hand outstretched towards his wrist as she stumbled forward but missed his hand as it moved out of reach at the last second.

All she could do was watch as he dragged himself over to his group sitting next to a nearby tree.

"Seventeen, get in position!"

Shaking any thoughts about the weird kid away, she quickly got in position. There wasn't any time to fool around.

"Yes, Ser!"

As a breeze passed by, some of her stray hairs whipped in front of her face. It was an annoyance usually pinned back with hairpins, but when she tried to pin it back again her fingers failed to find the metal.

Must've lost it in one of my spars, she thought with a scowl, annoyed with the inconvenience.

There wasn't enough time to look for it, so she labeled it as a lost cause and moved to get in position for her next fight, albeit a bit miffed at the loss.

^^^^^^^^^^^^

Walking away from the sparring ring, I slid my hands in my pockets and took my time. Once I was close enough to the tree, I sat down and leaned against it, absently waiting for my name to be called next as I took in the atmosphere.

The spots of sunlight that passed through the pockets made by the leaves on the branches fell on my cheeks, warming my body. The warm and light breeze made a cozy combination with the light, tempting me to drift back to sleep. It brought back nostalgic memories of the picnics my grandmother would have back on the mountains.

We would start on a hike at three in the morning and make our way up the rocky mountain that teemed with trees, animals, and rocks. There weren't any official paths to follow except the worn-out paths that were made by my grandmother during her years living there.

By the time we made it to the top, it would be around two in the afternoon with the sun high in the sky. The first time she made me climb it with her, I couldn't move a muscle when we got to the top. It was absolute hell hiking down.

As time passed though, my body grew accustomed to the harsh work and I no longer struggled climbing it. And despite how long it took to climb that damn mountain, it was worth it, I suppose.

There was a field of mountain flowers that bloomed on the top of the mountain that we set our picnic blanket in the middle of to observe. Since there wasn't any pollution in the countryside where we lived, the sky was extremely clear and had the prettiest clouds to watch. After we ate lunch, I'd often just lay on my back to cloud watch or take a nap while my grandmother would take out her needles and knit. It was wonderful.

I could hear Squishy win his fight in the background, landing a solid kick on his opponent's back that had him down on his knees. The boy was one of the weaker kids so it wouldn't be out of the ordinary to win against him.

Hmm.

I should take him picnicking on a mountain too. It was a right of passage after all; I bet he'd love it too.

Enjoying my short break, I kept an ear out for my twin as my fingers rubbed the small piece of metal kept in my pocket.

^^^^^^^^^^^^

Finally, after a couple more hours, we were told to stop training. It was time for us to leave.

The moment those words were spoken, all the children bolted to where their packs were left.

"Three!"

Luckily, my twin and I had already figured out when they would start and strategically placed our bags where we could have easy access. By the time the instructors gathered up to start the countdown, my twin and I had already slipped on our packs and dashed to the edge of the field unnoticed.

"Two!"

The seekers positioned themselves, white identifying tape clutched in their hands and some hanging around their waist. Their task was to wait until after the three minutes mark to catch us and place the white tape on our wrists or legs. We would be sent back after being marked and forced to attend remedial classes.

Shudder.

"One!"

Fweeet!!

At the sound of the piercing whistle, we looked at each other.

"Try not to slip up, Bratishka." Squishy laughed.

"Please, this is me you're talking to; if anything, you should be worrying about yourself, Brat."

"Sure, whatever you say."

"First one there gets to have first pick of rations?"

"You're on!"

With mirroring smirks, we nodded to each other and promptly fucked off in opposite directions, eager to beat the other.

I kept my ears open as I ran through the thicket, listening for Fifteen, Eight, and my brother. We'll need to find them later for the plan to work.

As usual, the forest was littered with traps hidden under the dirt along with the occasional tripwire hidden away in the hard-to-spot areas.

A few of them were already triggered, judging by the pained screams echoing in the background.

