The Peak

The next few days weren't quite as somber as you'd imagine; instead of the dread a family would experience from a loved one signing up to die. While there was tension in the air, the now buddies, Mike and Riley, were more excited than nervous about embarking on their new journey in the army. Mary kept her emotions more reserved than her friends; trying to stay positive. She'd think 'there'd be no way they'd see any actual combat', but she couldn't entirely get behind the plan as she didn't want to lose her friends, especially the one she just got even closer to.  

As time flew by, that early summer day came—the day when the boys had officially been enlisted in the army.  Earlier that morning, Mike had come over to Riley's house where they'd soon be picked up to be taken to their new home, on base. As time passed throughout the morning, the air felt heavier than it had during the week leading up to this day. Mary had spent the night with Riley, and had to carry the mood that morning once the gang was all there; she felt like she couldn't let her boyfriend leave feeling down, who knows what would happen if he did? She made a brunch for both of the boys and did her best to calm both of them down and have them feel relaxed. Before they knew it, the recruiter sent to pick them up had arrived outside of Riley's house in a dark green army van, honking the horn a couple of times, signaling them to grab their bags and make their way over to head out. 

After loading up their bags in the back of the van, both Mike and Riley turned around to face Mary and their families standing on the porch. Both of the boys hugged their mothers and Riley gave William a quick hug followed by a firm handshake. After saying goodbye to their families, Riley stood face-to-face with Mary, his eyes softened as he gazed into hers. It was as if time had paused for them as Mary wrapped her arms around him to hug him as tight as she could. Riley, leaning into her embrace, tried to soothe her emotions in his signature calm tone; 
 "I promise. No matter what happens, I will make my way back to you... one way or another."  He pulled away from her hug, holding her shoulders at arm's length, once more looking into her eyes. 
 "I love you. Don't doubt that." Pulling her in, to give her a long and tender kiss. "I couldn't leave without doing that," he said, his witty voice breaking the tension. Mary lets out a soft chuckle as a smile breaks out on her face and tears slowly start to trickle down her cheeks.
 "I'm going to hold you to that promise." She said, "You better make sure I see you again. And I promise to wait, so you better come back." They came back together for one last hug before Riley turned around, walking alongside Mike to climb into the van, waving to her through the window as they started to drive off. 

The drive was long and quiet. For most of the ride, the two young men spent their time gazing out the windows of the van, taking in the beautiful landscape surrounding the highways. Vast forests that covered valleys and mountains with a little bit of snow remaining on their peaks. Cars pass by in each direction with a sense of hurriedness. The sun shone through scattered white clouds with the odd raven flying high above; staring out the window, Riley felt like he was on his way to meet them in the sky, not noticing the increase in elevation from driving up mountains.

As they neared their destination, the highway dwindled down to one lane in each direction, as signs appeared marking the nearing military base. When the van eventually came to a stop and the boys had stepped out, they saw their new base for the first time. Fences stretched out for kilometers in each direction topped with barbed wire. Towers positioned at steady intervals throughout the fence with guards armed with assault rifles were stationed on each of the towers; even though they weren't that close, Riley was still able to get a decent look at the rifles the guards had equipped. He'd gotten flashbacks to his own guards back in the House of the Emperor. The rifles looked somewhat similar, but the technology looked underdeveloped compared to what he remembers. 

On the inside of the fence in the distance, he could see barracks and hangers in straight lines, enclosing what he could only imagine to be a runway. After no more than a minute of looking around at their surroundings, Mike and Riley were both escorted into the base so they could get checked in and settle down for their first day of training which would begin the next day. After they were officially enlisted and now members of the army, they both went to the barracks where they'd be sleeping with all the other new recruits. They got to know the other guys in their squads and before they went to sleep, they were able to get somewhat familiarized with the base, or at least what they'd need to be familiarized with. 

Mike and Riley shared a bunk in their barracks, opting to stay close to each other as they weren't quite good buddies with anyone else on base yet. The friends had a small chat before falling asleep, as they'd need to be energized for the morning. Mike told Riley while he knew that he should be there, he still felt a bit anxious about joining the army. All this time when Mike would act all tough, he was still afraid of the possibility of a war breaking out and being sent to the front lines. Riley, who also knew that this was where he wanted to be, tried to calm his friend's nerves. He said that it was normal to feel that way and that the odds of a war coming to fruition were currently low. He said that either way, he was going to protect everything that he loved, including Mike as Riley looked toward where Mike would be laying down on the top bunk. The two of them would soon join the rest of the guys in the barracks in sleep, as a symphony of snores would soon emanate from the barracks that could even be heard from outside.

As morning came and the sun crept over the mountains in the distance, a drill sergeant busted into the barracks where Riley and all the other recruits had been sleeping, waking them up to start their training and their new lives as soldiers in the army. Before they even ate that morning, they were sent on a five-kilometer run on paths that weaved throughout the compound of the base and some other conditioning exercises. Once they all finally got to sit down and eat a meal, the majority of them were already exhausted, so sitting down and eating a good meal felt like pure bliss, as both Mike and Riley got to know some of the other guys there a little better.

After finishing their meal, they moved on to training with firearms with live rounds. As standard-issue rifles were handed out, Riley finally got a closer look at the rifles that he had seen the day before; they were lighter than he'd thought, almost as if they were made out of plastic compared to the rare-earth-metal rifles he remembered from Jimat. He removed the magazine from the rifle to inspect the ammunition, which also had differences from what he remembered in his experience with rifles. The bullets themselves without the casings, looked like tiny metal cones, as opposed to balls of energy, which fly faster and can be shot out at faster rates. Shooting the rifles also had their differences, Riley didn't expect as much of a kick from his rifle in response to shooting it and ended up dropping the gun, getting yelled at by the drill sergeant for almost killing everyone there. 

The rest of the day was spent on an array of assigned tasks; standing guard at certain posts, cleaning rooms and utilities throughout the base, cooking food for the others, or anything else the higher-ups needed them to do. This sequence of events would repeat for months on end, improving their abilities, while only ever getting a couple of days off each month. In his little amount of free time, Riley would always find a way to talk to Mary; sometimes he'd call her from one of the phones on base, or go back and forth exchanging letters with her. He'd tell her how he's doing, and give her a few updates on Mike's sanity; but overall, he'd let her know that he's doing alright, that he loves her, and that there's no need to worry as he didn't hear any threats of possible conflict from anyone on base. Riley's life felt even better now, he was fulfilling a purpose that he previously missed out on, something that Spark never could've understood.