Oliver Sinclair
September 10, 1914
Vinland Basic Training Base
The transition from civilian to soldier in training was jarring. Inside of a week it seemed to Oliver like he changed the course of his life forever. He barely had time to say goodbye to his family and friends before he was ushered onto the train to basic training, the promises of letters from everyone being the only thing keeping him from second guessing the choice, even if he couldn’t go back on it if he wanted to. The train ride was hard, Oliver unaccustomed to the constant movement and loud noise of the tracks under him as the train rolled along. The bus ride was worse.
Somewhere in between the train and the bus, there was a shift in attitude from both the soldiers and the recruits. The soldier’s attitudes shifted from relaxed and jovial with the lot of recruits to one of stern, almost cold distance from them. And the recruits on the train slowly began to silence their boisterous chatter. Something was coming, and everyone aboard knew it. Oliver for the most part kept to himself, the nervousness over the ordeal he signed up for and not wanting to be questioned over the welt and bruise that formed where the cut he received was enough to keep him quiet. Instead he people watched, the different faces from all around Darport, and other cities along the way. He noted Texio as one of the stops because of how far he was from home at that point, furthest he’s ever been in his life.
Getting on the bus was where the situation Oliver and all his fellow recruits came into focus. The group of recruiters were replaced with stern faced Sergeants with broad brimmed military caps. The drill sergeants weren’t civil with their commands, shouting at the recruits to get off the train, file into their respective bus separated by train cab, and pipe down while they explained what would be expected of them all. Everyone Oliver could see obeyed, motivated by fear, excitement or both. Oliver was no acception. The bus ride to the front gate of the training facility was tense, Oliver’s heart pounding harder the closer they got. As the buses slowed to a stop the screaming started. It seemed the screaming was a constant for the entirety of that first night. Move, stop, turn around, repeat. The commands from the sergeants kept coming and Oliver struggled to keep up, growing flustered every time he was chastised for being too slow, or not audibly replying to commands. It was chaos.
At some point during the chaos of the first night Oliver found himself with a large group of other recruits inside a barracks. Dozens of bunks lined each wall calling to the travel weary and exhausted recruits. They were allowed a moment's respite each recruit splitting off into groups. Far as Oliver could tell, some of the larger groups we're the guys who were lucky, all from the same town, friends facing an ordeal, together for a new frontier, a new adventure. Oliver had none of that. He filed in toward the back right, last bunk in the room, a few faces joining him. Others who didn’t belong to the groups that were forming. Oliver stayed silent, sitting down on the last bottom bunk in the room, marking the place as his. He rubbed the cut on his head, the tender, dull pain jolting him, but also reminding him of home. The reason he was here.
A loud bang came from the end of the barracks. Oliver glanced over and saw an imposing man in a similar drill sergeants uniform flanked by men to his right and left. The only difference in the apparel the men wore immaculately was a black belt with golden buckle the lead man wore, as opposed to the green and silver the other two had on.
“Atten-hut! Get on the line recruits Move it!” Shouted the lead sergeant, his voice booming and strong. Oliver, just like his counter parts all quickly shuffled to the bright line in front of every bunk to listen to the words the man began to speak.
“Listen up maggots! You all signed the same damn dotted line and now your ass is mine!” The man roared, as he paced the floor of the barracks, a lion looking over a flock of sheep, trying to pick which one to devour.
“So let's get you acquainted with the man that owns you for the next two months.” The man said, a smug smile on his face as he continued.
“I am Gunnery Sergeant Clay.” Sergeant Clay said, stopping to face the first group of people from the same town.
“Let me make something crystal clear recruits! From this point on! I don’t care who you were before you decided to wear the uniform you’ve been issued. You’re not that person anymore. You’re apart of something bigger! And the only way you can survive here, the only way you survive the shit storm out in europe? Is by accepting that fact. You obey! You fall in line! You live!” Sergeant Clay said as he glared at one of the recruits in the group of hometowners.
“As you are now, those bastard Imps will eat you alive! All of you! Not a one will make it out of this war alive!” The mans words struck a chord with Oliver. Death? Oliver knew from the jump it was a possibility, but the prospect of it being upfront and center now, terrified him.
“ But my job is to make you ready! So get some sleep maggots! . . . You’ll need it.” Sergeant clay barked before promptly leaving the room, the two auxiliary sergeants barked an at ease to the recruits, letting them settle into bed as they left. Oliver again picked the last bottom bunk, sitting down gingerly as he spoke, to himself? To the people around him? He wasn’t sure.
“What the hell did we just sign up for..”
DELILA COOPER
September 10, 1914
Vinland Basic Training Base
Everything around Delila felt so surreal, just a day ago she was a normal civilian helping her family. Now she was standing hands at her sides with a girl who couldn't be any older than sixteen next to her trying to hold back tears as a angry D.I. walked up and down yelling. Delila couldn't help but question how she even thought any of this had been a good idea or why it even crossed her mind. How was joining the Vinland army for war going to protect her family... how was she ever going to taste her fathers homemade Shepherds pie again? Even though she should have been paying attention Delila's mind couldn't help but wonder off.
The sunlight that day seemed to be stronger than any other she could remember that summer, especially with fall only being a week away. But even with the sun being so scorching Delila and her father still had an entire fence post to fix up with barbed wire going through the spaces. It wasnt even noon and more than half of the fence posts had been finished, but that was just how hard Delila worked especially her father. He was a well built man who was always known as one of the best farmhands, in the entire state of Texio. Delila had always admired her father as the strong man he was.
"Hey Delila! I think that's good for now!" He was making his way over to her, none of his tools in hand or placed inside his leather tool belt.
"Damn good fine job girl, ya shoulda told ya pops yar a chip off da ol block. Now come on yar moms whipped up somethin good for us im bettin." "Alright pa, I'm right behind ya." Realistically Delila just wanted to finish that darn fence post then and there. It was common knowledge that taking rest after working hard would only make ones body ache, and Delila didnt even feel like taking a rest. But who was she to say no to her father, if he needed her to she would have gladly went back in time and sacrificed herself in order to bring back her brothers.
