Marionette (A 'The 5th Wave' Fanfiction) [COMPLETED] #wattys2017

24. Glass Heart; Chapter I.

    I get weird looks everywhere I go. Not weird, just sort of judgemental. People whisper. Maybe not about me. I try to convince myself that. Why would someone be concerned about me?

    I can't shake the feeling. It could be graduation stress. Because what will it be in? Less than a month?

    Nugget aka Sammy notices it too. "Is something wrong?" he asks at lunch, poking at his food with his fork.

    Nugget got much scrawnier. Ben and I are doing our best to convince him he has to eat but he's really down lately. He's ten and in order to graduate he has to be at least twelve. When we finally get out of here we'll have to leave him here to a new squad. It's likely we'll never see him again.

    I force the fork of mash to my mouth, hoping he'll take it as an example and eat also. "I'm not sure. Maybe there's a special training today," I guess and really wish that was all happening.

    Nugget makes a face and nibbles at his bread crust with obvious disgust. Oh Nugget. At least some improvement, no matter how minor.

    Dumbo takes a seat next to me and slowly all the squad members arrive. Except Flintstone and Ben. I hope those sons of guns don't cost us any points. I swear I'll kill them.

    Teacup scowls at Nugget. "How come you always get to sit next to Marionette?" she complains.

    Nugget lowers his head. "Don't worry, you'll get plenty of time once you graduate," he replies miserably.

    I want to hug him so bad. But I know he wouldn't want me to. He can't always be a baby that's waiting for comfort. When everything is on the line it'll be just him.

    He's mature. Way more than when he first arrived. I'm not sure it's even healthy for his age.

    I let myself gently rub his shoulder.

    I take my tray and leave it at the table meant for it. I do my best to ignore everyone and nervously wait for the morining run to take place. I bet I could make a hundred laps around the whole camp.

    I'm the first to leave and I wait for the squad. I could lose us some points by going solo.

    Poundcake, still silent, raises his brows at me. I give him a weak smile and we're off.

    The solid concrete ground passes at my feet and it's like I'm in the forest again, running for my life, hoping I won't be killed. It was so terrifying, every sound my footsteps made was like bombs going off. I always thought I was being followed.

    Who knows. Maybe I am.

    We call them Silencers. Deadly snipers. Heartless. Merciless. They're Others, sent to kill anyone who survived the previous Waves. They are the Fourth Wave.

    I speed up. Like I can run away from it. All over again. I can't do that.

    I speed up. A state like this is called a runner's high. So many endorphins a drug could give you. Why am I scared out of my freaking mind?

    I speed up. I can't go through this again. I can't-

    My foot catches in an uneven part of the pavement and I slam into the ground. I scrape my cheek, elbows and knees. It's like fire on my skin.

    Some recruits kick into me (I force myself to think it's an accident) and I block my face instinctively. I pick myself up, earn a few kicks in the ankles and continue like nothing happened. My body is burning up.

    The guys catch up to me and Ben is the first to ask. Where did he come from? I'll ask him about it later. "What the hell happened?"

    I don't stop. "I fell," I answer simply.

    I can see Ben is struggling to keep up with me but he doesn't complain. "I swear, you're gonna kill an army just by falling." I wish.

    We run in silence. I can tell Ben is watching me. Why does he care?

    The gray sky sets a gloomy mood. Like the world knows it's in some deep shit. If so, it's smart.

    Recruits don't look any better. Like I said many times before, only four squads get to graduate, so the other hundreds will stay for another year, hoping to get lucky.

    But staying here means another year with Reznik and nobody wants that. The guy is an a-hole. Words can't describe.

    Think of the devil and the devil will come.

     Reznik turns up at thr corner of the barracks and just stands there, watching us. It's creepy. I do my best to keep my eyes ahead of me. That's hard when a maniac could pounce at you at any moment.

    Our laps are over and we have to clean up for training. I go first and after me Ben. There's a knock at our door and Flintstone hurries to open, obviously glad to be as far from me as possible.

    Reznik comes in, a scowl plastered on his hideous face. All of us stand in formality. I'm jealous Ben is showering. He gets to miss this.

    Reznik clears his throat. "Private Marionette, Commander Vosch requests you in his office," he says in that yelling-sort-of voice.

    The air in my throat freezes. Not again. What could happen now?

    An idea pops up in my mind. Since we're graduating, one of us gets to be promoted to Sergeant. I always thought it would be Ben. He's perfect for the position.

    Could I have beat him at this? No, that's nonsense. Ben deserves the spot most. But still . . .

    I push all my anxieties aside for a moment and follow Reznik.