The next day.
At the top floor of Squad Bastards' base, a knock landed on the third room's door. Inside, Leon sat in a fetal position, wrapped in blankets, staring blankly ahead.
"What could it be now..." he muttered, eyes dull.
Suddenly, the door flew open with a loud kick.
"Aye, what's up! Your ass still depressed, kid?" Axel yelled, grinning.
"Go away, please," Leon whispered, retreating deeper into his blankets.
"Oh, come on. Don't be a damn buzzkill. At least throw out those sneak disses like you were doing the past two days."
"What do you want, Axel?" Leon asked, voice flat.
"Aye, stuff that sassy shit down your throat. Raven wants me to teach you some stuff, so get up."
Axel grabbed at Leon's blankets.
"No!"
"Damn, you're stubborn. Maybe if I drop a bomb down here, you'll stop screwing around."
Axel reached into his pocket.
"No, that's not it! It's just... the suit you gave me was my only pair of clothes and now it's... kinda soaked in blood. I'm butt-naked under here."
"Dude, you realize we both have dicks, right?" Axel asked, confused.
About twenty minutes later, Leon followed Axel downstairs, now dressed in a light gray tracksuit with blue accents. His brown hair hung loosely without gel.
They stood in front of a large board behind the living room's couch.
"Alright, kid. This right here is the Squad Bio. You can see basic info on every squad member—name, age, the usual stuff. But what's really important is the Squad Ranking," Axel explained, tapping the board.
"Yeah, that was actually the first thing I noticed. But I guess it's fine if you point it out," Leon replied, avoiding eye contact.
Why do I feel like I just got bitched...? Axel thought. Forget it.
"Since you're feeling slick, why don't you explain how the ranking system works?"
"I thought that was your job, ticking time bomb."
"Oh, I see Raven told you about the little ticking in my head. Kid, you gonna be pissed forever? Damn. Just listen."
Axel took a breath.
"We get sent on missions pretty much every other day. If you're not out there, you're prepping. Each mission is ranked by difficulty: S, A, B, and C. We used to have D and F ranks, but newbies kept dying or screwing it up. So we just lumped those into C."
"So I'm guessing S is the hardest and C is the easiest?" Leon asked.
"Yes and no. S-rank missions take the longest and have the biggest consequences if we fail. A-rank missions are like S-rank, but quicker. B-ranks are like what me and you just did—objectives all over the place, everything confusing. And C-rank is... well, basic. One-person tasks."
Axel pointed to the board.
"Here's how I break it down. S-rank means you're fucked long-term. A-rank? You're fucked, but fast. B-rank? You're fucked and confused. C-rank? If you can't handle it, you're double-fucked."
Leon trembled.
This sounds like a nightmare made by the devil himself...
"You don't gotta lie, I can smell the bitch on you," Axel chuckled.
"Just move on to the rankings, please."
"Alright. As you can see, all current Squad Bastards are listed."
Leon scanned the board.
"Wait... there's only seven members, including me? With the way Larry was talking, I thought there'd be, like, thirty. Or three hundred."
"Larry's just our broker. He probably doesn't realize, or care, that most newbies die before their second mission. Except you, every current member's been here five years or more. Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time we had someone survive past two months."
So this is what Larry meant when he said I should kill myself...
"Anyway, the ticking in my head is going crazy. I need to make something go boom, so lemme flex a little. Look at my name on the board. I'm ranked fourth. That's 36 S-ranks, 167 A-ranks, 358 B-ranks, and 1,234 C-ranks. Total? 1,795 missions."
Axel grinned.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm the greatest. You can read the rest on your own. I'm out."
Axel walked away, hands in his pockets.
"Umm... okay. I'll make sure to study."
Leon turned back to the board, scanning the names.
Whoa... Raven's ranked second. Over 4,000 missions completed?
"Well, since I'm always the one breaking them down and walking you through 'em, I get credit for a lot," a familiar voice said behind him.
Leon turned to see Raven standing in the doorway.
"I figured it was you," he said.
She stepped forward, eyes calm.
"Do you mind if we talk for a bit?"