ChapterIV

2249

Garth

Camp

Now came April 15th; the day when Garth was to join the marines. It was a warm and sunny morning, as it always was in that part of the colony. You see, Garth and Jeremy and all our other friends live in a man-made colony suspended in the O-Zone layer. The weather is artificial which is why there is pleasant weather every day. I have said far too much already. Back to Garth…

He had to walk to the marine boot camp to be transported to the actual base. But, before he could go into battle, Garth had to undergo boot camp. And, even before boot camp, he had to get there.

The walk was only a few hours, but in spite of that, it was still a hard journey. It also was made even harder by Garth's lack of food, water, equipment, and money. Garth finally arrived around noon and, because he had had no breakfast, was famished.

At the camp there was your standard military stuff: barracks, a mess hall, a hanger, an open field and a shed obscured by various plant life. But, in the center of all depicted above, was a colossal control tower. And believe you me, it definitely looked like it belonged it the twenty-third century.

Soon, more new recruits arrived. Most of them were relatively young. I guess lots of people heard the announcement. Then, in a terribly powerful gust of wind, a helicopter landed on the ground. Out of the helicopter stepped an important looking person with a green marine's uniform on.

He had black hair, serious eyes and a straight appearance. You could tell that he had more of a calm, cool demeanor just by looking at him. He had a dignified facade to him and, judging by his badge, was pretty in control. After him came another person, a female this time.

Then, out of the intercoms planted on the control tower, came an announcement: "All new recruits report to the mess hall immediately."

"That's me!" Garth whispered to himself in a rather confident voice.

The inside of the mess hall was similar to the look of a school cafeteria, only bigger and more marine-looking. I wonder where I'm supposed to be in this place. Then Garth noticed a line of people looking lost. Of course. He simply joined the back of the line and followed the guy in front of him. Before long, the sequence of new recruits filed into a room with a large array of folding chairs. A stage was at the front of the room and two folding chairs were placed to the side of the stage. Garth sat down in a chair near the back and saw the lady from the helicopter come in with the man from the helicopter. The lady took a seat in a chair by the stage and the man strode purposefully onto the stage. Silence fell.

"New recruits," he started. "I am Colonel E.L. Whitemore. I have come to introduce you all to the marine services. But, before you can go into battle, you must be given appropriate equipment and the necessary training. That's what Captain Ivy lash is here to do. For the next three months, you will obey her and the officers under her command unconditionally. You will also be respectful to your higher ranks unceasingly. Good luck, and again, welcome to the armed forces." The colonel then treaded off of the stage and saluted to the captain. "They are under your control now." murmured the colonel. "Good luck." With that, the colonel left the room slowly.

 

The trainees began target practice one month after they arrived a boot camp. The captain had led them all to the camouflaged warehouse after breakfast. The door was bolted tight, and it even the captain a few minutes to open it. The inside of the warehouse was spacious, and stacked with boxes marked MARINE USE BY AIR COLONY ONLY. Inside of the boxes were thousands of midget pistols.

"These firearms," the captain explained. "were made for marine air colony use only. They are dreadfully powerful and dangerous. You will be training with them for the next two months.

"What's so great about them?" someone asked.

"What is so great about them is," continued the captain. "they explode on impact. They are also light, small, and you can carry dozens of them at a time."

"Why would you need so many?" shouted the same person.

"You would need so many because," fumed Ivy. "each pistol can only be fired once. It takes accuracy and practice to fire one of these, so train hard." The captain closed and locked the door and walked back to camp