Arc 1 - Chapter 10: First Day of Training

(Prominis 19, 56 / 6:00AM)

“GOOOOOOOOD MOOOOOORRRRNIIIINNNNGGGG LAAAAAGEEEEFOOOORRRR!!!!!”

—Huh what?

Wielding in her hand a megaphone, she had the speaker raised up to her mouth. Giggling, she woke everyone up from their deep slumber, including the startled Luke who sprang out of bed.

In only the span of a minute, everyone began opening their doors, yawning and barely having their eyes open. All dressed for the day, Luke grogged himself to his friend group, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles repeatedly.

While Gary spoke to a boy his age.

“Did you get enough sleep, Diego?”

“Barely…”

Previously, Stan and Gary noticed a boy that looked similar during their reunion yesterday. Diego was considered to be the opposite of Gary, being skinny and tall instead of chubby and short. He had spiky black hair and glasses, followed by his skin being relatively brown. His nose and ears were nothing distinguishable, but he was dressed similar to a mechanic.

“Why did they have to wake us up at 6 in the freaking morning? Said Stan.

“I hope they have breakfast…” Said Fred.

“I just wanna go home.” Said Gary.

Stan noticed every single candidate had gray linings underneath their eyes. All but one didn’t look tired, his carefree and laidback nature already furrowing Stan’s brow up.

“Who is that dude?”

“I think his name is Jack. He looks a year younger than you.” Said Fred.

While Stan became fascinated by Jack’s energized state, Luke took fascination over something else. For one, the teen had brown eyes, his eyelids shaped like that of an eagle. Having wavy short hair, he looked tall for his age, and had the same slim build as Luke. The only thing that was weird about him was …

—Red hair…

But there was one important detail Stan noticed, and that only 13 candidates were in the hallway. Missing one person, Stan concluded it was one of the girls, since he saw four girls yesterday and now there were three.

Gwen took note of the missing girl, checking her roster with trailing eyes while skimming through the paper with her finger.

“Ah, we’re missing Luna.”

She walked toward the door where the girl, Luna, was assigned to. Her hand on the handle, she turned it down, before opening it to unveil a sleeping girl. Her cheek brushed on the pillow, she was still in a deep sleep.

“She slept through the megaphone? Guess I have no other choice huh…

While Gwen approached the bed, Luke and the others stood at the doorway to see the sleeping beauty. Despite her snoring booming the room, she looked to have smooth tan skin, deep black short hair, and a curvy body. Wearing gray sweatpants and a gray sweater, she looked to be taller than the average girl.

‘‘‘‘‘She’s pretty’’’’’ thought the five boys gazing their eyes at the teenage girl. Flustering nervously, all of them felt wrong to just stare, as they lowered their eyes downward.

Sitting on top of the bed, Gwen rubbed both her hands, giggling a bit.

“Clear!”

Luke remembered the wake-up call a few months prior, causing him to utter a single shiver.

Positioning her fingers around Luna’s chest, she directed her thumb and pointer finger, and pinched … Luna’s nipples. In the snap of a photo, the tanned beauty jostled out of her sleep, her eyes clenched in pain.

But in that incredibly short time, she turned her shock to pure undeniable rage.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!!??”

With all her strength, Luna thrusted her right fist directly into Gwen’s face, sending her flying to the front door. Since the five boys were too focused on her beauty, they failed to comprehend the soaring woman, leading them to crash onto the floor.

Breaking her fall, she was on top of all the five boys. Seeing her face, her cheeks were purple, one of her teeth was missing, and her nose was broken. Even her eyes looked like she was seeing stars.

As Luke saw Gwen’s battered and bloodied face, he wasn’t angry at Gwen.

—She kind of had it coming…

Getting up from her bed, her bare feet slammed on the wooden floor. Stomping her way toward the injured woman, the five boys crawled back, except for Luke.

—Should I not get … no … Gwen’s the reason why I’m here.

Luke placed himself right in front of Gwen, like a hero in a dragon tale. As Luna saw this, she looked at Luke coldly and maliciously, looking at meek prey.

“Move…”

Luke continued to block her path, his face trickling with sweat the more she eyed him down.

Luna grabbed Luke by his shirt with her left hand, gripping his collar with her quivering hands. The difference in weight and strength noticeable, Luna towered him with pure dominance.

