Hunted: Chapter 3

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Bit of news before we begin! So as not to flood the AWC, I will try to cram more content into each chapter, as well as post one chapter every 2nd/3rd day. If you want to read the previous two chapters, here they are:

 

Chapter 2

 

Chapter 1

 

Without any further (garble?), Allons-y!

 

 

 

Hunted: Chapter 3

 

Millis flipped the page.

 

The next page was full of yellow highlighter splotches, as if some child had found a yellow crayon, and was told to draw random symbols for a cookie.

 

That was what it looked like. Random symbols. Despite having mostly mastered twelve languages over the course of two centuries, Millis couldn't decipher the symbols, although it vaguely resembled Selenite numerals.

 

Millis had pretty much given up at this point, and resigned himself to continue reading, after staring at the symbols for awhile.

 

Oke heard a zapping sound, followed by some beeps. He felt like a hot spike had been removed from his head. He opened his eyes. He was sitting in some sort of chair, except his hands and feet were pinned, unable to move. He was now able to turn and lift his head, and his eyes were functioning normally.

 

The girl, Annie, had brown hair and matching eyes. She wore a lab coat, and in her hand was a clipboard. Oke was shocked to find that Sam had changed too, not just the clothes but also his hair and eye color.

 

"It was just advanced dye. Camouflage." explained Sam. "And yes, we are reading your thoughts. This machine is illegal by Intergalactic Law for non-law enforcement purposes, however, since the criminals all make them illegally, we are allowed to use them too to keep up with them."

 

"What... what happened?" asked Oke. "Where am I?"

 

"That's confidential." replied Annie. "Now, we will ask you questions, and you will answer them. No point in lying. The machine will know if you do. Understand?"

 

"Yes."

 

Annie looked at a monitor. "Good. Who are you? I want full name, personal info, that sort of thing."

 

"Why?"

 

Sam whistled appreciatively. "He's smart. If you got something to hide, just don't answer."

 

Annie turned on Sam. "Shut up! I don't even understand how you got them to promote you, but I'm telling you, if I hear another word from your mouth, I am going to wipe that smile off your face."

 

"Okay. You're the boss." Sam grinned.

 

Annie huffed for a bit, giving Sam the I'm-going-to-kill-you-but-not-here look. "Sorry about that. Right. Who are you?"

 

"I'm Oke. I'm an orphan. Mr. Gondola's House for Orphans. Umm... my friends are Carl, Freddy, and Max?"

 

Annie pressed a few keys on an old fashioned keyboard. "Logic circuits working... Temporal Extractor on... yep that's not helping." She smiled at Oke. "Sorry, could you give us a bit more information about yourself? Our computer is drawing a blank."

 

Oke was worried that something bad was going to happen. He trusted Sam, but wasn't so sure about Annie. After thinking it through a big, he decided to press his luck. "Where am I?"

 

Annie frowned at Oke. "We're the ones asking the questions."

 

"Yes, but you need me to answer them. So... let me guess. You sent Sam to get me the moment I saw through that Disperception Apparatus, right? You wanted to know who I am. Why I could see through it if I hadn't encountered alien technology before. Or if I did, what the technology was, because you are looking for alien technology on Earth, aren't you? Or are you enemies of the masked things? Oh! You're both, aren't you? So if I reveal whatever information I have, then I'm no use anymore, right? So why should I give away the information keeping me alive? So... here's the deal: a question for a question. Otherwise, you get nothing from me. Got that?"

 

Sam clapped enthusiastically. Annie glared at him.

 

"What? I wasn't talking!"

 

Annie rolled her eyes and looked at the monitor. "You don't have any tricks up your sleeve. A question for a question, confirmed."

 

Oke grinned. "Righty-o. What is this place?"

 

Annie bit her lip. "This is the Armory. A few centuries back, the Intergalactic Government passed a law saying that all planets Level 7 or lower, which means they haven't yet achieved interstellar travel, must be protected from wars, terrorism, criminals, etc. All the races agreed, so now we have been keeping X52, or the Earth, out of all major galactic conflicts. We're called Trackers. It's the most boring job out there, so all the 'aliens' here have basically no other choice. They go through a rigorous physical and moral training session and get deployed onto planets like these to protect the inhabitants. We've been keeping this planet safe from behind the scenes, with the help of a Disperception Apparatus. Even the Royal Family of Sanskar can't put a single tentacle on this planet without us rushing to the scene and arresting them. Although to be fair, we've had a few close calls. A tetrapod crash landed here and the public got wind of a photo before it was taken down..."

 

"Not my fault!" interjected Sam.

 

"I told you to quit talking, pudding brain! Anyways, recently, we got notified to the fact that the Galactic Emperor itself has set course for here, which brought with it the Masked Men."

 

"He's a human." whispered Sam.

 

Annie glared at Sam. "Right. You probably don't know what the Galactic Emperor is. It's the most luxurious starship out there, the fact being that it is actually a system of planets in perpetual orbit around one another. Pudding Brain here claims to have worked there. Although, the question is, why would he sink to a job like this?"

 

Sam shrugged. "It's fun?"

