"Where is it?!!!! UGH!" Eric exclaimed in frustration.
Looking around franticly trying to find his most prized possession, and only having 15 minutes until the Military Shuttle bus arrived. He flung the closet door open and bent down, throwing things out behind him. Clothes and little nicknacks could be seen flying and making some racket as the objects hit the floor.
"Is everything ok in there?!?!?!" Gale yelled from the other room.
"Yes! I'm looking for the motherboard thing. You know the thing you call a big microchip."
"Honey, do you really need that? You're about to be late."
"Of course I do. This might be my only chance to learn more about it and how they work," Eric said, even more frustrated now due to his mother asking that question.
Truth be told, no, he does not need it. Ever since the Great War that ended 40 years ago. All electronics have ceased working. All things that were computerized are unable to work.
His thoughts have always been that if they worked before the war, then one day they will work again after the war. If he learned about it and how they worked, one day when they will start working again, then he will have an edge on everybody. He will then become the richest man in history and finally help take care of his mother.
His mother, despite her cheerful attitude, has always been looked down on because of her ability not being useful to society. Because of that, the Carsons were poor. Gale always had to look for jobs and side work just to make ends meet. Her two older children left to make their own lives with their own abilities. They never came back to see her or help her. Being seen with the 'Useless' made you look bad.
Right now, everyone is focused on abilities and weapons that can be made since abilities have surfaced. The main reason why this is the focus right now is due to all the battles between territories for more power and land. Also to protect the newly established cities and some towns from the beasts. If you cannot help with that, then you are just not important, almost scum.
On the bottom of the closet floor, off to the side, up against the wall, he noticed a little bit of green poking out from under a red shirt. "It's all good, mom. I found it," Eric said with excitement in his voice.
"Sweetie, you really need to hurry. You only have 5 minutes," Gale said, while looking at the clock on the wall with worry in her voice.
He darted over to his backpack on his messy bed. He looked at the motherboard before sliding into his backpack. Someone about 5 years ago said it came from a gaming device he found. It was either an X Box or a Play Station. He always thought it was amazing how the older people who survived the Great War would tell how they could control images on a screen with another device called a controller. It just blew his mind that people would spend hours upon hours playing with images.
He zipped up his bag and ran over to Gale. He bent his knew slightly to be on the same level as her and gave her a kiss on the cheek and a hug. "Love you, mom. Don't worry, I'll be fine. And I'll come back."
The last thing he said to Gale was to give her hope. It always put a bitter taste in Eric's mouth how his brother and sister never came back to help out their mom, who worked so hard for them.
Eric dashed out the front door with the slamming of the screen door to be heard. Gale Slowly walked to the door because it is hard for her to see her last child, her baby boy, leave. She watched her slightly chubby, red-headed child run as fast as he could to get to the military shuttle stop.
"Don't worry, don't worry. You know he will be okay. Remember, you saw that... everything is ok." Gale said to herself in a low voice, "Just stay strong. Just keep fighting. If you don't, no, no, do even think that."
__________________
"Do you think we will be placed in the same room together?" Eric asked.
"I'm not sure; I believe I was told that we all get placed into a platoon at the academy. And each platoon gets its own barracks. So we will most likely be sharing a room with all of these people... except the girls, of course," a very unkept brown-haired seventeen-year-old replied with a smile.
"Well, I guess as long as I am in the same platoon as you, Vincent, it will be like we are still back at school."
"Let's hope we get in less trouble at the academy. I would bet that they are not as forgiving as the schools are," Vincent responded with another smile on his face.
Eric and Vincent have been friends since the sixth grade. They met when Vincent was being pushed around and beaten in the hallway, where none of the teachers could be seen. Eric was passing through and saw this.
The one thing Eric cannot stand is people taking advantage of others and beating on the weak. Honestly, no one sticking up for the weak makes Eric even more infuriated.
Eric walked up to the group that had Vincent pushed up against a locker, hitting him in the stomach. He pushed two of them out of the way. One of the guys threw a punch at the side of Eric's head. Right before the punch hit, both of Eric's arms moved toward the guy, and as soon as one arm blocked the punch, the other hand punched the guy in the nose. Blood started gushing out. They had fewer problems at school from that point on, but only at school. They would still have those guys try and jump them and cause problems for them from time to time.
After that incident, Vincent became more confident and outspoken. It always seemed that Eric and Vincent were together. It was easier to handle problems from those guys if they stayed together.
Eric has always been slightly chubby. That makes him an easy target for bullies to push around. But something that most do not know is that he has been taking boxing lessons since he was 7. He might be chubby, but he knows how to fight, and he is much more fit than what he looks like. Eric tells all of his friends that his fat hides his muscles.
After four hours of riding the bus, it finally stopped. The driver, who did not say one word the entire trip, abruptly stood up, opened the door, and stepped off the bus.
Another man came on the bus. He was a tall man, 6 feet 2 inches. He had a very shiny and smooth bald head. He stood there staring at all the students with his almost black, dark brown eyes that felt like it was piercing through your soul. "I am Lieutenant Carter. I am your direct commanding officer. You all will file off the bus and stand on the yellow line right outside of the bus to await further orders," he said without a hint of emotion in his words.
It was organized chaos, with everyone gathering their things and getting off the bus as quick as possible. When that man spoke, you felt like what he said needed to happen now or else. As Eric stood up, grabbing his backpack, and then unexpectedly he was shoved down. He lost his footing and fell back into the seat. He looked up to see another student with blonde spiked hair with blue, no, almost gray eyes looking down at him.
"Get out of my way, Scum. Stay down there if you know what's best," the blonde student said with what looked like frost coming out of his mouth as he finished his last sentence.
"Thats Justin Acer. Their whole family is ice people. I guess the rumors are true. They do know how to cultivate that ability. He is going to be a powerful user once he gets it unlocked," Vincent said.
"I don't care who it is, I..." Eric was saying until Vincent cut him off.
"Now is not the time. You don't want to start that way. We don't know how things work here. Lay low; you know that we are not very high on the totem pole any way," Vincent whispered to Eric in hope of talking him out of making a scene.
"Okay, you're right."
Eric and Vincent grabbed their backpacks and waited for everyone to come by, then they slipped in behind them all. They all stood on the yellow line. Lieutenant Carter stood in front of the 40 students.
"Place your bags in front of you and stand at attention. You're soldiers now!" He scolded.
Everyone did as they were told without hesitation.
"The sergeants will be coming around to do ID checks. Afterward, you all will be doing your medical exams and fitness evaluations. Once that is finished, you will be given a briefing on why we do what we do to unlock your abilities, and then we will begin that process," he said while his hands were behind his back with a superior look and smile.