The next week and a half are interesting, to say the least, but entertaining to me. The normal daily school classes have been replaced by survival experts who have been teaching us the most basic of survival techniques. To me, these lessons are so simple and stupid that for a bit I was convinced we were getting messed with. Turns out most imperials didn't know drinking random water found in the woods is not a good idea, and that berries could be poisonous. I manage to get my hands on a survival book to read up on more advanced things, but my main concern is concealment.

The main goal of this event is to not be seen by either the instructors or the drones they have flying around, survival is just an added difficulty, but is realistic to an extent. The area where we will be placed is in a large plot of land owned by the government that isn't a national park. It's a heavily forested and hilly area and the only goal is to make it from your insertion point to the exit. We are allowed to look at the map of the area before we even head out which I take advantage of. I can tell the region is really hilly making travel difficult, and the trees allow for greater stealth while moving. It has been a decently rainy year in the region so the foliage should be green and lush.

I check with teachers to see what equipment we will be given and I find that it's a simple survival knife, a compass, a paper map, and one-day rations. I also learn the event should in theory last five days as the terrain is hard. The most important tidbit of information I receive is word of loot caches being scattered through the zone. These can contain any number of useful items or clothing. They aren't marked and are airdropped into random places prior to the test. Bears are not an issue as apparently on the Oregon-California border, where the event is being held, bears seemingly have gone elsewhere or extinct in the region.

In the days leading up to the event, I eat heartily, mostly fats and carbs as I know this is gonna be quite cold. It's January and since the event is in Northern California I can't rely on the better weather of the South. I also buy long underwear to insulate my body further as it can fit underneath whatever I am required to wear, as well as warm and waterproof or at least resistant socks.

With basic clothing and gear prepared as well as reading up more on survival skills I then begin working on my concealment skills. I remember the content of my training back in the day but not the experience itself. Due to the overall lack of AMS pilots available we were all trained quite well as a kind of special forces, mostly relying on the skills gained from the training rather than the physical aspect, that part just comes from the brutal training itself. Stealth is a major skill for special forces and I learned plenty, but I begin practicing my ability to camouflage myself in the woods around the academy to catch up again, plus using the library on my tablet I was able to find a book on the subject.

Towards the end of the training period, I am able to quiet my heavy steps to an almost inaudible level and figured where to place my feet on the forest floor as not to make loud sounds. The heavy metal of my legs makes this whole process difficult, but I can move at a decently quick pace while making little to no sound. The problem now is to hope the trees where we are headed are pines or any other coniferous tree. This would make the forest floor much quieter to walk on as needles don't crunch loudly like deciduous tree leaf which would all be on the ground at the moment.

Eventually, the time comes around for the event to happen and my class is called to the AMS training area in our piloting uniform. Me being smart, I put my long underwear on under the suit and have my warm socks on. I charted a course on the map I had and plotted a course for if I was placed in the furthest possible point away from the exit. A little over two days of travel if I take a straight line and don't get held up. This means if the simulated enemies are vigilant it should take me four days -ish. I plan to use the inexperienced imperials as cover for my own movements though. Not my squad, not my problem. If I see Seraphina in trouble I'll help, but everyone is getting deployed individually in random places so it is unlikely I find her in a nearly two hundred and fifty square mile area in the middle of nowhere. Not sure how there is no development in the area with it not being a national park but that's none of my business.

We linger around for a few minutes before Dusty stands in front of the class and begins her announcements,

"Alright. It's time for the forest survival and evasion test to begin. We will be dropping you off randomly in the forest area designated. Rules are, no using weapons on fellow classmates or the simulated enemies. While the weapons they will be using hurt like hell, they won't kill you. Please don't do anything to harm them, they are volunteers. Aside from them, there will be small drones with similar weapons available to them. Do not let them spot you either. All enemies have night vision, but as a mercy, they will not have thermal cameras.

Aside from that, your goal is to make it to the extraction point as quickly as possible. This is technically a competition, so first one there is the winner. If you are incapacitated by the non-lethal weapons you will be removed from the test, and you will have lost. After a week, the area will be considered to get a full sweep which it will, with thermal cameras and other more advanced searching gear to collect you. This collection means you lost as well. You will all be given the same starting supplies and aside from that good luck."

