Arc 1 - Chapter 22: The Chosen Seven

(Ostermonath 21, 48 / 10:43PM)

“Hahaha, that’s a joke right?”

“A joke?”

“I take it Boris isn’t actually joking.”

In a wooden tavern, three men sat together. Sitting on wooden barstools, their arms and elbows laid on the wooden cocktail table, they held shots of whiskey within their fingers.

But two of them occupied their other hands to their stomachs, clutching them as they bursted out laughing. The butt of the joke was directed to a short and chubby 28 year-old man, who wore circular glasses and a bowl cut.

“For a man with a PHD, you sure know how to make a man laugh.”

“Quiet!”

And to the other side, was a man with dark brown hair, who wore squared shaped glasses. Having freckles plastered on his cheeks, he had wavy hair, along with his collar shirt and khaki pants being well tattered and maintained.

“But still, what made you come up with that? If it’s your way of getting rid of world hunger then not many people will like it.”

The man in the center of them had messy blonde hair. Staring at Boris, Boris let a bead of sweat trail down his nose, as he lowered his head and eyes. He felt the blonde man’s eyes peer deep into his soul.

“I overheard William Reed talking to our professor on the subject of kids, and how they should be capable of defending themselves from sexual predators.”

“But this is an arena you’re talking about. They’re not dealing with predators. At most, they’ll probably deal with cotton candy traps.”

The dark brown haired man looked into Boris’ face, which continued to stare blankly downward. Leaning on the cocktail, the man dug his elbow into the wood, and changed the tone of his voice.

“In my opinion, parents should be the ones to protect their kids.”

“But in a way, children need to be tough.”

“And you’re really going through with this?”

The blonde haired man spoke up again, causing both Boris and the dark haired man to turn to look at him. His head lifted, his eye bags drenched onto his eyelids evermore.

“Well … it’s for the betterment and all …”

“You could get blood on your hands.”

“What blood? I’ll never let innocent children die.”

The blonde man’s hands began to shake gently, leaving his cheeks to harden as he stared at Boris. His right hand occupied with the shot of alcohol, he extended his left hand, and clamped it onto Boris’ shoulder.

“If you really plan on pushing this forward, then don’t do it alone.”

“Why? You don’t think I can work it out by myself—”

“It’s for your safety…”

Boris turned his body away, while his shoulder was still gripped by the blonde haired man. His eyes, encapsulating the amount of whiskey shelved on the cabinet, were unable to glitter. The booze, the coarse yellow orange liquid that was stuck inside a glass bottle, let itself shine under the gaze of young, and old men alike.

Let alone the poor and rich.

“What type of help do I need?”

"I know a guy about Arthur's age who knows how to shoot."

“So I just need bodyguards?”

“Not just bodyguards. Soldiers. And you also need money.”

“Ain’t no way I’m going to be a government lapdog… no way in hell …”

The dark haired man scooted up his barstool, the legs creaking against the old wooden floor as he sat on the outskirts of the two of them. Extending both of his arms, he wrapped around their necks, as he leaned in his face.

“Are we still discussing his joke?”

“Arthur? What do you wanna do after you graduate?”

“Plan on being a lawyer, why?”

Arthur’s hazel eyes gazed intently into the blonde haired man’s blue eyes. The man, who was still yet to be named, cleared his throat and narrowed his face.

“Plan on being a politician.”

“Yeah, I rather give hopes and dreams than sell hopes and dreams… sorry.”

He noticed Boris still trapped in the world of alcohol, seeing him view the reflection against the glass. Turning his head toward the blonde haired man, he pushed down his cheeks.

“And besides … what if I can’t be a politician?”

“Then be president.”

Arthur straightened his back, and loosened his face as he turned to the bottles of whiskey. Raising the glass shot he had in his right hand, he gulped down the hard liquor, as it stung his mouth and throat.

Which meant he had let go of both Boris and the blonde haired man. Lost in thought, he didn’t turn to look at the two of them, as he twirled the whiskey trapped in the glass shot.

“Joseph.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re full of shit.”

“I get that a lot.”

________________________________________________________________________

(Prominis 21, 58 / 6:22AM)

Back to the present.

They were in a mini theater that had a stage and dozens of seats.

And upon the rows of seats, sat the seven candidates. Sweat drenching every inch of their bodies, they humidified the room with their body odor, along with their eyes shrouded in dark eyebags.

Except for Jack, who looked like he got a good night’s sleep; without sleeping.

