Children of War - Chapter 3, A Whole New World
Chapter 3 - A Whole New World
Jeffrey's POV
Charlie quickly taught me the basics of how to stand at attention, because we immediately had to form up with our companies. I was not very educated on the whole "military" thing, but from what my father had said in previous years, he hated the military. He said all it did was encourage violence and war, and from what I'm about to experience, I would imagine he is right.
Once everything was in order and the whole compound was rounded up, it fell silent as one of their leaders had stood at the head of us all. In front of all of us was an orca, whose uniform was well presented, it had tons of medals on it and it looked very pretty, making my uniform look like a dirty rag.
He stood there in front of us and spoke: "we are only a month away from war. Georgia has been threatening us for many days now, and the Florida government has called upon all of you to save it. You will protect this country with your life!" The orca went on and on about how important it was for us to be victorious on the battlefield. I was only fourteen years old, and Tom was only Eleven, we were pulled from our homes to fight!? I would die within minutes in a warzone and Tom would die almost immediately! It's like they're using us as furry shields to "protect" this country. Everyone around me looked no older than sixteen, with the exception of the officers.
After the long speech about victory, we were disbanded. Charlie had also informed me that it was a training day, from Monday to Sunday, and no days off for new recruits. We walked around while I talked to him.
"When am I ever going to get any rest?" I asked.
"Nine hours a night, and take advantage of it" he advised. "My training is already complete, so I get a day off on Sunday."
"Well, when you're not training, what do you do?" I ask.
"Simple labour, like refilling the water, preparing the rations and reloading any training guns, we don't even get to train the recruits, that's left to the sergeats" he replied.
"So... You're a private, what does that make me?" I question.
"A recruit" he stated. "You have no rank, you are just a recruit, and you will be for the next three to four weeks while you train every day, all day. Once they see you as fit for fighting, they will promote you to private, but believe me, it's not all as exiting as it sounds."
"Well, what about after private? Does it get any better?" I asked.
We were immediately interrupted by a snow white vixen "excuse me recruit, but you need to be at your training session. If you don't know where you are going, you'll need to see the compound office."
Charlie was sent off to his duties and I went off to the office as instructed. Once inside, I got all the information I needed for the day, including a schedule of how each week goes, day-by-day, hour-by-hour.
The schedule reads as follows:
Monday to Sunday:
06:00 - 06:15 Wake up and Morning Run
06:15 - 06:45 Breakfast
06:45 - 12:30 PT
12:30 - 13:00 Lunch
13:00 - 18:00 Martial Arts and Weapons Training
18:00 - 18:30 Dinner
18:30 - 19:30 Rest Time
19:30 - 19:45 Shower Time
19:45 - 21:00 Rest Time
21:00 - 06:00 Lights out
Repeat next day
It seemes like weekends are non-existent for me, everyday is a work day... For the next three months! I never wanted any of this, I'm a kid for gosh sake! I know absolutely nothing about war, and want nothing to do with it! But I'm more worried about Tom, I can't picture him fighting in a war, he wouldn't last a day! The thoughts horrified me.
After reading through my schedule I was instructed to go to the training area for PT. I had no idea what that was, but I was going to find out soon enough. I walked through the compound and looked for the training area, there was no fancy name for it, and no signs to guide me anywhere. The compound was fairly sized, in some respects it felt small, but I probably haven't seen it all yet.
I approached the training area where all the other recruits were standing in a line, listening as the instructor spoke to them.
I approaced them.
"You must be one of the new ones here. Lost already, eh? Well just stand right here nice and straight and look at me when I speak" A tall handsome skunk spoke. He spoke very respectfully, and not like some of those other grumpy soldiers.
"First, we will begin with the basics; PT, or physical training. We will be doing this for the next hour, and since some of you are new here, we'll go easy on you for the first day" he said.
We were then assembled into groups where we would train our bodies to endure prolonged physical pain. We would do anything from push-ups to running the perimeter of the compound. An hour felt like a day, and I felt so relieved when the instructor called a halt to the training for lunch. Thanks to all the yardwork and farmwork that I have done with my family on the farm, I was not completely out of shape, although I was still exhausted by the end of PT. I find it hard to imagine that I would be doing this for the next few months, I might break... I don't think I can do it.
I was able to sit down with my brother Tom, my roomate Charlie and my other roomates I have not met yet.