As they both entered the house the smell of freshly cooked meat and baked bread overloaded Delila's senses. She was sure there was saliva leaving her mouth, and from the look on her dads face he was just as if not more hungry than she was.
Both of them took a seat at the families wooden dining table, but not even five seconds later a loud shriek came from the kitchen.
"DAWSON AND DELILA FRENTO COOPER! HOW MANY TIMES MUST I SAY NOT TO SIT YOUR ASSES ON MY CLEAN FURNITURE AFTER WORK! ONE DAY I'LL SKIN YOU BOTH ALIVE AND THEN YOU'LL LISTEN TO ME!" Isabelle Cooper, Delila's mom, was always that type of woman. She lived for a clean productive household and her threats have never fallen on deaf ears ever. But there was no chance to follow her orders since the woman was already standing at the end of the table with two plates of sausages, bacon and toast for them both. Both Delila and her father didn't waste a second of time to dig in. The only words that could describe them at that very moment was. Animals.
"CHEW YOUR DAMN FOOD BOTH OF YA! I SWEAR IM MARRIED TO AND RAISED A PACK OF DAMN HYENAS!" A fist connected with the table surface as Isabelle scolded both her daughter and husband, but more to her daughter. But that didn't stop her father from doing her exist orders which prompted Delila to do the same. Delila looked at her mother and couldnt help but shiver at that cold smile on her face as if she had just tamed two wild beasts and were gonna lead them to the slaughterhouse.
An hour nearly passed and the time was coming up on eleven o'clock. Delila had long finished her food and was now sitting next to the window of her families living room with a ivory pipe she had gotten from the towns sheriff as an apology for the situation that happened with her brothers. She sat there with the stem in her mouth blowing O's from the end of the pipe. The ivory was slowing starting to lose it's white color and was slolwy with each time Delila placed tobacco inside the pipe would get a bit more brown, although it wasnt noticeable to anyone else but Delila. While smoking the pipe and letting the smoking tobacco burn away, Delila noticed something very odd going on with the streets. Every ten seconds a group of people would ride past, either on horse back or in a carriage. Hell a group of boys, all brothers, were having a foot race at least that's what she assumed. That is until Delila decided to turn on the radio which was next to her father who was also smoking a wooden pipe and reading a newspaper. First there was static until, alot of static. So Delila tampered with the radio until she reached the correct station, which is when she heard the words.
"My fellow Vinlanders, we are now at war with the Imperial Empire. We have now joined the war with our allies and shall be joining them on the frontlines. This was signed an hour ago at exactly ten am. I repeat." And that's exactly what the messaged repeated. Delila couldnt believe her ears, in fact nobody in the room could not her father, mother who had dropped her sewing sticks, nor her two younger siblings who had been playing around with a toy truck. The room fell silent in that very moment.
Dawson and Isabelle both stood up with lightning speed to block the way of their daughter. it wasnt a secret Delila had planned on joining the military after her brothers death and this was her perfect chance. Without even wasting a breath and ignoring all the protests coming from her father and mother. They followed her screaming about her brothers, and the house all the way to the door. And even outside on the way to the stables were Delila kept her horse chestnut horse with white socks, Lewbowski. Somewhere along the way her mother had stopped yelling at Delila to fall on the ground to cry tears that practically broke Delila apart. But even then she climbed on top of her horse and rode him outside of the stable.
"Please take good care all of ya... I'll be back home. But this is somethin I just have to do. Pa i know you understand." Dawson stopped in his tracks and took off the straw hat that rested on his head. The man placed it on his chest and with a stone face he nodded to his eldest child. With that nod Delila took one last look at her family and house then rode off down the dirt walkway and onto the streets.
Delila practically raced her horse down the rode and to the town, which is where everyone else had been heading to. On the way to the town she passed the group of boys who had foot raced riding inside of a wagon and all of them were exhausted. Delinquents and normal farmboys and girls alike were riding horses or carriages all the way into town.
When she arrived to the bustling town, there were boys, girls, men and women everyone running around frantically. Delila stepped down from Lewbowski and led him forward with her to the recruiting office. But sadly to her surprise that line didnt seem to have any type of end to it. Everyone it seemed wanted to go off to war and fight for their homeland. For Vinland.
In total it took Delila exactly and hour to get to the town, and then it was thirty minutes before she could even sign up. At least the line was moving quick enough. To Delilas surprise someone had came out the office crying. They'd just been rejected. She'd never seen him before, but he couldn't be any older than fourteen, not old enough to join the military yet. Along the way this situation happened five different times with five different people, all of them came out crying and screaming as they wouldn't be able to one day spread their tales of war. One by one, person after person, people walked inside the recruiment office and back outside with a new uniform along. Once outside they would climb onto the back of a wagon and wait for it to fill before riding off a yard and being replaced with another.
By the time it was Delila's turn she wanted nothing more than to just sign the papers get measured and head on to the wagons. For some reason to Delila's surprise the whole process went by without any complications or problems, it would have been a lie if Delila said she wasnt a bit nervous she would be treated like a reject. But luckily for Delila she received and changed into her uniform with the most shit eating grin on her face. With her head held high, she walked towards the wagons as if the uniform was a shining suit of armor. Although that wasnt the best part to Delila, in fact the best part was once she arrived at the wagons with people all clapping and cheering for her like they'd done everyone else, she was offered a hand from her fellow recruits and up onto the wagon. She was leaving everything behind, everything and everyone she loved, but she left with zero regrets.
