24. Annalise
Chapter twenty-four
Annalise
The first thing I learn about a Vanguard campout is that the word campout is being used very loosely.
There are no tents in the traditional sense.
There are military-grade shelters strung between trees with thin sheets separating each “room”, a cooking station that looks suspiciously like an outdoor laboratory, enough weapons to arm a small rebellion, and a course marked through the woods with red flags, trip lines, and enough obstacles to make me question whether the academy is actually trying to train soldiers or simply eliminate them.
The second is that Korr has no intention of letting me out of his sight for an entire weekend. Not that he says that—no, he claims he’s here because Kael and Renwick need another set of eyes.
But as his eyes are locked onto every move I make, I don’t believe him for a second.
“Three instructors for a weekend of infantry exercises?” I ask as we unload packs from the supply wagon.
Korr drops his pack onto the ground.
“Three instructors for a weekend of infantry exercises involving recruits who repeatedly show how inept they are and how careless they are with the rules.”
“So they just needed the big, bad Captain Korr to wrangle us all in.”
His mouth twitches. “I’m supervising you.”
“I’m touched, but I don’t need a babysitter.”
Matt snorts from beside me. “I give it twelve hours before she’s getting herself into trouble.”
“Twelve?” I scoff.
Hunter looks at me. “You’re right, that's giving you too much credit. I bet six.”
Theo walks past carrying two medical packs, Ian beside him with another slung over his shoulder.
“Make that four,” Ian says, missing that Hunter was the one he responded too as he laughs at the middle finger I’m giving him.
This weekend is designed to simulate field operations—navigation, weapons drills, tactical movement, defensive positions, casualty extraction, hand-to-hand combat, and enough running to catch me up on all of the morning sessions I’ve missed out on since the attack.
By the time we reach the final event on the first day, my muscles are burning, my boots are filthy, my shirt is sticking to my back, and it feels like I’ve been out here a week already.
We’re in the middle of running a dry-fire tactical exercise through a stretch of wooded terrain when it happens.
A shot cracks—different than the rest.
Someone shouts “Live ammo!”, and I move on instinct, dropping behind a fallen log as recruits scramble for a hiding place of their own.
I jerk backward with a shout as a burning sting slices across my side.
For half a second, I don’t understand what happened, then I look down to see my skin on full display, a patch of my uniform missing, and the surrounding area singed.
Then comes the blood. It’s not much, just a thin, bright line along my side where the bullet grazed me.
“Annalise!” Matt’s on me before I can even answer—Hunter right behind him. “What happened?”
“I’m fine.”
“Where are you hurt?”
“It barely—”
“Where?” Korr demands, his abrasive military tone in full effect.
Pointing to my side, Matt's face changes instantly.
“Oscar!” Korr barks, his face contorted like he’s seconds away from killing the recruit.
Oscar, the recruit who fired the shot, looks horrified. “It ricocheted—I—”
“Get the medics,” Korr snaps.
“They’re already coming.”
Sure enough, Theo is sprinting toward us with Ian behind him, both carrying medical packs.
“How bad is it?” Theo asks as Ian drops down beside me.
“It's barely a graze,” I say.
Theo looks at me. Then at the blood. Then back at me like I’ve lost my mind. “You’re bleeding.”
“Yup. Bullets will do that.”
“Don’t move,” Ian commands, rummaging through the med pack.
Turning my body, I grip the closest tree for balance and start to lift. “It's fine, I can stand."
“I said don’t fucking move!”
One second I'm looking at my friends annoyed face, the next I'm watching my furious roommate snarling in his face. "Don't yell at her! She's clearly in shock and not thinking properly!" he growls, the last part emphasized as he shoots me a look of warning.
Matt quickly crouches and helps me back into a sitting position while Korr takes up a sentinel position behind him, jaw clenched and his expression dark enough to scare away any would-be onlookers.
Theo kneels awkwardly in front of me. “Let me see,” he says, his hands moving toward my side. Every muscle in my body locks before I can stop it.
My breath catches hard as my fingers curl into the dirt. Theo pauses, aware I’ve gone rigid but oblivious to what caused it.
“Sorry,” he says quickly. “I need to clean it.”
I nod as Matt's eyes flick to mine. “Do you want me—”
“What? Don’t think we’re capable?” Theo pushes back, tensions clearly high. Thankfully, Korr’s scolding look shuts both men up before they can get into it.
“She doesn’t need a pissing match after getting shot by a bullet that shouldn’t have been real!” he shouts loud enough for Oscar to hear over Renwick and Kael, who are currently questioning him on what the fuck he was thinking when he loaded real bullets during a “shoot blanks only” exercise.
