I watch the sunrise slowly crest over the horizon as the four of us enjoy our ride in the bed of the pickup truck. I tuck a lock of messy pink hair behind my ear and think about my sister. Maybe if we complete our task before anyone else and I got some time off, I could spend it exploring Midgar with her. I felt awful for leaving my sister, but I was glad she'd get to leave a relatively normal life with the money I'd make doing this. Once this stupid war was over, maybe I could transfer to guard duty and be home every night with her. For now, the hotel near the school I managed to get her in was all I could afford until after basic training was over.
"This is so cool!" Chris shouts with excitement, stood up in the bed of the truck.
"Sit down! If you fall out we aren't stopping to get you," I scald.
"Good thing we didn't take that approach with you when you went for a little swim," he fires back.
I scowl at Garrett's teasing, but it made me think about the bravery Cloud in particular has shown me; a complete stranger. Was there something to the mythical army comradery or were they doing it to not fail the course? After nearly killing that girl, I knew they weren't drawn to my inner friendliness. I guess until they prove me otherwise, I should consider them my friends.
"How do you feel?" I ask the blonde, noticing him grimace with every bump.
"Like I fell off a cliff," he replies bluntly.
"Don't be a baby, it was more of a slope," I smile, getting a laugh out of him.
"Stop it," Cloud coughs in pain whilst trying to reign in his amusement. "You think we'll get back before anyone else?"
"I think so. We lost a few hours in the beginning, but I doubt anyone's hitched a ride back," I answer.
"You mean cheated?" Alex grins.
"It's called being resourceful. You can always get out and walk," I fire back.
"Hey, I'm not complaining. You did good, Farron."
He gives me a smile and returns his gaze back towards our destination. The hours tick by and I'm left wondering about the scale of the world I live in for the very first time. Other than a single trip to the Gold Saucer for Serah's eighth birthday, I'd never left my home town. Nobody in Costa Del Sol ever left the place other than for business or the occasional holiday to the ski resort on the northern continent. It was our own slice of natural heaven, unlike the industrial hell I now lived in.
"Hey, chocobo head! What are you gonna do when we get back to Midgar and hopefully get some time off?" I ask, determined to pull myself from my own thoughts.
"Probably train and hit the gym. What about you, moody?" He answers, adding his weak retort.
"I'm not moody," I scoff. "Probably go through all of this banking stuff to see exactly how and when we get paid."
"Got your eyes on a shiny purse or some new shoes, Light?" Alex teases. "I can't wait to spend all of that sign up bonus!"
I roll my eyes at what his idea of my desires were but don't bother to respond. None of that stuff had ever really interested me, but in truth I couldn't afford to buy anything. I needed every penny to secure Serah's future. It might not be in a big villa with a sea view, but we'd be together and that's all that mattered to me. Adapt and survive, Farron.. Adapt and survive..
"What about you, Cloud? Got you eye on something or will you have to spend it all on hair products?" Chris asks the blonde.
"This is just how my hair is," he shrugs. "I was gonna buy a sword, but we can only use issued kit unless you're a SOLDIER operative."
"Only an idiot would want to trade in an assault rifle for a sharp metal stick," Chris laughs, patting his rifle lovingly.
"Sephiroth doesn't use a sword," Cloud replies, but seems to instantly regret it when the two boys tease him for his admiration of the man.
I'd never seen the Silver haired man in person, but he was used in every piece of Shinra propaganda and advertising. The recruitment officer who visited my home town would plaster posters of Sephiroth in all of the bars and hotels when he visited. Although nobody really left my town to join the Shinra army, I suppose it was easy to see the appeal to Cloud. The idea of being the same as this god-like hero who was keeping the world safe from Wutai's deadly warriors was something he aspired to be. But if half of what they say about that man is true, there's no way he's human.
"Look! It's Midgar!"
The other three of us turn in excitement at Alex's outburst, finding the peak of the industrial metropolis emerging over the horizon. We must have been about an hour away, but all I could think about is ringing that bell and collapsing into my bed. I felt sorry for the guy's who had to share a dorm, but at least they were all friends. I enjoyed the privacy my attitude towards the other girls afforded me and I have every intention of it remaining like that until I qualify.
As we get closer to the city, the road starts to rise from the ground, turning to a bridge that gradually climbs over the two miles to reach the upper plates. Alex looked down sadly at the slums below, keeping his eyes fixated on the desolate favelas until the road levelled out and emerged through the edge of the plate. The monstrous reactors that lined the circumference of the city, dividing the floating plates spewed a cerulean mist into the air and the calmness of nature we started the exercise with was a distant memory.
"When we get some time off I'm heading to sector eight," Chris tells us. "Sneak into some bars and meet some girls."
"Not with that face," I say bluntly, earning a mock look of offence.
