The Pulse Series (Book 1): Pulse (12 page)

"Sup, newbie." I looked to the source of the voice and saw a dark haired girl who was laying down on one of the couches. She held a book above her head and didn't look away from it when she spoke. "I see you got paired with chatterbox. Sucks to be you."

"Screw you, Nadine." I flashed a glance to Sarah but she was grinning. Nadine for her part just laughed. Sarah stepped forward and poked her head between Nadine and her book. "You coming over for food?"

Nadine sighed and with her free hand pushed Sarah out of her view. "Later. I've got some reading to catch up on."

Sarah turned and indicated for me to follow, and the two of us left the building to begin walking across the mess hall. Sarah turned to me as we walked. "Nadine is pretty cool. She's the top of our class for combat, but not the social type. She's been here about two years now. She's two years older than us though, like most of the other girls in our unit."

I turned to look at her. "You're friends?"

"I'm friends with everyone." Sarah gave me a smile.

I nodded and stepped behind her as we entered the mess hall. The place was more than five times as large as the officers', and it was half full already with people from the company. It was noisier than I expected it to be, but the atmosphere was a positive one. There was a lot of laughter, and people were messing around everywhere you looked. We got some food from the buffet and made our way into the rows of tables and chairs. I walked with Sarah and sat down at one of the empty tables about halfway down the right side of the building.

Sarah poked a fork at the table next to us. "Our squad sticks to these two tables. People are free to sit wherever they want, but it's easier just to stick with your unit. You end up knowing them a lot more than anyone else anyway."

"So how many people are in our unit?"

"Thirteen now with you. We're a full unit for the first time. Twelve soldiers and a commanding officer. That's Bradley."

I nodded in understanding. "Who's been leading the unit while Bradley has been training me?"

"Sergeant Peterson. He's hard as nails, but a great leader. Non-pulser though, unlike us."

With all the training I had almost forgotten everyone here was super powered. I wanted to know who could do what, but knew better than to ask.

Sarah gave me a searching look. "You want to ask what my power is, don't you?"

My mouth fell open. "W-What? No!"

She smirked at me. "I can read you like a book. We're not meant to tell people, but I think in your case I can make an exception. We're friends, right?" At my nod she smiled. "Good! Mine is emotional manipulation. I can make people feel a certain way. Angry, happy, sad, scared. It's pretty handy."

"I bet." The implications of that were enormous. I felt my eyes widen. "Have you… used it on me?"

Sarah laughed and shook her head. "No, you would know if I've used it."

"How?"

"You would feel it. Pulsing send out a wave of energy that other Pulsers can feel. Most normals can't feel a thing, but there are some who can perceive it."

"Normals? Isn't that a bit…?"

"Meh. We have to define them somehow. Easier."

I shrugged and thought about the feeling she had described. "I think I know what you're talking about." I thought about my own experience pulsing, and the wave I felt pass over me before I leapt of the roof. It hit me right then—Bradley must have used his pulse to save me.

"Do you know Bradley's ability?"

"Nope. I don't ask people because of the rules and all that."

I nodded. "Did you want to know mine?"

She gave me a shrug. "Only if you want to tell me."

I considered for a few moments and then nodded. She told me hers. It was only fair I told her mine. "It's nothing amazing I don't think. I just make time stop for like a second or so."

Sarah gave me a grin. "Wow that's a cool one. Imagine the pranks you could pull with that!"

I laughed and nodded. "I guess you're right."

The two of us talked for a while longer before Nadine sat down next to us with a tray of her own. She gave me a nod which I returned.

Sarah looked over her shoulder at the buffet. "Where is everyone else?"

Nadine gave a shrug. "On their way at some point." She looked up toward the doorway. "Speak of the devil."

I turned to watch the rest of the unit that I had seen on my first day make their way across the room to the buffet line. They were talking and laughing, but I was growing more nervous as they approached. When they came up to the tables, some of them glanced my way, but most of the just sat as if nothing was different. I noticed the boys stuck to the other table, and the girls sat with us on this one. I could see only one girl sat with the boys, the blond haired girl who had ignored me on my first day.

