Authors: Philip Mcclennan
Kara was sat on a stool singing the song that her mother used to sing to her when she was a child. Her mother had passed away whilst she was still small and this was all she could remember of her. The song made her feel sad, and also happy at the same time. The words that came out of her mouth were sung with grace and softness and were so heartfelt that they often drew birds, eagles and other flying creatures to her. They would fly to the balcony outside her bedroom and listen. They often gathered as an audience for her and she would sing to them for a while before she bid them farewell and retired to her quarters. Around the princesses’ neck was a silver royal pendant that had belonged to her mother. Her father, Zeris had given it to Kara when her mother passed away all those years ago. She often held it tight when singing, thinking it would bring her closer to her. Kara sang that day in her room like she often did.
The birds that had flown down from the clouds had now reached Kara’s balcony and they landed on the stone fence at the edge of it so they could admire the singing. Kara noticed an audience gathering on the balcony and made her way outside onto it to sing for them. The birds seemed most pleased to see the Princess emerge through the glass doors of her chambers. She walked over to the birds whilst continuing to sing and stroked each one of them softly. Half way through one of the verses she suddenly stopped. She felt as if someone other than the birds was watching her.
Who is this boy? Why is he watching me?
She could feel his presence nearby, somewhere close to her. She slowly began to turn around to look behind her. She then spoke out what she thought the person’s name was. “…Valentine?”
James woke up in his bed suddenly. Sweating and breathing heavily, he sat up.
That song…
Eleven years had now passed since his time of living on the streets of London. He was now twenty-one years old and no longer a boy, but now a man. His blond hair was somewhat longer now but he still had the same bright blue eyes he had as a boy all those years ago. James was in a small dormitory room, not dissimilar to that of a university bedroom. The dream he just had felt so real. The song that the beautiful girl had sung in his dream felt so familiar to him.
Those words…where have I heard them before?
James reached into the drawer next to his bed and pulled out a pendant. The pendant looked identical to that which the girl in his dream had worn around her neck.
A dream, that’s all it was.
A knock on the door interrupted James’s chain of thought.
“Come on man you’re late!” said a male voice from behind the door. A young man swung open the door and came into the room bursting with excitement.
James was less than amused. After all, he had still to wipe the sleep from his eyes.
The young man was Cody, who like James was twenty-one years old. Cody was American and he spoke in a strong southern Texan accent. He was shorter than James and had messy brown hair, almost like he had just woken up. (Which wasn’t the case) He hid his eyes a little upon discovering that James was semi-naked in bed. “Ah man, do you know what time it is? You’re late for the briefing!”
James yawned and wiped the sleep from his eyes.
“Hurry up I’ll wait outside,” said Cody who hastily exited the room.
James and Cody walked down a long corridor. It was full of young men and women of around a similar age. Cody turned and sneaked a look at a few girls as they walked past, admiring their slender figures. He noticed James wasn’t paying any attention to the girls around them.
“What’s up with you man, you look like shit!” he said to James bluntly.
“Rough night.”
“Well you need to get it together, today we’ve got the practical exam remember?”
James looked unimpressed. “Yeah don’t remind me,” he said lacking any sort of enthusiasm.
Cody mistook his lack of interest for confidence. “Don’t suppose you and Chad have anything to worry about. You’ll sail through.”
James suddenly became more engaged in the conversation. “What squad is Chad in again?”
Cody thought about it for a second, “Squad C.”
James nodded in approval.
“How does it feel then?” Cody asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you two could end up locking horns out there when it all starts heating up!”
James seemed relaxed. “If it happens, it happens.”
“I’ve got faith in you man, I think you can take him,” Cody said, trying to build up the moral of his friend.
The two of them were in the same squad for the upcoming practical exam. For the past ten years, James had been a recruit for a special forces training programme.
The Potentials
as it was called was a unit that recruited people from a very young age who showed exceptional talent and abilities, beyond that of ordinary people. The programme was set up by all the superpowers of the world, to train unique people for recruitment to a special fighting unit that could defend everyone, even the entire world if ever needed. Recruits were tested at the age of Twenty-one with a written and then practical exam, to see if they were worthy enough to be recruited to the secret organisation. The young men and women taking part in the exam would be tested in a live battle situation on the field. They would all be split into squads of four and those that performed to an outstanding level would achieve recruitment. The others would be released and sent back into the regular world to live out their remaining years as civilians.
Cody didn’t show it but he was very nervous about the upcoming live battle exam. This was because he knew Chad was on an opposing squad. Over the years that Chad had been a recruit for the programme he had built up a reputation, and some even called it a legacy. They had called him the greatest skilled recruit they had ever seen. Cody had been regularly beaten by Chad, and at times beaten badly in fight training. Cody knew though that with James in his squad he stood a chance. James was regarded as number two in terms of skill behind Chad, although if truth be told, there was not much to choose between them.
James and Cody eventually reached a classroom. Inside looked much like a large university lecture theatre. James and Cody took their places in the half full theatre. It was only half full because these students were the special few that had made it far enough to take part in the exam. Squads A, B, E and F were present in the room. On a large white screen at the front of the class were several battle strategies that had been drawn out onto a computer, which projected the images onto a screen.
A man in his early sixties walked into the room. He wore a long brown trench coat and hat. The man removed the hat and coat and hung them up on a hanger at the side of a desk that was located below the large screen. The trainees in the room, who had been talking amongst themselves up until this point, fell deadly silent when the man entered.
“Good morning, as you all know I’m Professor Milton.”
