The candidates quickly began to move from an unorganized crowd into a line. Yakup, like the others, hurried to get in line. The candidates formed ten rows, 24 people in each row. After making sure everyone was in line, the instructor continued.
"I am Major Kaya! I will decide when you sleep and when you get up during your time here!"
He paused slightly. Meanwhile, one of the officers next to him stepped forward with a tablet in his hand. He seemed to be checking the names of the candidates.
"Your purpose here is simple. To become Hunters who can survive in harsh conditions, who will not succumb to any threat. Our methods will be very different from Paradion. You will crave death every day you spend here."
A moment of silence fell. As the wind blew the dust from the floor, each candidate wore a serious expression. Yakup watched the officer in silence. The training would not be easy, but he did not expect an easy path. No pain, no gain.
Major Kaya ran his eyes over the crowd. His dark eyes, like arrows, radiated a menace not expected from his short stature, stirring the primal instincts of the beholder. When Yakup felt this man's gaze on him, he realized that his breathing changed and his body involuntarily contracted.
"Let those whose names are read come here."
At this moment, Yakup turned his head slightly to look at the candidates from Istanbul and Hatay provinces standing next to him. As his eyes traveled over the lieutenant's stern face, he saw the fire in the commando's eyes. As the names began to be called, Yakup took a deep breath as he waited for his turn.
"Yakup Cemil Karakurt!"
When he heard his name, he walked over to Major Kaya, who was flanked by a bespectacled man with a razor and several aides waiting to hand him the necessary items.
It was very difficult for him to shave his head, because he had been growing it long for years and it was past his shoulders. As a matter of fact, he had no choice. He let the man with glasses turn his head into a chicken ass with the razor.
"Go to ward 7 and change. A training suit must always be kept for inspection and must never be soiled! Is that clear?"
"Understood, sir!"
The packaged training suits were green in color. It was a set of clothes that included a boot and the necessary items. After receiving his belongings, Yakup proceeded to his barracks. There were 24 candidates in each barracks, and when groupings were needed in training, these 24 candidates would be grouped among themselves.
When Yakup scanned inside, he realized that the lieutenant and the commando from Hatay and Istanbul were also in the seventh ward. The candidates brought by General Zhukov were also here. They had all chosen bunks close to each other and were settling into the lockers provided for them. As far as he could see, candidates from Estonia and several Asian countries were also in this ward.
Yakup chose one of the beds closest to the door and laid out his clothes. He was a little annoyed to be excluded by people from the same region. Even though the whole world spoke a common language, many regions still held on to their own cultural identity.
"After you put on your uniforms, roll call!" came a voice from outside.
The ward stirred with this voice. Yakup stopped settling down and started to get dressed. Although he lagged behind the others in speed, he managed to catch up with them. Every single candidate here - except him - had a military background, they had lived barracks life to the fullest. Their reaction times were therefore very high.
Within seconds they were in uniform and out of the barracks. Yakup followed them a few seconds behind. The whole group was lined up like a rope on the training ground. Yakup took his place in the line with his barrack mates.
Major Kaya brought a delegation with him and stood on the platform in front of the training ground. He looked at the group with hard eyes for a while and then turned to the members of the delegation with a slight smile. Some wore camouflage, others white coats. It would have taken a fool not to realize that these were the instructors in charge of the training.
Major Kaya brought a delegation with him and stood on the platform set up in front of the training ground. He looked at the group with hard eyes for a while and then turned to the members of the delegation with a slight smile. Some of them were wearing camouflage and some were wearing white coats. It would have taken a fool not to realize that these were the instructors in charge of the training.
"Your training will be divided into three periods. In the first semester you will learn everything you need to know about the World of Hunters and put it into practice on Prometheus Island. Every week you will take exams that will test your knowledge. These exams will determine your ranking. After your practical and theoretical competence is ensured, you will move on to the second semester. Our main focus in the second semester is to teach you everything you need to know about Eden. You will learn about the biology of monsters, geography and even the finest details about Paradise. In the third semester, you will take practical exams where you can show what you have learned. From now on, your evaluation will begin."
Major Kaya introduced the instructors standing next to him before continuing.
"We have many friends who have come here to train and inform you. You will get to know them well during the lessons. So we will start without bothering with introductions."
