The Great Awakening

Chapter 15

            The asphalt rumbled beneath the tires as armored vehicles painted in camouflage drove over the long and empty road; three trucks in total, each one carrying a squad of four with one supervisor. Well… except for one; Melissa would not be joining her squad for this. Each person was given a knife, a semiautomatic suppressed rifle, a pistol, five magazines for each gun, and a satchel to place supplies in. The rifle was also mounted with optics to enhance precision and reflex, thus it was called a reflex sight. It was also mounted with a laser and flashlight combo. The black rifles stood on its stock as everyone spaced out, aside from the supervisor. The supervisor for Alpha squad, Jayden’s squad, is Aaron, the big burly sniper who helped them escape from the city. Every now and then, Jayden would glance over to Joanna and they would share a gaze and a smile. This gaze would last for a moment until Aaron broke the silence by pulling out some headsets. “Alright guys listen up.” His voice was much gentler than Jayden remembered. “Put these on.”

            Everyone did as instructed, clasping the headset over their ears and folding the mouthpiece in front of their lips.

            “Now in each of your satchels, you will find a phone.” Aaron demonstrated by pulling out his phone and turning it on. “Turn it on and I will call each of you. This is how we will communicate should we get separated.”

            “Whoa. How did you get your hands on these?” Olivia asked as she fiddled with her phone, plugging it in and adjusting the volume.

            “Jack.” Aaron said abruptly.

            “Has anyone ever seen Jack?” Joanna inquired.

            “He doesn’t step out much. Now finish setting up your gear.”

            Everyone else connected their headsets to their phones. They tested the gear successfully and were given a brief introduction to how to use their communication systems. The button on the lower ear is an unmute button, where when pressed, it would unmute the microphone and allow the user to speak. With the speakers always on, it would be a constant annoyance to have the microphone constantly unmuted.

            In about an hour, the vehicles came to a halt hidden underneath some trees, and everyone popped out from the back door. The three supervisors met together to form a simple game plan and Jayden walked over to Joanna, who was leaning her body against a thin tree. “I never got to ask how you were feeling about this…” He asked.

            She sighed and gave him a smile. “Are you asking now?”

            “Yeah.”

            She shrugged and looked up to the sky. “I don’t doubt myself. I know that I will succeed. I know that I will come back if I try.”

            Jayden nodded. “But…”

            “But it doesn’t mean that I’m not afraid.” She sighed as she took in the warm air into her lungs, and some leaves fell onto her vest. “I’m still scared of what’s to come.”

            “But you’re trained,” Jayden added. “We all are.”

            “Trained…” She repeated. “Doesn’t mean we will perform when it comes to the real deal.”

            “So you are unsure…”

            “I’m only sure of the fact that we will be coming back. I’m not so sure of what is in the abandoned cities.” She took another deep sigh. “I’m afraid of what we might see. It’s one thing to read the horror… it’s another to see it with your own eyes.” Jayden nodded in agreement. Almost none of the recruits had seen a cannibal at all. And they weren’t sure if they wanted to.