 

"As if. The Galactic Emperor was built three centuries ago, and Pudding Brain's been here for five. Anyways, the Galactic Emperor sent a distress call as soon as they were within distance of our planet. Turns out there was an accident in the laboratory that created the Masked Men. They stole a bunch of equipment including a time vortex, which by the way, is illegal except for government purposes and can time travel, so god knows what they've done. Anyways, they struck the main planet containing all the tourists. It was the large brown one, by the way. The staff were unable to evacuate a lot of the people, only about a third before they were forced to put the Galactic Emperor under lockdown. That means a forcefield was placed around the main planet. No one can come in or out, except through a small, heavily patrolled gate. They are still admitting survivors through, and sending parties in to discover more about the Masked Men. However, the Masked Men mysteriously spread to Earth, which is what we are investigating. Now, for my question: How could you see through the Disperception Apparatus?"

 

Oke's brain felt like it was going to explode, so all he could manage was an "I don't know".

 

Annie looked at her monitor and pounded her fist on the keyboard. "You really don't, do you? Oh well, we were gonna have to shoot you anyways."

 

She pulled out a small silver object from her pocket. It began whirring and flashing blue.

 

"Wait!" Oke cried, not sure what to do next. "I have useful information!"

 

Annie clicked a button and the light flashed red. Sam looked bored.

 

"The Selenites are at war with the Thurrs!"

 

Annie raised her eyebrow. Clicking another button, the whirring died down, along with the light. "How on Earth did you know?"

 

Sam, too, looked genuinely impressed.

 

Oke was confused. "I... I don't know. It was a guess."

 

Sam scoffed. "Some guess. I'd say there are unknown forces at play here. Until we figure out what they are, we need to keep Oke alive."

 

"Thanks for calling me by my name."

 

"No problem. Anyways, Annie, we can't let Oke out, or kill him, so we have to keep him here until we figure him out. In the meantime, I'll give him a tour, get him set up on the basics, etc. We could use an extra hand around here. Afterwords, I'll shoot him."

 

"Not so thanks."

 

"Anyways, upload the result. Everyone will probably understand. Then, you can catch up on your quality sleep. I'll handle the rest."

 

Annie seemed a little peeved by how Sam and Oke wiggled their way out, but she didn't want to spend the rest of the day interrogating Oke either.

 

"Alright. But if anything happens, I'm reporting it to Sarah."

 

*******

 

Sam was surprisingly good at giving a tour. He showed Oke where the bathrooms, cafeteria, and elevator were, along with the Interrogation Room (obviously), and the library. The other people paid them no mind.

 

"And over here, is Reception." Sam gestured, pointing to a modern marble and glass area. "Don't worry about those glass doors. They push, pull, slide, or rotate, whatever you prefer. And the entire military forces on this planet couldn't break down that glass. It's Validium. Over there are some sofas for when you're waiting. WiFi is complementary. That office block area is where visitors check in, and staff receive awards and promotions. Although there's a ceremony usually in the cafeteria where you invite your friends. It's informal. Anyways, this is also where you get assigned missions and stuff."

 

A tall woman with flamingo-colored glasses walked briskly towards them. "Hello Oke, I'm Sarah. Head of the Armory. Welcome! I would like to inform you that we have a very strict policy on discipline, and I expect the same of you as I would any Tracker."

 

Sam and Oke watched as she marched off, having a conversation with someone on a fancy phone.

 

"She's clearly not thrilled about you." mused Sam.

 

"What's up with that black stripe on her uniform?" asked Oke.

 

"Oh, standard military rankings. You'll get a uniform from Laundry too. It'll probably be in your room tonight. Anyways, blue stripes are for visitors and recruits. When you pass the basic training test and medical examination, and receive your tour obviously, you'll get a green stripe. That's for trainees. You can choose whatever you want to train to become, unless there's a vacancy that needs to be filled. However, a silver stripe has to agree to take you on as their apprentice. Once you learn how to do your job and pass a final examination, you get your bronze stripe. Then, if you commit a particular act of honor or valor, you get a white stripe along with your bronze one. For Trackers, that would mean completing a mission. After four months and three white stripes as a bronze, you get your silver stripe. That means you are a qualified master and can take on a green stripe as your apprentice. To reach a gold stripe, you have to be appointed. If you are deemed an extraordinary silver, then you get promoted, but that's rare. Diamond stripes are for the head of any department. They get appointed by Sarah from silver or golds. The head tracker is Russell. The main thing about diamond stripes is they run the department and appoint gold stripes. The black stripe is obviously given to the head of the Armory. That would be Sarah. There is an election every year, but between you and me, I think it's rigged in her favor."

 

"Okay, I understand." Oke quickly said, preventing Sam from ranting on. "Continue the tour."

 

Sam cleared his throat. "Anyways... look at the glass doors again."

 

"Uh huh?"

 

"Now turn around. See those glass stairs up ahead? They're positioned so you can see the reflection in the doors. Go up those stairs and to the right will be the rooms. You'll get a key later. To the left is that red door. Whatever you do, don't open it. We're not gonna go up the stairs right now. We just came from the right side, so now we are going to continue left."

