Last Coward Left

Chapter 1: The Brave

    It was freezing. Sweat dripped down my body not doing much to keep itself warm. I could gently feel each individual trickle of liquid sliding down my skin. The cold, dry air burning away at my throat and the merciless snow that weighed down on me. I sealed my eyes shut and focused only in finishing the last of my running lap. Just two more minutes, and I'll be done.
Pushing forward one step after the next, I managed to finish in a timely manner. I felt extremely proud, and and even managed to complete two full claps before my body  gave out. Stumbling through the snow I walked on.
   Instantly after crossing the make believe end line, I began to look for something to lean against. Out of breath, I reached for Jaxon, a fellow friend.

The instructors took long glances at me, appearing majorly disappointed. Looking down taking hasty notes as they shook their heads. Some muffled snickers and girly giggles could be heard over the loud chatter. I'm sure the instructors were torn between making me redo the last lap or getting out the frigid weather. Eventually, they went for the ladder. We headed back to camp.

"Hey, Dan, you ok there?" Jaxon asked, poking fun at my untrained stamina. Jaxon was fairly built, with light hazel eyes and some matching hazelnut hair. He was around my age, 17, and literally my only source of company. He had developed a weird habit of calling me Dan, which must've started when I first called him Jack at age ten. You could say were brothers from different mothers. Childhood friends.

Jaxon was confident and diligent. Most likely than not, he is accompanied by his pack of 'fans'. Although normally very talkative, he seemed quiet when they were near. Sometimes he called me his 'pesticide' because I'd shoo away anyone who tried to interrupt our short-lived conversations.
As Jaxon pretty much dragged me through the piling snow, it was quiet. No more making fun, no more gossip, only eerie, dead, silence. In fact, it was so abruptly and so mutual that you could almost be convinced it was only a coincidence. But no! We all knew exactly why. Everyone had heard the rumors, about an 'infestation' that needed cleansing. We were only recruits, however, we had no business meddling with potential threats. Of course, there was no rule against it either. The only rule was that if confronted, the 'decontamination' process was to be done.
As we moved further and further away from sector seven voices finally began to ring left and right. Girls once again gossiped and guys pushed and shoved as was tradition.

From the moment I stepped foot in our small tent, I was ready to collapse. Preparation & Examination Camp was just about over and I couldn't wait to go back home, back to that noisy, happy town. Seeing how poorly I was doing, I was bound to get an easygoing line of work. One I would be happy having, I hope. Most of the guys here aren't aware why the PEC system exists. Though I'd hate to be the one to pop their bubble.

Rolling my eyes, I laid myself down comfortably on the sleeping bag. Relaxing both my arms behind my neck, as I attempted suppressing a yawn with my sheer will power, which honestly, turned out to be harder than I thought.

"You're awfully quiet, who died?" Brille, my short, german tent mate, chuckled at her own joke. Brille was a rare gem, basically anyone who originated from the blast-zone was. Icy blue eyes, with almost unnatural-looking blonde locks, the equivalent of a doll I'd say. She had a light accent, nothing drastic, but it was definitely there. She would occasionally get teased for it, too.

"I think I did." I sighed.
She gave me a weird look.
"I meant emotionally, Brille."
"Oh. I mean— yeah I knew that."

"Now that you mention it," I paused, "I heard they found some corrupts back
near Dour Catacombs." This grabbed her attention. "Really? That close?" She questioned. "Yeah... Scary, right?" Brille nodded in silence for a few seconds, then asked, "Do you think they'll send us ou–"

"'ATTENTION!
ALL RECRUITS
ARE TO REPORT TO
THE MORNING FIELD
IMMEDIATELY!'"

"Well, Brille," I stood up on command."I hope that answers your question."

"God! I hate it when they do that!" Brille instinctively clenched her teeth "You'd think they'd warn you before blasting those speakers!" Brille too stood up, her movements matching her mood. "Yeah, well, I got used to this a loong time ago." I said giving her a sly grin. "Oh, shut it Daniel! Let's just get going already."

After that we headed out. We said our goodbyes, as we separated ways onto our respective areas. Surprisingly enough, the temperature has severely dropped. Even as they walked I could see some of the girls huddling for warmth. Some others were seen walking with huge coats, while the remaining guys tried to somehow look like they weren't slowly dying of hypothermia.

And something told me that the weather wouldn't be the only thing trying to kill me.