I arrived back at the gate after sprinting through Goudstad. I felt my leg start bleeding again on the way, but even as I was bleeding, it didn't hurt as much as on my way home. Maria just had that magic touch I guess.

I crawled the last hundred meters, pressing myself into the ditch near the road, keeping the tarp tucked under me. After I got there, I saw it was that same woman I'd choked out earlier. She looked paranoid, every five seconds checking over her shoulder, like someone would be standing there, as she was scribbling furiously in her book.

I waited, remembering what that guard had said last time—I had to hold out until the shift change at four AM. I prayed they were lackadaisical enough to leave the gate unmanned for at least twenty seconds.

After a while, a man came out of the guardhouse, rubbing his neck and yawning. I guess the woman hadn't seen him, as when he was about ten meters away, she jumped up and drew her pistol on him lightning fast, shouting, “Freeze!”

He threw up both hands, eyes growing wide, “Jesus Lana! It's just me! What the hell’s wrong with you?”

She looked at him for what felt like an uncomfortable moment before lowering the gun. “Sorry. Someone came through here earlier, I think. Made me real jumpy,” she said as she holstered the gun.

He stepped closer, frowning. “What do you mean, someone came through here?”

“I mean, something snuck up behind me and knocked me out. I don’t know—it was so fast, it felt like a dream. But I checked the table.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “There’s a scuff mark where I kicked it.” Her voice wavered. “I think… something broke out.”

“Come on, we'll check the cameras. You sure it isn't just a spot test from the falcons?” he said, shaking his head, guiding her toward the guardhouse again, their conversation fading and going quiet as they entered the building.

This gate really needs better security. After I broke back into the tower, I sprinted back to base, running as fast as humanly possible. Or should I say as finkly possible? Nah, that just sounds dumb.

I tore through the city at record speed, the pain shooting through me worse than before. By the time I reached the fence, I was panting. I checked the gate, hoping I could just walk in, but of course, that stupid guard was still awake. Sighing, I shimmied back to the exit I'd used earlier and tossed the tarp over the razor wire.

I jumped, grabbed the wall, and hauled myself up. Good thing I’d been doing pull-ups—this wasn’t as bad as I expected. Then I grabbed the wire through the tarp.

Didn’t cut me at all. If my ass weren’t dangling, I’d have done a dance. Instead, I climbed over and landed with a gracious thud. I yanked the tarp, but it got stuck on the barbs. Sighing, I climbed back up, unhooked it, then folded it up before tucking it into a hole by the fence.

I reached the main building and headed for the doors—then rounded the corner and stopped. A group of low-rankers crowded around Theo, some with metal on their arms, some without, all in sleeveless uniforms. They were sneaking—badly. The front one looked up, swore under his breath, and froze, eyes wide as he stopped the others.

It was the same boy I’d stood behind on my first day, back when we were getting tested. All those… wow. Days ago. Time really had slowed to a crawl ever since I ended up in hell.

They glanced at each other uncertainly, but I just shook my head. No way they could go this way—the guard was awake. They’d get caught.

“You're about as sneaky as an elephant on meth, you know that?” I said dryly, raising an eyebrow as I crossed my arms in front of them.

The front one puffed out his chest, standing straight and whispering at me angrily, “What are you doing awake, civ—”

Before he could finish, Bea—if I remembered her name right—clamped a hand over his mouth.

“Shut up, Isaac!” she hissed.

Then, just as fast, she snapped to attention and saluted. The others quickly followed her lead.

Except Theo, who just smiled awkwardly and walked toward me. I was so glad he didn’t salute I almost did a dance right there. Instead, I just smiled warmly and said, “Hey Theo, you well?”

He hesitated, then nodded. “Hey Boris. Yeah, I’m well. Do you still want me not to salute you and stuff?” he asked, completely innocent, reminding me of little Ivan.

I looked past him at the others, then rolled my eyes. “Theo knows this already, but I want none of this saluting bullshit. I'm Boris, by the way. Nice to meetcha.” I said as I gave them the great, the wonderful, mock salute.

They dropped their salutes, looking at each other in confusion. Then, the same guy who’d punched me in the face on my first day puffed out his chest again and asked, voice pointed, “What are you doing out here, Boris?”

I looked up at the sky, like he’d just asked me if water was wet, then shrugged. “Visited a church.”

That pissed him off. His face darkened, his jaw tightening.

“Why are you always angry with me?” I asked flatly, making it clear I didn’t appreciate the attitude.

Bea flinched at my tone, and I felt bad, so I let it go. Theo was glancing between us, eyes wide. “Theo, are you training with your shield again?” I asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. I was genuinely impressed—he was doing this a second time, and he’d even gotten others to join him. Who was this little guy?