 

Oke followed Sam as he jogged around the corner and up a stair painted entirely yellow. He noticed that most people, Sam included were bronze, although there were a few silvers. Occasionally, they would bump into a gold, but any other color was yet to be found.

 

"This is the main hallway. You'll notice it's huge. Most of the other stuff branch off of this, so if you ever get lost, find the main hallway. The floor is unique. Some parts are a mosaic of marbles, while others are glass with an aquarium underneath full of alien fish. Come with me."

 

Oke and Sam turned onto a smaller flight of stairs, entering a room humming with the sound of machinery. It was full of random bits scattered here and there, along with stacks of boxes mixed with white contraptions. A hand painted sign read "Laundry". A boy was walking towards them, holding a package. He looked younger than the rest of the people in the Armory.

 

"Jamie!" Sam called out, beaming.

 

"Hello Sam." Jamie responded.

 

"Congratulations! I heard all about it. Intense mission. How's the silver stripe?"

 

Jamie held out the package. "It's right here. I was just coming to pick it up."

 

Sam made a fuss of observing the package. "Looks good. I was just showing Oke here around. Oke, meet Jamie. Jamie, this is Oke."

 

Oke and Jamie shook hands. "Nice to meet you."

 

"Same here."

 

Jamie turned back to Sam. "Alright then. Take care."

 

"You too."

 

Sam watched as Jamie retreated back up the stairs, before turning to Oke. "You know, he is the youngest ever silver stripe at fourteen. Impressive, isn't it? Anyways, we came here for a stripe too. Thought you might like your uniform now."

 

Sam led Oke towards the back of the room where a portly man sat listening to music. Sam tapped on his desk. "Hello, Cole."

 

The man pulled out his earbuds and turned around. "Hello, how may I help you?"

 

Cole smiled at Oke, who was staring at his diamond stripe. "Ah, Head of Laundry. Not exactly the most impressive diamond stripe. I was only promoted because the last one quit of boredom. I'm thinking of doing to same to be completely honest. Anyways, what do you want? Just stopping by?"

 

Sam beamed again. "Actually, I was giving Oke here his tour. We just thought we'd stop by to get Oke his uniform."

 

"Sure thing." Cole replied, handing a small brown package to Oke. "Fresh out of the Atom Condenser. You'll notice they changed the color of the stripe, made it a shade lighter to sky blue from navy. Sarah thought it would brighten up the Armory. They made green lighter to a lime too."

 

"Alright. Thanks, Cole."

 

Oke took the package. It was slightly hot, but he could manage. Sam bid farewell to Cole, and they returned up the stairs.

 

"You know, I can speak for myself." Oke whispered to Sam. "I don't need you to say everything for me."

 

Sam glanced back at Oke. "Just making sure. I can never tell with humans if they're shy. Put that uniform on; let's see it!"

 

"Won't I stick out like a sore thumb?"

 

"I think that's Sarah's point. Better than making her angry, though."

 

Oke reluctantly put on the light brown uniform and khakis. The blue stripe was harder, Sam explained that it was supposed to be worn over one shoulder and under the other so that it crossed your chest. Oke fumbled with the pin for a bit, but eventually got the hang of things.

 

"Alright!" Sam exclaimed, "Let's continue!"

 

Sam led the way to a section of the hallway that was made of glass. Left, right, above, and below was a giant room full of swimming pools, exercise equipment, tracks, and obstacle courses. The hallway, which looked huge, now felt like a tiny bridge spanning a giant chasm.

 

"Behold, the training center! You can find everything here. This is the physical health section. There's a tiny door down below that leads to the mental training area. If we follow the hallway, it will bend and there will be another glass passageway where we can observe the sculpture of the alien brain, along with the mental health facilities. In the meantime though, let's visit the Infirmary for your medical examination."

 

The infirmary turned out to be a large well-lit hospital ward right where the hallway bent. It was run by a friendly old man called Dr. Moss. He struck up a conversation with Oke while he was checking him for diseases and such. It turned out Dr. Moss had recently turned one thousand years old, and was coping well. He expected to retire in a few years and live on a quiet planet near the edge of the galaxy, away from the Selenite-Thurr Conflict. After checking Oke for contagious viruses, and making sure he was in good physical condition, he gave Oke a bag of teeth-friendly alien candy and sent him on his way.

 

"Well." Sam said, checking off a box on a to-do list he had created while Oke was getting his health checked. "We still have to get your basic training test in the mental facility, and then I have to show you the Arsenal and Treasury, and be back in time for dinner. Hopefully you'll get your green stripe."

 

Oke followed Sam around the bend and into a small glass elevator. "You do realize that this is all completely safe Validium glass forged in the volcanoes of Rath Karur? I know it looks bendy and is slightly faster than your average Earth elevator, and it is relatively high up, but it only takes at most a minute to make the journey down." Sam said, as the elevator hurtled downward on a twisty path like a roller coaster. Oke just tried not to lose his lunch, even though he didn't have any.

 

The elevator made a pleasant ding sound as it arrived and the doors shattered open.

 

"It'll repair itself." explained Sam. "Come on. We need to find Tyler and Miranda."

 

Oke and Sam walked out of the doors, which had already begun to reassemble, and into a giant white room full of sculptures and paintings. Rather than a mental training facility, it looked more like a museum full of alien moving sculptures, hologram paintings, and strange things that wouldn't have been called "art" on Earth.

