UPDATE 1/14/17: I was a little hesitant when I was writing the flashback scene in this chapter. This was the part where a gay man of color was bullied in an otherwise progressive state. This may happen rarely, and I've read reports where Latino people were harassed and discriminated against. Also, I live in a red state (right-wing/conservative, for those who don't live in the US), where this happened more commonly. I've shown it to a couple of my LGBT friends, and they think I did a pretty good job, so that was all well and good.

Chapter Five: Welcome to the Alliance

Year: 2013
Location: Boston, Massachusetts

The clock struck about a quarter after 2 PM, and the bell rang.

Almost everyone in the classroom rushed to the exit. Eric sat at his desk and waited. He wasn't a big fan of crowds. Crowds smell and as the name would imply, they were crowded, having little space to move around in. Soon as everybody else left, he gathered his textbooks and papers, said goodbye to his Chemistry teacher, and left the classroom.

He walked down the hallways at East Boston High School and made his way to his locker. Opening it, he grabbed his blue-lined backpack and stuffed it with his books and papers. He put his backpack on and closed the locker.

Eric went to the front of the school. He didn't want to keep his siblings waiting for him. Soon as he reached for the door, he froze in fear when a voice he didn't want to be familiar with called his name.

He turned around, meeting face to face with two white guys. One of them was muscular, wearing a black T-shirt with a rock band logo on it. The other was chubby and bald, also wearing something like his muscular friend wore. Here, they made up a minority of the school's demographics with half of the students being Hispanic.

"Uh… hi, Brock. Hi, Damien. What's going on?" Eric asked, nervous. He had his back up against the wall as the two ganged up on him.

"Just thought you would miss us. We sure did." Brock, the one with muscles, pulled off a gleeful smile.

"What do you want?" Eric asked.

"What do you think?" Damien the fat man snapped. "You believe that we deserve that detention? Maybe you should learn a lesson in 'why you shouldn't fuck with us.'"

Eric could easily leave with them none the wiser. He would tell his family what happened and spur them into action like last time, sending these two jackasses back to detention. But would these two ever learn even if the hint was right up to their faces?

He could make a stand here. There were a couple of other people here; some of them were watching and wondering what the hell was going on. Would they be able to carry out with reporting them to the principal?

The best bet would be to make a run for it. His mom knew what to do.

He slipped by without saying another word and went through the door. He had gotten outside, greeting the hot and humid mid-May air before him. Just as he thought it was over, the doors had burst open, and out came a furious Brock.

"Get the fuck over here, you little bitch!"

Eric's heart skipped a beat, and he started running on the sidewalk. Brock was catching him quickly.

A heavy grunt and a thud caused him to stop running. Panting, he turned around to find his brother had tackled Brock to the ground. Damien wasn't far behind. He charged in and grabbed Alfonso by his hair. Alfonso yelled and elbowed Damien in the stomach. Damien groaned in pain and dropped Alfonso. Brock rose and gave Alfonso a black eye with a right hook.

Eric spun around and called out for help. The fight caught the school guard's attention. Middle-aged with peachy skin and a crew cut, the guard's silver badge gleamed on his dark-blue shirt.

Damien whipped out a pocketknife. Eric gasped, now terrified for his life. He couldn't move.

Damien lunged at Eric, only for Alfonso to step in and take the hit. Blood trailed down his chin as he fell on the grass.

A flash of dark skin and a student caught Damien by the waist and wrestled him to the ground.

Brock knelt and raised his hands in the air. Meanwhile, Eric helped his brother get up, letting him sit down to get his bearings. Alfonso was pale; there was a deep gash on his chin, and one of his eyes had swollen shut.

Eric froze. "Holy shit, are you okay?" he asked, distraught.

"Of course, I'm okay! See?" Alfonso responded.

The ambulance arrived after someone called 911 and took Alfonso to the hospital, where he received several stitches on his chin while being treated for the rest of his injuries.

The next day, Damien and Brock were sent to juvenile hall.

Year: 2182
Location: The Citadel

"Natalie," Eric said, entering the office. It had been a week since he made up his mind. "Remember I finished that application a few days ago?"

