7 War Games

Lilah's sleep seemed pleauged that night about thoughts of Austin. He genuinely seemed to care about her being caught with Schumer, but the question kept haunting her: why?

What did it matter to him what happened to her, better yet, why didn't he discipline them himself? None of it made sense. Lilah had begun to feel like this wasn't really her first altercation with the officer, he did state that she had forgotten something, but what? Her mind and body tossed and turned over these questions, ruling her completely unable to sleep.

Privates were not allowed to be up and moving after light's out, but Lilah had to do something to get her mind off everything that had happened. Luckily she was a good sneak, and managed to pull on a jacket and her boots before heading out the front door. The air was quiet, reminding Lilah of her childhood home; and briefly making her homesick.

She pushed aside the feeling, telling herself that this was her dream; she had made it and there was no turning back. She walked up the path toward the administrative buildings, curious if anyone was still working this late at night.

She spotted a light on in one of the windows and quietly snuck up to it and peaked in. It must be her luck that it was none other than Officer Austin once again. She watched as he shuffled through some papers, settled on one and began to rub his timples in possible frustration or exhaustion. She wondered why he was still working at this hour, when everyone else on base was fast asleep. Except her of course.

After a moment he pushed the papers aside and put his head in his hands; a gesture that made Lilah oddly sad for her superior. She wondered what went on in a mind like his that kept him awake at night. According to several of Lilah's new pals, Austin had volunteered for deployment 3 times;

became pretty high in rank, then something happened and he was demoted and sent here. Nobody really knew what happened but obviously it was bad enough to make sure he never made it back up the ladder again. That had been almost 10 years ago.

After a few minutes, Lilah left Austin to his privacy and snuck to her bunk where she finally fell into a restless sleep. For 3 days after her encounter with Scumer and Austin at the bar they pretty well ignored her except when unavoidable. Schumer seemed focused on not being seen within eye shot of Lilah alone for obvious reasons, while Austin seemed possibly embarrassed by his actions and just seemed to ignore her and the situation all together.

None of this bothered Lilah. The less she had to distract her the better. Tomorrow they began shooting practice, something she really looked forward to. They would practice in the gun range first, then when Schumer felt we were ready we would move to the outdoor range with larger calliber weapons.

The first 2 days Lilah didn't do so great, seeming to miss the target more than she hit it. Though her father had tought her how to shoot as a kid, they only ever used 22. caliber rifles. These higher calliber hand guns were way out of her wheelhouse. But with practice she got better and better, and after about a week they moved to the outdoor range.

This is where things got kind of uncomfortable. Officer Austin was supposed to monitor all outside shooting excercises, while Schumer was in charge of the hand to hand training side of things. This meant that Schumer sometimes got very close, while Austin watched them like a hawk.

"No, no, no. You put your hand here like this." Schumer came and wrapped his arms around Lilah, instructing her on how to hold her riffle correctly. Lilah could feel his warm breath in her ear once again and it took everything she had not to lose focus on what he was telling her.

It helped keep her head steady knowing Austin's eyes were trained on them every moment he helped her. She tried not to give anything away, while Schumer seemed to be an expert. "That's better. Make sure you aim upwind because the farther the target, the more wind and other factors come into play."

Schumer left to help some other recruits, while Lilah could still feel Austin's eyes bearing down on her. "Alright privates, your training is done for today. close shop and head back for dinner." All of them stood and saluted, before being released.

Lilah was the last to finish cleaning and storing her weapon. She decided to stay a bit longer and memorize her gun inside and out so she would be ready whenever she was tested. "You know I can't leave until everyone has left, right soldier?" Lilah knew Austin had still been there but she had ignored him for the most part.

"Sir, yes sir." She responded dutifully. Austin seemed satisfied enough with her answer not to question her further. Lilah was finishing cleaning her gun when Austin took a few steps towards her. "I've been watching you, your shooting I mean." Lilah wiped her hands and directed her attention to him fully now. "You are learning quickly. I wonder how proficient you are at hand to hand combat." He posed this almost more like a challenge than a question, leaving his words to hang in the air.

He seemed more relaxed than he had for days, a welcome change from the salty officer. "I know I'm better with my hands than I am with any gun if that's what your asking." Lilah dared to speak freely, and was suprised to find him grinning at the remark. "I would like to see that." He responded simply.

"Follow me and we will see how good you really are." Lilah couldn't help but notice the striking color of his emerald green eyes. Most times they seemed darker, almost black in color. But either the fading light, or the glint in his eyes seemed to make them electric. She pulled herself out of her thoughts, and nodded.  

