X-Force: Ch. I- Training Camp
Date: 27 January 2006, 11:48 pm
Lavon Wade ran as fast as his legs would allow him. He breathed heavily as he dove to the ground and began to crawl on his chest under a wire net. Out the corner of his eye he could see is best friend, Otis Fobbs, also crawling along the ground just a few inches behind him. When they were finally past the wire they immediately stood and sprinted towards a tree 100 yards away. Lavon thought he would be first until he saw someone go flying past him. Out of breath he ran past the tree and slowed to a stop. Otis fell next to him on the ground breathily rapidly and hard. Lavon turned to watch as other people came running to the tree, all out of breath. Some followed Otis' lead and collapsed to the ground. Others stood doubled over trying to catch there breath. One of person ran past everyone to the bushes and was followed by the sound of him losing his meal.
All of the individuals here were teenagers. They had just finished a three mile obstacle course. They volunteered to be specially trained to fight the Covenant. It has been only a week on this base since this program had started, and already out of the fifty-two people that that had joined only nineteen remained. The training was very intense and they haven't even learned anything useful for combat. Lavon was starting to think about dropping out just to stop the torture of this training.
"Attention!" someone yelled out in a deep commanding voice. Immediately everyone was one their feet and standing shoulder to shoulder at attention. Lavon glanced towards were the voice had come from. Walking towards them was tall well built man. He had a clean shaven face and very short beach blonde hair. His piercing green eyes easily could make the bravest man nervous. A scar ran across his cheek giving an impression that he was a man meant to be feared. He wore marine issued pants, combat boots and a black tank top. Lieutenant Mike "Skull" Bones.
Lt. Bones stood in front of the group of trainees and looked each one of them. "Is there anyone who wishes give-up this training and return home, please do so now." Lt. Bones has asked this question each day since they arrived and it has never felled to turn up results. Today was no different, six people walked out the line with defeated looks on their faces. Lavon recognized one as the guy that got sick. The only thing that kept him from joining those that were leaving was that he had made a promise with Otis that they would not leave unless they agreed and of them left together. He watched as those that left walked past the Lt. towards the barracks to pack their things.
Once they were out of sight Lt. Bone looked at the ones that were left standing there. "Congratulations. You are complete with the training course." A few excited mummers went through the group that was standing there. Lt. Bone held up a hand and everyone instantly fell silent. "You are all officially members of a secret special force. This training program was just practice to see who is capable of surviving on the battle field. During the next few weeks you will learn everything you need to know about your enemy and their weaknesses. You learn how to react in battle and how to use any weapon effectively and efficiently. So celebrate, get to know your team and get plenty of rest. The real training begins at sunrise tomorrow. Dismissed."
Immediately everyone started talking at once, excitement flowing through all of them. As they walked back towards the barracks Lavon could not help but smile at himself. After a long week of difficult training it was over. He was ready for what ever came tomorrow. He felt as if nothing could stop him not even the Covenant.
Lavon awoke thirty minutes before sunrise. He was too excited and nervous to sleep. All he could think about was what kind of things he would learn. Not to mention how difficult it may be.
He stretched as he sat up in his bed. It was dark outside so it took him awhile for his eyes to adjust to the dark. He swung his feet off the bed and placed it on the cold floor. Finding his pants next to his bed he pulled them on then put on his socks and boots. He grabbed his shirt, draped it across his shoulder and walked out his bunk to the mess hall.
The air outside was warm and a light breeze was blowing. Lavon opened the door of the mess hall and took in the sweet scent of the morning breakfast. He stepped in and walked over to the serving counter. A smile crossed his face as he saw they were serving one of his favorites for breakfast. Pancakes. Food here is a lot better than what he heard about in the marines, he thought to himself as he put some of the pancakes on his plate. After grabbing a carton of orange juice he turned to find a place to sit. There was an empty table next to two people playing a game of Dungeon Chess. He sat down at the empty table to watch the game. Lavon recognized both of the guys playing. One of them was Ravon Redd, a heavy set kid who had more of appetite for food than work, was leaned over the board in deep thought. He may have been big but he was strong and quick for his size. His opponent, Stephen Bailey, was sitting in his seat with a smile on his face. Even though he didn't look like it, he was the smartest person Lavon knew.
