My Werepanther System: Starting with Nine Lives
Chapter 51 QUEEN’S WIT

Chapter 51: 51 QUEEN’S WIT

It had been three hours since Rex first felt excited to participate in the hellish classroom chess match mixed with a team based endurance exercise. He must’ve shown his excitement too well since he now had three hellzone species encyclopedias stacked on his back.

Three hours of weighted planks.

They started at fifteen-hundred hours. Last time Rex checked, it was fifteen minutes past eighteen-hundred hours.

Classes only lasted two hours at most. And never went above one hundred and ten degrees. Until now.

The clock told them it was time for chow. He didn’t know if the sun said otherwise because inside The Box there were few windows.

Rex’s stomach was a hand gripping his spine.

His anterior deltoids, chest, abdominals and quads were sections of fire beneath his skin. He could quite literally feel the muscle fibers tea—

"Ohhhhh no no no...." Sgt. Atheno clicked his teeth and squatted down beside Trish at the top left corner of the room.

She laid facedown across from her partner, Caspien. The number one ranked Inheritence Ability user.

And the only one actually crying.

"Looks like we’re restarting again because of Trish, everyone. What a shame.

Wipe your boards." Sgt. Atheno said.

"God dammit!"

"I was just about to win." Tyson cursed.

"No you weren’t." His partner, Victor, replied.

Imani wiped the board.

"How the hell did the buffest person in the room end up falling the most?" Rex cursed.

"Heavyweight powerlifter types tend to struggle with calisthenics movements. Their mass to strength ratio is different." Imani explained, "You should’ve known she’d be our main setback. Id struggle too if I had to hold up three hundred pounds for three hours straight."

"Begin." Sgt. Atheno said. "For the...." He turned to look at the board at the front of the class, "Sixty-third time."

Rex and Imani restarted, followed by her blowing visibility onto the board.

"So, where were we?" Rex asked.

Everyone around them started talking with their partners and plank-mates. It helped take their minds off the burn. Combine that with the sound of the mechanics and k9-units in training and the two had their own cover to discuss real life matters.

"Planning." Imani moved one of her rooks forward on the board, "Option one was hiding."

Rex moved his piece forward.

"Denied." Imani said.

"Yea."

"No." Imani said and flicked her chin towards his raised hand, "If you move that piece to intercept mine, you will lose. I denied your mistake."

Rex growled, "Why is your first move always a set up."

"Why do you always fall for it?" Imani asked.

"I plead the fifth."

Imani continued, as coldly as always, "Fittingly, you also denied the first plan. Going awol."

"Right...." Rex said, "Because the big dog." In reference to Remulus, "Not only works here or in this business, but they also lead a team of shifters. They’ll have precautions ready for if I choose to run. Not to mention..... everyone knows you don’t run from dogs. They love that."

Imani nodded, "Loopholes aside, that’s a sound point. You considered the animal. I think I agree."

"Reset." Sgt. Atheno said.

Once again, a symphony of groans and exhausted grunts hit the hot metal room.

The floor was beginning to burn their hands.

"Come on, trainees. How will you overcome these odds?" Sgt. Atheno asked again. He’d asked the question so many times it was beginning to lose meaning.

For all Rex knew, that was a strategic move to confuse them further or something. Not that it mattered. He was using the time to his advantage.

"Second option was pre-emptive exposure." Imani said. "With your newfound..... pet chameleons..." Imani said, secretly referring to Rex’s special forces unit members, "You could get close to me and mine and reveal... the big dog before he finds you at the end of the month."

The girl beside Imani looked at her with a confused expression.

Rex tried not to laugh out of fear that he’d pass out at the loss of breath.

"That plan is heavily reliant on circumstance. If you get the right missions, if my prediction is right and if you can pull off exposing the big dog to the right people before we’re all dead." Imani said. "Even so, it’s an option."

"An option that makes me prefer option three." Rex said.

"Option three is literally stupid." Imani said.

"No its not." Rex replied, "Force a virus evac. The Box is empty. I stay behind and draw the big dog in. With some outside help, I get eyes on the others. Maybe even take some out, you fire off a nuke using your mothers connections."

"I think you forgot the big dog can break the sound barrier from running alone." Imani said as she moved her chess piece forward.

