When they could finally step into the barracks for some well-deserved rest, the instructor pulled them aside to congratulate them. Sergeant Rodrick was no longer in his bulky armor, but his presence was no less intimidating. He looked them over with a mixture of pride and approval.

  “You did well down there,” he said, his voice no longer as gruff as before. “You’ve earned your place as Initiates. You’ve faced the trial, and you’ve made it through. You’re no longer just recruits. You’ve been tested, and you’ve come out the other side. It’s not a straightforward path, but it’s the one you’ve chosen.”

  He paused, letting the weight of the moment sink in before nodding toward the others. “Jorin, Tobin—head inside. Rest up. You’ve earned it.”

  As Jorin and Tobin exchanged glances and shuffled off into the barracks, Rodrick turned to Andy. His expression shifted slightly, a mix of curiosity and something resembling respect.

  “Walk with me,” Rodrick said, motioning for Andy to follow him a short distance away. When they were alone, the sergeant leaned against a wall, crossing his arms as he studied Andy with a critical eye.

  “You did good back there,” Rodrick began, his tone quieter now but no less firm. “Really stepped up. I won’t ask where you got that energy pistol. I know we don’t issue those to scrubs, and I can tell you’ve got experience in the underground.” He tilted his head slightly. “The way you moved down there—didn’t trip once, your foot placement was careful, and your eyes scanned every obvious attack point like you’ve done it a hundred times. So tell me, what’s the story with that?”

  Andy hesitated, his fingers brushing against the edge of his belt. Rodrick’s piercing gaze was unrelenting, and Andy knew better than to lie. “I’ve been going down there since I was a kid,” he admitted finally. “At first, it was to scavenge for parts for my projects or for Wily’s shop. I’d find old tech, broken machines—anything I could tinker with. But…” He paused, swallowing hard. “It was also to face my fear. I hated the underground when I was little. It terrified me. I figured if I kept going back, I could get over it.”

  Rodrick’s lips curved into a faint smirk. “Well, Initiate, I’d say you overcame it. From what I saw, you didn’t just hold your own—you led. Don’t get a big head about it, but keep it up. You’ve got potential, and today proved it.”

  Andy shifted under the weight of the compliment, unsure how to respond. But Rodrick continued.

  “You had quite the rite of passage down there,” the sergeant continued. “Most recruits hear some scary noises, maybe trip over their own feet. Occasionally, we’ll get a smaller bio-mutant or two. But when you got split up, you ended up outside the usual trial area. You weren’t supposed to face anything like that beast.” His voice softened, a rare moment of candor. “I’m glad I found you boys when I did.”

  Rodrick straightened, the momentary softness fading as he assumed his usual authoritative demeanor. “Now, go catch up with Tobin and Jorin. You saved their lives today. Let that sink in—but don’t let it stop you from pushing forward.”

  Andy nodded, his chest tightening at the weight of Rodrick’s words. “Thank you, sir.”

  Rodrick gave him a curt nod in return. “Get some rest. Tomorrow’s another day.”

  As Andy turned to rejoin his friends in the barracks, Rodrick’s words echoed in his mind. He’d saved their lives. Somehow, despite everything, he’d done it. And for the first time, Andy felt like he wasn’t just surviving—he was becoming something more.

  He stepped inside the barracks to find Tobin and Jorin waiting for him, their faces still marked by exhaustion but carrying a glimmer of something new. Pride. The room was quiet, a stark contrast to the chaos they had faced hours earlier. Andy’s footsteps seemed louder than they should have been as he crossed the threshold, meeting his friends’ gazes.

  The three of them stood there for a moment, not speaking, but the weight of what they had just accomplished hung heavy in the air. It was a shared understanding, unspoken but deeply felt.

  “We did it,” Tobin finally said, breaking the silence. His voice was quiet, almost disbelieving. “We actually made it.”

  Jorin nodded, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips despite the bruises on his face. “Not just made it—we passed. We’re Initiates now.”

  Andy leaned against the edge of a bunk, his fingers brushing the worn fabric of the mattress. “Yeah,” he said, his voice steadier than he expected. “We’re not just recruits anymore.”

  The words felt strange as they left his mouth, but they carried a weight he hadn’t realized he was holding onto. It wasn’t just a title—it was everything they had fought for, struggled for, and bled for. And now it was theirs.

  The three of them shared a brief glance, and Andy felt a quiet, unspoken bond settle between them. They had crossed a line together, one that marked the end of who they had been and the beginning of something more. It wasn’t just survival anymore—it was purpose.

