Chapter 50: Peltasts

It was the third day after the raiders had been dealt with. And Dean found himself in the infirmary, standing next to Katherine who was performing a checkup on Todd’s wound.

She had done everything she could to save the young man’s life, and now he was past the window of immediate complications. Todd was awake, but silently sitting on the operating table.

Katherine inspected the wound carefully, looking for signs of infection, she had already begun treating him with antibiotics and had given out painkillers sparingly where she could afford.

Naturally, she didn’t want to waste their entire stockpile on this one incident, but she also knew ensuring Todd was back in the fight as quickly as possible was the utmost concern, considering he was a critical asset to the neighborhood’s security.

After inspecting the wound thoroughly, she nodded with satisfaction.

“You’ll live, but it’s going to be a tough 6-8 weeks before you’re recovered enough to resume your daily activities. For now, you’re going to stay off that leg until I say otherwise. You’re extremely lucky that someone like Dean was in charge of your training and everyone else around you. If your friend hadn’t applied that tourniquet immediately, you’d be missing the leg. Or worse.”

Todd rolled his eyes and silently protested. 6-8 weeks… He was effectively useless until then. The idea gnawed at his soul. But Katherine either didn’t notice, or didn’t care to.

Instead, she washed her hands before giving several small containers of medicine to Todd. Giving him explicit instructions on how to use it and when. She then turned to Dean and dragged him aside.

“Considering the state that boy is in, and the way the world is now. I would highly recommend keeping him here in your home until he’s able to walk again. Unless you have some way to safely transport him through the snow, I don’t want him risking re-injuring the damn thing.”

Dean thought about it for a few moments, and then looked over at Todd who was looking down at his own leg with his arms crossed.

“I’ll have someone notify his family, in the mean time I guess it’s your and Yuki’s job to keep an eye on him until he’s functional again. Good job, Katherine, I know it’s a bit late to say this, but I’m sorry I doubted you.”

Katherine scoffed and shrugged her shoulders in her response.

“There’s no need to apologize. I showed up at the worst possible time, under suspect conditions. I’m honestly thankful you didn’t put a bullet in my brain out of paranoia. Besides, if it’s alright with you I’d like to keep staying in your home. The closer I am to this infirmary the better it is for all of us. And I think your little girlfriend is starting to get over her prejudices towards me.”

Dean was about to say something, but caught himself midway through. He honestly didn’t know how to respond to Katherine’s remark, and simply looked away. This caused the woman to break out into a smirk before walking off.

“Anyway, the boy should stay off the leg for now. I’m sure a big, strong man like yourself can help him get up the stairs, right?”

Dean simply scoffed in disbelief as Katherine made her way up to the main level of the house.

“Unbelievable….”

He looked over at Todd who immediately began to protest.

“I swear to God, old man, if you try to carry me like a princess up those stairs I will frag you the next time we’re out in the snow.”

Dean laughed and walked away, not bothering to add insult to injury. Save for one little taunt.

“Fine by me, enjoy your stay in the infirmary for the next week. I’m sure that operating table is a lot more comfortable than one of the spare bedrooms I have upstairs.”

Todd instantly regretted his situation cursing under his breath the moment Dean was out of earshot.

“Shit!”

—

Not long after leaving the infirmary, Dean regrouped with Peltast-Alpha. There he found the young men eager and waiting for their new training.

But Dean didn’t begin immediately. Instead, he pulled out his knife from its sheath attached to his battle belt behind his sidearm’s holster.

The men instantly stood at attention when they saw this.

“Until now, we have spent the last month training nearly exclusively in the big five disciplines: marksmanship, physical training, medical training, small-unit tactics, and mobility.”

The young men nodded in understanding. Their training had been pragmatic in focus. The limited time they had meant that Dean had to focus training them in tactics that work, cutting out all the fluff of standard Boot Camp and Infantry School that a normal soldier might undergo.

He naturally continued after seeing that each and every one of them understood what he meant.

“But… in doing so, the discipline that is required for you all to function was forged under fire, rather than under controlled conditions. And your team in particular is still raw ore waiting to be forged properly. So.. I have decided from this day forward for the next week, I’m going to put you all through hell. At the end of it each and every one of you will be capable of surviving out there in the cold world beyond the warmth and security of our borders far better than anyone else. From this moment on, you are Peltasts.”

The Peltasts pounded their fists on their chests in a far more ancient salute than that of the modern era.

They would spend the next seven days, twelve hours a day, going through SERE and Recon training. By the end of it, Dean had fashioned what was once the weakest link in his ad hoc militia into its sharpest scalpel.

However, he could not continue holding the Polis with just fifteen men. Later that night, after retiring from the first day of training, Dean would have to take a look at the progress of his fortifications and the efforts Yuki had put into incorporating the neighborhood’s residents.

Because there were some changes that would need to be made if all of them were going to survive the winter.

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