It was a long bus ride to the base where I meet my squad mates. When the bus arrived at the base the driver gave all the passengers a piece of paper. The paper has their name, squad number, barracks number (which is the same as the squad number), and their rank. I step off the bus and look at my paper. Name: Dylan, Squad number: 360, Barracks number: 360, Rank: private. So I need to find barracks 360, and I'm at 1. I can tell this is going to be a long walk and I'm not looking forward to it. The barracks are lined up along a path that seems never ending.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkWh22xzBJn
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I figured that I should start walking if I want to make it to my squad before the war ends. So I walked and I walked and I walked. 449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jeiI9gjgA
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After what feels like an eternity of walking I finally find myself standing in front of barracks 360. Before entering the barracks I look around being the curious person I am, and I see a bus parked in front of the barracks beside 360. The bus driver looks abit like the bus driver that drove me here. I look at the barracks numbers and see #359, #360. Then I let out a deep sigh when I see #1 beside #360. I couldn't help but wonder who the idiot was that decided to make the barracks in a fucking circle. I guess i'll never find out so I go to meet my squad.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0mJ1k1gnx0
My main humour is randomness and often I test new people’s humour to see what type of person they are. Generally if you don’t appreciate my humour then I will be annoying and we won't get along. I'll be sure to use my test for my new squad mates.
I enter the barracks and see three people and a brown guy who all look about the same age as me which isn't what I expected.
The tallest guy, standing about 6’3” has short dark brown hair and a baby face like the rest of us. Two of them are both about six feet but one guy has light brown short hair and is much stronger looking than the other who has bleach blonde short hair. The browned skinned guy the shortest of us all is no taller than 5’6” and has black stubble for hair. He is straight backed, chest forward as if he has a stick up his ass.
The tallest guy, steps towards me and shakes my hand and says, "I'm Justin but the guys call me JJ. You must be Dylan."
"I am Dylan but you can call me Breaker. I like watching the sunset and long walks on the beach," I replied to JJ humorously.
He laughed as I imagined which means he passes my humour test. He seems like a good guy and i'll get along with him very well. I look at his uniform and see that he is a corporal making him our squad leader.
“So your squad leader?” I asked JJ.
“Yeah, I don't know what made them chose me, but I don't doubt that i'll be a good leader to you guys,” he replied.
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The brown guy approaches me and says, "i'm a private first class, second in command in the squad. Marche is my name but the guys call me Agent."
"Brown people," is all I respond with. Agent just kept a straight face and he failed my humour test. I was seeing if he was one of the brown people who uses every opportunity to make fun of the fact that their brown, which he isn't. He not only didn’t laugh, but also seemed to take offence to what I said, which wasn't the point.
I feel Agent is too serious to get along with me. Despite him being the shortest of us I feel that he is looking down at me as if I am nothing but a soldier. He seems like he feels that his rank makes him superior to me. I have no respect for him and I won't follow his orders. I don't give a shit what rank he is.
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The guy with light brown hair steps forwards and in a heavy southern accent and almost seems like a yelling voice he says, "Hey Breaker i'm James, but the guys call me destroyer. It looks like we are fellow privates."
I reach out for a handshake and say, "I break things and you destroy them, we will make a destructive team." 449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ64TpbK60S
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He shakes my hand and says loudly, "fuck yeah we will!"
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I like destroyer other than the fact that he doesn't have an inside voice. Ill gladly fight alongside him.
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The guy who hasn't yet introduced himself yet starts snickering out of the blue.
"What's funny Andrew?" JJ asked.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbFQoC8yOI
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"Destroyer said privates!" he laughed.
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"What is funny about 2 privates having a nice firm handshake?" I said in a sarcastic voice. I'm assuming he is the kind of guy that finds those types of jokes funny.
He laughs as I expected and starts to say something that I'm sure will be very gay. So I interrupt him by shouting, "shut up Meg!" 449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXuoIDE3aC
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Everyone laughs, surprisingly even Agent. I don’t know why Meg came to mind, but he just seems like a Meg to me.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRC01gYiR5g
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After a few minutes of laughing Andrew tried to say something again but was interrupted by all of us yelling, "shut up Meg!" and we all started laughing again. It was that moment I realized these guys like to be funny like me. I'm sure i'll even grow on Agent at some point.