 

Oke noticed Sam was admiring a particular hologram painting and walked over.

 

"It's called '2 Ponds and a River'." Sam remarked. "I never thought they would've been able to buy a copy of this."

 

"It looks like a frowny face, sorta." Oke said, tilting his head sideways.

 

"That's not the point. This isn't some child's drawing. Notice how one pond is masculine and another feminine? And how the river flows like a song?"

 

Oke frowned. "Not really."

 

Sam cleared his throat. "You should watch more TV. Anyways... moving on."

 

"You say that a lot."

 

"It's become my catchphrase."

 

Sam and Oke walked between the rows of artwork towards a relatively simple neon desk at the back. They would occasionally bump into people admiring "The Mona Liza", or "The Last Super". One person was staring intently at Edward Hunch's "Shout".

 

The neon desk turned out not to be a desk, but rather a box made of neon. Similar boxes were arranged along the perimeter of the room.

 

"Antigravity boxes." explained Sam, jumping on one. "Flip yourself so you don't land on your head when the gravity switches."

 

Oke copied Sam, spinning as soon as he touched a box, but unfortunately hadn't had much practice and landed on his back.

 

"That's a good first attempt." Sam said, strolling over. "I wish they'd get rid of these. But they need to cram more people into more spaces. I know it looks real trippy, but unless the artificial gravity holds, we won't plummet to our deaths. Come on, I found them."

 

Oke followed Sam to a corner of the room, where two teenagers were conversing. The boy had a black T-shirt and some ripped jeans, and looked about as unprofessional as you could get. The girl on the other hand had elegant clothing and spoke in long, seemingly complicated sentences.

 

"Tyler, Miranda, meet Oke." Sam said, pushing Oke forward.

"Nice to meet you, Oke." Tyler said, shaking Oke's hand.

 

"You too."

 

"Very happy to finally meet you." Miranda said, shaking Oke's hand vigorously.

 

"Uhh... same." Oke said, unsure of what to do.

 

"Have you got any spare Virtual Reality Links for Oke? He needs to take his test."

 

"Of course." Tyler replied. "Hold on, they've changed the training test protocols today. They reduced the time for the written questions by 25%, and they added a few requirements including beating the computer at chess and knowledge of garden shrubs."

 

Oke raised an eyebrow. "That's a big coincidence."

 

"Don't worry. The passing grade was only raised from a 70% to an 80%. Sarah has a reputation to keep as a fair leader."

 

Oke scoffed. "Yeah right. Maybe that's why my blue stripe somehow reflects the light while every other stripe doesn't."

 

Tyler shrugged. "Miranda, would you mind fetching me a VRL?"

 

"Get them yourself. It was my turn last time."

 

"Okay."

 

Tyler got up and walked towards a corner of the room. The other people blocked Oke's vision of him, so he couldn't see what Tyler was doing.

 

"Whatever you, don't let him give you any of his new sugar raisins." Miranda said to Oke, smiling. "I made the mistake of trying one. They're absolutely awful."

 

"Don't worry. I hate raisins." Oke replied.

 

"I'm back!" Tyler announced, holding a bulky helmet-like object. "Oke, this is a VRL. It scans your body for your entire DNA and memories, stuff like that, then uploads them to the helmet in a virtual reality world. The whole time, you are dreaming, so the virtual world seems real. The point of this is so that we can see your reaction to actual events, like getting chased by a water buffalo, without actually getting chased by a water buffalo. After each test, it wipes your memory, so the whole test seems real. Then it gives you a score and wakes you up. So... ready when you are."

 

"Good luck." Sam whispered.

 

"You'll do fine." Miranda said, as the helmet slid over Oke's eyes, plunging him into darkness.

 

*******

 

After about an hour, the test was over. Oke popped the helmet off his head and groaned. "There's an hour of my life I'm not getting back. How'd I do?"

 

Sam grimaced. "Seventy-nine. Just barely failed on the last course."

 

Oke threw his hands. "I failed on I test I can't even remember. That's a first. What happens now?"

 

"Well, you stay a blue stripe forever unless you pass this test. And you're unlikely to improve since you don't even know what's on the test. In fact, no one except Sarah does."

 

Oke fought tears as he realized Sarah had won. "Okay."

 

"Don't worry." Sam said halfheartedly. "I'm sure there's a place for you here. Next election isn't that far away. Maybe we can elect a different leader than Sarah and change the rules."

 

"Yeah, maybe. You said it yourself. 'The election is rigged'."

 

Oke was about to throw the VRL at the wall when he heard a whooshing sound. He turned around. Right before his eyes, four Masked Men appeared behind him. Tyler and Miranda stood up, shocked. Before Oke could say anything, a fifth Masked Man appeared behind Tyler, strangling him. Miranda shrieked and backed up.

 

The Masked Man held Tyler briefly, almost as if it was shocked by what it did, before tossing the lifeless body onto an anti gravity box. The body was suspended for a brief period of time, before shooting upwards.

