Las Almas, Mexico
ARZALEA 'SILK' BLACKWOOD

FOOT IN MOUTH. FOOT in fucking mouth, I say!

Remember how I said I didn't need training? That little ole' me was way too badass to train with three highly trained military men? Yeah, well, as I laid here on the black mat in the training room, arms and legs splayed out starfish face down, I wish I could put my fucking foot in my mouth.

This felt worse than the running I had to do yesterday. The little reminder of my time with Ghost only fueled my annoyance. After knocking the Lieutenant on his ass, he made sure to make the rest of our training together a living hell.

When I said he was Satan, I didn't mean it literally at first, but now I was debating on if it were actually true or not. The man was pure evil, and apparently his ego took hit when I pulled my little stunt, because he was brutal.

Stupid man with his silly mask and silly stupid eyes that rarely show an ounce of emotion. He was Satan in a tactical suit. But I wonder what's under that—

"Jesus fuckin' Christ, Lass, are ye' okay?" Soap's voice came from above me, pulling me from my thoughts and I could hear the laugh in his voice.

Slowly, I lifted my head and looked up at charming Scott, who looked anything but guilty. In fact, he looked as if he were holding back a laugh. If I had the eyes of a cat, they would have just narrowed into slits like they do before they do that evil sneak attack. The evil bastards. "Just fuckin' great, Soap." I tried to sound as sweet as candy but my voice came out hard as ice, "Didn't even hurt,"

Soap watched me as I stood back to my feet, his mouth puckered while he bit the inside of his cheek. His amusement was clear as day and I wanted nothing more than to knock it away. I don't know how he put me down so easily, it was so unlike myself to let an opponent get the upper hand and put me in that position. But I was off my game. My lack of training showed, and I was disappointed in myself for getting too cocky.

"Let's go again," I commanded. No more games. Shit was about to get real.

"Watch out, mate, she looks serious." Gaz called from the other side of the mat, brown eyes twinkling in amusement as he caught to look on my face.

Soap smirked as he began to circle me, "Come on, Lassie, let's see what ye' got,"

I didn't have time to give my snarky reply, because he was coming at me in a flash. Sweat rolled down my neck as I spun on my right foot, dodging a jab in my direction. I lowered my stance quickly, my body buzzing as Soap charged once more, eyes calculating my hands and feet.

I saw it before he did it. With a swift swipe of his right leg, Soap tried to catch my foot in an attempt to make me lose balance, but instead, I countered his attack. With a leap of faith, I braced my hand on his broad shoulders and pushed myself upward, shifting my weight as I flipped over him and landed on his back in a squatted position.

Then, before he could even process I was practically spider-monkeying his back. I used half my strength to my advantage, dropping so my legs were on either side of his neck and locking them around him. Then I rolled back swiftly, arms going up to help shift our weight. A surprised grunt left the Sergeant, not at all expecting the pure force my small form achieved as he followed my movement unwillingly and back flipped, landing with a harsh thump on his chest as I rolled away quickly.

My chest heaved as I stood to my feet, eyes widening when I heard how hard he hit the mat.

"Holy shit," Gaz exclaimed, his eyes round and arms going slack at his side.

My hand rest over my mouth in surprise as I stood over Soap now, much like he had with me, as guilt played in my hazel eyes, "Soap, I didn't mean—"

"N-No, That was great, Silk," He muttered, face smushed on the mat of the training room. The man was laying on his stomach, arms and legs splayed out star-fish before he lifted his head and sent me a half-strained smirk. "I guess pay back's a bitch, Aye?"

I winced. Okay, so yeah. I did intend to get my revenge and take him down. But what I didn't expect to do was slam him like that. It really looked like it hurt.

"Hmfpt, Soap getting his ass handed to him by someone who's half his size is quite satisfying," Gaz chuckled, lifting a hand to his face to wipe the grin on his lips.

I shot the man a pointed look before offering a hand to Soap, helping him up. He rolled his shoulders, ignoring the comment of his teammate as he glanced down at me. "I meant it, Lass, that was a good move. Where did ye' learn to fight like that?"

