Southern California
First day of J.R.R.P. started with roll call.
Alin cringed, awaiting his turn.
Ranger Captain Mouthy leaned into her chair and placed her dirty boots on her desk while reading from a list.
“Alin Phillip Chen Cruces… four names, huh? Don’t know how you rate that. All I got was two names and they both kinda sucked.”
“Here.” He raised his hand and kept his eyes forward while not moving.
Rabbits did it to avoid notice and if it worked for them, sometimes, then it’d work for him.
“Goddamn it. This is the day that I learn I’m old,” the ranger captain said. “Stand up junior ranger recruit. Let me get a look.”
He stifled a groan, ignoring the snickering from the rest of the class as he stood.
“Been awhile, hasn’t it?”
“Yessir!”
“Remind me.”
“Christmas party! Two years ago, sir!”
“Indoor voice.” The ranger captain picked her ear. “Well look at you. Sprouted up like a weed, filling out okay,” she mused, eyes narrowing as she studied him.
The hammer was about to drop.
He knew it.
The ranger captain knew it.
Everyone in the room knew it.
Rayna’s Rangers busted balls like bears shit in the woods.
“It’s like just yesterday you were that little kid running around your aunt’s backyard with your little pecker flapping in the breeze. Hated clothes,” she paused, “none of that here, please. There are laws.”
The heat rose to his face as the classroom filled with many traitorous friends burst out into cackling laughter like excited hyenas.
Hypocritical bastards!
Like they hadn’t done the same.
“Take a seat, Mr. Cruces.”
The ranger captain continued roll call.
Introductory class was boring.
The legendary ranger captain put on a video and promptly took a nap.
It wasn’t anything Alin hadn’t already known.
He had read the introductory booklet front to back at least three time in the week leading up to the first day of the program. It had been hard to find time to slot it between his obsessive re-readings of his Threnosh-made power armor’s manual.
The Threnosh being present had been a great help and they never got annoyed with him no matter how many times he had pestered them.
The only bad thing was that they took his dad’s words seriously and no one would spar him while he wore the armor.
Not even the battle hungry Primal.
On the positive end of the scale he got to play around in the Threnosh training chamber while the engineer and fabricators got it up and running.
They figured that in a couple of months it’d be ready for wider use.
Their challenge was the downgrade in materials and equipment compared to the Threnosh home world.
How had his dad described it?
“It’s like expecting PS4 performance with Super Nintendo hardware and software.”
Intro class took most of the morning.
The rest of the day was a walk-through of the general curriculum.
J.R.R.P. wasn’t like school or even a replacement.
It was more like an intense extracurricular.
There were classroom sessions where they’d study ranger history, strategy and tactics.
The physical component had cardio, weights, combat training and sparring.
There were classes for every type of person the rangers were looking for.
“This is dumb,” Luzi said, jabbing ranch-drenched fries in Alin’s face. “Why do we still have to do regular school?”
“Why are you mad at me?”
“I dunno, tell your aunt to make them stop us wasting our time with regular school. Ranger classes in the morning. Physical stuff through the afternoon. Then regular classes before and after dinner. There’s no free time!” She pounded the table.
“What the fuck is up with that?” Steph said, pounding the table. “It’s actually on the first page of the booklet. I think word for word it said ‘no free time’.”
“All in bold too,” Bluewolf agreed.
“She didn’t read it,” Songbird said.
The twins didn’t look much alike.
Though they had the same wiry, athletic build.
“So, Luzi, that must mean that you missed the part where weekends are half-day training?” Kat leaned over to snatch some fries from Alin’s basket.
Luzi’s eyes widened.
“Fuck! I asked my parents and they didn’t say shit. Just told me to be careful what I wish for or something stupid like that.”
Kat cackled madly, slapping Alin’s arm.
Victor raised his hand.
“I think we all know that we have one chance.”
Every pair of eyes at the table swiveled to Alin.
“What?”
“Your aunt is the literal Rayna of Rayna’s Rangers. I mean, a small word from her beloved little nephew…” Victor shrugged.
