Free The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze Page B

hurrying to dress and race down to the dining hall. I took the stairs two at a time, my bootlaces untied.
    Once I had my gruel, I atequickly, holding my bowl close, guarding it with my body as we all did. Even when I was finished, my stomach still ached with hunger cramps. I had been in the army for a few weeks now. Training lasted from dawn to dusk every single day. Then it was work duties, which forme meant after-dinner cleanup with the girls from my bunk. The constant motion barely left me any time to think about, muchless search for, Hollister. I was beginning to wonder if he was even here. At the end of each day, I was so tired I fell quickly into a leaden sleep, my muscles aching from the exercise. My last thoughts were always of my siblings. I wondered where their bodies had been buried, or if they had been sent to the Death Camps, where it was said you were ordered to dig your own grave.
    I gulped downmy last few sips of watered-down tea as Tub reappeared, leading us outside. At the outskirts of the woods we met up with the boys. The trees were still there, but they were skeletons now, charred and sodden, only bare branches and bark.
    We stood there in the predawn darkness as Portia, Tub, and June passed us each a titanium sevil—ammunition was far too valuable to let us use guns—along withan empty tin cup in case we found any drinkable water.
    “For those of you new to hunting,” Portia announced, clearly relishing her role as leader, “let me remind you: This army is big, and it needs food. Hunting that food is your job.” She stopped to look over the assembled soldiers, her eyes lingering for an extra moment on me.
    “If you come back empty-handed, you’ll be given double chores. Thenew soldier with the most kills will be promoted a full rank.” She paused to let this sink in. “If you loot any of your fellow army members’ weapons or kills, you will be punished. That is the most important rule—that you hunt your kill yourself. No sharing, no swapping, no bribing allowed. Is that understood?” Everyone nodded. I saw Sergeant Wesley moving through the boys’ division with a pitcherof fresh water. He poured it into their cups, reminding them to drink it all. I immediately put my head down.
    “Finally,” Portia continued, “let me give you a few tips that will increase your chances of survival. There aren’t any animals to be afraid of except for swamp snakes, so as long as you avoid swampy areas you’ll most likely be fine. The bears have almost all starved to death. Your onlyreal worry is the Roamers.”
    A gasp sounded through the crowd. “Relax,” Tub cut in, giggling at everyone’s obvious terror. “No one’s been eaten… yet .”
    “We meet back here at sundown,” Portia went on undeterred. “Good luck.”
    One by one, she proceeded to call out the names of newrecruits, who placed their hands into a cloth sack and pulled out numbered slips of paper. The number indicated howmany paces you had to step away from the group before you could begin hunting. Mine was 574.
    I put the number in my pocket and looked out into the forest, wondering how far 574 steps would take me. Vashti squeezed my hand and whispered, “Good luck.” Tub snickered as she began to count the numbers very slowly and loudly. I looked down at the muddy ground, then ahead at the trees. They all lookedthe same for miles and miles; bare, rotting trunks, with bark too damp to burn. I risked one glance back over my shoulder and saw Sergeant Wesley watching me. I whipped my head back around, my cheeks flaming, my face blank, as I walked off into the dead forest.
    I counted the steps aloud as I walked, Tub’s voice growing fainter and fainter until there was only the sound of my footsteps and breath.The trees looked menacing, their twisted branches reaching out to snatch at me. I looked at the sevil, amazed at how perfectly thin and razor-sharp it was. Cornelius Hollister had invented it, a deadly kind of sword that could