Percussion Strike Team (Part 1)
Chapter 1 - December 31 2019

The Frontrooms
Class 0
Safe
Secure
Devoid of Entities

It was a cold and windy Tuesday night: the last night of the year. Hayden leaned against the wall, looking anxiously at the New Year's ball drop on the TV. Fifteen other boys were in the living room, each of them wore a party hat, a pair of goofy "2020" new year glasses, and held a yellow polka-dotted party horn. Everyone was ready to leave behind 2019 and were ready to welcome 2020 with optimism.

Dimitrius, the kid who lived in the house, poured everyone a shot of vodka from his father's alcohol cabinet. All of these boys were in middle school or had just started high school, so no way in hell was anyone here was old enough to drink. Fortunately, his parents were at another party, leaving him free to throw his own party as long as he cleaned up when he was done.

"Hey Dimitrius," said Hayden, looking at the TV. "What's your New Year's resolution?" he asked, looking at the TV. The clock read one minute, and the seconds ticked down. Everybody else was waiting anxiously with their eyes glued to the TV.

"Hm I actually didn't make them yet, so lemme think," said Dimitrius, taking a second to think. "How about: get better grades, eat more healthy, and get at least one hour of exercise a day." he said, coming up with a few resolutions. "I pretty much met all of last year's resolutions, what about you?" he asked Hayden.

"Well, I don't have anything specific in mind either, just a few general ones," said Hayden, thinking. "Don't give up, give my best efforts, and quit being a bitch, pretty vague goals." he said proudly. "Actually, I have a specific one: fix my fucked up sleep schedule!" he laughed.

"Good one!" said Dimitrius, also laughing. One of the boys, Ivan, tapped his shoulder and pointed at the TV. "Oh shit thank you Ivan, guys get ready!" shouted Dimitrius. "TEN! NINE!"

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..." everyone counted down with the announcer on TV. As soon as the ball dropped and the numbers "2020" were displayed on the screen, everyone cheered and blew their party horns, it was loud. The boys clinked their glasses and took their shots of vodka, some of them coughed and some of them gagged at the bitter taste- this was their first time drinking for many of them. Hayden was the last one to drink, not knowing what to expect. It tasted like cold water for the first split-seconds, and then came the burn. He drank all of it.

"Hey Hayden," said Dimitrius, sitting with Ivan on the sofa, they were watching reruns of Dragon Ball on Nicktoons. "Mind grabbing us another bottle of Vodka?" he asked. "Also be quick 'cuz you're gonna miss the big fight!"

Hayden smiled weirdly, "That stuff tasted like cold hand sanitizer water, are you sure you want more?" he asked. He was eating a bag of instant ramen as a snack- he smashed it and ate it just like chips with the seasoning pack as chip dust. "Alright tell me where you keep it. Also don't worry about me, I already watched this stuff like five times." he said, he spoke with his mouth full.

"My dad keeps it in the storage closet. Go down in the basement and find the door, it should be in there." said Dimitrius. "Hurry up, you're gonna miss the good part!"

"Alright alright, I'll be back in a minute," said Hayden. He went downstairs and turned on the lights. Immediately, he heard a faint electrical hum coming from what looked to be the closet. The basement had random boxes and furniture, but it was mostly empty.

He opened the closet. It was a large mono-yellow room with squares of fluorescent lighting. This place seemed to be the source of the electrical hum. There was absolutely nothing in here, he wondered what the hell was the deal with this place. This room didn't seem to be part of a house, if anything it seemed to be an old office building which was strangely in a suburban basement.

"Is this where the dad keeps the drinks?" asked Hayden to himself. He walked slowly further back, the room was indeed very large. He found nothing. "I guess not, maybe I'll just get Dimitrius," he said. He turned around and found that the door vanished behind him- gone.

Little did Hayden know, he would take more than a minute to get back.