FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 7

"Wake up Alex." Will nudged the fox to get his attention. His eyes opened slowly in the darkness, the glaring light of an alarm clock across the room blurred his vision.

"Already?" he muttered.

"Yeah, I thought you were up earlier but you must have fallen back asleep. If you're going to shower you better get up we're leaving soon." Alex rolled onto his stomach and grudgingly lifted himself up. Will left the room, leaving Alex to gather his things and head to the bathroom. A nice warm shower woke up him and he put on some jeans and a plain shirt. He turned his head to look at his tail in the mirror and recalled how none of the furs in uniform he'd seen had tails. Alex stared in the mirror for a little longer thinking about it until there was a knock on the bathroom door.

"You know you won't have this long to shower tomorrow." Will's voice was muffled by the door.

"Yeah," Alex called back, "Just enjoying it while I can."

"Hurry up then, almost out of time." Will said. Alex finished up and put his old clothes in his bag. When he opened the door Will was waiting by the front of the living room.

"Where's your roommate?"

"He's outside warming up the car, you ready?" Alex nodded and Will opened the door for him, he headed over to the running car and let himself into the backseat, Will locked up and came down to the front seat.

"Thanks for taking us bud."

"Yeah yeah, you're still going to send me money for rent right?" Will answered but Alex had tuned the two out, instead choosing to focus his attention out the window. He peered back over the center console to see it was only three in the morning. He couldn't remember the last time he woke up this early. The drive wasn't that far to the station from their house and they arrived quickly. Alex took a deep breath when the car pulled up to the station, the building was well lit and active, like the sun had never set the previous day.

"Alright I'll see you around Dan." Will shook his friend's paw and opened his door. Alex wasn't expecting a goodbye from Will's friend but for some reason he still waited a second before getting out. The car pulled away and the two looked at each other before walking up to join a line that was forming.

"Hey, what's this line for?" Will asked a cougar in front of him.

"No idea, everyone just started lining up." Alex shrugged and they stood with the others, waiting for something to happen. A bus showed up as the morning dragged on and parked on the curb. There must have been 30 or so others there waiting when the familiar dane who opened the doors two days ago emerged. He had an assistant next to him holding a stack of lightly colored folders.

"Listen up!" he started, his voice echoing in the cool morning air. "When I call your name come up and get your paperwork." the name calling began and Alex quickly figured out that the names were alphabetical.

"Price!" Will stepped out and walked forward to collect his. Soon after he heard his last name called and Alex went forward to grab the thin folder with his information on it.

"Don't open the folder, don't lose the folder. The bus leaves in 20 minutes so line up over there and get on it. He pointed towards the bus and clapped his paws together. "Come on, wake up and get moving. Hey, you!" he stopped, pointing at someone farther up the line out of view.

"Yes sir?" a voice answered.

"Don't call me sir, I work for a living. Why do you have so many bags?" there was silence. Nobody moved while the Dane approached the line. Alex heard some ruffling and then some bags flew back towards the building.

"Did anyone tell you to pack for a vacation? Why'd you bring so much shit recruit?"

"I was told to bring spares."

"Who are you talking to you?

"I was told to bring spares, Sergeant.

"By who?

"My recruiter, Sergeant.

"I've got some news for you kid, your recruiter lied." the intimidating dane stepped back and kicked the poor fellows bags across the concrete. No one objected and some other uniformed furs emerged from the building to rush them all on to the bus. Alex stayed behind Will as the line was ushered in the right direction. Most avoided eye contact and Alex did the same, trying his best to avoid trouble. Ahead the problematic shepherd and his big friend could be seen getting on the bus. Alex took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as he got on the bus, climbing the steep stairs and walking towards the back with the rest. The back was loaded first so Alex avoided an unpleasant walk past the two troublemakers. There was some light chatter as everyone got settled, Will turned to look at Alex in the seat next to him puckered his lips to kiss the air at the fox.

