As Tenet entered, he was momentarily stunned by the layout. He had expected some sort of old school military bunks like in the old army movies. But, what he saw instead was a far cry from any movies he had watched through the windows of other people's houses.
The room looked like the inside of some sort of bunker and engine room combined. The walls were made from a dull metal, with thick metal pipes running through the walls. What surprised him the most was the huge spiraling metal staircase that seemed to climb all the way up to the heavens. Tenet groaned inwardly, hoping he never had to be in a situation where he had to climb all of them.
To his far left there was a spattering of chairs and table tennis tables. In front of one he saw a crowd of five boys urging and making commentary as another two were in the midst of a heated game. As soon as they realized Tenet had entered, they stopped playing. The ball bouncing away on the floor, momentarily forgotten. An awkward silence descended upon the room as they all stared at him.
He gave a wave, "H-hey", he stammered. He groaned inwardly. 'Yeah real smooth Tenet.' He honestly contemplated just walking out and trying again.
One of the boys who was previously playing approached him in a casual manner. He had bright orange curly hair, pale skin that had freckles and brown eyes. Calling out in a soft Irish accent, he asked, "Who are you?"
Tenet gave a nervous smile, "I'm Tenet, guess I'm one of you."
The orange haired boy gave him a toothy grin which made him relax. "I'm Finn O Malley. Got docked then?" The way he'd asked made the question seem more like a statement than anything else.
In the pressure of meeting new people, Tenet forgot how rare his situation was, as he shook his head, answering in a casual tone, "I volunteered."
Immediately the room seemed to fall quiet again as six boys stared at him, eyes wide. The awkwardness continued until, out of nowhere, Finn started cackling uncontrollably. When Tenet looked at him in a slight worry Finn shook his head trying to compose himself.
"Sorry," he said. "I got a habit of laughing in awkward situations. Got me in a right bit of trouble in the past let me tell you." Tenet smiled at that.
He had noticed that while six of them were shocked, one of the boys stared at him suspiciously. He was tall and athletic looking, with light skin and brown hair. His bright green eyes were narrowed on Tenet as if he was a dangerous enemy.
Before he could think further on it, Tenet was swept away in a flurry of introductions. First to meet him was Adam, he gave such a spectacularly awkward greeting that Finn keeled over in laughter, almost falling to the floor. Adam had bronze skin, and had curly brown hair and eyes. He noted with no slight amount of Jealousy that Adam was also quite tall, looming over him.
Next was the person who was eyeing him earlier, he gave a strong handshake, glaring at Tenet. "My name's Theymin Callahan" he declared, scrutinizing Tenet's face as he did so. Confused slightly, Tenet just nodded, "I'm Tenet Sparrows." Theymin seemed to relax slightly but still gave a stiff nod and retreated.
'Kinda odd. Maybe he's not good at meeting new people' he thought as he met Jellal. Tenet's ego, which had already taken a slight hit because of Adam, plummeted when he met Jellal. He seemed to radiate energy and happiness, giving a brilliant smile. He had hair the color of dried blood, tied into a loose bun and deep blue eyes that gave him a mature mysterious look. Upon meeting Jellal, Tenet knew. If the world had a main character, it was Jellal, not him. He wasn't as tall as Adam but still managed to loom over Tenet. As soon as they shook his hands, despite Jellal's outwardly normal build, Tenet could feel that he was strong. 'Maybe he has ogre blood. No, with those looks more likely to be angel blood' he sighed inwardly. After giving an excited and happy greeting which he returned, Tenet quickly moved on, hoping to salvage what was left of his pride.
The other two were twins called Kalb and Kolb. They both had dark straight hair, pale skin and hazel eyes. "Both of you got docked, together?" He asked. He assumed that twins getting docked at the same time would be a bit of a rarity here.
Kalb laughed, slapping his brother hard on the shoulder. "I got docked only. This one forced our parents to sign him up as well, he's a volunteer." Kolb shrugged his brother's hand off his shoulder, "Yeah, don't know what I was thinking", he muttered in mock regret, "I was finally rid of you and all."
Tenet snorted in amusement, "Looks like we're both volunteers then." Kolb shook his head adamantly, "Don't lump me with you. I came because of my brother. Why did you come?"
