Chapter 1:

Drill

The Story of Drill


“Come here class!” The observer assigned to our unit said, trying to keep calm in all
the chaos. Me and James sit back and relax in the midst of everything.

“James, we should go join them!” I say, about to get up when he puts a hand
on my shoulder.

“Are you stupid? The observer will get us kicked off!” He says in a quiet voice.

While what he’s saying makes sense, I feel as though he’s overreacting.

“We’re part of the First Unit. Don’t you think we oughta be taking risks before
we go fight the Creatures?” I reply, but not taking any action.

He stays silent. I think I made him uneasy with mention of the Creatures.
James is just that kind of guy. He’s really easy to put on edge, but not angry.
He’s paranoid in a wide variety of situations. Which is actually sort of strange,
 given the fact that we live in a quiet village with nothing to really be paranoid of.

 I stop talking, and we both watch the other kids of our unit running around.
The one running the fastest is Marjorie. She’s way too fast for us.

It’s almost unnatural. James is always going on about how he should
be faster than her, but that she always finds a way to cheat in races.
Regardless, running fast is kind of her defining trait, since none of
us know anything else about her. She’s always off on her own,
which I’d relate to if I didn’t have James on my side. Sometimes,
she has to stay after observation to speak with the observer
and some other people I don’t know. James and I once tried to spy
on the meeting by hiding in some bushes, but almost got caught
and had to run back to our homes. I still remember James
scolding me after for having the idea, despite him agreeing to do it.

The observer, having enough, snaps his fingers.

All of a sudden, the ground rumbles. The Unit stops in their tracks,
and James grows a bit uneasy.

“Loosen up James.” I say, trying to be reassuring.

“Shut up.” He says back.

I laugh, mostly at the fact that he got the intention
of that statement completely wrong.

“It’s time for me to teach you about Creatures. Properly this time,
if you’ll pay close attention.”

The observer says, and we all run to our seats, me and James
seated right next to each other. The observer doesn’t pull up a broadcaster.

“For this, no visuals. Just my words. So you better be paying
attention, because this is crucial to your futures as part of a Unit.”

So me and James, both excited but also a bit scared, get ready,
ears open, pens at hand.

Drill
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