Chapter 14: CHAPTER 14: Fire, Trigger, Safe.
Dust, sun, pale blue skies, and dry, flat, cracked earth as far as the eye could see. Small oases of vegetation dotted the landscape, some plants glossy and green, others half-dried and dying. Tough, resilient trees stood crooked and low around the place. Alex was in the back seat of a jeep driving on the road, an Ethiopian soldier beside him and in front of him and a man in a lightly armored combat uniform taking the wheel. It was painted an assortment of colors, but nothing too flashy. The Brotherhood liked to customize their armor color, so long as it didn't resemble the enemies'. abstract dark yellow paint lines were stroked on parts of the metal plating, a nice personal touch. On his shoulder, a metal-etched emblem of a yellowjacket was displayed proudly. The man himself had his hair dyed an artificial yellow color that complimented his suit. A karambit and a large-barreled pistol were locked in their cases on his hip. He talked casually to Alex in a very interesting dialect.
"This trainin' is somethin' else, especially for a trainee like you. I can't wait to see your face when it starts. Good luck on day one." The man said, stopping his vehicle near a large wide box of a facility painted the color of the pale ground. He parked and hopped out, and the Ethiopian soldiers made their way behind Alex and the man. Ralkins Cheriby was his name, but those in the Brotherhood had nicknamed him Vespa. The four walked in their armored suits, whose complex joints smoothly and silently bent as they marched onwards. There will be lots of people, all of them professionals in their life's passion. He walked into the building, taking a large breath and putting on an alert, determined expression. Large, curved steel beams ran up the walls like ribs before smaller rods filled in the corners of the box-like structure. There were segmented walls made up of thick glass separating each of the rooms. A large section of the structure was devoted to weights and machines, half of them Alex had never seen before. They must be for the Brotherhood, Alex thought. Alex maneuvered through the glass catacombs with Vespa to the main desk. The worker manning the desk called up someone and told them to report inside the room in which Alex stood. Alex took a seat, kicking his feet out and closing his eyes to guess the type of person that the man named Gabe Holts was. He had been asked to train and teach Alex, after all. After a few minutes had passed, a large man walked in, looking as though he had just come from an intense workout. His figure was wide and muscular, and his chocolate brown skin shined as sweat covered him and dripped down his bald head. The man scanned the room, catching a glance at Alex.
"You must be Alex. You can call me Holts, I'll be teaching you how to shoot today" He said, reaching out a thick hand. Alex clasped onto it, assessing the man's grip strength. It was unmoving and unconquerable. The man was a mountain, a mountain that Alex needed to pass in order to survive. If Midnight held absolute superiority against this man, then Alex was nothing but a grain of sand waiting to be crushed by a massive boulder. A sense of despair fell over Alex at that moment, a humbling expansion of Alex's perception of the world placed a grand weight on his shoulders, a weight that he was too afraid to bear. Alex doubted himself and what he could achieve in just a mere few days.
"Nice to meet you, let's start, shall we?" Alex said in a vain attempt to hide his crushed resolve.
"Sure thing. Some of my buddies and I will do some lessons and tests before we'll simulate combat. We don't have much time, but you'll be impressed by the things you can do before we have to defend the rerouted supply line. And don't be nervous, you gotta utilize the body that you were given, it was designed for things like this. It will listen to you, unlike your previous body." Holts said, walking back out the door, expecting Alex to follow. Alex reached into his innermost thoughts to relax. He controlled his breathing and focused his eyes. Surely enough, the hormones gradually did their part. He had never been told that he could control his hormones to an extent. Alex thought about the other things he had left to learn, which gave him a spark of hope. He waved goodbye to Vespa and ran to catch up with Holts. Upon arriving at a mostly flattened area with large targets in the vast distance, Alex saw Holts take a case that he was carrying off of his gargantuan shoulders. He clicked the case open, revealing the parts to a sleek black automatic rifle.
"First things first. This will be your weapon that you will be using. I'm going to show you how to assemble and clean it. Thanks to our memory, this shouldn't take any time at all..." Holts said as he walked through the steps. Alex trained his eyes and observed carefully, burning the processes into his infallible memory. After he had displayed to Holts all that he had learned, they continued.