"No." Alex shook his head.

"This is it huh? Are you ready?" Will asked after he finished chuckling at his friend's response. Alex shrugged, he was nervous of course. Everything past this point was unknown territory. A voice bellowed through the bus, causing Alex and Will to look upwards to the front of the bus. The dane barely fit in the entrance, having to stand on the lower entry stairs.

"Alright this bus will take you to Fort Himell where you will be processed and sent to your units. It's a long drive so just sit down and shut up. There better not be any bullshit, if there is the driver's gonna tell the receiving NCO and you will have an unpleasant first day. Any questions?" a few paws went up immediately.

"Can we listen to music on the way Sergeant?"

"I don't care, enjoy it while you can I guess."

"What's an NCO?" another asked, getting a few snickers from the back of the bus.

"Non Commissioned Officer, just one of the many abbreviations you're going to learn." the bus driver leaned over as the dane finished talking, whispering something to him. They nodded to each other and the towering canine slapped the metal bar by the entrance.

"Welcome to the Army folks." he stepped off the bus and the doors squealed their way closed. The bus started moving and Alex resigned himself to gazing out of the window as the trip commenced. The sun rose as it would on any other day as the bus boarded a highway heading North. Alex could see the hometown he had never left fading in the distance until there was nothing but an endless road in either direction. The bus stayed quiet, Alex could feel his nerves deep in his gut and was quite alright with the silence.

Will had his head leaned back against the seat next to him, it seemed he was keen to sleep his way through this trip. The seats were comfortable enough and allowed a small recline. Alex decided to join his companion in catching up on some sleep. After all the only thing anyone of them could do at this point was wait.

When Alex next woke the bus was jerking its way to a halt. The sun was high in the sky and the scenery had totally changed. Surrounded the road on both sides were forests of a deep green you wouldn't think possible. They went on endlessly except for the occasional rest stop or hotel carved into them. The bus moved slowly again and Alex could see the reason for the stop. They passed through a military checkpoint, a gate, then by a small guard post. Uniformed furs were standing around with their rifles, some smoking and others talking.

The bus kept moving and weaving its way through the base. By now everyone had noticed where they were and everyone's eyes were glued to the windows. A large sign came up as they neared a facility which read, "Welcome to Fort Himell". There was a counter underneath it with the number five, it read," Day's since last incident."

The bus eventually came to its final stop beside a series of buildings, each with shiny rock lawns in front them. The front doors opened and everyone froze with anticipation. Out of the window Alex could see a pair of White wolves walking alongside the bus and looking up at its passengers. One of them met eyes with Alex and immediately his muzzle scrunched up, he turned his muzzle away but kept his look of disgust. They vanished from view and one of them shortly after climbed the stairway into the bus. The driver handed the white wolf a clipboard and he reviewed it for a moment before barking loudly.

"Listen up recruits. I want everyone off the bus and lined up on those rocks right over there," he pointed off to the right side of the bus, "I want a formation with four rows, keep your crap with you and have your folders out." everyone stayed seating looking at him for directions. The wolf looked over the recruits and an angry look formed on his face.

"Did I stutter? Get off the bus! What, do I need to hold your paws?" he left and there was a frantic rush to stand and exit. Alex got up and will blocked the furs from farther back until he could get in the isle. They made their way forward until at the stairs someone a few furs up missed a step and fell off the bus. Alex couldn't see the fall but heard it, a smack followed by angry barking from outside.

"Damn! Haven't you ever used stairs before recruit?" laughing followed as the line started moving again. Once off Alex made his way to the others that were lining up. The rocks shifted a little under his weight but Alex stood still and waited, trying to stand up straight like the rest. His head was trained forward and he lost track of Will. The rocks were white and reflected the sun, making it difficult to see and forcing most of them to squint. Alex could barely make out the white wolf as he started talking.