"This is Jack and Angela, they sleep in the same tent as we do" Charlie intruduced me to an otter and a vixen.
"Hi" I quietly gestured. I was still outside of my comfort zone being here but I had to get comfortable if I was staying for a while.
They both nodded back, and our table was called up to get food. To prevent everyone from rushing for the food immediately, they called out each row of tables at a time, so the cooking crew wouldn't get overwhelmed.
I could tell that the food was cheap, there wasn't much of a variety to chose from, and it didn't look apetizing in the slightest. At least I knew I wouldn't starve, but I'd rather dinner with my parents, they always made the soup. My family did so much with so little.
After our lunch period, they gave us about 15 minutes to rest and have the instructors prepare for their lessons. Tom and I hung out with the other furs that were in my tent, and all we did was talk and get to know one another. Apparently, we came from all over Florida, Charlie was from Tampa, Jack was from Jacksonville and Angela came from a small farm close to where Tom and I lived.
After conversing for a while with my new friends, we were interrupted by an alligator, who stood very tall, about seven feet or so, and was well built. "It's time for your next lessons lady and gentlemen."
Using the schedule given to me, I was able to navigate my way around the compound to my next training area. This time I would be learning about martial arts, which I found to be somewhat interesting. I also realized that I would learn how to use weapons, but I didn't find that part all that appealing.
When I arrived at where I had to go, I saw the same alligator that told me it was time get to my next lesson... And surely enough there he was.
"My name is Zander Xigali, I am your training officer for the art of self defense. As you all know, we can't just teach you how to fire weapons because you would be useless if you ran out of ammunition or lost your gun in the middle of battle" the gator spoke.
After a five minute lecture on how important self defense was, we finally got into some real action. First we were taught the basics of blocking and attacking, then we got a little more intimate. The alligator would call up volunteers to fight each other, and in some cases, the fighting was bloody.
Eventually it was my turn to fight against someone. The gator tried to have two furs roughly the same size duel to keep it fair. I was up against a red fox, who looked slightly stronger than me, but I liked to think that I was smarter than him.
"...And... Fight!" Called the gator.
I didn't know how to fight, but I was about to learn. From my knowledge of video games and movies (which isn't all that accurate) I held out my fists and stared down my target. The fox did the same. He approached my first, swining his fist around clipping me in the face. It hurt like hell, and I stumbed to the side.
After regaining my focus I decided to hit back, but I only managed to punch him in the arm. I could tell it hurt him, since hissed out in pain. Then he charged after me and kicked me in the chest, where I then immediately fell on my back.
"Come on! Get up! Fight back!" Called the gator. "In battle you would be dead!"
I would already be dead in battle anyways, so why does it matter?
Right when I get up the fox punches me in the stomach and quickly elbows my in the face. Once again I fell right over. I think this guy already knows how to fight.
I got up feeling really dizzy. I was almost about to call it quits and stop fighting, but I made one last desperate move to win the duel; I grabbed him by the arm and twisted it before he could stop me. He instantly fell to the ground and hissed in pain. Damn, I didn't know I was that good.
The gator blew his whistle indicating to stop. He then helped the fox up. I had nothing against the guy, and I don't think he had anything against me.
"Uhh, you're bleeding" someone said to me.
I felt my nose with my paw and saw that there was blood on it. "Yeah, I am bleeding" I reply.
"Let's get you two to the medical ward" said the gator as he patted me on the back, "you did good today."
I was escorted to the medical ward by one of the officers here in the compound, alongside with the fox I fought. He showed no signs of hatred towards me, I guess he understood that it was simply a duel, and did not take it personally. I didn't take it personally either.
The treatment area where I would be looked after was quite small. There was no more than eight beds in the entire ward. I was an easy patient to look after, all the doctor had to do was patch up my nose. As for the fox here, they had to relocate his arm and put it in a cast.
"Ahhh!" He hissed.
I looked over at him and spoke "hey, are you alright?"
"I could be better, but thanks" he replied.
"I didn't know I could do something like that" I said.
"Well, we all have our hidden talents" he replied again.
"My name is Jeffrey, but you can call me Jeff" I introduced myself.
"Good to meet you Jeff, I'm Quinn" the fox introduced himself.
"Looks like that arm is going to hold you back for a while" I said while looking at it.
He glanced at his broken arm and chuckled, "I'll be tough, after all, that's why we're here."