beautiful and broken

As Anita and Leroy trudged through the sidewalk, their black BDUs with the wolf logo a stark contrast to the ambient sky, Leroy suddenly stopped, his breath labored. The scent of freshly cut grass wafted through the air, mingling with the sound of distant drill instructors yelling cadences. "Go on ahead, Anita. I'm tired asf. Go on ahead," he said, raising a hand while the other rested on his knee.

Anita sprinted back to him, concern etched on her face. The slap of her boots on the pavement echoed through the morning air. "Come on, big guy!" She leapt onto his back, but Leroy's legs buckled, sending him crashing face-first onto the pavement. The impact sent shockwaves through his body.

"Get off me, you're heavy asf!" Leroy groaned, his voice muffled by the ground.

Anita's eyes flashed with mock offense. "Oh, really?" She leaned in, her face inches from Leroy's neck, her fingers curled like talons. But she hesitated, noticing the other cadets watching them, and pulled back, a sly smile spreading across her face.

Leroy asked Anita to help him up, and she grasped his hand, lifting him to his feet. The warm sun beat down on them as they stood up, brushing themselves off. "Oh shit, we gotta get to the facility!" they exclaimed in unison, their voices carrying through the crisp morning air.

Anita's eyes sparkled with mischief as she skipped ahead, the sound of her boots echoing on the pavement. "If you beat me there," she called back, glancing over her shoulder at Leroy, "I'll make dinner tonight. And maybe... give you a little surprise." She bit her nail, a sly smile spreading across her face as the breeze whispered through her hair.

Leroy's expression remained bleak, his eyes fixed straight ahead as he walked. "Sure, we'll see," he muttered, his tempo controlled, his footsteps steady on the pavement.

Anita turned back, her laughter carrying on the breeze, which suddenly died down. She spun around, her smile faltering for a moment, before she laughed again, the sound echoing through the air as the trees stood silent, their leaves rustling softly.

As they burst through the door, Leroy stumbled and fell, but quickly scrambled to his feet. Anita's laughter echoed through the hallway, but Leroy ignored her, his eyes fixed ahead, a hint of irritation in his gaze.

The air inside the facility was thick with the scent of cigar smoke. Anita and Leroy pushed through the doors, and their eyes widened in awe. The interior of the facility was vast, with behemoths of the past suspended from the ceiling like giants. Hot air blew through the training area, where rows of gym equipment, a track, and a gun range stretched out before them. Various weapons lined the walls, and stands stood like sentinels.

Anita and Leroy stopped in their tracks, taking it all in. "While it's nice in here..." Anita trailed off, her voice laced with sarcasm.

Leroy grumbled, "It's cold," his tone low and even.

Anita playfully ruffled his hair. "Shut it, twerp." She gave him a noogie, and Leroy's scowl deepened, his eyes flashing with annoyance.

Just then, a voice cut through the silence. "Hey!" Solemn's voice was firm, commanding attention.

Anita and Leroy turned to see Solemn sitting in a chair, watching them with an unreadable expression. The rest of the group was doing push-ups, their faces set in determination. Grim's bleak expression and Malevolence's angry face stood out, while Leech struggled, his face red with effort. Jester, on the other hand, grinned, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

Solemn's gaze narrowed. "Glad you two decided to join us. You're just in time for our morning workout." His tone was laced with a hint of disdain, and Leroy's eyes flashed with defiance.

Solemn's voice cut through the air, his tone firm and commanding, echoing off the cold, concrete walls. "What's taking you two so long? Get down and do push-ups. I want you to do push-ups."

Solemn rose from his chair, taking his time as he paced back and forth, his boots thudding against the floor. His eyes fixed on Leroy and Anita, his gaze piercing. He took a deep puff of his cigar, the smoke curling around his words, filling the air with its acrid scent. "I want you to think about what could happen if this was a mission, Leroy and Anita. Think about the consequences of your actions."

Solemn strode over to Anita, his movements deliberate, his footsteps echoing through the room. He sat on her back, his weight pressing down on her, his knees digging into her shoulders. "Keep doing push-ups," he instructed, his voice firm but controlled, not putting all his body weight on her.

He turned to Leroy, his eyes glinting with a hard light. "Leroy, think about it. Look at her struggling." Anita's grunts and labored breathing filled the air. "What you two did now is how they feel – helpless, overwhelmed, and struggling to keep up."

The only sound in the room was Anita's heavy breathing, the creaking of the old facility, and Solemn's calm, steady voice.