Luke’s eyes felt heavy as he yawned, his body completely spent and sore from all the shooting prior. Since Hope sat next to him, he tapped along her shoulder to get her attention.

“Here.”

From his pocket, he pulled out a single razor blade, having it flat on his palm. Her eyes tingled, her body jolted up at the sight of the familiar blade.

“Is that Gemma’s?”

“Fred gave it to me before we all went through the third stage. He said he wanted me to keep it but … I wasn’t that close with Gemma compared to you so … I want to give this to you.”

She raised her hand, but kept it hovering over the blade. Gulping down a ball of saliva, her breathing went a little raspier than before, as her fingers shivered.

Noticing her hesitation, Luke extended his hand more, leaving Hope no choice but to take it. As she cupped the razor blade, Luke withdrew his arm, as he flustered a bright red. And noticing his flustered state, she placed the razor into her pocket before clasping her hands. Looking away, her eyes wandered timidly.

“I’m so sorry…”

Coming out of the stage was Gwen, walking slowly without a megaphone in her hand. A contrast to her bright personality, she looked at the candidates with low eyes.

“I know you all probably hate us right now, but we’re just as angry as you all are…”

David came out of the stage too, as he carried a medium-sized wooden box. Coated in black, the smell of paint was enough to assault his nostrils, but he remained his head low.

“We had no choice, and we paid the price. I’m not excusing our actions, and neither should you. I don’t blame you guys if you yell at us…”

As David placed the box onto the table behind Gwen, three other figures came out. Staring exhaustingly at them, he configured the forms of Jenny, Jerry, and Benn.

“But behind me, are those blessings you all worked for. When I call your name, come get your banana.”

Benn walked over to Gwen to give her a sheet of paper, and walked back to where he originally stood.

“First on our list is Loraine who will be … benchwarmer.”

“Wait what? But I want to fight!”

“Well, ‘A certain person’ says otherwise.”

‘Can’t believe Boris was willing to push her into The Array…’ thought Gwen.

Loraine stood up and walked over to the stage, before lifting herself up instead of taking the stairs. Quickly walking over, David opened the black-coated paint box, holding his nose.

“Why don’t you like paint?”

“Brings back horrible memories.”

David sharpened his eyes as Loraine hovered over the box, until she grabbed the banana.

The banana was a foot long, with a yellow neck and flower tip on the edges of the fruit. As Loraine peeled the banana, her fingers had an extra time trying to peel it, since it was twice as hard to peel it than a normal banana.

But once she peeled it off, she let it drop to the floor.

“You better pick that up after you eat it.”

Ignoring Jenny, she ate the entire fruit in one bite, letting the contents slither down to her stomach. Patting her chest, she looked toward the adults to glee a goofy smile.

“Loraine…”

She picked up the banana peel, while having a devilish smile succumbed to her face. Raising an eyebrow, Jenny glared at her.

“And make sure you put the peel into—”

And then Loraine threw the peel straight at her.

“Ugh!”

Running toward the other candidates, she found her seat still spotless. Jumping over a couple of them, she landed safely onto her seat, put up the recliner, and smugly fell to sleep.

Clenching her fists, Jenny grinded her lower jaw with her upper. Being beside her, Jerry pulled out a small container of ice cream, the flavor being mint chocolate chip.

“Here Jenny. Eat this.”

Angrily snatching the container, she pried the lid open and grabbed the fork within the bin. Scooping up chunks of ice cream with the utensil she used, she jabbed the large balls of it into her mouth.

‘She’s cute when she’s mad’ thought Jerry.

“For the first recon of our group, that title will be given to Sean.”

Sean stood up grudgingly, as he walked toward the stage by taking the stairs. Reaching the box, he towered over it, and grabbed and peeled the banana the same as Loraine. But unlike her, he placed the peel on the table, which caused Jenny to look up while having bits of ice cream along her face.

“You … munch … better pick … munch … that up.”

Smugly looking at Jenny, he began eating the white banana, and it only took him a few bites. His hands free, he put them together to form a heart shape, but it only made her glare even more.

‘Guess I’ll try it later when she calms down.’

Walking off the stage, Sean looked back to see that Jerry was glaring at him, his eyes unwavering as Sean took his seat next to Jack.

‘He’s going to die for love at this point…’

“Next is Jack, who will be our sniper.”

Being the only candidate that wasn’t sleepy, he casually walked up the stage. As Jack approached the box, Jerry faded his glare, and placed his finger underneath his chin when focusing on the red-haired teen.

