Chapter 1: Shake Down
“We got a lucky one.”
Being outed from the beginning wasn’t something I was expecting but then again it had to be done. I couldn’t tell from where I'm standing but he seemed to be smiling at me.
“Now everyone, your all here because you’ve been drafted. This should set the tone for your future with us. Soon you will all be able to do this in under a minute or faster. Now in your bag should be two items. Your paperwork in a neat manila folder, and your wallet with your ID or passport. If you have both then that is ok. If you do not have those then you cannot and will not get on this vehicle. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”
“Yes sir,” a weak and uncoordinated response from a few of us.
"I SAID DO YOU UNDERSTAND!”
“YES SIR!” we yelled.
“GOOD. Now on my LEFT SIDE,” he pointed at a line.
“You will be the first line to enter this bus, the line on your left will be next and so on. UNDERSTOOD?”
“YES SIR”
“NOW GET ON THIS BUS!”
What followed was like an ant colony of people slowly going on the bus. My line was the last to move which meant I was the last to get a seat. When I finally set foot on the bus the only seat available was the middle seat in the back. When I sat down, the military man was at the front near the driver.
“Now we got two stops, the first for our Horseshoe here and the second for the rest of you all.”
He turned around and put his arm on a pole next to the driver and the bus started to move. It only took a minute before some whispers started to spread. Thankfully the 5 of us in the back weren't really talkers.
Around 6:45am we pulled into the gate at the military base. The driver and military man pulled out their ID. A guard came on the bus wearing the same uniform with a rifle strapped around his shoulder. He greeted them, scanned their IDs, and then got off.
The bus then weaved between some concrete barriers and continued on a fairly straight road that led deeper into the base. The buildings were plain looking. Sometimes runners would pass by.
It didn’t take long before my stop came. When the bus stopped the man turned around.
“Alright Horseshoe, this is your stop”
I got up and walked to the door. From it I could see a line of others going into a building. I got off and walked towards the end of the line. I heard the bus leave and could feel some of the stares on my back. Not to long of waiting and I was in the building, with only a few behind me.
Inside on the floor there were outlines of boxes. Five at a time we were told to step in the box and take out our paperwork and ID.
“Next” a lady in uniform said.
Me and four other people started to get our stuff out. The lady was looking at a group of people at a desk. One of them raised their hand.
“Follow the blue line. Next.”
As we were told we followed and it that led to an empty line. The man behind the desk looked at us.
“Folder and ID.”
We were already in a line so I waited for my turn.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“Folder.”
I handed him my folder. He opened it, took the third paper out and put it in a scanner.
“ID.”
I handed it to him and he put it in a smaller scanner. He closed the folder, took the paper and ID out the scanner then paper clipped both to the folder. He gave me the folder back.
“Follow the black line.”
I looked down and followed the line, zig zagging through others and ended up in another room with chairs. There was a screen that said ‘take a seat’ so I did just that and found one. A man was coming in and out calling names.
“Jordan Racks, Allie Rain, Trent Reagan.”
Damn it's in alphabetical order. Thankfully it seemed there wasn’t just one person calling names. As fast as people were coming more were going out.
“Chris Ying, Macy Young, Kon Zinc.”
Me and the other two stood up and made our way to the lady with the clipboard.
“Follow me” she said as she swung open the doors.
“You all must have questions and they will be answered when you are fully done with inprocessing. Men to the right Ladies to the left.”
I followed the guy who I assumed was Chris and we ended up at another reception desk.
“Folders and bags the both of you.”
“What about the stuff in my bag?” Chris asked.
“You will get all your belonging when you are done with inprocessing.”
With that we both took off our bags and gave it to him with our folders.
“Go into the door on the right and look for your names.”
When we walked in there were two long tables on the right and left wall with soldiers on the sides closes to the wall. Others were here and I looked for my name on the monitors that were facing the entrance. As soon as I went into my spot, I looked at the soldier in front of me.
“Kon Zinc?”
“Yes sir.”
He nodded and reached under the table and grabbed a new military bag like the one I turned in, but with a white line instead. In his left hand was a pale yellow box. He put both on the table in front of us.
“This is your standard issued bag and bedding. Inside the bag are toiletries, 3 full sets of clothes fit to your size, a new HoloPhone and tablet. Instructions on setting them up are included. A new folder of everything about you is also inside, so do not lose it. Now if you have anything on you that is not clothes, hand it over.”
I quickly put my phone, wallet, and watch on the table.
“Necklace.”
Shit. I took it off a bit shaky. I think I’m actually feeling nervous now. I put it down with the rest.
“Take these” he said pushing the bag and bedding forward.
I put on the bag and held the bedding in my hand and watched as he grabbed my last belongings and put them in a bag with my name on it.
“Alright now I’m going to explain a few things so listen well. One, you are lucky. As are the others here. Even with the unnaturalness of this it is much better to be in for two years then six months. Two, you are no longer a civilian. You are in the Kaida Military and are now a Kaida Soldier. That comes with a heavy responsibility. You must act with decorum in public and never stain our name. Your actions are ours, so better yourself and others so we may be able to stand straight. Understood?”
“Yes sir”
“Three, you will go through basic training to fully become a soldier. How you perform and how you act will always be monitored. You will be going to hell and coming back, both mentally and physically. If you are not struggling then you are not improving. Four, you have five things you can choose to put into your new bag. They will aid you for the next nine weeks, so choose carefully.”
The monitor on my left flashed and a new screen popped up.
“You got 5 minutes.”
Alright calm down. This is supposed to make me nervous. Remember 9 weeks of physical and mental training. I looked up a portable battery bank. I can’t expect them to plug in my phone for me. Next, I looked up a smart watch. Telling time, monitoring my vitals, and GPS would do wonders. What else, c’mon think. Immediately I look up a survival kit. If anything, it has multiple items like matches and first aid. Only two more but I’ve spent a minute already. Looking at the soldier I asked him a question.
“Could you recommend anything?”
He silently shook his head. Worth a shot.
“Can I trade my necklace for a spot?”
To that he smiled
“Of course.”
He picked up his tablet and did some stuff then handed me my necklace back.
“Two minutes left.”
“Could I trade another spot for more information?”
He smiled again
“What would you like to know”
“Can you tell me the nine-week program, wait no. Could you give me a form of material explaining the nine-week program?”
“Digitally copy or physical copy?”
This is important, but if I get it digital then I won’t know unless it's on my phone or tablet. If I get an actual book, it could get stolen or it might be in absolute detail and be like those old phone books. Or maybe...
“Both please.”
His smile now showed his teeth.
“Great choice, since you are done with the selection give me a second.”
He started to touch his tablet and a couple seconds later he was done. Then, he reached under the table and pulled out a uniform in a clear plastic bag and a box of shoes.
“With this you are all set. You’ll get your items when you change out of your civilian clothes. When you exit this room head to the right and enter the changing room. Make sure you wear your uniform right when you walk out. Good luck soldier.”