Chapter 4: Pledge of Allegiance pt. 1.

(Authors note; Rex Steiner is Bron Breakker. Just because some senile, out of touch dipshit doesn't want to use the Steiner name doesn't mean I won't. I might even drop some "Steiner math" in a future chapter.)

"Uhhh, what the hell?"

That phrase, having been uttered aloud by only one pledge, was racing through the collective consciousness of every young man wearing a blindfold at whatever unknown location they'd been dragged to by their Sigma Phi captors. Jack Perry, vision impaired by the heavy cloth over his eyes, immediately recognized the voice as Brian Pillman Jr's. The young man was afraid to laugh loudly enough for the actives to hear, but he allowed one nearly inaudible snicker.

"Shut the fuck up!" Was the thunderous reply, a clearly inebriated voice booming from across the room. "Eyes forward! No fucking talking!"

With that command, the twenty five or so young blindfolded young men snapped into a rigid posture, their faces forward and their backs ramrod straight. After what seemed to be hours, the same unattached voice began bellowing again.

"Gentlemen! Welcome to Bid Night! If you are here, it means that you have risen to the very top of the ocean of reprehensible dogshit that is this freshman class. You have been chosen. As the Good Book says, you are 'set apart.' Tonight is your reckoning; you will learn to trust your active brothers, and they will learn whether or not they can trust you."

At this last sentence, a murmur of agreement rippled through the unseen but nevertheless imminently present crowd of Sigma Pi's.

"Remove your blindfolds!" This voice was new, but rang with every bit as much authority as the previous. After a few seconds of hesitation, each young man in the thin line of pledges reached up and removed their dark handkerchiefs.

"Oh shit," Griff Garrison breathed to himself as it dawned on him where he and his friends were. Each pledge occupied some kind of crude stall, with about fifteen yards of empty space between them and the massive gathering of Sigma Pi brothers. An abundance of plywood and concrete surrounded them, and there were some sort of heavy iron objects stacked on a long platform in front of the actives.

"Are they gonna fucking throw axes at us?" Jack Perry wondered to himself, before another chilling realization set in; the actives were wearing blindfolds, too. The bandannas were tied around their heads, rather than fixed over the eyes, but there was no mistaking that the brothers intended to impair their own vision, as well as the pledges.

The owner of the first loud voice was now apparent; Christian Cage, smirk as present as it ever was, stood on the wooden platform that ran the length of the room on one side. "Pledges, you may notice that you are each standing in front of a large target. You may also notice the large collection of throwing axes in front of your Sigma Pi active brothers. And finally, you may notice the abundance of blindfolds all around this very dangerous room."

The actives laughed vociferously at this last assertion. The pledges, most of whom were afraid to express any emotion, simply did their best not to look scared shitless. Even Rex Steiner, who'd impressed his future brothers with his bravado, both on the football field and as it came to dealing with the pledging process, felt a tinge of dread well up into his stomach.

One by one, the pledges accepted their blindfolds, though Rex Steiner seemed to bristle at these instructions.

"This is bullshit," came the high tension voice attached to Steiner.

"Yep. Sure is," Cage affirmed. "Feel free to leave. No one's forcing you to do this. Just be ready to be blackballed if you do."

Despite a several-seconds long grumbling session from the pledges, no one left. Not yet, anyway.

"Shut! The Fuck! Up!" The booming voice of Roman Reigns ended all the pledge chatter with just the one sentence.

Cage continued. "Tonight's exercise is about trust. About us trusting you, and you trusting us. Therefore, both the prospective pledges and the Active Sigma Pi's will be wearing the blindfolds."

Jack Perry wanted to run out the door as fast as his feet would take him. Every common sense synapse in his brain was yelling "run, dummy!" But there was a second voice in his head. The calm, level voice of his father, as Jack recalled a conversation he'd had with his dad a few weeks prior.

"Son, they're gonna do things that you think are insane. Things that don't make sense when they happen. But don't give up. Pledging is about learning who you are and finding out who you want to be. Stick it out. Call home and vent whenever you need to. But just to me," Luke chuckled. "Don't let your mom find out about the sick shit they do during rush."

Jack had laughed heartily the first time his dad told him to keep Sigma Pi initiations to himself, and still couldn't suppress a chuckle even now. Steeling his haywire emotions, Perry nodded at Dean Ambrose and Christian Cage, who seemed to be in charge over the rest of the large unruly group.

"So! Who wants to go first?" Ambrose inquired at full volume, clearly intending to intimidate the group of young men at the other end of the room.

"This is something a smart person wouldn't do," Perry mused to himself. The overwhelming urge to run from the room screaming and never looking back threatened to overtake him. But he still heard the voice of his father, reassuring and comforting, reminding him of how much fun he had in his days with Sigma Pi, and how all the hazing ended up being worth it. Without ever uttering a single syllable, Perry nodded, confirming his bravery in front of his pledge peers.

