After patching herself up, Zola was wondering about the new kid.
"That kid was something else. Even though he is 2 years younger than me, he acted like he was the older one."
She thought he was truly an enigma. She slightly lumped back outside from the barracks. The sunset giving off a beauty that can only be seen in Africa.
She looks at where the new boy, Samuel's, bed is. She entered the barracks shortly after him and she saw for herself how efficient and precise he was with his first aid skills.
"Someone definitely drilled him. I need to steer clear of the kid."
At first she was going to treat him like she does everyone else, with a cocky attitude and a battle-hungry personality. But then she saw for herself how lifeless and skilled he was and knew she had to keep away from him.
Zola felt bad for Sam, but she knew better than to conspire with a groomed kid. They are just brainwashed pawns of the Pale Hand's elites.
Besides, he might be dead after the first mission he takes with them. She wasn't a stranger to seeing the other kids die. Many of the beds are emptied and then a new soldier is put in. Most of these new soldiers are cowards who give up and either run away or beg to be spared. All end up dead.
Zola once asked why they took kids like that into the division. Her superior told her something that terrified her:
"Kids like those, who run around the battlefield like headless chickens, are important because they aren't important. They can distract the enemy for us and even be a good meat shield while the real force gets to work."
Zola never forgot those cruel words, and she knew the moment she heard those words that she made the wrong choice coming here.
———
The following days were just training, training, learning, training, eating then sleeping. To be a child soldier, they at least have to have a good brain. The school only teaches important things for a mercenary.
Languages, math, physics, chemistry, and a bit of African history.
Sam already began training before coming here. He doesn't remember much about his teacher, but he remembers that he learned quickly. So, he didn't need to focus in school. The other kids just either lazed around or tried to understand but a lot of them didn't take advantage of the school.
Sam noticed that Zola was a very clever child and both of them received the highest scores on their exams. It was the birth of a silent rivalry.
After losing to Zola, Sam was distraught. He thought that these kids would be weaker than him. But he was complacent. Zola isn't an ordinary kid. Just like him.
He watched her from afar and watched her training regiment and always tried to outdo her to not grow complacent and keep improving.
Zola saw this as a challenge and they began to compete in exercising too.
Finally, the combat courses were the perfect chance for the two of them to fight again. All the time they would fight each other and sometimes Sam would win and sometimes Zola would win.
After slipping on a rock, Sam became much more careful and refined his footwork. Zola also worked hard to refine her footwork when she noticed how much Sam was improving.
Back and forth they would see how each other improved and always fight each other. Despite being in such close contact, Zola and Sam drew an invisible line in their relationship.
Zola didn't trust Sam at all. And Sam just cared about growing stronger. Because of that, they kept their distance and only came into close contact to fight.
The other kids saw this and tried to be stronger too, considering they were older than them, but they were truly monsters. The speed at which h they grew and the absolute skill they have in combat and in school made them rethink trying to one-up them.
Finally, the day for the first mission arrived.
———
They were sent into an active war zone in Uganda. They were hired to assist the army of Uganda against revolutionaries.
They were all given their tactical gear and weapons. A black body suit with a white palm on the shoulder. They were given a light and durable body armor, and steel toed boots. They had packs with first aid and many magazines and cartridges for their weapons.
They were each given their own AR-15, and Glock 19.
They were also given a balaclava or a face mask. Some wore the full balaclava to hide their entire head, some wore just wore the part that hides the mouth.
Sam was fully geared and ready to move out before anyone as he quickly checked his weapons and his materials.
The other kids were shocked at his incredible weapon maintenance. Zola had to admit that he beat her in that.
Then the mission came. They were free to use their quirks, but they were always advised to not rely on them.
One thing they make clear is that they can share their quirks with each other but the instructors highly recommend never doing it. Only when it is necessary should it be revealed. So most know little to nothing about each other's quirks. Except for idiots like Pierre who want to act tough.
