The smell of roasted red meat rose over the flowery backyard of Diana's house, located in an area far from the city center.
Slezzy roasted them on a handmade barbecue, while Emmeline and Diana prepared the rest of the meal in the large mansion's kitchen.
It was a sunny Saturday, exactly three days after the whole Central Bank robbery incident.
The boys, Rainn and Harvim, played target practice with magnetic toy darts. They competed with each other, disputing who would be the first to hit the middle of a large circle, which was just over ten meters away from the position they were in.
Although very intelligent, they were still children and therefore competed radically in a simple game. Slezzy noticed it, approaching:
— What do you think about playing something else... until lunch is ready? — he said extending his hand for Rainn to hand over the remaining dart. — I know them well! Soon they will be throwing darts at each other!
Rainn, sulking, delivered the dart.
— Hey, it's okay to like racing so much, but you need to learn how to control yourself! — Slezzy ran his hand over the boy's head.
Harvim, thoughtful and with his hand on his chin, watched them.
— I'm sure I can still beat you at chess!
— What did you say? — Rainn replied angrily.
Slezzy had a slight laugh at seeing the two running into the giant house.
Rainn was in a tank top. Even if she didn't like that kind of outfit, she was needed in the radiant weather. In contrast, Harvim wore the usual costume: a social outfit with his classic red tie, which matched the color of the strands of his hair.
— They are true wonders! — was the voice of Haram.
Slezzy was startled by those words, turning quickly.
The Sam Brothers stood before you.
— You appear like this... Out of nowhere!? — asked Slezzy, whispering.
— Theoretically, we have a duty to accompany you at all times. But I don't think you would bear that, would you? — Said Hiram.
— I am absolutely sure of it! — confirmed the kid, walking towards the handmade barbecue.
Slezzy removed the already roasted meats, neatly putting a last batch of the same food then inside the grill.
The boys came out of the house at that moment.
Rainn carried a chessboard
Slezzy could hear the children's speech:
— I play white! — shouted Rainn.
— Whatever. Just don't think the first move will guarantee your victory.
Averting his gaze, Slezzy pulled out of his pocket the magnetic dart he had taken from Rainn. Soon, he began to remember a specific day of training at the FMA. His memories dominated him.
*
The noise of the sequential shots from Kine's gun dominated the entire booth of the improvised shooting club.
The candidates heard a whistle from one of the military.
— We will have to close earlier for you! — warned Saith. — A team of veterans is already arriving!
— Han... Is this serious? — replied Kine, indignant.
Kine and the other members sighed, packed their things and left the club.
They sat around a tree that crossed the great field.
There was still one hour left before nightfall.
— What will we do? Captain Roy's orders were to stay until six o'clock training at the club! The reception will not release us before that! — Clay spoke.
— Why don't you guys go run around the field... leaving me alone!? — suggested Jean, sarcastically, pulling a cell phone and a headset from his backpack, lying on the lawn, making the bag his improvised pillow.
— Will you be listening to music for an hour? Will this be your hobby?
Jean ignored Clay, now listening to a loud song.
— Oh... I don't believe it... — Clay threw himself on the lawn, sighing.
After a few seconds, Kine suggested to the group:
— What if we talked about our past? We've been training together for over two weeks, but... we barely know each other!
— Except you and the blondie! — commented Clay, laughing then. — Even so, I'm in! Anything goes to pass the time until we are released at the reception.
Slezzy just watched him, his hands resting on the grass.
— You start, Clay! — ordered Kine.
— What? Why... me?
Slezzy and Kine watched him without answering him.
Jean removed the phone covertly so that he could listen to the conversation.
— Okay. My name is Clay Usman...
— No, not like that! Get to the point! — insisted the girl.
Clay sighed. After a few seconds, he proceeded with his speech:
— I was born in the West Region of the city. In my childhood, criminal numbers were still low. I remember we didn't even have a curfew back then. When I was six years old, I still saw those special army men... in gray clothes...
— Do you speak of the national army? — asked Kine, surprised.
