Elijah's POV
"Move, Moore!"
The shout cut through the noise of the training field.
Elijah pushed himself forward, boots striking the packed dirt as he ran along the perimeter with the rest of the recruits. The afternoon sun hung high above the base, heat pressing
down on the open field while dust kicked up beneath dozens of pounding footsteps.
The track they were running wasn't really a track at all—just a worn loop around the edge of the training ground that had been flattened by months of drills.
Someone behind him was breathing like their lungs were about to collapse.
Another recruit stumbled slightly after hitting a loose patch of dirt, arms flailing for balance before he caught himself and kept moving.
"Keep the pace!" the instructor yelled from somewhere near the center of the field. Elijah kept running.
His legs burned from the constant strain, and sweat had started soaking through the back of his shirt but he focused on maintaining a steady rhythm instead of trying to outrun everyone else. The trick was endurance, not speed.
A few recruits had already slowed down, their early burst of energy fading quickly under the heat.
He passed one of them without trying.
The recruit gave him a tired look but didn't say anything.
Two months ago Elijah probably would have been in the same position—barely keeping up, struggling through every lap but things were different now.
His breathing stayed controlled as he ran. His stride was better than when he first arrived at training.
He wasn't the fastest on the field but he wasn't falling behind either. And that was enough.
Ahead of him, the instructor paced near the middle of the field with a stopwatch in one hand.
"Don't slow down now!" the man shouted. The line of recruits rounded the final corner. Then the whistle finally blew. "Break!"
Relief spread through the group instantly.
The line slowed to a stop, several recruits bending forward with their hands on their knees while others dropped straight onto the dirt.
One guy collapsed onto his back and stared up at the sky. "I can see God," he wheezed. A few recruits laughed weakly.
Elijah walked toward a water cooler near the edge of the field and grabbed a paper cup from the stack beside it. His breathing was heavier than normal but he could still breathe without feeling like his chest was about to explode.
He filled the cup and drank. The cold water helped immediately. He'd gotten used to this routine.
The first few weeks of training had been rough.
Everything about it had felt harder than it should have been.
The running, the obstacle courses, the endless drills where instructors corrected every small mistake and the constant pressure from men who never seemed satisfied no matter how well anyone performed.
But bodies adapted and muscles adjusted.
And Elijah had always been good at learning fast.
"Man, I swear they're trying to kill us," a recruit muttered nearby. Elijah glanced over.
Torres stood next to him, wiping sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt before filling his own cup with water.
His hair was plastered to his head from sweat. "You say that every day," Elijah said.
"Because it's true every day."
Torres drank half the cup in one go before letting out a long breath. "You think this ever gets easier?" he asked.
Elijah shrugged slightly. "Probably not."
Torres groaned and leaned against the cooler. "That's the worst possible answer." Elijah smirked faintly.
Across the field another group of recruits was already setting up for the next drill. Several rifles were being placed carefully along a long folding table while an instructor explained something to them.
Elijah's attention drifted toward the weapons automatically. He'd gotten better with them.
Much better.
At first it had felt strange holding a rifle.
Too many small details to think about at once. Stance.
Grip. Breathing.
Where to place your finger. Where to aim.
The instructors corrected every mistake immediately—but over time, those movements had started becoming instinct.
He found himself studying the rifles across the field without even realizing it. Torres followed his gaze. "You actually like this part, don't you?" Torres said. Elijah shrugged again. "It's interesting."
Torres stared at him. "You're weird."
Before Elijah could respond, the instructor's voice cut across the field again. "Alright!" Everyone looked up.
"Two minutes is up!"
Groans spread through the recruits.
A few people quickly finished their water before jogging back toward formation.
Elijah tossed his empty cup into the nearby bin and walked back toward the line forming on the field.
The ground crunched beneath his boots and Torres fell into step beside him. "You think we're running again?" Torres asked.
"Probably."
"If they make us do another lap I'm defecting." "You say that every day too."