"I remember. Did it get through?" Natalie was working on the terminal. The office was about the size of the kitchen, the window covering the entire wall to Eric's left. The L-shaped desk was at the corner, the top of it cluttered with said terminal and a cup of tea with it.

"Yeah, it did. And it was approved. All that's left is a physical check-up, but I have to do it at the Presidium." He let out a deep breath, nervous and uncertain. "I'm not sure I'm up for it. This whole Alliance military thing. I mean, I feel fine physically but—"

"Apart from almost drowning, you're perfectly healthy for a 19-year-old kid. Skinny but healthy. You'll be fine."

Eric tilted his head. "Maybe. I guess. Think you can order a transit from here?"

Natalie raised an eyebrow. "Figured Luke would take you there. Is he at work?"

"Yeah. You were probably asleep when he left. He wished me good luck, by the way."

She puffed her cheeks. It was almost like she had caught herself laughing. "Oh right. Serves me right for staying up all night on yet another case. Let me see what I can do."

Eric nodded and let Natalie do her thing on the terminal. He had to admit, he was pretty impressed she took less than a minute to order a transit here. Back in Boston in his world, he would have to wait at a bus stop. Considering the traffic, it took him a while to wait.

"There." Natalie turned to Eric. "The transit should be here in half an hour. In the meantime, you should pick some things you need. Also…"

And before he knew it, Natalie gave him a rather gentle hug. He smiled. "Thanks, Natalie. I appreciate it."

"No problem," Natalie replied. "Now you better get ready, then. You know how automated taxis work."

"I know, Nat. I remember what happened the last time."

Natalie chuckled. "I didn't expect you to call me Nat."

"Hey, that was a slip of the tongue. Besides, your husband started it," Eric insisted.

"I know. See you later. Hope it goes well for you."

And with that, Eric went to his bedroom. There wasn't much to it, in fact. Just a dresser with some clothes in it and a simple bed placed at the side. The room wasn't small, but it wasn't big like the office. He heard Natalie was expecting a child in several months. He understood why. When Eric did his duty to the Alliance, maybe he could study at a university and get a degree. Maybe he could get married to the man he loved. And he thought of Garrett.

But his mind turned to what would lie ahead in a few years. The geth attack on Eden Prime and the Citadel, the Collector abducting human colonies, and the Reapers arriving at the galaxy to harvest civilization. When that happened, if he did get enlisted, he would have to serve on the frontlines and probably die for the cause.

And there was not a thing he could do about it.

No. It's a new day for you, Eric, his thoughts told him. Thinking that way would only let you down. Focus on the small things, just like Papá said. That's what matters now. You're stuck here for the rest of your life, so make use of what you got.

He got what little he had, grabbed his omni-tool and a blue Alliance uniform folded neatly on his dresser, and left the room.

"Enlist today!" the sign above the entrance to the white, monolithic building flashed these words. The words were bold, white, and in all-caps. Above the tagline was a human clad in full blue armor from head to toe, saluting with a curve-shaped file in hand. In the background of the holographic picture was an upside-down, V-shaped form enveloping over and around Earth.

"Now arriving at the Systems Alliance Navy Recruitment Center, Presidium," the skycar's VI announced with a cheery voice. "Enjoy your stay!"

The skycar's roof slid open, and Eric stepped out onto a balcony several floors up above the lake. There was a tree not far from the rapid transit, the branches reaching around almost all around. It probably was planted here not long ago, and it came from Earth, judging by the pink flora growing out of each branch, maybe a country like Japan.

Then Eric started to feel… off. A wave of nausea hit him hard like a ton of bricks as the whole world spun around him.

If it weren't for a bulky arm wrapping around his belly, he would've stumbled around and landed on the floor with a hard thud. He turned around and recognized the man as his boyfriend, Garrett Pit.

Eric smiled as Garrett helped him up to his feet. His cheeks flushed red at the sight of his boyfriend. Sorry. Not to, err… sorry, sudden changes in gravity. I guess I'm not used to it yet."

