Burning Phoenix - Saga 1

(Prominis 19, 58 / 6:00PM)

Four years later…

(Jerry) Class dismissed! You guys are finally finished with your last day of training! I hope you all do well on the final test!

As Jerry dismissed the class full of teens and young adults, he quickly walked out of the classroom, his face lightened and calm.

(Jerry’s thoughts) Maybe this is the day that Jenny will go out with me.

As the 14 candidates were packing up their things for the day, 16-year-old Luke looked out the old window, seeing the calm and orange sky as it was turning darker each minute.

(Luke’s thoughts) Guess this is it…

Getting up, he checked the calendar on the back of the room, the calendar stacked with 24 months of the year. While checking, four other guys came over, checking out the white and bulky calendar too.

(Fred) Why do we have 24 months in a year?

(Luke) Because Terra does a full orbit around the sun in 24 months?

(Fred) Yeah, but how come we’re both 16 and not eight?

(Gary) It’s quite simple dumbasses, we all have two birthdays in the same year.

(Stan) Yeah, we always had one odd birthday and one even birthday. Your even birthday is technically your true birthday, as well as the fact that we all sort of decided to divide the year into two years…

(Diego) Come on Fred, it’s basic knowledge…

As the boy group was discussing amongst themselves the basics of months and years, Luke noticed that Hope was staring at him, her timid nature holding her back from reaching to Luke, despite being a 17-year-old.

Fred notices Hope’s shyness and he reaches out to Luke, placing his arm over his neck.

(Fred) You should ask her out man.

(Luke) Look, I just—

(Diego) Go for it, she’s into you.

(Luke) H-Hold up—

(Gary) Freaking loverboy…

(Luke) Time out!

Luke, flustered that all his friends were trying to set him up with Hope, wanted to hide in a corner, his body shivering with timidness and lack of assertion.

(Luke) I mean … she is cute … but …

(Stan) But what?

(Luke) There’s her…

Luke looks to where Luna is sitting, the 20-year-old glaring at Luke and the boys, her way of showing dominance and fear. Four years prior, Luna was the coldest and meanest girl that everyone laid eyes on. Now, she was more of an annoyance, since even all of Luke’s friends just calmly looked at her.

(Gary) You always attract either the shyest or the craziest…

Getting up from her seat, Luna made her way towards the boy group, her walk filled with a barrage of dominance and complete charge as she came across Luke.

Luke hit a growth spurt a few years back, so he was an inch taller than Luna. As Luna examined Luke with her predator's eyes, she let out a smug grin, her lips letting out a small chuckle.

(Luna) I need you to come with me.

(Luke) … sure.

Just as Luna was about to leave with Luke in tow, Hope was in her way, her eyes filled with jealousy and determination. Luna wasn’t in the mood for Hope, since she planned this day to be special…

(Luna) Move…

Hope continued to not move, her fists starting to clench themselves as her body shook.

(Luna) Move or else…

As Luna towered over Hope, about to grab her collar and pull her up when-

(Gwen) Hello! I hope all of you are having a good evening!

As Gwen barged into the room, she noticed that both Hope and Luna were at it again. Sighing, she crossed her arms, smirking a bit as she seemed to be enjoying the commotion.

(Gwen) You two again? Fighting for a boy like always?

Both Luna and Hope’s cheeks were burdened with red, their bodies filled with butterflies as Gwen exposed them. Hope remained timid as she looked downwards with a face as red as a four-clawed lobster, while Luna had the complete opposite reaction.

(Luna) Shut up! It’s not like he’s special or anything…

(Gwen) Hmmm…

(Luna) What are you here for anyway? If it’s for a dumb reason then I’ll kick your ass!

As Luna changed the subject, Gwen then stood up straight. Her smirk disappeared and her eyes narrowed.

(Gwen) Tomorrow, we’re going to be leaving for Fort Damns, a former major city in the country of Ticia.

(Luke’s thoughts) Fort Damns?

