The military had arrived at Creston city middle-school to recruit youngsters as they usually do every year.
As expected the school was crowded with both parents escorting their children and students waiting to be called upon by the military.
As usual, some of the military personnel stood in front of their vehicle, calling students by name. And any student called was expected to proceed inside one of the long army-colored vans that would be transporting them to the base.
Karg was also at the middle school to drop off Kim and Alec. Alec has been unconscious since after Harley used her wind ability to force the sleeping gas into his nostrils.
"Dad, I think you have done enough for this asshole here. First was taking him to the hospital after he carelessly got himself into an accident and then, bringing him to our house afterward, now you're bending your principles as a retired sergeant just to get him into a military academy. I don't know what you are gonna do next," Kim said as she walked beside her father, who was carrying Alec on his shoulder.
"You won't understand it now, maybe soon, you will," Karg answered.
"Understand, my foot," Kim scoffed inwardly.
"I will see you when I'm done sorting out Alec. For now, head straight to the military van." With that, Karg left Kim to go register Alec, who was still asleep on his shoulder.
Being a retired sergeant gave him many privileges as he was able to freely pass places that were restricted to normal people.
Soon Karg was able to get to Sergeant Henry who was in charge of supervising the recruitment and also happened to be his old friend.
"S-Sir Karg, you came," Henry stuttered in bewilderment when he saw Karg enter the small office the middle-school authorities gave him to stay in, while other soldiers did the recruiting.
Though Karg retired as a sergeant, most of the Sergeants respect him as though he was a general. This was simply because of Karg's strength.
Back then in the military, Karg would have been a general if he had wanted since he had the qualities and strength of a general but Instead, he chose to remain in sergeant rank to avoid getting unnecessary attention.
"Come on, Henry, you don't have to address me like that. We both are on the same rank, so I will prefer you call me by my name," Karg uttered with a smile.
Henry was a tall, blocked head crimson haired young soldier with a fine robust body and other good masculinity attributes.
He was promoted to the sergeant rank not too long before Karg went on retirement.
Both men were very close back then, more like brothers than colleagues.
"Okay sir, ehmmm, Karg. What are you doing here? It has been a long time since I set my eyes on you." Henry said, getting a bit emotional. He hasn't laid his eyes on Karg after the day he retired.
"Oh, yeah, about that, Kim happened to be one of this year's recruits, so I came here to drop her off," Karg answered while adjusting his shoulder to avoid Alec from falling off.
"Oh, that silly little girl has finally grown up to continue your legacy," Henry said with a smile.
"And for the fellow on your shoulders?" Henry asked, pointing at Alec on Karg's shoulder.
"I found him along the streets and without an I.D, so I thought to bring him here," Karg answered back.
"Oh, a draft evader. Well, we have them almost every year. You can hand him over now, your back must be aching for carrying him over a long time," Henry said, taking Alec from Karg's shoulder.
"Most times kids feel suffocated with how life's setting is and wish to run away. Do you mind letting me know his name and family?" Henry asked.
"I think he said his name is Alec Phil and for the rest, you can ask him when he wakes up. Make sure to take him to the base. The boy looks promising and strong-willed," Karg told Henry who nodded in response.
If it was just anyone else, Henry would have wanted to know more about the boy but knowing Karg brought him, he gladly took the boy without questions.
"I will leave now to go see Kim, she is waiting in the van. As for the boy, he will be up any minute from now. Bye Henry." Without saying another word Karg left.
"Bye sir," Henry muttered, heartbroken. Sometimes he wondered why humans have to age fast, if not Karg wouldn't have retired and would have still been with the military by now.
But unknown to him that Karg hadn't retired because of age. Even at that, Karg faked his age.
After Karg left, Henry instructed other soldiers to take Alec and put his details as one of the recruits and also provide an I.D number for him.
As promised Karg went to see Kim off before leaving.
"Kim, what are you doing still standing out here? I told you to enter the van?" Karg asked when he sighted Kim still outside the van.
"Dad!" Kim said before pulling her father into a tight hug.
Seeing Kim hug him, Karg smiled. It was quite rare to see Kim get emotional. Kim was never the emotional type and even if she was, she was very perfect in hiding them under her cold demeanor.