"Next I'll teach you how to actually shoot it. Now, I got to warn you, these automatic rifles have some insane recoil. So much so that a normal human can't even shoot one without breaking something. If you use it improperly, you'll be knocked to the ground on your first shot. Plant your foot back, and make sure to have a low center of gravity. This gun has three rates of fire: automatic, semi-automatic, meaning one shot per trigger pull, and a three-shot burst. This can be switched using the lever right here..." he pointed at a small switch on the gun. "I have to warn you, don't use the automatic unless it's an emergency and you have a solid wall or position to ground you. This little button is your safety. You will normally be pointing the gun like this..." Holts went on for quite some time, explaining everything that Alex needed to know before he could start putting this knowledge to use. When he finally concluded his talk, he removed his own gun from his back, pulling the sling quickly over his head and into position, also pulling out earplugs for both him and Alex, which they fastened tight in their ears. He shouted at Alex to follow his movements. Alex kept a wide stance and lowered his body, his eyes trained on Holts until he gave a confirming nod telling Alex to focus on aiming. Alex peered through the scope, focusing on the center of the crosshair onto the small red dot. The target was far, so far that Alex wouldn't have been able to see it had he still been a normal person, even taking into account the premium scope that the rifle had equipped. He controlled his breathing and pulled the trigger, doing so for the very first time in his life. The shot sent forth a small shockwave throughout Alex's body, penetrating his ears and rattling the bones in his arms and shoulders with terrifying intensity. Alex was pushed backwards off-balance as his front leg was lifted off the ground, forcing him to hesitantly swing and plant it behind him. He saw a hole suddenly appear on the target, and after a few seconds, he heard a large metallic clang from the giant bullet trap behind the target. Alex let out a wide-eyed, puff-cheeked chuckle while looking at the gun, shocked by the mechanical monster that he was holding in his hand. A smile slid across Holts' face.
"See, I told you. These things are powerful suckers. Try leaning in on it slightly without upsetting your balance."
With Holts' patient instruction, Alex began to get used to the gun after about twenty shots. He practiced thoroughly until he was ready for the three-round bursts. Alex was improving fast throughout the day, and the thought that he would be able to retain it all comforted him and improved his progression. He even got the hang of securing himself in front of a wooden post and a low-lying wall as he hailed bullets down on the target in automatic mode. Holts kept Alex on his toes, making sure that not a second of time was wasted in the training. Alex learned how to swap magazines with lightning speed and sure precision. He then pointed Alex to a new target, and then pressed a button on the screen of his smartwatch. The target jolted around sporadically, its movements barely predictable.
"Now, let me show you another trick our bodies possess. You can manipulate and rebalance your metabolism and perception at will. It might take some getting used to, but with training, you'll do it automatically. It has some very nice practical uses to it, too. To give an example, you could go into something called a dormant state, which allows you to have a higher survivability rate from an injury, at the expense of mobility. As we're going to do in a second, you can also improve your already high rate of perception, which can give you more accuracy and reaction ability. You shouldn't stay in this state for too long, though. It's quite taxing on the body, and sometimes can even lead to temporary organ failure, which in battle could cost you your life, so use it wisely." Holts proceeded to explain how to trigger the skill. After thirty minutes of failed attempts, Alex eventually discovered it. As he looked at the blurred target, it quickly slowed down to a somewhat pathetic speed, even slowing to the point where Alex could see how the target itself jiggled slightly as the mechanical arm suspending it jerked it in another direction. Alex looked around him, the world was at a peculiar standstill. The grass, the trees, and all the plants close and far were dead still, and the military vehicle traveling on a distant road was moving at a slugs' pace. Alex felt himself being consumed quickly by a dreadful tiredness that ate away at him the longer he stayed in this surreal state. He quickly reverted to his normal perception and noticed that his breaths were quick and sharp.
"You good? You increased it a bit too much. Try and find a nice balance between fast perception and manageable energy consumption"
"Ok, I'll try." Alex said, feeling sickly and dizzy. Holts had Alex rest and regain the energy and fluids he had lost. The consumed food and water was absorbed quickly, and made Alex feel renewed in a few minutes. He continued this process of trial and error over and over until he finally found the peak performance point. He was beyond exhausted, so much so that he struggled to walk as he made his way to the barracks containing his new room. He had shot his gun so much that it was beginning to feel like second nature to him. Such was the power of the mind and body he was gifted. He had accomplished in ten hours more than he would've one thousand hours normally. Though his body was dragging, his mind was not. He took a break and sat on the grass, gazing at the ever-expanding starlit sky as he sat in the darkness of the earth, looking above into the vast future that humanity will soon venture. All of the unnamed stars, planets, galaxies, and discoveries were awaiting him. He needed to survive the upcoming attacks, and survive until he could find his place amongst these stars. He decided that he would not do this alone, for that would be a fate too cruel for any man. He desired companionship, a large group of intelligent elites with whom he could travel the infinite depths of space. But first, he must fix this world. He could not abandon the land in which he was brought up, loved, and accepted. He could not abandon his own race. He will fight, he will endure, and he will struggle, just so that he could protect the countless individuals of which he didn't even know the names. Alex decided that he would make a name for himself, so that he could have his own influence and promote intellectual and technological prosperity. He was infinite, and with this immortality, many mysterious gates of which no mortal can enter are swung wide open.
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TheTrueScientist
TheTrueScientist I'm going to release two chapters at once next time I do so. I don't know about y'all, but I'm excited to release chapter 16! REMEMBER! Comment, give your opinion. How am I doing so far? What are some things can I work on? And don't be embarrassed to point out my grammar mistakes if you see any. I want my story to be in the most understandable format it can be. I haven't been getting much feedback lately, so some would greatly be appreciated!
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