Arc 1 - Chapter 9: I Want To Be A Soldier

(Kalemonath 22, 56 / 7:56AM)

There was a voice…

“Wake Up…”

Feeling like he laid on top of cotton candy, his entire body cuddled itself onto the surface he laid upon. Comfort, relaxation, finally dawning on him, he—

“Wake up sleepyhead…”

The voice sounded like a woman, an adult woman, but something was amiss. For one, the woman sounded more childish than mature.

“I wonder if this will work.”

“Gah!”

Feeling an electric current soar through his body, he opened his eyes. Instantly jolting himself up, his forehead slammed against another.

“Ow!”

His eyes met with a woman who tumbled down, letting her tailbone creak against the wooden floor. Rubbing her forehead, Luke noticed her slim body figure, along with freckles littering her cheeks like acne. Wearing a black leather jacket and pants, followed by black boots and a white t-shirt, she looked to be barely in her 20s. Her hair being a shade of black, it was wrapped in a ponytail.

He then started to feel a pinching sensation from his chest, most notably where his nipples were at.

“W-What did you do!?”

“Relax, I just gave you a purple-nurple.”

“A purple-nurple?”

“Wait, have you not heard of a purple nurple? It’s where you put your thumb and pointer finger on a person’s nipple and then you—

“Okay! Okay! You’ve made your point!”

Both his cheeks puffed out like chipmunks, along with his face blustering a pinkish red. Clearly flustered, he averted his eyes, trailing them to the other side of the bed.

“… why are you here? Who are you?”

Standing up, the childish woman patted her knees, relieving unneeded dust from her pants. Pushing up a smirk, she patted Luke’s head.

“Name’s Gwen. I don’t know if you remembered, but me and a couple of buddies of mine rescued you. I’m surprised how you could sleep 36 hours straight…”

Luke glanced around the room, catching a glimpse of another figure sitting down on a chair. Looking to be a shark-human, he was bulky and blue-skinned, and wore the same outfit as Gwen. But he didn’t wear a shirt, making his chest bare.

Gwen looked in Luke’s direction, continuing to have her pushed up smirk.

“That right there is Benn. Once you get to know him, he’ll be your friend for life.”

“I guess.”

“Always small sentences, huh Benn?”

Gwen then jabbed her fingers into Luke’s shoulder, while lifting up her right eyebrow. Making her look semi-crazy, she also narrowed her dark brown eyes.

“But if you mess with him, you’re dead meat. Got that?”

Luke rapidly nodded.

Gulping down whatever saliva still produced in his mouth, he kept his stare at the short-statured shark-human. Seeing he had short hair with human eyes and ears, Luke also took in the chunks of Benn’s shark genetics, such as his teeth and nose.

“I’m gonna eat.”

Standing up from his seat, Benn creaked the wood with his boots as he left through the door.

Upon hearing those three words, Luke’s stomach began to growl loudly, causing him to clutch his stomach hard. Seeing the young boy grit his teeth, Gwen widened her eyes and moved her hand onto Luke’s back.

“You're hungry huh?”

“I haven’t eaten anything in several days…”

“Ah, that’s right! I’ll go get you something!”

Gwen pushed her feet toward the door, her destination being the dining hall. Swaying her black hair, Luke was alone again, making him look around the room with curious eyes.

—So this is Kepputha…

The world was divided into four countries: North, South, East, and West. Kepputha was considered the country of the North, and Ticia was the country of the East, leaving two other countries to be discovered.

Looking around the room, it was far from his old bedroom. The TV being encased in brown instead of black, along with an antenna sprouting from the top, he also noticed many buttons along the box.

No remote to be seen, he also glanced at the normal looking cabinets, all looking to be old—no, it was a different era…

Ticia was thirty years ahead of Kepputha in terms of tech, and Ticia was considered the most advanced in the world.

—From color TV to black and white.

He took in the different setting of tech, before Gwen barged in with a plate in hand.

“Here’s your plate.”

Gwen gave Luke a smile, before passing his plate onto him. In return, Luke sniffed in the hearty breakfast in front of him, taking in the bacon and eggs as well as the white rice packaged in a bowl. Like a beast, he used his hands to devour the breakfast before him, leading Gwen to take a step back.

“Wow, guess surviving god knows how days in the wilderness does something to a kid.”

Luke gave a single nod.

Finishing up his breakfast, he then put the tray to the side of the bed. Kneeling, he placed his hands flat on his bed and bowed, an old Clastine custom that Luke was taught.

“Thank you for giving me breakfast and saving my life! I will forever be in your debt!”

“You don’t have to thank me, I was just doing my job.”

He looked up. Noticing a golden badge displayed on the right side of her jacket, it was imprinted with one word. Squinting, he had his pupils digging on the edge of her small chest, until he decoded the words ‘Commander Keegan’.

