Winter's Tale *DISCONTINUED*

Chapter Eight

The drive only took about twenty minutes. We rolled up to a large wooden gate. A wooden fence around fifty feet high surrounded about two acres of land. I assumed that these are the barracks were I will live and train with my unit.

A Hydro soldier walked up to our car and Sarah rolled down the window.

"Please state your name, unit, rank, and reason for entry," the man commanded in a bored, monotone voice. I felt bad for him. He must have been doing this all day.

"Sarah Pohler, Unit 208, co-Commander. We need to get supplies and drop off the car."

"You may enter," said the man.

"Wait, you mean this isn't where are unit is?" I asked.

"Nope," Sarah replied. "But this is the closest barracks to our unit. The walk is only about a hour. We come here for supplies, transportation, anything. Large barracks like these have direct contacts to the Capital. They receive large shipments of supplies so we come here about once a month for food, toiletries, weapons, costumes for missions, anything we need. You'll be coming here often, but we stay in our own barracks most of the time."

The gates slowly swung open. I was amazed by the sight I saw. Log cabins were lined up in orderly lines and squares of four. The spaces between the cabins formed small dirt streets. Dozens of soldiers were milling around the roads, but quickly walked to the side of the road when they saw us coming. It was almost like a little town.

Sarah drove down the streets until we reached a large building that looked like a warehouse. A few small sheds were littered around it. A complete training course was set up to our right. I could see soldiers sparing and practicing with weapons. Others were running a track, and some were just relaxing on benches.

Sarah parked the car at the warehouse entrance. She walked up to one of the big garage doors and pounded on it.

"Tony, you there?" she shouted.

Sarah stepped back as the garage door opened. A man in his twenties stepped out. He was wearing a short-sleeved gray shirt and blue cargo pants; the standard uniform for a Soldier or Hunter who is not on a mission. The man was red faced and had a bit of stubble around his chin. His curly brown hair was hidden under a cap.

The man smiled when he saw Sarah. "Hey! 'Haven't seen you in a while. How's the team?" the man asked.

"They're all good," Sarah replied. "But right now I'm in charge of a newbie."

The man seemed to just now realized that another person was with Sarah also. He stuck out his hand. "I'm Tony. I've known Sarah for a long time."

I shook his hand. "Winter. Winter Janus."

"Well it's nice to meet Winter, I hope I see you next time you come around," Tony looked back at Sarah. "So, what do you need?"

"Two extra sets of casual wear, one Hunter's uniform, two pairs of boots, and two dresses," Sarah said. "Oh yeah, and two pairs of heels." She handed him a list of the items she needed.

Tony stared at the list. "That's a lot of clothes you need. Are you sure you don't need anything else?"

"Eh. Maybe throw in an extra knife, Minno will have probably lost his by the time I get back," Sarah replied.

Tony chuckled. "He probably has. I'll go get that, just wait here." Tony walked into the warehouse and closed the door. As we waited for him to come back, I began to realize how hot it was. I was still wearing the Testing uniform. Knee high socks and collared shirts are not good for warm weather.