Chapter 7: Enlistment – Johnny
The high pitch of the door bell followed by the low pitch rang annoyingly in Johnny's ears. He turned to his left to stare at the entry hallway. He let a long and prolonged sigh escape him at the effort of having to answer. Loud knocks, almost violent, entered the hallway and the sound bounced from wall to wall. Johnny became irritated as he leaned against one wall to balance himself. "I'm coming, cool it!"
He swung open the door to meet a most annoyed gaze of his sister. She shoved the plastic bag against him. He barely prevented it from falling of his chest. He grunted in an effort to straighten out his back and saw her arms crossed with fingers tapping. Johnny stepped to the side to let his sister in, to which she took the offer. He checked the contents of the bag and gently set it to the side. "Thanks for getting this stuff for me."
"You can thank me by going outside," she retorted as she picked up a few articles of his clothing off the floor.
"You are still as much of a slob I remember since our childhood days."
"Yea, so?"
"So," she stepped out from throwing his clothes into the washer. "If you keep this up, you won't be able to find a girlfriend, let alone a wife."
"Don't get on my case about that too," he shook her off and pushed past her to his computer chair. He turned on his machine and patiently waited for the boot up sequence to complete. She handed him a list written on a torn piece of paper. He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. "Paper in this day and age, really?"
"It does the job, quit your whining," she shot back at him, leaving him speechless. "I got everything except for the thermal paste that you requested. The shop you told me about for this stuff was out, and I didn't want to go out of my way to find another one in the area. I have to go home now and prepare dinner after all."
"Hey, what do I do about the thermal paste then, contact you later for it?"
The sister sighed heavily in increasing frustration. "Take this as an opportunity to finally step outside. I won't be picking up any thermal paste for you or anything. Go do it yourself."
Johnny watched the front door close with her taking her leave. He looked around at the various spots of the carpet that he could not see once before. It felt refreshing to once again see the floor. Johnny stared back down to the list and scratched the back of his head in deep thought. This is quite the predicament. He checked the time and found it to be a rather satisfactory time period of the day to collect the missing part. Johnny quickly went into the washroom to cleanup and dress as fancy as he could. Johnny stopped at his front door to wear his worn out sneakers and did a few stretches of his legs. Alright, you got this. He rested his hand on the door handle. You can go outside and do this. He began to turn the handle, when suddenly he felt all courage evacuate his body. Nope, no, I don't got this!
His whole body froze as if turned into a popsicle by a sudden chill. Like a statue, he stood in one spot, simply staring at the door. His grip however tightened against the door handle. Oh, quit being such a pussy Johnny and move! He finally managed to provoke action, swung the door open and stepped out for the first time in what felt like years. Outside the building, he felt the light gentle gust blow past his face, reminding him of a feeling he had perhaps secretly yearned for.
The plump man began his walk into the bustling streets. With every step, his heart pounded faster. With every step, he felt the various gazes of those passing by peel a little away at his skin. He felt as if he was being peeled down to his core, peeled until he was left naked and vulnerable. Is this what being cooped up inside my apartment has done to me all this time? He took a sharp turn to his right into a well known shop for its high quality electronic parts.
"Well, this is a surprise," said a voice from behind him as he browsed their wares. Johnny turned around to instantly recognize the employee. An acquaintance with whom he had grown a trusting relationship. The employee looked at the goods Johnny was eyeing previously. "I'm surprised you haven't sent your sister to pick something up for you."
"I did," Johnny answered as he turned his attention back to the thermal pastes from various manufacturers. "But she didn't find the one item that I needed. So I had to go step out today."
"You know, you could have just ordered it online for a pickup."
"Yeah," Johnny replied. "I know, but I guess I was in too much of a hurry."
"You are one of the laziest people I know dude," the employee spoke back with a grin. "So you stepping out in a hurry to get this item is a little hard to believe."
"Well I need this item badly," Johnny picked one of the thermal paste tubes and analyzed its brand name. "My computer has been complaining lately. Probably just needs a thermal paste change."
