Living in a Shield World
Conquering Kiehl

CONQUERING KIEHL

Ever since my last hospital stay, I've been very understanding of the simulated battleground in Kiehl. Previously this rock looked the same, now its solid and sturdy shape and size provide its own pattern. I knew I had to go through a rock pattern which, in order to avoid the terrible, continuous attack.

This is the fourth time, we have to stop at the fourth hurdle, a wide gravel field, make my team, plan to pass through all its territory. Even the longest Joseph here, never took the risk I proposed.

"Listen to me Andy, you're too risky to take all the way in the fourth hurdle, just use the path we've already encountered, and then we find the weak point" Joseph disagrees with my proposal.

"Keep you want how Joseph, wait until a long time and be confined here. Winning on the simulated terrain is a shortcut card we're fast out of here", I insist.

" Maybe we should try Andy's proposal" Kris supported me.

" You're Nathan, Noah, what do you think" Joseph seemed to understand what I meant.

"I voted the most" Nathan couldn't make up his mind.

"To be honest, I also want to return to the Rocks, I've always been stationed in Edges, I miss the scenery there. Although I was always like a new person, when I set foot again to the Rocks", Joseph finally agreed to my proposal.

"Ok, since everyone has agreed, you're Noah, you're going to follow my proposal right?", Noah nodded steadily.

"Since I was shot, in the second simulation, I realized, no humans are shooting at us, they're just machines. They're shooting because of motion sensors" I'm starting to explain my plan.

" So the plan is simple, when shot, we have to shut up, get down, then the shot will stop. We wait until time runs out, then we survive, but we study the territory, what do you think?", my plan seems to be understood by them.

"We should have split up at the third hurdle, in order to directly study the area of obstacle four" Nathan began to follow my plan.

" I agree, other obstacles the path of the rock is easy to memorize, we're used to it, it can't be wrong" Joseph put out his idea.

"I have a good memory of the rock path in this simulated terrain, I think you guys also have your own map. How about we draw based on our memory, then we match the picture", today's plan is quite mature.

I've been here for a year, and I've only been able to think of this crazy idea. Maybe I'll be out in five years if I don't have a shortcut to get out of here.

Each meal we exchanged maps, adjusted and then discussed the path we had to cross based on memories four times through the simulated terrain.

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Now, we will enter the battle simulation field again, all my team members are already steady, at least we will make it through the fourth hurdle.

"Andy, now we have to start splitting up at the second hurdle, in order to reach a different stopping point at the third hurdle" Joseph starts taking over the lead.

" We split according to plan, let's start", I'm the first to move, then the other.

Our center of attention is Noah, I don't want him to lose control like that. Noah has to get a third turn, to be always in our sights.

Safe, all of us can quietly pass the second obstacle, now enter the third obstacle. Noah's distance was closest to me, I used a gesture, I clapped my chest for Noah to see, I told him to be patient.

Now it was Kris's first turn to cross the third hurdle. When Noah's turn, he was shot, me and the others panicked we all looked towards Noah from the rock we were hiding in.

Before entering this simulated field, I and the others often practiced sign language, so that we could code each other.

When there is a pause, Noah immediately occupies his post, in the third obstacle.

We all escaped, past the third hurdle. Now is the most thrilling, hurdle that kept me in the hospital long enough. Fourth hurdle.

I started crossing these gravel rocks, as expected, I got shot, got down and stayed, looked all over the area, cleared the terrain.

We were all in the gunfire, but as soon as the pause we immediately moved as fast as possible while counting the time, shouting for the spirit.

"Joseph, I ran twenty counts, note it, cried Nathan at the end, "Kris I ran 30 counts, Joseph yelled at Kris, we were too far away so we had to use chain messages to exchange info, we screamed in the rain of gunshots. The chain message reached me right along with the cessation of the shooting attack. We ran away together during the break, shouting in a loud voice.

"ONE !"

"TWO !"

"THREE !"

The sound of my friends screaming excited me to want to end this simulated battleground immediately. The five of us ran as hard as we could. We did it !!.

"Andy, we did it!", cried Joseph from a distance, Noah laughing merrily, behind his hideout,

Nathan was closest to me, he was sobbing. Crossing his hands towards me. I reply with the same code, thank you Nathan, Noah, Kris and Joseph, you support the behavior plan.

After the fourth hurdle, we will enter the final hurdle. And the reduction in the time of education in Kiehl will be ours.

Fifth obstacle, the stones are smaller and the field wider. I'll run first, and everything takes turns until it's fired upon, then we'll drop down while calculating how long we've been on the trail. We reached the middle of the fifth hurdle, with a sign code, I told Nathan to be more careful, because the wedges were very short, and the firing time was longer.

We failed again, but we got past the fourth hurdle. At dinner, we were happy, talked a lot, even Noah who was usually silent, this time laughed a lot.

"It looks like I'll soon meet my wife and children without a slap", Kris laughed happily, "Thank you Andy, you made a lot of progress on our group" Kris said, patting me on the shoulder.

"From tomorrow we will use the same method to conquer the fifth hurdle", we toast with a glass filled with water. The sound of happiness pervades tonight.

Before falling asleep, I recalled the incident, tense once, without inner strength, without wings I managed to conquer the fourth obstacle. I'm gonna get out of here fast, I'm gonna prove to dad, what I decided at the Edge was for the sake of the soldiers' lives, not for the sake of.....

I can't find the words to carry on my own mind. I did that because the lives of the soldiers who entered in the early stages were infected with parasites and ....

It's always like this, am I forgetting something important? I can't find it in my memory, I just feel empty, like there's something wrong with my life.

I always wake up fresh in the morning, I never dreamed during my time in Kiehl, maybe because there was too much physical exercise that I did here.

"Hi Andy, how do you sleep, is it good? last night was my quietest sleep in Kiehl", Joseph asked but he didn't seem to need my answer, he asked himself.

"You've already remembered the fifth hurdle", Nathan eagerly gathered information, "Yes, I remember it", replied Kris excitedly.

My days in Kiehl for the next three months will be adorned with the spirit of my friends to quickly get out of here.