Austin led Lilah to a building she recognized but hadn't paid much attention to until now. It was close to the training hq but far enough away to be pretty innocuous. They walked inside and Austin turned to Lilah with a serious expression, arms outstretched wide. "Ok, show me what you've got. You say you have skill, so show me."

Lilah grinned with excitement at the thought of showing her superior where her skills really lie. Maybe earn back some of the respect she had lost over the Schumer incident. She lifted both fists to her face, protecting her most vulnerable places, Austin did the same. They sized each other up, learning each others weaknesses.

"Well private? I'm waiting." Lilah grinned with anticipation, but before she pounced she had one question. "That day at the bar, you said I had forgotten. What did I forget?" Austin's expression suddenly went from fairly playful to somber. He dropped his hands.

"You forgot your place. Forgot who to trust. You seemed smarter than that." Lilah furrowed her brows. She seriously doubted the explanation was that simple. "Now are you going to fight or is the pillow fight next because this is really starting to seem like a slumber party."

Lilah shook her thoughts away and got back into position. Austin followed her lead and after a moment's pause Lilah pounced, going for a punch to the jaw but her attack was blocked by Austin before he locked his leg around hers and pulled her to the ground. He landed on top of her pinning her down. "Is that all you got?" Lilah took a split second to regroup before throwing one leg around his waist and pulled him down, exchanging positions with the superior.

"Nope." Lilah responded. She had his arms pinned under her legs, but he easily freed himself and wrestled Lilah til they were both back on their feet. "Impressive. But you lack grace. You take too long and give your hand away before you have even played it." Lilah frowned, this was supposed to be her showing him her skill, not him showing her his. Lilah decided to use her best asset and round-house kicked Austin in the chest.

He stumbled back taken by surprise. Lilah used this to her advantage and sprang on him, elbowing him in the face, then grabbing his arm and tossing him over her shoulder. He landed with a loud thud and gulp of air leaving his lungs. Lilah wondered if she had gone too far, but it was too late to go back now.

She went to pin him down once again but Austin was quick to pull her ankle out from under her and once again had the advantage. Lilah's adrenaline was coursing through her, to the point that she lost all forethought. "Why did you kiss me that night?" Lilah exclaimed. She was shocked that her thoughts had spilled out of her mouth.

She had an inclination that he had kissed her that night at the bar, but the warmth of his skin, the scent in the air around him, it all came back to her in an instant. He sat there for a moment, his expression not really giving anything away but Lilah could feel his presence looming over her, he's legs wrapped around her arms and torso, his face inches from hers. He sighed. "You weren't the only one that had been drinking that night you know. We all have our vices." Lilah had been taught by her father to read people, she knew when they were lying, and she knew Austin was telling the truth. Either way his answer did not satisfy her.

"So your drinking problem means that you can kiss random people and get away with it? People who look up to you?" Austin lowered his face near to hers, close enough for her to smell his musky cologne she had thought about ever since that night. "I made a mistake. But don't think that because I did what I did means you will get a free pass. I will quit right now if you try to play that game."

Lilah and Austin glared at each other for a full minute. Lilah's anger slowly started to cool along with the adrenaline. She didn't want a quarrel with any of her superiors, especially not somebody who held so much weight over her future in the army. Her eyes started to drift down to Austin's lips, and she could vaguely recall how he tasted, the way his tongue roamed her mouth.

Maybe even the idea of him pinning her down and the way he looked at her, the sensations were overwhelming. "Plus, you have enough men on your plate. Even if I could have you in my bed, I wouldn't bother." All thoughts of surrender to Austin had now disappeared. If he thought that's what game she was playing then fine, let him believe whatever he wanted.

She was here for her, and her alone, and she would be damned if this man was going to try to threaten that. She threw one leg into the air, smacking Austin in the back of the head, and knocking her arms loose of his grip. She then took the opportunity to punch him square in the jaw, ejecting himself from her all together.

She stood, and pointed in the stunned, bleeding officer's face; raw anger dripping from her every move. "If you think that's what I'm here to do than fine. Believe what you want. But I'm not here to play games or be some kind of... trophy for either of you. I just want to pass basic and get out of this hell hole."

"You think its going to get any easier for you out there? You think they wont eat you alive? Your dad couldn't make it work, what makes you think your any stronger?" Austin wiped blood from his lip. Lilah turned to leave, stomping toward the door before halting and saluting her fallen victim. He stood and was now holding his bleeding, probably broken nose, and stared at her blankly. Before he responded she walked out, slamming the door behind her.