Chapter 2.

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The moon taught me
there is beauty
in darkness too,
that even when
I don't feel whole,
I am enough.

DURING the flight I slept with my headsets on, shutting down the whole world around me with music, to clear my mind from thoughts and anxiety

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DURING the flight I slept with my headsets on, shutting down the whole world around me with music, to clear my mind from thoughts and anxiety.
I need to be strong.

When I got down from the plane, my back ached to the point that I couldn't even take a few steps normally, without bending on a side to ease the pain. Who the hell even projected those seats?

As I stretched out my arms and let out a yawn, I looked at my surroundings and only then I noticed a few soldiers' eyes on me, clearly amused from the terrible looks I had after an amount of horrific hours in that plane.

But luckily John arrived in time to come pick me up. I watched him as he got closer to me, his lips moving as if he was talking. I narrowed my eyes at him in confusion then realized I was still wearing my headsets, so I lowered them around my neck.

"Scylla! There you are." He patted my shoulder happily. He had this way to act so close whenever he was around me, since the day we became friends. It wasn't a big deal to me, but still, I wasn't the type to give back the same energy.

My eyes scanned him from head to toe, from his fisherman like hat, the SAS uniform and gear, to his combat boots. It felt so strange seeing him like that, no, being back to this dangerous world.

John cleared his throat and reached out a hand to grab my luggage, I just slapped it away instinctively, not to be mean but I knew how to handle myself.
"I guess you're pretty tired, let's get you to your private room." He let out a small laugh to ease the tension in the air.

I just nodded my head and followed behind him inside the base. He even gave me a quick tour around before dropping me off in front of my room.

I slid in the key and turned the knob, the bright light welcomed me and I groaned, annoyed. Closing the curtains was the first thing I did once I stepped inside and locked the door, I just couldn't stand the bright light.

The place was small, simple and neat, soon to be messy because of me. The walls were painted with a nice cappuccino color, the furnishing white and basic, a small kitchen and a small bedroom with a private bathroom. Perfect for me.

I immediately started to unpack my things, I placed the most important picture on the desk of my room while the other ones were hidden in a drawer, I needed to get my things done and finally rest so there was no time for decorations.

It took me a while to finally empty the luggage, I took a quick shower and changed into some comfortable sweatpants and t-shirt, before throwing myself on the bed. Just. Five. Minutes.

Five minutes of rest turned into six hours.

I woke up in the middle of the night, feeling completely rested from the exhausting flight, and now my stomach was begging for food. The only problem was that I didn't have any in the fridge, just a bottle of water and a ridiculous apple.

Getting up from the bed, I slipped into the combat boots and left my room quietly. Everyone was asleep, the hallways were silent and empty, only my steps echoed in the air. I put some trust in my memory and finally reached the cafeteria, only to find it empty and dark.

For God's sake, why weren't there any snacks' vending machines?

"Nice way to start the day." I murmured quietly in frustration and jumped to sit down on a table, letting my feet slightly swing in the air.

Then a creaking noise came from the Cafeteria's doors and my head immediately snapped in its direction. It's freaking three in the morning, who could it possibly be?

"What are you doing here? Recruits shouldn't be in this wing." A deep voice spoke, the silhouette was still unrecognizable and I was as sure as hell It wasn't John right there.

"I'm hungry and I'm not a recruit." I retorted, trying to bury the usual annoyance in my tone. The soldier turned on the flash of his phone and shot it right at me, making me groan and cover my face with my arms.

"What the hell? Shut it off."

"Are you new here?"

"I'm not going to reply until you shut that thing off."

Finally, he pointed it away from my face and I sighed in frustration. Yes, I am a pretty frustrated person and I try to hide it as much as possible.

"I'm not a recruit, I'm a Sergeant and I got moved in this base." I partially lied to him, folding my arms and looking away. I didn't even care to pay attention at his face, "Damn, that's unusual." He responded with an interested tone, his steps getting louder as he got closer to the table I was sitting on.

"What's your name?" He asked after a few seconds of silence. "None of your business." I snapped at him, hopping off the table to walk towards the Cafeteria's counter.

Maybe there were some leftovers, maybe even some snacks, in that moment anything would've satisfied my hunger. "Not that friendly, huh." His comment made my blood boil slightly, It took me so much to calm down and not snap at him again.

"I'm not here to make friends." I just replied and reached out an arm to rummage behind the counter, my hand finally grasping onto some plastic stuff.

Bingo.

I took out a few dietetic bars and my face fell. Okay, It'll do. Without even sparing a glance at the mysterious soldier I headed to the exit, "See you around, grumpy woman." His tone was laced with pure amusement and I found it extremely annoying.

I was too tired to even respond so I just headed back to my room. I took a few bites of my bars and fell asleep once again.

The next morning I woke up feeling better, my eye bags were long gone and my skin looked brighter than ever. This day I was finally meeting my new team, I had to look presentable somehow.

While I brushed my teeth, my hands got busy with my hair, brushing it out and twisting it up in a neat bun. Finally, I wore the uniform and slipped in the combat boots before stepping out from my room.

The hallways were now filled with soldiers walking around and greeting each other, I just kept a low profile and made my way to the nearest vending machine to get myself a coffee. The Cafeteria was probably packed with soldiers and being new here made me slightly uncomfortable.

I folded my arms as I waited for the machine to prepare my coffee, I was just standing there, minding my business when a sudden voice made me flinch.

"Scylla!" John exclaimed and leaned on the vending machine, crossing his legs. My eyes scanned him from head to toe, he was wearing another uniform, similar to mine. "Mornin'." I grumbled and let out a sigh, reaching out a hand to finally grab the cup of coffee.

"Come on, let's go. The meeting is starting soon." He gestured me with his head towards another hallway and pulled away from the vending machine.
I raised my eyebrows and followed behind him, "Already?" I asked and took a quick sip of my hot drink.

John was so much more taller than me, making it difficult to catch his quick steps, and I for sure had to get back on training.

"Quick, Scylla."

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