The air was thick and hard to traverse in, even harder to see through. The sound of a heartbeat could be heard, the constant beating ringing in his ears. He noticed something in the distance, and strained his eyes to see it. Whatever it was, it was getting closer... And closer... Suddenly all he could see is red, a high pitched sound ringing in the background, getting louder every moment! Everything was getting bigger, louder, and closing in upon-
Thud!
Tim woke up on the ground, rubbing his head in pain as his alarm clock buzzed in his ear on the ground. He quickly unplugged it as he grabbed his head once more, standing up. He looked around his apartment, a cold sweat still on his brow. Tim sighed as he wiped his head, looking at the calender.
Oh boy... Time to go join the army... Tim thought sarcastically as he went around his room and gathered up some clothes, dirty or otherwise and stuffed them into his travel bag, as well as a pack of razors, some deodorant, and his watch. As he was packing his watch though he noticed that it wasn't working so he just groaned and threw it aside, plugging in his alarm clock again. The clock blinked 11:23, the time it was at before he unplugged it. Tim was out the door in moments.
Shit shit shit I'm late! Was all Tim thought as he jumped down 2 flights of stairs and out the door of his apartment complex, making a mad dash for the recruitment center. Now, Tim was a fast runner normally, but when in a hurry he could run extremely fast. Now, Tim was only average in both brains and upper body strength, but what he didn't have he made up with great lower body strength, and a smart mouth. The more Tim ran the more he relaxed, as running was one of his favorite things to do as he quickly inspected himself. Dirty long blond hair, nice and untidy; his white shirt with sweat stains, ripped jeans; yeah, that is fine.
Tim noticed the recruiting center only a few blocks away, a grin on his face. It was so short of a run it wasn't funny. Tim had finally made it to the front door, bursting in as he quickly skid to a halt. The lines were huge! If there was one thing that Tim didn't have, was patience... After all, he was already signed up, he just had to get shipped off to boot camp...
God dammit all... Was all Tim thought as he grudgingly waited in line.
This gave Tim plenty of time to think though. After all, in no normal situation would Tim have actually joined the Army, but someone gave him a very convincing deal. With this whole Army thing, if Tim stayed around 4 years, they would give him the money needed to learn how to fly a plane as well as get his license. He'd do it himself, but with oil getting more expensive now there isn't a high demand for them, and there was no way a job at Home Depot was going to pay for it any time soon... But Tim was fine with that, so long as he gets to fly he'd do almost anything for it.
Finally he had made it to the front and pulled out his paperwork, showing it to the woman as she pointed him in the right direction. Tim was walking down the hallway to the exit out back where they were apparently supposed to have buses to bring people out to boot camp.
Boot camp... That was another thing on his mind. From what he's heard boot camp was supposed to have changed drastically. For better or for worse Tim had no idea... All Tim knew is that he was now sitting on an overcrowded bus, his stomach lurching at every bump, and the person next to him desperately needed to take a happy pill and a shower... As for everyone else on the bus, they could all be described as either psyched, uncaring, or scared shitless. Tim for one, was uncaring. To him, this was merely another job to get cash.
The trip took a stomach turning 2 hours, with Tim feeling worse by the moment... He even wanted to smack the guy next to him as his stench certainly wasn't helping the matter... But when they finally arrived Tim was happy to finally get off the bus as he looked at the 'boot camp', if it could even be called that. Where they stopped at appeared to be just in airport in the middle of nowhere. As Tim walked into the building he could see lines starting up again, though he had no idea why. Probably should have paid attention to his recruiter after all. Tim just stepped in a random line and hoped for the best, not really caring at the moment due to his stomach still recovering.
Finally Tim was in luck today as he reached the front and found that all the lines were just giving room keys. Tim was simply told to wait in his room and someone would come to get him for training later on, which releaved Tim as it meant he could relax a little before training... So Tim instantly headed to his room, which honestly was a bit smaller then he imagined, with only a small bathroom and a single bunk bed. But that set something off in Tim's mind.
I'll have to share a room? Great... Wonder who it'll be with.
Whoever it was, the individual was not here yet, so Tim just threw his stuff on the ground as he hopped on the top bunk, laying his head down on the pillows.