“Hey, she let you run around her house bare-assed naked, what’s a little request for a little free time after that?” Steph said.
“Depends on how little,” Victor waggled his brows.
The entire table erupted into laughter.
Lunch wound down all too quickly.
As junior ranger recruits completed their meals other recruits took their places.
Alin’s larger friend group had been separated into different orientation groups.
“Sup, Boy!” Isaak swaggered over to slap hands and bump fists.
The ritual greeting spread out amongst the entire group and he greeted Gob, Just, the Double J’s, April, Reena, and Eda.
That was another third of their large group.
The last third must’ve still been waiting for their turn to eat.
“I heard,” Isaak whispered.
“What?”
“That you were the first…”
“Dude, do I even want to know?”
“First to pop that cherry…”
“Damn it, you asshole,” he sighed. “What’d you hear?”
“Ranger Captain Mouthy—”
“Yeah, no.”
“Don’t feel bad, Boy,” Eda blinked up at him through her round glasses. “Ranger Captain Chipmunk made Isaak do push ups the entire class.”
“I was just commiserating is all.” Isaak patted him on the back. “First day and we’re both out of the pool. So, Eda? Thinking of taking it? Cut me in and I’ll help you out. I’ll be your hidden knife, taking down everyone in your way.”
“Maybe…” Eda said.
They waved goodbye as Alin’s group hurried to get to the next orientation class.
Next stop was one of the stables.
Drakes specifically.
“Hello, I’m Ranger Valentine and this is Maverick.”
The green and brown-scaled drake preened at the attention.
Luzi practically vibrated in place, leaning forward as if it was taking all her control to stop herself from a diving hug charge.
“Some of you may one day want to bond with one of these magnificent drakes. To that end, you will spend some of your time helping us care for them. I’m not going to sugarcoat things. It’s going to stink. Shit stinks in general. Although, I’ve heard stories that some creatures shit soft serve ice cream, but I’m inclined to think that was just witches messing with us. Since, as you can see and smell, drake shit is not only huge, it also stinks.”
Maverick growled.
“Whatever, I’m just calling it like I see it and smell it.” Ranger Valentine frowned up at the huge magical beast.
Maverick snorted.
“Well, I never said my shit doesn’t stink. I said all shit stinks, except maybe faerie creatures. Alright, I guess I was supposed to give you a sampler.” He went over to the wall and grabbed a few shovels and pitchforks. “Volunteers?”
Luzi jumped, waving her hands.
“Everyone except her.” He passed the shit management tools out to all except for Luzi. “Get to shoveling. As for you,” he turned to Luzi, “want to ride her?”
“Yes!” Luzi rushed over to Maverick who laid down to let the girl clamber up to the saddle. “I’m gonna fly?”
“No. No! Are you crazy! That was like rule number one on my teaching guide. You get to run around. Strictly ground bound, you hear me, Maverick?”
The drake seemed to roll her eyes.
“Don’t make me ground you!” he warned.
With a toss of her head, Maverick galloped out into the open field. Her wings remained tucked into her sides as Luzi spread her arms and laughed to the sky.
----------------------------------------
Alin’s aunt dropped him off late after his last regular school class.
Friday night and all he wanted to do was crash into bed.
The first week of J.R.R.P. had been way more draining than he had expected.
Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if he didn’t still have to take regular classes, even if there were less.
He rode the elevator up to his family’s suite.
“Mom?”
The lights where on in the living room, but his parent’s door was closed.
An empty dining room table made his stomach growl.
His mom had left a note in her neat script.
Dear Boy,
No dinner. Had to emergency kill monsters. Go to the cafeteria.
Love, Mom.
“Huh?”
Thinking about it he realized that the guards had looked pretty tense and there had been the smell of cordite and fire in the night air.
Fatigue was no excuse for a situational awareness fail.
“I guess she’s fine if she didn’t say anything else.”
He dumped his bag and gear before heading straight for the cafeteria.
The place was busier than it usually was at the hour.
He exchanged waves, head nods and quick greetings with everyone he passed, but they looked even more wiped than him.
The buffet bar was looking sparse.