"You gonna be alright?" Garrett asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm alright." Eric looked around, his eyes meeting with the pristine white floor before locking them at Garrett's gaze. "Um, by the way, that's an excellent grip you got there. Strong, firm. Oh, and your eyes are gorgeous. Blue like the sea. Or the sky, I suppose…"

Garrett chuckled. "You said that before."

Eric raised an eyebrow, a little surprised. "I did?"

"Yeah. Several times. And your rhyming's atrocious, by the way. Really terrible, in fact."

Eric stammered in his words before letting out a sigh. "Okay, yeah. Guess you have a point there. Let's, uh… forget this little thing happened. So what're you doing here, anyway?"

Garrett could only scoff and roll his eyes in, both in amusement and in exasperation. "My mom was in the Alliance Navy, remember?"

Eric pressed his lips together, feeling more than a little ashamed. He should know better than forgetting something that simple. Was it that simple, he wondered? "Oh. Duh. So you're here to enlist, then?"

"Yep. You too?"

Eric shrugged. "Luke and Natalie figured me enlisting would be easier for me to get to college. Part of an education program, they said."

Garrett clenched his teeth as he cringed. "Oh, peer pressure. Ouch. Well, we better get inside. If we stand here looking fabulous like in the movies, we'll miss that opportunity. C'mon."

Eric nodded, more than a little nervous, and stopped for a moment before catching up. There were two things on his mind. First, he noticed they were the only ones at the entrance. Either the others were inside, or there weren't a lot of people signing up. Maybe it could be both. The second and third options would be more likely; about three percent of the human population enlisted in the Alliance Navy.

He clutched Garrett's hand tightly.

"Something wrong?" a confused Garrett asked.

Eric exhaled deeply. "Crowds," he answered. "I hate crowds." That was the second thing. "They smell, and there's little space to move in, and it's easy to get lost. That's why I hate crowds."

"Sounds like you have ochlophobia. That right?"

Eric said nothing as they stopped right next to the entrance. Garrett turned sharply toward him. The glare on his face was stern yet understanding. He grabbed Eric's hands and held onto them gently.

"Eric, don't worry," Garrett stated, and Eric's eyes lit up, having his full attention. "We'll stick together and hold hands. Maybe that'll help."

Eric nodded, relieved. "Yeah." His mother held his hand whenever he went through moments like this.

"And uh…" Garrett glanced aside before continuing. "No matter what happens, I'll be with you, yeah?"

"Well, what if either or both of us dies?" Eric asked. "What would happen if we don't love each other anymore?"

Garrett shook his head. "No. No. don't think like that. Think positive at this moment. I love you, y'know." He grinned showing his clean, pristine teeth. "How 'bout a kiss? You know, for good luck."

Eric smiled, eager for a kiss. "Depends. Is it a quick one or are we making out like in the movies?"

Garrett tilted his left hand. "Eh, could go either way but I think we have enough time for a quick one. We good?"

He leaned down toward Eric and pressed his lips against Eric's. It was like he promised: a quick peck, but it was warm and sweet.

"Have you been brushing lately?" Eric smiled as the two parted.

"Yeah." Garrett smiled again and pointed at his teeth. "Miniaturized mass effect fields. They break up plaque and massage the gums quite nicely. Worth every credit."

"How much did it cost you exactly?"

"6,000. Birthday present from my aunt. Honest!"

"Sure you are," Eric chuckled and threw a weak punch on Garrett's shoulder. "Anyway, we spent more than enough time out here. Shall we?"

They went inside, entering a square-shaped, light gray room. There were about a dozen or so young men and women, lined up by a desk at the end. The attendant was there, typing in information on his terminal. At the corner of the room, on Eric's left, was a keeper prying on a machine design for its four arms.

He let out a sigh, letting go of Garrett's hand as he activated his omni-tool. Maybe a quick game of Alliance Corsair would keep his mind off his anxieties.

"Hey," Garrett whispered in Eric's ear. "You might wanna pay attention to the line here."

"I can multitask," Eric shot back. He moved forward with the rest. His boyfriend was right behind him.

