Three weeks have passed by since the incident.
Aside from the grueling messages that flooded his social media accounts, Mandrew was feeling much more at ease as he sat around, watching some YouTube videos and listening to music.
Knock. Knock.
Several knocks sounded against his door, startling him.
"No way, did one of my old fans dox me? No, that's not too likely, right? I'm just being paranoid."
The knocking continued to his irritation, and he quickly reached the door, opening it to two fully-uniformed military officers.
Mandrew froze, thinking, "What the hell is happening? Can't I catch a break?"
One of the men spoke with a wide smile that made his skin crawl, "Hello. Mandew Acclintock, correct?"
"Y-Yes, that's me. What do you want?"
"You've been selected for a military draft, bud. Why not give us a smile?"
Mandrew was shocked, unable to say a word.
The other officer chuckled lightly, "They all react the same, don't they? C'mon now, we have places to be. You're not gonna make us drag you, are you?"
"That… Do you really expect me to believe your identities? You two might be swindling me, maybe you're abducting me to harvest my organs?"
"Hehe. You've got some fight in you, but you should save that for the real show. For now, just take our word for it. I'd rather not get my hands bloody right now."
The two military officers beckoned him to follow as they turned around. Mandrew shot one last look at his Xbox before following them. With his depressed state, he had no energy to even try resisting two fully trained soldiers.
Outside, the two soldiers led him to a black SUV with blacked out bulletproof windows.
'Is this really happening?' Mandrew asked himself, getting into the backseat under the soldiers' stone-like stares.
"Heh. You're in for a real treat." the driver up front smirked, pressing the gas as the car sped off before Mandrew could doubt his decision.
◆◆◆
Several hours went by.
Mandrew looked out the windows, but could no longer recognize his surroundings. Coming into view was a large building surrounded by fences with barbed wires on top… it seemed to be a facility of sorts.
The driver looked at his mirror, and noticed Mandrew's confusion.
"Now that you're seen this place, you can consider your life to experience very big changes. You see, this isn't just a normal draft as we have carefully screened all of our candidates."
The other officer riding shotgun followed, "You in particular are a very promising candidate. We have long heard about your inhuman reflexes. In fact, you are just what we needed."
Mandrew smirked, but there was no joy on his face. "And is there a reason why I didn't get the option to decline?"
"Tch. You are going to do great things. The less you complain, the better everything will work out for you. Just keep that in mind," the man brushed him off without a second breath.
Nearing the facility, a fenced gate slowly opened with a loud buzzing noise. The SUV entered a vacant parking lot which looked abandoned. Exiting the vehicle, Mandrew looked around and found the location to be pretty desolate and unnerving.
He followed closely behind the two soldiers as they entered the facility. Contrary to the vacant lot, the inside of the building was bustling with uniformed men and women, clearly moving in a hurry. Not a single one of them spared Mandrew a look as the two officers guided him across the facility, going down a flight of stairs and onto a barren floor.
'One second there's people everywhere and the next, it's like a ghost town. What the hell is this place?' Mandrew felt his scalp go numb.
Finally, the officers stopped in front of an old wooden door. The green paint was faded and severely chipped.
"Go on in. He's been expecting you," they quietly ushered Mandrew forwards before turning around, leaving faster than they had arrived.
'Huh? Weird…' Mandrew hesitated for a brief moment before grabbing the door handle, it shook unsteadily in his hand as he turned it.
Chrik.
With a sharp cracking sound, the handle immediately snapped off to his surprise. 'I guess it's a push door now,' he coughed awkwardly as he pushed the door open with a low creak.
The first thing that greeted him on the other side of the door was an old man with white hair and a green beret. He smoked a fine Cuban cigar, giving off light puffs.
"You smoke cigars?" the old man asked.
"Huh? Oh. Not too often." Mandrew said, skepticism in his eyes as he looked the man up and down.
"Heh. Then you better start, cause you're going to go through hell for quite a while. Here, consider it a small gift. I have high expectations for you."
Mandrew reached out, receiving a luxuriously carved box and a newly lit cigar. Inside was a row of Cuban cigars of the Cohiba brand, some of the best.
'Why not?' Mandrew thought as he accepted the gift. He took a puff and inquired, "So, who are you? And what do you want from me?"
"Your reaction time, your skills… Your talents are the perfect material just sitting around and waiting to be forged into the most perfect of weapons." He puffed his cigar again, "And it's my job to oversee that such talent is forged into something tangible."
He pointed across the room to a door, "You can call me Serones, there's no need to be formal with me. Go over there and out that door. You'll find some others we brought here just like you."
Mandrew nodded, walking off with a cigar in hand. His life was taking quite the twist now, but after stepping onto this roller coaster there was no way off.
Exiting the office, there were a handful of figures, one of which he recognized.
"Ivan Rodriguez? Is that you?" he blurted out in shock.
"Huh? Oh, Mandrew Acclintock! We faced each other in the RLCS!"
"Yeah… Why are you here?"
"They said my skill and reaction time was valuable, and gave me an offer I couldn't resist! So, here I am. They do the same with you?"
"Huh? You mean they gave you an offer you couldn't resist? I was forced here against my will!" Mandrew started in anger.
"Damn! Well, guess they had to offer me something since I'm not from the United States. You on the other hand—they control you."
Mandrew shook his head, but didn't bother with a rebuttal; it's not like his words were far from the truth.
Taking a look around, there were another two individuals introducing themselves as Price Boole and Ivaan Evilrez.
While both Mandrew and Ivan Rodriguez were pro Rocket League players, Price Boole was actually known for his music and Ivaan Evilrez a comedian of sorts.
They were truly a… one of a kind group. While they may be strangers as of now, being stuck in the same situation gave them something in common and pushed them to band together.
A light squealing sound resounded in their ears and the door opened behind them as Serones joined them in the courtyard.
"It's about time I introduce the hopes and expectations we have for you," he spoke with an authoritative tone, leaving no room for negotiation.