Marcus heard a bird chirp outside the window of the barracks and he turned his back to the bed. The cover felt rough on his skin and the mattress too thin, but it was nice to have a bed to sleep in. The bunk on top shook and Marcus felt the person in it turning in his bed.
He heard footsteps outside the door, and Marcus sat up on the edge. His back was hunched, and he searched the ground in the dark for his new boots, provided by the army of Aldrion.
The door slammed open with a bang and the man on top of Marcus’ bunk jerked awake. He rolled around and Marcus threw a worried glance upwards. The man’s hand fleeted out from the edge of the bed and grabbed the small railing, keeping him from rolling out.
“Whoa,” Marcus heard him say to himself.
A smile spread over Marcus’ lips, but soon vanished when his superior officer yelled from the entrance to the massive bedroom.
“Up, up, up.”
His name was Sergeant Tick, but Marcus had heard the other soldiers referring to him as Sergeant Dick behind his back. An unfortunate nickname.
“We gather in fifteen at the courtyard,” Sergeant Tick yelled and exited the room.
The man in the top bunk stretched out a hesitant leg down the side of the bed. He placed his dirty foot on Marcus’ cover and climbed down in shaky steps from his sleeping place. He looked at Marcus and his slightly too large belly hung down over his boxer briefs.
“Morning,” Marcus said.
He dragged on his navy pants, boots, and shirt. Everything the army seemed to own was navy, dark as the sky and rock in the wastelands. They said it was camouflage, used to hide from the beasts. His bunk-mate looked at him, but didn’t say good morning or anything else. He seemed hesitant about Marcus and not like he wanted to get to know him.
Marcus was outside a couple of minutes later and he thought about how tough basic training was going to be. Sergeant Tick had told him yesterday when he had received his navy uniform that this was what they called boot camp. A place where they would break him down to build him up. Marcus didn’t like the feeling of breaking things down. He liked who he was and where he came from. But this was the only way.
The only thing he had been able to find. To stay in Aldrion, close to Mel and to protect her. If she was going to be studying at Falden for years, Marcus had to find something to do. And this was truly his best option.
The army fed him, clothed him, and gave him some money to go around. He would also gain training in the art of war and protecting people, crucial for him and Mel to survive out in the wastelands for long enough for her to find the dragons.
Marcus was standing in a dusty courtyard in his uniform. His hands were clasped behind his back and his gaze was straight forward. He had mirrored the other soldiers next to him and guessed this was what was expected of him.
Sergeant Tick strolled before the twenty or so soldiers before him and stopped every once in a while to turn sharply and stare at some unfortunate person. He stopped at a woman standing next to Marcus’s bunk-mate. Sergeant Tick leaned into her face and Marcus saw from the corner of his eye how the girl flinched.
“Why are you here?” Sergeant Tick yelled to her.
“To fight the beasts,” she said.
“You mean to fight the beasts, Sir,” Sergeant Tick said.
“Yes, Sir,” she said, her voice quivering. “Sorry, Sir.”
Sergeant Tick leaned back, giving her space, and kept walking along the line of soldiers before him.
“You will refer to me as Sir or Sergeant,” he said. “You will obey my every command. I will be your closest superior officer until you have graduated from basic training. To graduate, you need to pass four weeks of boot camp, then another four weeks of weapons training.”
He turned, and Marcus swallowed hard. He leaned into his face and Marcus could smell the garlic on his breath.
“Then four weeks out beyond the wall in the wastelands,” the Sergeant spat into Marcus’ face. “Are you ready for that, soldier?”
“Yes, Sir,” Marcus yelled back at the Sergeant.
Sergeant Tick looked surprised for a moment, but then gave Marcus a thin smile before he turned and kept walking down the line.
“If you survive the wasteland,” Sergeant Tick said. “Then you will become a soldier in the Aldrion army. Employed by the king, to keep the valley safe and protect Aldrion from the beasts. You will face danger and you will meet it head on. But before you can do that, I need to break you.”
He turned sharply again, and this time he stared into another new recruit’s eyes. He leaned in close and Marcus had to fight to keep a smile away from his face.
“Will you break?” Sergeant Tick yelled at the guy.
“No, Sir,” he said.
The Sergeant lifted his eyebrow. “No?”
“I mean, yes, Sir,” the guy said with hesitation in his voice.
“Yes?” Sergeant Tick said.
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“I mean, if you want, Sir,” the new recruit said.
Sergeant Tick leaned back from his face and a wicked smile spread across his lips.
“Every morning at sunup, we will gather here in the courtyard,” Sergeant Tick said. “We will go for a run around Aldrion and then finish with the obstacle course. You run two and two in a line after me.”
Marcus glanced around carefully at the courtyard and noticed an obstacle course waiting nearby. There were logs and ropes and walls, and Marcus felt a lump in his throat. He was quite fit, and he had some muscles. But running around all of Aldrion and then climbing a huge wall with just a rope, that felt excessive.
“Move out,” Sergeant Tick yelled.
The group of new recruits filed out from the courtyard, and Marcus followed the others. There was some fumbling at first, and they gained some annoyed glances from Sergeant Tick. But after a while, they seemed to get the hang of running two and two in a line. Marcus felt like a part of a huge snake rippling around the city.
They ran up and down the streets. They ran past alleyways and passed Mel’s school. All the way, Marcus felt like he had a hard time catching his breath. But what kept him going was the knowledge that there were soldiers here struggling more than he did. His bunk-mate ran next to him and his steps were growing sluggish. Almost tripping and falling over pebbles lying on the road.
