Vas trudged past the guards and into the elevator room. It was one of many that spanned the entire underground of The Wall.

Many people opted to live in the underground because of the inherent heat in the space, and it was encouraged by the army.

Vas turned around and stole his last look at the tunnel he had called home for years.

Then the doors slammed shut.

Time passed swiftly as Vas was in a daze. For the first time in months Vas saw groups of adults as they went around performing various duties.

One ran by with a bucket of water and a mop, then was followed quickly by three more with towels. After that was one with a sled.

Vas watched them with glazed eyes as the secretary in a wheelchair printed out a tag for Vas. The man cleared his throat and got Vas’s attention, then promptly handed him the tag.

Tags in the army were similar to dog tags used by militaries in the past, except that identification after death was no longer deemed necessary.

The tag was small, rectangular with rounded edges, and was laser-inscribed with these words:

“Vas Tremor. Scout. Trainee.”

Vas frowned at his tag. There was no place for a chain so that he could put it around his neck.

“Don’t we wear these around our necks?” Vas queried when the secretary raised eyebrows.

The secretary grunted out what was probably a laugh. “No.” ‘No’? That was all? How helpful, Vas thought. He waited a moment, but the man didn’t look back up.

“Well, where do I go?” Vas asked with a fake smile, annoyed.

The man looked up again and blinked. “There’s a good question. Your drill sergeant should be here by now.”

The secretary made a few motions on a holo-display Vas could not see.

Moments later, an overweight woman rounded a nearby corner and marched up to him. Her shoulders were rolled back, her hair was cut short, and it was obvious she had been through real army training. Before the Risen.

She nodded to the secretary, then turned back to Vas, “come with me, kiddo.” Without another word, then went back the way she had come.

Vas followed her and was led to a room with more than a dozen other recruits, all close to his age.

The drill sergeant closed the door behind Vas and turned to the group, waiting until Vas was with his peers before speaking.

“I realize none of you want to be in this situation. All of you will be going out from The Wall, and you will not be coming back. Once we leave The Wall there are a few things you need to understand. Some are things you learned during our long march up here multiple years ago. They’re all things you need to know.”

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The drill sergeant coughed for a good ten seconds before continuing.

“First, No electricity or fire exists beyond the wall. Second, consensual sex is allowed and even encouraged, but only during the day. In the evening you will either be on watch or sleeping. Either way, you need to be ready. The Risen attack most during the night. Third and finally, follow orders whenever possible. We are fighting for the survival of our race. Your job is to survive and to keep everyone around you alive.”

Vas did not feel very enlightened and would have loved to hear more, but the woman simply opened the door and commanded them to follow her.

They marched for about twenty minutes, weaving through the hallways in a single file line.

Eventually, they all loaded into an elevator and went back down below ground-level.

This time, they were on the other side of the wall.

Another tunnel. This time it was smaller, and at the entrance a group of inspection officers asked for the recruits’ tags.

After scanning each one, they were allowed to continue on.

About fifteen paces out, the drill sergeant turned and faced the recruits.

“You will all follow this tunnel to the end. When you reach the end, you will show the officers your tags and be taken to your new units. Electricity ends in around five paces. Good luck.”

The drill sergeant plodded back to the entrance and took the elevator up.

Some of the recruits nervously started up conversations. Others started crying.

Vas just put his hood up, strapped his scarf to his head, and strode down the tunnel.

After a couple of hours, Vas and the recruits who had caught up to him reached the checkpoint.

Officers took a look at their tags and directed them to keep walking another twenty paces.

At the exit of the tunnel, an old man took Vas’s tag. “You’ll report to the trainee center with all the other new recruits. It’s straight ahead, the big building.”

Vas nodded and hobbled away through deep layers of snow.

It was obvious that the snow was mostly shoveled out of the way, but he still sank a fair measure into the snow with every step.

The building was only fifty paces away, but the distance took Vas almost ten minutes to reach. Glancing back, he saw that the other recruits were using his footsteps to save themselves the extra. They nodded to him respectfully, and he nodded back.

It hadn’t been his intention, but he would accept gratefulness where he found it.

He turned back to the building and pushed the door. Nothing happened, and he realized his mistake quickly, pushing on the archaic unlocking mechanism to open the door. It swung open with a groan.