 

There was a brief silence, and then everyone surged for an anti gravity box. A second wave of Masked Men appeared, picking off stragglers and extinguishing the life out of them. Miranda was bashed against the wall, before the strangest thing occurred. She began to glow a ghostly white, and a Masked Man emerged from her body.

 

"C'mon!" Sam shouted, pulling Oke with him. Oke was too stunned to react, but he realized that he couldn't help anyone and followed Sam.

 

Most people had already fled somewhere, and only a few slow people were left. Oke followed Sam, sprinting for a small red box, but he couldn't keep up. Oke stopped to catch his breath, and when he looked up again, Sam was gone.

 

"Sam!" Oke called. There was no response.

 

"Sam! Sam! SAM!"

 

Oke realized that he was truly alone, and felt a surge of adrenaline, bolting for the box. Twenty steps. Fifteen. Ten. Nine.

 

Oke leaped for the box, stretching his hands. He could almost taste victory. There were no Masked Men in front of him. He could hear a few behind him sprinting to catch up, but there was no way they would reach him in time.

 

And then he noticed Sam's inanimate body on the ground, glowing.

 

Oke felt a momentary confusion before a Masked Man appeared in front of him, knocking Oke over.

 

Oke struggled to get up as the Masked Man had a hand on Oke's foot. There was a cracking sound, and Oke screamed. Partly out of pain, partly out of frustration. He had been so close to the box.

 

The Masked Man looked momentarily liked it had regretted something, before swinging Oke around by his foot and bashing him against the nearest wall.

 

Oke slid onto the ground, but as the Masked Man closed in, he felt the strangest sensation like he was waking from a dream.

 

*******

 

After about an hour, the test was over. Oke popped the helmet off his head and groaned. "There's an hour of my life I'm not getting back. How'd I do?"

 

Sam smiled. "A ninety-four. The computer says you failed the last test horribly, but you passed the rest, save for chess against the computer and garden shrubs."

 

"See? I told you you'd do well." remarked Miranda.

 

Sam frowned at Oke. "Are you okay? You're all clammy and pale. You look like you saw a ghost."

 

Oke looked at Sam. "Maybe I have."

 

Sam smiled. "Don't worry. The memory will fade in a few seconds, and you won't remember any of it."

 

"I hope so."

 

*******

 

"The Arsenal and the Treasury!" Sam exclaimed, waving his hands wildly at two doors. "The one on the right is a vault door made of Individium. Makes the Validium glass doors at the entrance look like paper. Nothing in the entire universe, save for an antimatter spectrum and a few other illegal weapons could bust through that. Behind there is the Treasury, storing not just all the gold for the Armory, but also food, water, and stuff if there's a shortage."

 

Sam turned on the spot. "You'll notice that the main hallway bent around the Infirmary. It's kind of shaped like a horseshoe. If Reception was one end of the horseshoe, the Arsenal is the other. It contains all our weapons and tools and gadgets and stuff, which are infinitely more cool than any Earth sci-fi gadgets."

 

"What's that?" Oke asked, pointing at the ceiling.

 

"Oh, that's an image of the Entity Black Hole. Largest in the known universe. See, the ceiling and floor sort of form a reflective dome, meaning that we are standing on the largest telescope on Earth right now. So that is a high quality picture of the Black Hole. On a good day, you can see a dying nebula going out it all its glory. Once we saw a supernova. Another time, we saw the destruction of the Selenite home world. It's a shame the Thurrs had to come in and ruin it though with propaganda speeches and the likes."

 

"Okay. Continue."

 

Sam pushed open a thick cement door. "Follow me."

 

The Arsenal looked like an aircraft hangar. Except for the fact that it was huger, made entirely of concrete, not as well-lit, and instead of aircraft, it had what suspiciously looked like nuclear warheads. Scattered equipment was everywhere.

 

"There are three parts to the Arsenal." explained Sam. "The first part is equipment we use everyday. Tasers, walkie talkies, blasters, electromagnetic pulses, drones, that kind of stuff. There's also a few alien technologies, like a Disperception Apparatus, AKA a DA. Ever since the Intergalactic Government cut our funding, most of our equipment has been manufactured on Earth. We have a company called 'Military Productions' supply a dummy company, 'Ross and Co.' with all the equipment. Then a team goes to the Ross and Co. building and picks up all the stuff."

 

Sam walked among the equipment, explaining what everything did.

 

"Don't you have a system for security in case anyone steals anything?" Oke asked.

 

"Sure. There's an electrical field surrounding all the equipment. It stuns organic matter. It's the same principle that me and Annie used in the Interrogation room when we had pulses passing through your arms and legs to keep you from moving. So in order to get equipment, you have to check out a robot to get it for you. And the robots are a lot easier to guard than a giant hangar."

 

"Alright. What's the second part?"

 

"It's past that yellow line. All the stuff over there is Restricted. We can't use it one a day to day basis, for various reasons. You'll notice the nuclear warheads are obviously Restricted. We also have various vulgar weapons and advanced technology that can't fall into human hands if one of the Trackers gets caught. Some of the equipment is also really expensive and gets worn out easily."

 

Sam stepped over the yellow line and came to a garage door at the back of the room. There was a loud humming sound.

