"Congratulations, recruit corps 348, welcome to the Therian Army."
Captain Hodkins bellowed, scanning with satisfaction over the line recruits before him.
Standing on the stage of the dining hall, stood General O'Ryan, and Edan's father, the newly promoted Commander Blake standing erect, eyeing the soldiers before them.
"I first present to you, the top soldiers of our graduating class,"
Hodkins motioned with his hand towards the line.
"Number one of the recruits: Edan Blake."
From my spot in line, I see the tall form of Edan walk towards General O'Ryan. A gold pin symbolizing the top of his class is pinned to his uniform, and he shakes hands with Jason's father, who smiles up to him, giving the man a pat on the shoulder before he walks over to stand at the side of the stage, where a new line would form.
I stand, watching the routine of actions until I hear Dan's named called, from where he stood in front of me. He steps over to Commander O'Ryan, where he is pinned and shakes his hand.
And then:
"Alex Garren, our tenth and final top recruit."
I step forward and I meet Commander O'Ryan's eyes.
His expression was bare, solemn, as I stand before him.
From a plastic bag, he pulls out the gold pin, and places it firmly onto the material of my chest.
I lift my hand for him to shake, but instead he simply glared at me. His broad features, his warm brown eyes that were the splitting image of Jason looked at me with nothing but coldness and hatred.
"Get in line with the others."
He muttered under his breath.
I step away from him.
Edan and I share a glance as I pass by him, Reece and Jace.
I stand behind Dan, feeling numb in the chest and Dan turns, offering me a sincere smile.
"Happy graduation, bud."
. . .
The newly graduated recruits were officially moving out of the barracks and would be assigned to apartments and living quarters within the residential district of the headquarters, and recruit corps 348 was making a celebration out of it. Men and women having snuck in alcohol drank happily in groups of chattering soldiers, awkwardly dancing to music that was half-hazardly projected from small speakers.
I sat on my bunk bed with Sal, as Dan walks over with his sports bag full of his belongings.
"Hey!"
I say cheerfully.
"We're supposed to select roommates for our living quarters, and I was wondering-"
Suddenly he cuts me off, shouldering his bag into a more comfortable position on his body.
"Sorry, I already have a roommate."
I glare at him in surprise, hurt.
He broke into a smile, which made me roll my eyes.
"I'm fucking with you, of course ya' big brute."
With a smile, he turns away, in pursuit of the drinks towards the center of the lines of bunkbeds.
I smiled lightly to myself, folding up my spare uniform, my ordinary clothes that I had bought Jason and under garments into a bag that was supplied to me.
"For Christ's sake, tell the guy how you feel."
My blood freezes, and I jerk stiffly towards Sal, who sat with a skeptical perk of her brow.
"What- what are you-"
I begin to sputter, but Sal butts in.
"Oh don't give me that playing dumb bullshit, you guys are obviously in to each other."
I nervously lace my fingers through my beard cut short to my skin, feeling cornered.
Sal places a hand gently on my shoulder.
"Just tell him. You're going to be living together after all, and it will only get harder, Alex."
Suddenly in that moment, with Sal holding my shoulder, with her warm words, I think of Andrew, and feel sick.
"I'm- going to get a beer."
I slip from her hand and hurry through the entanglement of bunkbeds, leaving Sal's words behind me.
. . .
After months of intense training, and course work, the newly fledged Therians of the army were given a few weeks to recuperate while waiting for work assignments to be distributed, and the results of our ranking in graduation. In that time, Dan and I moved into our small assigned apartment.
"Damn, this place isn't half bad."
Dan said, taking in the empty apartment.
It consisted of a small living area, kitchen, bathroom, and two small bedrooms. Considering neither of us had families, or previous living arrangements in the Therian complex, we had no furniture. Dan sported a single suitcase, and I gripped my tattered plastic Wal-Mart sack, filled with my spare uniforms. The house echoed eerily with our movements as we checked all of the rooms. I peered into what was going to be my room, my eyes shifting over the pale walls, and the small bed fitted with sheets, pillows and a blanket.
"Once we start getting paid for our jobs and assignments, we'll be able to spice this place up. You can even get yourself a phone finally."
Dan said cheerfully.
"It's more than I could have asked for. It's a place to live, its something."
I breath, taking everything in.
"It's home, big guy."
Dan said softly.
With a smack to my ass, Dan heads over to his room down the hall to unpack.
I sit down on my bed, and take a deep breath. Basic training was finally over. After three long months of adjusting to this new body, to this new life, I finally made it.
I'm home.
. . .
"This place is sure as hell gloomy. Men are so simplistic."
Sal pushes her bright red hair away from her eyes, and skeptically considers Dan and I's empty apartment.
