The Eyes of Fate (Currently in Rewrite)

Late Night Snack

Sentinel

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Washington State, USA

October 4th, 2019

"Make sure to chew the gum." Ranger said, nudging Sentinel's stick of MRE gum with his own. "Keeps you from getting stopped up, especially when you're not used to them."

"Wait, seriously?" Sentinel unwrapped his gum and looked at it. It didn't look any different than any other piece of gum he'd ever had. Curious, he popped it into his mouth.

"Nah." Ranger laughed. "It's an old myth they used to tell us. I figure it was probably because so many of us had nasty breath after eating these things."

"Asshole," Sentinel spat, but kept the gum in his mouth. "You're probably right though, if these things smell half as bad as they taste. Reminds me of the food in jail." 

"It has the same basic purpose," Ranger said, popping his own gum into his mouth. "Maximum nutrition, minimum taste. Plus, MREs are made to go forever without going bad, so they're arguably worse to normal people."

"You mean they're not bad to you?"

"I practically lived off these things for years, kid. They're not as good as home cooked food, but they're still damn good when you've been a few days without food." Ranger stood up and tossed his empty MRE into the truck. He grabbed a small scope out of the bed. "Come on, it's time for the last bit of your training for today."

Sentinel followed Ranger's example before following him back out to the line where he'd spent most of the day shooting. Ranger had tested him on what Sentinel had jokingly said must be "every weapon ever made", which was about thirty different guns and the grenades. He had been firmly shut down when he had asked about the rocket launchers, Ranger saying he was too inexperienced for them.

Sentinel had lost all track of time, learning how to fire the weapons and aim properly. It wasn't until Ranger's phone rang that he realized the sun was setting. The call was Vyper telling them dinner was almost ready, and Ranger told him that the two of them weren't going to be there. Instead, Ranger had shown him how to use the MREs.

"So, how good is your night vision?" Ranger asked. He led Sentinel down to the opposite end of the line where the trees put a lot of the targets into shadow. "I know you spotted me just fine during your test the other day, but how good are you when it's even darker?"

"It's great, as far as I can tell." Sentinel smiled. "Keep a light on my face until the sun goes down and I'll show you something nuts."

Ranger turned on his flashlight and shined it in Sentinel's face. "This ought to be good."

"What are you going to have me do, anyway?" Sentinel blinked at the flashlight and looked out towards the sunset. The sky was pink and purple and fading rapidly to inky blue and black. "More rifle shooting?"

"Not this time," Ranger said, "We're just going to play some I Spy."

"I used to be really good at those books," Sentinel quipped. Ranger laughed at the unexpected joke.

"Yeah, I bet you were." Ranger said, still laughing. He looked around. "Think this is dark enough?"

"Should be. Turn the flashlight off and watch my eyes."

Ranger held the scope up to his eye and clicked off the flashlight. Sentinel stared straight at him, smiling as he waited for his reaction.

"What the fuck?" Ranger asked. "That's fucking insane."

"I know, right?" Sentinel laughed. He had seen it on video before. When it got dark enough, his eyes physically rolled back in his head to reveal more eyes that were already adjusted to the dark. Once the pupils on his other eyes widened properly, they'd roll back.