Deserters

Fort Mathus

Fort Mathus. Built in 2017 and named after The General Jonathan Mathus, one of the greatest military minds ever. But also one of the worst men in history. It's said that after a battle, he would beat all the information that he could out of the survivors of the opposing army, then execute them on the spot when he was done. At his last battle, he was outnumbered four to one. Instead of retreating, he told his men to hold their positions or be killed for treason. He was shot off his horse and captured. He was burned at the stake and before dying, he shouted "Hail to the High Ruler!" Fort Mathus has been the training grounds for infantry ever since. No one ever forgets Fort Mathus.

It was a long trip to the fort. It was twelve hours before they had arrived and training started as soon as they were there. The two hundred and some odd men got off their carriages and headed right for the barracks. The were given their uniforms, boots, a white tee shirt, black cargo pants and a black top that was the same design as the fatigues the U.S. military wore. They stood in formation and were addressed by their instructors. A man about six feet tall, bulky, scars from battle and a loud commanding voice stepped forward and started to speak.

"Listen up! I am Captain Velator. I will be in charge of you until you leave here. There are three ways to leave Fort Mathus. Graduate, death, or go home under honorless status. Although, for some of you, that wouldn't be hard to adjust to." He looked right at Alex when he said that. "I will not tolerate any slacking while you are here. If you don't give one hundred percent of yourself at all times, there will be hell to pay. I'll turn you bunch of squishy pushovers into war ready killing machines if it kills me. Until you are done here, you will treat me and every other soldier here with the upmost respect. We are like gods to you. You are nothing more than gunk on the bottom of my boots. Now, all of you get to the armory. Get your swords and then get to the pit. This is where your training begins."

Guns are an abundance. Bullets on the other hand, that's another story. Ever since the Third World War ended, the whole world was basically thrown back into the dark ages. So, instead of learning how to shoot, you learned how to fight with a sword. Few were actually selected to be trained to use a gun. The pit was a large area of mud. Nothing but mud. Here is where you learned how to fight.

Captain Velator demonstrated many different throws and grappling techniques and then paired up the men. Alex was paired up with someone of equal height, but this man was much stronger than him. He threw Alex around like an empty sack. Alex struggled to throw him after being tossed around so much. They practiced throws and various other fighting moves until the beginning of the sunset. After all that came grappling. The objective was to force your partner to submit or pass out. Which ever came first. Alex and his partner fought on the ground for a while before Alex was able to jump on the guy's back and start to choke him. But right before passing out, the man elbowed Alex in his ribcage four time , grabbed him and threw Alex over his shoulder with ease. He then put Alex in a choke hold until Alex finally submitted. As punishment for losing, Velator made Alex run three miles around the pit with the other losers before letting them go to the barracks.

When Alex got to the barracks, he was covered from head to toe with mud. It was in his ears, boots, pants, everywhere. He stripped down and got into the shower. Fort Mathus was one place that still had running water. After cleaning up, he changed into the second uniform set he was given and went to wash his other set. This had to be done by hand, so it took forever. After finally finishing that, he was able to go to the mess hall to eat. The food was horrible. Chicken as dry as a desert, veggies that were so over cooked they tasted like rubber and bread. The best part was the small apple and the water.

When everyone got back to the barracks, they were told to shave their heads. It was 11:30 before Alex was finished with everything. He got into his bed and thought about home. He fell asleep not too long after. He'd need it for the next day.