She smiles mischievously as a large cargo plane-looking flyer descends rapidly before barely touching the ground. A big ramp opens and we are told to go get into a seat. I head to a random chair and on it is a small drawstring bag with the promised supplies. I sit down and lean back going over my plan a couple of times more in my head. Genevieve sits next to me and Seraphina sits on the other side of her. The other side of me has Eloise appear at it. She sits upright with a very worried look in her eyes. I take a look around and see most imperials with the same look in their eyes, the rest show it on their faces. I sit there smiling and confident. I won't say I'm Survivorman 2.0 but I can at least hike in one direction at a rapid pace.

The cargo flyer takes off and we are whisked away towards our destination. The flight is relatively short as these futuristic flyers can really haul ass. Slowly one at a time people are lowered on what looks like a coastguard rescue harness to the silent forest below. The mix of bare trees and still green conifers of some kind. Every time the door opens I can feel the cold air rush in and cut into the skin of my face. I watch Seraphina and Genevieve get called and lowered down below. Then Eloise is next. The entire flyer is cleaned out before I am called. My worst-case scenario. I am the furthest possible place away from the extraction point.

I slide into the harness as I am carefully lowered and I step onto the soft forest floor and take a look around. The sun is nearly at its peak, but being winter it sits in the South part of the sky. I still take the map from my bag with the compass and set them on the ground to gather my true bearings.

I place my compass on the cardinal of the map lining up the directions and trying to figure out just how far I am away from extraction. I take a look around and just see the forest and no hills or mountains too far above me. I don't see a horizon either so that means I am not on top of one of the mountains or hills. I take a listen and hear no flowing water so I am not near any of the creeks or streams snaking across the map. I check the map for areas in the far north of the area that is of the same general elevation. I find two potential spots I could be potentially located. With their placement on the map, my only course of action is to head south as one of the spots has a really steep drop to a valley on its south which will tell me exactly where I am.

I pick everything up and speedwalk south. I quickly come across the steep drop. Below is a very thin brook but I now know where I am. That is literally one mile away from the northern border of the exercise area. The extraction point is at the furthest point South. I let out a long breath and begin making my way down the steep hill using trees to carefully lower myself down. I make it to the brook and touch the cool water. It's less of an actual brook but more like a large washout, with the rainwater from earlier still draining.

I hop over the water gracefully and keep walking. I wind my way up the hillside careful to pace myself up the hill so I don't get tired too soon before night. I always hated camping, and since I don't have a tent I really don't want to sleep outside in the elements very much. The hike is uneventful for a while. The trees and hilly terrain keep the wind from really affecting me, but my hands keep going numb from the cold. I really wish I didn't have this gimp-suit of a pilot's uniform. Yeah, it makes me look like a sci-fi mech pilot, but it really doesn't protect me from the cold as much and doesn't have pockets to keep my hands warm.

I remember the old uniform which was modified standard combat fatigues. Those pants had lots of pockets, and during the winter months, we got heavier ones with better cold protection. Also, we had plat carrier rigs over top, but no backplates due to the ports on our backs. Thinking back now, and how close I've gotten to dying, I should ask for a more protective pilots uniform and overall more utilitarian. Yeah, I know I look hot in the skintight jumpsuit, but I also think it's impractical and stupid.

My train of thought is halted suddenly by the jarring sound of whistling noise. It sounds like strong wind passing through mosquito netting. A loud, yet still soft whistle. It takes me a moment before I think,

'Drone engines!'

I press my body tightly around the nearest evergreen tree using the foliage and trunk to conceal myself as much as possible. I can barely see the drone through the branches. It has two tiny jet engines that swivel as the drone slowly flies over, using a rotating camera to scan the area. I don't see any weaponry on it but I also don't want to find out. The drone passes overhead without incident. I sigh and begin moving once again with a slightly quicker pace and more alert than before. I am not losing this competition to any of those rich fucks from space.

After many hours of marching up and down hills and rubbing my near-frozen hands together night begins to set in. I know better than to sleep in the open and also know it's gonna go from cold, to frigid in an hour or two.

