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Hey. This is my first story, so please go easy. Just comment if you think I should even bother to continue writing....

The Breaking Point: Chapter 1

Rain. I hate rain. Some call it a blessing, others, they scorn the rain. Me, I just find it a nuisance. The others sit back at camp, in nice warm, dry tents. They get to beat this lovely Washington weather. Not me, somebody has to watch for them. They invaded. Not just the major cities. Everywhere. They crushed the humans, but where not cruel to the innocent. They knew who was guilty, and who was innocent. We are not hiding in the woods because we are among the guilty, but for another reason. Let me start form the beginning...

"Spring! Good God, I thought I would never see the sun again!" I blurted out, as soon as we got outside the school. "Jeez, was winter really that bad for you?" chuckled Joey. Joseph Gonts, a good friend of mine, who was my age of 16, about 5 10', and one of the schools best wrestlers. He and Ryan Willms, another kid my age, not very bright or physically strong, but always able to make you laugh, were walking with me. We were headed to Ryan's house to hang out. Suddenly, the noise of an air raid siren broke into the conversation.

Both Joey and Ryan looked at me. It was just my phone, and my crazy aunt was calling. I just took the battery out of the phone and put it back in my pocket. I was not in the talkative mood, at least not to her.

At this point, you may be asking, "Why an air raid siren?" Well, I love the military, and have been surrounded all my life by it. I am 6 feet tall, decently built, with brown hair and steel blue eyes. I play all kinds of sports, and I have always wanted to join the military.

"Who was that?" Ryan asked.

"Just my nutcase of an Aunt," was all I said. He left it alone after that.

When we reached Ryan's house, he opened the garage, grabbed a soda, and headed inside, with Joey and I trailing behind him. I hadn't noticed the car in the driveway for some reason, and was surprised to see Ryan's mom rushing around the house, grabbing items and putting them into a suitcase. I gave a questioning look to Joey, who just shrugged.

"Uh, mom, what gives?" Ryan blurted out. No, he is not very tact in what he says.

"We won a vacation! Joey, Chris, you guys are going as well! We won it for ten of your friends! We the parents are going to stay here, so this will be on you to get there!" She said giddily.

"Uh, where exactly are we going Mrs. Willms?" I asked cautiously.

"It is an adventure camp run by the military, it simulates real time war, without the danger! It is all the way across the country in Washington, at the base of Ruby Mountain, in the Ross Lake National Recreation Area. Isn't this great!"

It did seem like a lot of fun, and I even had a few military contacts in Washington. See, military families have the most fun!

"Well, with this coming up, I think I have to go pack, an get ready for an early morning!" I said as I walked toward the door. Mrs. Williams had already sent the information to my mother, and as I bid everyone a farewell. I look back and realize that was the last time I ever saw her.

At 10:30 the next morning, I was sitting alone at gate G-4 in the Philadelphia airport. This is one of the filthiest airports I have ever seen, but what are you going to do? It appeared that I was the first one here. Our flight, which was to leave at 12:00, would be a connecting flight, our first stop in St. Louis, Then the next stop would be at the McCarran International airport in Nevada, then on a military transport to the adventure camp at Ruby Mountain. I had to admit, I was a little nervous about traveling, but I knew as soon as I was airborne, I would lose the feeling.

It was about eleven when I felt a tap on the shoulder. I looked up to see Ryan Willms across the way, just sitting down, and I waved good morning. He was already plugged into his Ipod, waved back, and promptly knocked out. I was waiting to do so till I boarded the plane. Other than Ryan and Joey, I had no idea who else was coming this trip.

Not even five minutes later, Justin Uluea and Austin Uluea showed. They were about 5 8' tall, and not the sharpest tools in the shed. But, both were proficient in carpentry. These two were twins who constantly were bickering. I guess it was to show dominance, but I never really paid attention. Both nodded their hellos, than promptly found space to sit down and zone out.

