The sun had set completely over the Vanguard Academy.
Huge floodlights buzzed to life around the training field, casting long shadows across the concrete.
Daniel stood at the back of the crowd. The one thousand six hundred survivors stood in loose rows.
Some were chatting quietly, boasting about the monsters they had killed. Others stood silently, staring at nothing, their eyes empty and haunted.
Daniel did not talk to anyone. He kept his hands in his pockets, fingering the hilt of his D-Grade Vibro-Knife.
Instructor Baldwin walked up the steps to the raised platform. The sound of her boots striking the metal rang out clearly in the night air.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
She stopped at the center of the stage. The lights reflected off her grey combat armor, making her look like a statue made of steel.
She did not smile.
"Attention!" her voice resonated through the speakers. The murmurs died down instantly.