It was another hour and a half before one of the recruiting officers were able to get through everyone who wanted to enlist. With his sound off the wagons began to move out one by one. As the wagons rode out of town the crowd of people threw rice at the young men and women who were heading off to war, the crowd screamed and cheered for the soldiers some girls who didnt sign up exposed their bare chest to them all even. That sparked the people most of who were men around her age to laugh out loud with whoops and hollers.
Once out of the town Delila was finally able to sit back and relax to think about the adventure that awaited her. Everyone including herself talked about how many kills they'd get, or the momentos of war they'd all be able to collect. Spirits were high and moral showed no sign of dying down, that is until the group from her town arrived to the train station. One by one they all hopped off the wagons and walked in a single filed line to board the trains. That is where her real adventure began.
Bootcamp
It was almost as if she had been dreaming but Delila was soon snapped out of her transit daydream and back into reality as she found her back in her original position. Next to a sixteen year old girl who seemed almost three seconds away from pissing herself and a angry drill sergeant who was about three girls down from Delila.
"OH OKAY YOU PIECES OF SHIT MAGGOTS! WHO'S NEXT! YOU!" He pointed towards Delila and walked over to her steam coming fromhis nose like a bull.
"Private Delila Frento Cooper! SIR!""PRIVATE COOPER! WHY DID A PIECE OF SHIT LIKE YOU THINK IT WAS OKAY TO SLEEP IN THE GIRLS BARRACKS! OH DONT TELL ME YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE AN ACTUAL GIRL DIDNT YOU!? WELL LISTEN HER YOU TUCKED IN WEASEL COCK BASTARD! THIS WILL BE HELL ON EARTH FOR YOU! HELL I LIKE YOU BOY! YOU'VE GOT BALLS OF FUCKING STEEL! WHICH IS WHY I'M ASSIGNING YOU PLATOON CAPTAIN YOU TWINKLE TOED CUMSTAIN! IF ANYONE ACTS OUT OF LINE BOYS OR GIRLS IM BLAMING YOU PIXIE DICK! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME MAGGOT! NOW WHO'S NEXT!" This torment went on for every girl until the drill sergeant walked towards the door and screamed out,
"GOODNIGHT MAGGOTS!""Fuck... fuck.. fuck... I think i made a big fucking mistake." She crawled into her bed which was now to
Austin Dwyer
September 10, 1914
Vinland basic training base
Austin was reminiscing about his time back home while on the carriage going out to the next stop of the way to the training base. Where he lived peacefully with his family and friends and took care of the stray cat that lived out in the town without a care in the world. He loved that cat. He made sure it had shelter at all times. He couldn’t bring it home unfortunately but he still cared for it when he could. He felt bad for it being alone out in the cold all the time. He was always taught to be kind and respectful towards everyone so he felt like he should extend it to animals as well. But then wartime struck and unlike everyone eager to go to war, Austin had no such plans. He hated the idea of war and would rather stay out of it. That was until members of the Vinlandian army came to his house in Richamon Hill in search of able bodies for the war effort. When they threatened to take his mother when he refused he caved in and agreed to fight for the war. Because if his mother left his father would have to stay home to take care of his younger sister, who was too young to go to way at 15. And his father had a long work schedule as he worked making medicine for the common folk and army. So if he was forced to stay home it could cause him to lose his job trying to take care of his family. Austin sighed as he felt the carrages take a stop and heard all sorts of yelling from the insufferable sergeants, to get up and move out. Which he did as told. However what Austin didn’t know was that he had a little furry critter following him throughout the whole adventure. He constantly worried about his family back home, hoping they could get by without him around to help run errands and such.
Once they all finally arrived at the military base and the orders just wouldn’t stop. Do this and that for several hours. Austin was annoyed by it all but never spoke a word. He was not about to get in trouble over all this nonsense. He was surprisingly able to keep pace with everyone, being one of the people who was well built in muscle for his upper and lower body, even if it was mostly concealed due to his clothing. Once they were done for the night he was sent with a group of boys into a barracks and sighed as he wasn’t finally able to rest. While he could keep up, his body hurt, he wasn’t used to such exercises. He went to the back of the barracks where another’s boy seemed to head. He preferred to be alone Right now as he was in a bad mood. Being forced into the army will do that to you. He heard the door slam open and the yelling of an angry sergeant. Once he stood in place and the yelling stopped he sighed, finally, some time to rest.... But he then noticed something rubbing against his leg and looked down....... Fuck. It was the cat! Did it follow him all the way there?! Christ sake! He groaned as he heard another’s boy question what they just signed up for and out of annoyance without thinking Austin responded.
“Don’t lump me in with the rest of you. I never asked to be here! I was forced to come here!” He then took a moment and sighed.
“Sorry...... I’ve just had a bad day.... I didn’t mean to yell... Just don’t make the assumption that all of us are here because we want to be....” Austin then put his bags away and grabbed the cat quietly and went up into the bunk over the boy he had just yelled at. With that, he began to pet the cat Sam it laid down and purrs slightly as it snuggled up against him. He rolled his eyes as he looked at the little sneak.
“What am I gonna do with Bastion?....” And that is the end of the first day for the new recruits of war, from Vinland.
September 11, 1914
“ . . . don’t make the assumption that all of us are here because we want to be. ” Those words stayed with Oliver as he stared at the top of his bunk. They were harsh, but the guy who had spoken them already apologized.
Today’s been hard on all of us. Oliver thought as he closed his eyes. Sleep didn’t come easy, and Oliver was sure he was beginning to hallucinate. He was hearing the purring of a cat, but that was impossible. Eventually sleep came, but only in bursts anxiety rearing its head multiple times in the night in the form of nightmares.
A few hours into the night and the sounds of trumpets began to play outside, the rhythm there at least but it was way too early for it. Oliver groaned in protest but couldn’t get any words out before the barrack doors swung open, the banging of a trash bin and the lights snapping on calling the room to attention
“Reveille, Reveille! Get your asses up maggots Move it! Lets go we don’t have all day!” Sergeant clay’s voice boomed the banging of the trash bin and the trumpets outside doing nothing to silence it. All around Oliver chaos began as clay and the sergeants began to shout and the tired and frighten recruits around him began to fall into the line.
