Tenebris' Light (Part 1 in Telestai Timeline)

Chapter 11

I walk with Max down the hallway. His features are dim, but I can tell he's excited. He looks back, watching the elevator's doors close. He spins around in a blur, slamming me into the wall. I gasp for air, feeling it all leave my body.
"Okay, how the hell did you do that!?" He yells. "All I heard about you was you were fast, and that you had good aim."
I smile. I actually really love how much these guys are talking about me because of what happened.
"You don't know the half of it." I try to hide my grin
Max loosens his grip on my shoulders and steps back. "Apparently not." His eyes follow my movements carefully, like he's expecting me to attack him. "I like that you went for the weak spots, that was smart. But that just means you're not very strong."
I frown. He's probably right though.
"Hold on," he twists around, reaching for something in his back pocket. He pulls the thing out before I can even react. He tosses it at me, and it lands right in the centre of my chest. It's hard on impact, shoving me to the wall again. I cough, looking down at my chest. I spasm back, hitting the wall another time. There's an armour plate on chest with veins of glowing Dark Matter coming from the centrepiece, and it's being held up by nothing.
"Touch it." Max says. I look up at him, scared.
"The hell is it?" I ask. "Some kind of Azarath?"
"You'll see, just touch it."
I lift my finger, reaching to it. I poke the centrepiece, and a startling surge of power rushes through my body. It's a high, running through me like boosted adrenaline. I expect it to end quickly, but it's less of a surge and more of a continuous flow of energy, like a machine turning on. This is definitely Azarath, I could probably break through stone with a flick of my finger.
Max whips his head back, laughing. "See that power?" He says.
"Yeah..." I sigh, hyperventilating.
I've only tried Azarath once, and when I did, I had a seizure. I'm clueless as to why I'm not right now. I suppose it's because if the energy. Last time, there was too much energy going to my brain, and it was drawing some from other of my bodily systems. This time it keeps going, and endless, steady flow.
"I'll help you up." Max says, reaching out. I grab his hand, trying not to crush it. "First time on Azarath gear, huh?"
"Pretty much."
"That's fair,"
I get to my feet, breathing heavy.
"Alright, now hit me." Max says, opening up his arms. I hesitate. "Come on, you had no trouble before."
I lunge at Max, landing a blow to his torso. He's thrown back, landing on his hands and landing in a pounce position. He sweeps his leg under mine, but I leap over him. I grab the sides of his head and spin him around, the smash his head into the floor. I've never been able to anything like that. I can do brutal takedowns, but never strategic attacks.
Max gets up, wiping the blood from his nose, which I broke again.
"See how much faster and stronger you are now?" Max says. "Before your punches only stunned me, but just now you threw me right off my feet."
He seems so excited, despite how I've smashed his head into the glossy aesthetic floor.
"Don't you think it's better to have strength of my own? You know, without any modifications?" I ask.
"No." Max says. "No one cares about mods."
I shrug, stepping back. "So why'd you give me the mod then?"
I can see what he's doing. He's testing me more, seeing if I'm a good fit for the army. I definitely want to be part of the army, and I'm seeing good signs from Max. I know I'll pass this test, I'm a great soldier, and it wouldn't bother me. Having so much power would protected, and I can finally get over the trauma I felt years ago. No one could ever hurt me. Having the power to hurt others is power itself. Not to mention being so traumatized by hurting others is a very easy way to keep that power in check. I would do so many great people such good.
Max has been testing me for strength, but I'm now realizing he hasn't seen my aim.
"You could be a soldier for Jade, you'd be a great contributor." He smiles.
I didn't expect him to flat out tell me he's testing me, he's not considering my reaction. I don't really like Max at all actually. Jil was scared for my life, and what joining the war would do to my mental state. Max just sees me as a hunk of meat that would do well for his team.
I'll go along with it anyway. If he's going to just tell me what he's thinking, maybe I will too.
"Thanks, Max, but I don't think strength tests are great trials." I say, shoving my hands in my pockets. I can't help but feel I'm manipulating him. Well less manipulating him, more guiding him. "Marksmanship and weapon handling are probably better for me anyway."
He smiles, taking in my suggestion.
"Ar'ight," he says. "We can do that." He walks off, expecting me to follow. I walk with him through the halls. This place is really big, it's scary, and I realized earlier that I'm missing my rifle. I'm sure they've got something.
"Kind of gun do you use?" He asks.
I know that line by heart. When I joined the Hunter Killers, the directors thought I was too scrawny to fight. The other HT's always asked me what kind of gun I used. I always told them all that
"I run a bolt-action 34 caliber DMR marksman rifle." I say. I didn't even have to think about it.
"Ah. G46?" Max smiles. "Or F29?" F29's are too expensive, and I shot one once, doesn't kick hard enough.
"G46. F29's are a rip-off." I say.
"Agreed." Max scoffs. "We got one in the armoury, it's hammer always got rusty. We had to upgrade it just to keep it from rotting."
We reach the end of the hall, coming to a tall sliding door. The doors part with a hiss and reveals a massive high tech firing range.
"God damn." I mutter. It's huge.
"Yeah." Max says, coming in after me. He runs off, tapping on the wall. A cabinet pops out, about two feet tall and ten wide. It's filled with handguns and ordinance neatly organized in it. Max grabs a pistol, and tosses it to me too fast to see it. I catch it, staring at it in my hands.
"Alright, kid," he says. "fire away."