A flash of tawny skin and a young woman in skinny jeans walked by, mumbling about not being able to sign up due to a heart condition. The line started moving forward again. After several minutes and a quick playthrough, Eric finally got to the front of the desk. The receptionist, a blue-eyed man with peachy skin and a dark buzz cut, looked up at him from his terminal.

"Your name?" the receptionist asked.

"Eric. Eric Grimes."

"Alright…" the receptionist tapped in Eric's name on the holographic keyboard. Shapes and letters formed up on the screen, and Eric could swear he saw a picture of himself a few weeks ago. He made sure to get himself a haircut back then. A clean cut, to be exact.

"Okay, you're ready to go," the receptionist announced. "Just head to the infirmary on my left."

Eric nodded and entered another room, just as pristine as the last. There were medical machines all around. After several minutes of physical examinations by the doctors, they told him he was in good health and sent him out. Garrett was next, of course, and had the same outcome. He was even in better shape than Eric. They told two to go to the docks, where a passenger liner would take him to the Recruit Training Depot in Brazil on Earth.

Earth. Eric had to admit, it was kind of weird going to a parallel version of his homeworld. Imagine finding a house much like your own. Same building and even the same layout of the street. However, it was in a different neighborhood, perhaps even in a different city or country altogether.

The more he thought about it, the more he missed his home.

At the port, there were dozens and dozens of ships of various design and origin, each connected to an airlock. Eric and Garrett looked for the right ship, one made by human hands. Eventually, they found one. It was as described by the receptionist from earlier: a large ship, shaped like an early-21st-century military jet. There was no one else standing by the bridge to the airlock, save for a single Alliance soldier clad in blue padded armor, like the figure from the poster.

Eric and Garrett approached the Alliance soldier. "Hey, excuse me," said Eric, catching the soldier's attention. "Does that ship take us to Macapá, Brazil? The Recruit Training thingy?"

"You mean the Depot?" the marine asked. "You two recruits?"

"Yeah. We just passed our physical exams," Garrett answered.

"Then head on through."

Eric thanked her. He and Garrett then went inside the ship's airlock. The room was rather small, about the size of a bedroom or a kitchen. He thought they were the only ones here until a swarm of people packed in.

Eric mentally counted about three dozen people here. It was unbelievable that so many people managed to squeeze in a small amount of space. You'd think the Alliance would give the recruits more room here so no one would be crushed to death.

A wall of light appeared and slowly swept over the room, passing through everyone as if they were nothing. Eric blinked, expecting to be blind for a second. "Equalizing exterior atmosphere with interior atmosphere." Its voice was feminine and stoic.

The air hissed, and the ventilation shafts covering the walls began their work. The wall of light disappeared soon as the atmosphere inside had equalized. The door in front of the crowd slid open, and everyone converged inside. Eric wasn't really surprised about the layout. It was like he had imagined what it would be like inside. It was similar to a civilian airplane from the 21st century, save for the floor being made of the same metal as the walls and ceiling.

The recruits sat in their seats as Eric and Garrett sat next to each other by a window at the back.

"So out of curiosity: ever traveled faster-than-light?" Garrett asked with a smile.

Eric arched a brow. "By using element zero to decrease a starship's mass, increasing its velocity? And that it blue-shifts?"

"Yep. Why'd you ask?"

Eric grinned, shifting his position. "Oh, nothing. Just looking forward to it."

The liner's thrusters roared to life as the airlock released the ship. It slowly ascended and turned away from the port before taking off. It zipped past hundreds of warfighters, freighters, and dreadnoughts in the pink space cloud, defending the Citadel station. The others that either weren't defending it or were not part of any military force went to some other destination.

Eric was awed, his mouth gaping open, as he was looking to his right to the window and spotted one dreadnought that practically dwarfed the rest, including the liner. The smooth, coral-shaped giant of a ship was the Destiny Ascension. Not only was it the pride of the asari, but it was also the Citadel's flagship. He knew it was huge, having enough firepower to take out a whole fleet. He wouldn't imagine it would be humongous up close!

That ship and the asari's use of their influence in a way a horny teenager could understand reminded him why they were one of the most influential species in the galaxy.

