“Yes. Come in.” said The secretary of defense, Frank Anderson, as he heard a knock on his office door.

  “Sir! Lieutenant Martha Rakes, reporting, Sir!” said Lieutenant Rakes as she performed a salute to Mr. Anderson.

  “You have the progress report, Lieutenant Rakes”? asked Mr.Anderson.

  “Per your instructions, sir.” Said Lieutenant Rakes as she handed a file over to Mr. Anderson. The secretary of defense went through the document before responding.

  “Well, we seem to be going at a very good pace here. A job well done by all the instructors.” Said Mr. Anderson.

  “Thank you, sir.” Said Lieutenant Rakes.

  “Reports aside, could you tell me about the progress of our cadets? I would like a firsthand account of their progress.” Said Mr. Anderson.

  “Well, we have some exceptional students this year. They’re a hardworking and talented bunch. Another thing is, that we have some students who have started to specialize in certain fields early on and distinguished themselves in it. You could tell which regiments those cadets could be designated to.” Said Lieutenant Rakes

  “Interesting. Could you give the names of a few such cadets?” asked Mr. Anderson.

  “For starters, we have Jack and Amelia Foster. Though I suspect you knew that one coming, sir.” asked Lieutenant Rakes.

  “Haha. Yes, I did. Go one.” Said Mr. Anderson.

  “Amelia is a strong soldier who has racked up quite the kill count in the VR training simulator. She's agile, acrobatic, and has a good command of her equipment. She doesn’t immediately attack the recommended weak spots. Instead, she moves around a lot to confuse the monsters and slices them in several areas before going for the weak spot. She's a force to be reckoned with. Her brother is another beast in his own right. His strategic thinking is perfect, and he has a superb understanding of tactics. He's also an expert fencer. He has never lost a fight in the fencing ring. They fight in perfect synchronicity. It's quite a sight to see.” Said Lieutenant Rakes.

  “Sounds like they’ll be a much bigger hit than ‘The Furies’ in no time. Are there any others like that?” asked Mr. Anderson.

  “We do have a couple of other students who are dependable and capable scouts. Elena Jones is one of them. She’s a team player who works beautifully with the Foster siblings. As for snipers, we have three good candidates for that unit. First, we have Sarah Wood. Lieutenant Houston claims she is a sniper prodigy. Her sniping skills are exceptional. She can hit a moving target as small as an eye from a distance of around 100 meters. Her ability to keep the target in sight, combined with her calm demeanor, allows her to consistently strike her marks. Despite struggling with swords, she's trying to master it with Jack's support. Second, we have June Chang. She's also an expert at sniping. She is known as the best shooter in her class. Finally, we have William Hauser. Now His sniping skills are equivalent to the other two, but the kid is a complete jerk. He lacks sword fighting skills, which is one of the sniper squadron's most important prerequisites in case monsters find their sniping positions and decide to attack. When the X-Beasts creatures discover him, someone must save his butt. For the Knights, we have Gordon and Clarence. Gordon initially appeared to be a complete doofus in practically every situation. Despite lacking skills initially, he proved himself to be a top-tier knight in the simulator. His physique enables him to wrestle with the low-tier creatures. He also has an excellent understanding of how the OL-1 shields work. He takes as many hits as he can from the monsters before flying in to unleash all of that energy directly into their faces. But, he often leaves the formation to help William, putting his teammates in a tough spot at times. Also, He keeps forgetting to set his shield shockwaves to minimum strength despite being reminded countless times. We’re hoping he doesn’t pull that move in real situations. Clarence may not be as bulky as Gordon, but he still gets the job done. He uses a similar method to Gordon, but he doesn't stop there. He does his utmost to carry his team forward. He's always there when his teammates need help.” Said Lieutenant Rakes.

  “Hmm. That’s quite the number of students you have talked about. Any others you would like to mention?” asked Mr. Anderson.

  “Well, we have Matthew Sullenburger and Mackey O'Neil, the electronics gurus. They are knowledgeable on how MATE mecha suits work. They would be an excellent addition to the Tank Regiment. Finally, I'd want to include Kyle Johnson. He is more of a morale booster than an expert in any of these areas. This job is dangerous, and it can place a lot of pressure on the cadets in the field. However, Kyle has had a positive impact on his peers since joining in. He understands how to keep the mood upbeat and pleasant. I hear constant laughter whenever he’s around. I believe he would be an excellent squad leader in the future. That's all the cadets I'd want to list, sir.” Said Lieutenant Rakes.