"It's is currently 15:53, we're going to feed you and then start the processing. Let's get a headcount first, sound off." the wolf pointed at the first fur in the first row." Silence followed, the wolf stared at him until he got annoyed. "Count you idiot." Still nothing so the wolf counted for him. "One."

"One." the fur repeated back, the wolf's paw then pointed at the second.

"Two...?"

"Good boy, see how easy this is?" he said in a perky, condescending tone. The rest kept counting until Alex's turn came and went, when they were all done the wolf tapped his clipboard and dismissed everyone.

"Chow hall's that way, and walk over there in a line don't just gaggle up and block the entrance." The wolf went off somewhere and Alex got in line with everyone else and it started moving towards the hall.

"They aren't very strict at all." someone whispered up ahead. Once someone had spoken though everyone started whispering among themselves through the chow hall. It took about fifteen minutes for everyone to finish, the white wolf came in and shouted for get everyone out so there wasn't much of a choice. Once formed up in their lines again outside the wolf marched them to a large room lined with tables and chairs all facing forward like a classroom. Fur's entered from both sides of the room and Alex found a seat near the middle. He looked around and saw Will a few rows up. There was a bunch of material in front of each fur, pamphlets, booklets, papers and pens. Alex sifted through it, finding mostly informational material.

"Hey what's all this crap?" someone whispered. Alex turned to see a raccoon a little bigger than him looking at both of their stuff.

"I don't know." Alex replied as the raccoon finished looking, seeming satisfied that they both had the same materials.

"What's your name?" the raccoon asked.

"Alex, yours?"

"Alex what? Is that your last name? You know we can only use last names right? I read it online." That's reassuring.

"Alex Rocker, you?"

"I'm Finley." the raccoon stuck his paw out above the table and Alex took it to give it a quick shake. Alex figured it was better to make friends than enemies. A quick look around the room and Alex figured him and Finley were probably the smallest ones. The room was bigger and fuller than it had first looked too, there must have been busloads of furs that came in before theirs.

"Looks to me like we might be the oddballs here." Alex mentioned.

"Tell me about it, the recruiting station was bad enough."

"Do you think we should stick together?" Alex felt a little de-ja-vu as he made the same offer to Finley that Will has made last night.

"Sure, us little guys have to stick together right?" Alex nodded as a crumpled up a piece of paper landed in-between the two.

"What the-?" Finley picked it up and unfolded it without thinking. Alex turned his head to see the obnoxious shepherd from the recruiting station laughing.

"It's not for you idiot." he called across the room, garnering the attention of a few sitting nearby. Finley looked up and over his shoulder, he handed the note to Alex and looked back to him.

"I think it's for you." he said quietly. Alex took the paper and saw the word "fag" written across it. He crumpled it back up and stood without acknowledging his antagonists. Tossing it into a trash can and returning to his seat without bothering to look at them again. There was a projector screen at the front of the room that lit up as things started getting underway. A lion emerged through one of the front doors with a small group following him. He stood tall and looked over the room before speaking.

"Good afternoon, I am Brigadier General Hunt, I am the commander of all training at Fort Himell." the lights dimmed as he kept talking and a slideshow took over as the center of attention. The general spoke for a few minutes and then left to be replaced by a subordinate who finished the presentation. The lights came back on and a familiar white wolf finished with some words of encouragement. The one message that was drilled throughout the meeting was that the team was bigger than the individual.

"You're only here for eight weeks, just keep your heads down and get through it." Wasn't that comforting? Alex stood with the rest of the room and they were ushered out and marched down to a set of interconnected buildings. They looked ancient, like they had been built 70 years ago and the only maintenance received over the years was a paint job.

"These are a temporary barracks while you in process, put your stuff on a bunk and be ready to move again." the recruits were being supervised by NCO's but none of them had the special hats Alex had seen or heard of in movies. So far everyone guiding them around seemed to be regular soldiers. He wasn't kidding either, Alex put his backpack on one of the tiny bunks and sat down just as the intercom instructed everyone back out.