‘What’s with the kid? He didn’t sleep at all during the ride here, so how is he not tired?’ thought Jerry.

Peeling the banana midway, Jack ate it normally in three to four bites. Leaving him with just the peel, he threw it in the trash can and walked back to his seat. Placing his hands inside of his pockets, he took a seat next to Sean, who crashed out.

“For our shield, Miles Brown.”

He slowly got up as he made his way to the stage. Reaching the box and grabbing the banana, he ate it normally like Jack, replicating the same animation he did.

But he took note of Jenny angrily eating her ice cream, which made him place his right hand into his pocket. Pulling out a leftover soda can, he walked toward her, and showcased the can in front of her.

“Soda?”

Shuffling her eyebrows, she stared at the aluminum red can for a bit, as her forehead wrinkled with veins. Without warning, she snatched the can from his hand and opened it. Raising the can upward, she let the sugary liquid ruminate down her throat. And upon pulling the tip of the can out of her mouth, she let a large exhaust of gas burst out from her mouth.

As he walked away, he sat near Jack and Sean, and closed his eyes.

“For our blade of the group, Luna Guerra—oh, she’s asleep…”

Gwen giggled as she saw Luna deep asleep. Looking at both David and Luke, she motioned both of them to tug her. But Luke was the closest to her.

“sighs … Here goes nothing.”

He tugged her shoulder, her body slumped onto the seat with drool littering her right lip. Tugging her shoulder again, he gave her a hard shove, leaving him to gulp down whatever saliva situated between his gums.

She then woke up. Balling her right fist, she thrust her left hand to the man’s collar—

“Luna, it's me!”

Luna lowered her fist, leading her to look around rapidly around the room. Panting and breathing heavily, her eyes softened and her face loosened as she stared at him.

“Hurry up Luna! I know you want to kiss him but after you eat your banana!”

“Shut up!”

Sprinting toward the stage, she pulled up her sleeves and pushed the wooden floorboards with her feet. Readying her fist, she was about to throw it, before a glowing rope enveloped around her waist.

Falling flat on her stomach, Luna’s face was crinkled with rage, her hands quivering violently as she stared glaringly at Gwen. Placing her hands behind her back, Gwen lit up a goofy smile, and bent over to display her smug foul play.

“Awwww, is your little naptime ruined~?”

“Fuck you!”

“I’ll set you free, but you have to promise you won’t punch me ok?”

Luna started to control her breathing, by placing all that anger deep down to the pit of her frail heart. Uncurling her hands, she felt her heavy wheezes lighten, leaving her throat to moisten. Both Luke and David saw this, causing them to smile gently at her display of controlling her anger.

Gwen drew back her rope, and let it vanish as it dissipated into thin air. Standing up, Luna walked over to the box silently, with the thuds of the floorboards creaking under her strength. Snatching the banana from the box, she peeled the banana off and let it drop to the ground.

‘At least Gwen is finally using her power to constrain Luna. Sometimes I wondered if she wanted to get hit by Luna, or if she’s just stupid.’ thought David.

Eating the banana, she was about to walk off the stage…

“Hey! Pick up your banana—”

She picked up the banana peel, and threw it straight toward Jenny’s face.

Stomping towards the trash bin, she kicked it down the flight of stairs, along with her breathing and fists hardening more than ever. Taking a seat right next to Luke, the entirety of her face drizzled with veins.

Jenny dug her fingers into her temples, looking like she was on the verge of exploding. Scared, Jerry took a couple of steps back, as he turned toward the back stage.

“Shit! I’ll get more ice cream!”

He ran backstage, hoping to find her cure.

“Uhm … okay … Hope will be our medic for the group.”

Hope quietly stood up and made her way towards the stage, taking the steps with ease and care. Grabbing the banana in the box, she peeled it halfway, ate it, and placed the peel inside her pocket.

Before she walked out, she walked up towards Jenny, seeing her fuming with rage. Her eyes crazed, she stared up at Hope, who pulled out a leftover napkin from her pocket.

“Here. Use this to wipe off the ice cream.”

Smiling at Jenny, the monolid woman let go of her temples. Her hands still clenched and her body tightened, her harsh wheezing ceased.

As she grabbed the napkin from Hope’s hand, using it to wipe away chunks of ice cream from her mouth. Walking towards where Luke was, she sat down quietly, closing her eyes to get some sleep.

“Last but not least, Luke Fenix. Who will be … giggles … the second recon of our group.”

—Wait. Me and Sean are recons?!

