Monday, December 23, 2334. - Training Base Kora - Outer Wall Bellheim.

  Class was in session. In the early hours of the day, just after a rigorous PT session, the 30 cadets in group D wrote every word spoken from the instructor's mouth in their notebooks. With all the strength left in their fatigued bodies, they kept writing until the instructor took a short breath. Oscar's muscles ached. He barely got any sleep the other night due to the cries from other cadets. He sat upright, gazing at the muscular instructor, who bore two visible scars on his face. His face was always in a neutral position. His voice was very deep, and his skin was bronze and shiny. His name was Instructor Burns. The Citadel's instructors were strict and had a reputation for failing people quickly. Sitting in the cold, dim room as the clouds covered the sky made the atmosphere gloomy.

  "There are two things every cadet must know," Instructor Burns spoke. "When dealing with the Hounds, you mustn't let fear overcome you. You might see something like this."

  The screen flipped pages to a large, four-legged beast with a human head inside its mouth. It had no fur, and its eyes were white. Its body had a dark, hardened appearance.

  "Do not be afraid of these," the instructor stated. "These are the least of your worries."

  A cadet's hand shot up quickly. Her name was Leona Mayor, from Zone Procton. Her father is a brigadier general for the Citadel Military Security Police. Getting into the Citadel for her was easier than for most. Despite her father's insistence that she should join him, her goal was high honor. She wanted to patrol the streets as a HAVOC soldier. Her ginger hair was tied into a perfect bun. She had numerous freckles and was aware of their presence. Instructor Burns grunted before aiming a long white stick at her.

  "Speak, Cadet Leona Mayor," he ordered.

  "Why must we learn this?" she asked. "I read that HAVOC was just a patrol and reserve unit."

  Instructor Burns turned toward the screen, flicking ahead and stopping at a page with a few words on it.

  "HAVOC," he continued. "It is something that some people know and some don't. Has anyone had the opportunity to look into what HAVOC stands for?"

  No one raised their hand. This was because each wrong answer resulted in fifteen pushups. But each right question was an activity taken off from tomorrow morning's PT.

  "No?" Instructor Burns gazed into their souls. "HAVOC, also known as H. A. V. O. C., is more than just a patrolling and reserve battalion. H.A.V.O.C. stands for Hazardous Availability and Volatile Operations Command."

  The collective, but silent, "what?" scattered throughout the room. Over half of the cadets were unaware of the true purpose of HAVOC. Many cadets, particularly those from upper-class backgrounds, had only heard about HAVOC from casual acquaintances. The training process left half the class perplexed. Although still labeled as a reserve battalion, HAVOC has seen war before. Still, it was a secretive battalion. This is why so many people who asked about it on the street didn't get the real answer. Most people who answered the question didn't know themselves. The few individuals who were aware of HAVOC signed a contract to restrict information.

  Another cadet's hand rose. This cadet was familiar. He sat in the middle of the class. His name was Arthur Schultz. He was the cadet on board the train that Oscar took. He was the same cadet seated next to Oscar. He kept his hand raised until Instructor Burns aimed the white stick at him and ordered him to speak.

  "What does this all mean?" Cadet Arthur Schultz continued. "What is HAVOC's actual job in war?"

  The screen rapidly flipped pages. As it stopped, big red words, "WAR IS COMING," had been painted all over the pages. Flipping the page once more, it showed what HAVOC's main goal was.

  "HAVOC is a savior to some and a curse to some," Instructor Burns continued. "In the streets, we serve as a reserve and offer helping hands. Moving on."

  "Wait a minute," Arthur uttered. "That's not what I asked."

  "Information about HAVOC, even if you're still a cadet, is strictly prohibited until near graduation and final exams," Instructor Burns said.

  Arthur clenched his jaw and continued to scribble in his notebook. Instructor Burns continued with the lesson as the time inched closer to the dreaded simulation training. In each simulation, the cadets' awareness of their surroundings and actions improved gradually. Sunday's two simulations saw an increase in survival rate and a small increase in understanding. With each simulation conclusion, the only discussion would occur before bed. There, a group of cadets, including Oscar and the six he had been with prior, would welcome more and more cadets to converse and come up with a plan. The worst part wasn't instant death, but even surviving was a terrifying experience. The horrors the simulation depicted have given everyone at least one nightmare since the first session.