It was dark outside by now but there was still plenty that needed to be done. The rest of the night was spent mostly waiting in lines as the hundred plus recruits had to be issued everything from fatigues, workout clothes and miscellaneous items. The strangest thing by far was the immunizations. To save time reviewing everyone's medical records they just lined everyone up and gave them all shots in each arm. Supposedly the immunizations were all for basic things but there was no way to know for sure.

Alex's arm was numb by the end of the night, having been stuck with needles multiple times. Most everyone was rubbing their arm though so at least he wasn't alone. He had always hated getting shots but there wasn't much he could do about it but close his eyes and look away. Throughout the night he got a crash course it doing things he normally wouldn't. Changing in front of strangers, showering with them and surprisingly even sleeping standing up. Tails also had to be tucked in so Alex had his tail tucked down his pants leg which was a strange, constricting feeling. Tails either had to be tucked down or wrapped around your body and hidden. Ear's couldn't show either, they had to be tucked into the military cap everyone was wearing.

The process went early into the morning before everyone was sent back to their temporary barracks. There wasn't even idle chatter anymore, no one had the energy to make jokes or chit chat after standing in lines for hours into the early morning. Alex crashed face down onto his bed, still dressed in his new fatigues. He fell asleep quickly expecting to get a few hours' sleep but would only get one or two.

The lights came on and there was shouting to get everyone up. Still tired and with sagging eyes Alex shuffled outside with everyone else to start the next day. He almost fell asleep standing in the formation but managed to keep his eyes open, it was a while before anyone gave any instructions. There wasn't near as much of a rush for the NCO's who were walking back and forth between buildings and yelling at anyone who moved too much.

"Listen up! We've done four headcounts and we're missing someone. Has anyone seen Private Finley?" Alex's ears perked up, he didn't remember the last time he saw the raccoon.

"No one? Well we aren't going anywhere until we find him. It's only been one day and someone's already run off?" the unknown NCO didn't seem to expect an answer, his face was just that of frustration. He turned when a door to the barracks swung open and Finley came running out towards the group. His bootlaces weren't even tied.

"Private!" the NCO yelled, his voice would have woken the dead, "Where the hell were you?" he yelled again.

"I slept in Sergeant." the raccoon snapped to attention, awaiting some sort of punishment.

"Sleeping? In the same barracks with everyone else?"

"Yes Sergeant."

"No one woke you up?" the NCO turned from Finley and walked across the front of the formation, "did any of you listen during the briefing yesterday? You are part of a team now, every single one of you left Private Finley behind. We don't leave our comrades behind." there was an awkward silence as he paced back and forth angrily. "Paws down!" he yelled. Everyone groaned. It had only taken a day but the term was already synonymous with punishment, everyone in formation was soon on the ground in the front leaning rest.

"Not you Finley, you didn't let any teammates down this morning." the NCO and Finley stood by as the group started to do push ups to a quick paced cadence. Alex was annoyed but took the punishment as a chance to think about why they were being punished. It wasn't the first time the group was punished for one's mistake. The lesson Alex pieced together from the group punishments was that everyone was expected to work together as a team. They were expected to help each other out though many of his fellow recruits hadn't quite figured that out yet. He hadn't noticed Finley wasn't present though so he was just as much to blame as everyone else.

"On your feet!" Thank God Alex thought as he stood, his arms a little shaky. The group was marched around to breakfast and then to finish the lengthy intake process. They were taken into the barber's one at a time and shaved down, leaving less than an inch of fur on everyone. From there they were given dog tags and the rest of anything they needed. The day was almost over before they knew it. After dinner and being marched back to their barracks everyone made sure they had everything they were issued. Along with what they brought with them the recruits had a large duffel bag full of clothes and other items to take with them. Alex was about to lay down when he heard some raised voices.

"How about you get up when everyone else gets up?"

