The auditorium went silent. What General Leo was about to tell them could either abate their fears or increase them.
His cold eyes pierced everyone.
"The Earth, no, our universe, is threatened by destruction."
Such a wild claim would have riled the humor of everyone present if the memory of the two beasts fighting wasn't still fresh in their memories.
And so to think that such creatures were a universal threat wasn't unreasonable.
Kale glanced at Axel and noticed that he was unfazed.
'Did he already know?' That was the only thing he could come up with to explain Axel's complete lack of a reaction.
"Contrary to what you think, the threat isn't the beasts but where they come from." General Leo resumed.
He jumped over the rails and landed with a heavy thud.
With slow strides, he moved amongst the recruits and stopped only when he got to the middle.
"North!!!" His voice carried power.
"North lies a rift the size of a hill. The first rift. It was the first rip in our reality to ever appear yet nothing came from it." A little chuckle left his lips.
"East lies the second rift, the size of a house, but nothing has left it, yet."
The General reached for his pocket and brought out a small knife.
"Somewhere in Texas lies a gate the size of a knife's edge." He lifted his knife to use as a reference.
"There are numerous small gates this size that randomly appear and send out monstrous beasts."
Kale stared at General Leo, unable to look away.
"These gates lead to another dimension. Dimension Zero. A place with different physical laws and biological inhabitants."
Kale's eyes shrank.
'Does this mean that?-'
"Yes. The creatures that we have encountered so far are merely animals from Dimension Zero." He replied to Kale's silent question.
"If these rifts aren't closed, our universe's laws would become undone, and we will all be destroyed."
For the first time since the beginning of his speech, Kale could hear a hint of worry in his voice.
"And that is why you have all been placed into the various roles that you'd be the most useful."
Taking a deep breath, he resumed.
"Those wearing black are all soldiers. Those wearing blue…" He pointed at Axel's group.
"... Are researchers. Red is for engineers and green is for utility staff."
Kale looked around but took note of the lack of the last two colors.
'So Axel is a Researcher. It suits him. I wonder what it entails though.' Kale couldn't help but think.
"Now, these are just roles, but your sub-roles determine where exactly you'll be. A test will be carried out to determine it."
"That's all for now." The meeting came to an end with many recruits still confused or frightened.
Kale didn't think about any other thing other than processing the sheer weight of what he had been told.
"Kale."
He turned and saw a familiar red-headed giant.
"Ian, what do you want?" Kale's tone was a bit off, he was still trying to absorb everything.
"Sorry if I am troubling you but I was wondering if you could be my friend?" Despite his size, Ian's voice was gentle and soft.
Thinking for a couple of seconds, Kale gave in.
The two exchanged contact information, and Kale was prepared to walk away when another person called his name.
He reluctantly turned around and saw Axel in his blue tracksuit and lab coat.
"I always knew your brains would land you in the lab," Kale remarked.
"You are honestly surprised by becoming a soldier." Axel retorted.
The two burst out laughing and hugged.
"I'd really like to stay and hang out, but I have to leave. Let's just say Researchers are not exactly given full freedom."
Axel scanned the code off Kale's phone and got his contact.
"There. So we can now talk whenever it's convenient."
And with a wave, Axel took off.
Kale headed straight for his room and laid on the bed once more.
The test was the next day and it would determine his role in the clearly upcoming war. He had to lock in.
As he was thinking, his phone buzzed.
[Guess who]
He thought for a bit before replying.
[I don't remember giving my contact to any idiot]
Waiting for a reply, his phone buzzed. A message but from someone else.
[Hey]
Kale stared at the message, 'I already have Ian's contact, who's this?'
[Umm… It's me, Ming Lee]
And Kale's jaw went slack.
[I don't think it's possible to give yourself your contact]
Axel had finally responded but Kale barely noticed.
________
Kale stood amongst the rows of people wearing black tracksuits.
Beside him, on the right, was the row wearing red, and beside them was blue, then green.
They were gathered in the auditorium and were waiting for further instructions.
"THE MILITARY DOESN'T HAVE TIME TO WASTE SENDING IMPORTANT PEOPLE TO ADDRESS YOU, SO THEY ONLY SENT ONE. ME!!!" General Osen was back.
"LISTEN YOU FUCK TWATS!!! YOU ARE EACH GOING TO UNDERGO TESTS FOR YOUR ROLE." He continued spitting only when he got close to their faces.
"THIS WILL DETERMINE HOW USELESS YOU WILL BE IN THIS BATTLE FOR OUR SURVIVAL!!" A storm of saliva rained on them.
"The soldiers have already been provided with a battle suit. The Researchers have their Micro Research Lab…"
"Engineers and Utility staff have the workshop and plants respectively. Use these wisely during your test." His voice went low.
"Prepare yourselves, the test will begin in five minutes."
Each second felt like an eternity. The military had mentioned the battle suit meaning that it was his.
But ever since his first day, he hadn't put it back on.
He could only hope that it wouldn't hold him back.
More time passed until Miss Cayenne walked in front of them.
"Soldiers follow me and let the test begin."