One of the officers standing next to Major Kaya stepped forward and shouted in a loud voice.
"Soldier, turn right!"
"We will start with 80 kilometers! "
"Go!"
Yakup could not even react. The officers, non-commissioned officers and experienced soldiers around him had abandoned their composure and started running like a herd of rhinos in a life or death situation in the wild. They were so fast that Yakup was knocked down by the impact and left in the dust along with a few others.
"I can't stay behind!"
Yakup quickly regained his senses and started running with all his might. The instructor petty officer, who was running at the front of the group, disappeared from sight in seconds.
---
A week later.
Yakup was knee-deep in black water, struggling with numbing pain all over his body. The cold had seeped into his bones. The water was eating away at not only his body but also his mind. Nothing could be heard but the sound of breathing and occasional grunts from the soldiers around him.
They had been in this shithole for a day. They were up to their necks in shitty water, forced to hold metal rods with their hands. It was impossible to feel the passage of time. He heard the soldier next to him let out a grunt, accompanied by a tired sigh. He was as tired as Yakup, his face barely visible in the reflection of the dark water. His eyes were tired and faint.
"Boris," he whispered, trying to revive the young soldier. Unfortunately, the young soldier had fainted, exhausted from being here for 23 hours. Boris' trembling hands slipped from the iron, followed by a "clap" that sounded like a scream. Boris fell into the shitty water.
"Fuck, Boris fell," muttered a nearby officer.
Yakup heard the grumbling of the bystanders and clicked his tongue. Boris was one of the few people here he had met and gotten along with. He was three years older than him, a first lieutenant out of the military academy. Unlike the others, he was polite and easy to get along with.
Yakup took a deep breath, stretched his arms and made his decision.
BLOP!
He let go of the iron bar and threw himself into the shit-filled water. The water enveloped him like a cold blanket, swallowing his body. The moonlight seemed to disappear under the murky, dark water; finding Boris was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
For a moment Yakup's hand touched something - a soft shape, but one that heavy. It was Boris's arm. Summoning all his strength, he grabbed his friend and pulled him up. The surface of the black water rippled.
"Boris!"
Nearby candidates sprang into action. Two men from Moscow grabbed Boris and tried to pull him up, but the black water grabbed him and wouldn't let go.
"Yakup, grab my foot!" shouted a candidate from Kyoto, standing at the water's edge, his hands clutching the stick. He stretched out his foot towards Yakup. Yakup grasped the foot with trembling fingers and pulled upwards with all his strength. The water felt like it was fighting not to let him go, but eventually he managed to hold on to the metal bar.
His chest rose and fell with sharp pain. All his muscles trembled and he felt nauseous. His eyes shifted to Boris. The young man was still unconscious, but at least he seemed to be breathing. His friends were lining up to take care of him.
Satisfied that Boris was all right, Yakup's stomach finally gave up. The remnants of the tasteless food he had eaten the day before rose up his throat, his body convulsing with coughs as he vomited into the water.
Then, a shadow appeared from above. It was one of the trainers. He approached the edge of the pit, his hands on his waist. All eyes, including Yakup's, focused on the silhouette of the instructor. Were they going to get out of this shit hole? Was this torture over?
The instructor took a few steps back and unzipped his pants. The eyes of those watching from below widened in horror. No one wanted to believe it. The next few seconds were the most embarrassing and humiliating moments of Yakup's life.
The instructor, laughing mockingly, began to urinate into the pitWhile urine soaked the candidates' faces, the lion's share fell to Yakup. The urine that ran down from his head to his face, like the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, finally mixed with the fecal water.
Yakup gasped for breath. Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes, but he could not stop the muscles in his jaw from trembling. Anger, shame and hatred were taking over his body. He knew that the other soldiers around him were feeling the same way.
After a torturous few hours of rage and torrents of intense thoughts, the first rays of sunlight fell on them.
"Time for breakfast!"
The voice from above sounded like a divine command, and everyone who had been dozing in the pit was suddenly energized. Suddenly, five or six ropes were dropped inwards. The candidates moved to the ropes like animals that hadn't eaten for days. Yakup, clenching his arms, numb from inactivity, moved towards a nearby rope.
With his body shivering from the cold, he hung on to the rope and pulled himself up with all his strength. Several times it felt like he was going to fall.
Finally, he managed to get to the surface.