The liner took a swift turn, and he faced a massive metallic object, a mass relay, just floating out there by itself, its arms reaching out. At the center were two rings, shifting around a core of element zero.

The flagship and the Citadel became tiny dots in the pink cloud. Outside the ship, arcs of lightning enveloped around the ship. One moment, the ship was covered in a blue aura. The next thing Eric knew, there was a booming sound, and suddenly, they were in a different part of the galaxy. As he looked out the window once more, there was nothing but distant stars and forms of clouds and dust crashing into each other. Two of the clouds, one red and the other blue, mashed together to create a bright-purple cloud.

There were far more stars than he could count. He swore he saw galaxies as well, out there in the distance.

"We have arrived at the Horsehead Nebula," one of the liner's pilots spoke through the PA. "Please remain seated as we will be making two more jumps 'till we reach the Sol system."

"Try not to squeal like last time," Garrett spoke in a somewhat annoyed tone.

Eric scoffed and smiled as he looked at his boyfriend. He wiggled around in his seat, having a bit of trouble containing his excitement. "I know. I just can't help myself. Good god, I'm such a nerd!"

"That you are, Eric. That you are."

Eric was just so happy to be on something that traveled at speeds faster than light, laughing in the face of what he knew about physics. It wouldn't have been out of the ordinary for anyone in this day and age, but not to him. If Einstein were alive, he would eat his heart out.

He couldn't help but compare how space travel worked to the Alcubierre drive. From what he read an article online, an Alcubierre drive could alter the space around the object, allowing said object to arrive at its destination faster than the speed of light. It relied on an exotic matter to configure its density field to negative mass, much like how element zero worked, preventing time dilation.

Yet he kept his excitement to himself.

Another jump and soon after, the liner passed by the dwarf planet Pluto, then past the gas planets Neptune and Uranus. It flew over Saturn's rings, which stretched out for thousands and thousands of miles. Eric knew Saturn would be massive—about 72,000 miles in its diameter—but Jupiter was even ginormous! Each of these gas giants dominated the view, and Eric could see the red storm raging near Jupiter's equator.

Eric found himself slack-jawed. He thought the trips between each relay was long, but the sheer size of these planets sure took the cake!

As the ship left the asteroid belt, Mars was in sight. There was a whole fleet of Alliance frigates patrolling the area. Lacking FTL sensors, they have to scout ahead to find any enemy ships jumping in.

Soon after passing by the red planet, what was at first a pale blue dot turned out to be Earth.

The ship entered its atmosphere, the hull protecting the starship from heat upon entry along with any space junk nearby. The sun was fading behind the planet, and a large city by the coastline came into view. The pristine, newer skyscrapers had towered over the older, more worn out smaller buildings.

Both Eric and Garrett sat up with the rest of the passengers as the ship landed. They went to the airlock and waited as the atmosphere equalized. With that done, they left the ship. Soon, Eric was greeted with the hot and humid climate of the city.

They all entered a large, rectangular building with a dome-shaped sphere in the center. Eric wondered what to expect.

Eric sat at one of the tables, all by himself as he nibbled on his soft taco. The cafeteria had many tables, much like high school. It was vast and rectangular, the arching walls light-gray while the ceiling and the floor a darker shade. It was crowded with officers and recruits alike, all in different shapes, sizes, skin colors, and genders. He zoned out the noise and the indistinct chatter in the cafeteria. Still, the scent of food from the kitchen wafted about. He didn't touch his sliced pineapples.

Like many other recruits here, he was instructed to wait here until he was assigned to a bunker. Surveying the room, he didn't find Garrett anywhere. Garrett promised to meet him here at this spot. Maybe he got lost in the line somewhere, getting something good to eat.

He couldn't call out to Garrett, so he decided to turn on his omni-tool instead. Maybe a message should get his attention.

Username CosmosWiz (Eric Grimes)

Username: RockyPlace2 (Garrett Pitt)

EG: [LOGIN][ONLINE]

GP: [LOGIN][ONLINE]

20:16 EG: Are you here, Garrett? I can't find you anywhere.