One girl, Twenty, slammed into a tree after her foot got stuck in a trap; another screamed as she fell into a pit of snakes. Four screamed as he ran for his life, a bear right at his heels. Nine shrieked when her foot suddenly pulled her up suspended in the air, a line of rope being the culprit. Shrieks resounded through the forest as kids were apprehended by the seekers or caught in traps. There was an especially pathetic whimper from a weak-kneed Thirty who just got hit between his legs by a wild log.

I offered a silent prayer before moving on.

Bending down to avoid an incoming log, I held out a hand and grabbed it before it swung back, giving it a little push to restart the trap. The ensuing twang signaled me that the trigger successfully restarted.

With a satisfied nod, I continued running and dodging; it was only a matter of minutes until I reached my destination. So far, I haven't heard anything from my twin. It was suspicious...if it weren't for the fact that I could hear him breathing from above me.

Thump.

A hurdled pebble hit his leg, causing him to lose his balance and fall off the tree branch he was crouching on.

"Ow!"

A yelp was ripped out of him in his moment of freefall before he righted himself into a roll. If we were anywhere else, I would have been worried about alerting anyone of our presence; however, we were pretty deep in the woods where no one would think to venture, so we could do whatever we wanted for the most part.

With a pout, he came back up and drove his knuckles into my head.

"No fair, Bratishka! That was dirty!"

Despite his words, I could tell he wasn't bothered. His breathing was shaky with barely restrained eagerness, and his head never moved from where the end of our small race led to. He was up to something; I could practically smell it.

"Think fast!"

Before I could do anything, he stepped away from me and threw his pack in the air, knowing full well I would rather catch it than let it drop (precious nourishment). Cackling his little gremlin heart out, he ran, only turning his head to smugly stick his tongue out.

It was too cute for me to complain about, so I just caught his pack and started running. I couldn't help but huff out a laugh at the sheer audacity.

"You'll regret that, Brat!"

"Make me!"

At his dare, I couldn't hold back a smile.

He really should learn not to push his luck.

Deciding to step up my game, I picked up the pace and easily avoided any gnarled roots that stuck out from the ground. Not even three minutes passed before Squishy found himself under the heel of my foot.

"Oh? I appear to have stepped on something." I tilted my head at my brother. "Seems like it's a loser."

All Squishy could do was gasp for breath, winded by the chase. I didn't feel a lick of pity; he should've stretched more. Once he had a sufficient amount of air, he batted the leg on top of his chest.

"Get-hah-off-hoo-me!"

As I listened to determine how close we were to our destination, I felt satisfied at his pathetic state. At the sound of trickling water, I let out a satisfied hum; not too far apparently.

When my twin's breath evened out, I lifted my foot and helped him stand up.

"Come on, we've got to set up."

"Yeah, yeah."

Resuming our run, he caught his pack when I tossed it back and slipped his arms through the straps. It wasn't long before we arrived.

In front of us was a small clearing with a brook running through it and a cave off to the side hidden by the trees. There was an abundance of medicinal plants nearby and plenty of fish in the water to sustain us for a couple of days. If we were lucky, an animal might come by for a drink and we could kill it.

Setting up camp took a bit of time due to how many alarms and traps we had to prepare in the case that someone might accidentally wander too close. Soon enough we were finished and sitting on the edge of the brook with our bare feet soaking in the water, DIY fishing poles in hand.

We were planning to filet some fish and dry them in the sun to preserve the flesh to snack on later. Making a fire to cook was a big no-no because of the obvious disadvantage it would give us.

The rest of the afternoon was spent lazing around and fishing; the cluster of trees gave us a safe cover to hide behind and the alarms were far out enough to give us enough time to pack up and erase our tracks to leave. We were used to colder temperatures so the chilly temperature during the night was nothing for us. It also helped that I had Squishy's warm body wrapped around mine to warm me up.

After two days of relaxing, it was time to hatch the plan.

Using the water from the brook, we mixed it with dirt to make mud and smeared it on our hair to hide its unnatural color. We also smeared some on our clothes and skin to blend in more to the background. With a cursory check from my brother, I was deemed ready to go. Before we left, however, I stopped in my tracks and lifted a fist towards Squishy.

"Rock, scissors, paper for who gets who?"

"Oh," he grinned. "Absolutely."