I had not known how long we had driven, once I was lead into the Therian's white van, and took a spot in the seatless rear end of the van, as the Therian woman and Mike took the driver's seat and passenger seat, but I must had drifted into a sleep deprived doze, because within what felt like minutes of driving, I was shaken abruptly awake.
My eyes snap heavily open.
The woman kneels before me, her hands on my shoulders, her blue eyes cast in shadow.
"Wake up, we're here."
I glare around the van, managing clumsily to my feet.
"Where are we?"
"Headquarters."
Mike replies, as he opens the passenger door and steps out.
The woman leads me out of the van, and around me stands a large parking bay, cement walls and a ceiling standing broadly over the expanse of the bay, where vehicles were emerging from the large entrance that was under heavy surveillance, sunlight brightly spilling from it, revealing shockingly green spruce trees and a wide dirt road that lay beyond.
A group of armed Therian men and women stand in front of the van, their bodies dressed in that familiar skin tight black and silver suit that Jason had been wearing, their eyes set steadily on me.
The woman immediately replies at the sight of my foreboding expression.
"They're simply here to escort you, in case you are having any consideration of making a run for it."
She couldn't have known that I had no intent of doing so.
I am lead, Mike and the woman in front of me, the group of Therian's behind me, to a large set of doors on one side of the parking bay. Once ushered inside, I was lead steadily down a wide hallway of steel walls and doors.
I was overwhelmed by the raw scent of Therian surrounding me. It quickened my heartbeat, and I could feel a sharp sense of apprehension set in beneath my skin.
We had been walking for what felt like hours before we finally found a set of two doors fitted with thick glass, revealing the inside.
We enter what appeared to be a conference room and office.
A large wooden desk stood in the corner of the room, papers heaped messily over its tabletop, and in the center of the room, a large round table fitted with several chairs.
A tall man stood at the table, a uniform covering neatly over his broad shoulders. His rather grizzled features were fitted with a beard of dark brown, his dark brown eyes set against his features sullenly which added significantly to the recognition of his aging.
Those brown eyes met with mine, as I stood amidst my escorts.
I could smell him from where I stood.
He's Jason's father.
Jason had been the splitting image of the man that stood before me, glaring questioningly at me.
He finally spoke up.
"So this is the man?"
The woman nods, standing aside so that he can get a better look at me.
"He claims to have been Turned, commander, by your son before he was killed."
The commander replies, his voice as grizzled as his features.
"His form is similar to that of my son and I. He smells like him too."
Mike, standing erect, his hands respectfully before him, speaks.
"Could be simply coincidental."
The commander shook his head, pushing Mike to the side as he strides towards me, pulling a device from his pants.
The device was slim, made of a thick aluminum, fitted with screen, a capsule and a needle jutting from the end of it.
Without hesitating to warn me, he plunges the needle into one of my shackled forearms. I flinch, stepping slightly backwards as the needle suctions a small portion of my blood, filling the capsule with a small pool of my dark red.
The commander pulls the needle from my arm, clearly avoiding my eyes.
Silence drapes the room thickly, the Therians standing stiffly guard around me, Mike and the woman watching the commander eagerly as he operates the machine with light occasional finger presses on the touch screen.
As an indication blinks to life on the screen, showing the result of the blood test, I could nearly feel the anticipation wafting from the bodies around me.
Finally, the commander's voice fills the room.
"The blood test confirms the man's story. He has my son's blood."
This time a different silence follows his words. A tense silence that brought about a sense of disbelief, sadness.
Finally, the man lifts his brown eyes to look at me.
I stand frozen, blood making fine lines that trailed across my forearm like thread.
"So, my son?"
He says slowly, his voice wavering.
I attempt to swallow the thick fixture of mucus that coats my throat.
"He is dead. He died of his bullet wounds, he managed to save me life, and-"
I glare around myself uncomfortably, unsure of the usage of the word.
"Turned me."
I finish.
The commander wearily closes his eyes, and in that expression I truly see his age, his vulnerability. I see now not a tall, broadly spoken man, but a father who has lost now both children.
The Night Blades took my sister, Alex. Please- you have to get her back-
When the commander opens his eyes, a different expression now structured his features.
His skin was slightly red with anger, his eyes noticeably glassy with moisture.
"Why the hell did he Turn you, boy?"
I am taken aback, and struggle to find the words, but he continues:
"Why would his dying act be to Turn a pathetic human into a Therian. Can you tell me that?"
That tense silence in the room returns.
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. I moisten my dry lips, unable to do anything other than stare at the man before me.