Tenet saw everyone turn around, interested in the reason why had decided to join this supposed death sentence. Tenet thought for a moment before giving a half truth, "So my parents could afford to feed my sister properly." There was silence for a moment before Jellal came up to him solemnly. "You're a good man Tenet." Then he wrapped Tenet in a bone crushing hug. After he released him, he saw that Jellal was treating him with much more friendliness than his previous polite radiance.
'Wonder what he would think of me if he knew the full reason', he smiled inwardly imagining what Jellal's reaction would be then.
The last person he met was Bean. He was a wiry boy with a light olive complexion and the only one who was smaller than Tenet, if only slightly. He had a mischievous shifty look about him, and his dark eyes always seemed to be darting around, never staying in one place. "How you doing, I'm Bean", Tenet noticed his speech was rushed as if they were running out of his mouth. Tenet gave a grin, "Doing good, I'm Tenet, if you haven't heard me say it ten times already."
He noticed that everyone else was in uniform, green camo trousers and a green t-shirt. Theymin noticed Tenet's gaze and said, "The uniforms will be in your room. You're the last one so you must be number 8, it's at the top." Tenet paused, "Y-You mean at the top of the staircase?" He asked in a pleading tone. Bean nodded, his eyes glinting in amusement. Kalb gave him a sad smile, "You're the only one who has it worse than me."
Groaning inwardly, Tenet resigned him to the arduous climb, cursing everything and everyone. After some time he finally reached the top floor. It had a metal door that had no handle. There was a screen that was blinking 8. Tenet felt his watch vibrate. Looking down he saw his watch also had a blinking 8 on its screen. After Tenet stepped closer the door clicked open and swung inwards.
Tenet entered a small room. It had a small single bed that was neatly made. The cupboard was on the far wall in the left corner. Looking inside he saw three uniforms, consisting of the camo trousers, a green t-shirt and a camo jacket. He saw a green beanie hat, two pairs of army boots, three pairs of socks and a brown belt. Sighing Tenet got changed into the uniform with a heavy sigh. Despite being quite broad and big boned naturally, lack of nutritious food meant he still needed to draw the belt tight.
Then he sat on the bed, contemplating the journey down. He had opted to leave the jacket in the cupboard. Cursing what bastard had decided to do all this extra stuff instead of having a bunch of bunks he mustered the motivation to make the journey back down.
After some more time he rejoined the group by the table tennis area. Finn and Jellal were in a heated game. Finn was a much better player, but Jellal's inhuman reflexes kept him in the game. But eventually Finn's skill wouldn't be denied and soon he was jumping in joy after winning the game point. Jellal sighed sadly, offering the bat to Tenet with a gracious smile.
Finn looked over at him, "Know how to play Tenet?"
Tenet shook his head. He had little opportunity to take part in activities like this back where he lived.
"Not to worry then. I'll teach you the basics and then play against Bean. He's new as well. Jellal just learnt yesterday but he's too good for you right now."
Tenet sighed, of course Jellal was a prodigy in table tennis. Of course he was.
Still, outwardly he smiled, appreciating Finn's efforts to include him.
....
"Attention Cadets. Report outside your door immediately" came a female voice from the speakers in the walls.
Tenet and the others lined up in numerical order outside their dorm, leaving him at the back quietly talking with Kalb.
He was in a discussion with Kalb about the purpose of the Y.S.C.
"Look at everything around here. All this military stuff, it looks like they're preparing to go to war with something. I bet you there's something going on we don't know about."
Qalb shook his head, "All this military stuff isn't about war. The G.S.C uses Army rankings as its way of determining rank within the corporation. It makes sense we're going to get some army training then."
Tenet said nothing, still unconvinced. He was sure there was more to the Y.S.C than what was being let on. After all, wouldn't it make more sense for the Y.S.C to recruit scientists to save the world?
His train of thought was interrupted by a tall woman with dark hair and eyes set upon a slightly tanned red face. "Attention Cadets", she called, her voice brimming with authority. "I am Lieutenant Scarlet, I will be the immediate superior for this group."
Theymin, who was number 1 and thus at the front of the group saluted immediately. Everyone else followed Theymin's example. Tenet felt like an idiot saluting but seeing as though everyone else was doing it, he followed along.