"Alex, you know myself and Nadine, and these two are Mary and Jessica."

I said my hellos as the two of them introduced themselves. I then sat and listened as the four of them devolved into conversation about the day that had passed, and the week they had ahead. I sat in silence for a few minutes just watching, but Sarah dragged me into the conversation at one point. I was nervous at first, but soon enough I was chatting along with the others about nothing. It filled me with a happiness I'd not felt before.

It was probably nothing to them, but for the first time in my life, I felt like I belonged somewhere.

FIFTEEN

As I stepped into the common room someone grabbed me and slammed up against the wall.

"You don't belong here."

I looked into the eyes of the blond girl that had ignored me ever since I'd arrive. I looked over to the other girls who all stood and watched. None of them moved a muscle.

I stared back at they girl, opting to try to talk with her rather than attack her back. "What are you talking about?"

"You're from New York City, aren't you?" She pressed me harder into the wall and it took all my effort not to break free and punch her in the face. I didn't want to get into a fight on my first day with the others.

"Yeah, so what?"

Jane smirked at me. "So you're not even from the real world. You have no idea what it's like out there. You're probably just a whore like your mother before you."

I glared at her as my shoulders shook with rage. I tried to twist free but she had me pinned. I wasn't able to get enough leverage to get out of her grip.

"Looks like I hit a nerve."

"Jane," I looked over at the voice from the couch. Nadine was lying in much the same position I had seen her when I saw her earlier, the book above her head and her eyes scanning the pages, "let Alex go."

Jane glared at Nadine for a few seconds, but removed her hands from my shoulders. I stepped forward and swung hard at her head, but in an instant I was flat on my back staring at the ceiling and my mouth was hurting.

From the corner of my eye I saw Nadine now standing, staring at Jane.

Jane gave her a shrug. "What? She threw the punch at me."

Nadine gave Jane a glare from across the room. Jane held up her hands in surrender and walked backward toward the hallway, spinning and making her way away from us. She was humming a nursery rhyme. I sat up but the room started to spin which prevented me from standing. Sarah rushed over to me and helped me up onto my feet.

"What's her problem?" I lifted my hand to my lip but it didn't seem to be bleeding. Hurt like hell though.

Sarah frowned at the space Jane had disappeared through. "I don't know. I mean she's not the friendliest person you'll ever meet, but I've never seen her attack anyone like that."

"Great." I gave a sigh. "I have an enemy and I have no idea why."

"Cheer up. I'm sure Nadine will make sure she doesn't do that again."

"Jane looked scared of Nadine," I said. "Why?"

"Like I said Nadine is the top of our class. Jane is second, but she knows she can't take Nadine in a fight."

"I see." I reached up to touch my lip again. It had already started to swell.

"Did you want to go to the bathroom and check it out?"

I shook my head. "No. I kinda just want to crawl into bed and sleep for the next day and half."

Sarah laughed. "Well we start fresh at oh-five-hundred hours, so if you hit the cot now you get eight. That should be enough, right?"

I gave her a lopsided smile. "It will have to be."

"Look, don't worry about Jane, okay? She doesn't really have many friends here."

I raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were friends with everyone?"

Sarah shrugged. "Everyone that lets me be. Jane doesn't hang out with anyone except Benny. He was the largest of the boys at the table sitting next to her."

We got to the room and I stood embarrassed as Sarah stripped down to nothing.

Sarah gave me a shrug. "I sleep in the nude. Sorry."

I took off my pants but kept my underwear and shirt on, and climbed up onto the top bunk. I slipped under the sheet as Sarah flicked off the light. After a few seconds my eyes adjusted to the moonlight that came through the window from outside.

"Sarah?"

"Mmm?"

"Sorry if I freak out in the morning, okay?"

"Huh?"

"I've never slept in the same room as anyone before, so sorry in advance if it takes me a few seconds in the morning to stop screaming."

Sarah giggled. "It's alright. I'll be gentle."