  After class, each cadet headed toward the mess hall, where hundreds of HAVOC cadets sat in silence. Oscar didn't do much. He never ate much before a simulation training after he threw up twice. He plans to complete the objective and survive the simulation. He had to treat these simulations as if his life was indeed in danger. After lunch, each cadet lined up and walked in a straight line toward separate rooms where they would be put into white suits and locked into place. Each placement holder resembled an upright metal bed. It was aligned 6x6, creating a total of 36 holders. The assistant who commanded the simulation would always say the same words to each cadet as they connected their equipment. Each cadet had white metallic goggles that would connect to a helmet that dangled from the ceiling, used to transfer one's mind from reality into the simulation.

  "Good luck, come back strong," the young assistant said to every cadet as he moved quickly, connecting everything and making sure everyone was secured.

  Oscar's heart pounded. He stood there with the support of the placement holder. He looked around at the five other people he could see in his row. Next to him was Jaylen Carter, who struggled to give a thumbs-up given how clamped his arms were to the placement holders' support bands.

  "Listen up!" screamed Instructor Burn. "Your objective is to rescue three trapped Frontline Army Legionnaires with a group of civilians near city hall. Neutralize any threats you encounter and return to the walls for evacuation. Am I clear?"

  "Yes, Instructor Burns, sir!" screamed the 30 cadets.

  TRANSFERING COUNTDOWN STARTED... FIVE. FOUR. THREE. TWO. ONE. \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

  Chapter Two: Simulations

  The first thing Oscar noticed when he arose from the floor was that he wasn't with anyone in his group. He looked around a dark, smoke-filled apartment building with bloodstains all over the floor. The windows near him were blown out, but no wind was heard. The apartment was quiet. Any sort of movement would make it sound loud. Oscar grabbed his rifle from the ground, viewing its bullet count from the visor he wore. He moved slowly through the building, trying to pick up any frequency from any members close to him. Every callout was static and dead silence. Oscar was confused. Each simulation started with at least 10 people together, but here, he was alone and had no idea where he was. He made his way to the roof because the collapsed stairs restricted movement to the lower floors. While climbing to the top, the smells from the simulated world filled his nose. He kept his mouth shut to prevent smoke inhalation and pushed his way through the thick smoke, hoping to find a door or hatch leading to the roof. His momentum kept up as he reached the top of the stairs, pushing his hand toward the solid surfaces to feel for a door.

  "There's gotta be a door here somewhere," he thought as he moved his hand slowly across. He took short breaths to limit the smoke entering his lungs.

  The knob was hot and stung Oscar's hand as he pried the door open. The air was stale as he walked onto the roof of the apartment building and looked out, seeing nothing but smoke and flames. The sky was red, and the smell was revolting. Oscar peeked over the edge, looking toward the street below. His first sign of people was half-eaten bodies. He then looked to his right to see the walls. Occasionally, the walls indicated what city they were in. Zone Hasting had a red and green flag with a woman holding a torch in the center. However, this wall didn't have a name nor a flag. Oscar attempted to reconnect with someone using the same frequency. But once again, the sounds of cackling or silence were all he got back.

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  He sat on the roof, breathing heavily. He looked over the edge of the roof once more, but no sign of anything crossed his sight.

  "What the hell is this?" he spoke softly. "Why am I not with anyone?"

  He stood up straight and wandered across the roof trying to find a better way down toward the street. He didn't want to go through the building and risk dying of smoke inhalation. Failing to escape safely would be disastrous. He looked more and more, but the only possible option was to slide down an under-maintained fire escape that was missing the ladder toward the ground. The top part was dangling with steps missing. Oscar hopped over the ledge and accidentally landed heavily on the crooked platform, causing a loud creaking noise and a loss of balance. He stayed quiet for a few seconds before slowly making his way down. Towards the end of the fire escape, where the ladder once was, Oscar dangled his legs from the ten-foot drop. He closed his eyes and braced himself as he slapped the concrete beneath him foot first, causing him to scream in silence. He didn't break his leg, but he was in excruciating pain.