"I'm sorry I-" it was Finley's voice. Alex came around the corner to see a familiar shepherd push Finley. The name tag on his chest was visible and for the first time Alex learned the jerks name.

"Vernon, cut it out." the shepherd stopped his pushing and looked up, surprised to see anyone standing up for guy who had gotten them all in trouble.

"You got a problem fox?" Vernon stepped closer to Alex who was now next to Finley. Saying fox out loud must have caught Will's attention because he soon showed up behind Alex for support.

"No problems, we all make mistakes don't we?" Vernon didn't reply immediately, that was a hard statement to refute. Others were watching, probably expecting some kind of confrontation.

"Don't expect me or anyone else to pick up your slack."

"Calm down pup, if doing some push-ups bothers you now I've got some bad news for you." Will said calmly, his arms folded across his chest. The stallion who was friends with Vernon stepped forward, his own arms folded in an attempt to counter Will's pose. Alex could see his name tag just above his arms though.

"You're going to push him around too Steele?" the stallion didn't reply. Vernon muttered something as he turned away, not as interested in confrontation without the onlookers edging him on. Polk turned away too and everyone went back to their business.

"Thanks for looking out for me Rocky, I'm sorry I slept in."

"It's Rocker, and don't worry about it. I will probably make a mistake one of these days and you'll have my back right?"

"Of course!" Alex turned from the raccoon and patted Will's still folded arms.

"Thanks for the backup, you can relax now you know."

"I don't like that guy."

"It's only eight weeks remember? Just get through it." Alex gave his friend a soft, comforting look which seemed to calm him down. Will went back to his bunk and Alex did the same, settling on top of the bed and falling asleep as soon as the room's lights went out.

Morning came with the same unpleasant early wake up. A loud voice bellowed through the large open barracks, telling everyone to grab their things and get into formation outside. Alex lugged his big duffel bag onto his back and carried his backpack in his paws down to the waiting area. He looked around briefly and relaxed after seeing Finley standing nearby and ready to go. He saw Will approaching too and called out to him, catching the attention of one of the NCO's who made his way over.

"Who's Will?" the Sergeant asked. Alex pointed over at the wolf who was walking closer.

"That's not Will, that's Private Price, you see his name on his chest there?" The sergeant leaned down to Alex's level and tapped the name tag on his chest. "And your name is what?"

"Private Rocker...?" he said sheepishly.

"Wow I am impressed kid, here I was thinking all foxes were stupid." the sergeant chuckled to himself as he walked off to give someone else a hard time.

"What was that all about?" Price asked.

"He was just giving me some advice." Rocker replied. Price took a spot next to the fox and they waited for everyone to be out. Once everyone was ready the white wolf that had ushered them off the bus on the first day started putting everyone back on buses. Price and Rocker ended up on the same bus but the large group got split between a few buses. These weren't the coach kind though, they were like old rickety school buses, the kind that were built with uncomfortable and now torn up bench seats. The sun was up now, the process of loading everyone must have taken a while because they were just sitting as it got hotter and hotter in the metal box.

The buses finally started moving and Rocker tried to get comfortable in his seat. They had loaded the buses with their duffel bags on their backs so everyone was sitting on the edge of the benches. Rocker wasn't very cramped because he was smaller but Price was practically wedged in place between the seats. He grumbled something but didn't appear too bothered. This trip was much shorter, ending at a new set of buildings that were a few stories high. They were odd though, the first floor was open, just paved concrete with brick pillars placed symmetrically to support the floors above. Around the buildings were fields with high wooden platforms. Rocker's gaze turned towards the front as the doors opened and the yelling commenced.

Chapter 8

It's called a shark attack but strangely there were no sharks involved. A tiger made his way onto the bus wearing the trademark campaign hat of the drill sergeant. He face seemed calm as he started shouting orders, almost casual despite his angry tone. Through the open windows others could be heard yelling similar things, all the voices melding together into one incoherent series of commands. The tiger exited the bus and continued his tirade at each fur who stepped off. When it was Rocker's turn the tiger practically exploded.