Oliver sat in his bunk for a moment, taking the chaos in, it was only a couple seconds, but it was enough to get the attention of one of the Sergeants, Oliver couldn’t even see the nametag before the man was yanking him up by his arm and screaming in his face.
“WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM RECRUIT? HUH? THAT BRUISE ON YOUR FACE WORSE THAN IT LOOKS?! YOU GOT BRAIN DAMAGE?!” the man barked Oliver fumbled with a reply before being cut off.
“I DON’T GIVE A RATS ASS RECRUIT, WHAT’S YOUR NAME HUH?” The man barked as he dragged him over toward the line.
“O-Oliver James S-Sinclair sir!” Oliver shouted as he got into the line with the other recruits, the man letting him go and walking into the center before turning around and facing Oliver again.
“I GOT YOUR NAME NOW SINCLAIR, YOU MOVE WHEN YOU’RE TOLD TO MOVE! YOU PUSSYFOOT AROUND AGAIN AND I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER! CLEAR?!” The man screamed until the vein in his neck bulged, Oliver was reminded of Mr.Sheffer then as he nodded his confirmation.
“Yes sir!”The man didn’t respond again, moving off to another recruit that didn’t meet his standards. The noise of orders being given and replies being shouted back carried on for another minute before the group was marched outside to begin their first day of training. It didn’t take Oliver long to notice the girls we’re filing in with the boys, but any lingering glances were met with harsh reprimand from the officers. There was no socializing allowed while training. They made that very clear.
The day continued, the sergeants drilling the recruits in everything from formations to how to properly blouse the boots they were wearing. Nothing about how to fight a war yet Oliver noted.The only thing that even came close was the Sergeants issuing the recruits their training rifles. Sergeant Clay called the group into formation, girls and boys both mixing and standing at attention as he stood at the front, the rifle held in his hands as he began to speak.
“Recruits! This here is the M1914 Fielder. This here will be your first battle buddy!” The man paused for a moment, his eyes floating between the different faces before speaking again.
“You will memorize the serial number, you will memorize every inch of this weapon. From this point on she is your lover. You’re going to learn all the ways to please her, she likes to be Clean! She likes to be greased! She likes to sit beside y’all when you eat! She likes sleeping next to each and every one of y’all at night. Hell she might be the only person who ever will you sorry sacks of shit! So line up! Come get your rifles!” Clay’s command was met with swift action, Oliver moving quick to be the first one in formation for the rifle. He didn’t buy into everything Sergeant clay said, but a rifle was familiar. He wanted familiar.
Not long after the guns were issued Oliver found himself in a marching run with his group, the Sergeants singing cadence. Oliver hugged his rifle close to his chest as they ran, controlling his breathing as best he could. He thought his legs would give out when Clay finally ordered them to stop. Oliver glanced at his watch, the only personal effect they let him keep told him it was noon. They’ve been up since before dawn and Oliver was starting to feel it. Thankfully, noon meant lunch, and soon the Sergeants allowed the recruits in to enjoy what Oliver considered to be a decent meal.
The Sergeants exerted themselves less in the chow hall Oliver noted as he took his food, only really barking orders if the room got too rowdy, the recruits from the same home town wisened up to this, speaking in hushed tones at their own table, soon many of the others followed suit. Oliver went over to one of the empty tables and watched the room as he ate. Girls and boys intermingled and talked. The rifles,uniforms, and hushed voices being the only difference between this boot camp chow hall and a restaurant. So he ate, his rifle resting against the table at his side, silently waiting for the lunch hour to be done.
Delila laid on the bed with her hand behind her head and the other resting across her stomach. There really was no way of getting sleep as she laid there just... Angry? She had no idea how to feel especially with being called out and assigned the leader of a bunch of people who had no idea about. Hell throughout that short night she could hear various sniffles and cries coming from all over the barracks, that damn D.I. really showed his fangs to them all and she knew that treatment was going to be common. If this is what they called breaking down and building up a soldier then Delila knew it was going to be a gruesome experience.
It couldn't have even been six in the morning, before Delila heard the bugles outside and followed by that was a loud bang and crack. Someone had kicked the door completely open and walked inside beating a metallic trash bin to near death.
"UP YOU SLIME TOAD MAGGOTS! UP TO YOUR FEET! BE DRESSED AND READY TO WALK OUT IN FIVE MINUTES YOU SLIMY TWINKLE TOAD CANNON FODDER! ANYONE WHO ISNT READY WITHIN FIVE MINUTES IS A TRAITOROUS IMP!" Half of the girls in the room were already moving in a frantic mess trying their best to put on the correct clothes, the other half found what they needed with relative ease and were filing into a line at the door to begin the morning training. Delila was in that groop but yet she wasn't the fastest of the bunch and ended up being in the fifth position of the line. The D.I. walked up to her barking like a rabies infested dog.
"PRIVATE COOPER YOU INSUFFERABLE PIXIE DICK! WHY WEREN'T YOU THE FASTEST OF THE BUNCH! YOU ARE THE CAPTAIN ARE YOU NOT!?""Sir yes sir! I will be faster next time sir!""I DONT WANT TO HERE ABOUT NEXT TIME! YOU BETTER STOP FUCKING ME PIXIE DICK OR I SWEAR I WILL FUCK YOU AND THEN UNFUCK YOU LIKE THE BABY MAGGOT YOU ARE!" He spit at the ground only missing her boots by an inch before moving on to the next of the trainees who he deemed deserved his fury next.