I catch a lucky break with a washout on a hill. The washout looks like a small ditch just wide enough for me to slide into and has enough foliage around it to kinda conceal me. I still use my knife to cut down some branches from trees and climb into my little hole using the branches and their thick needles to cover me. It's not exactly comfortable, or warm, but it's out of the wind, and out of sight of any pursuers. I lie there on my back for a while staring at the starry sky through my camouflage and the branches above. I feel a bit tired but not sleepy. I hate the feeling and just try to force myself to sleep. I don't want to start a fire as the opposing force will find me, and the wood here is all damp. A fire would be difficult as well.

Eventually, my eyes grow heavy and I fall asleep. I have a dream, or perhaps a resurfacing memory. I can't see faces still, but I know they are friends. We are walking through some woods with rifles at the ready. I don't know why, as I should have been in an AMS not patrolling through a forest. This starts to get hazy as what I assume is an ambush happens. The thing that bothers me is despite not seeing the enemies in this hazy nightmare, I know they are from the Solar Empire. The weapons aren't right. Who are they, and why are we fighting them? Someone beside me drops like a rock and someone is screaming next to me...

I shoot awake but stay lying down in my hidey-hole. The screaming hasn't stopped. I listen, it's a guy screaming in pain. Not like he's being tortured or actually killed but is both scared and hurting. I lift my head slightly just enough to see around me. I see a fellow student running through the woods holding his arm. Then my blood runs cold. Hot on his heels is Dusty mostly ghillied up chasing him with a strange weapon. Her smile is outright sadistic. She aims and with a dull pop a bright yellow object slams into the back of the running man and he spasms while shouting in pain. He falls over and Dusty collects her prize. She stands over him and hog-ties him. I watch her talk into a radio and a small flier appears and takes the tied-up man away.

"Poor fucker"

I say under my breath why laughing to myself. Dusty then looks around for a bit and her gaze freezes on my washout. I feel scared that I might have been found as she starts approaching slowly. I also notice her weapon is lowered so I assume she is going to ask for surrender. To my utter surprise though she lies down in the washout herself watching the immediate area. If I wasn't so close she would be utterly impossible to see. She stays seated for a while and I start getting antsy, mostly due to discomfort of the ground, but most urgently, I need to use the restroom. Dusty's back is to me in the way she is sitting and if she layed back fully her head would be no more than three inches from my boots. I decide on a plan.

While she intently watches further down the hill I slowly sit up. The damp branches covering me make little sound as I move and the slightly muddy dirt makes no sound as I rise from my hole. I am tempted to stretch and get the knot out of my back but I have a goal. I make each step carefully my foot making no sound as the needles on the ground cushion my heavy steps. I am standing over the sitting woman and then strike. I wrap my arm around her neck and hold a hand over her mouth. I tighten around her neck enough to slightly choke but not fully choke her out. I say to her,

"The rules stated no lethal force, and I am not using lethal force. I recommend a surrender or I'll have to, well, choke you the fuck out."

She doesn't move for a second just making choked sounds before biting the shit out of my hand. I instinctively move away and she turns to fire upon me. The weapon is long barreled like a full-size rifle so it's slow to aim. I am able to catch the barrel before it aims at me and I lift it to the sky as she fires a round. I notice the weapon is bolt-action so I am safe for a moment. I step forward and attempt to send a knee into her gut. She lets go of the weapon and is able to block it just in time. She raised one leg to block my attack and we hit knee-to-knee. Pain shoots up my leg but I ignore it and press forward. Despite Dusty being large for a woman, and very strong for a human, I am bigger still, and heavier. My bulk is able to cause her to stumble backward as I knock the weapon a few feet away.

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I keep up the pressure and manage to grab one of her wrists. She tries to jerk away but my grip is iron. I use my lock to pull her close and throw the side of my hips into her gut pulling her arm across my body and whipping around. Due to her lost balance, she leaves the ground and I slam her onto the ground causing her to make a 'Gorp' noise as the wind is knocked out of her. I step out of the washout and grab the weapon and work the bolt. I aim at her as she stands up slowly and fire one of the rounds at her. This weapon is either inaccurate, or I have n clue how it works as, despite aiming center-mass the round hits her thigh. This causes her to gasp loudly as her leg locks out straight and she is on the ground again attempting to remove the bright yellow dart, or whatever it is. I hear a rapid clicking noise, so I assume it works like a tazer or stun-gun.