"Holy shit! Drill Sergeant Kemp they sent us a fucking fox!" the tiger yelled at the top of his lungs mere inches from Rocker's head. There was an explosion in the distance but it almost went unnoticed by the tense fox. Rocker headed towards lines of tape on the concrete under the building where everyone else was lining up, trying to keep his cool with the feline yelling and keeping pace with him. Another drill sergeant named Kemp, a bull with unbelievable wide shoulders, came stomping over once called.

"A fox! What the fuck are you doing here tiny this isn't a summer camp!" The bull screamed, the tiger and him taking turns yelling before Rocker could think of something to say.

"I think he's lost! Get in line private we'll sort you out!" they left Rocker's side to torment some other poor soul, leaving him to stand on the tape with the others. He stood as straight and tall as he could with his arms at his sides trying to be perfectly still. With everyone off the buses the yelling became more directed as the drill sergeants walked the lines of recruits, correcting any minor mistake. A stern faced doberman landed in front of Rocker, grabbing his hat and adjusting it on his head.

"Keep those ears in that hat private or I'll take em off." he then grabbed Rocker's arms firmly and moved them one by one to the proper position at his sides. Then he left, leaving Rocker to stand his ground until the yelling finally stopped. The drill sergeants then gathered at the front of all the lined up groups. There were 12 of them from what Rocker could see and another soon joined them as he made his way down a central staircase that was built into the building. Rocker's jaw dropped when he saw that the lead drill sergeant approaching the others was also a fox. A bigger fellow, but an orange fox like him nonetheless. He saluted the others and took control of the group.

"I am First Sergeant Radley and this is the fighting fourth. The eighth battalion, fourth infantry regiment will be your home from now on. This is Charlie Company and all of you are going to stay out of trouble and make this cycle nice and easy. If I have to see you in my office it's not going to be pleasant for you. These are you drill sergeants, you will treat them with respect or they will have you on the next bus back to whatever hole you crawled out from." Everyone affirmed him after he finished speaking. He handed control back to the others and walked off to the side and into the building. How could he be in charge...

The drill sergeants turned and started reading off names to assign furs to platoons. There were four total Rocker noticed, not hearing his name until near the end. He ended up in third platoon. They were instructed to make their way up to the appropriate sleeping bay, the stairway quickly became crowded as over a hundred recruits stormed it. The wave of recruits practically carried Rocker up the stairs. First and second platoon were on the second floor, third and fourth platoon were on the third floor. The drill sergeants made their way up to their perspective bays, shouting as they went up. The path clearing around them like the eye of a storm, no one dared to be in their way.

Rocker and the others in his platoon made their way into the third bay, finding a near barren room except for the bed's lining the walls and the lockers accompanying them. There was a single desk and plastic chairs at the front but that was it. Furs started claiming bed's almost immediately, dropping their heavy bags and returning to the front of the room. Rocker got himself a spot near the middle next to a pudgy Cheetah and Finley and he saw Price get a spot towards the front. Unfortunately he also saw Vernon and Polk dropping their stuff off near the back of the bay, meaning they were in the same platoon.

"Get by your bunks, we're going to issue linens." the tiger from the bus said, his name visible now, it was Hinde. Kemp was there too, and the doberman whose name was Beatty stood menacingly by the door. Hinde got some privates to carry pile of sheets and blankets for him as he went along assigning each fur their linens.

"Don't just stand there, if you have sheets make your bed and make them tight." Hinde said. Beatty had to step in though after watching some of the privates trying to make their beds. He made a demonstration and showed everyone step by step how to make a tight bed with perfect corners. The drill sergeants then left, giving everyone a time limit of 10 minutes to make their beds. Rocker finished his pretty quick, having paid good attention to the demonstration. Like others who had finished first he stood at the foot of his bed waiting for more instruction. About half of the recruits hadn't managed to make their beds well enough before Kemp returned.

