“Sebastian!” Margarette ran to her friend’s side. “Are you okay?”

“What the hell is going on out here?” yelled someone from behind as people in the barn rushed outside to see what all the commotion was about.

“Major General Muller!” saluted Drill Sergeant Robinson, his face turning pale. “There’s been a weapon malfunction, Sir.”

“Sir,” Margarette stood in attention as well, “a civilian has been injured by a weapon malfunction.” The general approached and looked at the crater where the target used to be before checking on the two students on the ground.

“Would someone tell me what happened here?” he demanded, when Dorin suddenly looked up.

“Dorin?!” the general said with a gasp. “What are you doing here?!”

Dorin stared at the general wide-eyed, thoughts swirling in his head. He looked down at his friend, unconscious in his arms. “Marcus,” he said, staring back at the general, “my... friend... is hurt.”

Major General Marcus Muller stared at him. He then turned back at the cadets mulling around the place. “Is there a medic here?”

“Sir, Combat Medic 2nd Lieutenant Benette reporting for duty, sir!” said one of the cadets as he stepped forward.

“Give this civilian medical attention,” ordered General Muller. “The rest of you, get back inside the barn and continue with the drill I gave you.”

The cadets went back, soon only the 3 friends, General Muller, Sergeant Robinson, and the medic Lieutenant Benette were left outside on the shooting range.

Lieutenant Benette took a small bottle from a pouch around his waist, opened it, and passed it under Sebastian’s nose, who slowly regained consciousness.

“Sebastian! Are you okay?” called Dorin as Sebastian started to stir, “How are you feeling?”

The other lifted his right hand. It was shaking, blood still dripping from a deep gash on his palm.

“Let me look at your hand,” said the medic by their side.

“I’ll take the rifle back to storage,” offered Sergeant Robinson, “we should get it checked by the magic artificers to see what caused the problem...” he made to take the broken rifle on the ground, but General Muller stopped him. He leaned over to pick it up himself.

“I’ll take the rifle,” he said.

“Sir, you shouldn’t bother yourself...”

“Sergeant Robinson, go supervise the cadets inside, I have been timing them while they clean their rifles when this incident occurred. I will take responsibility in this affair.”

“Sir, yes, Sir.” Sergeant Robinson looked worriedly at the rifle in the general’s hand.

“Can you walk?” General Muller asked Sebastian as soon as the drill sergeant left. Sebastian looked up at him, his glasses glazed over, and slowly nodded.

“I have a vehicle parked this way,” said the general, he looked back at the small company, “You two help glasses along. My car is just behind the barn.”

Margarette and the medic helped Sebastian as they made their way with Dorin to the back of the barn. There, a military jeep was parked. Its muddy wheels reached up to Dorin’s thighs and its back was open.

Place glasses at the back,” instructed the general. “You, boy, sit with me inside,” he said, pointing at Dorin.

Dorin looked at him, then at Sebastian who lifted his left hand weakly, holding on to his key card.

“That’s right, our stuff is still at the checkpoint at the Sky gate!” Dorin informed the general.

“Count on Sebastian to prioritize his stuff...” said Margarette with a sigh. “That means he’s doing okay.”

“We’ll pass there on our way to the infirmary.” announced General Muller. “Now, everyone in the jeep!”

“Okay boy,” said General Muller as he started his vehicle, “what are you doing here?” he asked. “Does your mother know you left Monarch Forest?”

“No, Sir,” replied Dorin, too worried about Sebastian and his mother to want to examine the wonderful gears and gauges inside the jeep.

“What got into your head to want to come here of all places?”

“I wanted to attend a class, Sir.”

“A class? What kind of class? A military class?”

“No sir. A photography class, sir.”

“A WHAT?” bellowed General Muller. “You travel hundreds of miles, defying your mother, risking all sorts of danger, just to attend a damn photography class?!?”

He was interrupted by a knock on the window behind them.

“What is it?!” the general barked, hanging his head out of the driver’s seat.

“Sir, we need to stop by the Sky gate, sir!” called Margarette before they got too far from the gate they just passed. General Muller hits the brakes, nearly sending the cadet flying off the jeep. He took a key card from Dorin and gave it to Margarette.

“Hurry up!” he growled.

Margarette jumped off the back of the jeep with the 2 key cards and ran back to the gate house. She soon arrived, carrying Dorin’s satchel and Sebastian’s coat. The jeep was running again as soon as she mounted it.

Sebastian thankfully took his coat back. He fumbled through one of the inner pockets and pulled out a blue vial which he emptied in his mouth. Soon his breathing became regular and he was able to sit on his own, in spite of the bumpy ride.

“You’re going straight home after this, boy,” said General Muller.

Dorin was silent, eyes forward.

Finally he opened his mouth.

“With all due respect sir, I still have to finish my photography class,” said he.

“Do you have any idea what you have already done?” hollered the general, then in a softer tone, “If the upper brass find out about you, they would never let you go,” he hissed at the lad beside him, a scowl on his face. “The kind of training you went through can not be compared to the ones in this University. You do not fit here. Just look, you have already gotten a civilian involved!” He noticed the lad flinch.

“It’s true, everything is different here,” Dorin said quietly, “but that’s exactly why I want to stay.”

General Muller looked at the boy, his head hang low, his fists clenched.

“There’s just some things that you cannot learn through books or special lessons,” Dorin continued, “there are things that only experience can teach.”

The boy looked at him sideways, his eyes giving off a golden gleam.

“Would you deprive me those lessons, Marcus?”

The jeep suddenly came to a screeching halt. Sebastian hit his head on the back window, trying to listen to the conversation inside the cab. Lieutenant Benette fell over him while Margarette held on to the rails, half of her body flung over the roof.

“What is this photography class you speak of anyway? How long do you expect it to run?” said the general, facing the boy.

“Just two more days, sir...” Dorin replied rubbing a lump on his head that was beginning to turn bigger. “Tomorrow’s the second day, then I can go home the day after that...”

“You’ll go home tomorrow night.”

“But they hand out certificates on the next day!”

“Okay, boy, but no more extensions!” the general finally gave in, his face turning red. “You go home the day after tomorrow. I’ll bring you back myself.”