20:16 GP: Yeah just getting my meal. Lotta folks here

20:17 EG: Kay. I'll keep an eye out. Do you remember where we're sitting?

20:17 GP: Yeah

20:17 EG: I'll wave when I see you.

20:18 GP: kk

With that, Eric turned off his omni-tool and continued eating. He was almost done, only a bite or two away from finishing and his cup of fruit punch was half-full. He then heard someone sitting next to him. At first, Eric thought it was Garrett, but much to his astonishment, it was someone else. To his left was sitting a fair-skinned man with curly blond hair and a slender, hawkish face.

"Uh… you're not Garrett," said Eric.

"Obviously not." The man with an Australian accent placed his tray on the table. It had a bowl of spaghetti with chopped-up ground beef and a cup of orange juice at the side. "Name's Arthur Mallon. You?"

Eric was beginning to feel uncomfortable when Arthur jabbed him at the side with his elbow, so he scooted to his right. But Arthur was persistent, following him.

"What's th' matter? Am I botherin' you?" Arthur sneered.

"Yes. You're annoying." Eric didn't even glance at Arthur.

"Am I?" It was obvious Arthur's gasp was fake. "I am so, so sorry, I—What's that on your face?" He wiggled his finger at that question.

Before Eric knew it, Arthur lunged and smacked his face. He snatched his plate and raised it high above his head as he stood up.

"C'mon! You know the drill an' all!" When I tell ya to jump, you say 'how high?'"

Eric frowned, unamused, as he slowly stood up. "I'm almost done with my lunch, jackass." His calm tone betrayed the look on his face.

"Maybe you should eat a little faster, Shortstuff."

"Shortstuff? Seriously? I've been called worse." With that said, Eric snatched the rest of his meal and sat back down on one motion. He let out a smug grin, feeling victorious. If only Arthur could see his face right now…

"Hey!" Arthur sighed, dropping his shoulders as he put aside Eric's tray. "Nobody could take a joke."

He was ready to turn around and leave Eric alone, then bumped into a man much larger than him. Arthur gasped and jolted, for real this time, as he came face-to-face with Garrett, who was carrying a tray with a piece of steak and some vegetables on a plate.

"Hey, Garrett. Fancy meeting you here," Arthur stuttered. Eric arched an eyebrow upon hearing Arthur saying his friend's name. Several bystanders were observing nearby.

"You bothering my boyfriend?" Garrett asked, suspicious.

"No, I—" Arthur looked around and stopped to turn at an entourage of four, watching from another table nearby. He turned back at Garrett incredulously after calming himself down. "Boyfriend?" He smiled. "You have a boyfriend here? This is the military, not high school."

Garrett laughed. "Funny. I could say the same thing, with you harassing him."

"But I…"

Garrett leaned in closer to Arthur, his expression turning ugly. "Beat it. Now."

Arthur nodded frantically with fear in his eyes. "Okay. Yeah. Whate'er you say!" He grabbed his tray and set out to meet up with the four at the nearby table. He was obviously embarrassed if not humiliated.

"Asshole," Garrett muttered an angry aside to Arthur. He sat beside Eric, who was more than happy to see him.

"Hey there." Eric just finished his taco.

"Sorry 'bout that." Garrett began cutting into his steak with a fork and a knife. "Again, took me a bit to find a good meal."

"Not your fault," Eric replied. He paused before correcting himself. "Okay, it kinda was. By the way, Arthur seemed to recognize you. You knew him?"

Garrett continued eating. "Him? Yeah, I knew him," he answered after taking another bite. "He's been a pain in the ass since junior high."

"I thought you said you came from Benning."

"I was born there," said Garrett. "I never said I live there all my life."

Eric nodded, now getting the message.

Garrett noticed the bundle of sliced pineapples on a small plate. "You gonna eat that?"

Eric waved him off and scoffed. "I'm getting to that, thanks."

Garrett stopped and rested his arms on the table. He looked at Eric, straight in the eye, and said, "Look, I've noticed you haven't been eating much lately. If he bothers you again, I'll back you up. Okay?"