"Fuck me, why are some of you making beds and the others standing around? If you finish early help your damn platoon mates." he said, his face flustered. Just as Rocker and the others moved to help those who hadn't finished Kemp spoke up again. "No that's alright, you don't want to help each other in the first place that's fine. Paws down!" _here we go._Rocker got down with the others and proceeded doing push ups on the bull's orders. He waited until some of the privates were panting before he let everyone up.

"10 minutes, and these bed's better be perfect." he left and Rocker immediately went to his neighbor to help him. The cheetah on his left, then Finley on his right thanked him and he went on to the next fur without someone helping them. By the time Kemp returned everyone's bed looked like something out of a military magazine. Kemp went down the line examining each of the troops and their work. He returned to the front to make an announcement.

"The sooner you all learn to work together the easier this will get. Or you can all keep fucking around, it's your choice. He pulled out some keys and unlocked a large closet at the front of the room.

"Put everything away in your locker and then bring your personal bag and personal items up here to this closet. If I find a cell phone, a snack cake, or any kind of contraband outside of this closet I swear to god privates." Rocker got the message, he dragged his bags to the locker at the foot of his bed and unpacked everything he needed. He took his personal bag and handed it to Kemp who was standing by the closet.

"They must be getting desperate." the bull said as he took Rocker's bag and tossed it deep into the room. Rocker tried to keep his head high as he walked back to his bunk and stood until the others had finished and turned their bags in. The other two drill sergeants entered when the bags had been turned in. Everyone was called to the front where they sat on the floor so papers and pens could be handed out.

"My name is Sergeant First Class Beatty," the doberman started, his voice surprisingly soft compared to his rough features. He pointed to the patch on his chest which bore a symbol. "You will learn a lot during these next eight weeks, rank is one of them. This is Staff sergeant Kemp and this is Sergeant Hinde." he pointed at his comrades as he said their names. He continued his introduction, describing basic courtesies and expectations. The papers handed out were forms of all types, waivers, information and more. It took roughly an hour for everyone to finish filling them out and turn them in after the informal briefing from Beatty. About halfway through Hinde left and returned carrying a rifle, he stood by waiting for everyone to finish. Beatty turned to him and waved his paw.

"This is our standard assault rifle," Hinde held the rifle up and locked the bolt back with button press, inspecting it before handing it over. Beatty accepted it in a ceremonial manner, inspected it before releasing the bolt and letting it slide forward loudly. "That is how you accept a rifle from an armorer or anyone else. Regardless of whether there is a magazine you always check to make sure there are no rounds in the chamber. Carelessness is a one way ticket home." Rocker nodded his head with the rest of the group and his eyes went a little wide like the others when they were told to stand and line up downstairs for weapon issue.

"No talking!" Hinde yelled as he stood outside the armory on the first floor. The line moved slowly as each wide eyed recruit was handed their own weapon. Yelling erupted from inside as one of the recruits apparently forgot to check the breach and slide the bolt forward after it was handed to him. Behind Rocker someone else was getting chewed out for calling it a gun as opposed to a rifle. The atmosphere was tense as he inched forward, feeling like he was always being watched. When it was his turn Rocker entered and followed instructions on point, managing to leave without incident. He lined up with others who had received their weapons on the blue tape before in the area marked for third platoon. There was whispering and even some jokes as furs waited. Rocker wasn't quite comfortable joining in or moving but Vernon sure was. He stood behind Rocker and kept tapping the butt of his rifle into the back of the fox's leg.

"Listen up!" Kemp shouted as he came over with the last of the recruits. He proceeded to demonstrate the proper way to hold the weapon, march with it, and everything else they would need for handling the weapon the rest of their training. There was also explicit instruction about the seriousness of using them improperly. He then gave brief instructions on how to march and follow call outs and commands. The platoon practiced as a whole before they moved out towards the dining facility with Hinde leading them from the side. Rocker found himself holding back a smile during the marching. The succinct nature of every command and the inherent mindless effort of everything was strangely relaxing. Things was orderly and simple when marching.