“I said, move…”

Luke didn’t whisper a groan nor cry. Angry, Luna readied her stance, preparing to throw a right fist directly at Luke’s stomach.

“I said move!”

“Calm down.”

A man in his late 30s appeared in back of her, his arms wrapping around hers to form a lock. Unable to move her arms or hands, she dangled them in the air, trying to fight her way out. Despite her strength, the man looked sturdy, sturdy enough to even hold back the rabid teenage girl.

“Let me go!”

She struggled against his grip. Using the heels of her feet she kicked repeatedly against his shins and knees, but it was no use.

“I’ll let you go once you are calm.”

She let her arms dangle, breathing heavily as she growled like a tiger. Feeling she gave up, the man cleared his throat before speaking.

“Are you calm?”

“... yes David …”

The man named David let go of her. Taking note of him, David had messy black hair stretching down to his temples and ears. Above average in height, he wore a cowboy hat, along with a black vest and cargo pants. As well as having a bandanna on his neck, he wore black spurred boots, making him look like a cowboy.

Luckily for Luke, Luna didn’t care for Gwen or him any more, as she pushed and shoved her way to the front. Being out of the clear, Luke ghosted a huge breath of air from his lungs.

—She’s a maniac.

________________________________________________________________________

(Prominis 19, 56 / 8:00AM)

“Alright everyone! Let’s start with the basics of training.” Yelled out Boris.

After eating breakfast, the 14 candidates headed towards the gym room. Upon entering, dumbbells, weights, pull-up bars, and a big fighting ring were all present with their very eyes.

Luke inhaled the influx of bleach, letting it assault and sting his throat and nostrils. The room was spotless, with not a speck of dust or brown molested their lungs.

“First things first. To be a soldier, a soldier has to learn the basics of fighting.”

As the candidates walked to the fighting ring, they noticed three adults standing idly. One was David, with two unknown adults looking to be younger than him.

One was a woman who looked to be barely in her 30s, her hair wrapped in a fluffy ponytail. Wearing glasses, she had on a long black dress and heels, as well as having monolid eyes similar to Stan. She had dark black hair and brown eyes, and looked fairly pale compared to everyone. Looking to be a couple of inches shorter than Gwen, she had a mole on the left side of her chin.

The other was a man in his late 20s, his status being none other than an elf. Being an elf with average height, he had pointed ears, and a small button nose. Little pricks of facial hair littering his chin, and he was relatively normal in terms of weight. Having spiky hair, black leather clothes, and tan skin, he also wore an eyepatch on his right eye.

An elf with an eyepatch…

“Fighting will help you better prepare for threats other than those zompires. For now, you guys should hone your skill to take down a man, before you go after the supernatural.”

As they take note, the 14 candidates surrounded the ring, with Luke and his friends surrounding one of the sides. Next to Luke, was Jack, who stood right next to another elf.

This elf in particular had ginger hair, followed by having green eyes, porcelain skin, and normal looking clothes. Looking to be Gary’s age, he looked taller than Jack, but as slim as Luke.

“And fighting will mold your body, whether it be injury or strengthening.”

Luke focused his attention back on the ring, his eyes trailing David instead of the other two. David noticed Luke staring yet he completely ignored it, not caring.

All the while Boris got a hold of a microphone, flicking the switch to turn it on. Vibrations shaking the room, Boris stood up tall, trying to make his presence well known for his short body.

“Any volunteers for our first round?”

No one raised their hand, not confident or not bothering to care to answer. With Boris being left in the dust, he signaled either three adults to do something.

David noticed this signal, and with a sigh, he turned toward Luke with stern eyes. In no time, David signaled him to climb up onto the ring, his eyes locking onto Luke’s.

Luke began to sweat as David kept on signaling him to get on. Biting his lip, Luke hesitantly went into the ring.

Boris then signaled David again, but David shook his head no.

“David, you know what needs to be done.”

“I’m fine with putting the boy in, but not with her…”

“Or else your pay would be halved.”

“sigh … I hope you planned a funeral.”

David signaled a girl to go in the ring. By just seeing her, everyone gasped at the revelation in front of them…

—Not her…

Luna eyed Luke maliciously, as if she was plotting down the entire fight. Scared, took a couple of steps back, his face growing pale as the victor of this fight was already determined…

“He got the crazy girl…” Said Stan.