“Boy!”
“Chef, um… crazy stuff happen?”
“Eh, something about a sudden spawn zone erupting,” Chef Alex said. “They took care of it. I heard your mom was out there too. Must’ve been bad.”
“Anyone, uh, get hurt?”
“No one died, thank God. I don’t know about injuries. So, what do you want? I’ll cook you up something.”
“Oh, nah, thanks, but this is good,” he gestured to the dregs at the buffet bar.
“Ha, this stuff’s barely warm. C’mon, what’ll it be?”
“Honestly, I’m so tired I can’t even think.”
“They’re working you hard? Hmm… well, let me guess, you’re gonna need everything. Protein, carbs, fats, vitamins and shit.”
“Yeah, as much as I can get down,” he sighed. “I’ve got training tomorrow morning.”
“Ah, then I’ll make you something that’ll digest overnight, but not fuck up your sleep. With everything you need to kick ass in training. Grab a seat. Give me ten minutes.”
The chef was a chef getting close to Level 40.
His dishes violated the laws of physics on top of being always delicious. Like they had been made for each individual’s subjective tastes.
Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
Chef Alex’s stated goal was to become the All-Chef. The class’ existence was yet unknown, but he aimed to become one that could cook everything.
Alin searched for an open table then spotted Tabitha dining alone.
The young woman had her creepy monster skin cloak on which kept others from approaching.
“Hey, Tabs! Is it okay if I sit here?”
Sometimes people needed to be alone, but it didn’t hurt to ask for the times when the person didn’t need to be alone.
She glanced up from her half-eaten steak and nodded.
“Um… good steak? Yeah, it would be. Chef Alex never misses. It’s great how he can let you pack in more protein than normal. Like, we can only absorb about 30 grams per hour for muscle building and he can like double that. Plus, the crazy good recovery you get from his smoothies.”
Tabitha nodded, chewing her steak mechanically.
“So, um, I heard there was a big fight. My, uh, mom left me a note, but she was sleeping so I couldn’t ask her…”
“The hospital turned into a spawn zone early this morning.”
“Which one?”
“The far one.”
She didn’t elaborate.
“So, uh… you fought?”
A nod.
“I’m glad you don’t look like you took some wounds.”
“I just hid and struck from the shadows. Your mom, the small-big Threnosh and other tanks drew all the attention. It wasn’t a bad fight. Just a lot of them. We had to clear the streets before we could go inside and fix it.”
“What were the monsters like?”
“Giant baby fetuses.”
“Like… human ones?”
“Monsters.”
“I guess I got lucky I missed out,” he shrugged.
“Your mom probably would’ve let you fight in your power armor. At least to defend our home. The streets were filled with them before we noticed.”
“Clean up must’ve been bad.”
“They dissolved into goo, then nothing after a few hours,” she shrugged. “I didn’t have to deal with the outside stuff. I was with the team that went to kill the bosses.”
“So, how was that fight?”
“Not hard, but terrible.”
He prompted her.
“Giant fetuses.”
“Got it… uh, so, how’s the steak?”
It looked to have gotten cold.
Judging by the empty dessert plates, Tabitha had eaten a few slices of pie and ice cream before the actual entree.
“Fine.”
“Cool cool cool… cool…” He searched for a thread to continue the conversation since she didn’t care or want to. Some shared interest that would steer her away from the violent events of the day. He realized that he didn’t have much in common with her beyond fighting and monsters. “Watch anything interesting lately?”
Her face betrayed no hint of her thoughts as she continued to chew mechanically.
“No.”
“Read?”
She chewed, swallowed, cut another piece, chewed and swallowed.
“I’m reading a book about the old country’s history with slavery.”
“Oh…”
Shit. This is a red zone topic. What do I do? Fuck! What did dad say? he thought.
Right… when in doubt, just listen and be empathetic.
He nodded, leaning forward to be the best active listener he could be.
“People were shit from the very beginning. They were doing it all over the world, but this place was the one that really turned it into a huge business. They wouldn’t have gotten to the top with it.”
Tabitha spoke more words and complete sentences than he could remember her ever doing.