Eric nodded again, looking back with a genuine smile. "Yeah, I appreciate that."

The PA mounted at a corner of the room beeped and crackled with sound. "Eric Grimes," a man's voice spoke from the speaker. "Eric Grimes, you've been assigned to Bunker Seven. Follow the green lights in the hallway."

Eric sighed, curling his lips in exasperation. "Y'know what? You can have my pineapple slices." He sat up with his now empty tray after chugging down his drink. "I better get going."

His boyfriend blinked in confusion. "Okay, sure. See ya."

After placing his tray in the trash bin nearby, he followed a trail of green lights on the floor in the hallway, flickering in a direction, pointing him to where he needed to go. He couldn't help but think back to the time he saw the Ender's Game movie.

As he walked down the hallway, passing by the first two rooms before a large window caught his eye. Outside, the sky was growing a darker shade of blue over the city of Macapá. The lights from the buildings and skyscrapers hide the stars in the heavens.

He continued walking in the light-gray hallway and found a blue seven painted next to the door. This must be Bunker Seven unless he stumbled onto a different room with a number slapped on it somehow. But now this would be his new home for a while.

The green light sounded, and the door slipped open. Eric entered inside.

The bunker had no windows, with bright artificial lights mounted in lines on the ceiling. As the name would imply, there were eight bunk beds with steel frames, four at each side of the room. The beddings look simple yet comfortable: a dark-gray blanket with a white pillow.

He was not the only occupant here. There were six other people in the room, wearing the same blue Alliance uniform as he was.

One of the three other men sat up and noticed Eric entering, the door closing behind him. He was pale, tall, and lean with short red hair, small beady eyes, and a square face.

"So, you're our new bunkmate?" he asked with a Scottish accent. "What's your name, fella?"

"It's Eric." Eric was hesitant as he sat on the nearest bed. "Eric Grimes."

"Well. Name's Elijah Brodie," the Scottish young man answered.

Eric waved. "Who are the others here?"

"Ami Kato." The Japanese woman was standing next to Elijah. Her dark hair went down at the top of her neck. Her round facial features and large eyes gave her a boyish look. "It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Alban Adler." A dusky-skinned man lay down on the top bed at the corner, playing a game of Solitaire on his omni-tool. His voice was brass and deep, having an Egyptian accent. "Pleasure to make an acquaintance."

A short, well-built man with tawny-beige skin and reddish-brown eyes turned away from a footlocker by the middlemost bed. "Hi! Name's Bristol Piers," he said with a rather enthusiastic British accent. Despite the offer to shake Eric's hand, he refused. "Though fair warning: don't talk to me about Harry Potter. I never get to hear the end o' it."

Two more women were leaning on a wall at Eric's right. The peach-skinned one with broad shoulders and thick biceps was gazing at a Mongolian woman with a loving smile on her face. The Mongolian woman had Turkish features: her skin mellow-brown, dark brown eyes, and short, wavy black hair.

"Oh, uh…" The heavily muscled woman had a Russian accent. She looked away from the other woman in embarrassment, her cheeks flushed red. "I'm Vera Alkaev, and this is—"

"Melek Sadik. Or Mel for short," the Mongolian-Turkish woman finished. "I apologize for our behavior. We…"

"You women should get some privacy!" Alban called out.

Melek stared daggers at the Egyptian man before meeting her eyes with Vera's. "Yes. We are in love. Also, I'm here because she and I have nowhere else to turn to."

Eric blinked at the statement. "I can relate."

Elijah's forearm suddenly glowed orange as he raised his arm to his chest. He smiled like a devil. "Anyone up for a game of Alliance Corsair? Bet none of you can beat me in a deathmatch."

"Oh hell, I'm in!" Alban bolted and jumped down from his bed with a flashy smile on his face. "Challenge accepted!"

Vera came in with her omni-tool on. "Why not celebrate? We will have all night before orientation, no?"

Eric was zoning out despite the others finding fun and relating. He stared at a wall in front of him with a blank look on his face. He didn't even react to anything until Ami sat next to him.

"Are you okay, Eric?"

