Palinoia

Chapter 8

"Attention. Attention!"

Everyone stopped talking and stood upright, staring at him with a serious expression. I did the same just so I wouldn't be question. Peter stood by my left and through the corner of my eye, he too held a serious expression. For once.

We, and a whole lot of other people, were standing outside in what was known as the training grounds for the meeting we were all invited to.

It wasn't what I'd expected from a meeting. I thought it was one of those 'sit in a room and listen to information' sort of thing. Instead, Peter and I had to change our clothes into the military uniform and wait outside in the field where the meeting would take place. I even doubted that the meeting would be short and simple judging by how the man in front of us looked like he just came back from a boxing match.

"I'm glad you all could make it today. We don't usually get many requests so this is definitely a first to see this many people on board. We even have a couple females which we've never had before," he started.

The man looked like he was in his forty's and barely had any hair on his head. He stared strictly at each one of us and wore a TSN uniform that was slightly different to ours.

I continued to stare at him and waited for him to continue the speech he was most likely going to give which I wasn't too keen to hear.

"Before I begin there's two things I would like to let you know!"

Boy, did he have a thing for shouting.

"Since I am in charge of the training that takes place here you will refer to me as Sir Cliff. Another thing you need to know is that if you would like to quit or have any second thoughts, please leave immediately!"

The place grew silent and I didn't dare look around but could hear some faint footsteps walking in a specific direction accompanied by the sound of a door opening and closing.

Cliff gave a nod. "Good. The easier we dispose of weaklings, the better."

I wondered what was the point of that comment and why Cliff continued to waste my time with his unrelated points. The only useful thing he said was his name.

"Anyway. The remaining of you who decided, 'hey, I didn't shit my pants so I can go through with this' will undergo training for the next six weeks and if you have succeeded, you will be part of the force and will be assigned to a specific group," he explained. "Any questions."

After a couple seconds of silence, one person raised their hand. "So what are we going to do now?" he asked.

"Socialise with each other until the boss is ready to thoroughly explain everything," Cliff answered.

You mean that wasn't it? Okay, it was a very brief explanation, I get that. But couldn't they have just explained everything once so that I could just go home?

I didn't exactly fancy sticking around to make buddy-buddy with a bunch of strangers. Damn it. I just had to be complicated.

Another person raised their hands. "Why did we have to wear the uniform?" The feminine voice asked.

"It gives the leaders a clear image of how the recruits will look like. You are going to train in them I hope you know," Cliff responded. "Anyway, I don't make the rules I just enforce them."

"Any more questions? No? Good. I don't care now," he informed before walking away.

I watched him leave with an annoyed look until he entered inside the building. And here I thought these people were more professional in their duty.

I turned to face Peter and he still seemed calm even after the event. Not that I was expecting his mood to change anyway. He looked over and let out a puff.

"He sounds fun huh?" he stated. I nodded.

"Tons of fun..." I muttered. I suddenly stopped talking and realised only a few of us were talking. I turned round to meet a bunch of stares that I did not anticipate for. I stared back at them in a suspicious manner, not liking the growing stares.

"You two buddies or something?" One of them asked.

Peter who grinned, answered the question. "Yep! Both signed up for this."

The person scoffed and turned away. "How cute," he sneered.

Peter kept smiling while I frowned. "Is that a problem?" I asked quietly.

He shook his head, chuckling humourlessly. "No problem at all."

"So," another person spoke up, removing some of his messy blonde hair away from his face. "What brings you here?" he asked me.

I was a little surprised he was asking me directly but I decided to answer anyway so I wouldn't attract any more unnecessary attention. "Just want to make the country a better place," I lied. Mainly because Peter was watching and I'd thought cliché phrases were the way to go.

He gave me a nod and stared for a while. I took it that I had to ask the same question which I did.

"Girl got killed back home at Cabron. Say, where did you two come from?" he asked.

"Seisamo," I answered.

"Seisamo huh? Never thought an attack would happen there. Saw it on the news the day it happened. Must be counting your luck," he replied.

I shrugged. "Can't control the future. Things happen all the time."

I turned away from him once I saw a big man walk in. No, not buff and overly muscular. Big as in, 'I just came out of every Mafia movie and now I'm going to run a military' because the man looked like the type of person who'd have you secretly killed by one of his men.

I noticed he had a microphone unlike Cliff but then again, if Cliff had a microphone, he would've been the cause of about a hundred deaf people. The man, who I presumed to be the boss, stared over us in a manner that made it look he was more superior to us in every way. I hated that.

"For those of who don't know, I'm Gregory. In charge of pretty much everything that involves this military so to conclude, I'm also in charge of you," he said.

I clenched my fists and sent a glare that he wasn't aware of.

"That being said, you will still refer to me as Boss and only Boss. Now for the details I know you're all waiting for."

There was an unnecessary pause.

He then started talking. "TSN stands for Tekuni. Saviour and Nation. Those three words represent something very important to the people who rely on us and the rest of the governors that work hard. The T represents the country; the S is what we represent as human beings. We are the hope of the people and what you all as soldiers need to do is to show the citizens that you will be a saviour to them and everyone else. That is one of the most important role you as individuals will have to play. The N which stands for the nation is the representation of our species that are gradually being consumed by those vile creatures. You all must take on the responsibility of saving the human race and the population of this country from wiping out of existence. Of course, it's very unlikely that will happen because the ratio of those demolishers to the human race is currently one in every one hundred thousand humans being."

Most people were silent but I could hear a few whispers across the field.

"Anyway that was just the introduction. This is what today is all about anyway. The first thing you will do today is partake in group activities. Let's see how good your teamwork skills are. After that, the first in command of the first twenty-four troops will make an appearance and will give you all a little piece of advice. Finally, you will be given a booklet with a timetable and will be assigned to your group. Thank you all for coming."