Anita's voice trembled as she spoke, her body buckling and shaking under Solemn's weight. The sound of her labored breathing filled the air, and her sweat-drenched face glistened under the fluorescent lights. "Sergeant, me and Leroy are sorry."

Solemn's gaze shifted to Leroy, a mixture of amusement and disdain on his face. He took a slow drag on his cigar, the smoke curling around his words. "You're really gonna have her say sorry for you?" He let out a low, mocking laugh, the sound echoing off the cold concrete walls. "Y'all are out of your mind."

Solemn's expression turned serious, his eyes glinting with a hard light. The air seemed to thicken, heavy with tension, as he spoke. "I want y'all to understand that there are other individuals who want your spot. You're not special, you're not privileged. You're just a couple of recruits who think they can make it through this program."

His voice dropped to a low growl, the sound sending a shiver down Anita's spine. "I want you to understand that if you were in the Plains, there's no escaping. Just mere survival, and a grain of hope." The fluorescent lights overhead seemed to flicker, casting eerie shadows on the walls. "You think you can handle that? You think you can survive in a world where every day is a fight for your life?"

The silence that followed was oppressive, the only sound the heavy breathing of the recruits and the distant hum of the facility's machinery.

Solemn's voice barked through the room. "Get up, everyone!"

Leroy stumbled, his legs wobbly, and face-planted onto the floor with a thud. Jester sprang up, a smirk spreading across his face like a crack in a mirror.

Malevolence's eyebrows furrowed, her expression a dark storm cloud. Grim and Leech struggled to their feet, their faces etched with exhaustion, their chests heaving with ragged breaths.

Solemn's eyes swept the room, his gaze lingering on each recruit. "In position!" he barked, his voice echoing off the walls.

The recruits scrambled to form a line, their movements chaotic, like a flock of startled birds. Leroy stumbled into place, his face flushed, his eyes dazed.

Solemn's eyes closed, his voice taking on a mystical tone. "I walk with death every day. I stare back at it, and it stares back at me."

A hand suddenly emerged from Solemn's chest, grasping the cigar and disintegrating it. Solemn's eyes snapped open, his gaze piercing. "This is a mere illusion of my power, and of the Ethereal Plains. Take this as an opportunity."

Solemn's gaze shifted, his eyes seeming to look beyond the recruits. "Watch and look," he whispered.

A woman with a veiled face appeared, her presence accompanied by an unsettling aura of quiet power. Her dark robes billowed around her like smoke, and a scythe hung at her side. She drifted closer, her long fingernail tracing the curve of Solemn's ear. A whispered secret, and then her nail slipped into his ear, blood splattering out.

The woman's gaze never wavered as she floated toward Solemn's mouth. His lips parted, and she sliced open his tongue, the sound like a razor cutting through silk. Then, she drifted toward his eyes.

Solemn's eyelids remained closed, but the woman's fingers etched them open, her nails tracing the curves of his eyeballs. His eyes turned black as coal, empty voids that seemed to suck in the light around him.

The Reaper's gaze swept across the recruits, her eyes lingering on each face. She floated towards Malevolence, her bony fingers prying open the recruit's mouth. Malevolence's eyes widened in terror as she fell to the ground, scrambling backward in a desperate bid to escape.

The Reaper's gaze shifted to Jester, who stood frozen, his eyes fixed on her. He caressed his lips, a twisted smile spreading across his face as she floated closer.

Next, she drifted towards Grim, her form fragmenting into a person he knew intimately. Grim's eyes flashed with recognition, his face etched with a mix of fear and longing.

The Reaper's gaze then fell on Leech, who looked away, his eyes avoiding hers. Her wrist was cut, black blood dripping from the wound like dark tears.

Anita was next, the Reaper's form fragmenting into multiple people who overlapped each other, all reaching out to Anita. The recruit's eyes went wide, her face pale, before she collapsed, unconscious.

Finally, the Reaper floated towards Leroy, her gaze locking onto his. She simply stared at him, her expression unreadable, her presence seeming to fill the entire space.

As the smoke from the ground enveloped them, the recruits felt themselves being pulled into a trance-like state, each one separated from the others. But as they emerged from the haze, they found themselves together again, standing in a desolate, blackened landscape shrouded in foggy mist.

The air was thick with the sounds of suffering: people screaming, women pleading, "Get him off me!" Men were dragged away, chains clanking in the darkness. The recruits exchanged fearful glances, their hearts pounding in unison.

Suddenly, a deafening crash shook the ground beneath their feet. A colossal foot descended from the darkness above, its massive sole barely missing them. The recruits stumbled backward, their eyes fixed on the gargantuan foot as it rose again, disappearing into the murky veil.