  “Many thanks, Lieutenant Rakes. That was a very insightful report from you. I'm delighted these kids are doing well. And I'm confident they'll do well on the field a year later. You are dismissed.” Said Mr. Anderson.

  Lieutenant Rakes exited the room, leaving Mr. Anderson standing up and looking out the window behind him with bright, hopeful eyes. The progress reports of all the cadets were strewn on his desk.

  Meanwhile, Jack was walking slowly and carefully in a forested area, fully equipped with armor and helm, holding a bright blue sword that fired little arcs along the length of the blade.

  “Any sign?” whispered Jack into his earpiece.

  “Nothing yet.” Replied a female voice.

  “Keep your eyes peeled.” Replied Jack as he walked a few more steps before coming to a stop. He bent down to check a giant footprint in front of him.

  “Hang on. I think I got something.” Said Jack as he retracted his nanotech helmet.

  “what is it?” replied the voice.

  “Tracks. It seems fresh. Looks like a ghoul hound. There's got to be a pack of ‘em somewhere around. Stay Alert.” Said Jack as he re-equipped his helmet.

  Unbeknownst to Jack, a pair of red eyes glared from behind a bush a few feet away. Jack continued to walk carefully till he came to a tree and stopped. He stood in eerie silence as if frozen by fright. Then he jumped with all his might, jet exhaust manifesting on his rear armor plate propelling him higher as Jack executed a summersault, avoiding the teeth of a big hound and landing on its back. The huge hound had little flesh on its body, and muscles could only be found on the joints and thighs. A loose hide covered the top of its body like a curtain, and a number of spikes protruded from its spine. The hound turned its head to display a canine skull loosely covered in hide, with a section of the skull open, exposing its brains. It possessed razor-sharp fangs, no nose, and a single bloodshot eye. It attempted to grab Jack with its jaws and moved around fiercely to get him off its back, but Jack was well away from its jaws and had firmly gripped one of its spikes. Jack spotted two other ghoul hounds approaching him with scary speed.

  “Squad, Now!!” yelled Jack over the radio.

  As one of the ghoul hounds leaped into the air aiming for Jack, a figure shrouded in the light gray sky struck it square in the jaw with a massive shockwave, knocking the beast sideways. The beast crashed on its side, sending dirt flying through the air. The soldier rose to her feet, sword held in her hand. Jack jumped into the air as the ghoul hound he was standing on reared back on its hind legs. He landed on its head and pierced the exposed brain, causing the creature to roar out loudly in pain. Suddenly, the ghoul hound's eyeballs burst, with blood flowing out of it as a bullet penetrated it.

  “Target is blinded.” Said another female voice over the radio.

  “Go for the heart Amy!” said Jack to the soldier on the ground.

  “Right!” said Amelia, as she went under the hound.

  She dashed toward the hound, slid over the grass beneath the beast, shot it in the exposed heart, rolled over, and arrived in the clear before the beast could fall flat. She then approached the hound she had knocked and, using her jet exhaust, ripped apart the muscle in the legs, bringing the beast to the ground. She then blinded the beast in a flash, jumped into the sky, and materialized a shockwave gauntlet while moving down. She descended on the beast at high speed with the jet exhaust, smashing its spine with an earth-shaking shockwave that sent dust flying around the impact zone.

  “You know, you got a habit of going too far with your attacks, Amy.” Said Jack.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Said Amy in a comical tone as she walked out of the dust.

  Suddenly, Jack heard a loud thud behind him as the last ghoul hound fell on its side and slid down toward Jack, stopping at his feet.

  “Thanks for looking out for me Sarah.” Said Jack as he waved his hand over in the distance.

  “You owe me a sundae for that save, Jack.” Said Sarah as she racked the slide of her sniper.

  “Yeah, yeah, we’ll see.” Said Jack as he quickly pierced the heart of the downed beast.

  “That’s all of ‘em, right?” asked Amy.

  “Not quite it seems.” Said another soldier who landed on the ground from the top of a tree, holding a digitalized shield and a giant plasma sword in his hands.

  “I just got word. We’ve got four Rhinigators, 5 clicks east from here. You were right Jack.” Said the soldier.

  “Then what’re we waiting for, Kyle? Let's go.” Said Jack as they started to run toward the east.

  On the other side of the forest, another fight was taking place. A soldier was bouncing off trees with her jet exhaust, attempting to avoid a horde of 4 Rhinigators that were tearing down all the trees in their path.

  “Oh, Boy!!! I think I made the whole pack mad!” said the soldier as she continued dodging the charging beast.