What seemed like ten minutes after the Uluea's showed; somebody smacked me on the back of the head with a magazine of some sorts. Surprise surprise, one of my good friends Josh. He said something. I had my headphones in, and did not feel like taking them off. So, I just flipped him off. He just chuckled and sat down in the seat next to me.

Joshua Homan was 5 10', semi-muscular, and just like me, had a very cynical look at life. He too grew up around firearms, and that had been one of the things that made me notice him. He was 16, same as me.

Joey appeared whilst I was in the bathroom, and had sat by Ryan. He nodded hello and I returned the gesture, and he turned back to his book.

The next person who came and sat down next to me surprised me. I did not think of him to come. Nick sat down next to me, on my right side. He smacked me in the arm, as I took it as a sentimental greeting. I nodded back, and went back to reading my book.

Nick Hearth was about 5 8', and was athletic, constantly trying to show off to the ladies. He is cousins with Josh, and is only 15.Although I made him embarrassed and harassed him from time to time, we where good friends. He was also a member of the JROTC.

As I was getting a count of who was already here, two more people showed at the same time, strolling in together. Levi Granger and Alex Ellington walked together, chit chatting amongst themselves.

Levi is about 5 11', with long hair and a very interesting sense of humor. He is of medium build, not to big, yet not a stick. Alex is about 6', and is on the heavier side, but very technology savvy. Both, as everyone knew, hung out with a bad group of people. Neither of these to were bad, but I did wish they would hang out with better people.

So at this point, we have eight people, not including me so 9, and it was about 11:30. The last person was Zach Stufflet, who showed up as we boarded the plane, and he was laughing about being late, and joking with all of us.

Zach was about 5 10', and was a little pudgy. He was very book smart, but not very street smart. He always was messing around, and was a great guy to have around.

Once on the plane, we all sat by each other. I had josh sitting on my right, and on my left was the window. What can I say; being there first had its advantages. As we were sitting there on the tarmac waiting, Ryan began to kick the back of my seat, so I threw a magazine at his face. At this point, the flight attendant came over to remind us that the plane has 4 exits, and that she was not afraid to use them. I could respect the sarcasm. My headphones went in, and I knocked out. I don't even remember taking off.

At the stop in St. Louis, they let us get off the plane and stretch our legs, and blow off some steam. Apparently whilst I was out, Austin Uluea had managed to piss of the flight attendant. I just shook my head, and then smacked his. It was a light smack, used to prove a point that I thought somebody would have learned in 16 years. They are transporting you in a pressurized tube flying at 30,000 ft at 500mph. Not the best place to get thrown out of!

The next flight was again, routine, nothing out of the norm. This time, before I went to sleep, I warned Austin of the consequences to pissing off the flight attendant, and then called her over to my seat and told her that she has all of our blessings to toss him from the plane at any time. She laughed, then went and told all of the other flight attendants, who laughed in turn. Austin turned red, and put the magazine in front of his face. Having seen my plan work flawlessly, I turned over and fell asleep.

I was shaken awake by a flight attendant at McCarran International Airport. As I left the plane, I saw my group of friends point and laugh, and then quickly try to get away. They had purposely left me on the plane. They would pay for this...

As we had time before the military transport would pick us up, I looked around the airport, stopping a few of the stores. I bought a small gold compass in one of the convenience stores. It reminded me of the one my grandfather used to carry. It turned out to be one of the best investments of my life.

As we were sitting together, laughing and joking about being able to get out of school for this camp, a man in fatigues with a nametag, "Hernandez" approached our group.

"Are you the boys from a town, uh, Fleetwood?" He said, in a very slow drawl. It was a very southern accent, unlike our very northern accents.

We all nodded, so he continued, "Alright, my name is Sergeant Hernandez, and I will be your tour guide for the remainder of the trip. Any questions?"

I had to answer sarcastically, "What will the in flight movie be?"

He just shook his head, rounded us all up, counted us off on his roster, and led us to a door, which led us to the tarmac.

