As Allan boarded the bus, he found that many young people his age had already settled into their seats. Allan was in his third year of high school; he was enrolled at Eastgate High School of New Chicago, a public institution famously known for nurturing young people so that one day they could be awakened and join the efforts to reconquer their world.
As Allan moved through the middle of the bus, he noticed that many of his classmates were glued to their phones. Some were showing them to the ones behind them and others to the people across the bus aisle.
They were all watching the same thing; clips of the news video feed were already circulating through social media. Many young people did not watch TV that early in the morning, and especially not the news, but social media was an entirely different matter. It was just tradition in Allan's household to eat breakfast as the news was on.
Allan kept walking through the aisle until a hand started waving enthusiastically in his direction. It was Matthias, his best friend since childhood.
"Yo Allan! Hurry up, man, I have to show you something!" Matthias yelled out.
He was the complete opposite of Allan; he was the definition of an extrovert. He was loud, joyful, and full of energy.
His face was framed by warm brown hair, neatly combed to the right. His expression seemed to be permanently on the verge of a grin It seemed he spent more time outdoors than inside, making his skin bear a warm olive complexion. A few loose strands always found a way to escape, softening his appearance. His eyes matched the rich brown of his hair, bright and expressive, which rarely stayed still, darting in every direction as if looking for new things to find.
Contrary to his best friend, Allan was a teenager with a fair complexion, giving him a pale, almost sickly appearance that contrasted sharply with his jet-black hair. He was average in height, standing a little over five feet ten inches tall. His hair was thick and slightly messy, falling naturally across his forehead in loose strands that resisted staying neatly in place; no matter how much he had tried to comb it before, it always went back to its dishevelled state.
"Yeah, I think I know what it is…" Allan responded while looking around the bus.
As he sat down, Matthias basically shoved his phone screen on Allan's face.
"Dude, it's insane. I've never seen the veiled outside of pictures or books…and now they literally showed how one mpaled two people!" he said. It sounded like he was screaming, but no, his voice was naturally loud.
"Yeah, it was gruesome," Allan answered.
"My mom was basically screaming about how dare they show something like that, and not only that, but many people have been reporting the news channel for showing something like that without even reviewing it first," Matt had a habit of speaking too fast when he was excited about something. Which made it hard for Allan to keep up sometimes.
"I haven't seen the clips, but I did see the video feed on the news while eating breakfast," Allan responded.
"What class do you think it is? Do you think it's intelligent enough to speak? How did it even cross without anyone noticing?" Matt started shooting questions in his direction one after another, in what seemed to have been a single breath.
"Dude, relax, even if we know all of that, there's nothing we can do about it yet." Allan didn't bother trying to answer all of his friend's questions; he knew Matt, he was just too excited. "Besides, I'm pretty sure that the video made it clear to everyone that the creature could not be taken lightly, so the council must be preparing for an expedition," Allan concluded.
Which made sense, as the role of the council had changed in the last seventy years from what had been originally intended.
"I know…but aren't you curious? When we graduate, we may have to fight things like that." Matt answered, sounding uncharacteristically concerned.
"Well, that is if we graduate and actually become awakened. Don't forget that we still need to pass the world's trial." Allan said with an indifferent tone.
Not everyone becomes awakened, and even though no death has ever occurred, If one was deemed unworthy of receiving the world's blessing, it could cause serious harm. One had to train in all aspects of their being to pass; their body, mind, spirit, and soul. Without an average amount of mastery in all these five aspects, one would be rejected by the world itself. Thus, not awakening.
The pair continued talking about recent events and the new video feed. They didn't notice that their school was slowly approaching.
Soon they had arrived at their destination. Eastgate High School was in front of them.
It was a High School surrounded by an immense wall that looked like it could take a huge amount of punishment before letting any uninvited guests in. Soldiers patrolled the perimeter, holding rifles and handguns, while automatic turrets protected each section of the wall.
One had to remember that this school in particular was responsible for creating such highly valuable champions for humanity.
While it was not a fully military school or complex, the government had decided that it would be best to protect the institution that nurtured humanity's hope.