Free The Pulse Series (Book 1): Pulse by Steven Laidlaw Page B

would never have to see my mother again.
    I frowned at that thought. It had been something I wanted, leaving her, but I didn't know what to think about it now that it was real. I decided to ignore it for the time being and concentrate on the landscape around me.
    A large white mansion sat on a huge clearing of land in the forest. Most of it was grass, but there were sections which I could see that differed in color. I could make out rows of buildings peeking out from behind the mansion itself. There were various set-ups of what looked to be training equipment scattered around the place. As we drove down the long driveway, I could see a team of people jogging in the distance. We weren't close enough to make out how many people were there.
    I turned my eyes back to the centerpiece of the area and took in the whole thing as we approached. The place was huge: at least five stories and looked to be about hundred and fifty feet in width. I couldn't tell from here how far back it went, but I was guessing it wasn't small in that regard either.
    I was unable to keep the awe out of my voice. "That's where you live?"
    "Not the recruits, no." Bradley pointed off to the back corner where the rows of buildings I saw earlier rested. "We live in the barracks until our training is over. We use the mansion for the officer's quarters, education, and some of the different training exercises."
    "Different?"
    Bradley waved his hand. "Pulser stuff. You'll see when you stay."
    I frowned at the back of his head. "If." Bradley just laughed.
    I sighed. "You keep using the word Pulser. Are you ever going to tell me what it means?"
    "I'll let the General do that. It's a bit late to disturb him now, so after we get your wounds all sorted I'll show you to one of the guest rooms where you can sleep tonight. Everything will be explained to you in the morning."
    As we got closer the road split into three, and Gus turned the vehicle onto the leftmost road. It took us around the house, and as I expected it was almost as long as it was wide. I could see more of the training facilities from here. It was impressive. A huge, multi-storied obstacle course ran across one section of the clearing. In fact, when I took a closer look, a part of it even ran into the forest and up into the trees.
    It looked like a challenge, and I could feel my leg tapping in anticipation of conquering it. I grabbed my leg to stop it bouncing, but it was too late, and Bradley gave me a smug smile. I scowled at him and kept looking around. There more were buildings and a few open firing ranges that I could see from the car.
    As we pulled into the back of the mansion I felt a little more at home. From this angle I could see it was hollow in the center, like a giant wide U shape. Gus parked the car next to some others that sat inside the U and the three of us got out.
    It was a surreal experience as I looked around. It reminded me of home a little with the windows and walls surrounding us. The main difference was the clear sky and forest I could still see. They were in stark contrast to the life I knew. I watched as the sun started to fall behind the roof, signaling the end of the day was near. I swallowed and made my way after the two men who had already started toward one of the doors.
    When we got inside a lady in a suit was waiting for us. She took my name down in her notebook, smiled at me, and handed Bradley a key. Gus clapped Bradley on the shoulder and went back out the door we came from.
    I watched him leave. "Where is he going?"
    "Over to his office to make a report about the mission."
    That confused me for a moment before it clicked. I was the mission.
    Bradley nodded toward the other side of the room. "Let's get that leg fixed up."
    I looked down at my leg. I had almost forgotten about it with all the excitement. I tilted my head to the side, but he had already turned and walked across the room and was opening a door for us. We went down a series of hallways and into a large white