As the employee saw Johnny place the tube back down, he raised an eyebrow in question. "Is there any particular brand you are looking for?"
"Yeah, this," Johnny handed the employee a piece of paper. The employee hummed in deep thought as if he was recollecting his memories of products for sale. "Sorry man, but we aren't carrying this brand right now. We have tons of other brands though."
"No, this is the only one that I feel comfortable using on my equipment," Johnny gently stored the paper in his pocket. "Any ideas as to who could have it in stock right now?"
"You could try the shop at the end of this street."
"Thanks," Johnny nodded a respectful farewell as he left for his next destination. Johnny checked the time. It was easily past the time for people to have gone home from work. I must have stepped out during rush hour then. I didn't realize that I spent so much time in there. He walked down until coming past a small alley opening. It was there he froze at hearing the sound of a feline. He turned to his right to take note of the golden furred cat with black streaks stretching across its back. "This is unusual, this city doesn't see a whole lot of strays. Well, at least I don't...not that I step out much to begin with."
He bent down towards the cat as it purred up against his foot. He gently rested his fingers against the small, yet cuddly head and smothered the top. He gently rubbed his fingers, almost in a soothing sensation. "You hungry by any chance?"
Johnny quickly got up and fetched a small bottle of milk alongside a coffee. He poured some milk in the small cap as a test. The cat drank it heartily. He poured more, but this time in a larger dish he just recently bought for this occasion. He took a sip of his cold coffee. That hits the spot. He looked down at the cat and then up at the slightly darkening skies. His mind felt light and free of worries. It was a blissful moment with a blissful creature by his side. This isn't so bad. In fact, its really nice.
However, like with all good things, this moment had to come to an end as he dried his coffee bottle of its sustenance. The cat purred with happiness by his side as it gently grazed it's soft fur against his arm. He peeked over towards the bowl, the whole of the milk bottle was gone. "So is your belly full now?"
The cat purred with its eyes closed shut in a playful manner. Johnny could not help but let a little smile escape the corners of his lips. "I guess that's a yes. Well then, I have to go as well Mr. Cat."
Quickly, he was back out onto the streets, where the crowd was no longer as hectic or busy, and the skies were even darker. Johnny made a fast approach to the shop. He looked at the time, only ten minutes to get everything I want. Alrigthy, better get at it then. With a keen eye, he studied the stocked goods and smiled in victory. Looks like I will find all that I need here. He went in with a lighter load, but came out with a bag full of goodies. He felt his arms weigh down and the smile of victory quickly turned to a frown of effort. Feels like my arms will turn to jello any moment now. Man, I'm a lazy potato. He wandered the quieter and emptier streets as the night began to overcast itself above him. He fast approached the street where his apartment was on. But noticed the spinning glare of red and blue lights. Johnny felt his heart beat faster. It was as if his heart dropped all the morale he had and left him with a growing dread. He rested his back against the wall and peeked from corner of his eye. What he feared came to be. Shit!
By the front entrance stood two police cars, with cops patrolling the front entrance without rest. His eyes moved up towards his room and noticed the lights on. Rookie mistake, he pondered as he grabbed his phone and with haste he inputted a sequence of keys. Good luck getting any evidence now. A few moments later, he noticed the lights turn off and the cops come out with a clearly frustrated grimace. Johnny couldn't help but smile rather bashfully. He moved into his apartment as soon as the coast was clear. The whole area was a mess. Quite the forceful bunch they were. He also took note of the computer turned on. But to his relief, they had never made it past the login screen. Not that it matters now since I have deleted all the files on there. Even with any techs here, they won't be able to get shit. Johnny though had been in the business of paranoia long enough to know that reality is never as it seems. They will be back. He quickly rushed over to his computer casing. Unplugged the power, extracted the hard drive, as well as various other components and drilled a hole in them all. Unsatisfied with the results, he took care of the various components and dumped them down the garbage disposal of the building. That should keep you guys busy on a wild goose chase for a while. Have fun. He wasted no time in rushing back towards his bed and looked underneath towards a secret hatch. He gently slid open the the cover and shook his head in disbelief. Those guys really were rookies. He took a hold of his bag, one that he always kept prepared if he ever needed to go on the run. Johnny did not take time for granted as he rushed out the door and sent a quick text to his sister, only to receive a call moments later.