I don’t hear his response; all my attention is focused on the breathing techniques my counselor and I have been working on as Theo lifts the edge of my shirt carefully, exposing the shallow cut along my ribs.
The scrape is ugly, but superficial.
I know that and they know that, but apparently, neither of them are going to behave like it.
Ian pulls out antiseptic. “I'm going to clean around it first, then we'll cover it. Okay?”
“Yeah.”
His fingers barely brush my skin and my stomach knots. I try to focus on something else—anything else.
Korr steps closer, his voice calmer than I’ve heard it all day. “You’re doing so good. Just keep breathing. They’re almost done.”
My breath hitches as I look up at him. He isn’t talking about the uncomfortable sting of the sealant being applied, and we both know it.
Still, his eyes hold mine as he gives me a small nod, the faintest hint of a smile tugging at his mouth as I match my breathing to my insufferable roommate’s, just like we did back in the infirmary last semester.
“You’re going to feel some pressure. Tell me if it hurts,” Ian says.
“It doesn’t.”
“Good.” He leans closer, lowering his voice into a whisper that is absolutely loud enough for everyone to hear. “You know, when I got hurt, you did a much better job than this. Maybe we should stick to me being the patient from now on?”
“Or maybe we just leave injuries and healing to everyone else?”
“It’s a deal.” He grins.
As soon as he’s done, Theo moves in to clean the excess from around the wound.
Once.
Twice.
A third time.
I stare at him. “Seriously?”
He doesn’t even look up. “It needs to be clean before we apply the bandage and dressing.”
“Aren’t those practically the same thing?” Ian asks, barely containing his laughter.
Theo’s head snaps toward him. “No. They aren’t.”
“It’s the size of a paper cut,” I point out, but he ignores me, still stuck on Ian’s sarcastic commentary.
“And I hope no one ever trusts you to be their healer.”
“I think you’re underestimating my bedside manner.”
“I think you’re underestimating infection.”
“You’re both pissing me off,” Korr cuts in. “Do what you need to do so you can stop touching your patient."
Theo pointedly returns to cleaning it…Again.
Matt watches for another few seconds before shaking his head. “I've never known a cut so small to require this much attention.”
Korr grunts from beside him. “Neither have I.”
Ian looks between them. “At this rate, we should probably notify the Academy she’s down for the count.”
“Done!” Theo shouts, as his fingers finally release my side.
Looking down, I’m filled with surprise and horror. I stare at it in silence as Ian clears his throat. “Very…professionally done, Theo.”
Matt’s serious expression cracks first, and before long, the rest of us are laughing right alongside him.
The bandage is covering practically half my torso, practically taking away any chance I have at mobility.
“Gods, I hate you all,” I laugh.
Korr's mouth twitches. “No, she doesn't.”
I stand and quickly undo all but the small dressing Theo applied beneath the mountain of wrap. “Can I finish the exercise now?”
Three voices answer simultaneously, “No.”
I raise an eyebrow at Hunter, not daring to break eye contact…and when he sighs, I know I've won.
“Fine. But can you at least try not to get hurt again? I don’t think there will be any med supplies left for all the other recruits if you so much as stub your toe again.”
Ian and Theo share an embarrassed chuckle as Mattey and I take up our positions in the exercise once more.
Luckily, the rest of the afternoon passes without another incident and by sunset, I'm thoroughly exhausted.
The bruises on my side ache more than the wound itself, but my leg is another story. After hours of running, climbing, crouching, and hauling equipment, every muscle from my hip down feels like it has been wrung out.
I stretch beside the fire while the first sparks rise into the darkening sky.
“You alive?” Matt asks, dropping down beside me.
“Unfortunately.”
“Good.”
Across the fire, Theo’s talking to Ian until his gaze finds me, lingering a second longer than seems normal, but then he turns back to Ian, fully engaged in their conversation.
Eventually, someone starts passing around food, someone else starts telling a wildly exaggerated story about a training exercise, and the entire camp settles into that strange kind of exhaustion that makes everyone louder instead of quieter.
By the time the instructors finally order us to bed, I'm ready to collapse…until we discover the sleeping arrangements.
“Random?” Matt repeats.
Renwick nods.
Matt looks toward the tents, then back at her. “She's in tent six and I’m in tent seventeen.”
“Correct.”
“Absolutely not,” Matt says, as though he isn’t talking to an instructor.
Renwick sighs, “You don't get to choose.”
I laugh, “You're being ridiculous, Mattey.”
“I'm being responsible.”
Korr walks past us, “You're being annoying…but I agree with Reyes.”
“Thank you!”