But in the back of my head, back beneath the street lights of the horrifying night, I hear Jason's words:
My kind need people like you, Alex.
The commander scoffs at my silence.
He turns his attention to the woman.
"Colonel Margery, escort this man to the barracks. He will join our new recruits in training. We might as well put fresh meat nonetheless of its impurity to good use."
Impurity?
Margery nods sharply and quickly, before I could react, I am once again lead away into the never-ending steel hallways, the commander gives me one last glance before turning his gaze away from me, almost in revolt.
As I am lead down the hallways, Colonel Margery speaks to me, in an almost sarcastic tone.
"Congratulations new-blood, welcome to the Therian army."
. . .
"Recruits! Get your asses up, morning training is about to begin!"
A loud and jarring voice thrusts me violently from my sleep, and I jerk to a sitting position.
I flinch as the overhead lights of the sleeping barracks slam into bright illumination above me on the top bunk of the bunk bed that I slept on.
Around me rows of bunk beds align a large hall, the blankets and the forms of bodies beneath them being thrown off and coming to life, as the men around me prepare for the morning before them.
I release a yawn that was threatening my throat, and slip from the top bunk, landing softly on the cold cement floor.
My bunk-mate, a young slim man with a head of cut short red hair was pulling on the tight black and silver suit that Jason had worn.
He notices me and looks up from his business, eyeing my confused expression, and my white shirt and jeans.
He pats a small dresser beneath out bunk bed with his slim hand and said quickly:
"There's a uniform here for you, newbie. Put it on and follow everyone into the training courtyard."
With that, he quickly slipped on his shirt and jogged towards the exit.
I pull open the drawer, and like the man had said, there was a black and silver suit that looked to be my size waiting for me.
I rip off my old clothes and slip on the uniform, and rush to follow the river-like flow of new recruits as they exit the barracks. I am ushered through a small stretch of hallway and through a set of large metal doors labeled: Training Courtyard
Once inside, before us lay a large expanse of metal, stretching for hundreds of yards, weightlifting equipment, ellipticals, treadmills and more expensive equipment placed here and there, along with an obstacle course and track in its center.
Amidst the gathered new recruits, a tall man dressed in a crisp forest green uniform, similar to the commander, stood, waiting for the arrivals to find their places around him and settle down.
He was a slim man with a hardy facial structure that brought out the narrow and thickness of his jawline. His light brown hair was cut military short and his pale face was cleanly shaven.
When the chatter and crowd had settled and all attention was drawn to the man, he spoke, his voice recognizable as the one that had awoken the recruits.
"To those of you who are joining this regiment of recruits, welcome to the Therian army. I am Captain Hodkins."
As the man spoke, I couldn't help but notice an uncomfortable sense of the recruits around me staring at me. I attempt to ignore it, and continue my attention on Captain Hodkins.
"Most of the recruits here have been for at least two weeks, so we will be grouping up into independently selected sparring groups, and testing the knowledge you have gained."
"Knowledge I have gained"?? It's my first day, I'm going to make a fool of myself.
The captain continued,
"Those of you who are newcomers, you may learn something today from your peers,"
With an arcing glance over the recruits surrounding him, he says,
"Now, group up, and let's see what you newbloods got."
Immediately the crowd dispersed, people joining together in groups of three to five people.
I haggle about, attempting to get the attention of my peers, but to my dismay, the Therians around me seemed to be ignoring me, avoiding my eye contact and slipping away from my pleas to join their group as quickly as they had come from my mouth.
After only moments, I stood alone among the several groups of Therians, who now began to take turns sparring one another in their respective groups.
A sharp coldness smoothed down my chest. I felt alone, outcasted, hated for something I could not comprehend.
Suddenly, from behind me, a hoarse voice hollered from feet away.
"Couldn't seem to find a sparring group, new blood?"
I whip myself around to find three men standing before me.
The speaker, an obscenely tall man at least 6"3' stood with his arms crossed. The tightness of his uniform brought out the broad shapes of his arms and pectorals, the raw mass of his muscular form visible by almost every detail. His dark green irises glinted against the whites of his eyes maliciously, his facial structure as full and husky as the hulking body he sported.
Jesus Christ, I've never seen a man so big.
And I thought my new height of 6"1' was impressive.
When I nod in response to him, they step nearer, which in turn brought out the instinct to step back myself.
"What did you expect?"
The large man sneered.
"When your the impure Therian that stole the lieutenant's powers?"
His two comrades grumbled in a mocking agreement.
Impure.
There was that word again.
I grasp blindly for the courage to reply.
