A/N: Hey, readers! I'm back with another story, this time in a collaboration with an author named DownintheDeep. This a prequel to my other Last of Us story, No Sound, Please. If you haven't read that, I suggest you do before you read this, just so you get to know the characters a little more. This story focuses on Jason and Riley, an OC pair in No Sound, Please. Due to the fact that this is a collaboration between two authors, each chapter will have a slightly different writing style. I will be posting who wrote what chapter, so that you will know who the author is and give them due credit. Anyway, enjoy and please leave a comment with any suggestions, advice, etc.
This chapter was written by: DownintheDeep
It was another regular day in the Denver Quarantine Zone. The kids were stuck inside the Military Boarding School and the military was keeping watch of the premises. Among the kids in the school, there was a boy named Jason who had brown eyes and dark brown hair. Jason had been living in this particular zone for what seemed like a matter of years now, and he had just turned the dreadful age of fourteen. He remembered what the military had told his parents when they had first moved into the zone. That he would have to join the military when he turned fourteen, and that he would have no say in the matter. He didn't know what he was feeling. On one hand, he was honoured that they would want him to be a part of the squad, but on the other, he was afraid. He was afraid of being away from his parents. He was afraid of getting hurt. Most importantly, he was afraid of dying a painful and gruesome death. He stopped in his train of thoughts when an armed man with shaggy black hair and bloodshot eyes walked into the room and approached him.
"Hey kid. You're Jason right?" The man had a really deep voice and he sounded as if he were in quite a rush.
Jason wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't ready to join the military but knew that if he refused to go, he would be in a heap load of trouble. He hesitated before having the nerve to respond.
"...Yeah." He finally said reluctantly. He regretted saying it the moment he did. Unfortunately for him, there was no going back now. He had to deal with becoming a soldier, whether he liked the idea or not.
"Come with me. You're going to be joining the military today." Before Jason could speak another word, the man grabbed his arm and squeezed it tightly while pulling him along with him. They had been walking for a couple of minutes and Jason was beginning to grow quite impatient. It wasn't long before Jason started to question the man's intentions.
"Why are you doing this? Where are you taking me? Why do I have to become a soldier? Am I in trouble or something? Where are my -" Jason was beginning to sound desperate. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now. He felt vulnerable in this man's arms and had no idea where he was taking him.
"Jesus, kid. You come with a mute button or something? Because you sure do ask a lot of questions. Well, I guess when you get promoted...we won't have to worry about you talking so much anymore." The man turned around, fearing that he had already said too much. The kid was already starting to ask a lot of questions, and he wasn't helping himself in any way by making Jason more and more curious with the stuff that he said.
Jason wasn't sure what he was talking about. He didn't think that he talked too much. He was just worried about what they were going to do to him. And what did he mean by the last thing he said? That they wouldn't have to worry about him talking so much anymore. Jason was starting to get a little frightened because he had no idea what to expect, but he was also somewhat curious.
"What do you mean?" He asked with one eyebrow raised. He had a gut feeling that the man wasn't going to give him a straight answer, but it was worth a shot. A bunch of thoughts began to run through his mind. What could possibly make me not want to talk so much anymore? Do I really talk that much? Is being part of the military really that bad of an experience? Did they punish you if you talked too much? Do I really have to go through with this? He shook his head, erasing all the thoughts in his mind in the process. He looked back up at the man who had now stopped pressing forward.
The man turned to face Jason and gave him a stern look. He was sick and tired of all of Jason's questions. He was ready to hand Jason off to his leader as soon as possible. Jason immediately realized that the man was starting to get a little irritated with him and decided that it would be best for him to be quiet. At least for the time being.
"Never mind. Forget I asked that." said Jason in a voice filled with fear. He didn't want to cross any lines right now. No, that's the last thing he wanted. He was still thinking about what the man had said, but he figured that it could wait a while. There were more important things to take care of at the moment, anyways.
They continued walking for about ten more minutes. Jason knew the streets of Denver by heart, but he had never come across this part of town. The man unlocked a gate between two warehouses and shoved him through the entrance. The boy didn't recognize the dingy alleyway, and wrinkled his nose at the stench of garbage lying against the walls. They continued walking down the narrow alley, and eventually ended up at a dead end. A run-down, red brick building stood before him. The faded black letters painted above the door read 'Military Headquarters', with the Denver Armed Forces insignia painted beside it. Jason shivered in fear. It was real now. He was going to be a soldier. He stayed frozen, staring at the insignia until he heard the man speak up with his gruff voice.
