Chapter 18
We entered the camp, following our two escorts. They led us to an area with about ten soldiers siting in their own stands waiting to check in people. The two soldiers escorting us led us to two lines and told us to check in.
It went quickly, they took the piece of paper given to us, recorded the information on it and we were told to wait until everyone of our group was done.
After everyone finished, we were escorted to the two tents that would be our new home for the time we will be trained. No one talked as everyone could now feel the atmosphere and the coming war looming above us, and they didn't have the courage or presence of mind to talk to one another. When we were led to the tents the soldiers escorting us said, "get yourself situated quickly, your drill sergeant will be here in an hour to inform you about your training schedule while you stay here. I advise you to have everything in order before he comes or you will be in trouble."
After hearing this everyone scrambled to get into one of the two tents but since they were so close together one could see into the other tent when the flaps were open so everyone saw that both tents where identical, with 25 bunk beds in each. I along with Pera chose a bunk bed in the corner of a tent, I took the lower bunk while she took the higher one, then we put our meager belongings into the chests at the front and at the back of the bed.
After fifteen minutes of chaos filled with shouting and discussing who will share a bunk with who everyone was situated and sat at their bed thinking about being here means for them.
Another fifteen minutes passed in silence and was finally broken by Max, as he couldn't stand the silence anymore. So, he started speaking with his bunk mate a thirty year old man named Donald, and as they had the bunk next to ours we were pulled into their conversation, and that was the spark that started everyone speaking. The somber and silent atmosphere was broken as people got to know each other and some even started forming friendships instantly, laughing and shouting together. I smiled at this as I saw another side of human nature that day, a side that is resilient and refuses to bow down to any challenge and remains standing proud.
We lost track of time and thirty minutes later our drill sergeant arrived. He stood between the two tents and shouted, "LINE UP MAGGOTS," the moment everyone heard his words silence fell where a pin drop would be as loud a bomb. Seeing everyone silent and not moving he shouted again, "I SAID LINE UP, OR ARE YOU ALL SO RETARDED THAT YOU CAN' UNDERSTAND SIMPLE WORDS."
We could hear the anger in his voice so everyone ran out of the tents and stood in a line in front of him. That was when I finally saw what he looked like, a tall bald man just shy of two meters tall muscles bulged from him making him a broad as an ox, his expression like someone that has just looked at most disgusting thing imaginable and is forced to clean it up. In his dark eyes I saw a hint of killing intent and bloodlust as he looked at us, as if he couldn't wait to break us in the most sadistic mays possible. Beside him, was a woman -just as muscular but she still looked lean and beautiful- that seemed to be the assistant drill sergeant, while she didn't look as fierce as the drill sergeant, I knew that if someone touched her or defied her they would end up in a puddle of their own blood in the blink of an eye. So I was more afraid of her than him, as I knew that the drill sergeant is here to train us, but that women I felt she was there because she enjoyed watching people suffer.
He looked at us, at the people that he would be training and said in a normal voice no longer shouting but just as intense, "from now on I expect my orders to be completed immediately. If I have to repeat any order you will be punished severely. Do you understand?"
Seeing us silent he asked again even more intensely, "DO YOU UNDERSTAND." We all answered shouting, "Yes Sir."
"Good, from now on you will only refer to me as Sir, or Drill sergeant, if I hear anyone addressing me in any other manner they will be punished. Beside me you will see the assistant drill sergeant, you will refer to her as Ma'am or Drill sergeant. Today I will not teach you anything, today is the first and last free day you will have until the war ends or you end up dead. I will let the assistant drill sergeant take it from here. I EXPECT you all to be lined up here at Five in the morning no matter the circumstance is that understood." All our voices answered as loudly as we could, "Yes, Sir."
With that he nodded satisfied and turned around and left for the day and left us with the assistant drill sergeant who in my opinion would be worse than him and I could see it in her eyes. She was waiting for someone to disregard her since she was women let them know their place and show her dominance, and just as the drill sergeant left the area, she got her wish.
A disgusting lecherous man stepped forward with the most disgusting look in his face that I had ever seen and started speaking like an idiot not even bothering to hide the intent behind his words, "what is beauty like you doing here, shouldn't you be resting in your house. Now the that big bald demon has left let this big broth…" he didn't get to finish as she kicked him in the groin and he fell to the ground vomiting everything in his stomach, no one stepped forward to help him as he had brought it on himself, and I am sure we all shared the same though rebuking him mentally with something along the lines of, "what an idiot, does he not have a brain to think with or was he dropped on his head as a child."
