Phantom

Chapter Four

                                                           Present

      I stepped out of the car and out of freedom. The training camp didn't look as I had expected; the ground was well-kept, with the occasional flower bed. Taking front and center was the main office, infirmary, mess hall. Behind those stretched at least a square mile of Quonset huts and bathhouses. Beyond that were training courses, and beyond that was forest.

      "You must be Leslie Yakuna!" a tall, muscular woman, who looked like she could take down even Mr. Trent, barked as she approached me.

      It took me a moment for me to recognize my fake name. "Oh, yes. Miss...?"

      The woman opened her mouth, long and wide. Even though she was right in front of me, she belted out, "You will refer to me as Sir!"

      "Yes sir," I cringed and shrunk back.

  "Your cowardliness makes me sick! Report to the main office for your living quarters arrangements!"

      "Yes, sir," I muttered as I passed her and hurried to the office with my few bags. There were a few other people there, mainly male. There was a sassy looking secretary sitting at the front desk, working on a sudoko puzzle. "Excuse me?" I whispered. The woman ignored me until she finished her puzzle, about five minutes later. "Excuse me?" I repeated before she could start the next one.

      The secretary looked up in agitation. "What'cha need?" she snapped.

      "I need to get my living quarters assignment... Please."

      "What's ya' name, brat?"

      "Leslie Yakuna."

      She bent down and sifted through an open drawer. When she found what she was looking for, she straightened back up, handed me an envelope, and returned to her puzzles. I turned and left the building as I opened the letter. The first paper had my living quarters information, the second had my schedule, and the third had the rules of conduct. In a matter of minutes, I got to my Quonset. It was near the back on the right side, next to a bath house. Nervously, I opened the door and looked in.

      There were twelve neatly made bunks equally spaced down each side with windows above every other bed. In front of each bunk was a chest and between each pair was a wardrobe. I took one of the latter bunks that had no items in its chest and began situating myself.

      When I got to the wardrobe about thirty minutes later, I could hear wheels crunching over gravel outside. Voices accompanied the sudden disruption and began growing louder. The door opened girls began filing in. The first one stopped in her tracks and looked over. "Who are you?" she looked almost shocked.

      The other girls stopped talking and noticed me with a curious look in their eyes. "Oh... I'm Leslie... Yakuna."

      A smaller girl tripped through the door and crashed into the person in front of her.

      "Watch it, Bensen!" the other girl victim growled. The girl, Bensen, diverted her gaze and hurried down to the bed next to mine.

      The first girl that had walked in, who was clearly the leader, extended a hand. "Lynda Cross. So tell me more about yourself, Yakuna," She crossed the room to the fourth bed from the right, which was underneath a window, and relaxed onto it.

      "Well... Um... What is there to know?"

      "Did you volunteer or were you drafted?" She smirked a bit. "You look like the type who would be draf-"