1 Week Later

August 12, 2071

1300 CDT

Olympus’s Training Camp, East Olympia

Ho Vắn Duy's Point of View

“I still can’t believe you’re the squad leader!” Sonya explodes in frustration.

“Too bad! Our superior’s decisions are final!” I say.

“Well, our superiors are obviously stupid!” She continues to whine.

“Maybe if you weren’t in the bottom ten of cooperation, you’d be giving the orders instead!” I say.

God, you get on my nerves.

“This is bullshit!” She screams out as she finally walks away with angry stomps.

You should be leading us Sonya, but you’re not ready. Alright, time to focus. Our training consists of tests of physiology, histology, embryology, neurobiology, affective science, ballistics, hoplology, military science, world history, geography, mathematics, anthropology, martial arts, anatomy, medicine, theology, thanatology, pathology, food science, meteorology, zoology, marine biology, botany, navigation, astronomy, automotive engineering, survival skills, communication, and cooperation. Today is our first group exercise and I’m not looking forward to it.

The training area for this activity resembles a grassy American football field filled with truck tires and unrepairable cars for makeshift cover. The weather is perfect! Clear skies without a cloud in sight. Our superiors and the other squads are spectating on the sidelines, patiently waiting for the match to begin.

“Squad Zeus, attention! We’ll be playing a match of capture the flag against Squad Poseidon! Our flag is right behind this goal line, while Squad Poseidon’s flag is ninety-one meters opposite us. We’ll be using paintball guns in this exercise! Getting tagged with a paintball means you’re eliminated. At that point, you must immediately drop your weapon and drop dead. Any form of communication is forbidden after you’ve been eliminated! Breaking these rules means that you forfeit the match for you and your team. The paintballs hurt like shit, so you will know when you get hit! The white lines near the sidelines indicate the out-of-bounds line and going out of bounds also means that you’re eliminated. The exercise can be won by taking the enemy’s flag and delivering it to our own or eliminating all eight of their members before they eliminate us. This match will have a fifteen-minute time limit. If the flag hasn’t been captured in those fifteen-minutes and players still remain, then the team with the most players wins the match. Are there any questions?”

“I have a question sirrrrrrrrr! How will this shit help us in four years?” Ruby asks in a playful tone.

How can she be so dense?

“The undead aren’t the only threats out there. I understand what you’re getting at because zombies don’t shoot back or have intelligence, but let’s pretend that the flags represent a precious resource we can’t afford to lose because hundreds of lives depend on it. The enemy team represents bandits that possess said resources. They want the rest of our stuff and are willing to kill us for it. We can say that the out-of-bounds line represents a horde of zombies, and the timer represents how fast they’re closing in on us. It’ll be unlikely that we’ll run into human threats, but this is just a precaution. We’ll have to be prepared to kill another human being when we’re deployed out there. Got it?”

Kill another person? Yeah right.

“Yes, sir! I understand!” Ruby responds with an eye roll.

No, you don’t! And then there’s Billy.

“Billy, what’s on your mind?” I ask.

Stop being timid!

“K-Killing the undead is one thing, but killing another human is completely different,” Billy mutters nervously.

You’re not wrong, but this is the world we live in.

“No disrespect, sir, but I have to agree with my brother! Uglies are just dead creatures overstaying their welcome, but killing a living, breathing person is insane! I’m willing to partake in the exercise, but I don’t think I can ever actually kill someone,” Rachel kindly explains.

How ironic considering your specialty.

“We’ll continue this matter another time. Paintballs are non-lethal, so you don’t have to worry about killing someone today. We’ll also be wearing plastic goggles to protect our eyes, and we’ll be wearing ponchos to make sure our uniforms don’t get too dirty. Our guns have thirty rounds of ammunition, and no extra ammo will be provided. This simulates how rare bullets are to come by and how long it takes to make new ones. Do you guys know what this means?”

Please, anyone but Ruby?

Stolen story; please report.

“Ooooooh, I know, Captain!” Ruby replies in a mischievous tone.

“Ok. Ruby what does it me-” I say.

“It means don’t be a jackass by wasting your bullets, right?” Ruby rudely interrupts.

I’ll let your interruption slide since you are paying attention today.

“Correct, Ruby. That means don’t be a jackass by wasting your bullets. Zombies can only be killed with a shot to the head, but people are different. You can shoot anywhere, but you should aim for the vital organs. Shots to the brain, heart, kidneys, liver, and lungs are extremely lethal.”

Stop looking so confused, Ruby, Billy, and Rachel! Put your damn hands down! You should’ve studied more.

“This means that shots to the head, neck, torso, knees, and spine are also very effective for those failing anatomy. This is just an exercise but remember to double-tap or destroy the brain with a knife if possible in real fights. Everyone turns and you don’t want an enemy corpse to kill you in their new life. Our guns have a maximum range of thirty yards with three separate fire modes: automatic, semi-automatic, and single shot. You’ll be trusted to use what you think is best for the situation. Are there any more questions?”

No more hands. We can finally begin.

*

Eight vs. eight. Squad Poseidon will no doubt focus on Lieutenant Grey first. Speaking of Sonya.

“What’s the plan, Captain?” Sonya asks in a calm tone as she approaches the ten-yard line.

“Teresa!” I call to her.