After we finished laughing I went over to the other side of the barracks to a computer that was hooked up to a projector. Computers are very new and have progressed a crazy amount over the past two years. Just two years ago they were the size of rooms, now they are the size of a large backpack. I sat down at it but before I could do anything else, another squad and our Barracks.
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"finally we found some other people that are close to our age," said one of them. 449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgO2p2WRRVO
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At first glance they seem slightly younger than me but only by a couple years excluding one guy who looked older than all of us. This made me wonder how old my squad mates are and who's the oldest.
“Hey guys!” greeted JJ.
“Woah-woah. Before we go any farther I have to say this before I forget,” I said. “I am Breaker, I am very forgetful. Sorry for breaking the ice awkwardly but it's kind of what I do. So how old is everyone here?”
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"I turn turn fifteen in September," replied JJ.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAia97e9JKo
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"I turn fifteen in July," said Agent.
"i'm fourteen and a few months," replied meg.
"I guess I'm the oldest one here unless one of these guys is older than me" I said while waiting for a response from the other squad.
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"We are all thirteen actually, in fact we all go to the same school back at home" said one of the guys from the other squad.
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"What squad number are you?" JJ asked.
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"We are technically the 69 squad but we are referred to as the Maine squad since we are all from Maine. I am Connor, this is Ashton, this is Sean, this is Hunter and this big guy is Kyle," replied Connor.
“I am JJ, this is Agent, Breaker, Andrew and Destroyer,” said JJ introducing us.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPxwuZXWP5
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Both groups look at one another determining how to further the conversation with so many people.
“So who is your squad leader?” asked JJ.
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“We don't know they didn't tell us,” replied Connor.
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"It should say on the slips of paper your bus drivers gave you when you first arrived," said JJ.
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"All of our papers say that were privates though," replied Connor.
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"How doesn't your squad have a leader?" questioned to JJ.
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"I'll tell you how," said a man that we didn't notice enter the Barracks. "my name is irrelevant because you kids have to call me by my codename which is captain heroic poop stain."
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Both of our squads burst out into laughter thinking that the captain was joking. It didn't take long for us to realize that he was serious so we stop laughing.
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"As I was saying before you kids made fun of my hilarious name," Said the captain. "The Maine squad isn't an ordinary squad. They are squad that is assigned with other squads to aid them in the harder missions. The reason I'm here is actually to tell you that the 360th squad will join the Maine squad for their first mission. You all need to go to the armory and grab weapons and determine your roles in the squad for the mission."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnOcpPpsbl4
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"Who chooses our roles? Do we choose ourselves or do you guys pick for us?" asked Destroyer.
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"Your squad leader will decide who gets what and whose role is what. Go to the armory by the airstrip and get ready for further orders. Keep in mind that the weapons you choose to enter battle with are the weapons you have to leave battle with, so choose wisely." Said the Captain.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9kHV7a0Wm
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“We will do that right now Captain. Let's go guys," said JJ as he leads us out of the barracks.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsG6h2JffEE
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"What is this!" demanded the captain in a powerful voice that startled us.
we make our way back into the barracks to see what the captain is talking about. We all look up at the projector and see a very disturbing Image that I put up when know one was watching.
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"is anyone going to answer me?" shouted the captain.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe5yogehLb6
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"Sir, that is a blue waffle," I responded.
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"So was it you who did this private Breaker?" interrogated the captain.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFueoSuM9lV
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"Yes sir It was me but I apologize, that wasn't meant for your eyes," I responded.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNG4zzIrtY
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"You are a soldier now so you can't act like a child anymore. I understand that you still are one but you need to grow up for your country sake. You're forcing me to be the bad guy which I hate doing. But it's my duty to discipline and make an example for all the kids here," Said Heroic Poopstain in a surprisingly calm voice.