  Limping with every step a painful one, Oscar wandered around. He looked both ways on the empty street before traveling north. He believed the further he was from the wall, the closer he'd get to city hall. Oscar found this city unusual. There were no big factories or skyscrapers. There were no large business buildings or brutalist structures in sight. It almost resembled his city of Zone Hasting, but more modernized. As he continued walking, Oscar looked around cautiously. He kept trying to reach someone on the radio frequency, but as he kept walking, no one responded back. It wasn't until he got to a store two miles from where he had been that he heard something rummaging inside. He limped his way in, aiming his rifle high and turning off the safety. The rifles in this simulation were military A-Class-rated weaponry. The difference in weaponry classes depends on the branch and the division/regiment/battalion you are in. A-class-rated weaponry is strong enough to kill most things, or so they say. The rifle Oscar held was a DA-21. The optic was a holographic sight that was able to zoom in and out. The DA-21 had a giant kick to it, so firing a full round would hurt the user's shoulder.

  Oscar aimed high, flicking on the flashlight that was attached to his rifle. Inside the store, it was dark and humid. His visor did not have any sort of night vision, making the flashlight the only help he had for visibility.

  Prch Vmmg

  Oscar didn't know whether to speak or to stay silent. The flashlight would already give him away the closer he got, but his mind was being conflicted with a ton of what-ifs. Still, this wasn't real life. The best thing he could do was hope it wasn't some sort of beast.

  "Oi, who is that?" Oscar shouted. "Who's there?"

  flick, flick, flick, flick

  Emerging from behind the counter, a white helmet with a visor, just like Oscar's, appeared.

  "Great God, thank you for answering my prayers," the cadet uttered. "Where are the others?"

  "Others?" Oscar replied. "I've been by myself for a while."

  Oscar sat down in front of the counter, leaning his back on it, relaxing from the pain he felt prior.

  "You think we're the only ones alive?" the cadet asked.

  "Doubt it," Oscar replied. "Bosco, Moses, Miguel, Ramirez, Yuto. They all seem to love these simulations, and they die the least even if we all fail the objective."

  The cadet leaned over the counter, revealing part of his face.

  "Big Garnier got here from God," he replied.

  "Who are you, Topper?" Oscar replied. "Only three people in our group have that sluggish accent."

  "You bet your to'tack'bux," he replied. The cadet, Samuel Topper, leaned right over the counter and looked at Oscar. He had been stuck in a fabric store since the simulation began. At first, he met two cadets who were traveling toward the middle of the city. They too started off separate but kept traveling until they found each other. Samuel claimed that they parted ways due to his doubts. Oscar was irritated with Samuel because of this. Although this was a simulation, Samuel displayed a level of anxiety and fright that Oscar found concerning. But when Oscar asked Samuel to follow him, Samuel agreed quickly.

  The two of them left the fabric store and made their way toward city hall. They didn't run or jog but walked. They still hadn't seen any sort of hostile activity, so being cautious was the best option for them.

  "You think there's anything out here?" Samuel asked. "Last time it was those magma giants."

  "I sure hope there's nothing here," Oscar replied. "I hope it's a calm one, but who am I kidding?"

  "Should we even be out in the open?" Samuel questioned. He kept looking all over, trying to see if there was anything moving either on the roofs or in the alleyways.

  They proceeded along the street, making right and left turns, until they reached a park filled with the scattered remains of deceased cadets. Each body part was torn to shreds as if something ate them, ground their body up, and spat it out. It was unclear how many were scattered around the park. To them, it looked like 2/3s of the group had died. Samuel couldn't puke in the simulation. He didn't know how to react.

  As they went closer to inspect, a pinching sensation and a quick thrust lifted them into the air and flung them both toward an apartment building that was missing part of its wall. As they landed on their backs, they observed two cadets holding what appeared to be a sniper and aiming it out of the wall. The device that had lifted them flew back into the nozzle as the two cadets turned to face Oscar and Samuel.

  "You guys are some daredevils?" asked a cadet with a tone that sounded like a skater kid. "You like the feeling of pain?"

  That was Cadet Rio Ramirez. He was from Zone Christina. Zone Christina was known as a religious city due to 97% of the citizens there following Christianity. That was two times more than the next city, which was Zone Melgaard. Ramirez's frame was very noticeable among the cadets. He had a tall body but short arms.

  "What was that for?" asked Samuel. "What was that?"

  Standing behind both Samuel and Oscar was Cadet Moses. He stared at both of them as he held a sniper rifle in his hand. Cadet Tyrese Moses was from Kassandra, which was a small town outside the walls on a mountain. It overlooked Zone New Lyon. The Kassandrites resisted government control. They fought for their right to stay isolated. Because of this, Kassandra does not look up to the military. Any Kassandrite that serves the military is doing it for a reason. Tyrese Moses had the famous Kassandra scar below his left eye, which was a zigzag arrow. It was a symbol given at birth showing Kassandra's loyalty. He lowered his sniper and stretched his hand out.

