Cadet Stone was a few hours into the strangest dream of his life. He was walking on an uneven, uncomfortable surface but he couldn't look down to see what it was. If he had to guess he'd say he was walking barefoot on a grid of suspended rebar. His legs were heavy and constrained, it felt like he'd gotten them caught in a pair of commercial sized blood pressure monitors and was being forced to pull them along barefoot on an endless hike across an unfinished sidewalk before the concrete had been poured.
All he could see was the giant Mounty boot in his hands. It must have had at least 30 rows of laces. He kept unlacing a boot, shining it to buffed perfection, and lacing it back up again . Then another filthy boot would fall in his hands and the cycle would start again. He didn't seem to be able to stop his task. He kept walking and he kept cleaning, no matter how hard he tried; even when the weight of the shoe was starting to get to him. They were so heavy, and he needed to hold the boot with one had while the other did the buffing and the lace work. He would try switching the shoe from one hand to the other but he didn't think he could go on much longer. Why was he doing this?
He just finished cleaning a boot that appeared to have been covered in vegetable shortening, when he dropped it to his side and another size 12 boot fell into this hands that, at first glance, already looked fairly clean, until he realized it was coated in a thin layer of black TAR.
"Oh boy, another boot to clean... And in my size." He thought sarcastically.
"Wait, they've all been my size. Every single one of the boots I've cleaned... The same... What have I been thinking? I've been walking around with aching feet and shoes keep falling from the sky; why am walking around barefoot on this rough terrain when I could put on a pair?! "
The idea filled Cadet Stone with excitement, he was going to clean this boot and, and once it was spotless he was going to put it on! He'd be a little off balance with only one boot on, but he was sure another was sure to fall from the sky.
With that, he set about cleaning the boot which was no easy task. It seemed to take 20 minutes to buff away even a small patch of tar. It was going to take forever... But he persisted... After all, he had no choice. At least this time he was motivated by the relief he'd feel in his left foot.
At last he'd finally gotten the entire surface of the boot to a brilliant sheen. Lacing up the boot with one hand was second nature to him by this point and with the task complete, he could hardly contain his excitement. He resisted the urge to put the boot down at his side and instead tried his best to open the boot and step into it, but when he tried, his left foot came down hard and crushed the boot. It never had a chance of fitting, and the reason why made his heart sink... He had been wearing a pair of boots the entire time! He wasn't walking on rebar, there were no blood pressure monitors on his legs. He had been hiking on a soft mossy trail! "These boots are are a nightmare..."
He tried to tug at the laces but they wouldn't budge. He desperately clawed at the top seam, trying to get his fingers between the leather and his skin but they were so tight he couldn't get inside. He wanted to tear them off! He'd do anything...
Just then, another boot fell from the sky and hit him in the back of the head. He awoke with a start.
"It's 04:00 Cadets! Rise and shine and fall in." Came a voice from the doorway.
Before Cadet Stone could process what was going on his body was bolting across the room and lining up with a pair of naked teens.
"Stand at ease" The officer announced causing the Cadets to spread their legs and clasp their right wrists behind their backs just above their butts.
"Cadets! Welcome to your first day of boot camp. Yesterday we only had a few hours to work with but TODAY, we've got the real deal headed your way."
"I'm sure some of you are keen to receive an evaluation of your work in my absence. It was... Exceptional." The Officer smiled giving Cadet Stevens a small wave of euphoria and making Cadet Carter feel pretty good as well if he had to be honest.
"But a platoon is only as good as it's weakest link. The victories and accomplishments of the majority are easily spoiled by the selfishness and immaturity of the few... Last night one of you Cadets was found wandering the yard well after lights out. A severe violation of operating standards... I could punish the offender himself, but the real world doesn't work that way. In a group, in a platoon, every cadet must bear the consequences of the infractions of every other Cadet. You work as a group, you learn as a group, you are rewarded as a group and you are punished as a group. That is the the only way you can improve as a group."
"To that end, today's activates will be conducted in full dress uniform regalia. That means hats outdoors Cadets!... You'll notice that Cadet Stone has a head start on the rest of the platoon. He's been ready for his day to start since 01:15, feel free to ask him about it when you get the chance." The Officer added slyly, sewing the seeds of contention.
"I want you all ready for PT and maneuvers by 04:20, and don't expect breakfast until lunchtime. Dismissed!" The officer declared and marched out of the room.
Having been freed from the Officer's control, Cadet Stone was allowed for the first time to observe his surroundings. He recognized his platoon mates Cadets Stevens and Carter, they were frantically dressing themselves for the day, but it didn't really make sense... They were his friends, and he knew them, but being with them here didn't seem right. And he recognized his dress uniform and the boots from his dream which were just as uncomfortable in real life but he'd never seen such a uniform before. Had he? Seeing the boots and drawing his attention to their overwhelming discomfort he immediately tried to remove them, but just like in his dream, it was impossible. He was starting to flip out. He felt like he was going to scream. He knew he needed to try to calm down.
"What's going on here?" Cadet Stone asked in frustration?
"I think Sir was pretty clear about that Cadet Stone." Cadet Stevens replied, annoyed that his efforts to make Sir proud were undone by someone else. If Sir wouldn't judge him on his own merits, he'd have to make sure the entire platoon was worthy of his praise and admiration.
"Yeah, it sounds like you screwed the pooch wandering around outside last night" Cadet Carter added pulling up his woolen pants.
"I understand all that. I know I shouldn't have been outside after hours. I'm sorry about that. I... I just don't know why I'm here at all." Cadet Stone said desperate for some acknowledgement of the situation
"You're part of the platoon." Cadet Stevens replied simply.
Cadet Carter gave the matter a little more consideration, saying "I think I know what he means... He wasn't here yesterday, was he?... No, he couldn't have been, when we got the the pieces for the level... We split into two... If we'd had three Cadets we'd never have been able to.......... Get the stone...." Cadet Carter's sudden realization sank in, with three cadets they'd never have enough time to grab the protractor and the stone before the string and weight were secured by the other two Cadets. That plan would never work again. Cadet Carter was ashamed to admit it but that fact was making him very resentful of Cadet Stone.
"He WAS here, that plan DIDN'T work" Cadet Stevens replied, buttoning up his crisp dress shirt.
"No, I wasn't here. I don't remember any of that. Yesterday I was skateboarding at the abandoned railway all afternoon. I do remember sneaking out of the window last night, and I hit my head. and then I had this crazy dream and I couldn't get my boots off.... and then I hit my head again and I woke up... and I still can't get my boots off.... Am I still dreaming?" Cadet Stone needed to leave. He was beginning to hyper ventilate. He walked toward the door and caught his reflection in the mirror. "Who cut my HAIR?!" He screamed? This isn't right, none of this is right! He began tearing at the uniform trying to wrestle it off his body but none of the clasps would open the buttons were fixed in place his tie was suffocating him... The world started to spin, he needed air.
Just then the other two cadets completed their outfits and the Officer marched back into the room.
"Aten-hut!" The Officer shouted forcing the Cadets to attention. Cadet Stone couldn't move, he felt like he was about to pop.
"It sounds like you Cadets have a lot of pent up energy you need to work out. Lets see what we can do about that. Report to the front yard, on the double Cadets!"
Thus the three Cadets mechanically rolled out of their barracks to begin their first official training day.