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"I accept the punishment whatever it is. You're right captain, you are doing the right thing to punish me. I understand that having all these kids, that you feel obligated to protect is stressful. All I wanted to do was lighten the mood at a dark time such as this. but I did so in a wrong way though, and I apologize," I said to the Captain as sincerely as I could.
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"go to the armory and get your gear, your punishment starts tomorrow morning at the training grounds," said the captain.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7XhNFxWu8
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The captain left the barracks and everyone laughed about the image on the projector but only briefly.
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"You're an idiot breaker!" Yelled agent.
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"Guys come on, we have to find the armory,” said JJ trying to prevent anything from starting between me and Agent.
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"Dude, that was a Captain!" Agent continued.
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"Drop it Agent! What happened, happened and that's that!" said JJ in a way that made it obvious that he was annoyed.
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"Whatever," grumbled agent.
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"So, does anyone know where the armoury is?" asked Destroyer.
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"It's by the airstrip," mentioned Andrew
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"Well where's the airstrip?" asked Destroyer.
Agent pulls out a map of the base and a compass. We all look at him as if he pulled out some sort of foreign device that we have never seen before. Only a few moments later he started walking. Assuming he knows how to read a map we all followed him and hoped for the best.
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The armory is now insight and I'm relieved we found it finally. JJ walks up to Agent and gave him one big pat on the shoulder and says, "good work Agent." Then JJ steps ahead to lead the rest of the way. Destroyer and Andrew acknowledge Agent with a simple nod of approval.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaavf8wNYO3
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I noticed that it made Agent really happy. From what I can tell, Agent desires appreciation and trust more than the average person. I can tell that he is pretending to act like it was no big deal which also shows that he is modest. It seems that I'm not the only one who noticed this though, I suspect JJ already knew this.
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JJ went out of his way to make sure Agent felt appreciated and important on purpose. He wasn't just saying good work just for the sake of saying it. He said it because he knew that Agent really wanted to hear it.
It has always been my gift to be able to see through, read, understand and even predict people. Very few people have noticed this in me, in fact only one person has figured it out completely. He is an old family friend named Bert. He's actually the one who considers it a gift. according to him I'm a master of the human mind by nature, and that people who have studied the human mind for years seem like fools next to me.
That's just what Bert says, I'm sure he's exaggerating outrageously. However I doubt the average person can differentiate the difference between someone saying something just for the sake of saying it, and someone saying something for a specific reason; as well to go as far as knowing what that specific reason is. I examine people's body movement, voice, words and eyes to the smallest and fullest detail. That's how I know that JJ planned out the scenario long before it happened. It's hard to explain because I myself don't really understand how I do it, It just comes naturally.
This makes me think that there's more to JJ than meets the eye. He must've evaluated all of us when he first met us. That's how i'm guessing he knew how to treat agent to gain his loyalty. He also filled the mental needs of agent which in general makes anyone a better soldier. Knowing how to treat your followers individually is a great skill for a great leader.
Being a great leader isn't someone who can make the right decision in the heat of battle. To be a great leader you must understand your comrades. You must be charismatic. You need the respect and trust from those above and below your rank. You need to be liked and share a brotherly bond with your companions, and most importantly you have to be able to motivate and keep your head together when things turn to shit. JJ is all of these which is weird at such a young age, I guess he's a born leader.
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I was a little frightened of being lead by a kid but now that I thought about it. JJ is probably better than any other leader here. When it comes to leading dumb ass kids like myself anyways.
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We arrive at the Armory and my eyes widen when I see all the weapons and equipment surrounding me. I guess that nothing is off limits to take, and I'm ready to start grabbing stuff as I please. Then something catches my eye that I grab without hesitation. Its A browning .30 caliber light machine gun and I'm imagining the terror I could cause with this beast.
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"Breaker, put it back,” said Agent ruining my dreams. “JJ decides what we get and don't get. don't you remember?"449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU5JHIFxT94
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"Oh ya, I forgot," I said sadly as I put it back on the shelf.
