Zuno felt a light push along his shoulder as he stood. It seemed like he had forgotten he blocked the way; his foot quickly moved out of the bus exit, and he looked behind him to see who pushed him, but as he did that, a familiar voice started to speak to him.
" Don't wuss out now, Zuno, we're already here. "
Derrick spoke before giving his signature pat on the back, but the chat wouldn't last long. Since they arrived, someone was waiting for them. It was woman[1], eyeing both Zuno and Derick, but it wasn't just her; about 12 people were standing outside the bus, one person for each squad.
The platoon was quickly broken up into the squads that Michael had assigned them to when Zuno was at boot camp, with the women and the others standing in front of the unit, each with a clipboard in hand, giving Zuno a sense of déjà vu about the day after he was drafted. The woman standing in front of his squad was average in height and had hair that seemed similar to Claire's, but with darker tinges.
The clipboard was between the woman's arm and her side; While her gaze towards the group was harsh and thoughtful, it seemed she was sizing them up. Who exactly was she, and who were the others?
" I assume your squad is Zeta, correct? "
Zuno and the others quickly nodded to her question. When she got her answer, her body twisted and faced the other way as her feet started to move, her hand motioning them to follow.
" Come on then, we don't have all night. There's an assignment for you all. "
The squad quickly followed, with Derrick leading behind the women, and Zuno, still shocked by the urgency of it all, lagged, leaving him to be the last to follow, right behind Sarah.
' A mission already? Didn't we only just arrive a couple of minutes ago? '
He couldn't even have had a day to mentally prepare before going into the field? The suddenness of this task he was assigned annoyed him, but it wasn't like he could decline, so he chose to just stick his frustration into the deepest parts of his mind.
After a moment of walking inside this crowded military base, he arrived in front of a tent that was in one of the deeper parts of the base.
" Once we enter, place your bags to the left, they will be picked up by the staff later and placed in your accommodating bunks. "
The lady lifted the curtain and walked inside the tent, Zuno and the others quickly following suit. Inside the tent were four pairs of plastic chairs facing toward a board with a large map placed in the center of it; by that board was a fifth chair with a man who had a familiar grey stripe in his hair sitting on it.
" Sit down. We have an important task to discuss. "
Xavier ordered as the squad entered the tent. The squad, doing as told after placing their bags down near the left part of the tent. Xavier sat up and walked towards the board as they did and pointed his finger towards the center of the map.
" This right here is where the fight against these things is currently happening. "
He said while tapping the center of the map before sliding his hand towards the right of it.
" And this is where your squad will be placed, while another squad will be based at the left of the front. These zones have lower activity than the center. It seems the arachnoids are mainly focusing on where the fight is, rather than defending the ground they already gained. Your squad will be dropped off at the closest checkpoint near this before continuing the rest on foot. As a precaution, there will be an experienced soldier tasked with this alongside you. he is sitting with you now. "
Zuno looked towards the rest of his squad in confusion. It obviously wasn't him, and there was only one person who seemed to already know what was going on, Derrick. Zuno felt a hint of betrayal but mostly shock.
' He knew what they were getting into this whole time and didn't feel like mentioning it to anyone? '
His trust in Derrick lessened; all the things he thought he knew about him faded. Right now, Derrick was nothing more than a mystery man. He wanted to confront Derrick this instant, but he couldn't; that would only cause a scene. The only thing that was on his mind was... were he and Derrick even actually friends?
Xavier continued talking as Zunos' realization happened, closing off his explanation quite quickly.
" If you have anything of utmost importance in your bags, now is the time to get them, after which you will be given another bag to put them into, as well as a Rifle and other things that will be needed on your journey. This is a recon mission, so don't do anything reckless and listen to your squad lead. I wish you all luck. Report back any findings that will help us win this god forsaken war. "
The lady grabbed some bags that were lying near the board, which Zuno hadn't seen, and handed them out to the squad. Inside the bag was a cateen, a long-range radio to report back any findings, and a month's worth of rations.
' How long were they planning on us being out there? '
There were so many questions Zuno had, but barely any answers, with his biggest question being about Derrick. Sadly, that was a question he couldn't get the answer to just yet.
After Zuno received his backpack, they were dismissed to get their things, and without any hesitation, Zuno got up and walked towards his duffel bag as the others did the same. There wasn't much to get out of it, with him only taking out his notebook and the black box his parents left him before quickly stuffing them in his backpack.
***
A couple of minutes had passed, and the group had finished preparing, with Derrick obviously being the first to do so. They were then guided to what seemed like a Humvee that was near another gate different from the one they entered in and quickly got in.
Zuno was in the back with Sarah and Claire and Derrick was in the passenger seat. It set off shortly after they entered, keeping hidden under the shadow of night.
[1] Harem incoming??? JK