The sun was starting to go down behind the peaks of the Tanaban Mountains, throwing long shadows across the dirt paths of the bootcamp. First Sergeant Lewis walked with a steady, heavy pace that Jack had a hard time keeping up with. Their boots made a sharp, rhythmic sound against the gravel. They headed toward the far edge of the camp, where the air smelled like woodsmoke and heavy stew.
Lewis stopped and pointed at three long wooden buildings. Smoke was coming out of the iron chimneys, drifting up into the dark sky.
"Look, Sterling," Lewis said, his voice low and tired. "The building in the middle is the Second Battalion Mess Hall. It's for Dog, Easy, and Fox Company. It's the only place you're getting fed in this camp, and you're on their schedule."
Jack looked at the building. It was just a plain, unpainted wooden shack, but to a bunch of hungry recruits, it looked like the best place on earth.
"You have exactly twenty minutes to eat," Lewis continued, looking off toward the horizon. "After that, you get ten minutes to rest. Not a second more. When that's over, get the others and report to the main parade grounds immediately. More trucks are coming in with the rest of the recruits, and we're starting the final company assignments tonight. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Sergeant," Jack said, straightening his back.
Lewis nodded, looking stressed. "Good. I can't look after you guys anymore today. Between the new arrivals and the fact that we don't have enough NCOs yet, I've got too much on my plate. Don't make me come looking for you."
Lewis didn't wait for a salute. He turned around and hurried back toward the office buildings. Jack stood there for a second, enjoying the quiet of the camp before walking back to the temporary bunkhouses.
When Jack pushed open the heavy wooden door of the barracks, the room smelled like sweat and old clothes. Most of the guys were wiped out, lying on their thin mattresses and staring at the ceiling or already asleep.
Jack grabbed his mess kit. The clatter of the metal was loud in the quiet room. Kenlil sat up, pushing his glasses up his nose.
"Is it time to eat?" Kenlil asked, looking exhausted.
The others looked over at Jack. Jack checked his watch.
"We have four minutes to get to the Mess Hall," Jack said. "We get twenty minutes to eat and ten minutes to rest back here. After that, we have to fall in at the main grounds. The rest of the regiment is getting here for assignments."
Tavros grunted and sat up. He grabbed his own kit, checking the clasp. "I don't care about the timing. I'm hungry enough to eat the furniture."
A young guy in his late twenties, a recruit named Jay Rool, groaned from a corner bunk. He put his face in his hands. "Ugh... I'm dead. Can't we just get ten more minutes? My legs are killing me."
Jack wanted to say yes. He was tired too. But orders were orders.
"I don't know what they do to people who are late here," Jack said quietly, "but I'd rather not find out on the first day. It's better to just get it over with. Let's go."
Jay groaned again but stood up, his joints popping. At the door, Kenlil was already waving them on. "Come on! The other companies are already moving. We're going to be at the back of the line if we don't move."
The guys filed out. Jack waited for Jay Rool to get his gear together. "I'm Jack, by the way. Jack Sterling."
Jay nodded and gave a weak handshake. "Jay. Let's get this over with."
The Second Battalion Mess Hall was loud. There was the constant sound of metal spoons hitting plates and a low murmur of voices. Recruits from Dog and Fox Company were already inside, lined up in the dim light of the hanging lanterns.
"Smells like wet dog and old onions," Kenlil whispered, holding his mess kit tight.
"Better than an empty stomach," Tavros replied, towering over the elf in line.
There were three different types of food for the different races. The humans got a thick mushroom stew, the elves got a lighter vegetable broth, and the beastfolk got a heavy mash.
When Jack got to the front, a cook slopped some gray-brown stew onto his plate. Another guy next to him was handing out small blue pills.
"Vitamins," the guy said, dropping one onto Jack's tray. "You have to take it. Drink it with your water as soon as you sit down. Next!"
Jack sat at a long table between Kenlil and Tavros. Kenlil was staring at his soup and then at the pill.
"Twenty minutes," Kenlil muttered. "I don't need twenty minutes to eat this. And what is this pill? Does it actually do anything?"
Tavros was already halfway through his plate. "They said it's a vitamin, Ken. Just eat it. If it's poison, at least we won't have to wake up early tomorrow."
"Just eat, Ken," Jack said, swallowing the pill. It tasted like metal and ozone, leaving a strange tingling on the back of his tongue. "We're on the clock."
Twenty-eight minutes later, the sun was gone and the sky was dark purple. Jack and the first batch of recruits were standing at attention on the main parade grounds.
It was a mess across the grounds. Trucks were unloading hundreds of new recruits. They were all in their new fatigues, looking confused and nervous compared to Jack's group.
Sergeants were standing on crates, shouting names from clipboards. As names were called, the new guys ran toward different flags for Able through Item company.
"Look at them," Jay Rool whispered out of the side of his mouth. "Most of them look like they've never seen a drill sergeant before."
Jack recognized some of the faces from Marmello—dockworkers and shop kids. But there were older guys too, men who looked like they had been in fights before. They didn't look nervous; they just looked bored.
It took over an hour to sort everyone out. When it was done, Easy Company had seventy-nine people: the fourteen from Jack's group and sixty-five new ones.
Lieutenant Mary Poppings walked out in front of them. Sergeant Lewis was standing right behind her.
"Listen up," Mary shouted. "Sergeant Lewis is going to take the new recruits to get their hair cut and get their gear. Move fast. You don't get dinner until you're done."
She looked over the group, her eyes stopping on Jack for a second before moving on.
"When you're finished," she said, "we're meeting at the Company Zone. The Commanding Officer is going to be there to put you into platoons and squads. You'll find out the sergeants who are going to be in charge of you. They're going to turn you into soldiers, or they'll break you trying."
The new guys looked nervous. Some of them were shifting their weight until a sergeant barked at them to stand still. Mary looked at them for a moment, then turned to the first batch.
"For those of you who got here early, you're responsible for the new guys," Mary said.
"You've had a head start. Teach them what you know. You aren't strangers anymore; you're brothers and sisters. If one person screws up, the whole squad pays. If you cause trouble, I'm going to blame your squad leader. I'll make his life miserable, and he'll make yours even worse. Settle your problems now. You aren't on your own anymore."
She paused, looking at the sixty-five new recruits. "Do you understand?"
"YES, LIEUTENANT!" they all shouted back. The sound was loud enough to make the birds in the nearby trees take flight.
Mary nodded to Lewis. "They're yours, Sergeant. Dismissed."
"Easy Company, on me!" Lewis barked.
As the new guys were led away to get their heads shaved, Jack and his friends started getting ready. Jack looked at Kenlil and Tavros. "Looks like we're the teachers now."
"I can barely tie my own boots," Kenlil muttered, but he followed as the group headed toward the bunkhouses. They knew it was going to be a long night, and it was their job to make sure these new guys didn't fall apart before the first day of training even started.