"Fuck yes, man!" Ambrose blurted, the inebriated slur becoming more prominent in his voice. "I knew I liked that kid, rich dad or no," he mused inwardly. "Clear the rest of these dipshits the fuck out!" He ordered his Sigma Pi brothers, though he really didn't have the authority to give such an order.

It took less than two minutes for Sigma Pi to drag blindfolded pledges to one side or the other of the cavernous chamber, and even less time to return to the throwing area. Jack Perry, hearing this commotion, did his dead level best to steel his nerves against the ludicrous scenario.

"Ready?" Perry heard a slurring voice call out to him from across the room.

Perry nodded, glad the blindfold was catching the nervous tears welling in his eyes, while simultaneously wishing he'd worn his brown pants so as to disguise any other outward evidence of his sheer terror. Said terror turned to confusion, however, as he felt the cloth over his eyes move suddenly, an unseen hand shifting the folded handkerchief over his brow, allowing the young man to see the entire room clearly.

The first image his eyes took in, before he had a chance even to cry out in frustration or surprise, was the young woman who'd apparently relieve him of his sight impairment. Playfully, she held a single finger over his lips, before winking at him. Jack had never seen this girl before, but she wore a bright pink "Sigma Pi/ ZBZ Spring Fling 2017" t shirt over denim shorts that Perry was sure would've gotten her sent home to change at his high school. Next to her, a second young woman held a large piece of poster board with a message scrawled across its pearl white surface.

Guess what, fucker?

This is your first test. You trusted us,

so now let us trust you.

Scream on the count of 3.

Then follow the 2 hotties out the door

on your right.

Also, fuck you, pledge.

Jack Perry had to suppress a laugh, while also taking a moment to mentally thank his father for the good advice. Before he could zone back out, the girl who'd placed her finger on his lips waved her hand at him, signalling for him to look. With big, exaggerated motions, she raised her fingers one at a time in the familiar "count to three" motion, and Perry let loose with a terrified yell so convincing that several of his prospective pledge brothers let out concerned gasps upon hearing it. At the same time, the second of the two young women produced a wooden baseball bat from behind her back and slammed the polished club into the rough particle wood that served as the backstop for the axe throwing targets.

Perry snickered. Suddenly, it all made sense. The scream and baseball impact were meant to simulate the petrifying experience of having axes thrown by intoxicated fraternity members. By accepting the challenge, Perry had set himself apart.

The incoming freshman's train of thought was derailed by the alluring presence of the pair of shapely co-eds who'd helped administer his little test. The girl in the pink shirt, the same one who'd first removed his blindfold, slid her hand into his softly, before mouthing the phrase "follow me" and gently pulling him across the range's concrete floor and through the door described on the poster board that had changed the course of Perry's evening…

Back on campus, the sisters of Zeta Beta Zeta were conducting a Bid Night of their own. In contrast to the bawdy, high-risk festivities the Sigma Pis were presiding over, the actives of ZBZ were holding a simple reception for the young women they'd invited to begin the process of joining their ranks. While the Fraternity pledge process was universally the worst part of brotherhood membership, Sororities tended to use the "attract flies with honey" method of bringing women into the fold. As Alexa Bliss scanned the massive formal dining room on the ground floor of the ZBZ house, she allowed herself a small moment of satisfied conceit.

"This really is going well," the tiny blonde mused to herself. And she was right. All the pledges had arrived on time, and they'd all dressed to impress. Alexa herself had found herself holding in a breath when the statuesque frame of Anna Jay had unfolded from the passenger's seat of Tay Conti's car. Everyone at ZBZ was somewhat aware of Anna's pageant background, but there wasn't much of anything that would've prepared any of them for the exquisite appearance Jay presented.

"She even looks like a 'Ms. Georgia,'" Dana Brooke had whispered to AJ Lee, the pair of active sisters having found themselves manning one of the hors d'oeuvres tables.

AJ snickered in response. "Yeah. She fine as hell."

Dana laughed, a slightly louder staccato chuckle from what she usually dished out. "Yeah, we're gonna need to guard her with tasers whenever we mix with any of the Fraternities."

"Tay's no slouch, either," Lee continued, her eyes scanning over the loose line of young ladies who were socializing cordially across the room. "They're all hot, actually."

Dana grinned. "Yeah, this is a great pledge class." She turned and pointed a playful finger in AJ's face. "Keep your hands off them."

AJ snickered knowingly before flirtatiously nipping at Dana's digit, catching her above the top knuckle with her teeth.

"Nah, starting Monday I'm going straight. Dudes only."