—Is she a soldier?

Gwen noticed Luke’s stare, making her push a smug grin. Placing one of her palms on her cheek, she tilted her head up to cocky stare at the boy.

“Pervert.”

“I-I’m not a perv! I was just looking at your badge!”

His face turned bright red, instantly forming sweat which trickled out from his cheeks up to his forehead. Avoiding eye contact, he kept his hands close to his body, despite not touching anything. Meanwhile, Gwen began to laugh, clutching her stomach with her callused fingers.

“Haha … I was just kidding with you, looking ain’t a crime. But about this badge.”

Gwen gave Luke a better chance to see it up close. Upon seeing the badge, it started to spark something within Luke. For Gwen, the yellowish metal reflects its tiny light into Gwen’s eyes.

“You could say I’m a leader, commanding a future elite crew funded by my overseer. He sees me as a leader, but…”

Gwen let out a little chuckle, her hand gently wiping the badge with her right thumb. Keeping her eyes tinted by the yellow metal, her thumb softly quivered with every wipe.

“I’m not smart nor strategic. yet I’ll be the one to blame if anything goes wrong. I guess it’s just my luck huh …”

Putting the badge back on, Gwen turned her attention back on Luke. Clearing her throat, she wiped away a hint of mucus from her nose with her right sleeve.

“Don’t worry kid, I know a place where Tician kids who survived the invasion can take shelter. So…”

She extended her hand to Luke, giving Luke pause for a single moment.

“Take my hand.”

If he took Gwen’s hand, he wouldn't need not to worry about death.

He then noticed that Gwen’s hand was etched with blisters and calluses. Not only that, he also saw thin white cuts on her wrists that were somewhat hidden inside of her jacket…

—Cuts … scrapes…

He remembered the scars he inflicted upon himself, when digging through the stone rubble with his bare hands. Trying so hard to dig her out, he had no choice but to let her go, but…

She hid her strength, and she could’ve made it to the liftboats if it weren’t for the masked man. Considering the possibility that Luke had some inner strength within him, Luke wanted to make sure that scenario never happened again.

—I think … I have to get stronger …

He looked down at his palms, bruises and cuts displayed for his useless heroic deed.

—And sitting in a shelter aimlessly wouldn’t be training, would it.

Luke looked up, facing Gwen who furrowed her brow. His eyes began to cultivate tears, they didn’t stroll from his crevices, but it was clear for anyone to see with the naked eye.

“Do you need a tissue?”

Her hand still extended, she moved it to clamp down on Luke’s shoulder, but Luke stopped it. Having his hand grip her wrist, his fingers rubbing the scars she probably inflicted upon herself, Gwen widened her eyes.

“I want…”

The room was then blanketed by sunlight, the warm drizzling rays lighting the dimly lit room. His fingers halting its rubbing, he only gripped her wrist more tightly, as both of them stared into each other’s eyes. For Gwen, she stared into the eyes of a boy, a boy who wants—

—”To be a soldier”—

The sun's rays shone on both Gwen and Luke. Taking a step back, she pulled her hand from Luke’s grip, retreating it to her side.

“Why …?”

Her eyes looked downward with utmost guilt, followed by her hands balling themselves into fists. Pushing her cheeks down, her eyelids darkened, her pupils staring blankly at the wooden floor below her feet.

“Why do you want to put your life on the line? You’re just a kid…”

“I want to survive, but in order to survive…”

He placed his knees and shins on top of his sheets, his eyes slanting inward to form a determined look. Gwen, her eyes sparkling, took a step back from the fierceness of Luke’s red eyes.

“I want to get stronger, I want to train, I want to be your soldier—no…”

Luke grabbed both of her hands, pulling her in so her knees hit against the bed. Maintaining his intense face, he literally caught Gwen’s breath away.

“I’ll be your very best soldier! So let me be a part of your crew!”

Both of them seeing themselves in each other’s eyes, she was helpless against his decision. Her voice low as a mouse, her fingers wrapped around Luke’s knuckles, making their hands hold longer than they need to.

“Can you promise me something?”

Her hands shook. Feeling no sense of comfort within her palms, Luke squirmed under the blisters and calluses edged on her skin. Along with her sweat, it made it seem his hands would slip off like oil.

“Don’t ever give up…”

Luke remained silent.

“If you promise that, I’ll let you be a part of the program.”

His face soon lit up, his determined eyes fading to be replaced by his childish smile. A chance, a chance to get to be a part of an elite squad, it was a way for him to stay alive … a promise his mother wanted him to do.

“I promise! I won’t let you down!”

“Then it’s settled then! Oh and by the way.”

Gwen raised her hand fingers to pinch her nose, squeezing out any air that molested her nostrils. Using her other hand, she took out a bottle of perfume and pointed it straight at Luke.