He occasionally chimed in with what he could dredge out of his memory from the history classes he had taken throughout childhood.
Their discussion was only interrupted by Chef Alex yelling across the cafeteria.
“Sorry, I have to get my food.”
“That’s fine.”
He hustled, not wanting Tabitha to leave.
Their talk seemed to be working for her.
“Oh, wow! That’s a lot!”
The tray Chef Alex slid in front of him was heaped with food. Steaks, eggs, a potato and vegetable skillet and a huge bowl of fried rice.
“I remember you love your rice.”
“Thanks, chef, this all looks and smells awesome!”
The chef slid a smaller tray containing a generous slice of hot apple pie topped with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream.
“Um… what’s this? I know my mom told you and everyone back there no dessert before dinner. I mean, I don’t care if you guys get in trouble, but I’m not looking to catch Mom fists in sparring.”
The chef laughed.
“That rule was for when you were a kid. But, this isn’t for you. You can come up after you finish if you’ve still got room. It’s for Tabitha. I can tell she wants more dessert, but is too shy to come up for seconds,” he tapped his nose. “A true chef knows what his guests want before they do.”
“I might skip dessert, but I won’t turn down one of your protein recovery smoothies.”
“What flavor?”
“Chef’s choice… nothing weird though,” he added hastily.
“Alright, I’ll stick to the classics this time. Wouldn’t want to fuck you up for your training.”
Tabitha raised a brow at his tray upon his return.
“I’m a growing boy,” he shrugged. “For you,” he slid her dessert over.
“Thanks.”
She abandoned what was left of her steak without hesitation.
“So… um… where were we?” he said between huge bites and cursory chewing.
“Twenty-two.”
“Um… sorry?”
“Chew that many times. I remember my mom telling me that when I was a kid.”
“Oh, yeah, I think I’ve heard that too. I wonder why?”
“So you don’t overeat. But we did it to make the food last longer.” She regard the trays between them. “There wasn’t as much to eat back then.”
“I’ve… heard…”
Tabitha seemingly took pity on him.
“I’ve decided that slavery existed, exists, because enough shit people exist that wants to do it to others and there weren’t enough people that had the guts to do something about it.”
“We’re changing that though.”
She nodded once.
They ate in silence, but Alin felt that it wasn’t the uncomfortable kind.
In time Tabitha finished her dessert and the rest of her steak.
“See you later, Boy.”
“See ya!” he waved and listened as she returned her trays and verbally thanked Chef Alex.
A good deed done.
He tried not to give himself a metaphorical pat on the back because it wasn’t about him.
One didn’t do good deeds to feel good about themselves.
They did it because it was right.
Every adult in his family always said that.
----------------------------------------
The first month of the J.R.R.P. drew to a close.
They just had to get through Saturday training and they’d have their first glorious free day.
Two actually.
Sunday and Monday were completely free for them.
The week long holiday was in commemoration of the rangers victory over the undead in San Diego years ago.
Naturally, junior ranger recruits weren’t getting the whole week off like everyone else.
They’d still have to train and go to class, but on the plus side, regular school was out so they could enjoy the huge street festival at night.
“You maggots don’t want to run today? Then maybe you’ll run better tomorrow!” Ranger Captain Hardhat barked.
Four weeks of HIIT and people were still puking.
Except for Alin.
He hadn’t puked once.
Smugness had been driven from him on that first day after Kat had started puking.
That had made him feel bad for laughing at his other friends for losing their breakfasts.
And thus, he had been the picture of supportiveness.
It wasn’t fair really.
Chef Alex had put nearly Level 40 Skills into those late Friday night dinners which somehow turned Alin’s stomach into a steel box. Food went in and didn’t go out until it was properly broken down for the nutrients that had him operating at a peak he hadn’t know existed.
Victor hurled across Alin’s path, splashing chunks of egg, potato and bacon on both their shoes.
“Sorry… urrkk!”
“Oh god, the wet sound!” Steph gagged.