— Exactly! They roamed all these streets, all four regions of the city! However, in some mysterious way, they gradually disappeared. At the time, they even said they needed the army for the other cities of our country, which did not make much sense, since the criminal rates of other places were not so discrepant... — Clay rose from that position, sitting on the grass, as did Slezzy and the girl. — Since then... the crime of the city has begun to grow wildly, behind the scenes. My parents had a grocery store in that area, but... it never achieved prosperity because of constant burglaries and lack of security. That was my biggest motivation for pursuing a military career, besides... of course, financial aid.
A heavy mood dominated arose.
— Your turn, Slezzy!
Slezzy, even though still stunned by Clay's story, replied:
— I... I don't remember.
— What? — Said the girl.
— I... I don't remember my life before I was twelve!
— Han... What... Someone ripped out your memories? — Clay replied, laughing.
— Well... I don't know...
— Right... since you're making excuses, how about the creator of the game tell his past? — proposed, fixing his gaze on Kine.
Slezzy ignored that comment, hiding his outrage at the insult.
— I remember, still five years old..., seeing my parents talking to a fully clothed man. They were negotiating something. There were documents and money on the table. I watched it through a small gap in the door of one of the rooms in the house. They gestured and laughed. But in a moment, the conversation got serious all of a sudden. My parents' expressions were sad, as if they had been shaken. In the end, the warm—wrapped man stood up and strongly greeted my father's hand...
Clay was trying to understand the story with a look of doubt.
— I'm not entirely sure, but I have a theory that they were negotiating for a new life... in another country... or maybe another continent, because of the radical growth of crime in the city. And... from the moment they were sad... at that moment of conversation... it was because they knew that... they would not have enough money for all documents, tickets and other things... for the total of three people — Kine wiped a tear from his left eye.
Jean stood up and soon sat next to her friend, hugging her strongly.
— You... don't have to go on — he said.
The boy who hugged her was sensitive to the situation.
— It's... all right! — replied Kine, smiling.
The girl continued:
— I remember waking up the other day, without any noise in the whole house, without any step. They were gone. They had abandoned me. My parents were never seen again. Their records were erased. Can you believe they even took my own clothes!? All the food!? They had the courage to leave without leaving at least one... one... a single fucking letter!
Slezzy and Clay stared at each other, clearly uncomfortable.
— After weeks without eating... I had to leave. Then, I wandered the streets... until mysteriously, arriving at an orphanage, which welcomed me along with many other children, those too... who had been abandoned or who had just lost their guardians at the hands of these damned criminals!
Kine lowered his head, still wiping some tears.
— I lost my parents in a fire — commented Jean, suddenly. He still hugged Kine with his left arm, comforting her. — Ironic, isn't it?
With the eyes fixed on the lawn, the blond boy continued:
— I must have been the same age as Kine at the time. It was right in the wake of high crime. I had a couple of muggers in the Southern Region who didn't stare at my dad with the best guys in the world. You know... to this day... I have no answers as to why you set my house on fire.
Jean kept his phone and phone in his bag.
— I remember waking up to my father's desperate cries at two o'clock in the morning. Some neighbors tried to warn each other about the fire. When I stood up... I went towards my mother's room. At that point, the bed was already completely burned and, consequently, so was his body. It seemed that someone had thrown a kind of Molotov Cocktail in the room, through the fragile window. The intriguing thing is... that was the same time my father came home from work. The bastards weren't targeting him.
Jean went on to face the other two boys, as he concluded his speech:
— Soon after, I could hear the door being broken into downstairs... it was my father. At that time, the fire was already intense. I remember not being able to breathe easily. My last memories of that damned day... were the images of the man who always protected me... carrying me through the fire from every room to the exit of the building. Outside, I heard the noise of the emergency services, but... it was too late. My father had covered me with all his clothes and coats. That's when I realized that his bloody body was almost... completely burned. The flames that melted your skin... that... will never get out of my mind. I left intact from the incident, but he could not resist the injuries, dying still on the way to the hospital.
Jean straightened his yellowish hair and removed his arm around Kine.
— After that day, everything changed. Coincidentally... I ended up in the same orphanage as Kine. She's been my only friend ever since. After a few years, we learned of a new and secret government project: a military training institution for abandoned children, the Blue Order. We accept this opportunity... we evolve... we evolve... and here we are!
From that moment on, Slezzy thought of nothing but the words of the swordsman boy who had marked him more than a month ago:
"...if a person is here... it is because he deserves and someone has recognized his potential. Besides that we recruits are the last hope."