  "You two have zero survival skills," he said. "Straight stooges."

  "Yeah, haha," laughed another cadet with a feminine voice. Cadet Sonya Miguel was sitting to the right of the opening. She was the other person pulling them up from the park. "I didn't realize that those lines could reach that far."

  Cadet Sonya Miguel was from Zone Procton. She had four siblings all serving in the military but was the only one serving in the Citadel. Her parents did not accept the fact that she didn't follow in the family footsteps. The fact that her cousins, nieces, nephews, and siblings were all serving in the Frontline Army and trying to become legionnaires while she was in the Citadel angered them all. But here she was, doing what she loved, and no one could stop her. Out of everyone in group D, she was most likely going to graduate with high honors.

  Lastly, a cadet concealed himself in the shadows, secretly repairing his rifle. Cadet Noah Bosco, referred to as Mr. Genius by all the cadets present besides Oscar and Samuel, was hiding in the shadows. Noah Bosco, a talkative person, was from Zone Hasting. He wore a necklace with the initials Z.H., which was very popular for people who lived in Zone Hasting. Oscar did not have one, but his mother always wore it whenever she went out to run errands.

  "Even though this is just a simulation, you guys gotta be cautious," Rio urged.

  Oscar walked over to the hole in the wall, looking out toward the small park.

  "I don't see anything, though," he said.

  "You already saw them," Noah Bosco spoke from the shadows. "The dead bodies are the enemies. It's a depiction of the destruction of Zone Prikanumdrup."

  "Mr. Genius is at it again," Sonya chuckled.

  "Big brain in a little body," Tyrese smiled.

  "Wow, keep the sucking to a minimum," Rio barked.

  As Rio continued to wave them off, Sonya, Tyrese, and Noah burst into laughter. They expressed themselves to each other as if they had been friends for years. However, they all hailed from within or near the 18 cities.

  "What do you mean, destruction of Zone Prikanumdrup?" asked Oscar. "What even is that?"

  Noah stood beside him as Sonya and Rio went back to looking out the hole. He stared at the simulated world ahead of him, then darted his eyes toward Oscar.

  "It happened before many of us were born," he continued. "Twenty-three years ago, Zone Prikanumdrup, which had around 84,000 citizens, fell within three days of fighting. Its wall was very weak, and it was isolated so far with such a limited amount of military resources, too. Those things you saw out there, the body parts, the sludge, they were all people the minute Frontline Army Legionnaires showed up."

  Noah Bosco looked Oscar straight in the eye.

  "You were mere seconds from feeling such horrible pain before flatlining," he uttered. "So horrible that we had to hear the screams of at least 21 cadets investigating the exact same thing. Approaching it caused harm."

  "Wh—what is it then?" Oscar asked. "What exactly caused their death? You said it was the sludge and body parts, but that makes no sense. We were standing near it."

  Tyrese sighed before speaking, "Your vision is terrible. The creatures that killed everyone were surrounding you. They're ancient, but the things that took down Zone Prikanumdrup were highly intelligent. So much so that rumors and shows depicted them as the result of a lab experiment conducted in another dead city located miles away from Zone Prikanumdrup."

  "Like, lab rat humans?" asked Oscar. "Like zombies?"

  "Hmm, probably. In a movie I watched, they were called The Weeping, or something like that," Rio said. "As Ty mentioned, it's an ancient concept. We're merely interpreting their depiction."

  "No one knows what they look like?" asked Samuel.

  "Not really," Noah spoke again. "But according to one documentary of the fall of Zone Prikanumdrup, it was rumored they had no eyes. They could open their mouths wide and had hundreds of razor-sharp teeth. They were stronger and faster than us, and loads of them were intelligent too. When they kill, they leave a substance within their victims that turns them into sludge with flesh-eating bacteria."

  Oscar was in complete shock.

  "Yah know?" Sonya spoke. "They can't hear us, right?"

  "Not to my knowledge," Rio responded. "Why?"

  "Yah think the higher-ups did this?" Sonya replied.

  "Sonya?" Tyrese shouted in terror.

  Zmp Zmp -----------

  "Release them," ordered Instructor Burns.

  "NOW!"