That five minutes felt almost like a lifetime, Delila fought the need to breath properly as she was too nervous to fuck up and be at the end of the D.I.'s anger. But with a blow of a very loud whistle from one of the other two assistant drill sergeants Delila began to actually breathe. They were led out of the barracks and to an open field where they all filed into rows and lines alongside the boys. There was never a chance to even get a proper look at any them as the moment every last recruit was in perfect order the worst of the day began. It started out as simple stretches and basic exercises like push ups, but it quickly started to escalate into things Delila had never even heard.
By the end of that first portion of what was to be called 'the basics' Delila was sure she had made a mistake. Although she never voiced how she felt or even groaned alongside the rest of the company. As the day went on Delila made sure to do everything they were taught to the exact motion. Hell most of it was basic work that she had already picked up thanks to growing up on a farm, but for others she could tell some of them were just flat out confused or didnt have proper hand eye coordination. But something that was also very noticeable was how every time they would finish learning something new, Delila would get pummled with insults by the screeching voice of the D.I. who they all learned was named Cobel, Drill Sergeant Cobel. He made it clear that it would be her fault whenever anyone of them fell behind or didn't understand, and thus it continued like that for the day.
Once they were all given their rifles, Delila felt at a loss for the first time during it all. She'd never held a gun before despite living in Texio. The brand new M1914 in her hand was almost like a beautiful work of wood and metal,
Rosenburg, that is what she named her weapon. During the final marching run of the morning it took Delila a while to figure out how to properly hold her weapon comfortably while running, the added weight of the rifle also slowed her down a bit. But she knew Rosenburg would just be another part of her, a part that she could carry without even slowing down or being awkward around.
Now it was chow time, the only time the recruits had without worrying about getting drilled for any reason, or so she thought. While everyone had scattered out of line and towards the mess hall, Delila on the other hand was pulled to the side once again and felt the sharp tongue of sergeant Cobel.
"ARE YOU TRYING TO GET THESE MEN AND WOMEN KILLED COOPER?! EVERYTIME SOMEONE FALLS BEHIND! EVERYTIME ONE OF THEM MISPLACES A SHOELACE OR EVEN FORGET TO PROPERLY CLEAN AND BLOUSE THEIR BOOTS! THAT IS ANOTHER DEATH THAT YOU AS CAPTAIN WILL HAVE TO BURDEN! YOU ARE A SHIT FILLED CARCASS TO ME AND I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT MAGGOT! THE ARMY WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER SCRAPING SHIT OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD RATHER THAN DEALING WITH YOU! PIXIE DICK! YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN DRIED UP CRAP FROM MY MOTHERS DECEASED CORPSE! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR MAGGOT!? YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE THIS PLACE! AND IF BY THE GREEN DICK OF GOD YOU DO! YOU WILL BE THE FIRST ONE DEAD ON THE FRONTLINE! NOW GET OUT OF MY SIGHT MAGGOT!".
"Sir yes sir!" Delila gave the sergeant a salute before turning on her heels and heading towards the mess hall to join everyone else. She ignored giving anyone a gaze and walked past each table with her head high, there was no way she was going to show anyone that what the sergeant had said to her really did bother her. The mess hall food looked wonderful to Delila as she walked by with a plate full, it wasnt anything like home cooking but with everything that had been going through, this was a five star meal.
Most of the table had been filled with people already, consequence of being late. By the time she had found a near empty table her appetite for food had all but suddenly vanished, but she still placed her tray down anyway. She noticed a boy sitting across from the spot she had chosen,
"Hey you mind if i take this seat?" Even though she had asked, there was no time to wait for a response her butt was already planted in the seat and a long sigh of relief left her lips. Delila reached into the pockets of her uniform and removed a carton of cigarettes and a box of matches. She would take one of the cigarettes and place it to her mouth, then followed that with lighting it with a match. Before putting it all away she extended her hand and offered one to everyone around her, majority of the people she offered them to took them without a second thought.
"What about you? Want one?" She was holding the box towards the boy who sat across from her.
While the other two had rough nights sleeping, Austin had a wonderful sleep. He was used to sharing a room with someone so any noise that was there was rather comforting... He and his little sister shared a room where they slept, they always were messing around and having fun at night. So in a weird way, sleeping in a room with other people was calming to him. What Austin wasn’t prepared for was the sound of trumpets in the air and the sound of a very angry drill sergeant booting open the damn door and screaming at the top of his lungs, which not only woke Austin and his cat Bastian up but also made him fall out of bed and onto the hard concrete floor. Everyone found it hilarious but didn’t dare laugh as the drill instructor saw the whole thing. Bastian However was a very smart cat, and hid under the covers and laid down flat so no one would notice him. He groaned as he soon got up and got ready for the training, being one of the first ready, However he did reactive exercises harsh glares from the drill Sargent as he screamed at the boy next to him about getting up and getting ready. Once they were outside and training Austin was able to keep up with the normal training exercises..... But soon began to fall off due to how long and how many of them they had to do. And some of the shit they came up with sounded like out of a book of fake news. It didn’t take long before he was on the receiving end of the drill sergeants harsh words, in front of the boys and girls that they were joined with.
“Private this is the sorriest display of physical prowess I have ever seen in all my years! You dare call yourself a man?! All these girls could kick your ass all the way back to where ever it is that your sorry excuse of a mother birthed you without even breaking a sweat! Pick up the pace or pick up your bags and go home so that we may shoot you and put you out of your misery you limp dicked, pussyfooting, waste of human filth!!!!” Austin was about to lose it on this man for daring to insults his mother, but he barely held himself back as he then continued doing the exercises as instructed. He had nothing to say to these assholes, and he really didn’t care if they insulted him, but his family was another matter.