I frowned at that, but soon enough I could hear her breathing even out and I knew that she was asleep. I closed my eyes and tried to do the same, but my mind kept going back to Jane slamming me against the wall.

The look in her eyes when she stared at me. I had never seen someone hate something that much in my life.

I drifted off to a troubled sleep.

***

I awoke to Sarah's face inches from my own. I jumped forward and was about to scream when our heads collided with a crack causing me to groan in pain.

"Ow," Sarah said, but she was stifling giggles with her hand.

I rubbed my head. "Are you crazy?"

She gave me a grin and jumped down off my bed onto the floor. She started going through some stretches. "Maybe, but I just couldn't pass up that opportunity. I'll get you used to having a room mate yet."

"Only if I don't kill you first." No-one should be this happy in the morning.

"Your lip looks awful."

I lifted a hand to it and found it larger than usual. I shrugged. "It will go down in a couple of days."

I got up out of my bed and jumped to down the ground. There was a stiffness in my muscles that a few stretches took care of, and soon enough I was getting dressed along with Sarah. The two of us went out into the common room where a bunch of girls were milling around in various states of wakefulness. The other girls of our unit were already ready and waiting over near the door for us. Jane was there, but she didn't look at me when I joined the rest of the group. We made our way outside and into the cool, dim pre-dawn morning.

I turned to Sarah as we walked. "What are you all doing today?"

Sarah shrugged. "The schedule changes all the time to keep our bodies from getting complacent."

We made our way toward the meet point for our unit, but to my surprise only Bradley was there waiting for us. He didn't acknowledge our arrival until the boys joined us after a minute.

Bradley stepped up in front of us all. "Plans have changed. I will be coming back on as commanding officer and Private Alex will be joining us from now on. Her fitness isn't up to par yet, but we have no other choice. Sergeant Peterson's been called away for an assignment, and we need to continue our training as planned."

I frowned. It worried me that I wouldn't be able to keep up. His eyes passed over mine and a brief flash of anger crossed his face, but it was gone so fast I could have sworn it was my imagination.

The group moved forward to a box and began taking out what looked like planks of wood. When I get close enough to get my own I saw that someone had cut them into the shape of automatic weapons.

Nadine saw my frown. "It's for the weight. Allows us to get used to running with them without having to handle real weaponry. We keep those in the live fire areas until you begin advanced training."

I nodded and picked up the lump of wood. It felt heavy in my arms, and I knew it was going to make the running a lot tougher. I looked up at Nadine. "When is advanced training?"

"When you've both turned seventeen and passed all your tests."

Bradley's voice cut off my response. "Alright let's move out."

We started with a light five minute jog, followed by some stretches, and then went into a more serious thirty minute jog. The first half of the day was just like any other training I had done. We split our time between training exercises with equipment and running with weights. The added weight of the gun made my arms hurt, but I didn't drop it once. A few times I had thought I was slowing down the team, but Sarah and Nadine had helped me stay motivated and keep up with the rest of them. I still had a ways to go, but I wasn't the burden I would have been only three days ago.

We made our way to the shooting range and replaced the wooden replicas into a barrel like the one we had gotten them from that morning. The rest of the unit walked up to the range and started picking up the real thing, but when I made to follow them Bradley called out to me.

"Not yet. First you have to master the basics of self defense. Then you get to handle live weaponry. You'll be sparring with me to learn the basics until you're ready."

We stepped away from the range as the others lifted the guns and began firing. I winced from the volume of the blasts.

Bradley threw me one of the half smiles I hadn't seen for a few days. "Okay. Try to knock me down."

After half an hour my back was hurting from the amount of times I had landed flat on the ground. Bradley had stopped the sparring when he had realized how little I knew about fighting. He was now taking me through the basics of stance and defense. We went through the moves in slow motion at first, and then tried them faster and faster until I felt confident doing them. He said once I mastered the defense maneuvers he would start teaching me some attacks. I was happy to get the basics down before trying anything more. It would take some practice, but that was what this place was for. It was almost midday when Bradley called for the rest of the unit to lower their weapons.