Marcus heard his ragged breaths all the way through Aldrion and he winced every time the man was close to falling down. Even though he hadn’t wanted to talk to Marcus this morning, he felt sorry for him.
After what felt like several hours of running, they made it back to the army base, close to town square and the eastern gate. At the courtyard, they stopped and several of the new recruits fell down on the ground, trying to catch their breaths. Marcus’ bunk-mate even puked, and the Sergeant gave him a dirty look.
“Now you finish the obstacle course,” Sergeant Tick yelled. “After that, you pansies can rest.”
The soldiers glanced at the Sergeant and Marcus took a few heavy breaths, almost thinking about lugging his body over to the obstacle course. A red-haired woman raised her hand and between deep sighs, she said, “Just give us a moment.”
The Sergeant shot daggers at her.
“Now,” he yelled. ”Go, go, go.”
Marcus felt his lungs burning and he half-ran toward the obstacle course. He hopped over a raised log and his feet fell down into mud. It was cold and wet around his boots and some flew up all the way to his fingertips, staining them brown. Several soldiers jumped after him and ran past him. Marcus was definitely not the best recruit here.
He lugged his sore legs forward and leaned down toward the mud. He climbed under a log and then over the next. Marcus felt his chest burning and his muscles aching. He slid down and crawled under a net attached to a couple of logs, feeling the mud creeping in under his shirt and chilling his body.
He trudged over to the wall. The finish line waited on the other side. He grabbed a rope trailing down from the wooden structure and watched the woman the Sergeant had screamed at this morning, putting her feet against the wall. She hauled herself up with her hands, while taking one step after another against the wall.
Okay, I can do this, Marcus thought.
He grabbed the rope with both hands and placed his foot against the wall. He felt his boot slipping against the wood and quickly swung his other foot up, which resulted in his hands slipping, and he fell with his backside first. His entire body slammed against the wet cold dirt and Marcus laid there sipping in air and feeling deflated.
He watched the woman sailing up against the wall. She made it look so easy. She swung her leg over the top, like a hook, and hauled herself over. He heard her feet thump against the ground on the other side.
Marcus stood up, not caring about trying to brush off the dirt that cling to him in wads. He felt too tired to care about anything at the moment, other than getting across this wall and finishing the obstacle course. He knew he needed to finish it to get the privilege to rest.
“Go, go, go,” he heard the Sergeant yelling from the sidelines.
His bunk-mate walked up to the wall next to Marcus, and they both grabbed a rope at the same time. Marcus put his foot against the wood and tried to find traction with his boot. No such luck. It slipped, but this time Marcus knew what to expect and didn’t fall down.
His bunk-mate, on the other hand, fell. He swung his foot up, and the gravity took him and placed him down into the mud. He laid there groaning with his back against the dirt.
Marcus released his rope and looked down at him, smiling.
He held out his hand and his bunk-mate took it. Marcus hauled him up, and he saw gratitude shine in his eyes.
Marcus turned back to the wall, looking up at the incredibly large structure. How was he going to ever make it over?
Sergeant Tick blew a whistle. It rang like the howl from a hurt wolf, and Marcus winced.
“You lazy worms,” the Sergeant yelled. ”I don’t have time for you to take all day. Tomorrow, you will try again. Go and rest, but know you didn’t deserve it.”
Marcus glanced over at his bunkmate and relief covered his face. He met Marcus’ eyes and reached a hand out to him. Marcus grabbed it and they shook, a sloppy, tired handshake.
“Leeroy,” he said.
“Marcus.”
#
After Marcus had showered, changed and eaten, he sat down on his bed and felt his eyelids heavy. This basic training was brutal, and he hadn’t even passed the obstacle course. Marcus groaned and dragged his hand over his face. How was he ever going to survive this?
Leeroy walked up to their bunk bed and next to him, the woman who had sailed up the wall walked in even steps. She looked tired, but not like Leeroy or Marcus, who were exhausted beyond belief.
“This is my mate, Catherine,” Leeroy said. “We’ve been best friends since childhood.”
“Hi, I’m Marcus. Nice to meet you.”
“You too,” Catherine said.
She had short, dark hair and a slim frame. But Marcus knew the muscles hiding underneath that lean appearance. He had seen her first hand climbing that impossible wall.
“You were great today,” Marcus said. “How did you do it?”
A blush colored Catherine’s cheeks.
“Oh, the wall?” she said. “That’s mostly just technique and a bit of muscle, too. You will get there.”
“Yeah, that’s what she always says,” Leeroy said. “You will get there. But I never get there.”
Marcus chuckled, and the other two joined him. This felt nice, having mates and laughing. Marcus had been afraid he was going to be the outcast forever, but it had been surprisingly easy to find friends here, after all.
“So what are you doing on Sunday?” Leeroy asked. “Are you joining us in church?”
“No,” Marcus said. “I won’t join you in church. The dragons wouldn’t want that. I will probably visit my girl, Melissa, at Falden.”
“Oh, we have a girl, do we?” Leeroy said. “Well, maybe you two can both join us in the evening for a bit of a drink and some cards at the Last stance?”
“Church and drink?” Marcus asked. “Feels like a weird combination.”
“No at all,” Catherine said. “God intended us to have fun. So we have some church in the morning, then some drinking at night. I mean, if they only give us one day a week off, we have to make the most of it.”
“Yeah, okay,” Marcus said. “Maybe me and Mel will join you for a drink then. Thanks.”