“YOU WHAT?” Jake, Biscuit, and Gabby screamed in unison, drawing even more attention to themselves from those standing around them. But their outburst simply made Zack crack up laughing. “You guys are a riot,” he said, wiping the joyful tears that formed in his eyes.
“Wait, wait,” came from Jake. “You’re already an academy student?”
Zack nodded his head as a yes while cheesing at Jake. The conversation confused Jake and the others even more. “But you took the exam with us. You were a part of the exam. If you’re already a student, then why take the exam over again? Do mid-tier cadets have to retake the exam every year to come back? If so, why weren’t the ones you showed us before there?” asked Biscuit.
The line of questions made Zack laugh more. “You guys are hilarious. Naw, naw, mid-tiers don’t have to take the exam to re-enroll, but I like to. It’s a fun little challenge for myself. Well, if we exclude Jake’s fight, this year’s exam was pretty boring.”
Zack stood in a relaxed position, smiling at the three, and they, in turn, looked at him with faces of bewilderment. Those faces started to crack Zack up.
After some more time had passed, many that were waiting noticed that they had been waiting for quite a while. “How long has it been?” one of them asked, looking down at their watch.
“Damn it, we’ve been waiting for an hour,” they said, now lifting their head.
“An hour?” another person said in response. “I’ve been here longer than you, so I must have been waiting for at least two.”
“Two hours?” another scoffed. “I’ve been waiting for three.”
Slowly but surely, those who were waiting were getting annoyed by how long they were left waiting. After Jake and the other two, Sullivan arrived, none others showed up after them, meaning everyone that needed to be here was already here except for those who were supposed to retrieve them.
And because of this, because of the seemingly unending waiting, tensions started to rise. People started to bicker amongst themselves. The agitation and strife building made the spiky-haired Zack chuckle as he shook his head. “Bunch of snowflakes,” he said underneath his breath.
Zack noticed, like always, that the ones getting annoyed, the ones fighting, weren’t any of the returning cadets like himself or the others he pointed out earlier. Nor was it those like Jake, Biscuit, and Gabby, those who had gone through and passed the entrance exam themselves. No, as always, it was the ones complaining, the ones bitching, were those who got in because of their families’ connections. It wasn’t all of them, but a good handful of them.
As tensions kept rising, some of those waiting could hear a weird sound, but it was so faint and seemed so far away that none who could hear it could place where the sound was coming from. Then, after a few seconds, the sound became louder. It was coming closer now. Others could hear it over the arguments.
At this moment, a few of the returning cadets got ready. The short, heavy-set young man that Zack had pointed at earlier during his explanation closed a book he was reading as he grabbed his bag. The cat-eyed girl stretched herself out then smacked herself hard in the face with both hands, getting herself hyped up. Many others who were like them and got ready, knowing what that sound was and what it meant.
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Then there was Zack, who could only smile as he shifted his gaze towards the sea. “All right, it’s about damn time. Now the fun is about to begin.”
In the direction that Zack was looking, something small could be seen hovering over the water. That blurry dot caught the attention of those other than Zack and the other mid-tiers. They noticed it was growing closer, getting bigger, and the closer it got, the easier people were able to tell that the sound they were hearing was coming from it.
After a few seconds, when the blurry dot had come even closer, all those unprepared were able to tell what the thing was. It was a helicopter, and a big one at that. It seemed to be a jumbo copter with two propellers, one in the front and the other in the back. And as the copter image was fully coming into view, the louder sound its blades made.
Within the helicopter were the pilot and the woman who sat next to him. “Ma’am,” he said, “we have arrived.”
The woman, with her head leaning against the window, gave him a sarcastic, “Yes, I have a working eye, Quincy.” Hearing this, the man was flustered. “Oh yes, yes, you do, ma’am… Um, well, we will be landing in just a moment.”
“That would be expected, Quincy,” the woman responded, and the pilot felt even more embarrassed.