Professor Milton was respected by all of the people in the class. He was the head of Research and Tactics for the training division. He was the only actual member of the secret organisation who attended the training facility to teach the students. You see, the secret organisation was an off the books project, a kind of black ops unit if you will. The world’s superpowers kept this organisation a secret. It was their secret weapon to fight organised crime and terrorist activity. Only the highest level of people would know they existed. Perhaps the President of the United States knew, although it was not certain if even he was kept the loop. After all, the organisation called the shots, not the president.
It was Professor Milton that had tracked James and Chad down all those years ago and brought them to the training facility. His moustache had turned grey and his hair had bald somewhat since then. The organisation had scouts everywhere and had much more access to what was going on around the world than anybody could imagine. Professor Milton saw his project as the keepers of the peace. In his eyes, they were the only shining light in a corrupt and criminal world. Since the trainee’s had been brought in from such a young age, they were considered pure, free from any corruption and given the best upbringing with the morals of good and justice engraved into their hearts.
The professor looked around the classroom at the students. He was proud of the young adults they had now become. He knew the class was nervous as the exam was looming and he tried to put them all at ease. “Don’t worry yourselves” he assured them. “You are all fully prepared for the challenge ahead, both mentally and physically.” The professor pressed a button on the screen, which brought up a diagram of a small island. “Your target is here, an island off the coast of Puerto Rico.”
James and Cody listened on carefully, as did the rest of the class.
“We have received intelligence that an unknown group have invaded the island.”
Cody, who was never scared to ask a question, raised his hand. “What for?” he asked in his strong Texan accent.
A few of the others in the class chuckled to themselves as Cody often, at times, came across as a little goofy.
“The American government have been working on a project there,” said Professor Milton.
Cody again raised his hand. “What project?”
“It’s classified.”
Cody raised his hand again.
The professor began to become a little annoyed, although he didn’t show it. “Cody you can ask questions at the end of the briefing.”
Cody put his hand down and bowed his head a little. He picked up on a few of the other students sniggering in the corner as he did so. Cody was a very sensitive soul and took everything to heart. He was, you could say, a confidence person.
The professor carried on with the briefing. “As I was saying, an unknown group have invaded a private American facility on this small Island. Now as you are aware, your final exam as part of your training is to take part in an actual live battle situation. This isn’t like the army or any other unit you’ve ever heard of before. From my experience, you cannot prepare someone for missions with just simulation alone. You have to experience a live situation, only then will we understand how you act under pressure.” The professor became more serious. “As this is a live battle and not a simulation, you are of course aware that should you mess up, unlike training there will be no second chances. Failure could result in injury, capture or even the loss of your life.”
The expression on the faces in the classroom told the professor the recruits understood the seriousness of the situation. James wasn’t scared, though. He sat in his chair cool as ever. After ten long years of training, he was looking forward to getting out there and putting his skills to the test. He also knew that he was far more skilled than the rest of the other students in the room. Professor Milton knew this too. He had watched James and Chad closely, ever since he brought them to the training camp. He was fully aware of their unique strength and he classed them far above anyone else at the camp. In fact, truth be told, he rated them equal, if not higher than any of the fully-fledged organisation members themselves. He never told them that, though.
“As you are all aware, you have been divided into six squads of five. There will also be some of our active members on the island. We cannot afford for this mission to be a failure, therefore if you are unable to get the job done, these members will. They always do.”
The classroom was deadly silent at this point. James picked up on the deep breathing of several trainees.
Everyone is afraid,
he realised.
Professor Milton carried on, “As you have probably noticed, Squad’s C and D are not present in the class.”
“Yeah, why is that?” Cody blurted out without raising his hand.
The professor simply stared back at him. Cody realised his blunder and apologised. The professor continued from the point that Cody had interrupted. “As I was saying, Squad’s C and D are not here. This is because they have already begun their exam.”
The class looked around at each other giving puzzled looks. James raised his hand.
“Yes James?” said Professor Milton.
“That means the other squads are already on the island?”
“That is correct,” replied the Professor. “We had to send two squads out early because the active members we had engaged the invading group and requested immediate backup.”
Chad’s over there right now, I hope he’s ok,
thought James. He quickly realised his worries were stupid and not necessary.
Of course, he is ok.
He had seen Chad easily handle any situation put in front of him without so much as breaking a sweat. Chad was the best fighter they had.
Professor Milton gave one final speech. “All of the remaining squads will be leaving for the island in one hour. I must remind you, it is not too late. If there are those of you who do not wish to take part in the exam you may leave now. We are not forcing you to go. I will not play down the danger involved in the mission, however. This is a real mission, a real battle, with very real dangers. Some of you may not come back in one piece and some of you may not come back at all. You are free to leave if you wish. I shall not hold it against you.”
The classroom fell silent again. The professor waited to see if any of the trainee’s did not have the stomach for the battle.
One young student stood up and left his seat. He began to make his way out of the classroom. “I’m sorry sir,” he said as he walked by the Professor.
Professor Milton patted the boy on the shoulder. “It’s ok son,” he said, trying to comfort the boy. Two more students, a boy and a girl followed the first boy out. All the rest remained seated.
The professor addressed the remaining trainees. “Do not think badly of them. This life isn’t for everyone. As we are now three people short I think we should merge two squads into one. Sophie, please join squad A. Sophie was twenty-one years old and from Northern Ireland. She had short brown hair and was only around five feet two inches in height. One might ask how such a timid looking girl would be selected for such an elite organisation. It was because she was a master thief. She also had a unique skill with knives. Sophie could throw a knife at the smallest of targets with a ninety-nine percent accuracy rate. She was also quite handy with a sniper rifle and was in the short list for the Junior Olympic Shooting team before being recruited.