The Black Army- Chapter 4

Chapter 4- Preparation

Abbie woke up earlier than the others. She stretched and rubbed her eyes, getting used to the dark light. She remembered what Andy announced yesterday and ran her hands through her hair, clearing it of any tangles in it. She wasn’t sure what to do next, since she had never been on any sort of mission before, so she sat on her bed and waited for one of the others to wake up. She didn’t wait long.
“Morning Abbie,” Angela yawned, startling her.
“Morning,” Abbie replied, slipping off her bed
“You sleep well?” Angela added, brushing through her hair. Abbie nodded.
“What is it that we need to do to get ready for this… mission?” Abbie asked, blinking as Angela turned on the light. Steph and Michele soon woke up.
“War paint, get into our uniforms. Nothing too special,” She shrugged. Steph and Michele nodded.
“We’re not sure what Andy wants you to do, though. Maybe you should go by his tent and ask him. He’s usually awake at this hour on mission days,” Steph suggested. Abbie nodded and walked out of the tent. The air was cool and fresh, which helped Abbie wake up and get energized. She poked her head in Andy’s tent, hoping he wasn’t getting changed. To her relief, he was putting on his war paint.
“Ah, Abbie,” Andy smiled, turning from his mirror.
“I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to do,” Abbie said sheepishly.
“No worries,” He replied, standing up and looking her over. “Ashley said he’d take care of you’re horse form, and CC said he has a battle uniform for you ready, so just go see them,” He explained, patting her on the head.
“Thanks,” Abbie said, turning out of his tent. She could see lights on in the other tents and was glad she wasn’t the only one up so early. She made her way to Ashley’s tent and stepped inside. Ashley looked up and smiled at her.
“Hey there! I was waiting for you,” He said, looking her over, “But you might want to go see CC, first. He’ll take care of all of your human needs,” He said with a smile. He instructed her where to go and she fallowed the directions. She soon came to a tent that looked like what Ashley had described and walked in. CC was putting war paint on his body, shirtless.
“Hey! You ready to be armified?” He asked, going to one of the draws in his nightstand.
“I guess,” Abbie replied.
“Put this on back in you’re tent and have you’re roommates help you put on this,” He instructed, handing her a pile of clothes and a bottle of war paint, “Then go to Ashley and he’ll help you with you’re horse form!” Abbie nodded and thanked him, then walked back to her tent. She smiled at the others and undressed, then put on the uniform CC had given her. It was a black tank top and black short shorts that fit her perfectly.
“CC said you’d help me put it on,” Abbie told Steph, who was painting black stripes on her face. Steph nodded and finished herself quickly, yet perfectly, then looked at Abbie. She painted a dark circle around her left eye and filled it in, then drew a smile extending from her lips up to just below her cheek bones, and drew little dark triangles, making it look like her skin was rotting away to show her teeth.
“Thanks!” She exclaimed, quickly hugging Steph before running out to Ashley’s tent.
When Abbie got there, Ashley looked her up and down and smiled. “Nice,” He commented. Abbie smiled and nodded, happy with what she had gotten.
“Now, you’ll need to go outside and change into a horse. I’ll meet you out in a second,” He said. Abbie nodded and walked outside. She could tell the sun was going to rise soon. The darkness was slowly fading into a happy morning grey, and she could hear birds chirping. She grew into a horse and waited, standing tall. Ashley walked out with a trunk and a tack box a few minutes later.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to brush you first,” He said, holding up a curry comb.
“Go right ahead,” Abbie said. She’d never been brushed before, but she heard that it felt nice if it was done right. Ashley began brushing her, moving the curry comb in a circular motion around her body. It felt so good, like a message, and she was getting clean, too! She closed her eyes and started to dose off, when Ashley switched brushes and startled her with a different feel. It was harder and stiffer than the curry comb, but it still felt nice to be clean. Lastly, he flicked a soft brush over her body, clearing away the rest of the dirt. Her coat looked sleek and shiny in the dim morning light, and made her feel confident. Ashley opened the trunk and pulled out a plain, black box. He opened it and carefully took out a black feather with a clip at the end of it. He turned back to her and pat her nose, then clipped the feather to her mane just behind her ear. He adjusted it and covered the clip with her mane, then nodded to himself and took out a large tub of war paint. He drew a circle around each eye with his finger, and started to draw lines on her body at an angle, almost to look like black claw marks. He drew two rings just above the knee on each of her legs, and placed a hand print on her chest over her heart. Finally, he drew the Black army star on each side of her hind quarters. By the time he was finished, the sun was starting to rise, casting an orangey glow on everything. Steph ran up to Abbie, smiling.
“We’re in Andy and Ashley’s group,” She told her, looking her over. Abbie nodded and fallowed her to the center of camp. When she arrived, Michele and Angela were already there, along with  Jared, Josh, Nick, and Jess.
“Oh, and the guys are in our group, too,” Steph added quickly.
“Nice,” Michele smiled. Angela nodded in agreement.
“Who’s the horse?” Nick asked.
“That’s Abbie, you idiot,” Josh muttered.
“Nice war paint,” Jared grinned, rubbing her nose.
“I had a little help from Ashley,” Abbie admitted, turning when Andy called for their attention. They explained each group’s objectives quickly and then split up.
“Nice job,” Andy said, nodding towards Abbie.
“Ok, listen up!” Ashley shouted over the murmur.
“Prepare yourselves! We’re leaving in 10!” Andy explained, before turning back to Abbie. “You’ll be on my right side, Ashley will be on my left, ok?” He asked. Abbie bobbed her head.
“Are you nervous?” Ashley asked, smirking.
“No. Are you nervous?” Abbie asked, narrowing her eyes playfully.
“No,” Ashley said. He grinned and turned to Andy. “Are you nervous?” He asked. Andy shook his head.
“Go round them up and tell them to put their masks on and get into formation,” He told Ashley, who nodded. Within seconds, the entire group was lined up with Anubis-like masks on with weapons in their hands. Even Ashley and Andy had their own weapons to use. Abbie struck the ground with her hoof, sending dirt flying to reassure herself that she didn’t need a weapon. They marched forward silently, only stopping for short breaks by streams to quench their thirsts. Soon, they came to a dry, barren landscape that reminded Abbie of a desert without sand. All that she could see was dust.
“The prison is just beyond this desert,” Andy told them, staring straight ahead. They continued on silently. No one was told to be quiet, but no one spoke at all. The silence both comforted and scared Abbie. She could hear things far away without trouble. She heard a lone eagle cry clearly miles away, and heard the pain and desperation in its call. She shuttered and looked around to reassure herself that she wasn’t alone.
After several hours, around what looked like noon to Abbie, they stopped. She could see a large metal facility about 200 yards away. Abbie’s heart raced. It had finally occurred to her how real this mission was.