  The instructor’s words were still ringing in their ears when they made their way to the medical bay. Their bodies ached from the brutal training, and the injuries they had sustained in the Catacombs were taking their toll. They displayed cuts, bruises, and a twisted ankle, but exhaustion was the worst. The toll of that last battle had drained them completely.

  The nurse gave them all a pointed look as they entered the medical bay. “You three… what did you do this time?” she asked, but there was a flicker of amusement in her voice.

  “We survived,” Jorin muttered, collapsing onto the bed. “Barely.”

  The nurse started cleaning and bandaging their wounds, her hands moving swiftly and efficiently as she worked. Andy couldn’t help but wince every time she pressed a bandage against his side where he had taken a nasty blow. But even through the pain, he felt a strange sense of relief.

  They had survived. And now, they were going to get a taste of something they hadn’t felt in a long time. freedom.

  When the nurse had finished, she gave each of them a small, amused smile. “You’re lucky it’s your first weekend as Initiates,” she said. “Normally, I’d have you back out there, pushing through the pain. But not today. You boys are staying here for the weekend.”

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  Jorin grinned at the thought. “A reward for surviving, huh?”

  Andy couldn’t help but laugh, even though his ribs ached. “Yeah, I’ll take it.”

  Tobin groaned in agreement, sinking into the bed, his eyes heavy with fatigue. “I think we’ve earned a few days of rest. My body’s not ready for another round of training just yet.”

  The nurse chuckled softly. “Well, I’m sure you’ll all be back to full strength in no time. You might have a few aches, but it’s nothing a good rest won’t fix.”

  As they settled in for the weekend, their bodies slowly healed. The pain of their injuries was still there, but the deeper satisfaction of knowing they had survived the Catacombs lingered far longer. They were initiates now, ready to begin the actual work of the Vanguard.

  But for now, they had earned a rare moment of peace. They were alive, and they had a future in the Vanguard.

  And for the first time in a long while, Andy allowed himself to smile.

  As Andy drifted in and out of a light, healing sleep, he felt an unfamiliar presence slip quietly into the room. At first, he thought it was just another nurse or maybe a fellow recruit, but then something in the air shifted—a familiar aroma, faint but unmistakable, wafted through the stillness.

  It was the smell of fresh coffee, mixed with something sweet and warm, a scent that brought a sudden rush of memories he hadn’t expected. For a moment, his mind wandered back to the days in Bastion, his old home, the place where he had spent most of his childhood before it all fell apart. He also could almost picture the small café where Lana worked at, the cozy corner where the old-fashioned coffee machine hissed away while the smell of pastries lingered in the air. The feeling was so sudden and sharp that it took him by surprise.

  The scent lingered for a moment, pulling him out of his hazy thoughts, before his attention snapped back to the present. He heard light footsteps, soft and deliberate, moving closer. Then, a gentle pressure on his forehead—a hand, soft yet deliberate, placed there as if checking for something. Andy’s breath hitched slightly, but he kept his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep.

  His heart raced. The touch felt oddly familiar, yet distant, like something he couldn’t quite place. It was tender, caring, the kind of touch he hadn’t felt in years, and his body betrayed him with a shiver as he tried to stay still.

  For a moment, everything else seemed to fade away—the aches in his body, the sharp pain in his side, the buzzing of his mind as he tried to make sense of everything. He just lay there, still as possible, pretending to sleep, not sure if he even wanted to open his eyes to see who was there.

  Then, the hand moved away, and the scent faded, like the person was retreating as quietly as they had arrived.

  Andy’s pulse quickened, and he hesitated for a moment before he finally let his eyes flutter open. The room was still dark, save for the faint glow from the hallway that filtered through the cracks of the door. No one was there.

  Confusion and curiosity gripped him. Was it just a dream? Or had someone been there? His heart was still racing, but his mind struggled to understand what had just happened. There was a weight in his chest, a sense of longing for something he couldn’t put into words, something that felt incomplete.

  But whoever—or whatever—had been there, they were gone now. A feeling of warmth lingered on Andy’s skin, the faint smell of coffee was still in the air, and a gnawing sense of unease remained. He didn’t know if it had been real, or if it was just the product of his exhausted, sleep-deprived brain. Either way, he couldn’t shake the image of the hand on his forehead and the scent of Bastion.

