In the Ruins of Hope (Centauri Asaris: Book 1)

The Aftermath of the Interview

My hands clutched my shirt and my eyes looked towards the ground. "What did I do? What did I say?" I thought as tears threatened to leave their homes, "How am I supposed to explain this to my parents?" I stopped at my sudden realization. The interview took a turn as soon as I mentioned my parents' names. The message they left mentioned that they left the walls for a top secret mission, but was that really the case? Referring to the way my interviewers changed when I mentioned my parents, I bet they did something unthinkable. My mind kept racing and examining the events that took place today. First the note, then the interrogators, and finally the letter.....wait, the letter! That's it! Everything should be cleared with the letter. All I need to do is read it.

I searched the room for Alisa, but she was nowhere in sight. She went into the room the same time I did, so where is she? I was starting to get nervous when I remembered that my interview took only five minutes when it's supposed to be ten. "I can't believe this," I muttered under my breath.

"Me, too."

I looked up surprised that someone actually heard and answered me. "Excuse me? " I asked, slowly raising my eyes to meet the stranger.

It was the rude boy from the street. Great.

"I just agreed that I can't believe that you," he said looking at me with disbelief, "are actually trying to get into this school."

"What's your problem with me anyway? I don't even know you. Yeah it's my fault for bumping into you, but you're a child if you're mad about that," I retorted, trying to act more superior than the giant who stood before me. He is literally a foot taller than I am.

He shot me a scowl, "You're going to regret that."

He is a child.

"I...," he started before his number was called: 479. He clicked his tongue and went to the source from where his name was called.

This, my dear soul, is why I don't like people. They get upset for no reason, and they're a pain to talk to. The only people I can handle are my parents and friends. Well, friend.

Alisa has been my neighbor for as long as I could remember. Growing up, our parents were really close, so in turn, Alisa and I were close. I have no siblings, but Alisa did. And when I said did, she had a brother. His name was Raymond. He, like Alisa and I, wanted to follow our parents and become part of the Demon Defense Force. After school, he got recruited to join the DDF, for his specialty was protection magic. Raymond's first mission was to gather intelligence about the demons surrounding Mt. Mortem, the mountain that has never been explored. The team was comprised of ten elite fighters and two newbies. When he departed, he said his goodbyes and left two protection charms with his sister and me. The mission was a failure. The team came into contact with two S-ranked demons and they were all destroyed. A team of scavengers went to find their remains. The team found all of the bodies: except Raymond's. When the news came back to Alisa, I did not see her for a month. I tried to talk to her, but not even her parents could comfort her. The first day she came out she looked horrible. She looked like a corpse for the next couple of days, but luckily, I brought my old friend back.

The intercom dragged me out of my thoughts as it called my number. "Number 480 please report to the gym." I took out the handbook that I had stashed away earlier, and I flipped to the map. Like I said earlier, the school is divided into six sections: military, research, agriculture, business, government, and the main building. As I scanned the map, I noticed a small black circle and besides the map is a key. The key had several colors on it. I searched for the color black and the color represented myself. I walked a few feet forward and the dot moved simultaneously with me. "Woah," is all I could say. I looked turned to the back of the page. It said: