I open my eyes to the same sight as always, a black ceiling. I sit up carefully to avoid banging my head on the bunk above, and to also keep my two broken ribs from moving. I sweep the curtain beside my bed aside and step out onto the concrete floor of the barracks. I see another of my platoon, Carson,get up from doing some push ups and stretch. "Good morning sir," he says to me as I attempt to do some push-ups. I manage to do 20 before my broken ribs kick in, causing me to collapse.
"You should go see the medic with that." He says, helping me up. "They probably have some drug that accelerates your healing."
"True." I say back. "I'll go and see." I walk out of the barracks. I breath the smell of fresh air as I take in the view of center camp. A circle of buildings surrounds a circle of grass where three flagpoles are located. One flies the American flag, another flies the flag of our battalion and the third flies the state flag.
"J'son!" I hear Kate call from across the square as she jogs over. "Are your ribs feeling better?" She asks as I walk toward the building labeled with the Red Cross.
"A bit." I respond as I open the door.
"Well...get better. We don't know if those blue skinned sons of bitches will attack again tonight." She says as I open the door.
"I will." I call out as she heads toward the mess hall. I walk up to the desk and am greeted cheerfully by a nurse who asks me what I need. I ask her if there are any regeneration drugs and she hands me a jar full of capsules.
"Take the amount requested for the injury you're trying to heal." She instructs, pointing to a guide on the side of the jar.
"Thank you. That will be all." I say, signing the paperwork for the drug. I walk toward the mess hall, hungry for some breakfast.
As I enter the mess hall I quickly pick out the other members of my platoon: Kate, Maddie, Carson, Ian, Zoë, Jack and Amanda. They wave at me and I sit down at the table with a tray full of eggs, sausage, biscuits and bacon.
We chat about random stuff like who's going out with who and all the latest gossip. After we're done eating Kate and I go down to the shooting range to practice our marksmanship. I pick up a shotgun, load it with practice rounds and start a training program. Orange holographic representations of our enemy come running out of doors located along the walls of the room. I fire my shotgun at the targets until the program ends. Kate puts down her sniper rifle and smiles at me as I take deep breaths to recover from the exercise.
"The ribs being a bitch?" she asks cheerfully.
"They're getting better but it still hurts to breath." I gasp, slinging a towel over my soaked shoulders while walking towards the exit.
YOU ARE READING
The fight for the future
Science FictionJ'son, a 19 year old corporal in earth's military, is taking a nap on the army base where he lives in the year 2406. He is awakened by a large explosion, quickly changes into his battle uniform, grabs his weapons and heads out to fight...
