(Prominis 20, 58 / 8:03PM)
(Border Patrol Guard) Your Drakos right?
(David) Yeah, we have a dispatch to go to Fort Damns.
(Border Patrol Guard) Well if it’s by thee David Drakos then I wouldn’t question it. Is the other van with you too?
(David) Yes son.
(Border Patrol Guard) Alright, can you tell me the name of the driver behind you?
(David) Jerry Phillips.
(Border Patrol Guard) Noted. Thank you sir.
Crossing into the forest wasteland of Ticia, David’s eyes began scanning the area, making sure that no zompires were within his line of sight. Meanwhile, Gwen laid back deep in her seat, still sleeping in without a care in the world.
(David’s thoughts) She’s been sleeping through the entire trip…
In the back, five out of the seven candidates that were in that van were still awake, funny enough, it was the two oldest candidates in that van.
(Stan’s thoughts) That damn border crossing woke me up…
As Luke was fast asleep, his face slumped down straight, not leaning his head into any girl, Luna had her arm over Luke’s shoulder, while Hope was leaning her head towards Luke’s left shoulder.
(Luna’s thoughts) I wish he wasn’t this shy…
As Luna’s eyes started to glare at Hope’s sleeping face, Stan, who was now awake, looked at Luke and the two girls that were attached to him. Curious, Stan took his direction towards Luna, who was trying to lean Luke’s head into her left shoulder.
(Stan) I know he’s better-looking than most boys, but why him?
(Luna) Huh?
(Stan) It’s pretty rare for two girls to fight over some socially awkward dude, so why him? I’ve seen what you do.
Stan put his hands on the back of his head, slumped forward as he casually eyed Luna.
(Stan) You mark your territory, you glare at any girl that looks at him, you make him follow you around, yet you say that you don’t “like” him…
(Luna) Is that supposed to be a bad thing?
(Stan) Well, do you like him?
(Luna) He’s…my pet.
(Stan) You mean your toy?
(Luna) Whatever you call it, I don’t care.
(Stan) But the moment someone wants to play—or rather, treat your toy with care, you get selfish, possessive…
(Luna) What the hell type of point do you want to make here?
As Luna raised her voice, but barely enough so that she didn't wake up Luke, she wanted to hear Stan’s thesis. Quietly, Stan’s eyes remained focused on Luna’s, his voice low but audible enough for Luna to hear.
(Stan) I think you should let Luke decide who he wants to be with.
(Luna) Decide?
(Stan) If Luke was a dog-human, which partner would he rather go with?
(Luna) …
(Stan) Because you show who’s the big dog? Do you truly believe he likes to be treated that way?
The more Stan questions Luna, the more her throat agitates with frustration. Her fists started to clench, followed by her body sending one-second shivers in five-second intervals.
Noticing that Luna didn’t want to retort back, Stan continued to go along with his point, his eyes remaining focused on Luna.
(Stan) From what I’ve seen in ethics, dog-humans usually go for people who treat them with respect, the same goes for cat-humans but cat-people are mostly spoiled in terms of love.
Stan’s voice then started to tone up a bit more, clearly trying to finish his point with his body exerting confidence without fear.
(Stan) If Luke wants to be treated with care, then I think the best choice would be Hope.
(Luna) Shut up…
Trying not to yell, Luna’s voice was at its limit in trying to hold her anger, using every bit of strength to hold herself back.
(Stan) You’ve seen the way Luke looks at Hope, try to remember a scene in which he looks at Hope the same he looks at you—
(Luna) Shut up!
Luna flinched out of her seat, barely standing as she wanted to make her dominance known to Stan, but limited since she was being seated in a van.
Unsurprisingly, the candidates that were asleep soon woke up to Luna’s outburst, with Gwen as well waking up and David losing focus on trying to scout for enemies.
(David) Luna, keep it down.
Calmly, David told Luna one simple request that he knew wouldn’t work, his face eyes barely awake as he continued to drive.
(Luke) W-W-What happened?