“Yeah, we are. We wanted to practice behind the dormitories,” he said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at the ones without shields. “They wanted to tag along. But anyway, Boris, I think it’s about five o’clock now—got only an hour to train. So, uh, see you later?” He said as he shot me a pair of finger guns.

I smiled. “Yeah, but you might want to find a new spot. The guard’s awake tonight,” I warned, nodding toward the gate.

“Of course he is,” he muttered, disappointment clear as he stared down at his shoes.

“Try that town thing next to the dormitory. Should be clear,” I suggested, shrugging.

Theo hesitated, glancing back at the others, but they didn’t seem to have a better idea either. Finally, Bea spoke up, watching me like I might bite one of them. “Uhm, if you don’t mind, guys, let’s do that. I think it makes sense.”

The others mumbled their reluctant agreement and started sneaking—badly—toward the town.

I barely lasted two seconds with curiosity screaming at me before I gave in. “Theo. Mind if I join? Wanna see how that shield works.”

They all immediately froze, like I’d just fired a gun in the air. Eyes darted between me and each other, uncertainty clear on their faces.

“Of course! It’d be cool to have you, actually!” Theo grinned, radiating warmth. Bit weird—I’d spoken to him for all of two minutes, but whatever.

“I’d rather not associate with a murderer,” the angry one—Isaac, I guessed—said coldly.

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Bea dropped her gaze, glancing back like she wasn’t sure if agreeing with him would make her next on my list.

I sighed. “Well, you can always say that someone of my rank ordered you to get up and practice at this time. Think of it as a get-out-of-jail-free card.”

That got them thinking. Isaac hesitated, then stepped forward, voice sharp. “We don’t need you—”

Bea cut him off with a look, stepping toward me. The others had stopped too, watching the exchange.

Then she turned to Theo, hesitating. “Theo, I’d rather he didn’t come. I’m sorry.”

And with that, they started walking away. Theo crossed his arms, staring at her back, clearly annoyed. Then, in his normal speaking voice, he said, “Boris didn’t rat me out the other night, and he’s actually nice to me—unlike that other B-ranker. I was the one who wanted to practice. I’m not leaving someone out.”

The others froze, exchanging glances. Isaac started to argue, his brows furrowed, but Bea cut him off before he could get a word out.

“Isaac, enough.” Her voice was sharp, irritated—as annoyed with him as I was.

She exhaled, then turned back to Theo, her expression tight. “Fine, Theo. He can tag along.” But when she glanced at me, she broke eye contact immediately, staring at the ground before walking off.

I sighed. “I feel so welcome,” I muttered, before sneaking off with them toward the dilapidated town.

We found a small house with enough space for the eleven of us, and Theo, along with three others, stepped into the center.

One of them grinned and said, “Alright, Theo. You know how to activate your shield now, so why don’t you do it for us? Without whacking yourself in the nuts this time.”

I watched as Theo reached up for his right shoulder, the long metal strip locked against his left arm from wrist to shoulder. Then he flicked it down—hard. Instantly, the shield deployed, slamming into his foot. He yelped and hopped around, muttering curses under his breath.

As he winced, Bea stepped forward, tapped her left shoulder, then lightly touched his arm. Immediately, he stopped hopping.

“Thanks, Bea,” he grumbled, still glaring at the shield before he deactivated it.

This was mighty interesting. Even as exhaustion pulled at my eyelids, I still wanted to understand how this thing worked. Could come in handy.

After a while, the same boy from earlier walked up to him again. “Theo, it’s got to be up to your shoulder. I know the shield’s heavy, so slow it down when raising your arm—but you’ve got to get it higher. It’s the best angle for it.”

Theo nodded like he’d heard this before. He raised his arm again, flicked it down—and this time, the shield flickered but didn’t fully extend.

“I don’t understand,” he complained, retracting it. “It’s so easy for you guys. Why can’t I do this?”

“You just need more practice,” one of the others said gently.

“You got this,” another whispered. Slowly, the group started to encourage him, everyone cheering him on eventually.

I glanced around at them, then at Theo. Without thinking, I spoke.

“They’re gonna tell stories about Theo the Shieldman. Come on, you can do this.”

Some of them eyed me warily, but Theo’s face lit up. He nodded, like that was exactly what he wanted to hear. Not my best motivational speech, I must admit, but who can argue with results?

Slowly, he brought his hand up to his shoulder, flicked it down—hard—and this time, the shield deployed perfectly, covering him from head to toe.

And he didn’t end up hopping around, which was definitely a plus.

We all clapped as Theo practically jumped up and down, smiling ear to ear.

“Did you see?! I did it! I finally did it right!”

He turned to me, eyes lit up like Christmas, grinning ear to ear as he retracted the shield.

"We can focus on group tactics another day, but I’m glad you finally got it right,” the one giving instructions said. The others exchanged smiles, nodding in approval.

