"Where the hell are you taking me?!" Tyra shouted.
She was paraded through the courtyard of the high school, with two men in stylized, admiral-fashioned uniforms with insignias on their chests.
Many students watched the display. The entire school had frozen in time, silently spectating Tyra's enlistment. Everyone had seen men like them before as they were all across the news when it came to Periodics finding. They acted more as watchdogs than as a form of actual task force.
They forcefully dragged Tyra away, not so much because they were instructed to do so, but because the girl was majorly uncooperative. Even when her neck had been burning from before, they eased her pain readily and gave her time to rest. But even after, she had long resolved not to go anywhere with them.
Armaros and the others from the lecture hall watched from the windows of their room as Tyra tried everything to break free. But soon enough, she had already passed the gatefront, into a black government car that bore the same insignia upon the men's chests—a crow framed by a sword and shield.
She's really getting carried away…I can't believe it, Armaros thought.
As Tyra was placed in the car, Armaros couldn't help but want to chase after her for more reasons than one. One of the operative ones was centered on the fact that his girlfriend had just been dragged away right before his eyes. But the other was more inline with his wants to go with her, to have the chances she was inevitably going to have.
Periodics—at least those that managed to survive each wave—would instantly become celebrities and known worldwide overnight. Coupling such a boost in exposure to the possibility of having powers like ones out of a comic book, and the allure was so tempting that he couldn't help wanting to be hauled violently too if it meant attaining them.
As he saw her head dip below the car frame to enter the car, Tyra's eyes met with his one last time. She seemed to mouth something to him, some form of a plea for help. But Armaros could only mouth back his own thoughts.
Tyra…take me with you.
Thereafter, the car took off with Tyra, and she was fully unprepared for beginning her new life
*******
Driving to the more upscale-side of the city they were in, Tyra was taken to a high-rise building that was enormous compared to the surrounding structures. The city Tyra and Armaros lived in just so happened to be where one of the major buildings for the North American Branch of the Wave Hunters was stationed. And whilst there were more facilities around the country, only four were prominent, with every Periodic being funneled to them after their discovery.
No longer bound and restricted by the men's holding, they stopped in front of the building and hurried to let Tyra step out. The first thing she saw was many reporters everywhere, swarming around other people attired in training fashion jump-suits. These were other newly found Periodics that had been acclimated earlier.
It was like a red-carpet screening, one Tyra wanted no part of. She was never one for glamour or the front-row spotlight, keeping to herself or confiding in the only person like her—Armaros. She couldn't help thinking that this was all wrong. This wasn't her life—this was something he would have adored.
God, help me, she thought, as the men led her away from all the flashing lights and interviewed Periodics through a side-entry of the building.
The side-entry gave way to a place textured in a blue-hue that screamed technologically advanced. From the way the walls looked to the ceiling lights overhead and the spacious nature of even the reception area, all of it was grandeur with a sense of mythic awe. Bureaucratic, sterile, it looks so divine and regal. Tyra was left to marvel at the spectacle, while her escorts carried her through the reception area.
Being led forward, one man uttered a quick phrase to one of the many receptionists, who were seated in a fashion akin to airport entry at an airport.
"NPA-10078."
Immediately, the receptionist nodded her head, allowing a set of doors beside her desk to dematerialize into thin air. The men then led Tyra behind the reception desk, down a long corridor that seemed to sit behind each of the receptionists.
*******
Further inside the facility, it seemed they had constructed it with more luxuries to make it feel more like an academic institution. Though the place had multiple floors for various purposes, it seemed like most of the classrooms were placed on the bottom floor—those for lecture studies, that is.
Great, so even after I become one of these glorified dead bodies, I still have to go to school…, Tyra thought, walking through a wooden corridor of these classrooms equipped with sliding doors.
Some of these doors were open, allowing a view of others her age present in them. Many of their eyes were glowing different colours, emitting a small UI interface before them in the air. Some seemed confused, and others seemed to figure their way around it, even if it was just by pure luck. At the sight of these, Tyra's own eyes flashed a quick pink, trying to activate.
No screen appeared, due to a lack of knowledge on how to bring it forth.
Soon, they arrived at the elevator system. The men and Tyra entered the elevator with a weird, deafening silence that grew louder after the doorway closed shut. One of them entered a floor number, the building having about 20 floors. The luxury of the place left Tyra feeling numb—unused to such high standards of living.