"Breaker pick that back up, you're our light machine gunner," Said JJ. "Agent you seem like a good sniper, you grab an M1 garand rifle with the scope and attached silencer. Also grab a rangefinder and some smoke grenades. Destroyer I remember you talking about how you used to fix cars and stuff with your dad. I also know you like to blow shit up. So you are the squad demolitions and mechanical expert. Grab and M1 garand with an attached grenade launcher. Also grab some satchel charges, bazooka and Rockets. Kyle, you are going to be Destroyers assistant since you seem like the only physically capable person here able to carry a lot of weight other than myself, breaker and Agent. It just makes the most sense for you to be the assistant, hopefully that's OK with you."
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"It's fine I'm used to being the bitch," said Kyle. “My so called friends are huge assholes and take advantage of the fact that I won't do anything about it even though I'm more than capable of doing so. So they always toy with me and treat me like dirt."
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"You aren't the bitch in this case," said JJ. "You have one of the most important roles of the squad, remember that. I want you to grab a B.A.R. (Browning assault rifle). also grab a mortar and toolbox to carry for destroyer and fill up your pack with whatever explosives destroyer can't carry.”
Kyle immediately starts loading his backpack with multiple things.
“Kyle,” said JJ getting his attention again. “Make sure you don't over do it, you are not a pack mule and you are no use to us if you can't keep up with us. Andrew grab a M1 garand with a silencer. You will be with Agent when he is sniping at a distance away from the rest of us squad. Connor grab the flamethrower as well as an M1 garand. Hunter and Ashton grab M1A1 Carbines. Sean you are the smallest of all of us so you will be the squad runner. So it will be your main job to run around and give all of us ammo. Grab an M1 garand and lots of ammo for all of our weapons, especially browning bullets. You will spend a lot of time beside Breaker.”
I can feel the anxiety in Sean as he seems to be the least mentally grown in the group.
“Sean,” said JJ. “Whatever you do, don't get killed. I myself will grab a Thompson submachine gun. As for all of your sidearms, knives and other stuff. Go nuts."
I go into a back room and find a bunch of cool stuff that aren't really ideal for modern battle. I don't care though and grab some ninja stars, smoke pellets (I call them ninja pellets), switch blade, and a samurai sword. All I need now is to find is a sidearm.
It was that moment when something caught the corner of my eye. It's the most beautiful thing that has ever been seen by my young eyes. It's as gorgeous as it is dangerous. It is the .357 colt Python Revolver and it is the sidearm for me. I go back to the main room of the armoury and I don't see anyone from my squad.
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Sean comes in the armoury then sees me and says, "there you are Breaker, come on we are getting our mission orders as we speak."449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywpAy5WtjY
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I walk outside and see the captain walking away. I guess I missed the instructions. It isn't a big deal as long as JJ knows what to do we will be fine. Then I noticed the death glare I'm getting from agent who clearly doesn't agree with me. I ready myself to get yelled at because it looks like he's ready to have an atomic explosion of anger directed at me.
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"Breaker! What is wrong with you! "screamed Agent. "You missed very important information about our first mission! Are you trying to make the squad look weak to the higher ups?"
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"No one came and got me! I didn't know!” I yelled back at Agent fiercely.
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"You guys argue like little bitches!" shouted JJ over us trying to stop me and Agent from fighting. "I'll explain it to Breaker after his punishment tomorrow. I'm tired let's go to the barracks and get some rest.”
I look up at the sun and realize that there is about an hour of sun light left in the day.
when we get back to the barracks it was dark outside and everyone grabs a bunk bed to sleep on other than me. I go over to the projector which is still has blue waffle on it and shut it off, I then hop on the top bunk above JJ and lya there with my mind feeling fully awake but my body feeling exhausted.
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"So breaker, what did you grab that took you so long?" Asked Agent putting me on the spot in front of the squad, pissing me off. 449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPtqMVudI0
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"Oh you know, stuff." I said in a way meant to piss him off.
I think this will anger Agent since he seems to be the type of guy that needs to know everything. These type of people are easily flustered if you avoid answering specifics.
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"For fuck sakes you two. Go to sleep," demanded JJ.
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Without any more words everyone went to sleep other than me. Unfortunately it was another sleepless night.