  “You’re doing great Ellie! Keep luring them over here. And it’s a congregation, not a pack.” Said a voice over the radio.

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  “Does that really matter right now?!!!!!!” yelled Elena over the radio as she jumped around.

  Suddenly, a soldier bolted beneath one of the charging Rhinigators, cutting its underbelly with his massive sword, forcing the beast to collapse down and slide down on the ground, destroying a couple of trees.

  “Nice one Clarence!” said Elena over the radio.

  “Anytime!” said Clarence. He then threw a bomb into the beast's wound, which exploded and killed it. Another Rhinigator fell, destroying a tree, after being blinded by a gunshot from a distance. Clarence raced in to repeat the process, killing the beast.

  “There! That’s two down. Oh, Crap!!!” exclaimed Clarence as he saw one of the Rhinigators coming toward him. But before it could touch him, Jack hit the beast in the head with a shockwave gauntlet and felled the monster down.

  “You ok?” asked Jack.

  “Unless you count the fact that I almost peed my pants, yeah, I’m ok.” Said Clarence in a joking manner.

  “Nah. You look fine. Come on let's take care of the last one.” Said Jack.

  “No need. We took care of it.” Said Elena as she walked over with the rest of the soldiers, accompanied by a mecha

  “Sorry, we’re late for the party.” Said Jack.

  “Nah, it was no sweat.” Said Elena haughtily.

  “Guess that makes this one the last one.” Said a soldier holding a sniper gun as he pointed toward the one Jack had knocked to the ground.

  “Right! I’ll do the honors then.” Said Jack as he walked toward the beast. He ripped off its underbelly, hurled a grenade inside, and walked away as the grenade exploded, spreading blood all over the ground. The sight of the sprayed blood sent shivers down Jack's spine. But Jack shook it off. Then, A cool female voice resounded in the air around them.

  “Simulation terminated! Simulation terminated!”

  The forest dematerialized, revealing a big dimly lighted room around them. Jack removed his simulation helmet and disconnected from a machine that was hooked to his arms and legs. He then got down a platform and moved to the left corner of the room, accompanied by his sister Amelia and his friends Elena, Matthew, Kyle, Clarence and Sarah. They were accompanied by another cadet with chrome-colored eyes and a stern expression. The group of eight exited the room and entered a lecture hall. An instructor stood in front of the class, hands locked behind his back, and saw them enter. He was in his forties and wore an army mustache.

  “Nicely done, group 5. Cadet Jack, you perfectly read the tracks and guessed the situation. And Your plan to split the forces according to the monsters you were facing was a very sound one. Cadet Amelia, you were as ruthless as ever. Excellently done!” said the instructor.

  “Thank you, sir.” Said Jack and Amelia.

  “Cadet Elena, you showed some nice teamwork. As always, cadet Sarah, excellent sniping. Cadet Clarence, you did good, but let your guard down. When you’re out there, always maintain vigilance. Cadet Kyle, you did a good job leading the group and coordinating efforts. Cadet Matthew, a fantastic job in using the tank and making quick work of the beast. Cadet Simon, You also did well. All in all, good show cadets!” said the instructor.

  “Thank you, sir!” said the squad in unison.

  “Return to your seats.” Said the instructor.

  The gang returned to their seats. Half an hour later, the group walked toward the canteen.

  “Simon, that was a good run. I hope we get into the same squad when we leave the academy.” Said Amelia in an excited tone.

  “Yeah. Sure.” Said Simon as he left the group and went ahead.

  “Dude has a hardcore introvert aura.” Said Kyle as he watched Simon take the left turn to the boy's dormitory.

  “At the very least he’s not a jerk like a certain blonde boneheaded donkey.” Said Elena.

  “I just hope they don’t lump him or Gordon with us. I’m ok with Simon being with us in our squad.” Said Matthew.

  “Oh don’t worry. I’m not planning to join a loser squad anyway.” Said a cold voice from behind.

  The gang turned around to see William, along with Gordon and another cadet. He wore glasses and had a leaner build.

  “Speak of the devil.” Whispered clarence.

  “They normally group us based on how good the cadets are in their respective fields. Being a gifted leader as I am, I'll be having a squad of my own, unlike you, ‘Rooster’ who is reduced to nothing more than a tactician.” Said William in a mocking tone.

  “At the very least, he can take care of himself, unlike you, who needs someone saving his butt every time a monster spots you in your poorly-picked sniping locations.” Said Kyle.