Eric gasped. "Yeah, I'm…" he sighed and lowered his head to the floor. "Not sure I should be thrilled about this. Just second thoughts."

"Likewise," said Ami, her hands resting on her knees. "But we'll all get through this, yeah?"

"Then what?"

"I have no idea. Ku areba raku ari."

Eric tilted his head toward Ami, perplexed. "Huh? I think my translator just glitched."

"It means there are hardships and there are delights," Ami answered.

Eric gestured. "And…?"

"My aunt told me that, whenever I do chores for her. I don't like them when I was a child, but I do them anyways. And do you know what I get in return?"

"What?"

"I get respect. With it, the freedom to do what I want with my life, and the responsibility that follows."

Eric said nothing. He reached down and opened the footlocker, grabbing a pair of pajamas. "You mind? I had a rough day."

Ami sat up, curling her mouth in a concerned fashion. "What happened?"

"Some asshole tried to take my food. But it's done. Over. I just want to sleep, okay?" Eric's voice was coarse.

Ami frowned but slightly bowed in respect before joining with the other bunkmates.

With no one eyeing him, Eric changed into his pajamas. He fitted and folded his uniform inside the footlocker and landed on the bottom bed with a thud. Wrapping the blanket around him, his eyelids grew heavy.

Time slipped by. Indistinct chatter was followed by everyone else going to their bunks for the night. The mattress above him creaked. The light darkened, and soon everyone fell asleep.

Should I send Natalie a message? Eric thought before drifting off to sleep.

It was a city, dull and featureless. It had no billboards plastered with advertisements, no graffiti covering the walls, and no trains trailing on the rails as the boxcars would rattle left and right. There weren't any doors or windows for any of the monolithic buildings. In fact, there weren't any power plants churning out smog or solar panels or windmills laid about. The air was stale and quiet.

Both the sky and the ground were a white void. It was a miracle Eric managed to stand on his own two feet. Those were not the only things that threw him off balance. The people were blank. Faceless. No eyes, mouth, ears, or nose. They were naked, yet they had nothing to expose them. They were all the same size and shape as if they came off a bathroom sign.

The footsteps around Eric were quiet, and everyone, including him, was traveling down a winding path, twisting and turning in impossible directions. He became sick in his stomach when he found himself upside down like he was on a roller coaster slowly grinding forward. As soon as he stepped on the flat ground, more of these 'people' came in, and everything became crowded.

He couldn't breathe. The air was still stale.

The crowd continued to grow, stretching out for miles upon miles as they closed in on their destination: a large, circular tunnel not unlike the ones leading to the subway stations in New York City. Yet it was foreboding somehow, and he didn't like it.

Suddenly, he heard voices in his head, and with it came an unbearable headache. Falling to his knees, he grunted as he held his head to fight off the pain. The voices—the whispers—were incomprehensible, all speaking at once. Everyone else ignored him.

Then the pain received along with the whispers. They were becoming familiar to him.

Eric turned to his right, a random direction. Surely enough, his heart leaped with joy as he met his brother. Long dark hair and hazel eyes, a scar on his chin, and a video game-inspired T-shirt and black shorts.

"Al!" Eric's voice echoed as he stood up and bolted to his brother, only for him to ignore Eric as he passed by with the others. Alfonso didn't even glance at him. And just like that, he was gone. Eric's heart sank.

Someone bumped into him. He turned and gazed at Natalie passing by without a word. His mother also walked by, then his grandfather, and then his boyfriend. Finally, his father marched in like a soldier would, wearing his tan-and-gray military uniform. His face still bore the signs of age and weariness. Like everyone else, he disappeared into the crowd.

A large shadow loomed over him. Eric found himself standing at the entrance to the tunnel. The featureless crowd went down into the darkness, never to be seen again.

There were large security cameras mounted on the tunnel's walls, watching everyone's moves. They swung their outstretched necks on every individual, including him. There was a crimson flash on each of their spectacles.

As the cameras focused on him, Eric couldn't bring himself to act. He wasn't afraid or shocked. He felt nothing. Something forced him to move, one step after another into the tunnel.

Blackness engulfed him.