They soon entered the "cold" room where a vague cloud of gas gave them a chance to test their masks to be sure that they were sealed properly. Then they moved into the "hot" room where they would remove their masks and would be exposed to the full effects of the gas.
"Alright, listen up. Lieutenant Jang will do a demo for you guys, as he will take off the mask, raise his arm and recite the soldier"s creed and go out. Watch carefully how it"s properly done," said Zach and his words made Torin"s face to crumple.
Zach added, "Remember that you must put your left hand on the shoulder of the soldier in front of you. You have to hold onto your comrade in front of you. It"s your comrade who"s going to guide you out and once you are out, raise your arms and flap it like a bird! Do not touch your face or eyes. Understand?"
"Aye, General!" Answered the soldiers.
"Lieutenant Jang, on my mark, remove the mask. Ready, remove!" Instructed Zach.
Torin did the demo as he recited the Soldier"s Creed coughing.
"Darn, Bro, I will kill you for this!" He cursed, as tears started welling his eyes and he began to cough.
As soon as he finished the Soldier"s Creed he ran outside as fast as he could.
"Alright, Soldiers, you see how confident Lieutenant Jang was. If he can do it, you can too. You recite the alphabet instead of the Soldier"s Creed," said Zach.
The two Sergeants looked at each other confusedly.
This was the first time that they used the alphabet that was too short instead of the Soldier"s Creed.
But then, General Lim was their Superior, so they did what he instructed.
As soon as the soldiers removed their masks, they recited the alphabet.
Keira could feel a little bit of the gas in her mouth and lungs, and her reflex was to cough, then she winded up inhaling more of the gas, which made her want to cough even more.
But now, she was afraid to breathe in because her whole respiratory system felt like it was on fire, as well as her eyeb.a.l.l.s.
When Zach noticed that Keira was already drooling, crying, and her nose was starting to leak thin snot, even though they were not finished reciting the alphabet, he shouted, "Out, now! Move fast! Run, Soldiers. Go outside and raise your arms and flap it. Don"t touch your face!"
After what seemed like the longest minute in Keira"s life the doors opened up and they got outside.
Zach followed outside and saw that Keira closed her eyes so he shouted, "Open your eyes! OPEN YOUR EYES! Flap your arms!"
Then Sergeant Cole shouted, "This exercise is meant to give you confidence in your protective equipment, and to let you know what tear gas feels like. The agony will last just a few minutes, then you can laugh about it, Soldiers. A shared experience of survival is building a team and a strong Army! Hoo-aah?!"
"Hoo-aah!" Answered the soldiers stuttering and coughing.
Zach watched Keira closely to get sure she was breathing OK and she would not faint.
Keira and the others continued to flap their arms and marched down the trail to air out their clothes and faces before sitting on the bleachers again.
Keira kept on coughing while May and other recruits threw up and kept on spitting their saliva.
Some of them kept on coughing, gasping, dripping mucus and saliva, spitting, groaning with eyes red with tears.
A few even threw up, though it was not known if it was due to milk for breakfast or the gas.
May cursed. That was why Sergeant Cole asked them who had milk that morning and she was among the people who raised their hands.
She could still recall how Sergeant Cole laughed hard and said that they were going to regret it.
"Dammit, they could have at least told us in advance!" She complained inwardly as she wiped her mouth, feeling the sourness of the milk she just vomited.
Torin, on the other hand, creased his forehead and walked towards Sergeant Park and Sergeant Cole.
"Why is it this fast?" He asked the Sergeants because they were already all out while he was still trying to compose himself.
Sergeant Park grinned and with a teasing tone answered, "I thought General Zach likes you the most but I guess you are not the favorite now errr?"
"What?" Asked Torin who did not get Sergeant Park"s meaning.
"He had them recite the alphabet and I think they did not even reach to letter J when he shouted at them to get out and move fast," replied Sergeant Park with a grin because he was sure Torin would blow up.
"What the heckkkkkkk!" Torin shouted as he glared at Zach who was focused only on watching how Keira was doing.
"This is soooo not fair!" He mused as he still felt the pungent odor in his nostrils. His nose was burning hot as he inwardly declared war against Zach.
He would definitely bug and tease Zach about Keira Chan as soon and long as he had the opportunity.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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