Read Online Book I of III: The Swords of the Sultan by J. Eric Booker - Free Book Online Page A

the ground most of the time.
    Upon nearing the lunch table, he observed
that the new girl was over there, heartily munching away by
herself. He reasoned that it was probably due to the fatigue and
the suffering that he couldn’t remember her name for the life of
him.
    After stopping in front of the table, he
silently poured himself a glass of water, picked off a piece of
bread, and began to chew. From his peripheral vision, he could see
that the girl was now throwing sidelong glances over at him as
well.
    Once she had wiped her mouth with the dirty
sleeve of her shirt, she said a bit shyly, “Hi.”
    Without having turned his head to look, and
with his mouth still full of food, he simply replied, “Hello.” He
next picked up his mug and took a drink to wash down the remaining
bread.
    “What’s your name?” she asked, turning to
face him.
    “I’m Baltor,” he replied just before he took
another swallow of water. He grabbed a banana, and as he turned
toward her, he began to peel it open. He observed that despite her
dirty face and snarled hair, she appeared to be cute, for a little
girl, that is.
    Just before he took a bite of the banana, he
asked, “You?”
    “My name’s Vakshia.” Right away, she asked
with curiosity, “How long have you been here?”
    “I don’t really know to be honest with you.
Months, I suppose,” he said just before he began to chuckle. A
couple of seconds later, he stopped laughing and asked, “You just
got here today, right?”
    “Yeah,” Vakshia replied. “Is this place
tough?”
    He laughed for like six whole seconds. After
taking another bite of his banana, he muttered, “That’s an
understatement.”
    “Really?” she asked with a nervous tension to
her voice.
    He swallowed his banana first before he
answered. “Yes, it is—I can’t lie to you. But you seem like a
pretty tough girl, Vakshia!”
    There was still tension in her voice as she
sighed, “I don’t know. The things that my drill instructor is
telling me to do are impossible. He never seems to be happy even
though I’m trying my hardest!”
    “Well, what helped me to get through all of
this were the encouraging words from a friend of mine. Now how did
she put it?”
    Baltor paused to recall—he first scrunched
his eyes nearly shut, and when the recollection came a few moments
later, he opened his eyes while reciting, “‘As for you not doing so
well—nobody does well in the beginning. Remember this…soon enough,
any and all challenges will eventually be overcome. And also
remember this…success is a road that you must pave.’”
    She silently pondered the words. The boy
wolfed down the final bite of his banana.
    Finally, she said, “I will have—”
    From the first obstacle course, Jeramone
interrupted their conservation, screaming, “Vakshia, to me!”
    Baltor watched as she ran over.
    Most unexpectedly, Humonus had somehow gotten
behind his student, just before whispering in his left ear,
“Baltor.”
    Startled and frightened, the boy jumped
nearly a foot into the air. With his heart still racing, he turned
around while holding a hand over his heart, and asked, “Yes,
sir?”
    Speaking at a normal tone, the drill
instructor briefed, “For the rest of the day, I shall let you
practice today’s lessons on your own. Practice as long as you want,
but remember this…the more you do, the better you’ll get. Do make
sure you eat dinner and get some sleep too.”
    The boy snapped, “Yes, sir!”
    “Dismissed.”
    Once the drill instructor had departed the
area via one of the unlit tunnels, the student decided to practice
his rolls. Despite the pounding that he added to his already sore
muscles, he did continue to practice for nearly an hour or so—until
an interesting idea sprang to mind.
    He thought aloud, “Maybe I could just
integrate the training and combine it all with the obstacle
courses?”
    The boy jogged over to the first obstacle
course, noting that Vakshia was standing next to the