Chapter 33 #2
Anna jogged back to the aircraft she had arrived in and pulled out a loudspeaker.
She then turned to face the assembled crowd.
“Thanks to everyone for being on time,” she began.
“As a general briefing for all mentees: after yesterday’s unfortunate incident, we’ve decided to keep operations local today.
That said, we’re staying focused on a key issue, the nomads.
As your mentors should’ve informed you, they remain our top priority right now since they pose the greatest challenge to successful outreach. ”
I exhaled a small, hopeful breath. If we were finally going to do something productive about the nomad problem today, I’d welcome it.
After yesterday, I needed something—anything—to pour my focus into.
Something good. Maybe progress, however small, could help us all start to heal after the catastrophe.
I needed to believe that doing some good might begin to balance the scales.
What goes around comes around. That was a law of nature known to civilizations since the dawn of time.
“Additionally,” Anna went on, “we want to stress another important factor: the need for close symbiosis between mentor and mentee. When you’re out on the field, this will be particularly important in a variety of circumstances, as you’ll experience in due course.”
I stared at Anna, disbelief prickling beneath my skin.
She was talking about close symbiosis? Dealing with me in a halfway empathetic, human manner would’ve been a good first step.
But apparently that had been too difficult for her.
So, I had no idea how she thought she was going to achieve it.
I didn’t know how she thought any of them were going to achieve it, if all the other “mentors” had the same attitude.
Symbiosis isn’t something you manufacture.
It’s not a protocol or a checkbox. It’s something earned, through mutual respect, trust, and time.
I should know. Our elders taught us how it forms between plants and animals, how it binds every part of the natural world together.
We lived by those lessons, striving to move gently, to never take more than we gave.
And because of that, nature sheltered us, fed us, sustained us—for generations.
I tried to tamp down my temper as I listened to Anna pontificate, knowing that getting angry again, so early in the day, would do nothing to help me through this. My parents were my priority.
Speaking of which, I made a mental note to check on them later today, after finishing whatever we were here to do. I dared harbor a tiny hope that they were miraculously better, and then all this could go away.
But, how were we supposed to deal with the nomad problem today?
I tried to focus as Anna continued her speech.
She now rummaged again inside her plane and pulled out a small, black bag made from cloth.
From within it she withdrew a tiny piece of metal.
It glinted in the sunlight when she held it up.
“As part of this training, each mentee will have one of these communication devices attached to their ear. You will be positioned at your own entrance to this woodland, and your task will be to precisely follow the directions of your mentor. Their task is to guide you through the darkness, toward a target. This will be not only an exercise of trust but also of calibration. I mean, coordination.” She chuckled to herself and rolled her eyes.
“It still feels early in the morning for me.” Several mentors around us tittered softly.
I didn’t see the amusement in her error, but I did want to scoff that she again had the gall to speak of trust. Once again, I tried to let it go.
Nico raised a hand, and Anna looked over at him in mild surprise. Apparently, she hadn't expected to be interrupted before finishing her briefing.
“Do you mind explaining the logic of this exercise?” he asked. “I mean, I know of the concept of military command and the importance of it in a high stress, combat situation. But isn't it more important that we learn skills to think for ourselves, be quick on our feet, and so on?”
That was a good question, and I noticed approval in the eyes of several mentees.
Anna smiled. “Naturally, the ability to think for oneself is always important, but I think that most of you already have that skill set. You each come from relatively small communities, from backgrounds that fostered critical thinking and where you had a strong degree of independence. So, I don't believe that’s a skill you need to hone. With all due respect, what you probably need to learn more is working cohesively with others.”
Nico frowned, jaw tightening, but he didn’t press the question. Not now.
Maybe, on some level, she had a point. We were free spirits. That was part of why trying to fit into life here felt so difficult.
But I didn’t like the idea of changing that about us. Not for this place. Not for anyone.
Fifteen minutes later, the mentees had dispersed, led to each of their respective woodland entrances.
Anna called down two silver-ringed outreach staff to act as Nico and Robert’s guides for this task.
We were each equipped with light helmets and padded straps for our arms and knees, which were supposed to protect us from sharp branches.
Anna finally made eye contact with me as she walked me to my spot. She behaved as if yesterday didn't happen. When we reached my position, she simply opened her palm to reveal my small metal device.
“Now, I suggest you let me attach this to your ear since it’s your first time wearing one of these things,” she said.
I lifted my helmet and leaned my right ear toward her, acquiescing.
I felt her fingers firmly grip near my outer ear, and then the cold, uncomfortable sensation of the metal piece clipping into it.
It gave a sharp prick, which almost felt like an electric shock.
I squinted and bit my lip at the discomfort. After a second, the pain dissipated.
“Alright,” she said, her tone businesslike. She replaced my helmet on my head. “You know what to do.”
I glanced ahead of me, at the gloom of the thick woods. “How will you even know how to guide us?” I asked.
“Don't worry,” she said. “That's our problem, not yours.”
I frowned in confusion, wishing I knew just for the sake of quenching my curiosity, but she strode away before I could attempt to press the question.
I glanced to my left. Jessie stood twenty feet away. On her other side was Nico, and to my right was Robert. We exchanged tentative glances through our visors, before fixing our gazes straight ahead into the dark trees.
Anna's voice came through the loudspeaker again. “Remember, stay put until you hear the whistle. Then, mentees, follow the commands you hear.”
I clenched my fists, palms slick with sweat, eyes fixed on the darkness ahead.
I kept telling myself this was for the greater good—for humankind’s future, for when we finally returned to the Old World and pursued the right target.
I tried to hold onto that thought, to believe there was purpose in what I was about to do.
That all of this meant something. That the shadows hid something worth facing.
Then a sharp whistle pierced the air—
And Anna’s voice shrieked in my ear: “GO!”