Finally, they got to the chopper. The Pale Hand was a very wealthy group after taking on some incredibly hard missions and succeeding, which is why they can afford military grade equipment.This time, they worked out a deal with the Ugandan government and are supposed to aid them in quelling the rebels.
When they got in, they immediately headed out. Sam was next to Zola, which he knew from her white hair.
They just looked forward without talking, trying to concentrate on the mission.
The rebels were taking over villages and doing abhorrent things there. They were paid to aid the armed forces of Uganda in the final advance on the rebels base that they gained intel about.
The fighting already started and it wasn't going too good for the Ugandan armed forces. Apparently, the rebels have a user with a very strong quirk. It lets him turn whatever he touches into a bomb.
He is also skilled in combat and stealth and sneaks up behind the enemies or sneaks a bomb onto one of them and blow them up when they are gathered.
This led to erratic fear of the man and fear of each other. This was where the Ugandan government decided to hire the Pale Hand.
The chopper spent a few hours of flight to get to Uganda. It wasn't far from Rwanda so it was painless.
Sam was stone faced the entire time. He was contemplating what to do if he does meet the bomb man.
'Keep guard up at all times. Do not carelessly walk through high grass or rubble. Do not let anyone too close and always be ready to amputate should you feel touched anywhere.' Sam thought, locking and loading his weapons for action.
After a little while longer, they finally arrived at the temporary camp for the Ugandan army as they recover from the battles they fought.
After getting a look at the state of the soldiers, it was clear they were terrified of being a carrier of the bomb.
"Are you Pale Hand?! You are children!" The general says in English, the language most commonly used by mercenaries.
"This is our only deployable unit at the moment, plus this is still an elite and well trained unit. 'Do not knock em' till you try em' as the Americans say." The leader of the child soldier division, a man only named Timo, one of the upper echelons of the Pale Hand, only under the boss.
"I couldn't care less if they are children, I only want results!" The general stomps his foot.
Sam notices Zola tense up at his words.
"Then results are what you will get. Let's head out!"
""Yes sir!"" All the children shouted together.
They entered a Humvee and as they got closer, the more screaming and gunshots they can hear. They looked toward Sam to see how he would react, as most newbies would be shivering. But Sam was perfectly fine.
When they stopped, it was time to begin the assault. They were entering the battle from the side to catch the rebels off guard. They thought they had the Army on the ropes, and they did. But they will still lose this day.
They carefully followed Timo and got in position behind trees, watching as the army raids the base that is surrounded in dense trees.
"Fire."
Timo gave the order and all they can do is obey.
Bratatatatatatatatat
They all shot at the rebels who were shocked and terrified by the new arrivals. One by one, they fell. Some shots were shot at the unit but they were misses. It seemed to be going good, but they all knew better.
Suddenly, one of them threw a rock at them. They read the details and assumed that this was the one making the bombs.
"Get down!"
Everyone dived.
But nothing happened.
"It's a trap!"
Sam says as he quickly looks around and sees that someone tapped one of the kids and ran off into the woods.
"You there! Remove your boot! He touched your foot!"
Sam yelled at one of the older kids, and he quickly backed up. However the idiot did something stupid.
Instead of taking off the boot and throwing it, he just looks down at it to see if there is a mark on it.
"He's dead…"
Sam runs and dives away as he hears the sound of a switch activating and then…
Boom!
Sam was blasted forward, barely making it out of the blast. It seems that 13 of the unit members were wiped out. 10 were too injured.
They were wailing and crying.
"Mommy! Please!"
"Ahhh my arm!"
"It hurts so bad!"
Timo quickly got up and shot all 10 of them.
This time, Sam wasn't expecting that. He just ruthlessly killed them because they were injured.
Zola, who was next to him, clenched her fist.
"Let's move. Canvas, you saw the man?"
Sam nodded. "Yes, he was a white male! Mercenary, but more logically, a psycho who joined the fight to kill and have fun."