"What's this about you leaving Johnny?!"
"Hey," he spoke in an almost out of breath fashion as he rushed down the streets, avoiding as many cameras as possible. "Listen, I can't talk for long. As I said in my text, I'm going on a journey."
"Journey, why now of all times?!"
"Too many questions sis," he shot back. They are probably tracking this call already by now. He turned a corner to notice a cop car doing its nightly rounds. He rushed across the crosswalk and hid into a dark back alley. "Look, there are certain circumstances, and so I need to go."
"What's going on Johnny, did you get in trouble?"
"If I tell you, you will become involved," he said with a sharp tone. "It's better if you keep your distance."
"But we are family," she retorted. "No matter what I may say, you are still my brother, what's going on?!"
"Dammit," he hit his back against the wall hard as he slid down towards the ground. "It's the cops, they are after me."
"The what?!"
"This is why I didn't want to tell you."
"But why would they be after you?!" she asked with clear panic growing into her voice. "What happened Johnny, what could have caused this?!"
"I have an idea," he replied as he quickly got up to find a new hiding spot at the notice of a few flashlights entering the alley. In a whisper he continued. "But I can't say here, no matter how much I want to tell you. I'm sorry."
"Then come here, we will sort it out somehow, please."
"No can do sis," he smirked as he then noticed the cops approach even closer. "I need to go, I don't know when or how I will contact you again. Thanks for everything up till now."
"Jo-", he quickly cut the communication short and turned off his device. One of the officers stopped, as did his partner with him. "Control is saying that the suspect turned off his phone, we can't track him."
"Well we should sweep this and the surrounding area to make sure he doesn't get far."
"That's a good idea," the cop answered as he shined the flashlight behind him. "Let's make this fast, I hear that the Ronnie's Diner is having a steak special tonight on their menu. I don't want to miss that."
"Haha, you with your food at this time," the other officer chuckled as he called in for a search team. Johnny took this moment to slip out into a more crowded street filled with the momentum of the night life. A street filled with vibrant neon colours. Women and men, all walking in revealing, ripped clothing with wild hair styles Johnny never understood the appeal of. Gotta keep it together, he thought to himself as he continued to walk amongst a large crowd while breaking out in sweats. He kept his hands, which shook with the nervousness at the size of the population, tightly gripping the straps of his bag. He hurried to slip away near the next big intersection and scurried into a back alley. He took out his phone, and destroyed the SIM card. Good luck tracking me now even with all your fancy gadgets police. Johnny used its built-in flashlight as a guide through the darkness. He came out the other end with a cautious attitude, and studied his surroundings with no rest. He hurried into yet another alley and rested a moment to catch his clearly exasperated breath. Johnny stood up once more and continued to run. He ran with continued haste as if there was a vengeful spirit chasing him, one that did not listen to reason, but only to the violence.
Johnny managed to reach his destination just in the nick of time. He leaned with a face drenched in sweat up against a ticket counter much to the surprise of the employee. "Are you alright sir?"
"Yeah, just...get me a ticket...to the longest distance bus you got."
"Um, we have several, which one would you like?" asked the employee as he pointed at the schedule above Johnny's head. Johnny's face began to turn blue from the effort and he sighed in annoyance. "Just get me any bro, any of them will do. I'm travelling, I don't care where I go."
"Are you su-"
"Yes, I'm sure," Johnny answered as he felt his face turn bluer. "Please, just make it fast."
"Right, may I just see some ID first?"
"Sure," Johnny reached into his bag and held out a passport. "Will this do?"
"Absolutely," the employee prepared the ticket for him. "So, how are you enjoying your trip so far Max?"
"It's not bad," Johnny replied as he gratefully took back his passport and a ticket upon paying. The employee smiled courteously as he watched Johnny wobble away. "Please be sure to get some rest on the bus."