As Gwen spoke of the news of leaving Kepputha for the destroyed nation of what used to be Ticia, Luke and his friends, including Luna and Hope, faces were modeled into confusion. Noticing this, Gwen’s eyes were unwavering, continuing to speak on the information that she was given to her.

(Gwen) It’s part of your last test, so make sure you give it your all! Hmm …

Gwen then took out from her pocket a road map of the world, her eyes scanning the roadmap but—

(Gwen) Luna, you’re good with maps. Can you determine how many miles is Fort Damns to Lagefor?

(Luna) sighs … Fine… let me see.

As Luna looked at the map, Luna’s eyes opened wide, as the 14 candidates had to travel—

(Luna) It’s almost 700 miles east!

(Gwen) They said the drive is about 13 hours, with two rest stops which can take up to an hour each.

(Luna) That’s a whole day’s journey!

Luke and everyone were surprised that their journey would be a long one since they were curious as to why go back to Ticia.

(Luke’s thoughts) What even is our final test? They said that our final test determines if we become an elite soldier or not…

As Luke got into thought, he noticed his friends as well were thinking about the journey, their hands on their chins as they were lost in thought.

(Gwen) Oh, and one last thing …

Clearing up her throat, Gwen looked at Luke, his friends, Luna, and Hope, her eyes scanning every one of them.

(Gwen) Everyone is leaving at 6 in the morning, so make sure you guys are up by 5.

All the candidates groaned.

______________________________________________________________________________

(Prominis 20, 58 / 5:00AM)

(Gwen on Megaphone) GOOOOOOOOD—

In an instant, Luna stormed out of her room and ran furiously to Gwen.

Luna’s body charged forward with frustration and anger as she targeted the megaphone in Gwen’s hand. Gwen, on the other hand, still maintained a carefree attitude, her smile and childish attitude remaining even when she was in her mid-20s.

Once Luna was close, her right hand was enclosed with a fist. With enough momentum, she threw a hard punch, the strength capable of breaking someone’s face permanently, but Gwen dodged Luna’s blow to her megaphone, and upon missing her target, Luna didn’t back down from trying to hit it again.

(Luna) I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF THAT THING!!

(Luke) Luna! Calm down!

Luke stormed out of his room to try to hold down Luna’s rage. Grabbing both of her arms and putting her in a position so that her arms wouldn’t move, Luna was—

Much stronger than Luke, a lot stronger, because Luke couldn’t even put her in a proper armlock, so Luna broke free fast and charged forth again.

(Luke) Luna!

(Luke’s thoughts) Oh wait, the donut!

To bring her back to her senses, Luke brought out from his pajama pocket a leftover donut, showcasing it to the air.

(Gwen’s thoughts) Ooh!

Luna stopped in her tracks as she sniffed the air to find a strawberry-glazed donut from yesterday. Despite noticing that Luke had it in his pocket, Luna kept her eyes on the donut, her eyes unwavering from it.

Bringing the donut down, Luke lured Luna in so that he could give her a treat.

(Luna) I’m not some animal!

(Luke) Do you want it? I mean … I could eat it if you—

(Luna) No!

Luna walked towards where Luke was and snatched the donut from his hand. Taking a big bite, her demeanor completely changed, with her face more happy and relaxed as the fluffiness and sugar spread all over the inside of her mouth.

(Luke’s thoughts) Easiest trick in the book…

With Luna in her habitat, eating a donut calmly, the rest of the other candidates happened to be out of their rooms, awaiting orders with their eyes showcasing the need to go back to sleep. Their bodies were sluggish, given the fact that every day for the past four years, they had been waking up at 6 in the morning, so a 5AM wake-up call wasn’t suitable for their bodies.

(Gwen) Alright, I explained this to two separate groups yesterday, but I haven’t fully disclosed all the information. We’re taking two vans, one van would be David and me in the front while the other van would be Jerry and Jenny also in the front.

As David, Jerry, and Jenny came by, they were keeping an eye on the candidates, hoping that all of them felt at least some sort of relief, but even the adults were feeling nervous…

(Gwen) For seating, you could choose any van and you can sit with anyone you like, but the limit for each van is seven.