“The one and only,” she says with a smirk as she joins our huddle.

“Exercise or not, your lives are more important to me than anything else,” I say.

“Careful, Captain. The flag, aka life-saving supplies, will save countless lives. There’s only 8 of us, and our superiors expect us to risk our lives to succeed,” Sonya quickly reminds.

“What are you trying to say, Miss Sonya Grey?” I ask.

“You think that you can protect everyone, keep everyone safe, but you can’t. As expendable soldiers, the priority is always the mission. We know you care about us and our safety but remember what we’re fighting for. I follow a great leader who knows our strengths and weakness, but I refuse to follow an incompetent jackass who tries to protect everyone.” Sonya states.

You wouldn’t be saying that if you had to choose between Luke or the mission.

“Your opinion is noted. Anyway, here’s my plan that involves minimal risk. Me, Sonya, Billy, and Ruby on offense while Luke, Drew, Rachel, and Teresa on defense,” I say.

“It’s not a bad idea, but if we have to win at any cost, might I suggest a better strategy for us, Captain?” Teresa asks in concern.

“Go ahead, Teresa,” I say.

“The enemy will do anything to get the resources before us, so we should enter the same mindset. Sonya will be their first target, but neither team has to actually capture the flag to win according to the rules. A team can win by eliminating all of their enemies or having more members than the opposing team by the time the fifteen minutes is up. However, in a real battle, that way of winning is actually losing. We may have won the fight and escaped in time, but we failed to capture the supplies in the process. That would mean our friends died for nothing, and our superiors would be ashamed if we returned empty-handed. The flag is an objective to get the teams moving. It’s bait and speaking of bait, I think it’s time to live up to my unwelcome nickname of zombie bait. Hmm, I guess I would be human bait in this situation,” she explains in too proud of a tone.

“What do you mean by that?” I ask.

“Here’s my plan; Sonya and Billy will lead the assault while you and Rachel support them from behind. As leader, you’ll need to be in a position to see the entire battlefield and communicate with the others. Rachel is the best shot on the team with the best vision. She’ll be able to cover Sonya and Billy, protect you and me, and keep an eye on our guard all at the same time. That means Luke, Drew, and Ruby will be on defense. Ruby being forced to step out of her comfort zone will improve her growth. Luke and Drew are patient and reliable enough to make good decisions on defense. They also don’t have any outstanding skills or talents for the other positions.”

“Sounds good to me,” Sonya supports with an impressed look on her face.

“Wait. Go back to the bait thing,” I say.

“Billy and Sonya might get pinned down by enemy fire. Captain, as usual, I’m the weak link in the exercises, which means I have the least to provide in this mission. I’m asking, no, I’m telling you to use me as a distraction if needed,” Teresa orders with a determined look on her face.

Yeah right! If being a good leader means sending someone to their death for the mission, then I can’t do it. I’ll protect everyone no matter what!

“Your poker face is awful, Captain,” Teresa says with a raised eyebrow. “I’m aware that I’m not built for this world, and now I’m stuck here because of my own actions. We all have roles to play, and your role is to stop thinking you can protect all of us and do your job as leader. I’m the most expendable member of Squad Zeus, and I’m willing to play that part if I know it’ll lead to success. But I can’t do that if my Captain is thinking about making stupid decisions! No matter what happens to us, always remember who this squad is named after. Just like Zeus, we are immortal, and just like Zeus, we are the mightiest! The bond this squad shares will be unbroken forever. The entire world will remember us one day! We will never be forgotten!” Teresa exclaims with pride.

“You heard the girl, Captain, let’s do this,” Sonya says with a smirk.

*

“What do you mean, defense?” Ruby asks in absolute disgust.

“I said what I said, Ruby! Is there a problem?” I ask.

“No, Captain, I’ll do what I’m told,” she says with a look of defeat.

“You’re so childish,” Drew criticizes Ruby.

Sticking your tongue out at him only supports what he’s saying, Ruby.

“Hey! Stop fucking around! This exercise will simulate life on the outside!” Sonya orders.

“I understand, Lieutenant!” Ruby responds, still not understanding the situation.

“Defense isn’t so bad, Ruby,” Luke says to make her feel better.

“I’d rather watch paint dry,” Drew replies.

“Ok, playing defense in team sports is pretty boring,” Luke admits.

“That doesn’t make me feel better, guys,” Ruby says in despair.

“Except hockey. Goalies in hockey seem to get a lot of action,” Billy joins in.

“Yeah, only if their team’s defense sucks,” Teresa explains.

“That’s a good point,” Rachel joins in.

“Or the other team’s offense is too good,” Sonya adds to the group.

“Darn, I wish we could play hockey,” Billy wishes.

“At least there’s an air hockey table in the barracks,” Rachel says in support.

“We’re only allowed to use it on special occasions though,” Teresa explains.

“Kicking Squad Poseidon’s ass is a special occasion. Captain, what do you say? If we win, do you think we can convince our superiors to let us use the air hockey table? Let’s do boys vs. girls,” Ruby asks in a burst of excitement.

I want to smile, but it’s not appropriate because I’m an authoritarian figure now.

“Yes, if we win, I’ll convince our superiors to let us use the air hockey table,” I say.

“Sweet!” Ruby and Rachel cheer in glee.

End of Act 1: Olympus