Chapter 23
Matthew POV The cold air of the training yard tasted like ash and iron, but my focus wasn't on the drill. It was on the small, shivering figure near the back of the formation. Over the last few days, I’d been trying to look out for Theo without making it obvious to the brass. If Marshall or the other officers thought I was getting soft, they’d pull me off the line, and then the kid would have no one. The training exercises were a brutal, systematic dismantling of a seven-year-old’s spirit. Watching him try to navigate the obstacle course was like watching a bird with a broken wing try to fly. The walls were too high, the mud too thick, and the rhythmic barking of the instructors was a constant, terrifying pressure. Things got worse when they moved to the simulated combat drills. They h
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