Грань будущего
Chapter 1
IfIcouldtraintojumpeveryhurdlethislittletrack-meetofdeaththrewatme,maybesomedayI’dwakeupinaworldwithatomorrow.
NexttimeI’dbesuretostareatRitaduringPT.Ifeltalittlebadaboutbringingherintothis,shewhowasbasicallyabystanderinmyendlessone-manshow.Buttherewasn’treallymuchchoice.Ididn’thavehourstowastebuildingmusclethatdidn’tcarryoverintothenextloop.Thatwastimebetterspentprogrammingmybrainforbattle.
Whenthetraininghadfinallyfinished,themenonthefieldfledtothebarrackstoescapethesun’sheat,grumblingcomplaintsundertheircollectivebreath.IwalkedovertoSergeantFerrellwhowascroucheddownretyinghisshoelaces.He’dbeenaroundlongerthananyofus,soIdecidedhe’dbethebestplacetostartforhelponmybattle-trainingprogram.Notonlywashethelongestsurvivingmemberoftheplatoon,butitoccurredtomethatthe20percentdrillsergeanthehadinhimmightjustcomeinhandy.
Wavesofheatshimmeredabovehisflattophaircut.EvenafterthreehoursofPT,helookedasthoughhecouldrunatriathlonandcomeinfirstwithoutbreakingasweat.Hehadapeculiarscaratthebaseofhisthickneck,atokenfromthetimebeforethey’dworkedallthebugsoutoftheJacketsandhadhadtoimplantchipstoheightensoldiers’reactiontimes.Ithadbeenawhilesincethey’dhadtoresorttoanythingsocrude.Thatscarwasamedalofhonor-twentyyearsofhardserviceandstillkicking.