 

"Don't touch it. The electrical field is at its most potent here. Behind that door is Illegal. All weapons and equipment are banned by Intergalactic Law."

 

"So why do you have it if it's illegal? I thought you were deployed to enforce the law."

 

"We do." Sam sighed. "Unfortunately, criminals smuggle illegal weapons. In order to keep up with them, we have fight fire with fire. Behind there are some of the most terrible weapons known to man--I mean alien-kind. There's Stinging Venom."

 

"What's that?" asked Oke.

 

"Ever heard of the human weapon anthrax?"

 

"No."

 

"Well, you can always Google it. But I'll explain it anyways. Anthrax is a bio-weapon. It is a strain of bacteria that can linger in harsh conditions for decades. You can get anthrax by just inhaling it. It's a deadly bacteria but the scariest thing about it is you could be sitting in a room full of anthrax right now and not even know it."

 

"Oh."

 

"Well, see, it's very unlikely for someone to use anthrax on you. It's not very common, and it is pretty inefficient and doesn't kill you instantly. Stinging Venom, on the other hand, is bio-programmable."

 

"What's that mean?"

 

"I was just waiting for you to ask. Bio-programmable means that you can edit the DNA of Stinging Venom to whatever you like. Now, in its natural form, Stinging Venom just gives you nasty stinging pains, hence the name, but the DNA of Stinging Venom is so accessible and editable that scientists have created a million strains of it by just bombarding it with radiation and causing it to mutate. It's cheap and effective. Some strains kill you almost instantly, but that's not all. Some incinerate their victims and remove all evidence and prevent police from performing an autopsy. Some replace cells with hydrogen pockets as they murder their victims. The benefits of this for a terrorist are twofold. Hydrogen is explosive and flammable. A side effect of this is that the victim inflates and floats up to the ceiling-"

 

"Okay, that's enough."

 

Sam glanced back at Oke. "Oh."

 

"What?"

 

"You're upset."

 

"No, it's fine."

 

Sam narrowed his eyebrows. "No, you aren't. You've had a hectic day. You came out of the test looking like you saw a ghost. Is there anyone you want to talk to?"

 

Oke half-smiled. "Well, my parents, but they're-"

 

"No problem!" Sam insisted. "I can just-"

 

"No, you don't understand. They died when I was little."

 

Sam grinned. "No, you don't understand." He pulled out a large green orb from his pocket. "This is a Reanimation Sphere. I stole it, don't tell anyone."

 

"You stole something?!"

 

"Uhh... I wanted to figure out why something went wrong. Anyways, you know how when you were taking the test, a VRL uploaded you to a dream world?"

 

"Yeah...?"

 

"Well, a Reanimation Sphere can upload deceased minds to a dream world, too. Don't worry, they stay sleeping in there. Until, of course, you decide to upload your mind to have a chat with them. If you need comfort, or advice, or anything. The Reanimation Sphere is different from the VRL. It doesn't wipe your memories. Of course, you are still dreaming, so when you wake up you forget the dream, but with enough practice, you can still retain a message. It stays in your subconscious. You don't know it's there, but it helps guide you, knowing that your ancestors are watching over you."

 

"So how do I start?"

 

Sam tossed the orb onto the ground. "You look at the Sphere and focus. By the way, look at the clock. It's 4:00."

 

Oke looked at the Sphere and tried to focus and imagine his parents. He turned back to Sam. "Nothing. It didn't work."

 

Sam smiled. "Are you sure? I'm standing in a different spot than I was earlier, I'm holding a cup of coffee, which I didn't have, and the time is 5:00. You just spent an hour chatting away. You've just forgot. So... what message did you retain?"

 

Oke frowned. "I... don't know."

 

"Don't worry. You're still new; you just need practice. But regardless, we have to hustle back to the cafeteria for dinner. They're serving Selenite Stew today, and you're ranking up to a green stripe."

 

*******

 

The cafeteria was a noisy place. It was like a gym, with tables haphazardly set up. You sat at a table based on your rank. Oke was the only blue stripe and sat at his own table, which was evidently unused in a very long time and was incredibly dusty. There was no green table, as trainees sat next to the silver that was training them. Sam was laughing away at the bronze table. It was the largest by far, containing most of the staff. Oke recognized Tyler and a few other people he met in the hallways.

 

Annie sat talking to Miranda at the silver table. It was about half the size of the bronze table, so there were still a sizable amount of silvers. Oke didn't recognize anybody else except for Jamie.

 

A few golds sat at their own table. They were all very quiet and disciplined, not raising their voices to talk.

 

The final table was the most extravagant, containing all the diamonds and Sarah (who apparently didn't want to sit at her own table). Oke recognized Cole and Dr. Moss, who were talking to each other.

 

"What would you like to eat?"

 

Oke looked up. A drone was hovering next to his left ear.

 

"Um... is there a menu?"

 

The drone flew away. A minute later, it flew back and dropped a small packet in Oke's lap. Oke didn't understand what most of the menu items were and ended up ordering a Selenite Stew and some cookies.

 

The stew was pretty good, but the cookies tasted suspiciously like sawdust and, not wanting to be rude, Oke put them in his pocket "to eat later". He ended fiddling with his spoon the rest of dinner.