"Try this!" Ravon called out as he moved a piece on the board. "Frog Warrior attacks your King Ice Croc with tongue spear." On the board a frog wearing a loincloth shot out its tongue at a crocodile that was made of ice wearing a crown. The tongue went straight through the crocodile making it disappear. "Got ya. Your castle has been captured."
"Nice try." Stephen said with a smile on his face. "But did you forget that if my King Ice Croc is destroyed in battle I can bring back another monster. You know what, I chose my strongest monster the Mystic Lion of the Jungle. Now attack with the forbidden call of the wild." In a flash of light a lion holding a magic staff appeared. It pointed the staff at the frog and let out a roar. A white ball of light flew from the end of the staff, went through the frog and Ravon's castle on the other side. "Your castle has been destroyed. I win."
"Lucky shot." Ravon said turning to a huge stack of food that was sitting near him.
"Pretty good game wasn't it." Lavon looked up to see who had said something. Standing next to him was the guy that beat him in race yesterday. Next to him was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. "The name's Lamond Lewis."
"I'm Latrice Morton."
Lavon was still staring at her when they heard the sound of a loud horn.
"I guess we better get going or we'll be late." Lewis turned and headed out the door.
Lavon finished the rest of his orange juice, pulled on his shirt and followed everyone out the door. They headed to a building on the other side of the base. As they entered he noticed they were in a small room with some desks. In the front of the room stood a little man wearing a lab coat. He had big round glasses that made his eyes look even bigger.
"Ah, welcome. Please take seat." The little man waited for everyone to take their seat before he continued. "My name is Professor Dean. In this class you would learn about the Covenant, weapons and vehicles, and many types of battle strategies. Let's skip all the boring stuff and get right to it." The Professor pressed a button on the wall and the floor opened up. Out of the floor came a small circular device. The lights went out and a 3D image appeared out it. In front of them was a small creature. It wore some kind of breathing tank on its back. "Can anybody tell me what this is?"
"That is a Grunt sir." Said a voice from somewhere in the dark.
"That's right Mr. Bailey." Professor Dean said, some how able to see him in the dark. "The Grunt is a race subservient to the Covenant, used as infantry. The equipment it wears is to provide an environment similar to its low-temperature home planet. They are dangerous in packs, but cowardly and easily startled."
"Wow, I learned more than my brain could handle in that class." Otis said as they walked towards the shooting range. "I mean Elites, Prophets, Phantoms, Warthogs, Flanking and that was only the first class."
"Actually I had no problem remembering all of that." Lavon said. "I'm more nervous about the shooting range. I have never held a gun, let alone fired one."
"What! You mean to tell me that you never even used a gun before."
"Yeah." Lavon responded
"Don't worry you'll do fine." Otis said giving Lavon a little more confidence.
They arrived at the shooting range and joined everyone else standing there. At the front of the group was a bear sized man. Behind him was all kinds of weapons, both human and Covenant. One weapon in particular caught Lavon's eye. It was the sniper rifle.
"Afternoon kids." Came the huge voice of the man. "I am Sergeant Banks. This is were you will learn how to shoot and use any kind of weapon. Let us begin. Please step forward and chose a weapon. Any one that you want."
Lavon immediately went for the sniper rifle. Otis picked up a shotgun, which was his favorite gun. Lavon glanced towards Latrice and saw that she held a pistol in hand. Even with the gun in her hand, he thought that she still looked good.
"Good now that everyone has chosen a weapon make sure your safety is off, aim it at the target and pull the trigger gently." Sgt. Banks said. "Let's see what natural talents we have in this group."
The sound of gunfire soon filled the air as everyone begins firing their weapon. Lavon lifted his gun and looked down the sights at the Elite shaped target. He gently squeezed the trigger and the gun responded with a click. Confused, he squeezed the trigger again and again the gun clicked.
"You might try turning the safety off kid." Sgt. Banks was standing right next to him pointing at the gun. "The safety is there."
"Sorry sir. This is my first time using a gun." Lavon checked were he was pointing and clicked the switch. He aimed the gun at the target again and squeezed the trigger. This time he was rewarded with the sound of the gun going off and the target losing its head.
"You said it was your first time firing a gun?" Sgt. Banks said looking at the target in amazement. "Well that was one hell of a shot."
After the range Lavon went back to the barracks. He was to worn out to do anything else. He laid down on his bed and stared at the ceiling until he fell asleep.
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