Bunk Buddies

Bryan stuck to Adam's side like glue. Wherever Adam went, Bryan trailed along.

"...Hey, why do you keep following me?" [Adam]

Bryan scratched his head.

"...Well, us low levels gotta stick together right?" [Bryan]

Adam rolled his eyes.

"Bro. Nothing will happen to you. Just because we're low level doesn't mean that we're weak." [Adam]

"Uh… It kind of does." [Bryan]

"Really? What ability do you have?" [Adam]

"Level 2 Voice Changer." [Bryan]

"Voice Changer?" [Adam]

Bryan brought a hand to his throat and spoke.

"How's this?" [Bryan]

His voice copied the senior officer from before. It was so perfect that the only way to tell the difference was that Bryan physically wasn't him.

"Wow. That's actually pretty cool." [Adam]

"Cool, maybe. Strong? Not really." [Bryan]

"I can see what you mean by it not being strong. Have you thought about its other uses?" [Adam]

"Other uses?" [Bryan]

Adam made some strange motions with his hands to try to sound it out, but he was unsure of how to put it.

"Think about it. What else can you do with your ability? Maybe you can hit a frequency that damages your opponent's ears?"

"That would also hurt my allies." [Bryan]

"Oh. Well, I didn't mean just that. It was just an example." [Adam]

"Uh-huh…" [Bryan]

Bryan gave Adam a skeptical look.

"Anyway, we should probably set our stuff up. We have to have our equipment ready by tomorrow. Come with me." [Bryan]

Turning away, he led Adam to a large green tent that stood alongside six others.

"Wait. How did you know where it is?" [Adam]

"The map." [Bryan]

"The map?" [Adam]

As if to answer the question, Bryan held up a small pamphlet.

"This is the guide. Did you not get one?" [Bryan]

"No?" [Adam]

"Alright. No problem. I'll just share mine." [Bryan]

Moving to Adam's side, he traced a finger along one of the pages within the pamphlet.

"Ah, there we are. We're in tent 04." [Bryan]

Glancing at the tents, there was a large 04 spelled out on the side of one of them.

"Let's go." [Bryan]

Adam took the initiative to step inside. Within, he saw a few people already moving about. There were compact bunk beds lined up, but spaced out from each other. Every one of them were made of metal, with a black duffle bag hanging off a hook.

"This place looks pretty fancy." [Adam]

"Well, I'm glad you like it. We'll be stuck here for a while anyway." [Bryan]

"I forgot about that part." [Adam]

As the two spoke, Adam couldn't help noticing the other soldiers whispering to each other.

"Is that him?" [Curious Soldier]

"Yeah. We're doing it tonight." [Stern Soldier]

The soldiers in the tent were practically staring at Adam, but he ignored them.

"Oh, it says here that our name will be on one of the duffle bags." [Bryan]

"Cool." [Adam]

Hearing that, Adam walked down the tent. Checking every bag while attempting to ignore the stares, he found his bag at the last bunk.

"Wow, it's pretty far back there." [Adam]

"Oh, hey. We're bunk buddies!" [Bryan]

"...Bunk buddies?" [Adam]

"Yeah? We're Bunk buddies. I-it's when you and another person kinda share a bunk bed… Ha-have you never heard of it before? Wait, am I the weird one?" [Bryan]

Adam smiled.

"Bro, just chill. I'm not going anywhere." [Adam]

Bryan took a few deep shaky breaths before speaking.

"S-sorry. I just… I'm just a bit excited talking to someone normally. There weren't any other low level people I could talk to in my school." [Bryan]

"Oh. No problem." [Adam]

It was then that Adam felt pity, but also felt blessed by his friends who didn't treat him any different.

"In any case… If you don't mind, can I take the top bunk?" [Bryan]

"What?" [Adam]

"Ah! I-I'm sorry. Is that too much to ask? You can forget-" [Bryan]

Adam grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Bryan! It's fine! I'll take the bottom bunk." [Adam]

Bryan scratched the back of his head anxiously.

"Sorry. It seems my nerves are getting to me. I can only hold up a front for only so long." [Bryan]

After determining their places, the two started opening their bags.

"...There's a bunch of random crap in here." [Adam]

Towels, clothes, a flashlight, blankets, and a few more oddities were packed inside. So much so that it was odd that they could fit into the bag.

"The pamphlet says that we have to organize our belongings given to us by 09:00. So basically we've got an hour." [Bryan]

"Alright. Is there a certain way we have to do this?" [Adam]

Flipping through the pamphlet, Bryan nodded.

"Yeah. Take a look." [Bryan]

Bryan faced the pamphlet towards Adam. Adam then sighed upon reading through it.

"This is gonna take a while." [Adam]