Johnny threw his bag down onto the seat to his left as he slouched down into the window seat. Ah, finally some rest. He kept his head low from the passing traffic, at least until they could be on the move. That client that once wanted me to plant the malware in police documents, they were probably what got me caught. They snitched probably...unless that document was from the police themselves. Well not that it matters now because I will be outta here soon. Before he had realized it though, he was already drifting into the arms of his mistress, sleep.
"Sir...sir!"
Johnny awoke to the sudden jolting sensation. He covered his eyes at the burst of light piercing like sharp spears through the window. He shifted in his seat, slightly disorientated by his strange, yet slightly familiar surroundings. The bus seemed familiar, and yet all else seemed like a mystery. Where am I? The individual, a man, that woke him stood back a few steps as he pointed out to the exit. "We are at our destination."
A timely response, just on time like a mind reader, thought the fugitive with a small smirk. "Thanks for waking me up."
"You must have been real tired to have slept all the way to here."
"You could say that," Johnny answered with a sheepish laugh as he gathered his bag and quickly departed to the bustling noises of the bus depot. Around the depot were the cars of a busy city, stopping little and going fast within the limits. Everyone has someplace to be after all. Johnny exited the depot to the various high rise buildings and electric billboards. He studied the bright surroundings with great intrigue as his eyes widened at the architecture of the city. To him it was a mystery, but a marvellous one to try and decode. As he continued his intriguing stroll, he came across a most curious, and perhaps a fateful billboard. He stopped clean in his track and arched his neck up to read the message in it's entirety. "Come, enlist and work for us. You take care of the nations, and the UNSC will take care of you. No matter the background, as long as you pass the basics, you are qualified in our eyes. What are you waiting for? Sign up now at the nearest recruitment center!"
Way too much text, thought the ex-hacker as he studied the address written on the bottom right. It doesn't seem too far if I'm reading the road signs properly here. I should be able to walk there. He thought as he began the journey. Perhaps, that billboard was truly a fateful encounter. He felt a smile creep up on his face, one he did not feel any need to suppress out of embarrassment of any sort, it was one he wanted for the world to know, he was close to victory.
He stopped at a red light to notice the carefree children playing amidst the destruction left behind from the terror war. However, Johnny quickly cracked a smirk when he watched the comical scene of a local enforcement officer chasing the kids off, and the officer himself quickly ran out of breath. Maybe you shouldn't be hitting those donuts hard, thought Johnny as he noticed the dome shaped belly, somewhat sagging downwards. He walked past a street vendor much to his surprise as well. In this day and age, a street vendor? He stopped by to see the various food items on menu. On a whim, he felt a sudden craving for lime flavoured shaved ice. As he let a spoonful rest in his mouth, he felt the tingly shivers travel from his mouth to his body. That's sweet, and sour at the same time, he pondered with a wide smile. My city never had any of this, at least I never saw any of this. It's not so bad to experience new things like these once in a while.
As more shaved ice melted in his mouth, and the cup became lighter, he drew closer to the recruitment center. But before he knew it, he was at the location. He puffed out his chest wide and walked past the sliding doors. He looked at the nearest customer service counter and approached with the utmost confidence. "I would like to sign up for the UNSC, where do I start?"
"I'm happy to hear that you are here with such enthusiasm," answered the attendant behind a thin plastic glass window, rather reluctantly as Johnny took note of them scanning his physique. Oh just you wait, I will show you all what I can do, never going to need to eat those words up ever! He declared, yet quickly regretted doing so. I'm so going to suck if I actually need to eat those words up. The attendant worked away on their computer as they brought up a password protected application. Johnny stared blankly at the employee as they inputted their password. "You know, you guys should implement some sort of transition feature in this plastic glass. Have it go dark when you are putting in the password, because I pretty much know what your login information is now."
"That is an apt observation sir," said the attendee as he proceeded to pass the form forward to Johnny. "Please fill out your information and send it back to me."
