Before he could process anything, the pile of once rigid figures started to move.
Those at the top of the pile stood up, and with the aid of whoever opened the the once dark space, began climbing out. All the while those below them were used as a floor, providing them with stable footing. Not that they seemed to mind. After all, the new floors said nothing.
Time passed with more and more climbing out. Some went somewhere else while others stayed behind and lent a hand, speeding up the process.
Eventually, it was right around his turn, though there was one more before him. Before he could be free, first he had to suffer. So, same as those before him did, he used his neck and teeth as a platform. It wasn't a pleasurable experience. At the end of it all, he was left with a stiff neck and fear he got poop on his teeth.
Then, his turn finally came. With his newly freed limbs, he quickly stretched before wiping his teeth on his sleeves. He also attempted to move his neck but there was only pain. Then he remembered what he was standing on. And so, conscious of where he was stepping, moved forward. Although he didn't know to expect, what he felt made him feel strange. The bodies under him were firm and hard. It didn't feel like he was stepping on flesh or at least something squishy. Nope. Hard plastic.
He shook his head and cleared his thoughts. Now was not the time for useless thoughts, especially ones that might lead to a panic attack. He was green for God sake, common sense was nothing but a distraction. With an empty mind, he clambered up the green man ladder. The previously rescued had locked their arms together, similar to monkeys in a barrel.
Creative? sure. Strange and difficult to look at? definitely.
Thinking any further would probably lead to lasting trauma, so, with no hesitation, he shut off his mind and mechanically made his way up.
Up top, there wasn't much walking space, more like he was on the edge or rim of something. Whatever he came out of was cylindrical.
He took a look at his feet and found that his toes were a little of the edge. One little push and he'd fall...
Mindful of his balance, he looked down the hole he came out of. And, as he watched the soldiers continuously climb out, he had a sudden thought.
Is this a plastic army man container?
It made sense when he thought further.
He had a few himself back when he was 8.
As he was lost in thought, a voice spoke out.
"Hey, if you aren't gonna help, can you at least get down from here? You're hogging up some precious space."
He looked over to where the voice came from, finding a green man who looked to be in his mid-thirties.
"S-sorry, I was just thinking."
Without even thinking, sound came from his voice. This was was the first time he heard his own voice. It definitely didn't belong to the old him! maybe a more nature version? This led to further confusion but he didn't get the chance to dwell on it.
"It's all good, we all have minds for a reason. Though, now's not the time to use it. Right, now you can either help with the others or wait down there, where the captains waiting."
The green man pointed somewhere below, towards a group of fellow green men congregating, a little ways from them was a lone figure.
Was that the captain?
Quickly absorbing the new information, he decided he wanted off the container. He wasn't too keen on being used as a ladder nor a possible fall.
"Thank you, I'll be heading down now."
"Don't worry about it, watch yourself on the way down."
The green man went back to his work.
He took a moment and paused. Now that he thought about it, how was he supposed to get down?
He looked over the edge. The floor wasn't too far away, but it was distant enough to make him uncomfortable.
On a whim, the green man from earlier glanced back and saw his hesitation.
"We don't have rope, you're gonna have to jump."
This made him tense up and freeze. He wasn't a particular fan of heights.
For a moment he stayed there, unsure on what to do. That is, until he was pushed forward.
Time seemed to slow down, as if he was an angel, falling towards the earth...
Except he wasn't. With a crisp *tink*, his body kissed the ground like a lover, face first.
It didn't hurt as much as he thought he would. The fall even fixed his stiff neck. He chalked it up to his lightweight.
He was a plastic army man after all.
Though he didn't come down completely unscathed. Now he had problems with his jaw, with it starting to ache.
Once again, not a pleasant experience.
Deciding to ignore his new pain, he made his way towards the group of green. As he got closer, he could hear numerous conversations. The atmosphere was similar to one in a lunch room.
Keeping his distance, he stayed a fair distance away. he'd found that most of what they talked about was shooting something dead. Obviously, he doubted he'd find anything in common with any one of these people.
He stood off to the side, watching as more and more soldiers joined them.
It was around 7 minutes later before the last of them arrived. As the group grew in size, he had gone further and further back, not wishing to be in the middle of the green blob.
"Hey you, Spooky, over here!."
Seemingly out of nowhere, he heard a familiar voice.
It belonged to the green man from earlier.
Although part of him wanted payback for being pushed, he decided he didn't have the energy for a petty grudge.
"Hey, what are you doing over here?."
After all, the 'bucket', was in a different direction.
"Simple, I came looking for you."
"Why's that?."
"You seemed a little lost up there, so I figured you needed some advice, something I got plenty of."
The man puffed out his chest, seemingly proud of himself.
"Thanks? I think?."
The green man smiled and proceeded to stand next to him. Just as he thought nothing more would be said, the man leaned in a bit closer.
"By the way, whats your name?."
"Oh, uh, Connor, Connor Bloomhouse, how about you?."
"Markus Cherry."
"Cherry?."
"Yes, the fruit with the pit, Cherry."
"Cool."
With that, the conversation truly ended, with the duo becoming familiar with one another.
They didn't stand there in silence for long though, soon after they stopped talking, things started to quiet down and a figure appeared on an elevated stage. Connor recognized it as a portable heater.
The one on the heater though, was probably the captain.
They stood there for a short while before all talking stopped, then they began with their speech.
"I stand here today to welcome you all to the Green Army! Our mission is to eradicate the evils of this world, uphold justice, and defend any and all possible threats. But before we do any of that, you all must become familiar with your own strengths and weaknesses, and later organizing yourselves into squads all the while obeying commands and executing orders to your utmost. Now, before any of this, we must get a head count."
They then pointed to someone at the very front.
"You there! Start counting off from one and the rest of you will continue from there."
What followed was people giving off their numbers in succession. It was a few minutes before it was Connors turn.
"200."
Due to his placement, he was the last in order.
"Whoever is last, please state your number!."
The Captains voice boomed, ensuring he was heard.
"200!."
Connor yelled back, somewhat straining his throat in the process.
The Captain proceeded with the next thing on his checklist.
"Alright, now that that had gotten taken care of, we now have a measurement of our strength. Around a companies worth of men. Should be around Four platoons, four squads within each. Now, time for the officers! All lieutenants, please raise your hands!."
A few hands went up in the air.
"One...Two...Three...Four... Alright, we have four lieutenants. Not a bad number. Now the sergeants?."
More hands were raised, including Markus'.
This caught Connor surprise, who would've thought the man next to him had some authority?.
Although he was surprised, he didn't let any of it show. It didn't really matter much to him anyways.
The Captain finished counting the hands and continued.
"Sixteen sergeants, alright, numbers to the book, haha. Now, time for the fun part, every single one of you, including the officers, will be participating in a quick crash course, a boot camp of sorts. This is meant to find what you're good at. Whether it be shooting a rifle, an AT weapon, or a sniper rifle. Alright that's enough talk for now. There's an armoury behind me, and of course, a training ground. Time for some fun. GET EXCITED!."