22 Luke

The inside of the tank was one of the hottest spaces I had ever been inside. It was cramped, uncomfortable, and pretty damn hot. I couldn't imagine wat it would be like with 3 others. I left the hatch open as he had just told us to do, but even still, I was surprised to here his voice from where I was sitting, trying to understand the controls in front of me.

"All of you, listen up!" called Lieutenant Zand from outside. "These tanks that you're being given the privilege of even occupying, are worth far more than the lot of us put together. These tanks do not exist to protect and serve you! On the contrary, you exist to protect and serve these tanks. Spirits know they're far more useful than a bunch of pre-pubescent children." Pre-pubescent? I'm 12. At least, I think I am.

"First off!" he continued. "To start your tanks, there is a small chord you will find near your seats. Your tank is being run on petroleum rather than coal. It is cleaner and stronger. You must yank on this chord to begin siphoning the oil to the engine. When I say go, you wi-"

He was interrupted by the sound of some kid not paying attention and starting the engine on his own tank. I decided to turn around in my seat and crawl out of it to poke my head out the hatch and see just how screwed this poor kid was.

Lieutenant Zand went right up to his tank, poked his head into the hatch, and his screams echoed throughout the tank until they came back out in a somewhat humorous, but uninterpretable mumble. I couldn't hear a word of it, but considering it was a minute until he came out, forcing me to retreat back to my seat in silence, I imagine it was more than sufficient to get the class in line.

"Let me repeat myself! When I say 'go', you will start your engines. Not a minute earlier and not a minute later! Now start your engines in 3…2…1…go!"

The sound of engines starting throughout the motor pool was something of a shock when it was 10 tanks at the same time. I was amazed I could hear him despite being in the tanks. Now, I was simply dumbfounded I could hear him over the sound of the engines. I pitied his lungs, his throat, and pretty much every organ in his body. The tank didn't start right away for me. It took a third tug to get the engine started and when it did, the world around me began to shake as though I giant had grabbed me and was trying to mush my insides.

"You will find 2 pedals near where your legs are. The left is for stopping. The right is for accelerating. That means going. The wheel directly in front of you is to steer. To change the direction you are going. If you want to go left, turn the wheel left. If you want to go right, turn the wheel right. When I say 'go', turn your wheels towards the tunnel and accelerate. Go until you drive out of the city and go far enough away to make room for the others, then stop. Ready? GO!"

I wasn't the first to go, or the second. Some people were definitely more enthusiastic as I was, but soon enough, I found an opening, and put my foot on the pedal. When I did, the world moved around me. I sure as hell was breaking any records of speed, but from where I was, I felt like I was the fastest thing in the universe. I turned my wheel towards the black tunnel that went straight through the slums and pushed harder on the pedal. From the force alone, the hatch above me slammed shut, causing my heart to jump from what I thought might had been something wrong with the tank.

Now, my hands were shaking on the wheel, but nonetheless, I managed to turn into the tunnel and was engulfed in darkness with the only light being a small circle in front of me. Then it struck me. I had never been outside before. I had seen the outside, but I had never been there. I had never looked at the walls, thinking of them as behind me. I had never felt grass beneath my feet. This was it. I was finally seeing the outside.

The circle of light grew closer, and closer, and finally, I was through it. I was outside. I couldn't see much from where I sat in the tank, looking through a narrow slit. Now, I was seeing what I had seen hundreds of times before atop the wall during patrols, but now, directly in front of me, not looking from above.

I saw where the rest of the tanks were stopping and with my left foot, I searched for the other pedal, stepping on it. The tank screeched and jerked but persisted until I realized I still had the right pedal pressed to the metal and let it go. The tank jerked to a halt, and I breathed. My body, especially my hands, were still shaking. My breaths quivered, but once I felt my heart slow back down to normal levels, I knew what to do. I left my seat, crawling behind it to the gunner's seat and opened the hatch, slamming it open and I poked my body outside, looking at the city of Citadel. A city I had never seen before save from the inside. Those gray steel walls stood ominously as equally ominous gray and steel machines drove out from a small black hole standing out against the wall. I'm outside. I'm really outside.

I turned my body around, looking at the other tanks at my side and at the forest in front of my tank. The air was clean, not polluted by the shit and piss of the slums or by the smog of the military district, but actually clean. The funny thing was, I was just assuming this was what clean was. I had never had clean air before. This was definitely a first time for me in terms of breathable air. I wanted to laugh, I wanted to cry, I wanted to do anything that would get as much air in my lungs as possible before I went back inside those walls.

Finally, the Lieutenant's tank arrived, easily identifiable by its red and gold markings. A nice humble tank for an equally nice and humble man.

"I must say I'm impressed! None of you crashed into or killed one another. Let's see if you can keep it up. There's a camp due northwest where the 15th armored is stationed. It's where our new infantry is training. You will follow my lead and we will drive there. Once we're there, we will divide into our tank crews. You will be permitted to choose your tank crews, but I will divide you myself if you prove to be too much of a bother. Now, turn your tanks around and follow me!"

And so we went. The moment that his tank took off, we followed. And I don't think any of us wanted to stop.