The Dragon Baby

“Listen up recruits! This is going to be your first training mission out into the real world. The top 10 of your class was chosen for this mission. This should only be recon but be prepared for the worst. Things can turn sideways in the blink of an eye.” A burly man in a dark green uniform in front of us says. He’s staring sternly at each of us to make sure we get the gravity of the situation. We are not going out there to play, we are going out there and we might not come back. I am shaking in my black combat boots but outwardly I look like the perfect soldier. Dark green uniform immaculate, long deep brown hair in a tight low bun, boots shiny enough to see your reflection in, and hat perfectly placed to sit on my head. The only thing that could give me away is the slight widening of my stormy blue eyes. I knew this is a routine part of training and no ones gotten hurt in years but I never wanted to be here. At the age of 10, the government discreetly takes a child here and a child there from foster care. Enough for their private army but not enough that people notice. They take the trouble kids, the ones more apt to run away with no families left. No one left to care. They need a steady supply of soldiers to keep the enemy in line. Because you see there are small settlements all around the world of special people that the government wants to keep a hold on and hidden from the public view. If the general public ever knew about them there would be chaos and panic. Or at least that’s the government’s official view on it. The real reason is they are a valuable resource the government can’t let go. A slave labor that does their most dangerous missions and brings back the biggest of riches. The government is the most corrupt on a good day but this whole section is a bad day on steroids. The communities look nice and have all the essentials and function like a normal society but the individuals are microchipped like dogs at birth and captured with something that doubles as a tracer and a small explosive should they choose to run away. I can't even imagine the fear that courses through them everyday. It’s not right. But the only way anything is ever going to change is on the inside. We, the government-naped kids, aren’t all free either. It’s work with them or go through an experimental procedure that is supposed to wipe your memories but leaves people brain dead the majority of the time. It’s like they tried a tiny bit to pass the class and the teacher didn’t want them coming back so they gave them a C- to never see them again. I tried to talk to the other kids about the issues with this entire thing but by the time we reached 17, everyone was either pretty brainwashed or too afraid. The government makes it seem like you have a choice in where you are placed. Not all soldiers are needed on the battle ground. Some are office workers, others policing the communities, teachers, everyday otherwise normal mundane jobs but since this is kept a secret from the public only specialized personnel are allowed to work at the communities. Meaning only people who can take down a target and have been brainwashed can get close. I won’t be able to get close to the communities until after the “college” part of training. We are given a relatively normal education that kids receive but we are getting weapons training, hand to hand combat, strategizing, learning about your enemy. The reason we still need to be soldiers is because there are rogue fractions that aren’t in the communities yet. We are also supposed to say yet. The government believes, left on their own, they pose a danger to the public, whether to hurt them or expose the truth I don’t know. So groups are sent out to hunt down and either take the rogue alive or exterminate it. That’s what we are being prepared for today. It's only a scouting mission because intel was received that a rogue was seen hiding in a forest up in Washington state at the state park. Our instructors believe this has been a free living rogue because none of the communities reported a break out. Our mission is to scout the area for signs. I feel like ten 19-20 year olds and their senior partner is very big for a scouting party if we are trying to be discreet but I know better than to voice my concerns in front of everyone. This instructor in particular, Staff Sergeant Jefferson, does not take kindly to being publicly questioned. I found out the hard way in one class of hand to hand combat where I had to beat him when otherwise he doesn’t normally participate in class like that. He must have mentioned who the senior partners were because he said dismissed and everyone looked to the left where a line of combat veterans were standing against a wall. I shoot a quick panicked look over to my best friend, Nova, next to me. A look that only she would realize is panicked. We have shared a room together since we first entered the academy together at 10 years old. She’s like a sister to me. Her strawberry blonde hair is in a slightly messy bun on the nape of her neck after rushing to be presentable this morning for the meeting. Her brown eyes flick quickly to a man standing at the end of the line in perfect form. Once she looks back at me, she waggles her eyebrows. Completely giving up the pretense of being professional. Not that I blame her. The man in question can’t be more than 23/24. He stands at 6ft with golden blonde hair. If he was outside the sun would’ve reflected off of it like it was treasure. His sharp chocolate gaze surveys the room like he’s looking for danger here. Even though we are deep in the academy at one of the training communities. Within a couple of miles lies the first prison community ever made in the United States in Northwestern Maine. There are no major roads that lead to this part of the state so it made the perfect place to be and easiest to secure while giving plenty of privacy. His tan skin speaks to a majority of the time being spent outside and if his muscles speak to anything, a lot of time is spent working out. I mentally wiped the figurative drool I had and straightened back to my perfect posture before approaching him. As soon as his eyes land on me and my purposeful walk to him, he tenses with a disapproving look. I scoff inside. He is not the first person to underestimate me based on my appearance. I only reach 5’3 and this unisex uniform does nothing to show off my toned muscles from years of training. I’m the top of my class, maybe even the academy. I don’t let anything stop me because I’m going to work my way up this corporate ladder and see if I can change things for the better. Because the only way anything is going to change is from the inside.