They reached the formation line and took their places with the rest of the recruits. The field quieted slightly as everyone waited for the next instruction.
Elijah rolled his shoulders once, stretching some of the stiffness from his muscles.
As he stood there, staring across the training grounds, a familiar thought crept quietly into the back of his mind.
It hadn't been that long ago that his days looked completely different. No training fields.
No instructors yelling across open ground. No endless drills under the sun.
Just school.
Hallways.
A normal life.
The memory came back easily.
Lockers slammed shut somewhere down the hallway.
Students moved between classes in loose clusters, voices blending together into the usual afternoon school noise.
Elijah leaned against his locker while ffipping through a notebook, barely paying attention to the people passing by.
A voice called out down the hall. "Hey, Alicia!" Elijah glanced up.
Alicia Clark walked past with two friends, books tucked under her arm while they talked about some test coming up.
One of them said something that made Alicia roll her eyes. "Relax," she said. "It's just a history test."
They disappeared down the hallway a moment later. Elijah looked back down at his notebook.
Just another normal school day.
The memory changed.
Late afternoon sunlight stretched across the school parking lot. Most of the students had already gone home.
Elijah leaned against the hood of a parked car while talking to someone sitting on the curb nearby.
Chloe.
She had a small stick in her hand, dragging it lazily across the pavement while she talked. "I'm serious," she said. "If I fail this math class I'm blaming you."
Elijah raised an eyebrow. "How is that my fault?" "You distracted me."
"With what?"
She gave him a look. "You know what."
Elijah laughed. "You were the one asking me questions instead of studying." "That is not what happened."
"That's exactly what happened."
Chloe rolled her eyes but smiled anyway.
The whistle blew again, snapping Elijah back to the present.
He straightened slightly as the instructor stepped forward. "Pair up!" the man shouted. "Obstacle course!"
Recruits immediately started moving toward the far end of the field.
Torres appeared beside Elijah again. "You're quick," he said. "Stick with me." Elijah shrugged. "Alright."
They headed toward the start of the obstacle course with the rest of the group while the instructor watched them closely.
The training field was loud again. Boots on dirt.
Voices calling out.
Orders being shouted across the field.
But the memory of the parking lot lingered quietly in Elijah's mind. Because back then…
Things had still been simple.
**
Torres reached the rope net first. Elijah was right behind him.
Torres climbed fast but messy, boots slipping once before he pulled himself over the top. Elijah took the ropes two at a time, moving fast until he reached the top and dropped down the other side.
"Keep moving!" the instructor shouted. They hit the next obstacle together.
A narrow balance beam stretched across a shallow trench. Torres crossed first, wobbling slightly before jumping down.
Elijah followed with less trouble.
The final obstacle was a tall wooden wall.
Torres jumped, grabbed the top, and struggled for a second before pulling himself halfway up.
Elijah grabbed the edge beside him and hauled himself over in one clean movement. He landed on the other side and turned back immediately.
"Hand," he said.
Torres grabbed it.
Elijah pulled while Torres pushed with his legs, and a second later Torres dropped down beside him.
"Okay," Torres said, breathing hard. "You're doing that part next time too." Elijah smirked faintly.
They jogged back to the starting line.
A few minutes later the instructor blew the whistle again. "That's enough," he said. "Take five."
Several recruits dropped to the ground immediately.
Elijah walked over to the fence lining the edge of the field and leaned against it, grabbing
another cup of water from a nearby cooler. The cold water helped cool the heat in his chest as his breathing slowly returned to normal.
Across the field a few instructors talked quietly near the equipment tables.
The rest of the recruits sat scattered around the dirt, stretching or catching their breath. Torres sat down beside him.
"You ever think about what happens after this?" he asked. Elijah glanced at him. "After training?"
"Yeah."
Torres picked up a small rock and tossed it into the dirt.
"They don't exactly tell us much about where we're going." Elijah didn't answer.
He had thought about it.
A lot.
Because his decision to be here hadn't been random—it hadn't been impulsive. He took another drink of water.