"Sure," Johnny replied, and he quickly managed to correctly fill out all the fields. He sent the form back, and waited more as he noticed the rhythmic typing of the employee. After a few minutes of waiting, Johnny was quickly beginning to lose his patience as evidenced by his constant tapping. Like a puppy, his ears perked up at hearing the magic words. "Alright, I'm done inputting this information into the database. Can you make it back here tomorrow morning at nine for the basic checkup?"
"You got it," Johnny responded as he exited the building to find refuge for the night. Hopefully the police drag out the hunt for me some more, and not extend their search warrant to other states.
The next hot and sunny day, where Johnny's skin felt like it was gleaming from the sweat, he stood in front of the recruitment center, brimming with excitement. Even for me, this is rare, looking forward to something. He thought with a quick follow-up, then again, I don't have much of a choice as I don't want to live like a hunted man for the rest of my life. If doing this gets me off this planet and far away from the cops, all the better then. Of course, then I can be lazy as I like, hmm...being able to take sweet, sweet day naps while getting paid, that is the dream. I will get to you someday.
He entered the center to quickly meet the gaze of the familiar attendant. The employee was quick to recognize the plump man, after all, none could ever forget that ball shaped belly so easily. "Thank you for coming on time, please take a seat to the side and one of our testers will be right with you!"
"Thanks!" replied Johnny in a highly energetic voice. I wonder if that was way too cheery, well it was definitely not me that would say stuff like that. Oh well, I be winging it! Just as his thoughts finished, a man of good health approached the ex-hacker. "You must be Johnny, I will be administering your tests today."
"Cool," answered Johnny as he found that the jitters bug had bitten him and that he could now hardly control the shaking in his legs. Calm down Johnny, you got this. You can take on the police and escape successfully, this should be a piece of cake. He followed the assessor into a room filled with several desks. "Take a seat anywhere that you like."
As Johnny settled in, the tester stood by the desk and flipped a booklet of questions over, with alongside an answer sheet. "This test is a general educations test, it shouldn't be too hard. You get two hours to complete this. Be sure to read the instructions within the questions booklet carefully and leave only when you are certain of your responses. Good luck."
Ten minutes passed as the administrator waited outside. Much too his surprise though, he saw the door slowly slide open. Giving up? He pondered as he noticed the plump man step outside with a rather confusing expression to make sense of. Johnny briskly approached his test administrator and pointed back into the now empty room with his thumb. "I'm all done."
"Only ten minutes have gone by."
"Yup."
"You mean to tell me that you completed the booklet of three hundred questions in about ten minutes?"
"Yup."
"You do know that some of those questions are the type that most people tend to get stuck on for majority of the testing period. Some of them are meant to be difficult."
"Are they?" Johnny pondered as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know, it all seemed pretty easy to me."
The administrator's mouth fell wide open as he walked past the genius. He stepped into the room only to feel the overwhelming feeling of being pushed out by the smarts left behind by Johnny. No, too strong. Must fight the urge to leave. Too many smarts in here, I'm the instructor and a resident badass. I can't let something like this defeat me! The administrator walked straight out with a high head. "Alright, so I gotta say, you definitely have the brains if you walked out that fast all confident like."
Johnny sat about, basking in the wonderful, golden coloured sunlight. An invisible smile crept up on him as he clenched his right hand into a circular fist. My victory is so close. The administrator motioned for Johnny to follow into the next area. Having walked at a fast pace, the two entered a huge gym like area filled with an obstacle course. "Okay, part of your second test here is this obstacle course. Complete it as fast as you can. Then we will move on to a physical."
Johnny who was once at a high point immediately felt himself be pulled downwards. His heart nearly dropped, instantly raising all worries in him. Obstacle course...fuck me! He studied his environment with a keen eye for detail, however his attempts were cut short by the administrator. "Don't bother trying to see if there is anything here that can give you an advantage. Just get through the course fair and square."