When they finally got their rifles, Austin couldn’t have cared less. He stayed near the back of the line to get his own rifle. Once he had it he held it, and didn’t really care for it, why give him this when they didn’t need it? There was no point in his eyes. It was a waste of time to carry this human killing thing. But alas he had to. And followed the rest of the drill procedures as told, as he also got yelled at some more seduce to his slower pace and his worse stances. Once it was time for lunch, Austin was the first to leave, he really didn’t care for any of this bullshit. He quickly got his food and sat down at an isolated table alone.... That is until two other figures sat down in front of him. One of which he recognized. The boy from last night and the one who got yelled at this morning. He was wondering if he came by to talk to him. But the other one, the girl, she seemed a bit more composed, though he really didn’t know as he focused on himself during training..... But she did something that pissed him right off.... Handed out cigarettes..... Austin took the one offered to him, aimed it, and flicked it all the way into a trash bin. He then turned and glared at her.
“I’d rather not shorten my life span thank you very much. Nor do I want to get yelled at by a drill sergeant who will find out about this from the smell of your breath. You all better get rid of those damn toxic sticks. Don’t bother giving any to me.” Austin knew his words were harsh, but he was just hating that he even had to be here. All this was just making it worse. He hated being anywhere near cigarettes and their smoke, it made him ill. He then sighed as he laid his head in his arms.
“I’m sorry......... I just hate being here........”
Oliver watched the guy who slept above him take the cigarette and flick it away in Bemusement. It didn’t make sense, like maybe he was trying to make the girl mad. Then he apologized, and that made it just a bit more confusing. Oliver just scratched his face at the whole thing for a moment before smiling at the girl.
“No thank you miss.” Oliver said before gesturing at the boy.
“He’s right y’know? I don’t have an inkling on how you got your hands on those smokes, but I reckon they’ll only cause you more trouble with the angry little gremlin that’s been badgerin’ you.” Oliver paused for a moment, his smile never fading as he regarded the girl. She was tall, that fact jumped out right away as she approached them. Her hair was cut short and Oliver found himself chuckling slightly at the creativeness of Cobel
Pixie Dick How ridiculous.
“‘Sides that, pleasure to meet’cha Pixie. I hope you don’t mind me callin’ you that. Sergeants got the right idea when it comes to names to call ya. I’ll drop the obscenity though.” Oliver said with a wink and a chuckle before turning his attention to the boy regarding him with a smile as well before saying.
“y’mentioned you didn’t want to be here to me last night Partner. I’m sorry to hear that.” Oliver stopped for a moment before continuing.
“I don’t reckon ya need to be so aggressive with us though fella, better or worse, we're all in this together right?” Oliver looked between the pair of them before saying.
“I’m Oliver Sinclair. What can I call y’all?”
"Hey partner, were all having a rough go of it. Ya hear me? Dont go on bout spoilin' the fun for us just 'causing you ain't seeing this being the great ballroom or whatever." Delila said with the lit cigarette still in her mouth. She wasn't upset with how her gift had been tossed to the trash, but she also wasn't going to let one downer effect the moral of everyone else's drained bodies.
"And you, Oliver right? Dont go round here callin me Pixie all casual like. ‘Cause the moment you do it, so will everyone else. I tolerate it from that stupid Sergeant Cobel cause i have to for now." She wanted to nip that nickname in the bud before it sprouted, but sadly it had already taken root as she overheard a couple other recruits refer to her as Pixie when they thanked her for the cigarettes.
"By the way Oliver wasn't it? Im Delila. Delila Cooper... Or now known as Pixie." She wasn't happy with the nickname but at least it didn't involve the second part, and at least none of the boys knew why he gave her that name.
“You can call me by my name. Austin Dwyer. I’m sorry for my rude behaviour but personally, I never wanted to come here. It was either me or my mom. I wasn’t about to let that happen. I just wish no one ever came to my home. What about you two? You two rush to the lines to join this damned war?” Austin was trying to not be rude as he spoke. He just didn’t want to be in this damned place. But no matter how much he hated it, he couldn’t change the fact that he was here. He had no right to take it out on others, but seeing them acting all casual like this is all normal made him angry. They had no idea what war would be like, he knew it would be death and nothing more. He sat there as he ate his food, he wasn’t picky about what food he ate. He had to make sure to have something in his system before he lost it all to training. He looked to the gun by his side and glared before turning his gaze back to the other two.
“So, Oliver, you look like you got hit by a truck. What’s up with the bruises?”
“Well I wouldn’t say I was keen on getting yelled at, or any of this war business if i'm being honest.” Oliver said considering whether or not he wanted to say more. These people seemed like decent folk, but he just met them. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to spill his life story just yet. So hesitation filled in the blanks.
“Things just sort of.. Ended up like this.” Oliver said with a shrug. “Long stories like that need more than just a lunch to fill in. Maybe i’ll let y’all know when we got more time. And uh. As for this?” Oliver said before gesturing to his face.
“Hunting accident, I took a pretty hard tumble down a cliff.” He paused then, considering what to say next.
“Murphy’s law.” Oliver finally said with a chuckle before looking at Delila
“What about you Pixie? Got a story?”
"Who me? Ehh, there aint much tellin honestly. Just want to make sure my family is safe. If not for that being the case, you fellas wouldn' have ever seen this pretty face."There was alot more she could tell them all about why she joined, but seeing as she barely even knew them Delila kept everything to herself. In reality she was sure she had the most boring story out of them all there.
Delila looked at the cigarette she had and noticed the flame was practically dead and at it's last legs.
"But to be honest, even though i've been hearin' all bout this dang war on the radio. Never in my life did I think i'd end up running off to go join it. But i'm kinda glad i did. On the train ride here, I heard from some of those mean looking veterans that we would just roll through the Imps like some kind of bull."Delila snubbed the flame out by smothering it under her boot and went on pretending the thing never existed. Somehow she must've had the luck of the heavens that day, since she noticed two angry looking drill sergeants walking up to the door.
"Look alive fellas. Troubles coming."
Austin listened to the two speak. He could tell they had their motives, hearing Delila speak of family made him smile a little bit actually.
