“Motorbikes,” Noah replied, silently amused by their look of horror.
eight
Zeke
Itwasalmosthalf-pastfive when they eventually stopped for the day. The motorbikes were a wild ride. First, Frankie and Zeke rode pillion behind Aoife and Noah as they showed them the dirt track and the controls. He’d clung onto Noah for dear life as he jumped over a platform, suspending them in mid-air for what felt like minutes. Noah’s entire body had shaken with suppressed laughter as Zeke shouted for him to slow down.
After Noah was sure Zeke wouldn’t kill them, they’d swapped over. Zeke was shaky at first, tipping the massive motorbike over and almost being buried by the machine—but Noah had been there to save him. The tyre rim scraped his leg, but not wanting to look weak as Frankie whizzed around, he got straight back in the saddle. Noah had slipped behind him and gently guided him with his knees. When Zeke insisted on travelling at ten miles per hour, Noah had lunged over at him, forcing his fingers to push down on the handle.
“Great job today! Let’s go shower. Zeke, try not to get lost today on the way to the fire pit,” said Noah, once they’d parked the motorbikes in the underground garage.
Zeke rolled his eyes. He’d learned his lesson. If he saw Tobias Newman in the corridor this evening, he would turn and run. The thirty minutes he’d spent in Newman’s company yesterday were the lowest point of his day, including Vitt’s workout.
“That was so fun today,” Frankie said, slipping her arm around his shoulder. Zeke was quickly getting used to her constant physical affection. At least he hadonefriend here. And she was right—todaywasbetter. However, tomorrow they began physical combat drills. In the words of Meredith, ‘a.k.a. how to not get eaten’. He was already dreading his lack of muscle strength showing him up again.
He stopped Noah outside of a shower cubicle. Noah stared at him, wide-eyed, until Zeke found the eye contact so intense that he looked away.
“Can you show me where the weight room is after this?” Zeke said.
“Of course.” Noah looked pleased, and Zeke wrestled with conflicting emotions. Look at him now, becoming a perfect little soldier within days of arriving.But what choice do I have?
By the time he came out, he’d made Noah wait so long for him that the others arrived back from patrol duty. Habib, Luo and Splat stripped instantly and wore only loose towels as they crowded around Noah on the seats. Noah’s damp hair, usually pulled back, cascaded down his face to his shoulders. Zeke hadn’t realised how long it was.
“It was a tough shift.” Habib was sitting with his head in his hands. “We had three attempted breaches within twenty minutes. As soon as we handed over to the next squad, we heard shouts. The typeAs are just relentless at the minute. They’re happy to throw themselves at the walls, again and again.”
Eventually, Noah gestured for Zeke to follow him to the gym.
“Will we mainly be assigned at the border, once we’re trained?” Zeke asked, mostly to fill the void.
“Yes, unless Squad E is allocated a specific mission.”
“Is guarding the wall dangerous?”
“Not usually. Many more soldiers die on the assignments beyond. You’ll like sentinel duty, though. There’s way more sitting and sniping involved,” Noah said, glancing over at him with a small smile.
After turning several corners, a small single-story building came into view, noticeable for its design: swirls of interlocking coloured paint splashes covered the white facade. It gave it an almost childish appearance.
“What’s that room?”
“That’s Fusion. It’s our multicultural faith hub. Aoife and Habib use it regularly, if you’re interested.”
They kept walking until they hit the gym. At first, the building looked identical to the corrugated metal exterior of the dormitory blocks, but then, looking through a window, Zeke noticed lines of exercise equipment. Soldiers occupied most of them, running and cycling with sweaty determination. They looked seriously athletic.
“Shall I… come in with you?” Noah said, after an awkward pause.
“No, no, that’s fine,” said Zeke. Although the thought of Noah leaving him alone panicked him, he didn’t want to take up even more of Noah’s time. Or have Noah watch him failing to lift the lightest weight. “But… I wasn’t actually paying attention to where we are. Where’s the fire pit from here?”
“Keep walking west. If you’re lost at any point, though, you can always call Wolf. The dogs all have hearing implants in. Listen, here’s Wolf’s whistle.” Noah placed his fingers in his mouth, and let loose a piercing whistle in a simple tune. A silence stretched out, and Zeke was sure that nothing was going to happen. But then Wolf bounded round the corner, licking Noah’s hand in greeting.
“Naughty boy, you know you’re not supposed to lick me,” Noah said, scratching his head. Zeke was starting to understand where Tobias was coming from.
“I’ll leave him here with you, then he can lead you to us later.” Noah knelt by Wolf, addressing him directly. “Click your fingers twice so he knows to stay with you.”
When Zeke did so, Wolf came to sit by him, looking up at him with large, brown eyes. “Later, click three times or just say my name. He should get the message to come find us. Ring me if you need anything.”
Noah looked hesitant to leave them, so he waved and headed inside the building. He crept around the edge of the room to not attract attention. The intensity of the surrounding people was intimidating. The soldiers kept any chatter to a minimum as they pushed their bodies to go faster and harder.
He sat on a sponge mat for a while near some weights, unsure of where to begin. Tentatively trying the smallest dumbbells, it surprised him to find he could lift them. He quickly discarded them, however, laying against the wall instead.