Torres nudged him lightly with his elbow. "You're doing that thing again." "What thing?"
"Thinking too much."
Elijah shrugged slightly. "How do you know I'm thinking? My mind could just be empty." Torres laughed quietly. "You're weird, man."
Elijah leaned back against the fence, eyes drifting across the training field. Then, slowly, his thoughts slipped back into the past again.
The parking lot was nearly empty.
Late sunlight stretched across the pavement while a warm breeze moved through the trees lining the edge of the school grounds.
Elijah sat on the hood of Chloe's car this time while she stood in front of him, leaning back against the front bumper.
She held a milkshake in one hand, stirring it lazily with the straw.
"I'm serious," Chloe said. "When all this school stuff is done, I'm leaving this place." Elijah raised an eyebrow. "Leaving where?"
"Here." She gestured around the empty parking lot. "This town. This city. All of it." "And go where?"
"Somewhere normal."
Elijah smirked slightly. "You think other places are more normal than this?" Chloe shrugged. "Maybe not. But at least it'd be different."
She looked up at him. "What about you?" Elijah didn't answer right away.
Chloe nudged his knee lightly. "Come on. You have to have a plan." He thought for a moment before speaking. "I don't know yet."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "That's not true." "Maybe a little true."
"Elijah."
He sighed slightly. "I just… don't want to end up stuck somewhere." Chloe studied him for a moment. "You mean like here?"
He didn't respond.
Her expression softened a little. "I just want something normal," she said quietly. "A place to live, a job, maybe a house someday."
She smiled faintly. "You know… boring stuff."
Elijah chuckled. "That sounds pretty good, actually." Chloe leaned her head lightly against his shoulder. For a moment neither of them spoke.
The future felt simple back then.
Another memory came.
The same parking lot. But months later.
Chloe stood near the driver's side door of her car, arms folded tightly across her chest. Elijah leaned against the hood, watching her carefully.
"So that's it?" she asked. "It's not like that."
"It kind of is."
Her voice wasn't angry yet.
"You didn't even tell me you were thinking about it," she said. "I was going to."
"When?"
Elijah hesitated.
Chloe laughed quietly. "Wow."
He pushed away from the car slightly. "It's not just about the military." "Then what is it about?"
Elijah searched for the words. "It's about being ready." "Ready for what?"
"Anything."
Chloe shook her head.
"You hear how that sounds, right?" He stayed quiet.
Her voice hardened. "You've been like this for months," she said. "Always thinking about the future like something bad is about to happen."
"I'm just being realistic."
"No," she said. "You're pulling away."
Elijah looked down brieffy before meeting her eyes again. "That's not what I'm doing." "Then why does it feel like it?"
Cars passed slowly on the road nearby.
Chloe sighed. "I thought we were planning things together," she said quietly. "We were."
"Not anymore."
The final memory came quickly.
It was darker now.
The parking lot lights had turned on.
Chloe stood beside her car again, but this time there was no frustration left in her expression.
Just hurt.
"You already made the decision," she said. Elijah rubbed the back of his neck. "Chloe—"
"No." She shook her head.
"You want to go chase whatever future you think is coming." Her voice trembled slightly. "I just wanted a normal one."
Elijah stepped forward. "It doesn't have to be one or the other." Chloe looked at him for a long moment then she stepped back. "Yeah," she said quietly. "It does."
She opened the car door. "Goodbye, Elijah." The door closed.
The engine started. And just like that… She drove away.
"Elijah!"
The instructor's voice cut sharply across the training field.
Elijah blinked and straightened immediately, the memory of the parking lot forgotten as the present snapped back into focus. The late afternoon sun hung low above the base, casting long shadows across the dirt field where the recruits had been resting.
Around him, the others were already standing.
Some brushed dirt from their pants, others stretched stiff legs or rolled their shoulders as they moved back toward formation.
Torres nudged Elijah lightly with his elbow.
"Guess break's over," he said, pushing himself off the ground.