I work the bolt again and don't see another round enter the chamber. I sigh and walk towards Dusty who is slowly attempting to escape. Her leg is frozen stiff and dragging behind her. I get to her and step squarely on her back and press down to hold her still and pinned to the ground. I reach down and feel around her waist for ammo pouches. I don't find any on her hips or other parts of her waist meaning either she doesn't carry more ammo, or they are on her front side. I hear her breathing raggedly still a little winded from the short fight. I ask her,

"Can you pretty please hand me some more ammo for this here weapon? I'd really hate to get it myself. "

She cusses and replies,

"What the hell has gotten into you? You're like a fucking terminator. Hell, why don't you get it yourself since you already acted so handsy around my waist!"

I pause for a second and realize I may have just accidentally harassed her without meaning. It just made sense. I then say,

"Well... sorry about that I just want more ammo. And, how the hell am I like the terminator? I mean I've beaten you in a fight before. I just got the drop on you."

She takes a sharp breath in and then says back,

"It's the look on your face. Normally you are so expressive, angry, or happy or something. When I turned around on you, it was like I was looking at a statue. Any normal person would have been on a cussing fit if I'd bitten them like that. You only jerked away, no other reaction, and no sound. That's not normal."

I shake my head as I think it over. I guess I did kinda get serious. Maybe this is a side effect of gaining my past martial memories? Kassandra did say it should make me react more cool-headed in stressful situations. I should look into it, or think about it, but at the moment I have a mission, and I am not failing. I reply to her,

"Hmmm, maybe. Still, though, have you thought that maybe I haven't actually tried against you? I mean this is a mission, with clear goals and consequences if I fail, and rewards if I succeed. You said we should treat this almost as if it were a real situation where we must survive and hide. I am merely doing so. I am surviving and will soon be hiding, just more well armed than I was before."

I hear her cuss at me a few times before I lose my patience. I really need to go and I don't want to do that in front of her, plus I'd be very vulnerable. I remove my foot from her back and slide it under her and flip her over forcefully. As soon as she is on her back she lunges up at me with a stun-gun. The look in her eyes is odd. She looks strangely upset. I can see tears almost forming. What's that about? Do those darts hurt that bad. Her attack is wild and I knock it to the side. She manages to get to her knees and she starts swinging it wildly. She lost her cool.

She begins insulting me and cussing but I tune her out and focus. I dodge backward a few times until she over-extends and I send her arm upwards while holding her elbow. Again she is tall for a woman but I still have a couple of inches, longer arms, and two legs still capable of standing. I hold her arm above her head and she struggles. She brings the other arm around and punches me. She misses her mark on my head and hits my shoulder. I quickly grab her other arm and then hold them together above her head. I am able to hold both her wrists with one hand and with my free hand, I find the tip-ties she has stored on a bandolier across her torso. I then tie her hands together and drop her back down. I find the extra ammo and take it for myself. She is attempting to escape but I ignore it and head off picking up the weapon as I jog over the next hill.

I jog for a bit and feel the world seemingly become colder and more vibrant in the morning light. I don't know what that's about, maybe I finally fully woke up? Once I think I am far enough away I relieve myself on the nearest tree. Afterward, I gather my bearings and start heading in my original direction towards escape. I have most likely made this whole competition a lot harder for everyone. Dusty is gonna be pissed.

I walk for the entire day with nothing to note. I dodged a group of other students heading in the wrong direction. Eventually, the night begins to fall once more as the temperature decreases. I can't find any more washouts big enough for me to sleep in so I keep walking to stay warm. I then see a light in the distance. Not from a fire, but a flashlight. I get low and move slowly towards the light. I keep the weapon raised as I approach and find a lone hunter scanning the trees for students. I crouch down and take aim. I remember how bad the dart dropped even from a few meters away so I aim high and fire. I hit the poor guy in the back and he goes down stiff like a board.

I approach him and kick his light away. He swears at me but I just take his nice and warm winter coat and leave him there. I hear him calling for evac and reinforcements so I pick up my pace, now much warmer.

After moving quickly in a winding pattern I find a cluster of low trees and climb up one with sturdy branches. The branches form a kind of cradle which I hunker into for the night. The coat keeps me nice and warm and the needles of the tree keep the wind away. Sleep comes much quicker despite the much less comfortable bed. I don't dream tonight, must be really tired...

