by Dan Decker
Their brutal awakening had put me into a defensive position. Now that I was waking up I realized what was really going on.
I unclenched my fists and stepped back from Jeffords—not even realizing I had taken a step towards him—and put my hands behind me.
While I was not going to take a knee and beg, an apology was in order. Might makes right, or so the saying goes.
“I was mistaken,” I said.
Jeffords stared at me, as if trying to decide what he should do next. He looked ready to attack, he seemed prepared to insist I kneel as ordered, but then he looked around and saw all the other conscripted men and probably thought it would be a misstep to push any further.
We were not volunteers.
He needed us to willingly comply. He needed our cooperation if he was going to train us. I kept my face free from emotion at the small victory.
“I won’t accept your apology right now,” Jeffords said through clenched teeth, taking a different tact. “Perhaps one day I will. You are on thin ice, soldier. Ice so thin its cracking all around you and you’re practically falling into the water. I suggest you toe the line. There is a war on and while we will give you a chance to acclimate, there will be a quick end should you not.”
I nodded but said nothing.
“Okay, you corpse eating maggots,” Jeffords said. “I am Sergeant Jeffords. We don’t believe in coddling recruits and we don’t believe in holding back truth. What I just told this man is true. The world you came from is gone. Long gone. You’re so far away that if you ever even traveled back, you would not recognize the world you left behind. Apes and dolphins are the primary life form now. Got it?
“But that’s okay because you’re not gonna have time to think about anything else. You have been volunteered into a rare army, an army made of human men. The last of its type that will ever exist in the universe if we don’t win this war. We fight for humanity. The next three months of your life are gonna be the most miserable you’ve ever known.
“But the good news is at the end, you will be well adapted to survive our new environment and any other harsh place capable of supporting life. I was once like you. I had no choice but to follow.” He nodded my direction. “This man made a wise decision. Men who push too far get terminated after opportunities for re-education.”
I suppressed a snort. Re-education was likely a bullet.
“Look at your hands, look at your feet, this is not the body you knew. That body is gone. You will never get it back. Nobody here can replicate the body you had before. You have been randomly assigned a new one. This body is superior to your old in several ways. First, you will notice you have perfect vision and some built-in resistance to ultraviolet light. Make no mistake, you will still need to wear hats, shades, and block, but no more trips to the eye doctor. Second, it is rare to get sick. This is not to say you cannot get ill but many of the diseases and sicknesses that bothered you back on—” a strange look crossed his face, “—earth, will not bother you here.”
It was as if he experienced a moment of nostalgia, a moment of longing, but there was something there as well that was stronger than either of those.
Why did he act as if he knew me when he heard my full name?
If I could reestablish our relationship, perhaps I might get better information about our current situation. He’d been free enough when talking to Dolores. I needed to get him alone when he wasn’t playing drill sergeant.
“The first thing you guys must learn is to wear block at all times. One of you,” he glared right at me, “has already learned that painful lesson. The sun is brutal. If you do not wear proper protection every time you go out, you will find yourself in a world of hurt. Fifty-five minutes out here without block is enough to put you into a two-day coma with pain for the rest of your life if you are unfortunate enough to wake up. We have limited resources. Coma victims don’t last long.” He paused to emphasize the point just to make sure everybody picked up the true intent of his words. “If you are exposed for seventy minutes, you are dead. Your eyes fare better than your skin but its best to wear shades and a hat at all times.
“Now, you must have questions.” He smiled broadly. “I am not going to answer any of them. At least not right now. You are just going to have to trust that what I tell you is the truth.” He looked at the man who had been roughing me up. “Distribute the block.”
The man grabbed a box from a table behind him and stepped forward. At first, I assumed the box was made from cardboard, but when I got a closer look I realized it was a dull reddish-brown plastic.
The man pulled out a tube with a screw top and handed it to me with a silent snarl. I ignored him and examined the tube, which was the same dull reddish-brown.
It had no indicator of what was inside.
“You must have a tube with you at all times,” Jeffords said. “Error on the side of using too much rather than too little. You will apply it to every exposed surface of your body every waking hour and a half without exception. It does not matter if you are in the latrine. It does not matter if you are running, hiking, being chased by a grenling or any of the other fine wildlife this planet has to offer. As this gentleman over here has already learned, you stop whatever you are doing and put the block on immediately. Every ninety minutes.
“You will notice I am using the term minutes. That is not exactly accurate, but we have adopted it as common colloquial. What we call a minute, is closer to approximately fifty-six seconds back on earth. It just worked out better to use what we were already familiar with, so it stuck.