Elijah nodded and stood, grabbing the half-empty water cup beside him before tossing it
into a nearby bin. The brief rest had helped, but his muscles still carried the dull fatigue that came from hours of drills.
They walked toward the center of the field where the rest of the recruits were forming a loose line.
"Think they're finally letting us shoot something again?" Torres asked. Elijah smirked faintly. "You just want an excuse to miss the target."
"Hey," Torres said defensively, "that wind was insane." "There was no wind."
Torres opened his mouth to argue but stopped when the instructor stepped forward.
The man held a clipboard in one hand while adjusting the brim of his cap with the other. "Listen up," he said.
The chatter around the field quieted almost immediately.
The instructor glanced down at the clipboard before continuing. "We've got some new assignments coming in."
A few recruits exchanged quick glances. Assignments usually meant deployment. Which meant leaving training.
Torres leaned slightly toward Elijah.
"About time," he muttered under his breath. The instructor continued scanning the list.
"Several of you are being transferred to assist with civilian stabilization zones." That caught Elijah's attention immediately.
He straightened a little more. Civilian zones.
The word had started appearing more often in briefings lately. Safe areas where the military was relocating people while the situation outside remained… unclear.
But the instructors rarely explained much beyond that. The instructor began reading names.
"Garcia."
One recruit stepped forward. "Torres."
Torres blinked.
"Wait, that's me?"
A few recruits chuckled quietly as he walked forward. The instructor handed him a folded sheet of paper.
"Report to transport at 0600 tomorrow."
Torres nodded, trying to look composed as he returned to the line. When he reached Elijah again he leaned closer.
"Okay, now I'm nervous," he whispered.
Elijah raised an eyebrow. "You wanted deployment."
"Yeah," Torres said. "Didn't think it'd actually happen." The instructor kept going down the list.
A few more names were called.
Each recruit stepped forward, received their orders, and returned to the line. Then—
"Moore."
Elijah stepped forward.
The instructor handed him a folded sheet of paper just like the others. "Report to transportation at 0600 tomorrow," the man said.
Elijah nodded. "Yes, sir."
He stepped back into line and unfolded the paper. The document was simple.
A short assignment notice. Transportation instructions. Deployment location.
Elijah's eyes moved down the page until they reached the destination line. And stopped.
El Sereno.
The Safe Zone.
For a moment he just stared at the words. The name wasn't unfamiliar.
He'd heard it before. In news broadcasts. Military briefings.
But that wasn't why it felt significant.
People from his school had been evacuated there recently.
He remembered hearing about it from someone during training. Entire neighborhoods relocated.
Military protection.
Temporary housing.
His mind immediately connected the pieces. Chloe.
She had family in that area.
If evacuations had started there…
There was a real chance she was already inside the Safe Zone.
And if Chloe had been evacuated there, then others from school probably had been too. Including Alicia Clark.
Elijah folded the paper slowly. Torres leaned over his shoulder. "Where you headed?"
"El Sereno," Elijah said. Torres let out a low whistle.
"That's one of the big Safe Zones, right?"
"Yeah."
Torres scratched the back of his head.
"Guess we're actually doing something real now." The instructor clapped his hands loudly.
"Alright, listen up!"
The recruits looked forward again.
"You'll all report to equipment before lights out tonight. You'll receive your final gear and deployment briefings there."
He glanced across the group.
"And try not to do anything stupid before tomorrow." A few recruits laughed quietly.
The formation broke a moment later.
Groups began drifting toward the barracks or the equipment building nearby. Torres walked beside Elijah.
"So," he said, "you look like you just saw a ghost." Elijah shook his head slightly.
"Just thinking." "About?"
"El Sereno." Torres shrugged.
"I'm going somewhere in Arizona, apparently. Sounds hot." They reached the path leading toward the barracks.
Most of the recruits were already heading that way.
Elijah looked down briefly at the folded assignment paper in his hand. Tomorrow he would be deployed.
Tomorrow he would leave training behind.