Heh, for an Army Boot Camp they sure have nice pillows... Was the last thing Tim thought as he dozed to sleep.
Not even five minutes later Tim was woken from his sleep from crashing onto the floor.
"Ow! God dammit!" Tim said aloud, arching his back in pain as he looked up to see the man who sat beside him on the bus laying on the top bunk,"Hey! You ass I was sleeping up there!"
"Well I called it." The man replied, keeping his eyes shut with his hands behind his head.
"Called it my ass I was here first!" Tim yelled, now standing up.
The man just laughed as he turned his head to him and replied,"But I didn't hear you call top bunk, so it's mine now."
Tim was quickly getting frustrated with this man, he even looked like someone from off the streets! His clothes were a mess and looked like they were never cleaned, same with his mop of brown hair that stuck to his head with grease! This man looked like a mutt through and through... Tim quickly grabbed him by the shirt as he pulled him down to the ground and went to hop up on the bed. But the man caught the leg of his jeans as he pulled Tim down, and felt a rush of pain quickly course through his body. The man had just headbutt Tim between the legs.
As Tim fell to the ground in pain the man hopped back on the bunk as he replied,"I think we're going to get along just fine. By the way, my name is Mike, pleased to meet you Tim."
How did he know my name? Tim questioned as his head and legs throbbed in pain, quickly answering,"Screw you ass..."
"Note taken." Mike replied as he closed his eyes once more,"Oh, and by the way, they'll be here to pick you up in about ten minutes, so I'd find your balls and get some clean clothes on. You stink."
Like you have any room to talk! Tim thought angerly as he grit his teeth and stood up in pain, sitting down on the bottom bunk. After a few moments Tim was finally able to get his bag and pull out a fresh white shirt, putting that on instead. Moments later, exactly as Mike said, a female entered the room and told Tim it was time to train. Tim gave Mike a final glare before he left with the woman.
They walked for probably 2 minutes before she opened a door for him and led him inside. The room had only a chair with some wires hanging out of it, and 3 people standing in the room, one of which had a controller.
"Greetings Tim, welcome to basic training." One of the men replied, motioning toward the chair,"Please, sit down."
Tim did as he was told as the two others came to him and started attaching wires to various parts of him. As they were working Tim asked the man,"So, how does the training work exactly?"
"It's quite simple actually, we merely scan your body and take your strengths and weaknesses into account, fit you to a role in our Army, and then transmit all the training you need in a moments time." The man replied, fiddling with the remote.
"Wow, you can actually do that?" Tim asked, genially surprised, as he didn't think training would be that easy.
"Of course." the man simply replied with a smile as he motioned to the others and replied,"I'm set on this end."
"Almost finished." One of the women stated as she slid the final tracer between Tim's legs, sending a small jolt of pain through Tim,"Alright, we're done here."
The people then stood back as the man replied,"Alright Tim, are you ready?"
"I suppose so." Tim replied, a little uncomfortable with the amount of wires there were. Just as he said he was ready though his vision instantly went dark as pulses of pain ran down his spine. Very distantly he could hear the man warning Tim it might hurt a little.
Could of told me that BEFORE we started! Tim thought as pulse after pulse went through his body. But just as quickly as it started, it ended. The pain being washed away.
"Mmm, alright then. According to the readings we got you are best suited for reconnaissance. Preparing to load data." The man said, completely oblivious to how Tim felt at the moment. Once again Tim's vision faded, but this time it was rapidly filled with hundreds of images a second, his mind literally rippling with the amount of information he is gaining at one point. This went on for several moments, Tim's head feeling like it was going to explode, then it instantly stopped, just like last time. Unlike last time though Tim pulled off the cords and stumbled out of the chair towards the wall, his head spinning. Before he knew it a bucket was placed in front of him. Good timing too, as Tim retched inside of the bucket, though there wasn't much... After all, Tim had to skip breakfast.
They sent Tim back to his room, telling him to drink plenty of water and just rest. Tim felt terrible the entire time, even as he laid on the bottom bunk holding his head and stomach in pain.
Mike would then look over the edge, his head hanging down as he asked Tim,"So, motion sickness eh?"
This was going to be the longest week ever...
Word Count: 1899
Subject: Chapter 1 
gawd, I hope I dun get sent to that "boot camp" 