(Luna) Go back to sleep.
(Luke) B-but.
(Luna) Now.
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Forcing Luke to go back to sleep, he followed her order, putting his head in the middle so as to not lean in on Hope or Luna’s shoulders. As he forced himself to sleep, everyone else did the same, as their faces were perplexed with crusty eyes and drool marks.
(Stan) Guess I should go back to sleep…
As Stan positions himself to take in a few mimis, Luna’s arm that was wrapped around Luke tightened more, her eyes looking into Luke’s sleeping face. Her cheeks turned a bit red as she couldn’t resist the way he slept peacefully.
(Luna’s thoughts) After all these years, I still haven’t apologized to him so …
Luna looked up at the van roof, her eyes blankly staring at its metallic brown state. Almost as if looking up at someone, she clenched her right fist slightly.
______________________________________________________________________________
(Prominis 20, 58 / 9:15PM)
(David) We’re here!
As the van’s engine turned off, David got out of the car and headed his way towards the back. Using a vault code to unlock the locks, David turned the handle to let everyone out, their eyes and bodies barely operable as they grudgingly looked around…
The forest was unusually quiet, with no crickets or cicadas chirping or buzzing, followed by the darkness of the forest surrounding them.
As the first van unloaded, the second van pulled up near their location. Same as before, Jerry got out to unlock the vault from the back, and the second group came out the same as the first … barely operable.
(David) Everyone, get inside the white building!
(Jerry) Listen to what David says!
As the 14 candidates walked towards the building, their legs feeling the tall grass that brushed against their legs, all of them lined up single file to enter the small metal door. Upon entering, they noticed that the building was cramped for 14 teens and young adults, but for some reason, most people could see the outlines of the building despite it being night…
(Luke’s thoughts) Is this a bathroom?
(Fred’s thoughts) Why are there little sprinkler systems here?
Noticing that it had stalls, toilets, and sinks, all of them slowly noticed that it wasn’t a fancy lunch or storage room.
(Jack) Damn, it stinks in here!
(Miles) Try not to use any toilets or sinks, the pipes have probably been corroded and rusted by now…
Pinching their noses to not smell the putrid horrors of sewage water, they all weren’t happy that they were enclosed in a run-down bathroom—
The sounds of a closing door can be heard…
Everyone checked their back, they noticed that the door was closed from the outside, the heat and humidity of the teens worried them, causing them to make the bathroom feel like a sauna.
Cameron, nearest the door, noticed that the handle to the door wasn’t opening…
(Cameron) I think we’re locked in here…
(Ryan) Why are we even here in the first place? Aren’t we supposed to be doing our final test?
(Gemma) What if this is—
(???) Welcome to the final test candidates!
A faint recording was heard throughout everyone, their ears perking up as they curiously began looking for the noise. Seeing that a small recorder box was playing on a rusty sink, the voice could be none other than…
(Sean) Is that Boris?
Everyone huddled around the recorder.
(Boris recording) If you could hear me, then this test would prove your capability of becoming a soldier. It is known publicly, but some people possess magic, which you may know as blessings. If you listened in class, you should have already known that blessings originated from the white bananas you eat, and in turn, give you magical powers that suit your DNA and personality…
The candidates continued to listen to Boris’s exposition, the memories of training and learning flooding in, causing most of the candidates to nod as Boris mentions.
(Gary) Weren’t we already familiar with blessings?
(Stan) If you think about it, some of us probably forgot about the power of the blessings, so it makes sense that you would review it for the final test…
(Boris) Stan is indeed right, but please listen.
The gasps of teens and young adults can be heard…
(Gemma) I thought it was a recorder box.
(Boris) It’s a handcrafted government box—shall we continue along with the lesson!?
(Loraine) I’m hungry—
(Boris) Stop interrupting me!
Heavy breaths and panting were heard through the box, the candidates worried for Boris' health since previously, when Boris introduced himself, he was out of breath and sweating when he finished his speech.