As we walked, he explained a little more about himself and the program. When we reached our destination, a large cargo plane, or a C-130, we boarded and sat down. The pilot came back, explaining a little about the plane, about himself, what to do when one engine went out, and then what to do when the rest went out. Not the most settling advice I have ever heard, but far from the worst! He also told us to keep all hands, feet, and other bodily objects inside the plane at all times. We all chuckled at that.

As the plane lifted off, we all started grilling Sergeant Hernandez about what we would be doing, how it was being done, and other such questions. He just grinned, and said he wanted to keep it a secret.

As we finally descended at the base of Ruby Mountain, he finally saw fit to give us the name of the camp. Camp Freedom. When we finally touched down, and we had stopped, the pilot wished us good luck, and we disembarked from the plane. There, not even 200ft away, sat three Humvees, two with mounted guns, one without. Sergeant Hernandez moved us over to them, and then told us that there are 4 people to a Humvee, and we were allowed to drive them! Also, he gave us fatigues and boots, which had our names on them, to change into. This was getting better and better!

In my Humvee, I hopped up on the squad gun, a browning .50 caliber M2 machine gun. I loved his camp already! Josh was driving, with Justin riding shotgun and Austin in the back. We were the first Humvee in the line, and behind us was the VIP Humvee, in which Ryan and Joey rode with Sergeant Hernandez. The final Humvee all I saw was Nick on the gun, and Levi driving, which left Alex and Zach somewhere inside.

We took off, going about 50mph when the Sarge yelled at Josh to slow down. He went down to about 30, and Sarge thanked him. He messaged us to explain that in the squad guns where equipped with things called "paint rounds". They fired full powder, but did not kill; instead they paralyzed you to simulate real damage. He said to keep our eyes on the trees, for our first test had started. He also mentioned that there were M4 carbines in the back for the rest of the squad. The last thing he explained was to maintain radio silence.

We continued to ride for about another 5 minutes, when I heard a burst of fire come from Nicks squad gun. I quickly looked to see what he was firing at, when Levi broke radio silence.

"Hey, ignore that. The moron on the gun just squeezed the trigger to see what would happen."

"Levi, can you smack him for me, and when we stop I am going to-" was all I was able to get out before I saw small arms fire of to our left.

"RIGHT SIDE, RIGHT SIDE! OH SHIT, THEY ARE ON THE LEFT TOO!" Josh screamed into the mike, and quickly swerved in an evasive maneuver.

I watched the VIP humvee swerve off the road, into a ditch on the left side of the road. Levi locked up the brakes, and then pulled a u-turn hard enough to get the 2.6-ton vehicle on two wheels! Josh and Justin had switched places, with Josh now firing out the side of the window, and Uluea driving. I screamed to Uluea to turn us around, to get back to the fight. He started to argue so I put a pistol to he back of his head, which was also in the back of the humvee, and he became surprisingly more compliant.

By the time we got back, I saw that Nick had been hit, but was still moving. Nobody noticed him up in the turret. The rest of them, including the Sarge had hidden behind the VIP humvee, using from cover on the right side, whilst Levi's humvee protected them from the left. When they saw me firing the big .50, they sent up a cheer.

I quickly yelled to Austin to get up on the turret, and I took his M4. I ran to the others, asking what had happened.

"They got us on the right side, and somebody no longer among us ran for the hills as soon as the shooting started." Joey said grudgingly, wincing as another bullet struck the Humvee.

"Where is Alex?" I screamed over the sounds of the firefight around us.

"Not among us!" was all I heard. Great, not even here for a day, and he already left us. I moved a bit to my left, to look around the front of the VIP humvee to check out what was happening. The fire had not only slackened, but completely stopped. I flashed a thumbs up to Austin, who was still in the turret. He gave the sign back.

"Well, I guess that is it. That wasn't even hard!" Ryan said as he stood up and walked in between the two humvees.

"Ryan, put your head down! You asking to be shot?" Sarge screamed.

Ryan stared to say something, but was never able to finish. A single shot hit him right above the heart. He just looked over at us, and slowly collapsed.

Joey started to run for him, but Levi quickly tackled him to the ground. Joey started to fight, but small-arms fire picked up again. At this point, I heard a moan, and few words that were not to be said in high society. I quickly realized it was Nick, who was coming to in the middle of a firefight.

