Camron walked down the hallways towards the mess hall. Wondering how he was going to break the news to the others. Richard, Nick, Shari, Janette. They were his team. Over the past two years he'd gotten to know them pretty well. but even after almost two full years of training they hadn't seen any actual combat.
Camron started as someone spoke behind him.
"Need a lift?"
Camron spun around, just to confirm that it was Richard.
"You know I don't like what happens when we teleport," he replied. "I still don't know how you do it without any side affects."
Richard shrugged. "I don't know. C'mon, it's fun, Cam."
"Don't call me that," said Camron as he shook his head. "You make me sound like a camera."
"Wanna take a selfie?" asked Richard as he pulled a cellphone. "my brand new I-Have-No-Idea-What-It's-Called can take fifty crystal clear selfies a second. plus it can then photoshop them on the spot. I know you want to look buffer."
Camron shook his head. "No, I don't. I'm happy to just be alive."
"Life leads to death," said Richard. "Everything dies eventually. You just keep cheating death everyday until you actually die. Then it's game over."
"I don't accept that," said Camron. "Even if we all die in the end we can still inspire those who come after us."
"Only if we're remembered," countered Richard. "Now. I'm hungry and I know you are too. So hold on."
Richard grabbed Camron's arm and for an instant everything went black. Then the mess hall blinked into existence around them.
"Thank you for travelling with Rick's Rickety Flights," announced Richard as he let go of Camron's arm. "The nausea should hit right about. . . now."
Camron closed his eyes as the sensation of dizziness and wanting to throw up passed through him. "You know I hate that," he said as he opened his eyes.
"The look on your face everytime it happens is worth it," Richard assured him. "Besides, we're here a good few minutes before everyone else."
Camron pointed at a table close to the wall length window. "Nick's here."
Richard looked where Camron was pointing. "So he is. And he got us the table with the best view of the sunrise."
"Knowing him he was probably up early training," said Camron. "He's always trying to be better."
"Well we have powers," said Richard. "He doesn't. He doesn't have any of the abilities we have. He has to work extra hard to keep up."
"Did you see his last training match yesterday?" asked Camron. "He took on twelve of the hand to hand combat trainers and their assistants. And he won in around five minutes."
"I caught the last two minutes," said Richard nonchalantly. "I was in the shooting range next door."
"Let me guess," said Camron "A perfect score as usual?"
"Out of a hundred shots, one hundred hits." replied Richard. "It kinda helps when you can shoot into a portal and have the bullet come out an inch from the target."
"I know," said Camron. He wasn't a bad shot. Averaging about 86% of his shots hitting roughly where he wanted them. "Although I still say you're cheating."
"No, I'm not," laughed Richard. "Besides, the girls like it when we show off."
"They just like an excuse to stop training for a minute," said Camron, grinning as he did so. "And speaking of the girls." He nodded towards one of the entryways into the mess hall where two girls had appeared in black tactical clothes and combat boots.
"They look ready for a day of training," commented Richard.
"Yes, they do," said Camron. A sinking feeling in his gut. he hated what he was going to have to tell them.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