Alin decided at that moment to ask Chef Alex if he’d like the opportunity to cook weekend breakfast for his friends and the other recruits. Making it so that a couple hundred kids didn’t puke might’ve been a big enough challenge and impact to get the chef to Level 40.
Probably, have to run it past his parents first.
His dad was finally coming back home from the crazy China stuff in a couple of days.
He couldn’t wait to ask his dad and the rest of the team all about it. What he’d gotten from his mom and others in brief, scattered conversations wasn’t enough.
A bean bag struck him in the back.
“You aren’t going all out! Pick up the pace! If you ain’t puking, you ain’t trying!”
Ranger Captain Hardhat was the worse weekend trainer.
Everyone had thought it would’ve been Ranger Captain Mouthy, but aside from the hurtful things she said she was pretty chill, all things considered.
Ranger Captain Hardhat was just… the worst kind of hardass.
It had shocked Alin at first because the woman he had known wasn’t at all a hardass. She had been super nice every time they’d crossed paths.
He put on a burst of speed.
Without Skills he was just about the fastest recruit after the first few laps.
Four more laps of the chest burning run all while dodging bean bags ended in him collapsing to his knees in the grass just off the track.
He was the first in his group.
Another group took their turn as the rest of his finished and joined him in agony.
“Child abuse…” Steph gasped.
“It isn’t child abuse,” the ranger captain loomed over the fallen, her eponymous hardhat glinting the sun. He mouth split into an evil leer. “No one’s forcing you to do this. You can quit any time you want. I’ll even write you a letter of rec for the home guard. They’re a lot easier. How about it, maggots? The SCSDF plays a vital role in protecting our homes. Nothing wrong with an easier road. Especially, when its contributions are necessary and appreciated.”
“No thanks, ranger captain!” they barked in unison.
“Now, that is creepy,” she shrugged. “Alright, since you’re so determined to fertilize my grass. Break’s cut to five minutes. Stretch! Hydrate! Pray! Last one to finish the next round runs an extra lap!”
Groans filled the morning air.
Alin was still on his hands and knees.
The ranger captain got down and pushed her hardhat against the side of his face like the biggest dick goat in the herd.
“How are you doing it, recruit?” she hissed.
“Doing what, ranger captain!” he huffed.
“You ain’t puking like the rest. In fact you ain’t puked once. All the trainers are talking about it. We’ve got a little pool going. Getting bigger every weekend the contents of your guts don’t grace our grass. I’m aiming to take it, so how about you do your senior ranger a solid.”
“Don’t know what to say, ranger captain!”
“Your secrets. Give them to me.”
“I don’t eat breakfast,” he shrugged.
“Maybe you trade me? That girl you’re sweet on. She’s looking rough today.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir!”
“Sure, sure, keep it coy. We appreciate that. Don’t like guys that kiss and tell. But, we ain’t talking about that. We’re talking about how much rougher today will get for her— for all of you— cause I got to be fair. Unless you help your senior out.”
“I don’t think I can puke even if I wanted to, sir!”
“Damn shame. Good stones on you, but a damn shame for your day,” she stood. “Two minutes!”
“Wait, we’ve got at least three left!” Steph said.
The others groaned and hissed at his obvious mistake.
“Is that back talk, recruit?”
Steph clamped his mouth shut, but it was too late.
Like after the squeeze of a gun trigger a normal human couldn’t put the bullet back in the barrel.
The evil grin appeared as the ranger captain counted on her fingers.
“That’s seven words, so, let me see, I’ll need seven recruits. Steph, Victor, Roe,” she singled out from boys, “Cate, Sonia, Chrome and,” she locked eyes with Alin, “Kat.”
None dared to move or utter a sound.
The ones selected for fear of a worse punishment.
The ones spared for fear of selection.
“Pushups!”
No one was dumb enough to ask how many.
“You can hydrate on the run. You better not slow play me!”
Alin stood, eyed the ranger captain then dropped down and started doing push ups.
She regarded him coolly.
“Team building moment, huh? Well, now we’ve got to get the whole team in on it. Push ups for everyone!” she barked.
He considered coming in last because it had been his fault, but the bean bags convinced him otherwise.
