"Tomorrow's the day, isn't it."
Zuno muttered the words to Derrick as they sat on his bunk. The cabin had been cleaned out, leaving it bare and quiet. Shallow duffel bags rested beside each bed, packed with uniforms, gear, and the few personal belongings they were allowed to keep. Across the camp, the rest of the platoon waited in their own cabins, the hours dragging as the day wore on.
It was their last day before deployment. The calm before the storm.
"Yep. We'll be fine. They're just ants."
Derrick let out a short chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. He gave Zuno a firm pat on the back, something he did often. On the other bunk, Claire and Sarah sat together, talking quietly, each trying to distract the other from what was coming.
Zuno didn't respond right away. His expression remained heavy, though a faint smirk pulled at it after Derrick's comment.
"We've been sitting here long enough. Let's go talk to them. We're a team, aren't we?"
Derrick dropped his hand and pushed himself up, moving toward Claire and Sarah's bunk. He gestured for them to make space.
"Yeah…"
Zuno followed, sitting beside Derrick as the group settled together.
For a while, no one spoke. The silence stretched, broken only by the occasional creak of the cabin's old wood. Their thoughts weighed too heavily to put into words. Being close to each other was enough.
After a few minutes, Sarah broke the silence.
"Where do you think they'll send us?"
Her hands were clasped tightly in her lap, her thumbs fidgeting against each other.
Derrick leaned back slightly, his eyes drifting toward the ceiling.
"Probably somewhere toward the rear. We just finished training—they're not throwing us straight into the front. And the 'front' isn't a single place anyway. It's wherever the fighting's happening. We might not even see an Arachtoid for a while."
His voice was steady, but there was a slight edge beneath it. Even Derrick wasn't untouched by what was coming.
Zuno let out a quiet scoff, thinking back to their fight. Derrick hadn't gone all out. He had held back, let Zuno win. It wasn't something he resented—it just showed who Derrick was beneath everything else.
"Yeah… I hope so."
"And I hope they have decent food."
Claire's voice cut in, light and deliberate.
The tension broke. The cabin filled with laughter, brief but real.
Claire leaned back slightly, a faint grin on her face. She was from Solen, though she hadn't said much about why she had ended up in Pavee. The draft had caught her there, and now she was here with the rest of them.
"I miss hot chocolate… and the cake my mother used to make."
Sarah spoke more softly this time, her hands loosening as the topic shifted. Talking about something familiar helped, even if only a little.
She had grown up better off than the rest of them. Not rich by old standards, but comfortable enough that things like that still mattered. Her father had even tried to buy her out of the draft. It hadn't worked.
"Of course you do," Claire said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "You've had things the rest of us haven't."
She gave her a small shake, teasing, and Sarah let out a quiet huff in response.
The mention of sweets pulled Zuno's thoughts elsewhere.
Zoey.
William.
He hadn't thought about them in weeks. Training had taken everything from him—time, energy, focus. There hadn't been space for anything else.
"I'll be back."
Zuno stood and walked over to his bag. He knelt beside it, unzipping it and reaching inside. His hand moved through the contents until he found what he was looking for.
A notebook. A pencil clipped to its spine.
It was standard issue for lessons, meant for notes and instructions. The paper wasn't real, but it would do.
Zuno returned to his bunk and sat down. He flipped to an empty page, hesitating for only a moment before pulling the pencil free.
There was no proper way to send messages. No guarantee this would even reach her. Still, it was the only option he had.
He began to write.
To Zoey,
I made it to boot camp. Tomorrow's my last day here before deployment. I know you probably expected a letter sooner, but training didn't leave much time for anything else. So… sorry about that.
This might be the only one you get. Not because I plan on dying, but because I don't think they'll let us send these often. Maybe not at all.
We were talking about food earlier. It reminded me of the sweets you and your father made before I left. I haven't had anything like that since.
Take care of him for me. He's getting old, even if he won't admit it.
I'll try to come back. When I do, I expect something better than last time.
—Z
Zuno stared at the page for a second before tearing it out. He folded it carefully and tucked it into his bag, placing it somewhere secure. He would find a way to send it. Somehow.
He zipped the bag shut and returned to the others.
The conversation picked up again, drifting between small topics and forced jokes, anything to keep their minds off what waited for them.
By the time the sun began to set, the energy in the room had faded. One by one, they climbed into their beds. A few quiet words were exchanged in the dark—simple things, meant more than they sounded.
Zuno lay on his bunk, staring at the ceiling for a moment before closing his eyes.
Tomorrow was coming, whether he was ready or not.