The Group Project

~Chapter 6~

He stood up and walked over, examining my vitals and taking note of them. He continued, "Those savages are the embodiment of the primal desire to feast and fight, they're very nearly brain dead. You did a brave thing and saved the lives of three people. I know it may be hard to change your mind and your guilt. That's why we'll have a therapist ready to talk to you at anytime. I personally added it to your schedule every day of the week. "

"Are you sure they aren't... there? That I didn't kill someone?" I asked, barely holding back from crying and feeling like I was gonna break down. I had noticed a wedding ring during the struggle with the savage, meaning the man he was before had a family.

"I promise you Martin, you acted in self defense and killed something that was a starving predator which only appeared human, hellbent on eating you and your friends. You protected them and saved their lives." He said sternly. 

That helped ease my mind a tad bit, but I still couldn't get the mans face out of my head. I would definitely need to talk to that therapist. Questions once again rose in my mind, wondering what had happened while I was asleep and where my friends were. 

"Where are my friends? Are you sure they're safe?" I asked quickly.

"They are most likely getting out of training." He said.

"Training?" I asked questioningly. 

"Yes, training is partaken by almost everyone present in the fort except for the military officials and trainers. The training consists of savage survival training, first aid training, and outdoor survival training. People also have free time after completing profession training and requested tasks." he explained.

"So what does that mean exactly?" I inquired.

He continued, "Savage survival training consists of tactics for distraction and evasion, as well as going over their observed behavior. Requested tasks means tasks that are high priority but lack the necessary amount of people, like moving supplies or helping enhance and expand the wall. Profession training is what happens after you choose a profession to learn. The professions are just various necessary jobs that are required to keep this place running. The jobs are things like Medics," he said while pointing to a gold dog tag with a Caduceus snake symbol engraved on it. It also had his name, Doctor Dale Park, engraved under it in smaller letters, and right under that were three engraved stars.

"There are also various jobs like Chefs, Engineers, Mechanics, Scavengers, Sentinels and Hunters. The professions are split into three ranks, also shown by stars and the type of metal for the dog tag. The metals are bronze, iron and gold, gold being three stars. One star being at a Novice level, two stars being at an Adept level, and three being a Master level. Everyone is administered a dog tag, you will receive a bronze one with your name and one star soon, but first you should focus on recovery and regaining muscle mass."

After he finished talking I sat in silence and attempted to absorb the massive amount of information he had just dumped on me. After silently pondering I asked him, "What do the Scavengers, Hunters and Sentinels do?"

"Scavengers are people that go outside the fence and raid houses, warehouses, and stores for supplies. Hunters are people who also go outside the fence and hunt animals while looking for farms, gardens and forageable fruits and plants. Meanwhile Sentinels are like bodyguards, they usually show up on every task outside the fence to keep guard and watch the surroundings. They also lead away most savages they encounter, while there is usually one Sentinel with a drone that keeps lookout from above and warns of incoming danger on those missions. But as I said before, there are certain rank requirements for things until you reach Adept rank or Two stars. You'll also have a schedule assigned to you with ample recovery time and therapy sessions soon. "

"That's a bit complicated but I think I understand. So when would I-" I was cut off by Jon, Gannon and Bea bursting through the door and running towards me. Jon was in the lead and nearly hopped on me, hugging me and wailing. "I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE OKAY MARS, I WAS SO WORRIED. I'VE MISSED YOU."

"OKAY OKAY, dial it back a bit and get off me, I can't breathe!" I replied. His shoulder was digging into my stomach and as I pushed him away, Gannon and Bea soon followed.

Doctor Park took that as his sign to leave, "I'll give you some time to catch up, I'm sure you'll learn about the jobs and whatnot in your week of recovery, and the base general would also like you to see you whenever you feel ready. Goodbye Martin!"

Bea came next and said, "I'm glad you're okay Mars, we were worried." 

Gannon was once again nodding in agreement while remaining silent. I looked at them all, they all had bronze dog tags. Gannon had one with an animal paw track, Bea had a Caduceus snake symbol on hers, while Jon had a hand with a gear and wrench hovering above it. I inquired, "Thank you guys, I'm glad you guys got here safe. The Doctor said it's been two weeks.. it feels a bit weird but what have you guys been up to and what profession did you guys pick?"

Bea replied flashing her dog tag and a wide grin, "I am, I already had decent medical training and it falls in line with my major."

Gannon spoke up and said, "I chose to be a Hunter, I've grew up on a farm for a couple years so I know a little about hunting and farming." 

"And I'm an Engineer, they have me working on cars, solar panels and the generators. It's honestly way better than the college lectures where we barely had any hands-on experience, " said Jon.

I let out a chuckle. "Well they seem fitting, do you guys have any advice on which one I should pick?"

Jon began to explain, "Most of the professions don't go outside of the fence so there isn't really a risk present. Scavengers, Sentinels and Hunters are the only ones to go outside a majority of the time. Most people are too afraid and don't even want to think about going back out. We've been out a couple times in a fenced area for savage evasion classes, they have us climb up trees while keeping a certain distance. Once you recover you have to see the base, it's bigger than our campus!" 

"Okay, I think I get how the professions work now but why don't you guys show me around later? I actually feel pretty decent asides from being stiff and some muscle aches." I replied.

Just then a bell rang across the base. I questioned, "What was that?"

"That was the dinner bell. How about we go ask Doctor Park if you're allowed to join us for it. Jon, come with me, Gannon watch Mars."

He seemed caught off guard quickly asking, "M- me?!" But Bea had grabbed Jon and bolted while flashing me a smile and disappearing behind the door. 

He let out a sigh and sat down, calling Bea "mischievous."

 I asked, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Looking away from me and scratching his head, he replied, "No reason. So how are you feeling?" 

"I thought I said earlier-" I was cut off by him sternly saying, "Not that, I mean about what happened."

"Oh.. I think I'm okay, I'm still trying to absorb all the information that doctor dumped on me but I think I can manage." I honestly hadn't expected Gannon to ask something like that. He was always extremely quiet, seemingly ignoring everything around him. 

"Well, I know it might be difficult but I'm here if you wanna talk. I also wanna say thank you for protecting the group back then, you risked your life for us and I'm grateful." He replied while looking at me. For a split second my eyes met with his and I could tell he felt a bit awkward because the next minute he stood up and rushed towards the door, excusing himself for the bathroom. As he walked out the door and closed it, I could hear him let out a small sigh of relief. He seemed to get a little anxious when left alone with someone, the same thing had happened back on campus when I had bumped into him leaving. 

Recalling all the events and information I had found out, I sat there thinking about what could've possibly happened during the two weeks I was asleep.