"Cover me! I got to get Nick!" was all I yelled as I leaped onto the top of the humvee, and fireman carried Nick off the back. I guess that they had the courtesy enough to not shoot the man who was saving another.

As soon as I put Nick down, resting him against the tire of the VIP humvee. I heard a loud shriek, and looked over at my humvee, and saw that Austin had been hit in the shoulder, and clutched it with his hand. I tried to yell for him to get down, but he was hit two more times and slumped over.

That left six of us, not including Sarge. Sarge had a gash on his forehead, to which Joey was trying to patch. Zach was sitting, back against the VIP humvee, not moving. I went over to him, and tried to get his attention. I shook his shoulder, and promptly slumped over. He had been hit in the back from under the humvee.

I looked over to Josh, who signaled he was out of ammo. I pointed to Austin, who was still slumped over the gun mount. He nodded, then moved. I caught Justin's attention, and gave him a thumbs up. He returned the signal, but I could notice he was shaken, badly. I thought about running over to help him, then thought better about it. No need to die doing something stupid. Actually, no need to die at all!

Levi was the next to get hit. The shot hit him in the upper part of his skull. I doubt he felt a thing. Joey followed close after, after he tried to make a mad dash to the other humvee. He didn't make it ten steps before he hit the ground. This left Josh, Justin, and me. Sarge and Nick were of no use to us, for both were unconscious. I signaled Justin to grab the radio inside the humvee.

"We have to get the hell out of here! I am going to put Nick and Sarge in the VIP humvee, and then try to get out of this mess! You going to stay here?" I shouted over the small-arms fire.

I got my reply pretty quick. "Hell no! I will tell Josh your plan. Signal when you are ready to go. Out."

I quickly piled Nick and Sarge into the back of the VIP humvee. Not the easiest thing when under fire! I flashed Justin and Josh a hand signal. Josh dragged Austin off the top mount, and Justin piled into the drivers seat, and we took off simultaneously.

"WE GOT OUT!" Justin shouted happily, I could hear Josh laughing in relief too.

"We aren't out of the woods yet. Keep you eyes open. And Justin, keep your eyes on the road!" I chuckled. I saw him stick his hand out the window, flipping me off. This kid just did not learn, did he?

"Justin, I am going to shoot that bloody finger off!" I yelled over the radio, which I had blasting.

"Yea right. All I ever hear from you is bull-" he never got the chance to finish the sentence, for at that moment a rocket came out of the woods on the right side, slamming squarely into the passengers door. The radio went dead I saw Josh fall back inside the humvee. The vehicle spun sideways, blocking my path. With nowhere else to go, I swerved of the right side of the road. Only then did I notice the deep ditch on the side of the road. The front of the vehicle slammed into the dike, and came to a dead stop.

Soldiers in woodland camouflage came out of the woods, quickly moving to Justin's humvee, which had flipped. I looked into the back of my humvee, and checked to see if Nick and Sarge were okay. They seemed to be hanging in there. At this point Nick had regained consciousness, and looked at me questioningly, but I quickly covered his mouth. I unbuckled my seatbelt, probably one of the best decisions of my life wearing it, and slid out the passenger door, away from the soldiers. I opened up the back door as quietly as I could. I grabbed Nick, then my rifle, and took off into the woods. I heard no shouts from behind me, so I thought I had gotten away for now.

"What happened?" he finally asked once we where out of visual distance from the soldiers and the humvees.

"We got hit, and when there where only 5 of us, we decided to try to get away. It had worked until that damn rocket hit the side of Justin's humvee, which made me crash. And now we are here. By the way, how did you get hit?"

He looked at me sheepishly, and explained that he was hit in the leg, and when it hit, he smacked his head against the gun, knocking himself out. I just shook my head. I was about to make a sarcastic comment, when three figures popped out of nowhere, guns trained on us. I tried to draw a pistol, but was shot twice in the chest. I felt an extreme pain, then everything went black.