Dana scoffed. She'd never really seen any evidence of AJ actually consummating her feelings for any female mates, but that had never stopped the tiny Latina from joking incessantly about how hot this girl or that girl was and what wanton sex act she wanted to perform on said females.

"Have you ever not been straight? I mean, really?" Dana pressed, gently needling her friend verbally.

"Only with you," AJ shrugged. "Maybe not even you, depending on whose account of that night you believe."

Dana laughed again, a sarcastic "Ha!"

"Please," the platinum haired vixen retorted. "You were all over me. We were shitfaced, and we woke up sweaty in our underwear in a closet with our clothes strewn all over the chapter room. What do you think happened?"

AJ threw her arms up in an exaggerated motion. "Maybe we spilled beer on our clothes, Dana. Ever think of that?"

Dana shook her head and rolled her eyes, though there was nary a hint of malice in her motions. "AJ, I don't know what I'm gonna do with you."

AJ lifted her brow suggestively. "I can think of a thing or t-" She stopped herself, shaking her head as if she were snapping herself out of a trance. "Sorry. Reflex." She shrugged again, as if making sexually suggestive remarks toward her shapely pledge sister was an involuntary reaction.

"Uh huh," Dana goosed back verbally, shaking her head at AJ's complete lack of fear.

"But for real," AJ continued, before pausing briefly to fake a tight lipped smile at a pledge who'd stopped to lightly place two or three tiny finger sandwiches on a fancy appetizer plate. "Zeta Beta!" She blurted in a singsongy voice, while Dana flashed a hand symbol that resembled a "Z." After carefully watching the young woman traipse out of earshot, AJ continued.

"I'm serious," Lee finally continued. "I'm twenty one. I'm an art major and am staring at a future of ramen noodles and Kraft mac n cheese."

"Mmmm," Dana offered, noting how delicious ramen noodles would be in her current state of intoxication.

"Yeah, ramen noodles by choice are amazing," AJ quipped. "Ramen noodles because they're the only thing you can afford while still keeping the lights on are the fucking worst."

"And only dating guys helps that how?" Dana pressed.

"I have two choices," AJ mused. "I can either meet some hot Frat boy with loaded parents, let him break my spine so good he 'wifes me up,' or I have a torrid affair with a professor, get knocked up, then blackmail him into supporting me and my baby for life in exchange for not spilling my guts on how he did me on his desk during open office hours."

From the nonplussed expression on the tiny latina's face, Dana couldn't glean even a bit whether or not AJ was joking. Finally, the miniscule young woman continued, though she bumped her hip into Dana's as a way of letting her know she was kidding.

"Maybe not the professor thing, but I do not want my kids to grow up poor like I did. I swear, if I weren't super good at doing flips while being tossed into the air, I wouldn't even be here."

Dana rolled her eyes again. "You have to start giving yourself more credit, AJ. You can absolutely take care of yourself."

AJ let out a long, exasperated sigh. Again, Dana was almost positive she was joking, but she was never 100% sure.

"What if I don't WANT to take care of myself, Dana?" AJ fired back in a dramatic tone. The smaller of the two girls gestured toward the chaotic gathering of ZBZs and pledges on the other end of the huge room. "I mean, look at our fearless leader."

"What does Trish have to do with anything?" Dana shot back.

"She's been going out with Christian for like two years. He lavaliered her last year, I'm sure engagement is right around the corner, then they'll get married sometime next year. It's fairytale shit, Dana. Did you know Christian is a finance major?" AJ continued on, her tone becoming more nonsensical.

"No I didn't," Dana returned, doing her best not to burst out laughing at her dear friend with occasional benefits.

"Yeah," AJ continued in her frenetic tone. "That means Trish is gonna get to spend her days in some five bedroom, three bath McMansion in some golf community, organizing the help and half-ass raising her kids while drinking white wine and pumpkin spice." AJ gesticulated wildly, further making her point. "Yeah, and don't forget gossiping with her basic-ass boujee friends and driving her deluxe fucking SUV!"

Dana couldn't suppress her laughter now. AJ could be flat out ridiculous when she needed to be to make a point, but the young latina's erratic temperament did nothing to hinder the affection Dana felt for her.

"AJ, calm down, sweetie. You're a smart, beautiful, talented woman, and you don't need anyone to 'take care' of you. Find someone that completes you, not defines you."

Dana slid a toned arm around her good friend. AJ sighed, her deep inhale and equally substantial exhale seeming to calm her almost instantly. Before they could resume their chat, a flood of young women set upon them, thirsty for the "Zetarade" Dana and AJ were dispersing into red Solo cups with ZBZ insignias emblazoned across their surfaces. AJ did her best to shift from her normal erratic "rant mode" into the public face she and all ZBZ's presented to pledges, handing out plastic to young women as though she were a soccer mom hydrating a gaggle of thirsty middle schoolers.

Part 2 will be up soon.