Being the last person to receive his blessing, he felt like an anvil was on top of him. Slowly walking on the stairs, he turned towards the six candidates, seeing his future comrades he’ll be working with.

Making his way to the wooden box, he grabbed the last banana, and peeled it with a bit of struggle. Placing the peel into his pocket, he had the banana by the base, and he then ate it like a normal person. Letting the contents of the white crystal fruit swirl through his gums and enamels, it tasted sweet, but with a slight kick of lemon and lime. His eyes sparkled, as most of the contents of the fruit began to gulp down into his stomach.

And then he pushed his lips up to form a smile.

—Just one step closer…

He looked down at his open palms, which were covered in grime and dirt.

—I wonder what my next goal should be? If I’m going to be a soldier, then I guess I’ll play the part. I mean … I’m not the main character…

Walking to the toppled bin, he adjusted it so that it was back to its original position. With most of the eaten banana peels littering the floor, he began scooping them up and putting them into the bin, while putting his own banana peel in too. Making a simple nod for himself, he let the fruits of his labor speak for himself.

Looking over toward Jenny, she stared at with widened eyes, but she wasn’t angry. Pushing his feet to her, his smile remained, despite eyebags clouding his eyelids.

“You look finished with that container.”

She looked down at the ice cream container. Her hands scrunching the plastic, veins still bulged intently along her face. And like an angel, Luke placed his soft palms onto the ice cream container, causing her to loosen her grip.

“I’ll put the ice cream in the bin, is that ok?”

In the flick of a switch, she let go of the container. Carrying it, he walked over to the bin and dumped it there, followed by his body twisting to the direction of Jenny. Clasping his hands, he bowed.

“Sorry if I’m not the best at handling Luna, so please forgive me.”

Luke shyly walked back to his seat, sitting in between Hope and Luna who soundfully slept.

All the adult figures looked toward Jenny, seeing her enraged face fading away like dust. Replacing it with a tearful smile, she whimpered and sulked, which led Gwen to turn her attention onto David.

“I think everyone is exhausted on all three fronts. Wanna just nap for a bit?”

“Yeah. We’ve been running on fumes.”

And like that, everyone in the little theater went to sleep … for the entire day.

________________________________________________________________________

(Prominis 20, 56 / 11:57PM)

Four years ago. Second day of training.

The 14 candidates continued to look at the firepit in prospering silence. Letting their eyes trail the embers of smoke, they allowed the beauty of peace and comfort dawn into them like a morning sunrise. Hearing the crackling of firewood, smelling the fumed smoke …

‘This is kind of relaxing’ thought Jack.

But there were two boys who didn’t relax.

Luke and Sean kept glaring at each other, their eyes twitching relentlessly despite the cold air breezing through them. Jack noticed their tightened bodies, causing him to hunch his back and place his palms on his knees.

Luke had a water bottle in his right hand, and raised it up to his mouth to take a large sip.

“You guys are giving off tsundere vibes.” Said Jack.

“What’s a tsundere?” Questioned Sean.

“Right, you guys don’t know that … Do you guys hate or secretly love each other?”

Luke spat out his water. Narrowly avoiding the firepit, he coughed and gagged out the water that gushed itself into his lungs, as he tried to push air into his body.

While Sean’s cheeks flustered.

“What!? I’m into girls!”

“Be honest Sean, you thought Fred was cute looking.”

“That’s because I thought Fred looked like a girl!”

Fred moved a couple of inches closer to Gemma, away from Sean. And in return, Gemma wrapped her arm around Fred’s neck, keeping him close.

Both Gary and Stan shuffled their eyebrows, their eyes peering deep into Sean’s pinkish face.

“You probably like femboys.” Said Gary.

“W-What!”

“Just admit it Sean.” Said Stan.

“Closet!” Yelled Loraine.

“S-Screw you guys!”

Sean stood up and walked away from the fire pit, unable to look at anyone as his eyes directed downward. With thirteen candidates still remaining, everyone began to…

Giggle and laugh.

Everyone savored this moment, even Luna enjoyed solace in Sean’s torment. But they all turned to look at her, seeing her giggle and snort cutely like a lost maiden. Clutching her stomach with her left hand, and covering her mouth with her right, all the boys blushed as they saw her make the cutest laugh they saw.

Eventually, the silence was loud enough for her to stop, causing her to return to her frustrated form.

“What is it?”