 

"Everyone, may I have your attention please?"

 

Everyone turned around and stopped eating.

 

Sarah bowed. "Thank you. As you all know, we will be welcoming a new recruit to the Armory." She gestured towards Oke.

 

Oke stood up and gave everyone a wave, trying not to think about the half-eaten cookie in his pocket, and sat back down.

 

"We also have multiple stripes to hand out. As usual, we will be only stating the last initial of each person for secrecy reasons. Starting with the white stripes, we have one for Sam S. and Annie H. on an excellent mission and the successful rescue of Oke unscathed!"

 

Everybody clapped as Annie and Sam walked over to the diamond table and received their white stripes. Sam gave a little speech about how Annie was incredibly annoying to work with, which received a few laughs and a dirty look from Annie.

 

Once they sat down, Sarah called up a man named Dennis M. for his gold stripe. Oke tried to pay attention, but he was getting increasingly nervous about his own green stripe, especially since Sarah was sure to have something nasty in store. Unable to focus, Oke zoned out for the remainder of the speech, instead daydreaming about the boring life back at the orphanage. Despite making a few friends, there wasn't anything Oke really missed save for a few personal possessions.

 

"... and our only silver stripe for today, Tracker Sam S. who received his third and final white stripe required for the rank on his most recent mission. Everybody, let's welcome Sam back up with a generous round of applause!"

 

Oke sat up. Sam walked up to the stage and received his stripe.

 

"Umm... there isn't anything I want to say that I haven't said earlier." Sam remarked. He seemed to be pretty popular within the Armory, as he received a few chuckles from the bronze table.

 

"I feel incredibly honored to be receiving this stripe. I know most of our Trackers come and go before completing their three missions, always off to better jobs elsewhere. I think it is a true demonstration of perseverance in achieving this honor, before skirting off to work at Space McDonald's. In other news, I would like to announce that I am the same rank as Annie now. Some of you may recall that earlier I was punished by having all my missions supervised by a higher rank. I'm glad to say that I don't have to be working with her again! Now, some of you may be wondering what Gold I will be working with, but rest assured, I had a chat with Sarah and we agreed to cut my punishment short. Thank you for listening."

 

Sam did a little bow and retreated to the bronze table, where he was surrounded by people congratulating him. Someone handed him a marker, which he used to write his signature on the table.

 

Sarah cleared her throat. "May I have everyone's attention please? Thank you. Our final stripe of tonight goes to Oke E., who I have been told is qualified to rank up to a green stripe. We are pleased to welcome our newest trainee. Everyone, let's give him a fabulous round of applause!"

 

Oke rose and walked up to the diamond table. As he shook Sarah's hand, he stifled a shout as he felt his hand being squeezed like a lemon. Sam had told him that Sarah despised him, but Oke hadn't realized it was this much. It was like Sarah downright hated him.

 

"Any words? Do you have a speech you want to give?" Sarah asked grinning, handing Oke the green stripe.

 

"Uhh... yeah." Oke said, trying to look cool. At least he was in his uniform, not his orphanage rags. "I would just like to thank... uh... Sam for saving my life earlier today from the Masked Men and giving me the tour. I would also like to thank Annie for sparing my life earlier today instead of shooting me with a blaster. I feel honored to um... receive this green stripe. Yeah."

 

There was a scattering of applause.

 

"I'm sure we all feel very happy for Oke," Sarah announced. "By the way, Oke, have you put any thought into what you wanted train for?"

 

Shoot. Oke had forgotten to think about what he wanted to be. Luckily, however, it wasn't that hard of a choice.

 

"I want to train to be a Tracker."

 

"Oke dear, has Sam explained to you training?" Sarah asked politely.

 

"Uhh... yeah. A silver has to agree to take you as their apprentice."

 

"Good." Sarah lowered her voice. "Then you'll realize that none of the Trackers seem to be interested in training you, right dear? They don't deal with humans very well, do they?" She raised her voice again. "I'm sure there is a spot for you in the Laundry Department. Cole would be pleased to have you working under him, am I right?"

 

Cole looked slightly uneasy. "Yes ma'am."

 

"Then I'm sure he'll find a-"

 

"Umm... actually, I'll train Oke to be a Tracker."

 

Everyone turned to the source of the noise.

 

Sam stood up slowly. "If that's fine with all of you... I, Sam S., take Oke E. as my apprentice. From now on, I take full responsibility for Oke's actions until he has completed training. I will do everything in my power to help Oke through training. I solemnly swear to this on my honor. That's the oath, isn't it?"

 

Sarah frowned. "Close enough."

 

Sam sat back down. "Well then. Training starts tomorrow."

 

Oke started to walk back to his seat too.

 

"Wait!"

 

Sarah handed Oke a red slip.

 

"What's this?"

 

"Official Warning. Insolence. Three of these and you get kicked out of the Armory."

 

Oke stood there, shocked.

 

"Now you may sit back down."

 

Oke returned to his seat, still recovering from the turn of events.

 

"Dinner is over. Everybody may return to their quarters. Curfew is at 9:00. If I catch anybody wandering about, they'll get an Official Warning too."

 

Everybody got up and walked out the door, murmuring.