I chuckle, our voices echoing loudly against our hollow surroundings.
"Yeah, we both don't have the money for- anything, really. This is my only pair of ordinary clothes."
Sal, turned to me, her expression deeply surprised.
"What? Are you telling me you have next-to no belongings?"
I nod, and Sal's eyes lower to the ground, sheepish and sympathetic.
We both jolt as the door of the apartment slams open.
Dan steps in hurriedly, gripping two envelopes.
"Assignments and results came in."
He said breathlessly, tossing my letter to me.
My fingers feel numb and cold with apprehension as I free a few documents out of the envelope.
My score physically had been high, because of my training with Dan and Sal, but my academic score had suffered because of the time I spent attempting to control my bull form.
I read the transcript quickly.
"I'm called for field work. There's a meeting tomorrow. Based on my progress during basic training, I can train to be -"
I continue reading, my heart steadily increasing.
"Master sergeant."
I look up to see Dan flashing his paper's proudly at me.
"A second lieutenant."
He said with a grin.
"Watch your ass, I may be giving you commands in the future. I'm called for field work too."
"I am too!"
Sal exclaimed happily.
We turn to her in surprise. She hadn't scored very high at all physically, but her academic score had been incredible enough to place her just short of the top of the class. I expected her to get placed with work with technology within the complex.
She placed her hands skeptically on her hips at the sight of our surprised expressions.
"What? Bird-type Therians are in high demand in field work."
She snapped with a brute seriousness that caused Dan and I to erupt into laughter.
Sal rolled her eyes. She motioned me to follow her out the door with the grip of my shirt sleeve.
"C'mon we're getting you clothes you broke son of a bitch, before our meeting tomorrow."
"What? But I don't have any money to-"
I attempt to say, but she cut me off.
"You can pay me back later, we're heading to my mother's shop."
I was being dragged out the door, I really had no choice.
Dan chuckled as Sal and I were nearly out the door.
"Better go with her, don't make a woman angry."
He hollered.
"Fuck you!"
Sal snapped back as the door slammed shut behind us.
. . .
Sal and I took an elevator deeper into the Therian headquarters, where we arrived in a large set of corridors alive with the commotion of Therians.
It was a massive shopping complex, as if we were in an ordinary mall, aligned with steel walls. Food carts were placed here and there among the commotion of people that swarmed the floor between the shops aligning the corridors like a crazed ant-colony.
Grocery, clothing, utility, technology, everything a society of people could need in this one selection of corridors.
The scent of Therian was at the most overwhelming it had ever been, setting densely in my senses. Sal and I shouldered passed people, each passing of a person adding to the intense palette of scents within the shopping complex.
It took quite a bit of maneuvering through the bustling crowds until we finally stopped before a shop.
It was a small store in comparison to the others, a sign delicately printed with the cursive words: "Johnson Clothing and Attire."
My eyes fell to the windows, and I felt my breath catch uncomfortably in my throat.
The windows revealing a minuscule display of clothed mannequins had been hastily graffitied.
Malicious scrawl of words read:
"DIRTY INBREDS." "FUCK THE JOHNSONS" "GO BACK TO THE HUMANS - FILTHY SLUTS"
My heart beat began to pump heartily with the anger rising in my chest.
"People did this-"
"C'mon, let's go inside."
Sal said, ignoring me.
We push through the crowd that swarmed us and entered the store with the ring of a thin bell.
Once the door shut behind us and the sound of the crowd was dulled, and the profound scents of the outside was extinguished, I felt pressure alleviated from my skull.
I still needed to adjust to my Therian senses. Everything is so overwhelming. Having an awareness of the scent of people, their breath, their heart beats, was intoxicating in large crowds.
All around us, circular racks of clothing, and long shelves of pants and other garments stood across the aged wooden plank floor. Everything smelled of wood and a light mist of perfume that hovered over the store.
A woman who looked to be in her middle age stood behind a long wooden counter, consumed in her smartphone. She looked up as we entered. Her eyes softened when she saw Sal.
"Oh, hi honey, who-"
Her emerald green eyes, much alike to Sal's, widened as they fell onto me. They seemed skeptically curious.
"Salice, who is this man?"
Salice's mother asked with a sly smile.
"A boyfriend maybe?"
I felt my face burn red.
Sal recoiled, her face as bright as mine.
"Mom! He is a friend. A soldier who graduated with me."
I chuckled nervously, stuffing my thumbs in my jean pockets.
Her mother giggled as her daughter's exasperation.
"I'm only joking kiddo,"
Her eyes fell back onto me, and I suddenly became conscious of my tall and bulked form in the small store.
"Seems timid for such a big guy. Nice to meet you, my name is Elizabeth Johnson."
I nod my head to her, and say,
"Alex Garren."
