Oliver started to feel his body swaying and trembling, his head pounding as if he’d been beaten… which, in a way, he had.

“Hey, hey! I think he’s waking up.”

As he opened his eyes, Oliver saw the two companions that were heading toward the Academy. In front of him was a very slim boy with pale skin and brown hair, who was finally free from the gag in his mouth. Beside him was a girl with her hair in a ponytail and a bright smile on her face.

“Give him a break. He’s probably still dazed.” The girl said as she pushed the boy back into his seat.

“Where… where am I?” Oliver asked them.

With his vision still blurry and feeling slightly nauseous, Oliver was confused by everything that had happened. The last thing he remembered was the Orks and a Red Ranger.

“You, my friend, are in the best shuttle to a one-way trip to hell on Earth, the Academy. Welcome to the land of the living.” The boy spoke with a voice full of sarcasm. But it helped Oliver understand why he had been gagged until recently.

“…Hmm, so are we in the truck?” Oliver asked.

“Yep, after everything was sorted out since you didn’t wake up, they put you here with us until we reached the Academy.” The girl explained this with more patience to the newly awakened Oliver.

“What happened to the… Orks?” Oliver asked them.

“Calm down, calm down… that’s the best part…” The girl shut him down while running to the side of the truck and looked out the window.

The transport truck seemed to have arrived at an army base. There was only a vast desert around them, with no sign of where they might have ended up. Oliver stood up to observe the driver and the front of the truck. The boy stretched to look through the small window between the passengers and the driver but found no one.

"Truck's on autopilot. Army safety rules," the boy said, noticing Oliver's curiosity.

Like their truck, other trucks also started arriving at the base. Though they slowed down, each kept moving forward. Gradually, they could see that each transport was entering a cargo plane, and soon, theirs did the same.

“I always knew the Academy wasn’t around here, but all this secrecy makes it even more exciting!” The girl almost screamed, thrilled about the approaching ‘adventure.’ The boy, however, seemed bored, simply banging his head against the side of the truck.

“Damn it. Damn it. I can’t believe I missed my chance to get out of here.” The boy rested his head in his hand while speaking defeatedly.

“Cough cough, sorry. But I forgot to ask, who are you guys?” Oliver asked, remembering that he still didn't know them.

Finally, a question of interest to the three of them. The girl returned to her seat, and the boy stopped grumbling.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Isabela, I came from the area 55, and like you, I’m 15.” Isabela spoke with a lot of energy in her voice.

“… I’m Alan.” Alan answered without much detail.

“Hmm, nice to meet you, I’m Oliver.” Oliver presented himself.

“We know, we heard when they put you in the truck…” Alan explained.

A small moment of silence filled the air. It was no longer as uncomfortable as before, now that at least the three knew each other, even if superficially.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“So let me ask again, what happened? Who was the guy in red?” Oliver asked.

“What? How do you not know who the ‘guy in red is’ ? " the girl asked in a crackly, high-pitched voice.

“Yeah, the Ranger who showed up at the end. Who was he? He seemed so powerful.” Oliver commented.

“How do you not know Liam Ryder!? Don’t you watch YouTube or read novels? He’s the newest Red Ranger. Besides being…” By the end, her sentence was almost inaudible, but it was impossible not to hear inside the enclosed truck. Isabella blushed deeply after her moment of fangirling.

The truck began to shake again, but it didn't seem to be speeding up. No, it felt like the cargo plane was finally maneuvering on the runway. The three of them fell silent for a moment, focusing on every detail of the sounds within the aircraft until it sped up and took off.

“…Even I, who don’t follow them much, know who he is. Did you come out of a cave?” As the three of them calmed down, she asked again.

“Hey! I had to work, and I prefer novels about vampires… Rangers are so cliché.” Oliver explained. It was partially true; he preferred reading about vampires, but accessing the internet was difficult these days. He didn’t have a computer, phone, or anything similar.

Becoming a Ranger was the most common dream among children. Besides the money, there was guaranteed fame. Rangers were always featured in TV shows, and most even had their own YouTube channel. The competition to become a Ranger was so fierce that numerous casinos organized bets on which recruits would make it.

Of course, there were other ways to become a Ranger besides the Academy, but these were more complex and required significant political power from CORPs or Houses. Even descendants of Houses often preferred to try their chances at the Academy.

“But do you at least know where you’re going, right?” Isabela asked, trying to understand him better. If he didn't know about Rangers, it was quite possible that he didn't know about the Academy either.

“Of course! Humph, at 15, everyone has to do military service, training at the Academy to serve the New Earth Army.” Oliver responded with a slightly wounded pride. He might not understand much about Rangers, but it wasn't for lack of trying; he simply didn't have access to information.

“Yes… but you know that’s how you become a Ranger…” Isabela explained with a slight smile.

“Okay… I didn’t know that part.” Oliver answered, embarrassed. To hide it, he began scratching his head.

This time, Alan was the one who looked astonished.

“Hey. Are you sure you’re human?” Isabella whispered.

Oliver raised an eyebrow at her… but deep down, he wasn’t sure either. He had spent so much time in VAT. He wasn’t sure what had changed in him.

“Of course I am. I just don’t follow Rangers much… changing the subject, how long until we reach the Academy?” Oliver asked.

“Sorry, but in the Academy Airline, you’ll never know where you’re going or when you’ll arrive.” Allan answered. “do you really think they gave us any information?!” The boy only seemed to open his mouth when there was an excellent opportunity to spit sarcasm.

The three of them found themselves with nothing more to talk about. Although they were bonded by being on the same plane heading towards an unknown journey, they still didn’t know much about each other. The atmosphere remained tense, with everyone feeling nervous except perhaps Isabella, who was excited to see the Academy.

Oliver began to walk around the passenger area, peering out of each window to get a better view of the cargo area. After a few minutes, some light finally came through, revealing that not just his truck but several others were lined up.

For a moment, the boy considered opening the door but decided against it. If the door had worked, Allan would have already attempted to escape. Along with Oliver, the others were also looking out the windows, hoping to see something interesting.

After a few more minutes of silence, the three of them finally felt the plane beginning its descent.

"BAM"

The cargo area door opened abruptly, but that wasn't the worst part. The truck began to reverse, getting closer to the edge of the plane.

“Do they… do they know we’re still in the air?” Isabela asked, frightened.

The two boys were utterly white with fear at what was to come. Their throats seemed to have failed them, unsure whether to talk or scream for help.

Oliver ran to the front of the truck, trying to look through the window.

‘Can I make it to the driver's area?’ the boy thought. However, the space through the window was too small for any of them.

Before Oliver could think of a way out, one by one, the trucks began to fall from the plane. Eventually, it was their turn.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Oliver screamed.

"I can't die yet. I've never met a Ranger," Isabella said through her tears.

“I knew it was a bad idea to come; I should have fled… I…” Alan spoke repeatedly.

"AAAAAH!"

The general scream was the only sound in the group, and all three held onto their seats to avoid hitting the ceiling.

"Flap flap flap"

The truck began to decelerate, and the three no longer needed to hold on. Finally, they could look out the window.

Outside, there were hundreds of falling transport trucks, each of them with groups of parachutes deployed.

Looking further down, they finally started to see the Academy…