For an hour, everyone ran on the race track. Exhausted, Felix was at the back of the line, he struggled to keep up with the group. A thin, 5'1 foot tall man was behind Felix.
Sgt. Seth yelled, "Everyone to the cafeteria. Except for sixteen and ninety-one."
The crowd of people headed for the cafeteria. Felix and the man nicknamed ninety-one followed Sgt. Seth to the armory shed. Sgt. Seth took a key out of the pocket of his black pants and unlocked the door. They entered and it smelled musty.
"Clean every rifle in here." Sgt. Seth ordered. "No excuses, they're unloaded." He slammed the door before leaving.
Ninety-one asked, "What about breakfast?"
Sgt. Seth replied, "No breakfast for you, slugs. If you get done before 120 hours, you'll get to have lunch."
Sgt. Seth slammed the door shut and left. Felix sighed. His stomach growled; it wasn't fair for Sgt. Seth to punish them. He knew he wasn't a fast runner, having spent most of his free time writing.
He picked up a dusty gun from the barrel. On the shelf was a cloth, and he grabbed it to wiped the gun. He sat across from ninety-one on the bench. Ninety-one used a cleaning rod to clean the inside of a rifle.
Felix asked. "What's your name?"
Ninety-one responded. "Logan. What's yours?"
"Felix. I hate this place. I asked Dr. Wilford if I could be exempted from the military but he just laughed at me and said no."
"If you bribe Dr. Wilford with ten thousand dollars, he would have given you an exemption."
Damn, it I don't make enough at the grocery to store to bribe the doctor! Felix clenched his jaw.
Logan continued, "I get where you're coming from. My friend Nate left the country for Catwerp to avoid the draft. He says living in Catwerp is better than here. They've universal health care, they don't have the death penalty, and they've a food bank where you can get free food. The mountains are supposed to be spectacular. Intermariams have to pay the government twenty thousand dollars to be granted permission to leave the country. I hear Catwerp citizens, don't have to pay the government anything to leave their country! Imagine that, to have the freedom to travel."
Felix sighed. "I wish I could go to Jayland."
"Why there?"
"I want to go swimming with the dolphins. They've an indoor swimming pool at their aquariam."
Logan yawned. "How did you sleep last night?"
"It's hard to sleep when all you can hear is snoring."
"Tell me about it. They shouldn't make us sleep all together in one room. It's too crowded and I've to piss outside because the line for the washroom is too long."
"Do you know what would happen if I was dishonorably discharged from the military?"
Logan raised an eyebrow. "You would be executed. Anyone who betrays the army by committing murder or aiding the enemy is put to death. Sgt. Hunter caught a guy in a computer lab who'd snuck inside of it. The computer lab is only for officials and sergeants. The guy disclosed confidential information about the Dynasty Tower to the Technate army. He emailed the information to the generals of Technate. He was immediately put on trial, found guilty, and executed by the firing squad."
"Who's Sgt. Hunter?"
"Oh, you don't want to mess with him. If you think Sgt. Seth is being tough on us, you'll find out he's a cakewalk compared to Sgt. Hunter. Sgt. Hunter is so mean; he makes the devil look nice-"
Felix's scream ricocheted in the cramped shed. He'd swung the rifle butt, trying to clear a jam, when Logan's finger squeezed the trigger. The shot cracked like thunder. Logan's chin split open—then his skull. Blood spattered the wooden wall in a sick whirl of red and gray. A small circular wound was on his chin, and a large wound on the back of his head. Blood gushed out of his wounds, drenched his clothes. His body slumped against the wall like a lifeless doll.
Felix dropped the gun. It clattered against the wooden floor, echoing in the cramped shed. He staggered back, staring at Logan.
Logan's blue eyes were glassy now, unfocused. The colour had already drained from his face—and from Felix's too. The smell of gunpowder hung heavy in the air.
Sgt. Seth had said the guns were safe to clean. Unloaded.
Felix's breath hitched. His heart pounded like it was trying to escape his ribcage. Without thinking, he bolted out of the shed, his boots scraping the dirt. He couldn't stop shaking.
The main building loomed ahead. He reached it in seconds, his trembling fingers fumbling at the doorknob before he shoved the door open and stumbled into the hallway.
Sgt. Seth, pacing by a window with his phone pressed to his ear, snapped it shut.
"Why the fuck are you here?" Seth barked. "You're supposed to be cleaning the guns."
Felix swallowed hard, his voice breaking. "L-Logan… he's—"
Seth's glare sharpened. "Speak up!"
"Logan is dead!"
For a split second, Seth's expression froze. Then it hardened again. "Bullshit! Stop being lazy and get back to work."
Felix's mind was spinning. Words stumbled out. "No—he's—he's dead. The gun… it went off while he was cleaning it. I swear!"
Seth stared at him for a long moment. Then his voice dropped, cold and flat. "…Show me."
Seth followed Felix to the shed. Seth grabbed the blackened doorknob and pushed it open. He stepped inside, saw the body, and froze.
