The Division

Chapter 8

When I got back to the house yesterday, I told Jesse and Paul everything. Jesse was excited, Paul on the other hand wasn't. Lately Paul had been acting like a father to me, I wasn't bothered by it but Jesse sure was. I had been confused about last night. Were all of these people willing to die for me? Harold might have been. Jesse sure wasn't. He liked life. I didn't blame him; I wouldn't be willing to die for anyone except god. Today Harold was coming over to explain everything to me. The plans and everything. I was sure that it was going to be a long day.

He came over at five sharp. I let him and we started to talk. We sat on my couch and had a beer. "So what do you need to do here?" He asked, taking a sip of his beer. "I need to find a scientist." I replied. Harold looked at me with wonder. "You mean Dr. Trager?" "Is he working on a cure?" "Oh yeah, that's the guy you're looking for." Harold gulped his beer. "How do I get to him?" I asked. "Patience." Harold said as he put his beer down on the table next to us.

"First, you have to become a guard." Harold said. "Why?" I asked eager. "In order to get to Dr. Trager, you must earn trust of the minister." "Who's that?" "He controls Edgewood, he calls the shots." Harold paused to drink. "No one's ever seen him." Harold sighed. "But he has a Sargent; he has an office in the center of the town, right by the water fountain."

"How do I enroll as a guard?" I asked. "You've got to pass three days of boot camp." Harold replied. "My buddy passed it easily, you can too." "But am I fit enough?" "You'll make it." Harold finished his beer and got up. "Let's go, right now." I got up and threw away the beer. Paul walked in the room with no shirt on. "Where ya goin'?" "I'm enrolling as a guard." "I'm gonna have a beer, come back safe son." He walked away as I followed Harold out the door.

We drove to the gate. Harold was a guard; he told me everything he knew. He told me to do everything I was told. He also said to always make eye contact and stay straight. When we got to the gate, it was crawling with guards. The office was right by the gate. It was three stories tall, with guards on each side of the glass door.

"Harold?" One of the guards at the door asked. "Frank?" Harold said. They shook hands and then Harold showed an ID to them. They let him in; we were accompanied by a guard. We went to an office and sat down. A few minutes later a man in a uniform came in. He sat down behind the desk in front of us and started to talk. "State your name." "Riley Brody." The man held his hand out. I shook it. "Hello Riley, I'm Bernie." He was about thirty years old with a beard.

"So why do you want to become a soldier of Edgewood?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Harold convinced me to; I think it's only fair if I serve because you gave me a home." I said. "Great, so have you ever done drugs, or are you on drugs?" He asked. "Nope, but I had a beer with Harold earlier." I replied. Bernie gave a nod of approval. "So are you in a relationship?" "Not that I know of." "Do you have any family?" "My parents died in the last apocalypse, I have two friends back at home with me."

Bernie looked at me as if he were deciding something. "Great!" He said. "You got the job." He said. "You're going to have to undergo a training exercise tomorrow. Report here with the other recruits at eight sharp, do not be late." "Okay, I won't." After a giving me a uniform, Bernie let us out and we got back into the car. Harold dropped me off at my house.

When I got in, the house was a mess. Paul was on the couch, watching some movie. He looked at me and paused his movie. "So how'd it go?" "Okay, Harold introduced me to some old guy, and I got a uniform." I held it up and glanced at clothes on the couch. They didn't look like any kind of clothes that we wore. "Paul-" I started but he cut me off. "Jesse's upstairs don't ask." I didn't. I walked upstairs and into my room. I could hear moaning in the bathroom. I laughed and pushed it out of my mind. After five minutes of laughing to where the point I couldn't breathe, I stopped. Jesse was never really a ladies man.