The Blood That Separates Us[Boy X Boy Action Story]

Chapter Two|The Test

Charles swallowed his fear as he approached the ragtag military base. Little bases like this had been set up at train stations all over Dreasia, to ensure easy and quick travels. Many citizens passed by them in a silent hurry, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone inside. Now Charles would be one of those people inside.

A cold gust of air hit him as he entered. In the hot summers that Drearia often had, it was rare to encounter such a cool space. But it wasn't the cold that made him shiver. It was the soldiers.

Most scarred, some horribly maimed, this drafting base was not for the faint of heart. Other young and unfortunate souls such as himself were lined up against the wall, all of them shaking out of their boots. All of the strong and fit had already been drafted, and most likely already been killed. Why else would they constantly ask(or demand) for more soldiers?

"Line up with the others, cadet!" shouted a voice, almost directly into Charles' ear. He jumped slightly and turned his head, to be met with a terribly burned and scowling face.

A little more than half of what he assumed to be the captain's face had been mutilated by fire, probably by a pyrokinetic. He had one eye colored a dark swirling blue, and the other was a glossy blue-gray that could only be described as terrifying.

"Y-yessir." Charles said in response, his voice nothing more than an anxious whisper. If the captain had been just a hair further away, he probably wouldn't have heard him. Charles hastily stood next to the closest person, trying his best to line up perfectly. He definitely did not want to get on this guy's bad side.

"Listen up, cadets!" he shouted once more, walking down the line of new faces. "I'm Captain Andrews, and today you'll be taking the Ability Evaluation Test, or the AET!"

As he said it, a wave of murmurs broke out, and Charles felt his breath waver. An ability test? He'd never heard of such a thing! How would it be conducted? Do they fill out forms of some sort? Before the silence was broken, the panic started to set in. Everything about this was new and frightening to young Charles.

"Never heard of it? I'm not surprised." Interjected a new voice, as a stranger stepped out from behind Captain Andrews. It was a woman this time, with a silky but firm voice that cut through the cadets' voices like cheese. Her hair was pinned up in a bun, and an expressionless voice was perfectly framed by glasses. She, like Captain Andrews, had a crest pinned to her uniform. And this time, Charles knew what something meant.

In the army, because of abilities, every soldier is given a crest so others can easily identify their power type and rarity. Backgrounds explain rarity, and the stripe is how lethal said power is. For example, Captain Andrews has a white background and a yellow stripe. meaning that whatever his power might be, it was common but mildly dangerous. The woman, on the other hand, had a black background and an orange stripe. Very rare ability, and lethal all the same.

"The AET will be conducted by me, Lieutenant Ruby. I will use my ability, called 'adsorb', to assess your powers. Do not be frightened; I will return your ability once I am finished. Please line up in this order." And the lieutenant then proceeded to call out names, in alphabetical order. As Charles walked to where he needed to be, a lump grew in his throat. Knowing that any minute he could go into a fit of hyperventilation or coughing up blood, he had to control himself. But all the facts and possible outcomes kept swirling around in his head and bringing him back down into the danger zone. With an ability like that, there was no way they wouldn't figure him out! he was doomed!

"..elekinesis. Gray, red. Super strength. White, Orange. Precognition. Black, green." The Lieutenant's voice broke through his panic, as her voice grew closer. Every bone in his body told him to run, run run. But he stood still.

He would forever regret and yet not regret that decision.

Lieutenant Ruby looked down at her papers, and then back up again at Charles. She stared quizzically at him, as if he was an illusion or even part of some grand and freaky experiment. A part of her curious, a part of her disgusted. By now, Charles was quite used to this reaction.

"Your papers say you're... ability-crippled. Is this true?" she asked cautiously. Charles nodded, hoping and praying that she would skip over him, not daring to get her hands dirtied by his 'crippled filth'. But she just sighed.

"Well, better safe then sorry, I suppose." And without any further warning, she placed her hand on his shoulder.