  “Nobody asked for your opinions on that. If you believe you are a better leader, let's see which squad performs better on the field. The losing squad has to do whatever the winning squad asks them to do.” Said William.

  “We don’t have any interest in that sort of a bet.” Said Jack.

  “Awww. Scared ‘Rooster’? Afraid you’ll lose the deal.” Said William in a mocking tone.

  “It's not about winning or losing. It's a question of whether we give a damn about your deals or not. We chose not to give a dime about your meaningless bets.” Said Jack.

  “Same.” Said Kyle as he and the gang turned around and headed toward the canteen, leaving William glaring at them.

  A week passed, and the cadets were tested on their theoretical knowledge for the next three days. After completing their theoretical tests, students were assembled in the field within the academy.

  “Cadets. You all exceeded our expectations this time. We have never seen a more promising group of cadets. Now that your theoretical classes have ended, you will be transferred to a facility in the location specified during your enrollment to finish training and prepare for the field. But first, we need to divide you into eight cadet squads. You have been grouped based on your skills, interpersonal interactions with the other cadets, and ability to work as a team. Lieutenant Martha Rakes will call out the squads now. Please step forward as your names are called out. Lieutenant Rakes, If you will.” Said Secretary Anderson.

  “Sir, yes, sir!! Ok! Squad 1! June Chang, Henry Skyles, Jaime Rodriguez, Rose Ralston, Deshaun Garcia, Clark Hopper, and Scott Carver. Step forward!” exclaimed Lieutenant Rakes.

  The 8 cadets marched forward and stood in front of Lieutenant Rakes

  “Your squad Leader will be June Chang. Please head to the left side of the crowd.” Said Lieutenant Rakes

  The squad marched and stood to the left of the crowd.

  “Squad 2! Kyle Johnson, Amelia Foster, Elena Jones, Jackson Foster, Sarah Wood, Matthew Sullenberger, Clarence McCallister and Simon Miller. Step forward!” Exclaimed Lieutenant Rakes.

  The group stood fast in front of the lieutenant.

  “Your squad leader will be Kyle Johnson. Please head to the left side of the crowd.” Said lieutenant Rakes

  The gang marched out and took up positions to the left of the crowd. They were overjoyed to be in the same squad. After joining the other squad, they Low-fied each other. When Jack reached out his hand for Simon to low-fi, he received no reaction. Simon was simply looking ahead without moving his head. Jack slowly withdrew his hand. The rest of the squads were sorted out, and the Secretary took the microphone again.

  “All right. Take note that you will now be working with your squad members. There will be no swapping of squad members. If you want to work with members of other squads on a mission, you must first obtain permission from the commanding officer and the squad captain, because it’s the squad captain's responsibility to keep track of their squad mates and be accountable for any actions they take, especially if the action poses a threat to themselves or the other squads on the field. Keep this in mind at all times, squad leaders. Now then, you will be escorted to the surface, where transportation is ready. You'll be leaving immediately. I wish you the best of luck in your future. That's all. Dismissed!” exclaimed Mr. Anderson.

  “Yeah hah hah! Were in the same group. Best buddies till the end I suppose.” Said Kyle as he put his arms over Jack along with the rest of his squad.

  “This is gonna be awesome. We’ll kill it in the field. Maybe one day, we will be the best squad there is.” Said Amelia as she gestured her hand in the air.

  “Not a chance. Not while I’m here.” Said a voice from their right side. There stood William with Gordon and the cadet wearing glasses.

  “You see, I'm going to be the show's top dog, and you're going to be the sheep that follow me. I'll be an exceptional cadet, setting an example for future cadets.” Said William.

  “If you aim to be an example to others, perhaps you should start by not mocking others without a reason.” Said a voice on their left. It was Simon.

  “Oh, you're the new guy in their group, aren't you. You have an intimidating aura about you. Perhaps you could be valuable to me. Maybe I'll urge the authorities to save you from this bunch.” Said William arrogantly.

  “Maybe you didn't hear the secretary properly. You can't opt out of a squad once you've joined it. If I were you, I'd check my hearing, as well as both of you.” Said Simon with a serious face.

  “Oh yeah?! Why would we wanna do that?” replied Mackey in a taunting tone.

  “Because you didn’t notice your captain calling you over there!” said a female voice from behind the trio.

  The trio looked back in shock and saw Lieutenant Rakes standing behind them.

  “You three better start behaving yourselves or you'll be reduced to wall security force, or worse, fired from the army itself.” Said Lieutenant Rakes.

  “Tch.” Said William as he looked angrily around at Simon.

