"Pass me the map again, Niemen," asked Quincy Usoman. It was just the two of them. Their final test before finally graduating.

The forest where they kneeled was damp and eerie. Rain had just fallen, with a shower imminent. Their green camo with black patterns camouflaged them perfectly. The test consisted of getting three flags without being caught by the sergeant.

"Ok," Quincy sighed. "We're here, and to the far right on the grid is the second checkpoint."

Johnny looked up and could smell the petrichor in the air. The wind would sway, rustling the trees and causing their ears to set off false alarms. With them, in the same wet, damp forest, were numerous other recruits taking the same test.

"Let's move," Quincy ordered. "Stay low and walk slowly."

Johnny followed his commands to perfection. Quincy played a ton of military games, and his knowledge of commanding is very dependable. His dream is to lead a squad of his own and climb the ranks. That is, however, if he doesn't become one with the ground during his first battle. Although everyone pictured him as a downer, he's been trying to start a new life by joining the military. With more people needed to take back the planet, Quincy is just one of thousands doing their part. Even if he wasn't fully invested in joining for humanity-saving reasons.

"It's raining," Johnny whispered. "Be wary of the trees."

"The trees?" Quincy chuckled. "We'll be alright."

The map was in his pocket to keep it from getting wet. They walked over stomps and past piles of leaves that had scattered from the wind. It became hotter than usual, as they would be entering the summer season. This didn't mean it was hot enough to make someone sweat. After all, the temperature only reached 70°. The rain falling added a bit of a cool feeling. From afar, were the screams of other recruits chanting and marching loudly as they left the testing area. With their pants muddy and their faces dripping with rainwater, Quincy and Johnny made their way to a small cabin with the door completely off. The cabin had a fake candle resting on a nice modern wooden table.

"Is this the second flag? asked Johnny. "Seems very unique?"

"This should be it here. If not, it can be a nice place to let the worst part of the rain go past," Quincy said.

The flag was sitting right next to a dusty bookshelf. There were still five flags out of twelve.

"Where's the next flag?" Johnny asked. Both of them surrounded the table where the fake candle rested. The light was good enough for them to see 80% of the map.

Quincy took a pen out and wrote where they were. The other flag was half a mile north of the cabin. They've been at it for hours, and even in the dark, the test won't end till the timer goes off or till every other team is caught.

They both tried to plan a better route without having to go through stupid obstacles. Complications started to rise. For example, if there were sergeants watching shortcuts, then it would mean having to find another way around. Another complication they both thought of was the weather. They didn't want to be out soaking for so long, or else medical issues would arise. Some recruits experience medical issues throughout their basic training. These issues, more or less, would be resolved with a few days of rest. The big issue is that, with graduation coming up, many who have medical issues and miss graduation are usually behind in comparison to their other recruits. This is why both Quincy and Johnny had this problem circulating throughout their heads. But there was no good solution that would warrant their safety from either falling sick or failing this test.

"Oh, there are people here?" huffed a person walking into the cabin. "And a flag."

"Alright, we're resting here for a few. Make sure the close is clear," said his tall teammate.

Johnny and Quincy looked up to see them walk in as the floor underneath them creaked and became a darker shade from all the water dripping off them. They were tired and had mud all over them. With that, they plopped down on the floor as if they had been running for their lives. The rain had started to come down even harder. Taking a big risk, both Johnny and Quincy decided to leave the cabin to find their last flag and to finish off this test.

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"Did you guys hear?" said one of the boys sitting on the floor.

Quincy didn't want to speak to them. He gave Johnny a look that said, 'Please speak to them while I plan our way out of here.'

"What?" Johnny whispered to Quincy.

He moved his head quickly, aiming it at the two boys, as the atmosphere was becoming awkward every second they didn't answer.

"Uh, what news?" Johnny sighed.

"A whole state had fully fallen," sighed the taller boy. "Shit's insane."

"What state?" Quincy got up. "What state?"

"Dunno, but somewhere in the southeast," said the boy. "It was just terrible from the beginning. The military was there and started shooting at some radical group that was also fighting the invaders. They had a gruesome battle."

