[MORNING – SCHOOL BUS]
"Leadership Camp," the Class Rep announced over the bus microphone. "Two days of hiking, curry making, and character building."
The class groaned.
Noah sat by the window, excited.
"I love camping," Noah told Lilly. "Nana used to drop me off in the woods for the weekend. It was so peaceful."
Lilly stared at him.
"Dropped you off? With a tent?"
"No tent. Just a knife and a smile."
Lilly sank lower in her seat. Survival training. From childhood.
[THE MOUNTAIN]
They arrived at the campsite. It was deep in the forest. The air was crisp.
"Okay!" the PE Teacher shouted. "Set up tents! Then gather firewood! We need a big fire for the curry!"
Noah saluted. "On it!"
He grabbed a basket and walked into the dense forest.
"Noah, wait!" Lilly called. "Don't go too far! There are bears!"
"Bears are just big dogs!" Noah yelled back, disappearing into the trees.
Lilly sighed. She tapped her earpiece. "Control. Target is mobile in Sector 4."
"Copy," Control replied. "Warning: Sector 4 borders the Unit Zero live-fire range. Do not cross the red line."
[UNIT ZERO TRAINING GROUND]
A mile away, deep in the restricted zone.
Kade Riven lay in a ghillie suit, perfectly still. He was invisible. He was silent. He was waiting for his target (a training drone).
Breathing steady. Heart rate 40. I am the leaf. I am the wind.
Crunch.
Kade froze.
Someone was walking. Loudly.
Crunch. Snap. Whistle.
Someone was... humming?
Kade slowly turned his head.
A boy in a school tracksuit was walking through the "lethal traps" zone like he was strolling through a park. He stepped over a tripwire. He ducked under a laser sensor (to look at a mushroom).
He walked right up to Kade's hiding spot.
The boy stopped. He looked directly at the patch of moss where Kade was hiding.
"Excuse me," the boy said.
Kade stopped breathing. He sees me? Through the optical camo?
"You're laying on some really good kindling," the boy said.
Kade slowly stood up. The moss fell away to reveal a heavily armed soldier in high-tech stealth gear.
Most civilians would scream.
Noah just nodded. "Cool outfit. Are you a survivalist YouTuber?"
[THE LESSON]
Kade stared at Noah. He recognized him. The Serpent King.
"Sato," Kade whispered. "Why are you here?"
"Firewood," Noah said, pointing to the sticks Kade had been crushing. "We're making curry."
Kade narrowed his eyes.
He infiltrated a live-fire zone... for curry sticks? Is he mocking my security perimeter?
"This is a restricted area," Kade growled.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't see a sign. Probably because of all the traps."
"You saw the traps?"
"Yeah. The wire over there? It's too shiny. You should rub mud on it."
Kade blinked.
He's critiquing my traps.
"And your fire pit," Noah pointed to a small, smokeless tactical fire Kade had built earlier. "It's wrong."
"It's a Dakota Fire Hole," Kade snapped. "It minimizes smoke signature."
"Yeah, but it won't boil water fast enough for curry," Noah explained. "Here, let me show you Nana's method."
Noah crouched down. He rearranged Kade's tactical fire. He added specific leaves. He blew on it once.
WHOOSH.
A perfect, hot, smokeless flame erupted.
"See?" Noah smiled. " efficient."
Kade stared at the fire. It was better than anything he learned in Special Forces.
"Who... who taught you this?"
"Nana. She says fire is alive. You have to be polite to it."
Noah stood up, gathering his sticks.
"Anyway, thanks for the tips, Mr. Soldier! Good luck with your video!"
Noah walked away, stepping around a claymore mine Kade had buried three hours ago.
"Watch out for that one," Noah called back. "It's ticklish."
[CONTROL ROOM]
"Report from Unit Zero," the analyst said, voice shaking.
"Did they engage the target?"
"No, Sir. Target Noah entered the kill zone, critiqued Ace Riven's survival skills, optimized his fire, and identified every hidden explosive on his way out."
The Commander put his head in his hands.
"He taught our top agent how to make a campfire?"
"Yes, Sir. Riven is currently crying by the fire. He says it's the most beautiful flame he's ever seen."
[BACK AT CAMP]
Noah returned with a huge bundle of perfect firewood.
"I found a nice man in the woods!" Noah told Lilly. "He was playing hide and seek. He wasn't very good at it though."
Lilly looked at the direction Noah came from.
The Restricted Zone.
"Noah," she whispered. "Did you dismantle a military base?"
"No! I just helped him with his fire. He seemed cold."
Later that night, the class ate the best curry they had ever tasted.
Noah smiled, watching the fire crackle.
"Camping is fun," he said.
Miles away, Kade Riven sat by his own fire, contemplating his life choices.