“Theo, show it to us again—try and get it right five times in a row,” I said, imitating the lieutenant a little—knowing full well she’d have made me do it ten thousand times and then run to Alexandria and back if she had her way.

Theo nodded, resetting himself. He missed it a few more times, hopping around, but eventually he got it perfectly on command, small conversations sparking up around the group, clearly less interested now.

"Why doesn’t Boris try it?" one of them joked, earning a few amused grins from the group.

Bea, however, shot him a sharp look, clearly worried about how I’d react.

I shrugged. "Uhm. Sure, if you wouldn’t mind?" I said, stepping toward Theo.

Everyone immediately froze, shifting uncomfortably. Theo just stared at his shoes.

“Boris. You’re still new, so maybe you wouldn’t know, but… being a shieldman isn’t looked upon fondly.”

The shame practically dripped off him. A few others lowered their heads, mirroring his discomfort.

I shrugged. “Well, someone’s gotta break their toes with you. I’m feeling left out here.”

The ones avoiding my gaze snapped their heads up, eyes wide with astonishment.

“You don’t have to do this,” Theo said cautiously. "If you’re caught, it’s gonna be real bad. It might even hurt your chances in the tournament.”

I nodded toward the guy who had been helping him earlier. “I’m not so high and mighty I can’t learn something from a friend. Can I use yours? Uh… actually, I don’t know your name.” I held my hand out expectantly.

He eyed my hand warily. “Uhm. I’m Zack. Listen, you don’t have to—”

“Appreciate the concern, Zack.” I tried to sound as genuine as possible. “And if you don’t want me to, I won’t. But I’m curious—and Theo made it look cool.” I shrugged, grinning sheepishly. “Just wanna give it a try.”

The others exchanged glances before Theo clapped a hand on my shoulder.

“Hell, why not, Zack? Let The General’s son give it a try,” he said with a grin, like it was some inside joke.

The others shook their heads, but Zack handed me his shield anyway. One of them hesitated before asking, “Wait. Is it true? You said you were The General’s son? You know how bad it’d be if a Lieutenant heard you say that?”

I sighed. “Oh, I know exactly how bad it’d be if they found out.” I smirked, launching into the story of how Lieutenant Zenzele had drilled us that day—maybe embellishing a few details here and there. “Man, it was bad. Never mentioning that lady again.”

Then I frowned as Zack pulled the metal plate up to my left shoulder, covering my tattoo, before tightening something on the side.

“What are you doing?” I asked, watching him with narrowed eyes.

“Making sure the shield’s attached properly so it doesn’t fall off when you activate it. Now, voila,” he said, stepping back like he’d just crafted a masterpiece.

I glanced down at the thing. It had taken maybe thirty seconds to put on, and it was heavy. Far heavier than I expected—like Colonel Walker was using his power to weigh down my unsleeved arm.

“Must say, Theo, I see what you mean. This thing feels like it weighs a ton,” I muttered, shifting my arm uncomfortably.

“Oh, it’s only fifty kilograms,” Theo said excitedly, clearly enamored with the shield. “Don’t worry, it’ll stop bullets, grenades—maybe even a tank shell if you angle it right!”

Then, as if flipping a switch, he launched into a history lesson. “And did you know these were first forged in—” He rattled off some facts about where they were made, what mine supplied the materials, and how many were produced last year. His enthusiasm was unstoppable.

“And the formations are the best part! Did you know that back in 1982, Alexander led five hundred men into the Fourth Floor and practically wiped out an army of goblins with just a shield wall? And Colonel Sipho—”

“We usually start with stationary mode,” Zack cut in, clearly used to Theo’s rambling. “It’s easier to learn, too, but for now, let’s get mobile mode set up.”

He pressed something on the metal running down my arm.

“Alright,” Zack continued. “To activate it, reach for your shoulder like you’re using your power, then flick your hand down—hard. Even a slight change in the angle can mess you up, so be careful. Unless you want to do some hops.”

He and the rest of the group took a step back, barely suppressing small smiles.

I did as instructed, reaching my left hand to my right shoulder—missed by maybe a few centimeters—then flicked my arm down.

The shield snapped out—right onto my toes.

“Fuck!” I yelped, hopping around as laughter erupted around me.

Bea walked up and tapped my shoulder like she had with Theo earlier, her lips twitching upward like she was trying to suppress the smile. Instantly, the pain vanished, like it had never been there.

Even my cut from the barbed wire stung a little less too. Although I still felt it rubbing against my ruined pant leg.

“Boris. Show it to us again. Try and do it five times,” Theo said, imitating my voice, giving me a grin.

I just gave him a playful look and rolled my eyes before saying, “Yeah, ok. I deserved that. Let's do this.”

And that's how I ended up breaking my toes a few more times that morning.