"That's a tall order sir," Johnny commented as he prepared himself behind a white painted line. He bent down with his hands holding his weight up with all their might. The administrator raised an eyebrow at what he could see to be a glistening off his skin. Already sweating? The last one didn't even break a sweat while doing this, and he was dumb as bricks to begin with. The administrator gently placed a whistle in his mouth. With the taste of plastic in his mouth, he quickly blew the whistle and watched the plump candidate take a huge step forward. Johnny's face instantly turned from determination to pain. His eyes squinted with this lips arching upwards with a slight squeal. His face wrinkled with a failed landing as his body slowly fell down and rolled like a giant meatball. The administrator quickly covered his mouth for he could not afford to shame the applicants. That has to be the worst performance on this obstacle course ever, of all time.
Somewhere on a tropical beach, where there stood a small motel, a loud sneeze escaped the kitchen. A pale white skinned man, once a freelancer sniffled as a thought crossed his mind. Is someone taking my catch phrase or something?
At the testing arena, the administrator walked over to Johnny who lied belly flat with his face planted firmly into the soft mattress. "Are you alright, would you like to try again?"
He heard no response. He leaned in closer, and with a louder voice inquired the same, but once more there was no response. "What's going on with y-"
It was then that he realized the situation. The once pained expression had relaxed, in fact if the administrator had to bet for it, he would venture to guess in regards to whether his consciousness is there right now with him or not. Really, sleeping at a time like this? I suppose that is one of the curses of having the ability to lead such a carefree life in peace times. He gently poked Johnny on his back, only for the ex-hacker to quickly realize what he had been doing upon wiping some of his sweat. He quickly stood up, although he just barely did so nearly falling under the weight of his own belly and his knees almost gave out. "How'd I do?"
"Worse than my grandmother," the administrator answered. As if patted on the back, Johnny breathed a sigh of relief. "Good to see I can still maintain the status quo. For a moment there I thought I had actually expended some efforts, whew!"
"You want to be a soldier, but not have to physically work?"
"Yes sir," Johnny answered now with his own blunt honesty. The recruiter looked at him, completely taken back by the words. He rested his chin in his hand and let out a long hum. It was one of deep in thought. "Normally we would just downright reject people with no physical ability. But I think I have a unit that you would fit right in. How about it?"
"Is it a ticket off world?"
"Sure is," the administrator answered as he pointed up towards the stars. "Think of it as a free trip through space when you will be transferred if you choose to accept the offer. So the offer i-"
"Deal!" Johnny took the recruiter's hand in his in a rather violent handshake. The man in his surprise quickly stopped the handshake as he recomposed himself with a deep breath. "I haven't even told you about what the offer is yet."
"I'm all good," Johnny replied with a clearly content smile. "I will handle any strange things coming my way as they come. For now, trust me bro, I'm just happy to get the news that I get to go off world!"
"Why so excited?"
"Oh...it's because its just been a childhood dream of mine," Johnny replied. "You know, going out to space and all. Anyways, hooray for the UNSC!"
I don't know if I should feel happy that I get to boost my recruitment numbers so easily, or if I should feel sad to be attracting so many weirdos this month. The recruiter gently nodded his head as he led Johnny back out to the waiting area. He handed him a digital pad to fill out. "This is one of the final few steps in ensuring that we can move forward with your enlistment."
A bright flame sparked in Johnny's eyes and in under a minute, he had already filled the form. "So, when do I begin basic camp?"
"I will send you the details later," he replied while studying the data pad. "The form looks good, see you soon Johnny."
"Thank you sir," Johnny quickly shook his tester's hand into a firm handshake. His once victorious smile turned even brighter like the sun. My victory is assured now. Good luck catching me when I'm off this world suckers!
A/N: A pretty long chapter, but I hope it was entertaining. What did you think about this chapter?
I will admit to anyone that may have felt the pacing potentially suffered, I felt it too when I was editing it. This was written with large breaks in between as life got busy (and still is), so I could not necessarily maintain 100% continuity with pacing. I hope it doesn't detract too much from the reading experience though.
The schedule has been really shaken up for this story as I don't get much time to be writing right now. So I don't know when the next chapter will be. Sorry, but that's just the nature of things right now.
Hopefully you have enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next one!
Thank you for your continued readership!
~ Monty