Luke’s friends were overjoyed that they would all be together in the same van, their faces smiling and nodding their heads with contentment as they had each other's backs for the long road.

Many minutes later…

Upon exiting the building, they saw two brown spacious vans. In the back of both vans, there were four seats on each side, having the ability to hold up to eight people. As they saw the vans, Luke and his friends formed a big group, while Sean, Jack, and Miles were a trio, and Ryan and Cameron were a duo.

(Stan) Let’s go with David and Gwen.

(Gary) Seems fine with me.

(Miles) Follow me, we’re going with Jerry and Jenny.

(Jack) Sure dude.

(Ryan) Come on Cameron, let’s go with Miles.

With all the boys going to their prospective vans, the last people to decide on which van they wanted to take were the girls.

But the two girls had the same idea in mind. Looking at each other, both girls hated the idea of either one of them inside the same van as Luke.

(Luna) I’m going in there—

Hope ran to the van that Luke was in, leaving Luna in the dust—

(Luna) Get back here!

Grabbing Hope by her back collar, Luna was ready to throw Hope back hard with enough force to send her back 20 feet, but Hope had a counter. Since she knew that Luna would throw her back, Hope got a hold of her arms, eliminating the chance to get rid of Hope.

(Luna) Get off me!

In the distance, two girls saw the commotion unfold.

(Loraine) They’re at it again!

(Gemma) Come on, let those two lovebirds just handle it out.

(Loraine) They should kiss!

(Gemma) Lorraine!

(Loraine) hehe.

As Luna was about to smack Hope in the head, with enough brute force to let her see stars, Luna noticed that two other girls were trying to enter the same van Luke was in.

(Gemma’s thoughts) But I think Fred is in this van. I just hope those two are still bickering…

(Gemma) Loraine, quick let’s get on—

As Gemma and Loraine noticed Luna and Hope, Gemma’s face turned pale as not just Luna, but Hope too looked at Gemma with a dangerous glare. Not wanting to take her chances, she and Loraine in tow scurried to the van that contained Miles and the others.

(Luna’s thoughts) Good riddance…

But that meant that both girls had to be in the same van…

(Hope’s thoughts) Finally, I could sit next to Luke…

(Luna’s thoughts) Do I have to be in the same van with this blonde bitch?

As both girls entered the van, there was a little miscalculation…

From the right side, from near the passenger to near the back door, was Fred, Luke, Diego, and Stan.

But on the left side, there was only one seat, right in the middle…

(Gary) Hey girls!

Hope didn’t mind Gary, so she sat down nearest the driver to get a better view of Luke. As she was seated, Gary looked at her with a warm smile, his face lighting up as his plan was a success. Luke, who was facing in front of them, kept his hands to himself, glaring at Gary without anybody noticing.

(Luke’s thoughts) Wait … why am I jealous?

But there was one girl that didn’t take her chances with this change of seats.

(Luna) Hey fatass, switch seats with Luke.

(Gary) Huh? Who are you calling a fatass—

(Luna) Now.

(Luke) Hey, be nice.

(Luna) Then trade seats.

Luke pulled out another donut from the morning, motioning it still as Luna’s hands were quivering as she licked her lower lip.

(Luke) I’ll give it if you apologize, and if it makes you better, I’ll trade seats with Gary.

(Gary’s thoughts) Come on!

Luna glared at Gary, who was in the middle of between Luna and Luke in the large yet small van. Sighing, she crossed her arms and put her right leg on her left knee.

(Luna) Sorry for calling you a fatass, not my fault that you were—

(Luke) Say it like you mean it.

(Luna) Tch … sorry.

Giving the donut to Luna, she rapidly snatched it with her right hand. Opening her mouth wide, she took three bites to completely devour the donut.

Luke got up so that Gary could sit in the seat that Luke was in, Gary’s eyes glaring at Luke as he sat in between Hope and Luna.

Both girls sat side by side with him, causing his whole body to burn with nervousness.

The four boys on the other side view in envy, as Luke was in between the strongest and the shyest.