I gave him a lame shrug, schooling my expression. "Took some classes in my younger years,"

"Younger years? Aren't ya' like, Twenty something?" Soap chuckled, arms folding over his chest as he lifted a thick brow.

It was my turn to fold my arms over my chest as I began to feel uncomfortable with his questions. "Twenty-five, and so what? Why does my age matter?"

"Yer' the youngest on the team, Lass."

My brow hit my hairline, "How old are you?"

"Thirty-two,"

"Oh,"

"Oh?"

I had to hold in my laugh at the offended look on his face. "Just thought you were younger, is all."

"Aye, it' was my dashin' good looks tha' threw you off, Lass?" He sent me a cheeky grin.

I rolled my eyes and walked over to my gym bag I had brought here, bending a knee to dig through it and pull out a water bottle. After taking a much needed drink, I turned to face him again and shook my head. "Nah, it was the mohawk,"

He ran a hand over the spikey brown strands, his smile only growing and showing off his pearly whites. "You dig it,"

Gaz let out a scoff, "Tosser,"

I chuckled at the two men before snatching up my bag. I began to walk toward the exit, "As much fun as this was boys, Imma hit the shower. See ya when I see you." I threw a hand up over my head, waving them goodbye.

"See ya' Lass,"

"Later Silk,"

I made my way through the main part of the base, walking down the hall which led to the shared locker rooms where the showers were located. Seeing as it was later in the day, most of the people on base were retreating to their barracks and living quarters, leaving this part of the compound nearly vacant of anyone. I've become more comfortable walking around by myself and taking advantage of the hot water the locker room has to offer.

The shower in my private quarters was honestly shit. The hot water lasted for about twenty minutes before turning cold as ice. Soap overheard me complaining about that fact and told me about the locker room, which is why I was here now, quickly going in to make sure it was empty so I could selfishly use the hot water and burn my skin off.

This was a joined locker room, meant for men and women, so the possibility of me walking in on a man and seeing all his junk was high and something I really didn't want to experience. I didn't want to see their silly pool noodles if I didn't have too.

I sat my bag down in the front area of the locker room, glancing around once more, before stripping. I discarded my clothes, pulling out my necessities and pulled out my towel, wrapping it around my body as I walked to the back part of the room and toward the showers. The showers were open and have no form of privacy whatsoever. Being in the military, you get used to seeing some nudity, I guess, because the layout of this shower room left no room for privacy. No walls or anything to stop prying eyes.

I hung up my towel and walked over to one of the main shower heads lined up on the brick wall, pushing up the handle. I jumped as the water hit my skin and slowly relaxed as it began to warm up. Ahh, now this is what I loved. I lowly hummed under my breath as I began to wash away the sweat and grime from today's training, getting lost in my own world as the water rolled down my skin.

Just as I was putting my coconut butter shampoo in my hair, I thought I heard a click come from the front room, followed by the door shutting. I tensed and opened my eyes, looking toward the shower room's entrance. I waited for someone to round the corner, mentally preparing myself for the awkward moment of someone seeing me in my birthday suit, but it never came. I willed myself to relax and scolded myself for being so paranoid before going back to what I was doing.

My eyes fell shut as I began washing the suds from my thick blonde strands, moving my hair over my shoulder as I turned my back to the entrance of the shower room, and started washing my body. I arched my chest into the flowing water, allowing it better access to my skin as I massaged the soap over my body. My fingers traced over the lines of the tattoo that rested between my breasts, following the black ink that curved perfectly under them.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, my senses kicking into overdrive as an odd feeling washed over my mind. I froze. Now, yes I could be a paranoid person, but right now there was this nagging feeling in the back of my head telling me I wasn't alone in this room anymore. I quickly turned my head. I stared at the entrance, long and hard, but saw nothing or no one.

Fuck, calm down Arzalea, you're just being paranoid. But my sense was never wrong. So with that final thought, I quickly wrapped up my shower and grab all my things. Once I'm dried off and dressed again, I quickly left the locker room.

If I wasn't in such a rush, I would have noticed the other bag on the bench, a black balavaca with a skull painted on the front resting right beside it.

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