Night of the Alphas

Chapter 21

I marched around my assigned area, feeling pretty calm and confident. It had been a month since my first shift, and I was finally getting the hang of this whole soldier thing. I looked at Joshua. We shared the same shift, so we were pretty much always together. It was nice having someone to talk to. Plus, it made me feel more secure to be with someone I knew. Once, he was sick for the night and someone else had to fill in, and it was very awkward. Tonight, though, Joshua was pretty quiet. He seemed pretty focused on a bunch of scrap metal and other things. He was trying to link the pieces together, and he would curse and disassemble the thing if he got something wrong.

"What's that?" I asked.

He jumped and shoved the pieces in his pocket. "Nothing."

Usually, I don't believe in getting into people's personal business. But, since he seemed pretty on edge about it, I felt the need to know more. So, knowing him, I started with the most obvious question. "Is it illegal?"

He glared at me with his forest-green eye. "N-no."

I blinked. "It's something illegal, isn't it?"

He looked away, sweat beads forming on his forehead. "Shut up."

"You seem pretty nervous, considering that that thing is completely legal." Contrary to popular belief, I don't use sarcasm as often as people think I do. I just state what I'm thinking and then get in trouble for being "snarky" or "rude". I don't get it. People say that you won't get in trouble if you tell the truth, but then you tell the truth and get in trouble. Weird.

Joshua looked down. "Oh, would you look at that? A rock." He picked it up and showed it to me. "Isn't that neat?"

"I mean, it's a rock."

"But it's cool, right?"

I looked at it. It really wasn't much. It was just the kind of rock you would find in your yard or in the forest. He was just trying to change the subject with his "cool" rock. "Are you okay?"

He laughed. "Of course. Why would you-"

Joshua was cut off by the sound of gunshots. We looked towards the source and saw a bunch of Alphas gathering together in the distance. My heart seemed to climb into my throat. They're planning a battle. Wait, scratch that. They've already planned it. Now they're just putting it into action. Joshua and I looked at each other and then rushed towards camp.

When we got there, we started heading straight towards Major Evans' tent. On the way, we ran into Alex. We told him what was happening, and he ran off to spread the word. When we reached the Major's place, a guard was standing outside.

"Can we get in there?" I asked. "It's an emergency."

"I'm afraid Major Evans isn't seeing anyone right-"

"AFM is rallying for a battle," Joshua interrupted.

"They what?!" Major Evan's voice said from inside the tent. He came out with a pen and a map in his hands. "Oh God, we need to get arranged..."

He ran off towards the soldier's quarters, trying to get everyone set up for a battle. Before he was out of earshot, he called us over to help him. Joshua and I went into everyone's quarters and woke them up. All the while, Joshua had his hand in his uniform pocket, fidgeting with his scrap metal. I didn't pay much attention to it, though. Within thirty minutes, everyone was gathered in one huge crowd. Well, everyone except for the Nursing unit. They had to stay in the medical area, since there were already tons of wounded people.