“Fight for family. That’s what I’m doing. Glad to know I’m not the only one who is thinking about the right things. I don’t care for any of this glory or killing Imps nonsense. It’s ridiculous. War is never easy, plus the Empire is twice the size of the federation, no way are we going to win so easily.” Austin then turned to see the two nasty drill instructors leaving to do things. Well at least they were going to bother their little group. He continued to eat his meal as he felt his body recovering from the strenuous workout they had been doing for the past several hours. Speaking of which during the workout he had heard some nasty things come out of the Sergents mouth towards the lady he sat with. He also recalled her being called a captain. But she just joined, how did she already have a rank?
“Delila, mind if I ask how you came to be a captain? I over heard some of the others mention it along with your nickname. How the hell did you get promoted so quickly? Didn’t you just join like the rest of us?” Austin had no idea how any of this worked, it seemed extremely stupid to put a rookie in charge of a group of people, why not assign someone with more experience? We’re the higher ups just that mentally stupid?
“Either way whether we like it or not we are all stuck here..... Might as well make the best of it right?...... Either one of you know how to use these guns they gave us? I’m as clueless as my sister is with math.”
Oliver watched the drill instructors leave. Something about it made him uneasy, like the respite might end soon, or worse. Somebody was going to get into trouble. Oliver looked around at each of the people Pixie had given cigarettes to as Austin asked his question. He took a moment, leaning back in his seat as he finished the last of his lunch before replying to Austin.
“Yeah man. I was a hunter for a living before all this. I used a Lever action so the bolt is new to me, but.. I should be able to get the hang of it soon enough. Same principle. I can teach you, maybe.” Oliver smiled at Austin, reaching out and patting the mans shoulder before looking at Pixie with a worried look.
“Pix, You gave those cigarettes out to more’n a few recruits… You sure they’re all solid?” Oliver paused after the question, he gave another glance around at the recruits he knows she handed out cigarettes to before his landed on the woman's facial features.
“I'd hate for you to go get in trouble in case one of these.. Folk get caught with the smokes. You ought to be careful. It wouldn’t take a lot to rat you out, ‘specially if it were gunna save their own skin.” Oliver offered her a weak smile before continuing
“Be careful alright? Id ditch the smokes... And uh.. If you need help like Austin here? I'd be happy to sometime.”
Delila stared at both of them as they spoke, she was actually enjoying the conversation being held.
"I dont know why the bastard made me a captain either sadly. He said he liked my guts for goin' to the girls barracks or somethin' alon' them lines..." She stopped for a second and scratched the top of her head, hell she even went as far as to feel her chest.
"I dont even resemble anything lookin' close to a boy. Maybe it was just because I looked strong or somethin." Turning her attention to the group of recruits behind her Delila shrugged her shoulders before turning back to Austin and Oliver.
"Ya fellas know we're gonna be goin off to the otherside of the world we these fellas right? I have no choice but to trust em all as solid. Besides if they weren't solid they wouldn't have turned up here. Even you Austin, even if it wasnt by choice. I still think you have more guts than anyone else just for even coming here." She was sure her point of having to trust each other had gotten across. Even though it was only the first day, and not to mention training was only going to get worse.
"By the way Oli, think you can show me how to shoot as well? I'm not so good with a gun. But give me a pair of wire cutters and a hammer, and i'll whip of a nice little wire fence for ya."
Austin looked at them both. He was enjoying the conversation at least.
“Because you looked tough huh? A bit reckless. Even the strongest looking person could be incredibly weak. I mean no offence though. Just stating a fact.” He then began listening to her speak about trust and how she already trusted them, or rather had to trust them. She made a very fair point, some people might have just abandoned this and left. But he was sticking it out. Perhaps it was true.... But he still hated it and wanted out.
“Yeah.... Well let’s see if any of us survive these training schedules..... I swear they’d shoot us willingly without a second thought if given the chance...... The drill instructors I mean...... But boy.... When he mentioned my mother like that, I was about to sock the fucker right in the face!” He was still pissed about that as well. No one spoke badly and got away with it. Except for them. It pissed him off greatly. And it showed, his brow furrowed as he finished up his plate and pushed it away, now just aiming to talk. He shook his head and put a hand up to hold it. There was also the matter with his little travel buddy Bastian. Damn cat, how was he supposed to properly take care of him here while hiding him?
“Hey one question, I know we are supposed to train here for awhile, but does anyone know how long we are going to be here for? I really have no idea and it worries me a bit. I feel like they are going to throw us at the enemy the first chance they get.” This legitimately worried him. He didn’t want to have a single day of training and then be thrown into the enemy the next day.
Oliver frowned as Pixie recanted the story of how she came to be a squad leader. Sergeant Cobel was an asshole to be sure, but up until just now Oliver thought he was just doing his job. Signalling out Pixie the way he did made him seem like he was more cruel than originally considered.
“Like I told Austin Pix, I'd be more than happy to teach y’all a thing or two. And uh.. Maybe you’re right, we do need to trust these folks ‘specially with us all being shipped off to war together and all… But uh, maybe not with your ill gotten gains, this early into your career?” Oliver offered the pair a weak chuckle before he considered Austins question, recalling the conversations he had with his recruiter back home.
“I think we’re going to be here for two months Austin. That's what the recruiter told me before I signed the dotted line back home. So at the very least we’ll know.. Some things, by the time we ship out.” Oliver paused then, chuckling once more as he considered the timing of their training.
“Downside being we’re heading over there in the middle of winter.. So I hope y’all like the cold.”
Delila shrugged her shoulders at Austins comment about her being tough. Of course she knew he meant no harm by it even if he didn't point that out, but it still rubbed her in a wrong way nonetheless. Mostly due to the fact that she was aware of how stupid and vile the choice was.
"Yeah I reckon better than anyone that pickin' anyone based off their looks is a shitty idea. But who am I to go against whatever those damn drill sergeants do to us. They could come in the middle of the night and flip me off my bed and then proceed to toss my stuff around. And yet there wouldn't be a single darn thin' i could do 'bout it.Delila couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to the person temporarily in charge of these guys for the few short months they'd be there. It was honestly intimidating.