At the end of the next round they ended up back in the grass avoiding vomit puddles.
“Cool down for lunch.” The ranger captain left them underneath the bright sun.
Bright, but mercifully, not hot.
The breeze helped them cool down.
A small shadow suddenly loomed over him.
Followed by a splash of cold water.
He cursed, sputtering.
“Oh! I’m telling,” Lera grinned.
“Why did you do that?”
“You’re thirsty.”
“Yeah, but that means I need to drink water, not take a bath.”
“You stink,” she wrinkled her nose, “everyone stinks.”
“Puke and sweat, puke and sweat,” Steph gasped.
She sniffed at Alin.
“How come you don’t smell like puke?”
“Because your cousin is a dirty cheating cheater,” Victor said. “Don’t grow up like him.”
“I don’t need to cheat.”
“What are you doing here, Lera? Where’s Aunt Rayna?”
“I dunno, doing stuff.” She waved vaguely in the direction of the section of the ranger compound where they were setting up booths and stuff for the festival.
“You’re not supposed to wander off by yourself.”
“I’m not, you’re here,” she said. “And the witches are watching me,” she lowered her voice conspiratorially, “they think they’re hiding, but I can hear them breathing.”
“Witches? Where?” Eda perked up, placing her round-rimmed glasses back on.
“There, there and there,” she pointed.
Alin didn’t see anything and neither did anyone else.
Eda, for her part, waved shyly at the empty spaces.
He hoped that if the witches were truly there they’d take his cousin away.
It was embarrassing.
The other recruits were casting curious glances.
The trainers must’ve known who Lera was because none of them were saying anything about the girl’s presence in the middle of their child ab— harsh training.
“We’re training, so you should go help Aunt Rayna.”
“I was, but it was boring. Can I play with you guys?”
“Sure!” Steph grinned despite his exhaustion, the dirty traitor.
Alin shot his friend a pair of eye daggers.
“It’s just running and push ups and pull ups and other boring stuff.”
“I’m good at that!” Lera perked up.
“Yeah, but we’re going to have lunch right now.”
“I’m hungry!”
Lera was always hungry.
Hungrier than even him.
She was like a remorseless eating machine.
Aunt Rayna had quadrupled her household intake of foodstuffs over the two months since Lera had first arrived.
The Solar Tyrant?
Ha!
The Eternal Hunger was a more fitting codename.
“We’d love to have you eat with us, Lera!” Kat smiled.
Butterflies!
Alin shook his head. He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted.
“No—”
“Shut up,” Luzi hissed, elbowing him in the ribs with her pointiest of elbows. “Don’t screw this up like you screwed us with the push ups, you stupid as— butthole.”
“What are you talking about?” he hissed in turn.
“This is our chance for payback. Your cousin’s going to eat everything in there.”
“What does that matter— oh, oh… Lera, why don’t you go ahead and save us a table. Don’t wait, start eating.”
His cousin skipped across the field at a pace that he’d struggle to keep up with at a run.
“We give her a bit of a head start, there might not be enough food for us. That means they’ve got to cook more…” Luzi said.
“Which means, we’ll have to wait…” Kat said.
“And that’ll give us extra time to rest,” Eda finished.
“I don’t know about this, guys,” Victor warned. “They’re rangers. They aren’t stupid. You saw how Ranger Captain Hardhat turned Boy’s little sacrifice play around on him. He thought he was gonna score points with us, but all he did was make it worst.”
“Sorry…”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not hating, dude. It was a legit good play. She just outplayed you. I’m just saying let’s not get our hopes up too high.”
“Whatever, man,” Steph said. “I’ve got a legit cramp, so I can’t walk over there until one of you helps me stretch this out.”
In the end the plan worked.
Their group had to wait for their food, which bought them precious minutes.
The downside was that the ranger captain allowed Lera to play.
Thus, Alin’s little cousin outdid them all in every exercise with a big smile on her face the entire day.
What made it worse was that she wasn’t a gracious winner.
She had inherited something of that from her father.
There was nothing more humbling than a trash-talking 8 year old.