Seeing that no one stepped forward to help him she spoke for the first time and her tone was just as intense if not more intense than the drill sergeant, looking at the man writhing on the ground with disgust she said, "for insubordination and disrespecting a senior officer, as well as attempted assault you will be punished with 30 lashes to be administered today at sundown." She then looked each of us in the eyes and I guess she was satisfied by what she saw as she smiled a little making her look even more demonic before continuing, "I will tell you the schedule for the next two months. For the first two weeks we will be training alone, we will start at five int morning and end at nine in the night, we will build up your individual strengths as much as possible for these two weeks, if you faint do not expect anyone to care for you, you will be left were you fainted, and when you wake up you will continue the rest of the exercise before being allowed to do anything else, is that understood."
"Yes Ma'am," we all shouted afraid to bring this demon down on us. She continued, "after the two weeks are over, we will start training with ten other camps, so a total of a thousand people together in minor battle formations and weapons training. Then for three weeks the entire camp of ten thousand will train together in major battle formations. And the last week we march for war. Is that understood?"
"Yes Ma'am," we rushed to shout as we grew even more afraid of her seeing the exactment in her eyes after she mentioned the upcoming war, while I could feel her bloodlust radiating from her, making her smell as if she had bathed in blood and didn't bother to wash it out, but instead she wore the blood in pride.
She then continued, "now as the drill sergeant said, today is your one and only free day. But, before you are allowed to rest go to the quarter master and get you supplies, also you should learn when the canteen is open as outside of these hours where it is open no food is allowed in this camp."
She turned and left without waiting for an answer and just as she was outside of eyesight, we heard her calling something and then two soldiers came and took the man lying on the ground away to receive his punishment for his actions.
After everyone calmed down, we started separating into smaller groups and getting ready to head to the quarter master's office to get our supplies as suggested. In the end Max and Donald, joined us as we headed to the get our supplies, which no one knew what they would be, we spent a little while guessing what they could be but we figured that we were about to know so it is better not to waste time on that.
So, we began introducing ourselves, and in turned out that Donald has a wife and two children, with the third on the way, so when he was conscripted, he was conflicted, as the with the compensation they would be able to live without worrying about what would happen to their family, on the other hand if he died his wife would be forced to start working again to take care of the family and he wouldn't be able to see his family again. Then, Max shared his story then Pera and I, and when they learned that I chose to sign up by myself they looked at me as if I was crazy, but I didn't care about they thought about me. All I cared about is that Pera stays safe and survives this ordeal.
We finally reached the quarter master's office, and we waited in line for about an hour before our turn was up. The supplies turned out to be three pairs of military uniforms, one pair of black boots, a blanket and a rock solid pillow for our beds and that is it. We also learned the time table of the canteen, it would open up from 10 am to 11 am for morning breakfast, then from 5 pm to 6 pm for lunch at an absurdly late hour in my opinion and them from 10pm to 11 pm for dinner.
We went back to the tent and put on a military outfit before storing the extra's in the chest and heading out to explore the camp. An hour before the canteen opened, we were in the center of the camp as with everyone else was we were all called there. There we saw a gallows of sorts, and ten people were then lead up to it and made to kneel on the wooden floor.
Then a soldier announced that all punishments will be help at this time everyday for as long as there was anyone breaking the rules. Then the soldier moved to the first person kneeling there and then announced his crimes and with the whip he held lashed him as many times as the crimes he committed cost. This continued for an hour until the canteen was open.
Everyone rushed to eat as no one had eaten since the morning, and even though most didn't have an appetite after we the punishments we saw, they forced themselves to eat as they knew that tomorrow will be demanding to say the least and they would rather have some energy to spare.
After the canteen closed everyone returned to their tent and tried to sleep. I couldn't sleep because of the upcoming days and the fact that the pillow that we had was no better than a piece of rock. Then I remembered that I stashed some of our pillows inside my portals, and so I opened a portal and took a pillow, then I opened a portal on the bunk above me and let a pillow fall on top of Pera, I heard her murmured thanks before closing my eyes determined to sleep before the events that tomorrow will bring us.