When he emerged, his face was unreadable. "Goddamn it." He rubbed his eyes with the sleeve of his blue jacket. Medals and patches from past wars glinted faintly in the dim light. "Hunter told me all the guns were unloaded. Clearly, he was wrong."
Felix's hands wouldn't stop trembling.
Seth noticed. "Pull yourself together, Felix. Go eat. Then rest in your bunk for two hours. That's an order."
Felix nodded weakly and dragged himself to the mess hall. He sat at an empty table, staring into a bowl of carrot soup. The bitter, burnt taste turned his stomach. He couldn't stop seeing Logan's bloodied face, couldn't shake the ringing silence after the gunshot. It sat on him like a heavy cloud.
Fox approached quietly. "Hey… you wanna sit with us?"
"No." Felix didn't look up. "I want to be alone."
Fox hesitated. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." The lie slipped out automatically. "Just… leave me alone."
"…Okay." Fox's shoulders slumped as he walked away. Felix knew his friends wanted to hang out with him. But he didn't have the energy in him to socialize with anyone.
After lunch, he returned to his bunkbed. Shut his eyes and fell asleep.
He woke to a harsh voice.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Felix blinked. A man with a red, angry face loomed over him.
"I—I was told I could rest for an hour," Felix stammered.
"Bullshit!" The man's voice was sharp enough to cut steel. "You're supposed to be training with the others! Get your ass out of bed!"
Felix sat up, disoriented. "Sir… who are you?"
"Sgt. Hunter. Move. Now."
Felix's heart skipped. He climbed down from the bunk, following Hunter without a word.
They entered a cold stone room. In the center sat an old wooden bathtub. Felix froze. This doesn't look like a place for a bath…
Hunter's voice snapped like a whip. "Strip."
Felix blinked. "Sir… here? In front of you?"
Hunter's eyes narrowed. "Sixteen! Take off your god damn clothes."
Felix's hands shook as he undressed.
"Get in the tub!" Sgt. Hunter ordered.
Felix entered the tub.
"Arms on the rests."
Before Felix could ask why, Hunter grabbed two ropes from a nearby table. He looped them through iron hoops and tied Felix's arms down tight.
Hunter pulled out his cell phone from his jacket, tapped a message, and smirked. Minutes later, a man entered with a wheelbarrow full of crushed ice.
Felix's stomach dropped.
The man dumped the ice into the tub. Felix yelped as the icy shards covered his body, sinking into his skin like knives. Goosebumps erupted over his pale flesh. The cold wrapped around him like a vice, stealing his breath.
He tried to move. The ropes dug into his wrists.
His teeth clattered uncontrollably. He was shaking so hard it felt like his bones might break. Tears streamed down his face, hot against his freezing skin. People die of hypothermia like this. They die…
Sgt. Hunter's grin contorted like a scary rollercoaster. "Fifty minutes. That's your punishment for being lazy and ignoring the schedule. Learn this lesson well."
Felix couldn't speak. He could only cry silently. Closed his eyes and he tried to shut out the pain but it was like trying to hold back against a charging bull.
Sgt. Seth opened the door and rushed inside.
He yelled, "Hunter! He just watched Logan blow his brains out!"
Hunter didn't even flinch. "And it's his own fault. Only an idiot doesn't check if a gun's loaded. You want to coddle him? He'll die faster in the field. I'm preparing him."
"This is too much—"
"Too much?" Hunter's eyes flashed. "If I wanted to be too much, I'd stab him with needles. This is an ice bath. It's refreshing. He needs to learn pain. Now get out, Seth. I'm handling him."
To Felix's horror, Seth hesitated—then turned and left.
Hunter's twisted smile returned.
When the alarm on Hunter's watch finally beeped, he untied the ropes.
Felix climbed out slowly, his legs numb and unresponsive. He shivered violently as he pulled on his damp clothes. Each movement was agony.
"Good," Hunter said flatly. "Now you're going to join the others. Time for pepper spray."
Felix's voice cracked. "Sir… why?"
"In case the enemy uses it. You'll learn to fight through it. Move."
With his head down, Felix followed Hunter to the track. A line of recruits stood waiting.
Hunter marched down the row, spraying each one in the face. Screams and gasps filled the air.
When it was Felix's turn, the fiery burn hit instantly. His eyes flooded with tears. His lungs felt like they were collapsing.
"Run five klicks!" Hunter barked.
Felix stumbled onto the track. His vision blurred, his head spun. He could barely breathe.
A few steps later, the world tilted sideways. His face smashed against the black tarmac; he dropped like a baby bird out of a nest.
"Felix!" Fox's voice shouted. "He's out cold! He needs the infirmary! Sgt. Hunter yelled, "You got five minutes! A second later and you'll be getting the ice bath as your punishment!"
Fox and Kip rushed over. Fox grabbed Felix under the arms, Kip lifted his legs. They carried him to the infirmary, laying him on a cot.
Someone threw a blanket over him.
Felix didn't feel it.