The morning of the departure felt different. The air in Marmello was stagnant, and the usual bird song was drowned out by the low hum of nervous conversation. Jack, Kenlil, and Tavros stood at the bus stop, surrounded by at least fifty other recruits. They all wore their yellow armbands like a badge of honor, but their faces told a different story. The cockiness of the previous nights was gone, replaced by a tight, pale anxiety that grew with every passing minute.
"Buses are late," Kenlil muttered, shifting his heavy suitcase from one hand to the other. "Great start. We're going to be AWOL before we even get our boots."
"Relax, Ken," Tavros said, though he was tapping his foot rhythmically against the pavement. "The whole town is trying to move at once. The roads are probably a mess."
Suddenly, an old, battered farm truck rattled up to the stop, its engine coughing blue smoke. An old man with a face like dried leather leaned out the window. "I know my truck can't fit all of you," he shouted over the engine, "but I'm giving as many as I can a free ride to Juwark! No sense waiting for a bus that might not come."
The recruits were hesitant, looking at the rusted railings of the truck bed.
"Come on, guys," one recruit shouted, throwing his bag over the side. "Don't tell me you're backing out now just because it's a bumpy ride!"
"Just shove those vegetable crates to the front, son!" the old man yelled as the boy climbed in. "Make some room for your buddies!"
Six more recruits scrambled up, helping each other over the tailgate. When the bed was a packed mass of bodies and bags, the old man nodded. "That's it! Hold on to your hats!"
"See you at the assembly area, boys!" one of the lucky ones shouted back as the truck lurched forward. "I'll tell the brass you're on your way!"
Jack shook his head, a small smile breaking through his nerves. "Marmello logic. If the government fails, use a tractor."
"Maybe we should've just taken it when we had the chance," Kenlil sighed, watching the truck disappear in a cloud of dust.
"What's the hurry, Ken?" Tavros asked. "We're all getting to the same place eventually. I'm enjoying the last few minutes of not being yelled at."
Slowly, more vehicles began to trickle in. Private cars, delivery vans, and even a few motorcycles offered rides. But for every recruit that left, two more arrived from the outskirts of town. Just as the tension was reaching a breaking point, a fleet of older vehicles—mostly classic sedans and trucks—pulled up in a long line. The drivers were all veterans, many wearing their old campaign caps.
"Come on in, boys!" one called out. "You'll be late if you wait for the local transit. The Republic doesn't like to be kept waiting!"
"Let's go!" Kenlil didn't wait. He sprinted for the nearest car, gesturing wildly for Jack and Tavros to follow.
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Juwark City Hall was a chaotic hive of activity. Thousands of civilians were already there, a sea of civilian clothes and their papers ready to be enlisted. There were also recruits who were there waiting for others. The noise was a deafening roar of shouting, crying, and the constant hiss of the public address system.
"Woah..." Kenlil breathed, his jaw dropping. "There's so many of them. I thought it was just us."
"It's the whole region, Ken," Jack said, his eyes scanning the crowd. "It's even more than when we enlisted three days ago."
Tavros let out a long breath, his shoulders finally dropping from his ears. "I feel like my anxiety just disappeared. Hard to feel special when you're one of ten thousand."
"Attention! All arriving recruits, fall in at Assembly Area E-4!" the speakers blared. "Find your respective assignments on the boards posted near the tents. Move with purpose!"
"Sounds like there's no formal roll-call," Philip said, appearing from the crowd behind them. "It's a free-for-all."
"Alright," Jack said, looking at his friends. "Let's go find out where they're putting us."
They moved toward a massive green field on the outskirts of the city hall complex. It was lined with rows of olive-drab army trucks, each column separated by white paint lines and signs: 98th, 99th, 100th, and 101st Airborne Divisions. Soldiers with different colored patches were everywhere, barking orders and pushing the crowd into organized lines. Jack scanned the faces under the 98th Airborne tent and felt a jolt of recognition. James, Luke, Oscar, and Daniels were all there, piled into a section. And right in the middle of them stood Natalia.
She caught Jack's eye and waved him over, her expression a mix of relief and intrigue. James was waving too, a huge smile on his face.
"Guys, they're calling us," Jack said. "Look, the whole Marmello crew is over there."
Kenlil and Tavros followed, looking confused. As they reached the tent, Luke pointed to a massive board covered in lists of names. "Do you guys know anything about this?"
"Know what?" Kenlil asked.
"All of us," Luke said, gesturing to the group from Marmello. "Every single one of us is assigned to the 98th Airborne, 506th Regiment."
"What?!" Kenlil leaned in, his eyes darting over the paper. "Is that true?"
"Look for yourself," Luke said.
Jack pushed through to the front of the board. His fingers traced the 'S' section. Sterling... Sterling... He found it. Jack Khray Sterling. 98th Airborne, 506th Regiment.
"I guess we're in the same regiment after all," a voice whispered right in his ear.
Jack jumped slightly, turning to see Natalia standing inches away. She had a strange look in her eyes—not quite a smile, but a shared secret.
"I guess so," Jack said, looking back at the board. He saw the others: Kenlil, Tavros, Philip, Luke, Oscar, Daniels. All of them. "It's too unnatural. Putting a whole town's worth of recruits into a single regiment? That doesn't happen by accident."
"I was thinking the same thing," Natalia said, leaning against the support pole of the tent. "Someone high up is pulling the strings. Someone wanted us together."
"Who would've thought we weren't going to be separated?" Philip added, grinning as he stood there calmly despite the relief and joy that they were all going to be in the same regiment.
"ATTENTION!"
The roar came from a man with a single golden bar on his collar—a Second Lieutenant. He was flanked by two Sergeants with three stripes on their sleeves. The same scene was playing out at the 99th, 100th and 101st tents.
"These three trucks behind me will transport you to your respective regiments!" the officer announced. "The first truck is for the 506th! The middle for the 507th! The last for the 508th! Load your gear and prepare to move! We don't have all day!"
The Sergeants immediately took over. "Come on! Move, move, move!" they barked, shoving recruits toward the tailgates. "Keep your bags in your laps! No standing! Let's go! Let's go!"
It was a blur of shouting and shoving. Jack scrambled into the back of the first truck, helping Tavros and Kenlil pull their heavy suitcases up. Natalia climbed in right after him, sitting directly across from him.
As soon as the truck was at capacity, a Sergeant slapped the side of the vehicle. "Don't worry, the rest of you aren't getting left behind!" he shouted at the lingering recruits with a dark smirk. "We'll make sure of that."
the engine roared to life, and the truck lurched forward, leadings the convoy out of Juwark. Jack looked back at the city one last time—the buildings, the pubs, the park where they had laughed just yesterday. It all felt like a movie he had watched a long time ago.
"Well," Jack said, looking at his friends' faces under the canvas roof. "Wherever they're taking us... is going to be our home from now on."