Hannah's nightmare

   The drab colors wade heavily on Hannah's heart. She past out the packs then opened her own. Inside were a couple packages of dried fruit and pack rations, a first aid kit and a gun. Hannah slowly drew out the weapon. It was a fully automatic machine gun. Of course they weren't going to be shooting real ones, that would violate the camp rules. Hannah did shoot the real thing at the range but not out here. Her shoulders slumped. Jay slung her gun over one shoulder and punched Hannah lightly on the shoulder with her free hand.

   "Come on, Lance. Where to?"

Hannah gestured weakly down the path. 

   "That way. During the debriefing the Commander said just to walk, eh, march down the path and be ready for any challenges." the sarcasm in her voice was painfully obvious. 

Jay shifted her weight from one foot to the other, looking the Lance up and down.

    "Sure thing. Come on."

Jay was the first one to start to follow the Commander's orders, marching down the path. Hannah stifled a laugh, caught up with her friend and clapped her on the shoulder.

    "You know? The funny thing about this trail is that it's called the 'March' trail."

She past Jay, walking in a not at all hurried pace. Jay rolled her eyes in despair but followed with the rest. Another girl in their group, Ginger smirked at Jay. Following orders was not the thing to do that day. Ginger airily waved behind her shoulder.

    "It's not like he's going to come check up on us," she said, guessing Jay's thoughts. "He never does."

Jay remained silent. The mood in the group was decidedly unruly. Hannah always set the mood, if she was serious they would be serious, if she was humorous they would be humorous, if she was going to be sarcastic... Well, the others were bound to follow. They were never loyal though, to the Commander. His hard treatment of them grew a bitter feeling inside all of girls. They bore the pain silently. The girls never actually spoke it in words though they spoke around it, giving hints and engaging in over dramatic sarcasm. Jay was becoming the odd ball for not going along. Still, Jay considered, it wasn't like she was be promoted or anything for her loyalty. Just a pat on the head and 'good doggy.' A sigh escaped Jay lips and she stopped marching, began to walk like the other girls. Hannah was swinging the key she had found in her pack around on her fingers, glancing this way and that.

    "How long do we march for?" Ginger asked.

    "We're supposed to stay on this trail for twelve hours or so, with stops or breaks we have along the way." Hannah answered. All the girls became excited at this news. A whole day free of the camp. "There's a cabin at the end of the trail where we'll rest the night then we'll walk back on the path to get back."

New enthusiasm kindled inside them. It was a different experience, feeling almost free, away from prying eyes and sharp words, beatings and loneliness. Hannah held up a hand.

    "Remember, Cap. told us that there would be a few challenges so let's not loose our heads." there was stifled giggling from several of the girls. "We need to be sharp," Hannah put a finger to her temple. "And alert, he said. But by the weapons it looks like a standard sniping exercise. The one with the least amount of points gets to clean out our dorm when we get back."

Ginger groaned. She had never been an amazing sniper, dagger fighting was more her style. Hannah winked at her, knowing this. Ginger scowled. Samantha, the girl walking beside Jay suddenly turned back and stopped, her eyes scanning the woods around them.

    "Lance," she said.

Hannah held up a hand and the company stopped.

    "Sam? What is it?"

They had only been marching for ten minutes, surely there was nothing yet.

    "I... I thought I saw someone sneaking around in the woods, to our left." Samantha answered slowly.

A twig snapped underfoot in the direction she had indicated. A dark shape flitted in and out of the trees then was lost to sight. Hannah studied the woodland, bemused.

    "Maybe it's a camp worker? There's never been anyone but us and the automatic guns attached to the trees." she brushed it off. "They most be fixing something, Sam."

Jay saw another figure, standing a good way off. 

    "Yeah," she muttered. "They're fixing something."

Hannah glanced around once more then motioned for them to continue. The air was cold, chilly. The sky was clouding over. They had to keep moving if it was going to be a cold, possibly wet day.

   Behind them, two sets of jet black eyes stared unblinkingly at the little party of students. Two figures stood a stones throw apart, arms crossed and leaning against the tree's wide trunks. They were waiting. The time wasn't right, not yet. One of the figures smiled. This would be easy, for him and his companion.