Sam did see a smile on the man's face as he ran off.
"Good work. Also on warning us. That's quick thinking."
He looked at the survivors and saw that of the entire division for child soldiers 15 remained.
They cautiously headed towards the base, while avoiding the coming gunfire from the rebels who were now aiming at them.
Sam thought for a moment and decided to do something.
"Instructor Timo, permission to track down the bomber?"
Timo stops firing and turns to Sam.
"Why?"
"Because I think I know how to kill him."
Timo smirked. 'So this is your canvas.' He internally thought of the man who groomed Sam.
"Alright, go."
"Instructor Timo! Isn't it-"
"Quiet!"
Zola tried to protest, but was shut down.
"…I'll be back. Don't worry about the bomber. It won't take long.
———
Andy Wayne was a man who thrived on murder. He was wanted in 12 countries because he was a mercenary who did dirty jobs that nobody liked to do. And by dirty, he means terrorism.
Andy is from Auckland, New Zealand. A prosperous place with friendly heroes and friendly heroes.
But one day, Andy decided to blow some people up, and kill a few heroes. After that, he became the most wanted villain in New Zealand.
The high he got from blowing people up, was astronomical and he started taking on jobs by terrorists and militias.
This was supposed to be a fun insurrection of a lousy government. He even snuck up on some of the governments hired guns.
Now, he was going to watch as they all move away from each other in paranoia.
"That was quite clever."
Andy turned around and saw the midget of the hired guns.
"You're just a brat."
"Indeed."
"How the fuck did you get over here?"
Andy didn't hear him at all. He prided himself in his espionage skills. And he had great instincts which saved him from being caught all these years.
But a kid, with a squeaky yet emotionless voice, did.
Click
Before he could react he had a Glock right against his head.
"W-was it your quirk?"
"No, I just did what you did. Softened my steps and snuck up on you."
"Bullshit! You couldn't just copy it from seeing it once!" He touched a leaf nearby, he just needs to keep him occupied a little bit-"
Bang!
Before he could even think about lighting off the bomb, he was already shot in the forehead.
"F-fucking…wanker…"
His last words were as vulgar as the rest of his life.
"Thank you for inspiring me. At least your meaningless life can have some use."
And just like that, Andy Wayne, the worst villain in New Zealand, met his end to an 8 year old kid.
———
Zola and the others of the child soldiers division have been paranoid about the bomber for a while now, but they noticed that his bombing has stopped.
Not only them, but also the rebels. They soon realized the mercenary they hired was no longer backing them up. The dreadful thought that he might have died or ran away began to fester in their heads. This led to them becoming paranoid and reckless.
Just with one man's death, the tides of the war have changed. The rebels were retreating into their fortress and the child soldiers unit was already infiltrating the building and one after another rebel is killed. The rebels come to realize that they are finished. Some take this news with dignity and shoot themselves in the heads.
Some run away or plead for mercy. But this Ugandan Regime is not merciful. The Ugandan soldiers were already planning creative ways to end them.
The one question had after finishing off the last rebel, was 'who are the bad guys?' And if an outsider were to answer, Zola has no doubt in her mind that the answer would be the Pale Hand and the Ugandan government.
Suddenly she is brought out of her thoughts when she hears the rustling of leaves. Just as she is about to fire, someone calls out.
"Callsign 'Canvas' returning after completing the mission. Hold your fire."
Timo pointed the muzzle of her gun down and signaled the other survivors to relax. Coming out from the trees was Sam. He was holding an identification card for the identity of the killer.
"Well done, Canvas. I have a feeling you will be one of the greatest mercenaries we ever cultivated."
Timo pats Sam on the shoulder. Sam, however, only feels empty. And he wasn't alone. As only two people didn't celebrate the victory. Sam… and Zola. They looked at each other for a second, seeing each other's emptiness, before heading back to the Humvee.
This was only the beginning for Canvas. But it was the end of the line for any innocence in Sam. He was now a killer.