"So we gonna be stuck here with that jackass and this gruelin' trainin' all the way till winter? She shuddered slightly at the thought.
"Look on the brightside Austin, the sooner they ship us out the, closer we are to blowin away some Imp scum, and gettin back to our families. Hell maybe even start little ones of our own."I'm sure once we get there we'll probably be too busy to even notice the cold. Heads up fellas i think i see the Cobel heading this way.
Austin listened to them and groaned. Two months? That’s it? Wow the people here were far more stupid than he thought. There was no way they could learn what they needed to learn in just two damn months! They really were trying to get people killed. They were going to be shipped out in winter? Just great..... Just what he always wanted, to freeze his ass off and die of hypothermia in an infested camp filled with guns and empty of showers. He looked at the two of them and shook his head.
“Fuck that man..... Winter seriously? Do they really want us to die that badly? Why don’t they just shoot us to get it over with, I’d rather go quickly and painlessly than freeze slowly over the course of several days.... I fucking hate winter.” He looked at Delila and heard her mention the Cobel moving to the group.
“I don’t care if he is coming over here, he can go fuck himself and the hole he came out of. Why should we suffer for his inflated ego and his inability to lead people? That’s probably why he made you leader, because he is so incompetent he was ordered to give the job to someone else.” He groaned and nearly let his body flop, he was in no mood to deal with his bullshit. But he sat up still and waited for the screen fest to begin. He was already done with his food so he figured they were about to get singled out to do extra training or some shit.
Oliver tensed at the mention of Cobel. Him coming over to the group meant nothing good, and if he were to hear Austins saying he can go fuck himself it’d probably be worse than bad. Oliver glanced at his new found friends before looking at Cobel as stopped in the center of the room, making his voice boom.
“Alright you filthy Maggots! Lunch time is done! Get your asses up now, do it now!” The man screamed and began to single out recruits immediately near him that moved too slowly.
Before long other sergeants joined him in hassling the recruits, Oliver barely had time to look at Pixie, giving her a nod of recognition before he was corralled outside into formation in the hot sun. He stood there among all the recruits who slept with him in the barracks, and waited for a time his rifle held in his hands firmly, the only familiar comfort he had in this place so far.
“I hope you enjoyed lunch recruits!” The voice of Sergeant Clay boomed from behind the formation.
Some recruits glanced backward toward him and the entire company was made to do push ups for the offense; there was no breaking attention while in formation they wanted to make that clear.
“Now then! Rest of the days events! You’ll be marching! Formations, and a healthy serving of exercise! Good for the soul!” Sergeant Clay spoke in bursts, a grin on his face as he did.
It was then Oliver noted the heat, his issued uniform was suffocating under the scorch of the sun and he figured the sergeants knew that. The rest of the day was going to be hell. Maybe the rest of his days in training.
The sergeants made Oliver's company march and run in the sun from that afternoon until early sunset, it took all Oliver had not to throw up his lunch, or his dinner. And the weight of the rifle he’d been carrying all day felt like it had tripled.
He stood in the evenings formation right outside the barracks and all he could think about was his bed. But Clay stood in front of them all, the boys and girls. And he spoke in his regular tone.
“Ladies and gentleman, congratulations. You survived your first day, and not a single one of you quit or cried to mama! Impressive. Now, I won't lie to you recruits. You are still! A sorry. Miserable lot. You all have a looong! Way to go before you’re ready for war… but don’t worry! You might be ready by the time graduation comes.” Clay’s words held the inflection of doubt, but his poker face remained intact.
Before long the recruits we’re allowed into the barracks for lights out. Oliver took the entirety of the time allotted to bathe himself, letting the warm water soothe his aching muscles before he shuffled over to his bed without preamble where he laid down and groaned in a mixture of pain and relief, speaking out loud softly for anyone in the vicinity to hear him.
“Just fifty nine more days of this..”
Austin groaned as he stood up and was, like the others, corralled into the training regime for all of the recruits. This was going to suck. The scorching sun beating down on his skin and clothing, making him sweat like a fucking pig. He hated it all. Burn he went along with it because if it wasn’t this he’d probably get shot for any sort of insubordination. The dumbasses that turned when they heard the drill sergeant behind them forced them all to do push-ups. Dumbasses. After that they began their training..... It was fucking brutal! He felt like he was going to die all the way through! I mean, they ran for so long, did so much shit in such heavy articles of clothing and holding ammo and a damn gun. During the training on of the sergeants started screaming at him to pick up the pace, and Austin wanted to yell at him to shut up, but he held his tongue. He was honestly terrified that he might not survive the day. During his run he noticed someone collapsed and he stopped and helped them up, like they say, leave no man or woman behind. He’d help anyone else along the way and they’d finish the run together along with doing their exercises together as well, making sure to help where someone falters.
It was a very fucking rough day and it made his entire body sore, but he survived. He was very, very tired. He just wanted to sleep and go home. But like always that wasn’t an option. Once they were given the go to, to go to bed, Austin turned and began heading back, nodding to ‘Pixie’ as a sign to say “goodnight.” He was one of the first in the showers and thoroughly scrubbed himself of his dirt and grime that was all over his face and body. Feeling refreshed he got out and into bed. Ready to rest. Then Bastian suddenly popped his little head out of the covers of the bed and snuggled up to Austin as Austin began giving him pets. He was a good kitty. He was happy he at least had an old friend with him right now. He’d probably lose his sanity if he was here alone. Speaking of which, Bastian was purring from being petted not loud enough for the beds nearby to hear but maybe the one under could. He looked to Oliver as he saw him finally come out of the showers. Hearing him speak he sighed.
“Fifty nine more days of hell in prison you mean. This is going to suck big time..... Nothing we can do about it though.”
