As Xavier cleared his throat, his posture changed. His spine straightened, and his brows furrowed.
" Many of you recognize who I am, but for those who have forgotten, My name is Xavier Zenix. I am the present Colonel for the Burchell Brigade, the leading military force in Pavee. Many of you are here to serve your hill through a selected draft or volunteering. I am here to welcome you to our troops and inform you of what we are up against. They are called Arachtoids, and we are currently at a losing war against them. And despite our differences, we are working with the other hills to fight this common enemy; with your help, Humanity will once again be the apex predator of this world. That is all; in a moment, people will guide you to your buses, transporting you to a secluded area where you will be trained to fight these things. May god bless you on the frontlines."
After finishing his speech, Xavier looked sternly ahead before saluting and departing with the guards behind him. Zuno stood there silently, as many others did. Many emotions were going through his mind, the most prominent being dread. A few minutes later, a small group entered from where Xavier left, guiding him and about fifty others toward a bus. At the same time, they also guided the rest of the people in the building to separate buses.
As he stood in line to enter the buses, his eyes looked at the behemoth in front of him; this was Zunos first time seeing a vehicle face to face. The bus was dark blue with big dark-colored wheels; it was also armored, with the glass most likely protected. As Zuno entered the bus, he found a seat in the back. The seat was way more comfortable than his chairs at home, and they were leather. He was a bit relieved from the comfort, and after shutting his eyes to pass the time, he fell asleep.
Zuno awoke as the bus stopped, causing him to slam his forehead into the backend of the seats in front of him.
"We're here, everyone off!"
The bus driver shouted at him and the others while pressing a button on his right, opening the bus doors with a prolonged screeching noise. Zuno sat up from his position and left with the others, yawning because he was a bit drowsy from the nap he had taken during the ride.
The region where the camp was pretty much desolate, surrounded by sand as far as the eye could see. He was indeed in the middle of nowhere. A man stood at the camp gate. When they arrived at his house, Zuno recognized him as the other man with Xavier. It made sense. The two analyzed their new soldiers by giving them the draft notice instead of a government agent doing it.
Michael watched as we approached the gate, his gaze studying each of us. He wore more informal clothing: black and tan camouflaged cargo pants and a dark brown short-sleeved shirt.
" All of you know from our colonel's speech that this location is one of our many boot camps; the area is classified, so don't ask. Today is your lucky day; we will have you settle in your barracks and get a good night's rest before we work you to hell tomorrow; now that the introductions are over, follow me.
Michael turned around after finishing his speech, his back facing the group. It was easy to notice how built his body was, with well-defined muscles that were small enough to allow him to be agile.
Zuno followed Michael and the others as they entered the camp, keeping a steady pace to avoid getting left behind. He noticed the entire area was fenced in, with barbwire settling at the top. There was also a watch tower with armed guards at each corner of the camp. It was about a ten-minute walk before they reached the center of where the barracks were.
Micheal stood before them once again; there was a white table behind him, supposedly plastic, with a set of papers stacked on top of each other.
" This is where you will be living for the next month or so; each of you will be put in a Five-person squad where you will be sleeping, shitting, and sleeping together."
" How do we know who will be in our squad?"
When Micheal paused in his speech, a person asked that question. His eyes quickly darted to that person, and he looked at them sternly before he let out a sigh.
" I was getting to that; behind me is a set of papers listing you and your bunkmates and which barracks you will be in. There is also a set of clothing on each one of your beds. These are your uniforms. After putting them on, come back here and ditch your civilian clothing into this pit right here, and before you ask, yes, they will be burned."
Zuno stood there silently as Micheal sidestepped from where he once was, allowing him and the others to walk toward the table and look at the papers.
Squad Zeta:
Claire Wilfit
Zuno Kucax
Derrick Miltz
Sarah Nursh
The barracks weren't gender-separated? Zuno looked up from the table and at the people around him. They were as confused as he was. After a short moment of silence between them all, a short brunette woman spoke out, asking Micheal a question they all wanted to ask.
"Sir, the barracks aren't separated. Isn't that a safety risk for us ladies?"
As the brunette asked, a smirk appeared on Michael's face, a sudden change from his blank complexion since they arrived.
"No, the barracks aren't separated by gender, as the battlefield isn't either. Do you think you will be treated differently on the frontlines because of your gender? No, you won't. We are all the same here, but that doesn't mean we should get any ideas; any transgression done here will have serious consequences, so there isn't any safety risk to either gender."
Even though it was hard to believe, Micheal's words at least calmed their worries. Zuno took one last look at the paper before focusing on the barracks; there were about ten, five to the left and five to the right. Each was signified by the squad name plastered above its door. His eyes glanced around them before reaching Zeta; he let out a short, distressful sigh before heading to his barracks and opening the door as the other squads started to do the same.