"Go on inside. Colonel Jones is waiting for you." The man began to walk away, but he halted when he heard the sound of Jason's voice directed towards him. He didn't want to turn around. He just wanted to get rid of the kid. He felt that he had already spent enough time with him and Jason was really starting to get on his last nerves.
"Hey! Aren't you going to come with me?" He asked with a pleading look in his eye. Jason wasn't usually afraid of being by himself, but he felt different this time. He was in an area that he had never seen before. He didn't know anyone in this area. For the first time in a while, he truly felt alone. Although, he had only met this man a few minutes ago, he felt that he was the only man that he could trust at the moment.
The man snickered. "I don't think so." There were two simple reasons why the man refused. For one, Jason was really starting to tick him off with his constant questions. But he was also in a rush to get back to the others to help them guard the perimeter. It was his job after all.
"Can I at least know your name?" Jason asked with a blank look on his face. Truthfully, he could have cared less what the man's name was, but he was just trying to make conversation. That and the fact that he was trying to avoid becoming a soldier for as long as he possibly could.
The man did not give him an answer at first. He wasn't exactly sure if he should. But he decided to tell him after a few moments after realizing that he would probably see him again later in the day during his training. "You may refer to me as Major Wright."
"Well Mr. Wright. It was nice meeting -" The man interrupted. He now realized that Jason obviously needed to learn what to call the upper ranks in the military. "That's Major Wright to you son."
"Sorry, Sir. That won't happen again." Jason was officially scared. The last thing he wanted to do was to get on the bad side of a man who seemed like he knew his way around his gun. He would do anything he had to in order to keep himself safe in this shithole of a world. The man gave him another stern look before walking away. While walking away, Jason heard him say one last thing.
"You might want to get in there quick. You don't want to keep Colonel Jones waiting. He's not exactly the kindest of the bunch. I'll see you later Jason. Probably." Jason decided to take the man's advice. He didn't like the man at all. In fact, he thought the man was a straight up asshole. But he was smart enough to understand that Major Wright was just trying to teach him how to become a good soldier.
He opened the door slowly. He peered through the open space and saw a bunch of dirty uniforms hanging on a rack, a rusty table made of wood at the entrance with two chairs in front of it, and a whole bunch of other stuff as well. He couldn't really make out the rest as it was quite dark within the confinement of the room. Maybe this won't be that bad after all. I mean, how bad could it possibly be? He stepped into the building, and was greeted by a strange man holding out his hand. The man appeared to have wavy black hair and bright green eyes. He didn't seem all that intimidating but for some reason, Jason felt that he was quite experienced in his work. Okay. I stand corrected. Jason was reluctant to shake his hand but he caved after a few moments, realizing that it would do him no harm.
"Welcome to our headquarters. I am Colonel Jones. You must be Jason, am I correct?"
Jason started to think to himself. So this must be the famous Colonel Jones that Major Wright was talking about. I thought he was strict. He doesn't seem so bad. In fact, he seems almost...nice. He came back to reality and nodded his head. "That's right." he stated in a proud manner.
"Well Jason, you seem like a great young man. I had a chat with your father earlier and I think you would be a solid addition to our growing armed forces." Jason wasn't sure how to respond to that. It was kind of creepy to him. He concluded that it was most likely a compliment and addressed the situation the way he felt was appropriate.
"Uh, thanks. I guess..." The man chuckled. He had never met a kid like Jason. One who didn't look terrified. One who wasn't screaming for their parents to help them. No. Jason seemed much more stronger, mentally and physically, than the others, and he thought that it was a great asset for Jason to have.
"Alright. Let's get down to business. Please, take a seat." Jason obliged. The man opened his mouth to speak again, but before he could, he was interrupted by Jason.
"Sorry to interrupt. But do I really have to join the military? I mean, I don't think I would be good at it." he said with a sad tone in his voice. Colonel Jones was discouraged by this remark. He was upset that Jason was not very eager to become a soldier, but he was also frustrated at the fact that Jason interrupted him while he tried to speak. He tried his best to hold his composure. He didn't want Jason to find out how strict he could really be. At least until he signed the documents officially making him a soldier.
"Look kid. I know you may not be eager to go through with this, but we have lost a lot of recruits over the past couple of years and we need to make up for it. And on the contrary, I think you fit in very well with our men. Your body type seems very sturdy and you have quite the build for a boy your age." Jason sighed. He knew there was no way he was getting around this.
"Alright fine. Let's just get this over with." Colonel Jones grabbed the registration papers and handed them to Jason. Jason flipped through the pages and signed each slot that the Colonel had pointed too. It seemed like it was taking hours in Jason's eyes. Page after page, signature after signature, Jason was beginning to grow tired of writing the same signature over and over again. His hand was starting to throb with pain. Once they were done, Jason handed it back to him, trying not to show his pain through his facial expression.
