Two weeks had passed since the man they had come to know as General Osen had informed them of their mandatory conscription.
Now, the duo was lined up in multiple rows with people of a similar age bracket.
All of them were wearing the same colors and clothes.
The military had provided them with PT clothes as none of them had clothes readily available due to the sudden event.
They couldn't even check on the outside world for information because of the lack of signal.
Not only that but the military had taken their devices away from them.
"...so you see!!" General Osen spat on the face of someone in the first row but the girl didn't flinch as all of them had gotten quite used to the spittle that left the General's mouth.
Kale was absolutely convinced that it was completely intentional because, in his opinion, there was no way anyone could lose that much saliva every time they spoke.
"THIS IS NOT A SISSY SHOW FOR WANKERS!!!" He continued to yell at them.
"EVERY SECOND YOU SPEND OUT THERE BEING A FAILURE, SOMEONE DIES!!!" General Osen moved from the first row and continued his spittle-yelling.
"God, when will this end?" A timid voice whispered amongst the yelling yet it stuck out like a sore thumb.
"End? When will this end?" General Osen's voice calmed which frightened every single person there.
"This will only end when either you are dead or those fuckers are!!"
"Unless you were referring to this session. Then in that case, it'll end right now." A smile that they had never seen played on his lips.
"Everyone can leave except you."
"You, my friend, are going to keep on doing laps around the entire building until your legs stop working."
Without waiting and afraid to incur his wrath, everyone marched out and dispersed.
"To be honest, it is beyond foolish to speak out your qualms with something when the person in charge of it is close by." Axel sighed before pushing in his glasses.
He hadn't had a pair before but the sonic attack by the creature had affected his eyesight.
While he appeared fine with it, Kale could tell his friend was still adjusting to the glasses hence the constant adjustment.
"I think you watch too much anime." Kale suddenly commented much to Axel's surprise.
"You sure you're feeling alright? Scratch that. You aren't alright, never have been." The latter sighed and continued walking.
"Don't deny it. The constant adjustment with the two hands fixed in your pockets. Heck, I've seen you adjust your glasses after saying something smart." Kale continued.
"I primarily read online novels, remember?" Axel countered.
"And it's still the same you that kept on ranting on about how the best anime are usually always first an online novel. Your favorite example was Uni-leveling." The two exchanged banter.
During the two weeks since they first saw General Osen, they had been moved from the hospital to a large and abandoned estate.
Axel had tried to convince Kale that it wasn't abandoned but Kale refused to listen.
Not only that but they had given them rooms to share with three other people.
The only saving grace for Kale was that Axel was in the same room. Just like Kale, Axel's entire family died amidst the chaos.
From what he understood, it wasn't the creatures that had killed them but other humans.
Axel's Mom had been assaulted and then killed most likely by the same people.
His dad had been shot by the people who assaulted his mom and his younger brother had been trampled to death.
He didn't even flinch or cry when he heard the news. Even Kale's eyes had watered yet the one whose family was involved appeared unmoved.
"I deduced that they had died but the idea that it was by humans wasn't one of the possible reasons I had considered." Axel's tone was flat and emotionless.
______
"Kale!" Axel screamed to get the attention of his friend.
"Man, what are you always thinking about?" Axel asked with a slight laugh in his tone.
"Things going back to normal or perhaps revenge for the ones we lost," Kale replied absent-mindedly.
"Well perhaps if we pass and enter the military. Otherwise, there is no way we can do that, and even if we try, we'll just be marching to our deaths."
Axel and Kale stopped in front of their room and made a silent decision to continue their discussion later before entering.
They had spent some time interacting with their roommates, but it never went beyond surface familiarity, which wasn't a problem for them or their roommates.
With nothing else to do and their roommates being somewhere else, the duo used the chance to rest up a bit.
*********
"Listen and listen well!" General Osen was back to yelling with spittle once again.
"Military grade SUVs will come to take you to the testing facility where it'll be determined if you'd serve on the frontlines like a real soldier." The military officers behind him saluted.
"Or behind the lines like a little bitch!" He continued.
"I did not spend the last two weeks training and speaking kind words to you sissies for no reason. I did it so that you'll stop being the waste of space that you are."
"So go out there and show me some degree of worth!!!" He completed his 'inspirational' speech and dismissed everyone.
Kale and Axel stood in place and looked into the distance.
"This was only the prelude. The real challenge is coming." Axel sighed and pushed the rim of his glasses to adjust them.
"Okay, maybe I do sometimes act like an anime character."
After waiting for about thirty minutes, various SUVs arrived at the building they were in.
The soon-to-be recruits filed in one by one until all of them had entered.
This wasn't just going on for them but for other age groups in various places across the world. The revolution of humanity was beginning.