"Tomorrow's the day, isn't it. "
Zuno muttered to Derrick as they both sat on his bunk; the whole cabin was empty and cleaned up, and shallow duffel bags filled with their uniforms, required gear, and personal belongings were positioned beside their bunks. The whole platoon was inside their own preset cabins, waiting somberly as the day passed slowly.
This was a free day before they set off tomorrow to serve in the war, the calm before the storm, as they call it.
" Yep, we'll be fine, remember it's just ants. "
Derrick let out a quick chuckle, trying to lighten the dark mood that enveloped the cabin, patting Zuno's back as he did, something he did quite often. Claire and Sarah were having their own little chat on their respective bunk, each of them trying to cheer each other up. Zuno stayed silent after Derricks' remark, his gloomy face cracking a smirk towards it.
" We've been talking by ourselves long enough; we should go talk to the others, we are a team after all. "
Derrick dismissed his hand from Zuno's back, placing his hands beside his legs and onto the bunk before using them to push himself up into a standing position, eventually walking towards the bunk where Sarah and Claire were sitting, waving his hand gently towards the right, prompting them to scoot over to make space for him and Zuno.
" Yeah.. "
Zuno responded before following suit and sitting near the top of the bunk while Derrick sat beside him. The silence in the cabin was deafening; too many worries on their mind to speak. All they could do was comfort each other by their company, and after a couple more minutes of total silence except for the old wood of the cabin creaking, Sarah was the one to break it.
" Where do you think they'll send us? "
Sarah questioned, her hands tightly clasped together and her thumbs fidgeting with each other. It was a question none of them had an actual answer to; all they could do was hope it wasn't somewhere that dangerous.
" Probably somewhere towards the back, we're freshly trained after all, and wouldn't be that useful at the actual frontlines.Plus, the front is just a name for where the war is actively happening; we probably won't even see an actual Arachtoid for a while. "
Derrick calmly responded, his gaze fixed on the roof of the cabin; even his stone demeanor was starting to crack. Derrick came from a family that's been involved in this war seemingly since it started, eventually volunteering once he reached the age he could. He knew more about this war and Arachtoids than Zuno and the others ever could.
Zuno scoffed, thinking back to when he and Derrick fought, knowing that he didn't really try against Zuno and let him win, but he didn't hold a grudge towards him, though. It just showed how kind that man beside him actually was beneath his coldness.
" Yeah, I hope so... "
" And I hope they have decent food. "
Claire jokingly declared as Zuno finished speaking, which caused the entire cabin to erupt in laughter. Claire, on the other hand, was originally from another city, Solen, and unfortunately got picked up from the draft while she was in Pavee since that was her current residence for reasons she didn't say. Sarah was the most out of place there of the all of them though.
" I miss hot chocolate... and the cake my mother used to make. "
Sarah said, the grip of her hands loosening as the conversation about food distracted her from the worries of war. She was from a wealthy, well, what was deemed wealthy nowadays, money has lost most of its meaning since the war started. To be simple, she grew up considerably better than all of the others in the squad, and her father even tried to pay to stop her from getting drafted, which ultimately failed.
" Of course, a rich girl like you would crave something most of us never had. "
Claire teased as she wrapped her arm around Sarah, jerking her around in a friendly manner. The sudden talk about sweets reminded Zuno of Zoey and William, the thought of them not crossing his mind until now, since he was so focused on training and the dread of tomorrow.
" I'll be right back. "
He quickly stood up from the bunk and walked over to where his bag was placed, zipping it open and reaching inside, his hand fumbling around in it until he found what he was looking for. When he withdrew his hand, he was holding a notebook with a pencil attached to it. He was given it for writing down notes and such while he and the others had lessons by Michael and the other instructors at the camp. The paper wasn't real, but a synthetic would do a decent enough job.
Zuno sat down on his bunk after finding it and flipped to an empty page, knowing that there was no other form of communication available; this seemed like the best way to send a message. He detached the pencil from the notebook and began scribbling down what he deemed was a letter.
'To Zoey, I've arrived at boot camp, and now tomorrow will be my last day here. I know a stubborn girl like you would've expected a letter like this sooner, but I was too couped up with training and all that, so I apologize for not sending one. To be honest, this might be the only one you ever receive, not because I died, but because I don't expect them to let me send these too often or at all for confidential reasons. A couple of buddies and I were speaking about sweets, and it reminded me of the sweets you and your father made me before I left. Please take care of him for me, since I know his old bones are getting delicate by now. I wish you luck, and I hope you do the same for me. Hopefully, I can have some more once I come back home. As always, your friend, Z.'
Zuno ripped the page out of the notebook before folding it up nicely and placing it somewhere safe in the bag. He would figure out some way to get it to her tomorrow. He then returned to the group, who continued talking until it reached sundown. As they got into their beds, they whispered a few wishful words to each other, and soon after, Zuno closed his eyes.