"Um…I don't suppose I can ask you guys any questions, can I?" Tyra said, after what felt like hours of being silent.
"The advisor assigned to you will answer all your questions. We will arrive soon," the man behind her said, ticking off Tyra.
"You know, you could at least hear out the question, you—"
And just like that, the elevator shot upward with an irregular speed so drastic that it caused Tyra to collapse against the darkly attired man. In seconds, they were on the 20th floor—home to all the advisors for each Periodic user, and a special Periodic who many called "The Lord".
Each national branch had a Lord, and they were always the first to awaken in a new Periodic year. They would normally awaken 1 month before the awakening month for other Periodics, destined to be the greatest of them all, as some form of leader. Only 7 lords could exist in the world at once.
As the elevator opened, it revealed a corridor with many large glass cubicles overlooking the city. Horizon to Horizon was viewable from these rooms. Each cubicle had one or two people at large desks that held a myriad of instruments, technologically advanced computers and systems. Some of these people's computers took reference from the interface UI produced by the Periodic System.
They led Tyra to her advisor, who was further in the back of the floor layout. This was due in part to her later discovery period. Upon entering the room and smelling the sweet fragrances of aerosol and perfume, she was introduced to her advisor—a man with grey hair positioned behind a lavish workspace desk.
"Ah, you must be Tyra, young woman. It is my pleasure to be in the presence of a new fledgling Periodic. My name is Daniel Harr," the man said, enthusiastic and lively in vigour, despite his middle-age, businesslike appearance. "Please come in."
The two men left Tyra with her supervisor. The girl slowly stepped forward and took a seat on one of the overly ornate chairs in the room. A scowl of disapproval and anger took hold of her face, though this didn't seem to faze her advisor.
"Listen, dear. I've seen that face before." He told her, calm and unfettered, too calm for Tyra's liking. "Many have had that same face on the starting day, but then go on to be much happier, if not thankful."
"Don't feed me bullshit; that can't possibly be true…especially after all the pain I was in before coming here."
With a sigh, the man continued his conversation.
"I understand your frustration, but I promise it will get better." he said, HR-like in cadence, "but before I get you updated in the system so we can get you a room and situated, I need to ask you a few questions—"
"How about you answer mine first, Mr. Advisor man," Tyra said, leaning forward with a glare, intending to pressure the man into answering if he didn't. "I don't care what you or those people on TV claim I am, but I want to know how I get rid of this thing. This is not the life I want, nor is it anything that I sign-up for. How do I get rid of it?"
"It's not that simple, Tyra. There is no way of getting rid of it—"
"That's another bag of shit! Listen here, I don't want this! Just from watching a fucking recording in my class today alone was enough for me to know that I am not built to do anything of what I saw!"
"At the moment, you aren't—but that is why we are here to help you, Tyra."
He then spoke in an awkwardly calm voice, as if he had rehearsed the next few lines, "Please, just bear with me, and I promise you will be more than capable of looking back and saying that you were scared for nothing in the next five months before the first wave."
"Can't someone else just take this from me?" Tyra said, thinking back to Armaros. "There has to be something…"
"I am sorry, Tyra. This may not have been the life you wanted, but now you were chosen. But because of that, you will go on to do great things for humanity. Just like the many others like you. You're not alone. You have my promise that the Wave Hunters association and I will do everything in our power to teach you all we know about the Periodic System and the world you are now a part of. All of you are destined for greatness, but you can't run from it, because if you do…you will die before even the first wave begins."
Fear jumped onto Tyra's face. "What—what…"
"Many have been in your position, Tyra, and they tried other ways to shirk their duties. If you don't show up for the first wave or do something to try to get out of the system, you will die instantly—struck down by whichever God from legend who governs this system." he continued, voice dropping dangerously low, "there is no running from this, only surviving it."
Broken and defeated, Tyra went silent. Mr. Harr looked away from her, understanding her silence too well.
I…I have no choice then…It's either I die a coward, or just die. If this were Armaros…he—-he wouldn't care; he'd be ready to take on the world. He wouldn't be a coward like me.
At that moment, she had only one decision to make. This was her only way of living to see another tomorrow and make her boyfriend proud—a lover who deserved this more than she ever did.
With a nervous smile on her face, she spoke once more. "Fine…I guess I don't really choose. But for him…I'll give it my shot. I'll learn how to survive."