Seeing how emotional Kim was, Karg realized she was gonna miss them.
"Be careful Kim. Study hard and become one of the best students. I and mama will always be here waiting for your return. I love you," Karg whispered amid the hug.
After a few more seconds in the hug, Kim pulled out.
"I love you too, dad, and tell mom I love her. I'm gonna get going now. Stay safe dad," Kim finally said before turning to enter the van.
"Take care of Alec. You know he is only a level one with no ability, unlike you. Protect him as much as you can, Kim," Karg uttered in an incredibly low tone but loud enough for Kim to hear it clearly.
Kim gave no response as she continued her walk to the van while also switching her once emotional face with the normal stern expression she usually keeps.
Karg left after making sure Kim has entered the van.
****
Meanwhile, Alec woke when he felt bumps on his body like he was being moved. So slowly he opened his eyes to see himself on top of a man.
"What the hell is happening here and where are you taking me to?" Alec asked in bewilderment as he tried to get down from the man's shoulders.
The man didn't resist, rather grateful that he was finally awake, so he quickly put him down.
"We are the military and I was assigned to take you to the van that will be transporting you to the academy. If you don't mind, let's continue walking now, the van is almost leaving," The soldier informed.
Hearing the brief explanation, Alec contemplated whether to believe the man or not. The last thing he remembered was his discussion with Karg and after that, he fell unconscious. So suddenly seeing himself in the hands of a stranger, left him confused.
Looking around the place to see if he could find Karg or maybe Kim, he saw no one.
"Was this the plan he was talking about?" Alec thought. One thing Alec knew for sure was that Karg was never gonna hurt him and that fact settled his troubled mind a bit.
"Young man, the van will be ready in the next few minutes. Let's go now or I will have to continue carrying you like I was doing before you woke." The soldier was getting impatient with Alec's quietness.
"Alright, okay let's go," Alec said before he continued the walk with the soldier to the van.
The van brought by the military for the transportation of students was very long and capable of transporting about fifty students.
At the end of the day, a total of three vans were filled with students.
The soldier took Alec to the last van in the convoy. And after answering his name at the door, Alec was allowed inside the van. Alec was the last student to fill up that vehicle.
Entering the van, Alec was shocked to see teens in the same age bracket as him, all seated.
The students in the van didn't spare a glance at Alec.
"Well, at least I'm not alone," Alec muttered, slowly walking past the first row of seats. The bus was oddly quiet even though it was filled with students.
Slowly, Alec gazed through the face of the kids there, to see if he would see Kim but having recognized none of the faces, he felt sad.
Instinctively, he knew that the last seat in the back that was left unoccupied was his so he walked toward it.
However, just when he was about to walk past the fifth row of seats, he spotted a blonde-haired girl leaning her head down.
Alec halted his steps to take a look at the girl and when he looked closely at her blonde hair and perceived her body scent, a joyous smile made its way to his lips. The girl was Kim, she was in the same van as him.
"Now I'm rest assured that I'm safe," Alec muttered before continuing his walk to his seat.
A few minutes after he was seated, a monotone voice of a female announced through the speaker that they were ready to leave and in the next few minutes, they were on their way.
However, not too long into the journey, Alec noticed something very unusual.
All the kids in the van seemed to have slept off and the few who were still awake were all on the verge of sleeping off
He also looked at Kim and saw that she too had already slept off like the others.
"What the heck is wrong with these…" he was interrupted by a message from the system.
Ding!
[Unknown substance detected in air]
[Effect: Sleep]
[Resistance to effect: 20%]
[Resistance to effect lowered: 19%]
[You are feeling sleepy]
Alec shook his head trying to shake off the sleep lurking in his eyes. He tried fighting the effect but he was just too sleepy.
However, suddenly he heard loud footsteps walking towards him.
"Looks like the few of you are able to resist the gas," Alec heard a voice say.
After he heard that, a black bag filled with sleeping gas was thrown over his head. Taking in the sleeping gas continually, his resistance gave out.
[Resistance has reached 0%]
[You can no longer resist effect]
After the last message, Alec dozed off, abandoning consciousness.
*******
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