  A pang of homesickness surged through him, the feeling sharp and deep. The past seemed to reach out to him in that moment, a reminder that no matter how far he’d come, some things—some memories—could never truly fade away. Even as he lay there, a soldier now, an Initiate in the Vanguard, his thoughts drifted back to Bastion. To the quiet, mornings spent in the warmth of his old home.

  But there was no time for nostalgia now. Andy took a deep breath, focusing his mind. Whatever that moment had been, it was over. He was here now, in the Vanguard, and his path was forward. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched—of something or someone pulling at the edges of his memory.

  The next morning, the pain from his injuries was still there, but it was manageable. He had his first full day off, and the rest of the recruits would rest as well. Yet, there was a weight on his mind, a heaviness he couldn’t ignore. The feeling of that touch—soft and comforting, but so out of place—lingered throughout the day.

  He spent most of the morning quietly in the barracks after sleeping in the medical bay, distracted by the strange event. The memory of the night before clung to him like a shadow—fleeting but impossible to ignore. The hand, the smell of coffee, the presence—it felt too real to dismiss as a dream.

  Eventually, Jorin and Tobin caught up with him, both grinning from ear to ear, their voices echoing through the otherwise quiet barracks. They were already joking and talking about their plans for their brief time off, their energy infectious despite Andy’s distracted state.

  “Hey, hero!” Tobin called out, dropping onto the bunk next to Andy with a dramatic sigh. “You planning on brooding all day, or are you going to join the rest of us mere mortals?”

  Andy glanced up, blinking as though pulled from a distant thought. He shrugged, trying to shake the unease that lingered in the back of his mind. “Just tired,” he replied, forcing a smile.

  “‘Just tired,’” Tobin mocked, leaning back and kicking his feet up. “We survived mutant hell, got promoted to Initiates, and you’re sitting here like someone told you lunch got canceled. Come on, Andy—lighten up a little. You should ride this high like the rest of us.”

  Jorin chuckled, dropping onto the bunk across from them. “Give him a break, Tobin. Not everyone celebrates by making plans to stuff their face and sleep for three days straight.”

  “Hey, don’t knock it,” Tobin shot back with a grin. “That’s called self-care. I earned this.”

  Andy smirked faintly at their antics, though his mind was still elsewhere. “You’ve earned a nap, maybe,” he said, his tone teasing. “Not an all-you-can-eat buffet.”

  “Oh, now he’s got jokes,” Tobin replied, nudging him with his elbow. “What’s really going on, Andy? You’ve been off all morning. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  Andy hesitated, the words catching in his throat. He wanted to tell them—about the hand, the coffee, the presence in the night—but something held him back. “I’m fine,” he said finally, his voice quieter. “Just…thinking.”

  Jorin studied him for a moment, his expression softening. “Well, whatever it is, don’t over-think it. You need to rest up, Andy. We’ve been through a lot, and this is probably the last actual break we’ll get for a while.”

  “True,” Tobin chimed in, leaning back on his elbows. “Because, knowing our luck, Rodrick’s probably planning some insane endurance drills to ‘celebrate’ our promotion. Can’t wait for that.”

  Jorin snorted. “Yeah, ‘congrats on surviving the Catacombs—now run until your legs give out.’ Sounds about right.”

  Andy chuckled despite himself, the tension in his chest loosening a little. “You’re probably not wrong.”

  “Of course I’m not,” Jorin said with a mock-serious expression. “But that’s tomorrow’s problem. Today, we relax. Or try to, anyway.”

  Tobin sat up suddenly, his grin returning. “Speaking of relaxing, they’ve got that mess hall special going on today. If we hurry, we can probably grab the good stuff before the rest of the recruits get there.”

  Jorin groaned, rolling his eyes. “You and food. I swear, Tobin, it’s a miracle you made it through the Catacombs without stopping for a snack.”

  “Don’t act like you’re not coming with me,” Tobin shot back. “Come on, Andy. You in?”

  Andy hesitated again, but the weight in his chest had eased slightly, thanks to his friends’ banter. “Sure,” he said, standing up. “Why not?”

  The three of them left the barracks together, their laughter echoing through the hallways. Yet, as they walked, Andy couldn’t help but glance back, his thoughts returning to the strange event from the night before. Whatever it was, it hadn’t been a dream. Something—or someone—had been there.

  And as much as he wanted to let it go, Andy couldn’t shake the feeling that the answers were out there, somewhere, waiting for him to find them.