Lieutenant Scarlet looked at Theymin, "Cadet Callahan, congratulations. You are Unit 8's squad leader."
Theymin saluted again, replying in a formal robotic tone, "Yes Lieutenant."
"Follow me cadets", she beckoned, before turning away and walking at a brisk pace.
Tenet sighed as he followed, imagining all of the saluting and Yes Lieutenant's he was going to have to say during the camp.
They followed her into a huge hall. At the front was a small stage that stood a highly decorated looking soldier in full uniform. He looked around middle age, with some creases on his tanned face and, a dark hair speckled grey cut short and neat. There were already seven units lined up in two lines of four. They took their place at the front on the right.
Everyone waited in silence, all 64 cadets' eyes focused on the man at the front.
"Cadets", he called in a loud but surprisingly soft voice. Tenet had imagined a seismic rumble of a voice more akin to Otto's. "Tomorrow will mark the beginning of the camp. You will stay in these groups for the first six months, you will work, train and rest together. They will be your family now for the next six months. The numbers on your watch reflect your abilities within the group. Congratulations to the Number 1's, in the physical test you took before arriving here, you were deemed the most skilled. Work hard to maintain your positions. To the Number 8s", he paused for a moment, eyeing them before continuing with a smile. "Just work hard, I think you're aware of your standings here."
Tenet sighed inwardly, that physical simulation in his school was probably the reason why he was deemed number 8, he never knew of its importance previously. It made sense to him why his room was at the top, it was a twisted form of punishment and incentive for the weaker cadets.
"Your course will begin with a mix of military training and specially designed G.S.C courses designed to teach you how to push yourself beyond your limits. Here at the Y.S.C we are interested in cultivating not soldiers, but heroes. The difference between a soldier and hero is one thing. The soldier can be pushed beyond his limits, a hero pushes himself. A hero will take initiative, a hero will complete the objective no matter what, all in order to do something greater than themselves. Simply put, the difference is spirit, and that can't be learned. My job is to see if any of you are heroes, or just soldiers. I don't expect all of you to be heroes. I do expect all of you to try to be one. Your lives are in my hands now, but your future is only in your own. Your spirit will decide what you'll be. Hero or Soldier. Number 8 or Number 1."
Tenet kept his head down, feeling shamed. He saw other people in different groups also try to avoid the man's sharp gaze. Instantly, he felt a strange kinship to the Number eights' of the others Units.
The man nodded, satisfied with the reaction of his speech. "You will address me as Captain Hobb. You are dismissed. Be up at 0500 (5AM) tomorrow." With that he turned away, leaving through a small entrance behind him with a small entourage of other soldiers.
Lieutenant Scarlet approached them, "I'll escort you back."
Outside their dorm room Lieutenant Scarlet looked imperiously at each boy. "Unit 8 consists of the youngest applicants in this area. All of you are around 14. Physically you'll be at a disadvantage against the other units. But I expect the same results I would expect from someone older. Nothing is an excuse, everything is an opportunity. All of you will be up at 5 am tomorrow Your rooms best be clean. Every mistake will result in a 50 press-up fine."
Bean's hand shot up. The Lieutenant nodded at him, a slight smile on her lips. "Cadet?"
Saluting, Bean asked hesitantly, "Lieutenant Scarlet, I don't think any of us know the standard of cleaning our room to army standards."
The Lieutenant's smile deepened, it was a decidedly sinister expression. She repeated her sentence, her dark eyes relishing the doomed expression of the cadets. "Each mistake will require a 50 press-up penalty. Dismissed."
It was with a heavy heart Tenet saluted the Lieutenant and followed everyone inside of their dorms. They made a unanimous agreement to go to sleep immediately so they'd be more likely to wake up early. Tenet imagined sadly all the press-ups he'd have to do tomorrow.
Can't complain, he thought sadly. I did quite literally ask for this.
As he and Kalb climbed the staircase, he asked casually, "Hey, where's the bathroom." Kalb gave a weak smile, "Downstairs by the table tennis area."
Tenet froze, his expression filled with horror and disbelief.
That's it, he decided. I refuse to stay at number eight.