The next few days passed; Felix coughed so much he could barely talk. He popped a dry cough lozenge, every couple of hours. The cold medicine tasted horrible but eased his sore throat.
In bed, he watched government-approved war films about why he needed to fight. Few channels were available, on the flat screen television that hung on the wall. Felix was used to watching the same movie repeatedly.
The curtains parted. Felix paused the film with the remote control on his bedside table. He turned head, to look at the doctor in the white lab coat.
The doctor smiled. "I'm discharging you. You're well enough to train with your comrades. St. Hunter is expecting you at the target range."
"My throat still hurts," Felix croaked.
The doctor shook his head. "You can't stay in bed. It's been a week and you've missed a lot of training. You've target practice."
Felix sighed. Preferring boring movies than drills. The doctor left and Felix got dressed. He left the infirmary, head down, dreading Sgt. Hunter's harsh training.
Outside, dummies were tied on wooden poles. Five hundred men stood watching Sgt. Hunter.
Fox ran to Felix on the track, beaming. "Felix! How're you?"
Felix's heart warmed; it was good to see his friends again.
"I could be better. I wish I could go home." Felix shrugged.
"We've missed you. I'm happy, you're back with us-"
"Shut up, sixteen and one hundred." Sgt. Hunter yelled. "No more blabbering. You're here to train."
Sgt. Hunter gave a speech about gun safety before target practice. "Be careful with the guns, we'd an idiot accidentally shoot himself with a rifle."
Felix cringed; he wanted to give Sgt. Hunter a good kick to his balls. How dare he called Logan an idiot. Felix should make him wash his mouth out with soap.
They went to the barrels on the grass for their air rifles. Felix stood beside Kip, behind a red ribbon for safety. Kip shot at a dummy
with his rifle. The dummy wore a Technations soldier's uniform and an ugly mask. It was tied up to a pole. A bullet drove into the dummy's head and chunks of plastic flew everywhere.
Kip turned to Felix. "Did you see that? Perfect shot!"
Felix dropped his rifle, his hands trembling thinking of Logan's corpse slumped over on the bench.
Fox approached Felix. "Are you okay?" He gently squeezed Felix's shoulder.
Felix shook his head. "No." Tears trickled down onto his red cheeks. Sgt Hunter stormed over.
Sgt. Hunter screamed, "Take your hands off him." Reluctantly, Fox did as Sgt. Hunter ordered and took a step back. Fox's blue eyes were full of concern.
Sgt. Hunter raised his hand high in the air and slapped Felix across the face, quick as a finger snap.
"Grow up. You're a yellow belly."
Felix's face turned red. "No, I don't piss on myself."
Sgt. Hunter slapped him. "What the fuck did you just say to me?" Felix stepped backwards, trembling. He shook his head, "Nothing."
Felix stroked his sore cheek from the hard slap. He picked up the gun and held it awkwardly. He missed hitting the dummy by a long shot. They spent hours shooting at the dummies, Felix's aim didn't approve. He was going to be a dead man on the battlefield because he couldn't shoot a gun to save his life. His chances of surviving war were about as good as a dinosaur surviving an asteroid impact.
Sgt. Seth yelled, "It's time for lunch."
Felix went to the cafeteria and sat with Kip, Nova and Fox.
Nova said, "Due to the rising cost of fuel, Lolita has changed the age limit rules for the conscription."
Felix beamed inside like a rainbow. "Really?"
Kip nodded. "Yes. If you're twenty-two and older you're no longer required to go to war."
Felix slammed his fist on the table. Nova's eyes widened. "Damn it! That means I'm still required to go to fucking war! I want to go home."
Nova suggested, "Maybe you can lie about your age?"
Kip shook his head. "That won't work. They already, know how old Felix is from his government ID. I wish Lolita wasn't a penny pincher when it comes to war. We're stuck with crappy guns when we're fighting against Technations."
"What? So, we're screwed when we're out there. Unless we're given better guns to protect ourselves! I don't think I've a chance of surviving in the war, not when I'm slow at running." Felix's mouth dropped.
"Felix if you work harder at the training you'll improve." Fawn chipped in.
Sgt. Seth yelled, "Lunch is over! We're done doing target practice. Now it's time to go to the track."
They left the cafeteria and marched for half-hour before they reached the tracked.
Sgt. Hunter instructed, "Everyone runs with a backpack."
They headed to the pile of backpacks on the grass. Felix asked Fox, "What's in the bag?"
Fox replied, "Rocks. They add more daily to make us stronger."
Felix tried to lift the bag and dropped it on the dirt. His arms hurt because the bag was heavy.
Kip offered "I can help you." He put the backpack on Felix. Felix's back ached because the backpack weighed two hundred pounds. As usual, Felix lagged behind.
Sgt. Seth yelled, "Sixteen! Move your ass!"
Felix groaned, but ran faster, tripping on a rock and bumping into the man ahead.
"OWWH!" The man screamed, face-planting. Felix face crashed into the man's backpack and he yelped.
"I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Felix quickly stood.
"Damn you. My arm is killing me." He'd rolled up his sleeve revealing a red mark on his forearm.
Sgt. Hunter approached him and sneered, "Forty-five get your ass off the ground. And start running!"
Felix interrupted, "We should take him to the infirmary-"
"Shut up! Turn around and start running! You're an embarrassment to the army!"
Felix ran until death felt like an inch away.
Sgt. Hunter blew his whistle. "That's enough. Everyone go to the rain lockers, you all stink like pigs."
The shower was quick. Felix didn't have enough time or soap to scrub all the dirt off his body.