 

"Oh, and could I see Sam S. for a second?"

 

Oke watched as Sarah handed Sam a red slip. "Official Warning. Talking out of Turn."

 

Sarah whispered something in Sam's ear, before raising her voice again. "Kitchen Staff may return to their quarters too. Sam and Oke have cleaning duty today."

 

Oke looked on, horrified, as Sarah waltzed out the door and closed it behind her.

 

As soon as she was out of earshot, Sam gestured for Oke to come closer. "I can't believe it. Talking out of Turn isn't even on the list of things that can land you an Official Warning. Neither is Insolence."

 

Oke gaped at the amount of stuff he needed to clean up. "Does the curfew apply to us, too?"

 

"Everyone's too scared to say anything to Sarah, so yeah."

 

"We're screwed."

 

"Well observed, Einstein. Mind if I make a note of that?"

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________

 

Questions? Thoughts? Predictions? Room for Improvement? Comment below!

 

Yeah, this was a really long chapter. Most won't be this long, but to be fair, the outline for this chapter was just:

-Interrogation of Oke

-Tour of Armory (most rooms will be important later on; probably want to make a note of that *hint *hint)

-Reanimation Sphere Scene (VERY IMPORTANT)

-Dinner Scene

as I was planning for each chapter here on out to be thrice as long as previous two

 

And spoilers for next time:

-Wild goose chases

 

That's all folks!

Edited May 8, 2017 by Blackdrakon30

[Blackdrakon30 2,943]

No edits (Grammar was good already)

 

Approved

 

Great new chapter! I definitely like how the plot progressed, and you did an excellent job with the dialogue. Just a heads up, something that might work for you (since you don't want to flood AWC, but this seems a bit long) is to put each chapter in a spoiler, and just post them all into one AWC topic called "Hunted" or whatever. You could just bump it whenever you write a new chapter, and then edit in a new spoiler with another chapter.

 

Just a suggestion.  :ph34r: 

[shafter9 156]

Annie raised her eyebrow. Clicking another button, the whirring died down, along with the light. "How on Earth did you know?"

 

"How on earth" is not an intergalactic expression...

 

It's "Mona Lisa" not "Mona Liza"

[pieface101 285]

Annie raised her eyebrow. Clicking another button, the whirring died down, along with the light. "How on Earth did you know?"

 

"How on earth" is not an intergalactic expression...

 

It's "Mona Lisa" not "Mona Liza"

a) One would assume that after spending much time on Earth, one would achieve basic understanding of Earth vocabulary, communication, and slang, especially considering that one must communicate effectively with humans. Oke probably would not have understood if Annie said something like "By the seven moons of Selenium"

 

b:   it's an um... parody? Mona Liza instead of Lisa, The Last Super instead of The Last Supper, and Edward Hunch's Shout instead of Scream. xD

 

Nice catches  :P .

Edited May 9, 2017 by pieface101

[Kuhaku 87]

GAH! He copied my "any thoughts or suggestions, comment below part"

 

but it's ok :D

 

nice story, really, really liked it!!!

[pieface101 285]

No edits (Grammar was good already)

 

Approved

 

Great new chapter! I definitely like how the plot progressed, and you did an excellent job with the dialogue. Just a heads up, something that might work for you (since you don't want to flood AWC, but this seems a bit long) is to put each chapter in a spoiler, and just post them all into one AWC topic called "Hunted" or whatever. You could just bump it whenever you write a new chapter, and then edit in a new spoiler with another chapter.

 

Just a suggestion.  :ph34r: 

Only problem is the logical fallacy of how I would get my chapters approved xD. Probably best to stick by this method and s p a c e each chapter apart.

[HAPPSHOT 2,029]

"It's become my catchphrase."

 

Are you sure that " It is become my catchphrase" is correct?

I guess it's it has become my catch phrase.

 

 

Awesome! Can't wait for the next one!

[Kuhaku 87]

Nice!!

[marc.jp_44 20,837]

Gee, write a book already! :lol:

I'm sorry but I don't have the time to read all of that but it seems impossible to write that much and write it badly. Only complaint would be the visuals on this. Generic grey text often doesn't make the right first impressions that you want from the reader. Otherwise, good luck! ;)

[HAPPSHOT 2,029]

The best article of this month has only 3 likes

Edited May 24, 2017 by HAPPSHOT

[pieface101 285]

Gee, write a book already! :lol:

I'm sorry but I don't have the time to read all of that but it seems impossible to write that much and write it badly. Only complaint would be the visuals on this. Generic grey text often doesn't make the right first impressions that you want from the reader. Otherwise, good luck! ;)

I'm afraid I lack the um... patience to write a full book.

 

As you may notice, the next chapter is taking a little while due to procrastination and/or length.

[Penguin40 1,714]

I'm afraid I lack the um... patience to write a full book.

 

As you may notice, the next chapter is taking a little while due to procrastination and/or length.

Yeah I know, writing 20k words isn't easy, and I also know this chapter amounts to 14.1k words, fun fact if you didn't know :p

[shafter9 156]

"I will try to cram more content into each chapter, as well as post one chapter every 2nd/3rd day."

reaalllyyy.