All the boys avert their eyes away, making her scoff out a loud sigh. Folding her arms, she straightened her back to make herself more dominant.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

But out of all the boys, she had her eyes pinned onto Luke. Clearing her throat, she sharpened her eyes and placed her right leg on her left knee.

“Hey.”

Her gaze still sharp, he continued to have his eyes downcast, leaving her no choice but to stand up and walk toward him.

“Hey! Look at me when I’m talking to you—”

She saw Luke’s flustered face; which was probably the cutest shy face she ever saw.

Remaining absolutely silent, she went back to her seat, her cheeks burned a pinkish red. Having everyone watching her, her scleras strained red, as a couple of veins sprouted from her right temple.

“Y-You guys wanna fight or something?!”

“You called it Jack. She’s definitely a sun-deer-deer or whatever you call it.” Said Stan.

“I’ve been in many relationships, and I know that look when I see it.” Said Miles.

“You guys better shut up!”

Like a magician, Jack pulled out a wooden guitar from his back. Already having a pick in his pocket, the strings were already well tuned, leaving Luna to remain frozen as she saw the instrument. Jack let out a smug grin, and in return, Luna let her right eye twitch.

“Have you all ever heard of country roads?”

“Make fun of me, and your nuts will be demolished!”

“Relax. It’s a song from where I’m from … but the lyrics are fabricated by me to you and Luke.”

Taking a big deep breath in, he sucked in all the smoke air from the barbeque pit, and kept it in like helium balloons. Raising the pick to the center of the guitar, he began playing the intro of …

“Country roads—”

(Due to law, the following scene may be subjected to the ‘Don’t Steal My Stuff System’. Legal force will be engaged by Kepputhan law if I go any further) :(

________________________________________________________________________

(Prominis 21, 58 / 7:47AM)

“The rendezvous should be close.” Said Stan.

The five boys who gave up their spot, walked toward the edge between the first stage and second. The sun was already up, and no signs of zombies creeped out, as if they all went to sleep…

Their legs sore and longing for rest, they dragged the soles of their boots against the brittle concrete.

‘For now, I guess we’re nothing more than behind the scenes members. Helping and supporting the main cast whatever they need’ thought Stan.

Cameron noticed the street they were walking on, causing him to shed out a single tear from one of his eyes. Letting it run down his cheek, he stopped, and slammed his knees to the ground.

The others turned back, and surrounded him with helping hands once Cameron began to sob.

“Hey, are you alright?” Questioned Stan.

“What’s going on, why are you sobbing all of a sudden—oh…”

Giving them a teary nod, all of them looked down. Being in front of Cameron, Stan placed his hand on his shoulder, trying to push up his quivering face.

“Hey … we could either look for Ryan’s body if you want … whatever’s your call…”

—“Are you guys talking about him?”—

Out of a dark alleyway, came out a red-haired woman with glasses. Appearing to be in her mid 20s, and having hair touching the bottom of her ears, she gave them a gentle smile.

As she carried the corpse of a bunny-human.

Cameron clenched his fists, his eyes widened as his vocals struggled to utter a noise. Noticing his angered state, she gently put down the corpse and sat on the destroyed pavement.

“I found his corpse for retrieval. I guess you all were close to him right?”

Tilting her head, she looked at Cameron calmly. Cameron slowly walked toward the red-haired woman, his jaw clenching inside of his mouth. All the boys looked at her with focused eyes, analyzing her fingers and hands for any suspicious movements.

“It’s ok, you guys can carry on to the rendezvous meetup. I’ll be taking Cameron to some place for questioning.”

“Some place?” Questioned Stan.

“It’s to determine the cause of Ryan’s death, and Gemma’s.”

Stan raised his right hand up to his chin, his fingers rubbing against his skin as he looked down at the pavement.

‘Should I let her? I mean, she does know our names, so does she work for the government?’

His nails scraping off leftover dust from prior, he lowered his hand and lifted his head. Allowing his eyes to pin back onto the red-haired woman, Stan gave her a quick nod.

“Alright, we’ll head out. Catch you later Cameron.”

Saying their goodbyes, the horse-human was left at the will of the red-haired woman. His jaw still tightened, he continued to glare at her with wrinkled eyes. And as they walked away into the distance, she stood up from the pavement and walked toward Cameron, while carrying Ryan’s corpse.

“It’s just you and me.”

The tall woman smiled with a pushed up face, leaving Cameron to unwrinkle and pale his face.

“ … how long is this questioning going to take?”

“As long as it takes.”

—Cameron was never seen again.—

—Nor did anybody remembered him.—