They stopped in front of the dining facility which was full of another platoons members. Once lined up all they could do was wait so Kemp decided to play a little game. He started calling privates out and asking them questions about things gone over during the day. The first to go were two wolves who both got their questions wrong. They ended up on the ground pushing as Kemp kept asking others questions. Kemp started asking about the national leaders after some others got their questions correct. Luckily Rocker noticed a line of photos on the opposite wall, each of the nation's current leaders with their names in plates underneath. Vernon got a question wrong and left his spot next to Rocker to join the others on the ground. Price was next to Rocker and his paws were curling. Rocker nudged him and secretly pointed to the wall so he could see the answers.

"Private Price! Who's the defense minister?" Price answered almost immediately, taking Kemp by surprise, he asked another question, unaware that Price was reading the answers off the wall behind him.

"Jesus Christ price you're a fucking encyclopedia!" he moved on and Price's shoulders slumped briefly with relief. Those being punished rose as the other platoon started leaving the dining facility. Kemp organized everyone and selected a group to stay outside to watch the weapons.

"This facility serves thousands of meals each day and fourth platoon is coming right after us. That means you don't have time to talk or fuck around. The first to finish need to come out and trade places with your platoon mates who are watching the weapons." The first waves were ushered in and quickly ate, Rocker didn't care if the food looked like crap, it was food. They all sat shoulder to shoulder with barely any room between their plastic trays as they ate. Some finished in minutes and headed outside as instructed. The dining hall never had an empty seat though, other training units were flooding in as Rocker's was finishing. They trickled out to where their weapons were and picked them up as they got ready to go. There was a lot of yelling inside the hall whenever someone dropped something, Rocker was glad to be out of there as soon as he could.

They were marched back to their area where they got another briefing before being sent up the staircase to their bay. Beatty was waiting where he gave them a breakdown of the first week's events. Then they were left alone, leaving a strange feeling of freedom. The sun had set and the barracks stayed lit by the fluorescent ceiling lamps. For the first time Rocker had the chance to breathe and look around as he sat on his bed. He was on the right side of the room, the exit and watch desk was at the front while the bathrooms and showers were through doors at the back of the long bay. 30 beds lined each side, leading Rocker to assume the same of the others and that there were 60 or so furs per platoon.

The bay itself had cheap, large tiles that felt like concrete. There were wide support pillars that lined the middle of the bay and windows spaced out every other bed or so. The ceiling was comprised of the type of ceiling in Rocker's high school, the kind he was used to pushing up and hiding things in. Rocker put his things away in his footlocker and laid back on the bed to stare up at the ceiling. His head turned as he saw Price approaching.

"Going to sleep already?" he smiled.

"Just resting, I guess that wasn't so bad for a first day."

"Yeah, I'm not sure what I was expecting really. Thanks for helping me out with those questions."

"You mean reading the wall? That was so stupid." they both laughed and then the lights were shut off.

"Do you have fire watch tonight?" Rocker asked Price before he left.

"No, do you?"

"Yeah, four in the morning."

"Brutal. Hey aren't you going to sleep under the sheets?"

"What? And ruin the bed? No way. If I sleep on top it won't take me any time to make it in the morning." Price paused for a second before canting his head and nodding in understanding. He walked off and Rocker closed his eyes. There was a little whispering but most everyone was probably tired like him. It couldn't have been that late but they were getting up early. The four in the morning fire guard shift was the last shift leading into wake up so he'd be getting up for good sooner than the others. Every night there were two hour shifts with two people each, though the fox couldn't imagine what would cause their bay to catch on fire at night. Rocker feel asleep with his rifle at his side, his arm wrapped in its sling.