“Looks like I need a new best friend.” Said Fred.

“After this, I’ll be nicer to him.” Said Gary.

“Lucky…” Said Diego.

Everyone sucked in their guts, all watching with focused eyes. Breathing rapidly, Luke’s heart pounded against his chest, his heart going through an episode.

“Alright! David, Jenny, and Jerry, get out of the ring.”

The three adults exited out of the ring, but all of them looked at Luke with worry on their way out. Settling themselves on the ground, they placed their palms on the edge of the ring.

“Candidates Luke Fenix; Age 12. Luna Guerra; Age 16. Begin.”

Once the bell rang, it wasn’t a fight for Luke, but a deadly game of tag. The objective? Trying not go get punched—

Luna charged forward. Everyone seeing the way she moved, no one blinked, as they captured the ballad of what little training she received…

Even the adults gawked, with the exception of David. Instead, he placed his hands onto the rubber chords of the ring. Luke, who was unable to catch a glimpse of the soaring Luna—

She got close.

Jumping sideways, her fist was loaded, springing it forward to hit the right side of Luke’s stomach. Instantly, Luke crumbled down, feeling as if someone had stabbed him twenty times at his stomach. Not wanting to get up, Luke clutched his stomach, coughing and wheezing drool from the corners of his lips.

Bending down, Luna grabbed the top of Luke’s hair. Replacing her angry look with a smile, her predatory eyes gazing down at her prey…

“... I feel calm …”

His eyes were rolled in the back of his head, and his hands were sidelined at his waist. As she moved her head front and back, the motion of his body followed suit, making her seem like she was toying with him.

Too much in pain, he couldn’t care less if he was played with.

“You’re my bitch now.”

Everyone soured their faces at the sadistic sight, seeing a teenage girl play with a meek young boy. Having his hands on the rubber chords, David sprung himself into the ring, huffing out air from his throat once he walked toward—

He stopped in his tracks.

Even Luna stopped what she was doing, as both she and David heard an audible whisper coming from Luke.

“... thank God …”

“What?”

“Thank God …”

“Thank God for what?”

Luna pulled her face close to her ear, bringing his lips millimeters to her ear hole. Feeling his wheezing breath bristle her tan skin, he—

“Thank god you didn’t punch the left side of my stomach…”

Pulled out a bottle of near-empty perfume from his left pocket. Her guard down, he pointed and sprayed the perfume right into her eyes, causing her to let go of his hair.

“AAH!”

Temporarily blinded, Luke held Luna down to the ground, placing his right arm around her neck. Putting her in a chokehold, Luna was stunned, as she couldn’t process the change in roles.

Her prey about to be the predator, Luna’s teeth clenched down in pure anger. Grilling a growl from her throat, she continued to be choked by his unearthed strength.

“ack … You dirty cheat!”

Temporarily blinded, she began scratching his hands and sleeves like a rabid cat-human, making Luke lose grip. Her nails loosening him more and more, his trick he thought even before the fight suddenly … failed.

—No … oh no …

She broke free.

Like a bullet, she rapidly turned her body to pin down Luke, caging her forearms around his neck. Already losing oxygen, he tapped Luna’s arm, but her eyes were bloodshot red. Filled with rage, along with her breathing hardening through her windpipe, she continued to choke Luke out.

“I’m not falling for any tricks this time!”

Luke started to drool, the freshness of his saliva dripping down onto the ring floor. He tapped a couple more, but Luna wouldn’t budge, once his eyes started to roll in the back of his head.

“That’s enough now!”

Saved by the bell, David pulled Luna off of Luke, directing most of his strength to his fingertips and palms. Dragging her through the floor, she let go of Luke, letting him gasp for air.

His vision blurred, he barely saw veins sprouting from Luna’s temples. The more David restrained her, the more she gritted her teeth and glared.

All the while tinnitus took form.

“I guess we saw both Luke and Luna’s fighting styles … Jenny, take the boy to the infirmary.” Said Boris.

“On it sir.”

Jenny took a look at the sleeping Luke, before he placed him onto her back. His cheek resting right beneath her neck, her face softened, feeling his wheezing breaths blew against her skin.

‘He reminds me of Kenichi…’