“Think of it as a minute and you’ll be okay. Just remember it’s a little bit less than you’re used to.” He held up his hand and showed his watch, there were three buttons on either side for a total of six, and one large one just below the face. “You all have a watch,” he tripped over the word making me think it was called by some other name and he was using the term watch to make it easier for us to adapt. “This watch is what you will use in training. The watch face is deactivated on purpose. It will be turned on later. Do not mess with it. Only press the buttons in the way we instruct. It can be set to beep every ninety minutes after you apply block. Here is the process.” He squeezed a generous amount of block on to his hands, it too was a dark reddish-brown. He wiped it all over the exposed areas of his skin, leaving a thick residue on every location. “You will notice I did not apply this the way you used sunblock back on earth. You must apply a thick covering.” He held up his watch. “This button on the right side, the top one, you press it after you apply block. This will set a ninety-minute timer. When you hear the beeping, you stop whatever you are doing and put on the block. It doesn’t matter if you’re doing laps. It doesn’t matter if you are under fire. You do it. Any questions?”
I looked at my tube, wondering if I needed to apply it right now or if I should wait until ordered. I decided to wait for him to instruct us to put it on. I needed to appear an automaton yet remain my own man.
What was I thinking, talking back like that?
I’d known what they wanted and had already decided to comply. Why had I been belligerent? I chalked it up to the rude awakening, but I couldn’t make that mistake again because it would get me killed.
No matter what happens, I thought, I must not react. If I get tossed again, I must wait for my mind to work.
I had to be on guard if I was going to find my family. I couldn’t blow it because of an ill response to a run-in with a sergeant.
Nobody owned my mind, I needed to remember that. They may have conscripted me but I owned my thoughts.
I owned my actions.
That meant playing nice until my opportunity came. I just hope it didn’t take years.
“Spread the block,” Jeffords said.
I unscrewed the top, pushed out a generous amount and rubbed it all over my hands, arms, face, ears, nose, and the back of my neck.
Once I was done I put the block in the pocket of my red and grey camouflage jumpsuit and presse
d the button on my watch.
Jeffords waited for everybody to finish.
“Your jumpsuits keep the sun from harming you. You will at all times wear a hat and shades when you are outside.” A man distributed wide-brimmed hats, another gave out shades. I put the hat on my head. It was too big but shrunk to the correct size when it touched my skin. It looked like some I’d seen back on earth, only it was the same color of camouflage they used here. I put the shades on as well and flinched when they adjusted to my size. The shades were the same dull, non-reflective reddish brown.
“You will always apply block to every inch of your head even though you wear a hat.”
Jeffords nodded at me.
“Once again we will use Anders.” It was frustrating my attempt to correct my name had gone unnoticed. “He will never have hair. You all come out bald but hair grows unless you damage your hair follicles as this flaming crispy-skinned imbecile did.” He looked at me, hoping for a reaction, but I didn’t give him one. I could not be blamed for what had happened. I was not going to take the bait.
“You always wear boots. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the shower. It doesn’t matter if you’re in bed. It doesn’t matter where you are or what you are doing, you always wear boots.” He paused and looked around the room to emphasize his next point. “There’s more to the boots than we’ll get into today, but you take good care of them and they will take good care of you.”
I looked at my bare feet.
When I had awoken the first time I’d already worn something. They hadn’t quite been shoes, but hadn’t quite been boots. It was remarkable I’d been able to run so far.
Jeffords nodded my direction. “This fool learned the hard way about what happens to feet that are exposed to the ground without proper footwear.”
He paused and looked at me expectantly, but I kept my mouth shut. This was new information for me, I didn’t know my feet had been damaged. The rest of my body had been on fire so perhaps I’d been too distracted to notice. I had the urge look at the soles of my feet but refrained.
“You will find in front of your cot a pair of boots appropriate for your size. There are two pairs of socks. Let me explain. You put on the small pair of socks first. You put the large pair of socks on second. You always wear socks with your boots. You always wear boots wherever you are. In bed. In the latrine. Wherever. Are there any questions?”
Without thinking about it I shook my head. I hated how quickly I was falling into obedience, even though I didn’t have any other choice.
It would be a struggle to maintain my independent thought process, but I needed to make sure I did. I needed to sharpen my mind and be ready. Perhaps some things would become habit, but I had to make my words and actions communicate only the messages I intended to convey.
“Put on your boots.”
I picked up the boots—which were heavier than they looked—and the socks. After a careful look at Jeffords, I sat on the cot and put them on as we’d been instructed.
I hoped Jeffords had seen my face, I was trying to be contrite.
“It is time to introduce you to the world,” he said once we had all finished.
Jeffords smiled as if thinking of a joke.
“Welcome to the afterlife.”
13
As we followed Jeffords out the canvas door my heart thudded in my chest and perspiration formed on my face. It had less to do with the heat and more to do with my previous experience. I was not anxious to walk out into the sun again, even though Jeffords assured us that the block was up to the task.
Consciously, I recognized the block should protect me as claimed. Unconsciously, I wasn’t ready to take the risk. The pain at the end of my run with General Roth had been miserable and I did not want to experience anything like that again.
