The morning sun had just up on the training grounds of Elmador. Where thousands of recruit lined up in perfect order.
Instructor Harlan voice blasted across the field as he marked out the attendance of the recruits.
"Recruit 7423!"
"Present, sir!"
"Recruit 7424!"
"Present, sir!"
"Recruit 7425!"
"Present, sir!"
Harlan's eyes scanned the rows. His voice grew louder
"Recruit 7429!"
But there was no reply
"RECRUIT 7429!"
Still no response .
The instructor's face turned dark instantly. Making other recruit around him shift nervously.
"Where the hell is he?"
"Sir!" A soldier jogged up. "Found him. He's still sleeping in the barracks."
Harlan's jaw clenched. "Sleeping? On assessment day?"
The recruits began to murmur. A few laughed quietly, while others just shook their heads in disgust.
"That idiot, Get him now." Harlan barked.
…
Cold water splashed across Damian's face .
"Wake up!"
Damian jerked upright from his slumber, gasping for air as water dripped down his face. His vision blurry.
"What the…"
"You're late, Kane!"
The soldier grabbed Damian's arm. Dragged him toward a cracked mirror on the wall.
"Look at yourself. Pathetic."
Damian stared into the mirror.
The face looking back at him was a handsome young man with curly golden hair with the most beautiful set of blue eyes he didn't remember having.
A second later, memories rushed into his mind.
…
He was twenty-four. He had finished university four months ago. Finding a proper job had been harder than he expected, and rejection after rejection had worn him down. For now, he worked at a small coffee shop across town. The pay wasn't great, but it kept him occupied and covered his rent.
He lived in a tiny one-room apartment on the third floor of an old building. The place wasn't much, but it was enough for him. His family lived in a small town hours away, and they called sometimes, though he rarely talked about how things were going.
After packing his bag, he stepped outside and unlocked his bicycle. He always preferred riding over taking the bus.
His mind wandered as he rode about life, about the future, about how things didn't seem to be moving anywhere. Still, he tried to stay positive. He had plans, dreams, and one person who kept him going, his girlfriend Enita.
He was crossing a four-way intersection when something caught his attention.
A black, expensive-looking car sped by. Inside, through the tinted window, he thought he saw a familiar face…Enita's.
"This can't be Enita," he muttered. "I'm probably just overthinking."
Without really thinking about it, he slowed down, turned his bicycle, and began following the car.
The traffic lights turned red, and Damian stopped, waiting at the corner. His heartbeat was faster now. He tried to calm himself down, telling himself it was a coincidence, but deep down, he knew it wasn't.
The car kept moving, and so did he.
But the car turned toward the street where she lived. His stomach tightened.
The car stopped outside her apartment. Damian slowed down and stopped a few meters away, his pulse quickening.
Enita stepped out. She was wearing a short, tight dress, not her usual modest clothes. Her hair was messy and her eyes looked tired.
A man got out from the driver's seat. Damian recognized him immediately. He'd seen the man once before at Enita's office. She had mentioned him casually, saying he was her boss's son. Damian had laughed it off at the time,
Now, that same man walked around the car and wrapped his arm around Enita's waist.
Damian froze.
The man leaned down and kissed her. Enita didn't pull away. She kissed him back with her hand resting on his chest.
"Last night was amazing," the man said with a grin. "I'll pick you up tonight. No need to tell that loser about us. He's just a sucker."
Enita smiled faintly. "I won't."
The man gave her a light slap as she turned toward her building, and she didn't even flinch. She only laughed softly, like it was nothing.
He wanted to turn away, to stop watching but he couldn't.
When the car finally drove off, Enita disappeared inside her apartment without looking back.
Damian stayed where he was. He didn't even realize tears had started running down his cheeks until one fell on the back of his hand.
He didn't know how long he stood there before he finally turned his bicycle around.
He didn't confront her or go after her instead, he just took out his phone, blocked her number and deleted every photo he has of her.
Maybe this was for the best, he thought. Maybe she just wanted more than he could give.
He ended up in a park and sat beneath a tree. Hours had passed. By the time the sky turned orange, Damian still hadn't moved. Hunger twisted his stomach, but he didn't care. He felt hollow, angry, betrayed.
When night fell, he finally got up and went home. His tiny apartment felt colder than usual. He dropped onto the bed, stared at the ceiling, and reached for his game console.
He had nothing left to distract him except Terra Nova, the most popular game on Earth. He logged in, his eyes tired and red, and poured all his anger and heartbreak into the game. It was the only way he could stop thinking about her.
He was lost in it for hours. His fingers moved without stopping. For a moment, he forgot about his pain.
Then suddenly, a loud roar shook the air.
Damian barely had time to look up before a helicopter came hurtling down from the sky, crashing straight into the apartment building.
"Bang!"
The explosion tore through the walls of his apartment and everything suddenly turned dark.