  “Guess you can keep fantasizing about being a captain till the cows come home, mi amigo! Hahahaaa!” exclaimed Kyle as William left.

  “Hey, knock it off, Johnson!” said Lieutenant Rakes sternly.

  “Yes, Maam! Sorry, Maam!” Said Kyle as he straightened up into an attention.

  “You guys better get moving as well. We’ll be leaving approximately at 1500 hrs.” said Lieutenant Rakes to squad 2.

  “Yes, Maam!” said the group in unison

  All the squads left the field to go to their dorms in order to get ready for the trip.

  “The look on their faces was simply priceless! Hahah! Lt. Rakes had impeccable timing back then. Oh man, I can't stop laughing.” Said Jack.

  “No kidding. This has gotta be the best entry in the perfectly timed moments.” Said Kyle.

  “And Simon, you were really cool back there dude. I honestly didn’t think you would stand up for all of us.” Said Amelia.

  “I hate people who insult others only to make themselves feel superior. Anyway, I'm going to pack my things. I'll meet you at the entrance. See you then.” Said Simon as he went ahead.

  “Ok, got it. We better get packing too. Remember only the necessities. Nothing more.” Said Kyle as they headed toward their dorms.

  After roughly 3 minutes, the gang gathered at the door and followed the other cadets as they proceeded to the neighboring Maglift. The 160 cadets were divided into groups of 30, with Jack and his squad in the last group. It took roughly 8 minutes to get the remaining groups to the surface. Finally, Jack's group boarded the elevator.

  “Level one. Now moving up.” Said the cool female voice in the elevator audio system.

  With a small jerk, the elevator started moving up. Jack and Amelia saw the thousand glimmering lights of the city go below their feet, and vanish a few seconds later.

  “Level 100, Have a safe day.” Said the cool female voice as all the cadets left the lift.

  As soon as they left, they could hear a roar outside the building. The sunlight blinded them momentarily as they went outside. When their eyes adjusted, they noticed a huge throng standing there, applauding for them. The city was surrounded by natural vegetation, and the buildings were half-broken with thick moss growing over them. The ground was covered in low grass, with tiny flowers scattered throughout. The cheers persisted as they marched down West Pennway Street toward the highway that would take them out of city. Just then, Amelia's eyes caught something to her right and she turned to her gang.

  “Guys, go on ahead. I’ll be back in a jiffy.” Said Amelia as she ran off.

  “Hey! Wait! Where’re you going?” said Kyle.

  “Hey! Amy! Don’t worry guys. I’ll bring her back.” Said Jack as he ran off too.

  “Et tu Jack? Come on!” said Kyle in a frustrated tone.

  Jack ran up to Amelia, who was standing up a small hill looking over at the houses.

  “Amy, don’t just run off from the group like that! We might get scolded. Let’s–“ said Jack before he was interrupted by Amelia.

  “You remember this place Jack?” said Amy softly.

  Jack looked at a line of houses and recognized the place.

  “Yeah. I do.” Said Jack as memories of his childhood returned. He, Amelia, and Billy would play on the front lawn, go around the neighborhood on Halloween, and have a BBQ with Billy's family. They were standing in front of their old home, which had been destroyed. Moss and grass covered what remained, and the rotting wood was dark and lay scattered in pieces.

  “Why couldn’t things stay the way they were? ” Said Amelia.

  “No idea. But, maybe, we can make a new normal. With our own two hands. let's refurbish this place once everything is finished. what do you say?” asked Jack.

  “Sounds to me like another objective on our bucket list. Let’s do it.” Said Amelia.

  The siblings took one last look at the place before returning to their group. In the crowd, they spotted Billy coming over to them.

  “Hey. Just so you know, I got into Rockhurst University. I applied for electronics. Classes are gonna start next week on Friday. I’m gonna work on my end to make things easier for the people. Make sure you do the same, and uh..try not to get killed. Ok?” said Billy.

  “You bet. This is one promise that I don’t intend to break.” Said Jack as he hugged Billy.

  “Take of yourself ‘chihuahua’.” Said Billy in a mocking tone.

  “Oh is that how you’re gonna say goodbye?!” said Amelia kicking Billy's leg. Billy danced around in pain but laughed it off and hugged Amelia as well. Just then, Kyle called for Jack and Amelia to return to the group.

  “See you guys soon. And give ‘em hell.” Said Billy.

  “Yeah! See you later Billy.” Said Jack. They boarded the army trucks and started down the road that would take them to their next training arena.