The sky was a light shade of purple. Two moons fought for dominance with the sun as it sent down its rays like millions of invisible missiles. It was above a hundred degrees and the sun wasn’t yet halfway up the horizon. Small wonder Jeffords had instructed us to put on a thick layer of block.
There were guard towers around the perimeter, about a hundred yards back from camp. Another detail I had missed during my excursion the other day.
To protect the camp or keep us from escaping?
I looked at the surrounding wasteland and swallowed. There was no place to go.
The others in the group had difficulty walking.
I did not. My muscles twinged, but not as bad as they had the other time I’d been awake. I had no problem keeping up with the trained soldiers. If Jeffords made us run I would have some strain but I didn’t think that was likely considering the condition of the other recruits.
We stopped at a large ravine that was in front of a guard tower. The soldiers on duty glanced our way. I would have thought they’d have a canopy overhead to guard against the sun, but they did not.
The tower itself was a mini fortress with a place of resort below where they stood. There were holes in the armored walls, both where they were and below as well.
Why the bunker? A grenling could easily toss it.
Jeffords walked to the massive opening, drawing my attention from the guard tower.
“You are in a hostile environment, you probably never experienced any of the hostility our former planet had to offer because you were raised in cities or in the suburbs or in small towns where everything was safe. Here, if you make the slightest mistake you’re going to die.”
He looked around at us in turn. “You will die. Mistake number one is assuming the ground is solid. This fissure opened two days ago. It wasn’t here before, but it’s here now. Anders was onsite when it happened. Feel free to get the details from him if he’s interested in sharing about his screwup.”
I felt one or two glances from the new recruits.
The trained soldiers stared at me. Those closest had blank faces and I was unable to tell what they thought. General Roth had been surprised I’d survived, I wondered if they felt I had somehow shown them up. Perhaps I should expect hazing.
It couldn’t take me by surprise if I expected it.
“A soldier was here when it opened. He died.” He motioned at the ravine. “A grenling came up and attacked the general while she was educating maggot-puke Anders. It was a fluke thing. They’re great climbers but not as good at walking or running but don’t make the mistake Anders did of thinking you can outrun them.”
Jeffords had to know I had followed the General. He seemed to hope I was going to say something in my defense but I kept my face still.
When Jeffords turned his attention elsewhere I glanced around the faces of the other recruits using my peripheral vision and saw most had become pale. I didn’t think it was only from the heat. My own stomach was doing backflips and I knew better than them how toxic this place was.
Bung beetles and grenlings, what other fun surprises were in store?
“You may be tempted to run, but there is no place to go. There are no civilizations on Aldreda. The next base is two hundred miles away. This is by design. Deserters don’t survive. The only people who do are those who do what we say. You’re only chance is to stick with us. You might grumble about the fact you have been volunteered, about the fact your bodies are changed, but think of it this way. Each of you died. Perhaps there might be some who do not remember the circumstances of their death but rest assured you did die. You would not be here otherwise.
“You’ve been given a second chance.
“This is a gift, yes, one with strings, but a gift still the same. You can play a part in hunting down the aliens who destroyed our home world and giving back what they gave us. In time, once we know we can trust you, we will reveal further information about the war and the part you will play. Until then, you must prove you are capable of handling that knowledge.
“This is a lot to digest. I have been there. Everybody else has been there. We were all volunteered in the same way.
“What you must do is survive.
You need to get it into your thick heads that we are the only way you’re going to do that. Any questions?”
Jeffords looked around expectantly, I had many, but was not going to ask any of them. I would learn the answers in other ways. If we were going to train together for the next three months, I needed to make sure I did not look like more of a fool than I already did.
I shook my head. This was about as ridiculous a situation as one could hope to find.
If this is hell all the religions got it wrong.
I had never thought about going to heaven. I’d made mistakes same as anybody, but didn’t think I was as bad as some. Indeed, I had never considered the possibility I might go to hell.
One pale man in the back raised his hand.
“We have a question,” Jeffords said with mock surprise. “Proceed.”
“Um, is this hell?” His voice stammered as he spoke. I looked at Jeffords’ blank face, scrutinizing his reaction and body language.
“Some of you will be tempted to think of this as such and perhaps you’re right after a fashion, especially for those who aren’t going to do what we tell you, but this is neither heaven nor hell. This is the place in between.
“If you’re tempted to think this is what there is after death, put those thoughts out of your mind. In fact, put away all philosophy because you have no use for that here. This is the place in between your past life and whatever comes after we go into the great unknown.
“You’ve been given a second shot, take advantage of it. You have a second chance at making something of yourself. For those who did things you weren’t proud of on earth, this is your opportunity to make a better case to God, if that’s what you believe.”
The drill sergeant looked around as if expecting somebody else might have a question, his eyes roving over me more than the others. Not wanting to draw attention to myself, I glanced around without moving my head and saw most were too tired to stand straight. I expected some would be angry, like me, but right now it took all their effort to just remain standing.