After a moment, the helicopter had reached the gravel parking lot that everyone was using as a makeshift waiting room the. Copter hovered over everyone, its blades spinning fast, its blades spinning loudly, the copter was so loud that no one could hear a thing, they couldn’t even hear themselves think, the propellers were just too loud, and people had a hard time keeping their balance as the air was pushing them back. Whether on instinct or by force, everyone started to back away from the copter, clearing a spot for the pilot to land safely.
After the copter had landed, Quincy started to turn off the engine, and the helicopter blades started to slow down until they came to a complete stop. After that happened, everyone was now watching a copter at rest, “Holy Crap!!!” exclaimed Biscuit,” I’ve never been this close to a helicopter before.” his tail wagging energetically. “Me either,” said Gabby. “It looks like a metal bird!”
The little girl shared Biscuit’s excitement. The two being mesmerized made Zack chuckle, but as he did, he shot a look at the copter himself. “He wasn’t mesmerized by it like Gabby and Biscuit, but he was curious about who was in the copter.”
“I wonder who they sent to get us this time,” he thought. “Maybe Miss _____ or Old Man _____. Then he stopped himself, then smiled, giving his brain a new thought. No, I’m pretty sure they sent her to get us.” Zack was sure he knew who was in the copter, and the thought of her made him giggle.
After the copter had landed, the woman sitting next to the pilot sat back in her seat, then closed both of her eyes. She just sat there for a moment and simply breathed… in… and out… in… and… out. She did this for a few moments until she felt she was prepared. Then she stood from her seat and walked behind the pilot. As she was reaching for a sliding door, she told Quincy, “Be prepared for liftoff. We won’t be staying long.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the pilot responded. The woman opened the sliding door, then stepped out of the helicopter. The moment everyone laid eyes on her, many had opposite reactions. The heavyset young man from earlier’s stomach started to rumble uncomfortably. “Oh boy,” he said. “Why did they have to send her?”
The cat-eyed girl smiled widely. “Oh man, I didn’t know she was on retrieval duty!” Zack, like the girl before him, smiled as well. “I knew it,” he thought to himself. “Oh, this is going to be super fun.” To those who didn’t know or recognize the woman, they all got a good look at her.
She was a short, tan middle-aged woman, no taller than 5 foot. Many of those waiting towered over the woman, but they would probably never make a move against her because of the aura she exuded. By the way she stood, by the look in her eyes, anyone could tell this woman meant business. Even the devil himself wouldn’t try her.
The next physical trait about her that stood out was her head. It was shaved bald, which seemed odd for a woman to do, but her head was quickly the last thing anyone focused on as they all zeroed in on her face. The bald woman had a large scar on the left side of her face.
It seemed to be a scar that was left by a cut or scratch from something or someone dangerous. The scar went from her forehead all the way down past her lip, and the scar itself also went over her left eye. Even though both her eyes were open, everyone could tell that there was a difference between the two of them.
Her right eye was green, while her left was grayish. It seemed muted and milky. No one had to think hard; they could tell that this woman was blind in her left eye. The woman also wore military attire, but with a black trench coat on top of it.
Those with keen eyes noticed that her coat’s right sleeve was flowing effortlessly in the wind. After what felt like hours, the woman finally spoke, addressing everyone. “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MY NAME IS MADEA V, AND I AM AN INSTRUCTOR AT THE GARDENIA MILITARY ACADEMY. IF YOU PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE REAR OF THE COPTER AND PLACE ANY BAGS OR SUITCASES YOU’RE CARRYING THERE. THEN, WHEN YOU’RE DONE, MAKE YOUR WAY INSIDE AND PREPARE FOR LIFTOFF.”
After addressing everyone, for some reason her words resonated with Jake. It was time. It was finally getting serious. This would be his first real step forward in helping save his mother, and he was ready. His grip tightened around Tsubaki as he said out loud, but only aiming to speak to her, “Hey Tsubaki, let’s do this.”
The katana could feel the determination coming from the young man, and she responded, “Yes, let’s.”