“You stink!”

He was then assaulted by a mass bombardment of perfume.

________________________________________________________________________

(Prominis 18, 56 / 6:00PM)

“Attention all future angels!”

There are two types of humans.

Those who are shepherds and those who are sheep. Shepherds are ones who command orders, and sheep are ones who follow those orders to the letter.

This undeniable fact is proven since the beginning of time.

“Welcome to your new home.”

Inside a large garage, was a man dressed in a fancy all black tuxedo and fedora. Having a microphone in front of him, the rest of the building looked to be coated in pitch black.

Except for the single LED light shining down on him.

His stature was short, and he was perceived to be overweight and in his late 40s. He had a mole on the right side of the cheek, followed by having circular glasses. Having bowl-cut hair, the shade of it was more gray than brown.

“We are not the Marines, the Army, definitely not the Coast Guard, or even the FUC. This is an elite mercenary program directed and funded by me! Boris Velenksey!”

The man named Boris continued to talk, speaking toward the 14 other kids and teens sitting separately from each other. All of them unable to see right next to each other, the darkness of the room clouded their pupils like a dark storm.

“Training will last four years. In those four years, you’ll not only be strong, but incredible soldiers who’ll turn the tide to all this mess…”

Of the 14 kids and teens present, Luke was one of them.

—I think I haven’t met any of the other members of the group.

Or rather, no one has met each other yet.

“After the destruction of Ticia, the rest of the three countries are currently in lockdown. Both countries of Kepputha and Haxouburg are guarding the borders with their souls on the line…”

Boris’s voice began to dim down, his face looking more calmer and sentimental. His hands softened on his sides, he let his eyes down to the wooden stage in which he stood firm.

“The world economy in shambles. People are rioting for food on the streets at this very second. Our beautiful country is going through the worst economic depression in its entire history…”

He raised his hand to the top of his fedora, trickling his fingers on the hard fabric. Taking off the hat, he let it hover over his right knee, recalling the petty crimes humans do for survival; even in the concrete jungle.

“It wasn’t a perfect country, but it was peaceful. And all it took was two months for our city to turn into a zoo. So I’ll say this once more…”

He let go of his fedora.

Narrowing his eyes into the unknown, Boris curled his chubby fingers into his palms while breathing in a hefty amount of air. Letting it balloon his chest, he immediately pushed it all out, but he didn’t flow the air out from his mouth or nostrils.

No, he trailed it out with his words.

“You won’t kneel, you won’t bow, you won’t let your battered and broken souls submit to defeat. As of today, as of right now, you all are officially—”

Boris looked up toward the fourteen kids and teens, all of them listening and watching in the pitch black shadows. As the silence reached its ultimatum, his voice rang lower than a man drenched in hardened molasses.

—“Dark Angels”—

The shepherd is the one that leads the sheep to do what it’s told…

Just as Boris finished his speech, he slowly limped off the wooden stage, looking like he exerted too much in what he said. Once Boris went into the other room, Luke looked down at his palms, seeing the faint scars he inflicted himself during the invasion.

—Would I go this far if the road will be hell—

Luke and the other kids were hit with intense lights. As if they all had been flashbanged, their mouths hissed like dying vampires, along with their pupils shrinking in the snap of a match.

Forcing his eyelids to remain open, he took note of the 13 other kids and teens in the garage, all barely able to see. But he noticed three kids, three kids that Luke recognized.

In a flash, he ran to a trio of boys who had their palms against their faces.

“You guys!”

Luke ran up to one of the kids his age, a boy who had silver hair and a miner hat latched with goggles.

“Fred! It’s me!”

Fred pulled back his hands from his eyes, allowing his eyes to witness a boy the same age as him. Both their eyes widened, tears sprang underneath his lower eyelids.

“Luke!”

Luke and Fred hugged each other, their arms wrapping each other in a warm embrace.

Two other boys walked toward the two, seeing their reunion take hold. One of the boys, a brownish-ginger haired elf with freckles, towered over the two with a pushed down face.

Clear as day, his face was painted with guilt.

“I-I’m so sorry…”

Tears wanted to break free from his eyelids, but he damned them shut by his lower eyelids. Sniffling once, he averted his eyes away from Luke’s stare.

“It’s ok … I think all three of you have been through a lot too.”

Next to Stan, Gary extended his right hand forward. Unable to make eye contact with Luke, a single gulp reverberated through his throat.

“Sorry for what I did … I was a little too rash and jumped to conclusions …”

Luke pushed his lips to form a smile, as he took Gary’s hand with little hesitation. Making a little handshake, both boy’s tightened each other firmly.

“No worries.”

All of them reunited at last, they turned around to look at the rest of the candidates. Some young, some older, all of them were more diverse than the last.

“So these are our future buddies huh … We’re in for a long four years…”