"The point isn’t to kill him. It’s to destroy his territory. The jungle would be changed also from the radiation. It would throw him off. He’d reveal himself or go into hiding, knowing his dominance and control issues were unavoidable. And maybe we’d buy ourselves enough time for a better plan." Rex said as he moved his piece at the left side forward.

"Fitting for your plan to be both reckless and explosively devestating." Imani replied.

"What are you trying to say?" Rex asked.

"You’re reckless and devestating." Imani replied flatly.

"I’ll take the compliment." Rex said.

"You’ll take the loss too." Imani said.

"I hope you’re talking about chess." Rex fought off a shiver despite the heat.

"I hope so too." For the first time in a while, Rex saw genuine emotion on her face.

A clap broke their eye contact.

Everyone looked up at Sgt. Atheno, "Congrats, trainees. You failed todays test."

Everyone fell face first onto the hot metal floors.

"Most do on the first time. But not all. So, this class is not exceptional. For now. You all have a lot to work on. You’re made human far too easily. And you’re selfish. A good soldier is neither. By the time you enter your hellzone event, if you don’t pass this, either by pure muscular endurance or collective wit, many of you will die." Sgt. Atheno explained. "Now get up, you’ll be late to chow."

Gregory looked up at him from the front of the class, "But, Sgt, aren’t we already past that time?"

Sgt. Atheno raised an eyebrow and looked up at the clock above the doorway to his right.

"No way!" He feigned surprise, "This piece of shit clock— haha! It’s two hours ahead!"

A number of trainees gasped while others simply shook their heads quietly as they fought against their exhaustion.

"It’s only been an hour. He let us out early." Rex thought as he adjusted his desk and walked out.

Imani walked beside him. Unlike everyone else, she didn’t look exhausted. Even though she obviously was. Beads of sweat ran down her cheeks and neck. Her arms were shaking and she even kept her mouth slightly open, causing her bottom lip to—

"What?" She asked as she looked at him.

"What?" Rex quickly replied, realizing he’d been caught staring.

"You know, now would be a terrible time to discover you pant when you’re exhausted." Imani said.

"We wouldn’t have to worry about that if you would’ve used your genius to win for us." Rex replied.

"I was under the impression we were choosing not to win." Imani said.

"Choosing not to win?" Victor appeared beside Rex.

The two shook up. Like they weren’t just planking next to eachother.

"The victorious option was obvious if you could look past all the... new stimulus, as Sgt. Atheno would say." Imani replied.

"Tell us. I thought it was just a stamina building exercise with a side of chess." Victor said.

Rex suddenly was understanding Imani’s assessment of Victor days prior.

"It’s simple. Sgt. Atheno is training us to be able to continue to think reasonably while faced with unreasonable circumstances. I’ve spoken to military psychologists on this matter overseas and it’s objectively surprising how soldiers die in drift dimensions. They miss the simple and obvious things and trainings when they see the miraculous. Or face true adversity—"

"Anywayyy." Rex interjected, forcing Imani back to the point.

"Anyway." She said, side eyeing Rex, "Sgt. Atheno wanted us to make a simple decision in a complex situation. If I were to make a guess, I’d say we should’ve all let white win and leave class even earlier."

"Collective wit...." Rex remembered Sgt. Atheno’s words at the end of class.

"Man, that’s not even witty. I feel stupid now." Victor huffed. His triceps looked ready to burst out of his martial-skin.

"That’s the point." Imani explained, "As Drift Soldiers, socially speaking, you’re made to fight to win in most all circumstances. Despite being raised and living in units, you’re all selfish. You weren’t capable of making the simple decision because you all couldn’t think to lose for the sake of the team. You wanted everyone to figure it out alone and win like you would. Sgt. Atheno is trying to work that out of the class before our lives depend on it."

Victor and Rex looked at eachother.

"Damn..." They said at the same time.

"Well, I know what to do next class." Victor shrugged.

"Does everyone else?" Rex asked as he looked at the cloud of trainees, second and third years ahead.

"Probably not, but that’s alright." Victor said, "I can help out until they do."

Suddenly his suit was rippling with golden veins as he used his tiger-heal burst.

"I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone now. See ya inside." Victor left, walking into a crowd of supportive soldiers as he healed their wounds.

"What a celebrity." Rex said.

"He’s stealing your thunder." Imani said.

Rex smirked to himself, "I guess we should probably kiss again then—"

"Back up."

"That wasn’t it?"

"Nope."

"Alright."

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