The Fox, Red

073 - Going Places

I think it was after the second hour of driving that I began to ask myself if I had just been kidnapped by the United States Army. I volunteered to enlist but this seemed different than what I expected. The quiet is killing me. The dull roar of the engine is lulling me to sleep. The rolling of the tires isn't helping. This guy doesn't seem to care or is instructed not to care. I lean my head back against the seat, closing my eyes. It all goes quiet as I drift off to sleep.

The van stops waking me up. The door slides open as another field hat looks inside. "Welch?"

"Yes?"

"Get out."

I step out onto the dimly lit road. It looks similar to where I was before but that just might be most military bases. The door to the van closes before the driver takes off. "Follow me." His voice is gruff but not nearly as violent as what I'm used to. I swing my bag back up on my back and follow him through a tile hallway. We head around to a barrack that has a quaint number of beds. It looks more like a shared dorm than a barrack. Waiting for me is a locker against the wall that has my name on it. "Load your stuff up in there. Get it organized. Tomorrow, you start again." Ah hell...

This has a lot more room than before. I'm able to get everything in with no issues. I can even see where everything is. I grab the rack closest to it quickly getting it made. I drop myself into it heading right back to sleep.

It's good to know that some things won't change. 5 am comes around and revelry begins to play on the loudspeakers. I shoot out of bed as the lights come on. No yelling, no screaming. I hear a few other murmurs as a few of the other beds begin to move. Out of the remaining five bunks, four emerge from the covers standing in line. A ferret, another fox, a mink, and an otter all shake off the sleep in a relaxed fashion. An instructor emerges from the office looking over us. "Good, get dressed. Get food. Get back here."

The ferret falls backward back into his bed with a groan. The rest start getting dressed. They all pull their uniform from their lockers. Blouses, pants, boots, done. I'm standing around waiting for the others to get ready until finally, one of them speaks up. "Who's the new guy?" That one sentence brings all four sets of eyes to me. The ferret sits himself up, "I know that look. He got the black site transfer from basic. You remember that Brant?" The otter groans out, "I don't think I could forget. Were they nice to you or did they shove a black hood on your head?"

I shake my head, "No bag, just a long van ride."

"Lucky!"

The mink takes charge again, "Well, welcome to Bomb Squad. I'm Ivy. The ferret is Garrett."

"Yo!"

"The fox is Terrison.

"What up, brother?"

"The otter is Brant."

"Welcome."

"And who are you? Last name."

I look them over as they're introduced. They all seem a lot laxer than the strict training regiment I am used to. "Welch. Why Bomb Squad?"

"Military term for a magic user is Mage Bomb. We're all magic users so we're all Mage Bombs. Thus! Bomb Squad."

The ferret pipes up, "Plus we're all pretty bomb."

There's a collective groan. They all seem to have a pretty good rapport with one another. "Get dressed, Welch. We'll get you caught up. Boots, pants, blouse, and cover." I grab my stuff and get sorted. The others all get their clothes together. All of them line up at the door with Ivy at the front. "Bomb Squad! Move out!" As they all pass through the door they slam their paw on a polished plank of wood shouting "Boom! Officer off deck!" I stop and stare in confusion as I pass. I head out, put my cover on, and follow the rest.