It takes another fifteen minutes to get to the gates of sector six, and the old man pulls up fifty yards before it. The four of us jump out of the truck and offer our eternal gratitude to the man who had saved us from two days of hard walking. He pulls his yellow truck off with a wave, leaving us to turn our attention to the gate and eventually our beds. As we approach I count a dozen Shinra infantrymen and a man wearing a blue, sleeveless, turtle-neck sweater and a helmet different from the rest.
"That's a SOLDIER!" Cloud practically squeaks with joy at the sight on the man in the distance.
"You're not gonna be all fangirly are you?" Alex teases him as we approach.
"Present your ID's guys," one of the infantrymen casually said as we reached him.
"We don't have any," Garret explained sheepishly.
As soon as he finished his sentence I had a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. The guard drew his weapon, causing everyone else to go from casually standing around to training their weapons on us. I place my hands in the air, determined not to be shot by some trigger happy idiot. He screams at us to lie face down on the ground with our hands on our head and we do so without question.
"This is checkpoint six A. We have four possible Wutai spies detained. Requesting immediate transfer to interrogation cells," I hear the man say, presumably through a radio.
"Don't scare the poor kids," another voice tells him in a much more friendly and casual tone. "You four stand up. He's just messing with you," he laughs.
The four of us stand up cautiously to find the SOLDIER member with a big grin sticking out from underneath his helmet. The other infantrymen burst into laughter and I felt like taking my rifle and shooting one of them. If this was there idea of a joke, it wasn't a funny one.
"All of the gates were given the files on any new recruit on training exercises outside of the city. We spotted you on facial recognition a mile away," the SOLDIER explains to us. "Open the gates and let them through."
I do my best to resist the urge to scowl at the guard as I wait for the vast, steel gates to part in the middle and slowly open, revealing the military district of Midgar. The area in front of us was unknown as we were taken from Midgar in the back of a truck, but it couldn't be that difficult to navigate. We must have been less than a mile away from that bell and my competitive mature was beginning to kick in.
"We're so close. Let's go!" I say to the others with enthusiasm.
"That was so cool! Did you see him? I can't wait to join SOLDIER!" Cloud shouts, seemingly ignoring me.
"You can go back and ask him on a date later, but we need to ring that bell, remember?" I remind him impatiently.
"You're right," the blonde nods. "Lead the way, Light."
In truth I had no idea where I was going as the barracks area for our age group was just a tiny part of the vast plate complex. It was just a giant pizza slice that was going to get narrower and narrower until I found what I was looking for. The four of us broke into a jog down the main road of the sector, keeping our eyes peeled for anything recognisable. On my left were large hangers; some of which were open and filled with attack helicopters. The other side was rows of troop carrying vehicles with the odd armourer repairing them.
"I hear the shooting range!" Cloud shouts, pointing into the distance, a little off to the right.
"I hear it too!" Alex shouts back excitedly, breaking into a run. "Follow me!"
Even with the heavy packs strapped to our backs, I've never ran so fast. For all I knew, we could have been a day in front of the next group, but we could have just so easily have been seconds. The thought that it could ring at any moment as we ran down past the range was making me feel sicker with every step. The first barracks complex was in the distance and behind that I knew was the parade ground. I beg my legs to give me a little more, and as we round the corner the bell rests where the Captain once stood in silent isolation. By the time I reach it I don't bother to grab the chain to shake it into life and instead punch it in excitement.
"We did it!" Chris beams, shaking Cloud by the shoulders.
The blonde winces in pain from his injury, but he's still smiling happily. He turns to me and nods, giving me an inaudible 'well done' under the victorious chime of the bell. Thirty seconds pass by before the sight of the Captain appearing with a coffee causes us all to stand to attention but still with smug grins on our faces. He checks his watch before glancing back up at us and speaking.
"A very impressive time to say the least. Head to the mess hall for some R&R and I'll come and get you shortly." MacMillan orders.
The four of us turn to our barracks and walk there slowly to catch our breaths. Hopefully a shower and a few hours sleep was on the cards soon, but a sit down and some food would do nicely until then. We head inside the barracks and head to the mess hall door while removing our heavy bergens. My shoulders breathed a sigh of relief until I open up the mess hall door and they slump in despair. We weren't the first ones back…
"Hey, you guys!" a girl around my age with shoulder length, wavy, red hair and a warm smile waves at us.
It takes all of the willpower I could muster to not look bitter and disappointed, and Cloud seems to be doing the same. Alex twas far less gracious in defeat, throwing his bergen on the floor in annoyance and Chris cursed under his breath but put on a smile. We approached the table where three boys and this girl I now had an irrational hatred for was sitting and take a seat next to them.
"I'm Cissnei. Nice to meet you!"
Thanks again for all of the reviews! They take a little while to appear for some reason, but I am getting them. I think I need another chapter to get Cissnei into the story, but how about we speed things up a little after that and send them to Wutai for some real action? When I get to certain points where I feel like the story can go one of two ways, ill let you guys vote on it too.