I wake up with the sun and check the surrounding area. I know the hunters have ghillie suits so I take extra care. While they are great at breaking up outlines of a person, they don't do as well in forests with little undergrowth. It would make a person harder to spot, but pine needles tend to not form foot-high piles unless someone rakes them, which also means a person is around. I don't see anything blatant, and upon further inspection, there is nothing out of place. I am about to climb down when I hear a sneeze. My head whips over to where the sound came from and then notices the one thing out of place. A single metal hook in a tree. I can't remember what they are called, but you screw them into a tree and use them as steps on a ladder up to a discrete tree stand.

I scan the tree up and down and can't make out who is in it because of the branches. I don't want to shoot blindly and also I don't want someone to fall out of a tree after getting tasered and getting badly hurt. I decide to play a waiting game. Hours pass without either of us making a sound. I sit there barely moving and I keep looking around the area for any other threats.

Then the silence is broken by that group of students from the night before. They loudly cross through the area between my tree and that of the hunters. I hear the familiar "Pop" and one of the men goes down writhing. The girls with them scream and they all just freeze. I hear more pops as each student goes down and eventually the hunter climbs down laughing at their stupidity. He has his weapon slung over his shoulder so I take my chance. I drop from the tree and begin running away. Either he doesn't notice or doesn't care because I hear no pursuit or shout. I slow down after a bit and catch my breath as I continue my journey. From my best guess, I am about one more day or less of travel from the extraction point. Thus I keep moving forward.

As I start to recognize geological structures from the map I can tell I am a lot closer than I guessed before. The biggest tell is a large anvil-shaped rock. This landmark means I am less than three miles from extraction. I hasten my pace but stop and drop as soon as I crest the next hill. Below me is a literal platoon of hunters. Each one branched out in a perfect search formation as they scour the forest around them. They haven't seen me yet so I slide back down the hill out of sight. I have less than four minutes before they find me. This seems unfair. Really unfair. I begin crawling around the hill hoping to go around the side of the hill and far enough out of their way. I hear footsteps and casual conversation getting closer and to my luck, I find a hole in the ground. It looks to be another washout that formed a small tunnel. I shimmy into it feet first feeling the earth itself compress me tightly but I am concealed. I manage to dislodge the mouth of the hole and partially entomb myself. I hear someone walk over me and feel someone's weight as they step on me. They step off and I can breathe again but to my horror, they stop walking ten meters from my hiding place. I have no choice but to remain buried until night. That's when I need to make my move.

Eventually, night falls and over the course of the day while waiting I hear other students getting captured and sometimes beaten. As the sun began to go down I feel something wet on my face through my tiny breathing hole. It was beginning to rain. I prayed that it would only be a small sprinkle. Unfortunately, that is not my luck. It started pouring rain. The sunset turned to the darkness quickly, and my kinda warm hole became a sloppy wet mess. I am drenched all the way through. As the sun sets the cold seeps in with the water and I am shivering just to stay warm then mud starts flowing ever so slowly into my breathing hole. I have few options, most are to freeze or drown. I kick into survival mode and begin worming my way out of my hole, I wasn't worried about being seen, mostly because I'd rather be caught than drown, and it's pitch black and the rain is coming down in such horrid torrents visibility is only about three foot.

Wet, covered in sloppy mud, and cold as hell, I move towards the extraction zone. I move slowly as my joints are locking due to the cold. My steps are heavy but the torrent covers all sound, just a mile to go. I almost make it to extraction when I see four trucks with massive light bars watching the small valley leading to the very well-marked "extraction" point. A horrible trap making it impossible to get out. I stay low and my muddy exterior hides me in the darkness. I scan the area and see almost all the hunters vigilantly watching the Killzone, weapons ready.I don't see any clear way out as the only way to the extraction zone is through the valley as beyond the hills where the trucks are sitting are the perimeter fence. I'm fucked up shit creek without a paddle.

Then stepping to the light is tonight's challenger. Dressed in a bright red raincoat with cargo pants and heavy steel-toed boots is Dusty. She has no obvious weapons but is holding a bullhorn. She brings it up and shouts,

"Mike, you cocksucker. You are the last one left. I'm not letting you get past here without a fair and square fight. Now march your ass out here and don't try anything funny."

