The morning after the cadets' narrow escape from the avalanche brought little comfort to the bleary trainees. It had not been a cold night and there were no tens large enough to safely manoeuvre the injured into without aggravating their wounds so they had instead had to rest under nothing but the starry sky. Bedrolls had been laid out and they had been arranged around a large fire, more than enough to keep them warm, with medics working through the night and tending to those whom needed it. Testament to their skills, not another life was lost although many of the more seriously wounded did not wake and there were many cries of pain and sobbing to haunt those still awak and listening from their tents.
Barely after daybreak did half a dozen of the veterans depart to the nearest town in search of transport; they had more than enough steeds for all the cadets, many horses having carried trainees to the mountain would be returning riderless, but many of the injured would be unable to sit safely in a saddle for the long return journey and so wagons would be required. Any cadets emerging early from their tents would have seen the first shift of guides returning from the mountain after a long night, shoulders drooped from lack of success and eyes hooded from going a whole day and night without any rest.
As soon as wagons had been acquired and the injured transferred from the ground and into them, the cadets were ordered to break camp and pack up their tents. Within the hour they were saddled up and riding with the early morning sun warming them, back South to the training camp, many with a defeated look haunting their eyes and bowing their shoulders.
"All in! The hell're you waiting for - I SAID ALL IN!"
Schulz had disappeared since they returned from the mountain, a calmer but no less intimidating instructor taking over for the time being. The staff, too, had changed their attitude and, while not being accommodating, were no longer actively making life hard for the cadets. Most of the time. The last week they had been running, recapping hand to hand combat and perfecting sitting in a harness although they had all graduated to actively using ODM Gear before the mountain hike.
A few cadets had been returned to the training camps, filtering in from the North in various states of injury, but no more than a dozen had rejoined their fellows before it was announced that the search had been called off; it was simply too late to save any who had yet to be found. Rumours abounded about the number of frozen corpses found in the debris and found lost, well off the mountain paths on the hike up, but the staff were stone-faced when questioned and flat out refused to give up what little information they had."It's time we started evaluating how you kids handle the ODM, the injured'll have to catch up. Follow."
The instructor had the knack for sounding like everything he had to do was a personal slight against him and merely grunted his orders at the cadets, waving at them in a bored fashion and leading them to the forests bordering the camp. Horses waited, ready and saddled, and they were then led through the forest, past a lake and onto a plain with very few clumps of trees before entering another forest. There they were instructed to dismount and the instructor, still atop his horse, pointed back the way they came."The goal is simple, get back to the camp without running out of gas as quickly as possible. Those of you paying any attention will notice you only have half filled canisters today. If you run out you have to walk back. In the forest you will find obstacles and Titans, use your own judgement. That's all."
Adding nothing else to the very limited instructions, with a rare spark of amusement in his eyes, he waved in a bored fashion and rode back to camp, leaving the cadets with only a couple of supervisors, all mounted and holding the reins for their horses with amused looks on their faces."Time started when he left, by the way."
"You've improved enough to go out now. Don't push it though, I'm not clearing it up when you fall and crack your head open again."
Having tracked Lauren's eye movements using a toothpick, now put back between her teeth, the medic in charge of her care stood up and eyed the girl before her critically. The girl hadn't woken up until they had returned to the training camp and even then only to vomit before passing out again. Following that the week had barely improved with Lauren swimming in and out of consciousness, more often out than in, with blinding headaches assailing her during her wakeful periods and a constant sense of nausea dogging her. She barely remembered anything from the times she was awake and had to focus to recognise anyone visiting her, her vision swimming from the intense pain thudding around inside her head at all times.
This last week had seen her improve, her wakeful periods becoming longer and more frequent with some warning before she fainted. Despite this she had been paler than usual and weak throughout, from lack of blood and shock from the injury, and even now looked intensely ill even with a fiery determination to get out of her sickbed burning in her eyes. There were bandages wrapped around her head although the wound had closed up during the first week, the medic not convinced there hadn't been structural damage to her skull and wanting to keep everything tightly in place until she was satisfied that Lauren had fully healed."You know you're lucky, kid. If-"
"If the rock hadn't been covered in snow then it'd splattered my brains on the mountainside. I know." She had grown tired of the medic constantly telling her just how lucky her survival had been, she certainly hadn't felt lucky the past two weeks although when she had learned of how many had died on the mountain her thoughts had changed a little.
Standing up slowly, she moved around cautiously, finding her still precarious balance, before nodding to the medic that she was okay and heading for the door with eyes following her every step. Several other cadets were still stuck in the cabin for some time yet, although she had seen Reese allowed to be up and about while on crutches. If she had been in better condition she would have talked to him more, although she had been assured by the medic that she had in fact been checking on him even if she herself couldn't remember it. She'd also been told that others had come to visit her but she only had vague recollections, all of which she could not tell apart from fragments of the dreams and nightmares she'd had alongside.
The feeling of sun and wind on her skin was a blessed relief from the dank and moist smell of sweat and blood in the cabin and she risked a stretch, feeling her tense, but oddly tired muscles, rejoice in being used once again. With a grin to herself she made her way slowly towards the mess hall, hoping to grab some food more substantial than the chicken soup she had been surviving off the last two weeks. No one else was around so even if she couldn't keep it down at least no one else would know. 