The two days passed in a very repetitive fashion, despite the rising tension becoming palpable in the air. Team Echo, along with every other combatant in the facility spent the entire morning and afternoon training.

Edward’s elite squad focused mostly on polishing their accuracy, learning how to anticipate and track the movements of enhanced warriors under their leader’s guidance. Needless to say the most effective way to learn this was by testing it on the young Marked himself, which completely solidified his label as the mad warrior. They simulated nearly every scenario he could think of, the enemy running towards the soldiers, providing backup while Edward is fighting up close, as well as striking unnoticed from a hidden position.

Ed looked at his uniform, riddled with holes. In the end he couldn’t save it from this fate, at least now his crew was somewhat prepared for the job. He put back the ruined clothes in his bag, deciding to not throw them out for now, for some reason he just felt like keeping this pair.

He walked out of his room, moving confidently throughout the facility, already somewhat familiar with the layout. After reaching the fourth floor, and making his way towards a small armored gate, he greeted the stalwart guards, who in turn pressed the button to open the door.

The young warrior walked out onto the fresh air, surrounded by rich vegetation. He took a deep breath, taking a moment to appreciate the outside world. He’s been spending almost all the time underground lately. When he wasn’t training with his team, he was discussing the strategies for the upcoming battle with Marcus and Layla.

Edward climbed uphill, passing the twisted trunks of the trees and the lush green bushes pricking his skin lightly. Making his way to the top, he joined two lone figures staring into the horizon.

He stepped next to them, and likewise stared into the distance. Most would just admire the pleasant sight of the setting sun, gently lighting up the sky like a warm fireplace. But for somebody like Edward, as one stared towards the orange glare long enough they would eventually make out vague dots swarming like a huge cloud of mosquitoes.

“So… how’s the training been going? They ready?” One of the other figures broke the silence.

“As much as they can be with the limited time.” Edward answered, his head still pointed towards the horizon.

They once again stood in silence for a moment, before the female figure grinned a bit and softly said. “Hey Edward, word has been going around that you seem to employ very… interesting training methods… care to share?”

Ed coughed slightly. “Interesting methods, what do you mean Layla?”

“Oh, just something about you putting the word target in target practice?”

Standing between the two, Marcus turned from one side to the other, listening for an explanation.

“Ehh… look it’s really just the most effective method, it’s not like they can hurt me…” Edward exhaled, finally giving up to his fate.

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“Wait, do the two of you mean that… hahaha” Marcus laughed loudly, the sound carried across the valleys and the forests, breaking the grave atmosphere completely.

“Wow, man, I like you more and more everyday, there’s definitely something wrong with you.”

Edward was stumped. He kept quiet, too ashamed to even say a word.

“But crazy people are what we need right now, that means you will go far…” Marcus added after a while, his voice already calmed down after the earlier outburst.

“Hmm… thanks man, I really hope so, I really do… “

“Let’s give it our all tomorrow then. Hopefully the info is correct and there really won’t be more than two Marked with them.” Marcus pointed with his chin towards the horizon.

“We’ll stay ready for anything, the power of Marked can vary greatly, so we’ll have to adapt as necessary to anything we might encounter. I’ll be ready to support both of you.”

“Alright you two lovebirds, come on, we only got a couple hours of sleep left, so let’s not waste it.” Layla turned her gaze away from the sunset.

They turned their backs to the far approaching enemy. Slowly walking back towards the fortress, enjoying their last precious moments before the battle.

Edward stayed two steps behind, turning around one more time. He thought about his peaceful life back home. Katrina and father stayed in the House of Alexander for now. Ed wondered if they also stared into the sunset thinking about him sometimes. Kat probably did… as for his father, who knows what’s going through that old man’s head…

The warrior joined the other Marked, once again looking silently at the surroundings. Tomorrow the trees around them and the ground below their feet will become the stage for a battlefield. The beautiful landscape will turn into the seventh circle of hell.

When Ed and the others split up, going back to their cabins, he felt a cold grasp tightening around his neck. This evening he sat in the shower for much longer than usual, hoping for the hot water to burn away his sense of unease. After walking out of the cloud of hot steam filling the bathroom, his pink skin quickly recovered to its natural light beige color.

His ability would immediately recover every slightest damage to his body, but unfortunately couldn’t recover the burden of his mind.

***

A loud sound of an alarm woke Edward up from his sleep. He reached for his phone, but the sound wasn’t coming from there. Chasing away the dizziness, he jumped out of the bed. A loud siren sounded throughout the building, and rushed footsteps echoed throughout the floor.

All his equipment was already prepared next to the door. One minute he was putting on the uniform, and the next he was already running through the halls to the elevator. Getting inside, and quickly pressing the button for the fifth floor, he took a deep breath, trying to calm his tense mind.

The door was already closing, when a slim figure slipped in at the last second.

“Layla!”

“Hey Ed, ready to go?” She smiled lightly, despite the situation.

They entered the large room together, Marcus, commander Alvis, and some other people Edward didn’t recognize were already waiting in front of the large monitors.

“Good you’re finally here, come closer, both of you.”

Some other soldiers kept arriving for the next minute, until Alvis finally started the meeting.

“Listen up! The enemy is almost here, and it’s time to go over the plan one final time,” he said as he used the remote to pull up the map of the terrain on the screen. It now showed a rough outline of the enemy force, along with their position behind the large hills.

“This is what we will do…”