I sigh knowing this is my only hope, even if it is most likely a trap. I'll have to use quick thinking to get out of this. I stand upright and walk into the spotlights. I am blinded for a second until my vision returns completely. Dusty smiles smugly as I approach and she says to me,

"So... you said we've never had an outright fight right? Well... that's the only way you're getting past. You go all out, and if you manage to win, you go free."

I stand there shivering and covered in mud and am dumbfounded. What is this, a fucking 80's sports movie? I shake my head and reply teeth chattering,

"That's all?"

She nods and says,

"Don't think you're gonna win this time, I'm gonna fucking destroy you."

I shake my head and grit my teeth,

"I'm cold, I'm hungry, I am muddy... I don't want to fucking fight, but I guess it's time to show you, WHO REALLY IS THE STRONGEST MOTHER FUCKER!"

I throw the jacket off of me and unzip my pilot's uniform and peel it down like a banana. What has gotten into me? No clue, but I wasn't lying, I want to go home and take a bath. I guess the woods really unlocked something in me. Maybe I need to ask Kassandra about this too?

Dusty looks shook for a moment before taking off the raincoat revealing a long sleeve shirt. which is instantly drenched and due to its light color and the bright lights, not much is hidden. Yet I don't feel shy or embarrassed, that foggy feeling comes back. The colors seem less vibrant, sounds are louder but more indistinguishable. I can hear and see everything perfectly, but it's almost as if something is lost.

Dusty recoils for a second after this, looking me in the eye. I then take a step forward the cold in my joints gone, despite my heavy feet my steps are light and I move towards her with purpose, my stance fluid yet strong. I am really ready to fight.

When we get within arms reach she throws a brutal punch. I dodge at the last second so I take it lightly to the side of my head. That would have hurt, just her knuckle, dragging across my head felt as if someone had just tried to scalp me. I follow up with a low punch from my arm across from her punch. It lands on her arm causing her to flinch but nothing else. She comes back around and hits me hard in the back of the head with a spinning punch. I move forward and see her knee coming for my face. I manage to move my head to the side just in time missing any contact. Her knee goes past my head and I dive below it and nearly put my belly on the ground. I rise up with my shoulder under her thigh.

I stand up rapidly causing her to lose balance. She falls backward and I follow. On the ground, I hit her once in the midsection causing a satisfying gasp to come from her. I feel her hand reach the back of my head and start pulling me towards her. I slide away and get back on my feet. No way am I gonna let her get an easy choke. She slowly starts standing up but I won't allow that. I come forward, knee first, and hit her hard in the head. She tries to recoil downwards to protect herself but I grab her by the chin with two hands and pull her head back up before bringing my knee up once more. I let her drop and start circling her. As she gets her feet under her again she is wobbling like a newborn horse. I am behind her and she can't catch her bearings. Now is the time to finish this. I grab her from behind and put my arm around her neck, this time I don't do it gently. I reinforce it with my other arm and pull back and up at the same time. I hear her grunt once and then after a few seconds she goes limp and I drop her.

She is awake, just weak and she looks up with fear and tears in her eyes. Lightning flashes as the storm intensifies and I say to her,

" I told you I can't go all out on you... you must've felt it. I held back... not because I don't think you're worth it... but because I don't fight for glory or sport. My fighting was forged in war, my fighting is to kill, not beat, and if I were to truly fight you... it would be heartbreaking.

Even if you were able to land those blows, I doubt they would have phased me, because there is nothing you are willing to do to me, that I am not willing to experience in order to claim victory, my victories are not those of glory, but those where I survive."

I shake my head as I walk to the extraction point. Fatigue from this whole journey is slowly creeping in. I also realized... I didn't eat the entire time.

In the extraction zone, there is a medical tent and a buffet ready. It's not the best quality as it has been sitting here for days staying warm with the butane heaters below, but it tastes wonderful to my very hungry body, and the warm food helps me regain my composure as reality seems to become vibrant again.

After I eat I just board the small, luxury flyer waiting and nearly instantly pass out as soon as I lie down on the fuzzy and warm seat. I really should have focused more on the survival part.

Still though... is the way I acted what Kassandra was worried about? or is it what that deer skulled fuck from my dream was talking about? Who knows, That's for later, right now, it's time for sleep.