Chapter Four: How to Make a Soldier

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Bang!

I walked into the training room only to get nearly shot in the face. Tord grins wickedly as he shot at a target on the wall behind me with the bullet seemingly inches from my face. However, the bullet hit the target and was rewarded by a victorious laugh from Tord.

"Holy pugs in a pizza box! What the heck?!?!"

Pugs in a pizza box? What even did I just say? Why did I say that? It's such an odd reaction... Tord gives me a suspicious side glance while still facing the target.

"See Tom, that was a practice shot. Next time, on the field, someone might try to shoot you and not a target behind you. You need to be ready." His mood lightens. "But, for being my robot arm, that was a pretty good shot, I have to say." At this, he gives a small dramatic bow, just asking for praise. I was half tempted to roll my... eyes? But, frankly, I knew better. I could tell it was a good idea not to test him, at least not yet.

"You could have shot me!" I yell still a bit panicked from possibly being nearly killed.

"Oh, pfft..." he waves his good hand dramatically. "And is that any way to talk to your leader?" This is exactly why I knew better. I could tell he had an ego. You would have to in order to be in his position.

"Err... No To- Sir. No, Sir." God knows what would happen if I used his real name. Regardless, I didn't look forward to finding out the hard way.

"Good, then let's get started!" He swings out his arms as if revealing the room for the first time.

He does a dramatic twirl as he turns around and walks up to a panel on one of the opposite walls. He seems to punch in some buttons and takes a step back just before a portion of the wall slides out, revealing a large weapons rack. He looks at the array of guns set out before him, and his face lights up like a kid on Christmas day. He carefully selects a dark blue two barreled gun with a dark grey handle and a long, black cord that comes out of the bottom. He presses another button as the wall returns to its original state, and he makes his way back over to me.

"This is your gun that you will use to train and on the field," he states.

"What is the co-?" he cuts me off by answering my question before I can even finish asking it. Before, I even made time to think helifteds the cord up to the side of my head, and my vision went black.

Unable to see, I suddenly feel disoriented and almost fall over. I hear an exasperated sigh from Tord that brings me back to reality.

"Classic stupid, Tom! Just give it a minute, eh?"

Just as he finishes his sentence, my vision returns, but it is in an odd way. Without even meaning to, I scan the entire room, and it's like several defense mechanisms suddenly kick in as things flash before my eyes. White and red circles outline each object and Tord, identifying everything. The gun appears to be glowing now, too.

"Ha! Relax... and concentrate. I just plugged your gun into your visor that automatically puts it into combat mode. It will help your aim and judgment."

I calm down and take a deep breath. The things flashing before my eyes slow down and gradually begin to I feel like I can control it. It's like I'm looking through some high-tech glasses. The only difference is that  you can take off glasses.

Noticing my understanding of the situation, Tord nods his head in the direction of the target, signaling me to take aim. I wonder if I have ever shot a gun before. Just trying to think about it hurts my head. The weight of the metallic object in my hand feels so unnatural yet so familiar all the same. I wrap my right hand around the cold handle. It fits my hand perfectly. I wrap my left hand over my right and face the target to take aim. I lift the gun and the visor quickly focuses on the target and shows me exactly where the bullet will go depending on which way I point it, with a red dot I'm assuming only I can see.

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