"Radical group?" Johnny asked.

"Uhuh, called the Western Revival or something like that," said the boy. "Sounds stupid; they killed our guys trying to act like heroes."

The atmosphere wasn't awkward, surprisingly. As the rain fell, the conversations continued. From invasions to hope to anything that'll get their minds off the struggling war that seems so lost.

As Quincy finished planning out the way they'd go, the two boys, who were also looking at their map, wanted to tag along. Without a second to even say anything, Quincy agreed to this suggestion. Johnny didn't want to speak out of term since Quincy was smart in military tactics. They watched the rain fall at an alarming rate as they made their way out into the large forest, stomping their feet first into uneven terrain and muddy paths. They used the other duo's map to cover them before it became too drenched to be useful. They walked around the trees and down rough paths, but they were also cautious of their surroundings for any sergeants lurking around to catch them. The sound of the rain drowned out any sort of sound queues that would help them locate any out of the ordinary sounds. This big issue would prove to be significant in the actual battle. It's something Quincy picked up on quickly.

"I'm so tired," said one of the boys.

"What?" the other one screamed.

Quincy hit the one who screamed in the head. His face was drenched, looking as if he were sweating a lot. They reached a drop and slid down it, getting their clothes dirtier. The rain was unbearable, and looking up at the sky to give somewhat of a direction from the sun was impossible with the darkened clouds. The wind was also strong, which caused the rattling of the trees to drop buckets of water on them, along with the torrential downpour. From afar, they could see an opening, but they still kept their heads on a swivel. Quincy kept pointing in which direction they'd go since the rain and wind made it hard to hear. Before they knew it, they made it through the forest, stomping on even grounds with a road in front of them. Five flags were sticking out of a tree stump.

Tired, drenched, and hungry, the four of them successfully made it through the test.

[A Map and a Note]

"I probably should've said something," Johnny said.

"Like the time and date of the graduation?" laughed Jerry Belton.

"Who cares? My family will take you in," laughed Tom Belton. "Just keep the talking to a minimum, and you'll fit right in."

"Ahaha!" mocked Johnny as Tom wrapped his arms around his neck. The parade grounds were packed with families kissing and hugging each other. Lovers were embracing each other, and the small collection of recruits whose families were either not informed, dead, or disgusted with their actions were standing in a small circle speaking to one another. Though training wasn't up for any of them, the thought of dividing paths with people they might not see soon settled in their brains.

From an outside viewpoint, you would've thought this was just a normal Marine graduation. You wouldn't have thought that, by statistics, 90% of the men and women, boys and girls, standing in their dress blues would be dead in a few battles.

Johnny looked around, standing next to Tom and Jerry's family. Everyone had a smile on their face, even those who didn't have their family there with them. It was almost creepy how most of them would cease to exist in this world. But as the seconds ticked by, Johnny focused more on cherishing this accomplishment. It was only a small step toward his achievement.

With graduation finished, it was straight to infantry school. Infantry school would only be a few weeks long since a good portion of it was connected with basic training. This was mainly because the number of soldiers that are needed on the frontlines is increasing.

As the weeks continued, Johnny endured the challenges that were set ahead of him. Infantry school was almost like the basics to him. A lot of new things were learned during this time. From guerilla warfare tactics to urban assaults and key points when being in battle. It was interesting to meet more new people who were either from his city or had interesting stories about their lives before enlisting. It made it more interesting since the majority of them volunteered to join the Marines. Infantry school went by fast, and the nerves from everyone as they finished their few weeks of infantry school started to rise. There were the hyped ones, ready to kill anything in their sight. There were the anxious ones who wanted to go out and see the world. There were the shy ones who were second-guessing themselves. Then there were the ones who didn't have a clue what was happening. Johnny sat in this small circle of people. He wondered how his friends from basic training were doing.

After every bit of training Johnny endured, from basic training to SOI, Johnny could finally progress into the world, even if his life could soon be over in an instant.