The same thing is happening again, but worse…
(Boris) pants … anyway … pants … every one of you has not received a blessing, until tomorrow… pants … your final test will reward you with it…
The 14 candidates then clumped together like sardines, their bodies leaning towards the box in order to understand Boris’s words.
(Boris) In the center of the city, you’ll find white bananas that will grant you those blessings. Some of you may receive support blessings, offense blessings, or defense blessings … and some bananas will grant you support-offense blessings, offense-defense blessings, or defense-support blessings…
(Luke’s thoughts) Six classes in total…
(Boris) When you eat a white banana, the power will take time to activate. When using a blessing, there is a limit to how much you can use it. Instead of mana or chakra or any other fancy mechanic, the power of a blessing and its usage determines how much stamina the person has…
(Stan’s thoughts) So that means the healthier the person, the longer the usage…
(Fred’s thoughts) That’s why they made us train till our bones break… they were getting us in perfect shape.
The more Boris explained the power of blessings, the more intrigued everyone in the small bathroom was. Curious, Gary decided to speak up, his face confused and his tone curious as he spoke to the box.
(Gary) Hey, I have a question.
(Boris) sigh … Yes Gary?
(Gary) Doesn’t the government have a monopoly on these white bananas? A couple of years ago, I heard from either you or David that the government has been slowly taking control of all the white banana trades. Does this mean that if we get our blessings, we will be forced to work under the government?
(Boris) Unfortunately, yes. I received the funds for this project from the government, but they had some demands that even I was hesitant to push forward…
(Diego) Wait, by the Kepputhan government or the Union of Ordered Governments?
(Boris) … I think you boys should stop talking … for all of our sakes…
With a change in the tone, Boris continued to speak through the metal box, his voice hesitant.
(Boris) A demand from the government that I was fine with was the time limit, in which everyone had to get to the center before 6AM, starting at midnight. I believe everyone should reach the center in that period.
The candidates were somewhat content with the time limit, their bodies were relaxed and calm.
(Luke’s thoughts) It’s better that way, it forces us to work missions under pressure.
The candidates held their stomachs, as their way to achieve status as a soldier was soon in the—
(Boris) But one of the demands that the government wanted … was to put only seven white bananas in the center…
(Everyone) W-WHAT!!
Realizing that half of them would be cut off from the program, everyone’s eyes remained solely on the recorder box.
(Stan) Why seven?
(Boris) They said they wanted the best … I was a little hesitant, but it’s for the greater good…
(Miles) For what greater good?! Are you really going to cull the weak because—
(Boris) Please understand it wasn’t my choice to begin with! I just went along with it to please them!
Panting again, Boris was restless and exasperated once again as his heavy body was not working with him.
(Boris) pants … another demand … pants … that they wanted … pants … was one that I fought with …
(Stan) What can this demand be any worse than culling half the group—
(Boris) The government … wasn’t content with just the city being filled with regular traps … so they decided to fill the city with … zompires…
There was no shock, no voice uttering amongst the teens and young adults.
Luna, Luke, Fred, Gary, Stan, and Miles’s bodies began to shake uncontrollably, their faces as white as glacier snow when they had to-
(Luke’s thoughts) I don’t want to go through it… Not back there … Not back there …
(Boris) I offer my sincerest apologies…
Boris' voice was filled with regret.
(Boris) Please forgive me…
Many of the candidates began to cough and gag as gas began to spray within the building..
(Fred) Everyone, break down the door before … before …
Fred slowly started to collapse onto himself. Slowly, the candidates started to lose consciousness.
(Stan) Someone … get … get a stick …
More candidates were slowly falling asleep. Even Luna, who was kicking at the metal door, started to lose her strength, her kicks slowly becoming more and more weaker.
(Luna) I’m … going to kick your … kick your …
(Boris) Before you go, this is the most important rule! Please stick together and—
As Luke collapsed, he had his eyes still open. Before he began to fall asleep, his eyes caught one last glance as all the candidates managed to fall asleep. Closing his eyes, he heard one last—
(Boris) … prepare for The Array …