Colonel Jones looked at the documents thoroughly before responding. "Alright Jason. Now that you're officially registered, we need to start teaching you the basics of the military. First things first. Manners. Don't interrupt me when I'm speaking, you understand me boy?" Jason felt both embarrassed and guilty. If he was going to do this, he wanted to be the best solider he could possibly be, and so far, he wasn't setting a very good impression. He also felt somewhat played. It was almost as if the Colonel had become very strict in the blink of an eye. And it had happened right after Jason had signed the papers. Jason was suspicious, but he didn't want to do anything wrong on his first day as a soldier, so he decided to play it cool and let it go. "I apologize Colonel Jones. I'll make sure that it never happens again."
"Good. Now here's your uniform. Head on over to the training grounds in the back. There's a couple of other recruits around your age back there so you'll know if you're in the right place." He handed him a navy blue uniform, a helmet, a pair of military boots, and a semi-auto rifle. Jason stared at the gun as if he had never held a gun in his life. Jason had used a gun in the past, but nothing like this one. His parents would only allow him to use a pistol and nothing more. He heard the sound of the Colonel speaking again and immediately looked back up at him.
"What are you doing? Get moving. We don't have all day. There's a room for you to change right over there. Let's move! Let's move!" He gave Jason a gentle shove to get his feet moving. Jason took the hint and started jogging towards the area that the Colonel had pointed out earlier. It was nothing like he had expected. He walked through a wide, dark hallway and became extremely cautious when he heard the sound of mysterious groans coming from the rooms ahead. At first, he thought that it could have been infected that had snuck into the building, but fortunately for him, it was just the sound of his fellow cadets groaning in pain.
"Oh wait..." If they look like they're in that much pain...oh boy. I think I'm in for a lot of trouble today. No. I can't think like that. Come on Jason. Snap out of it! You can do it, He thought. He made it to an empty room and decided that it was as good of a place as any. It wasn't great. Frankly, it was horrid. But it was the world they lived in. The room smelled awful. There were used rags lying everywhere. In the corner of the room, there was the body of a dead Clicker lying on the ground. While changing, he kept looking over at the Clicker to ensure it was dead. He was a bit paranoid.
Once he had finally finished putting on his uniform, he felt more comfortable than he originally thought he would. The uniform wasn't too tight or too loose on his figure. It fit just right. He laced up his boots and double checked to make sure that his helmet was on sturdy before proceeding to head towards the training grounds like Colonel Jones had asked him to.
When he made it to the training grounds, it wasn't what he expected at all. He noticed a handful of recruits his age lined up beside each other on what looked to be a deserted battleground. He wasn't sure if this was the best idea. But he had to try. He willingly signed the papers, and knew deep down that if he disobeyed the Colonel, he would be in a shitload of trouble. He pressed forward towards the other cadets, and in the corner of his eye, he noticed a man that seemed awfully familiar and a smile grew slowly on his face. It was Major Wright.
"Cadet! Glad you had the courtesy to join us today. Alright we're going to start with basic training. We'll start with the obstacle course. You're going to run over and crawl under those logs that we have set up. Then you're going to scale the 4 meter high walls over there. And lastly, you're going to take your rifles and shoot down those five targets. Are we clear cadets?"
"Yes, Sir!" They all answered in unison as if they had been there for weeks, even though the majority of them had only started that morning.
"Alright. Let's move! Let's move! Go! Go! Go!" The cadets proceeded through the course in an orderly fashion. Jason was the last one in line. All of the cadets had made it through the first obstacle by crawling under the logs, except for Jason. He had gotten stuck under one of the bigger logs and the other cadets noticed this and chuckled before running off. However, one cadet turned back and approached him. It was a girl. She had beautiful, blonde, shoulder-length hair and incredibly blue eyes. He didn't expect anyone to help him, let alone a girl, but he was appreciative nonetheless.
"Hey. Looks like you need some help." She reached her hand out towards Jason. He took her hand and she struggled. But after a couple of seconds, he started to budge and she was able to pull him out from under the log.
"Thanks. I'm glad you helped me out unlike the rest of those dicks over there." said Jason. He was happy that someone was willing to help her. This girl seemed aggressive and surprisingly powerful for her misleading size, but at least she was nice.
"Don't mention it. I'm Riley. Look. We should keep going. Major Wright's giving us a dirty look. We'll talk later." She ran over towards the gray wall that they had to scale which looked dangerously unsteady. Jason decided that she was right and followed close behind her in pursuit. This is going to be a very long day... He thought.