"You either lick my boot or you die." Demi stated bodly.
As the crowd stared in awe, they were panicked but too scared to speak. They felt stuck, as if they shouldn't be here. But they weren't dismissed, so they couldn't leave. Stuck in an infinite loop of awkwardness.
Demi waved his hand and lazily pointed at five of the most muscular recruits in the crowd.
James hardly noticed. He had dissociated completely, his eyes locked on Orman's lifeless body.
The five most muscular men walked forward. Demi told them to bow.
As he put his boot forward, he said, "You will be the new recruits and will be shipped to the infantry training course for Infantry B, located on the US Virgin Islands."
He arrogantly mocked, "Show me your IDs."
The five reached into their pockets nervous, shaking in front of the smaller man.
Demi took the ID cards with a smile and handed them to Sho, who, without hesitation, crushed them all in one hand. He tossed the shards behind him.
"Plastic really fell off…" Sho thought to himself.
"You don't need those anymore," Demi said casually.
The silence that followed was unbearable.
"Your new identification is now Bootlicker 1, Bootlicker 2, Bootlicker 3, 4, and 5," Demi declared. "And you will introduce yourselves to the Infantry teachers as such."
Trying not to laugh, he added, "Your life expectancy is now fifteen months."
"Thank you so much for your service, and have a good day."
Sho turned away, stifling his own laughter.
The five men stood frozen, stripped of name, identity, and worth.
Demi put his hand behind his head and playfully walked away.
"What about us?" The crowd stood there in disbelief. Everyone wanted to ask the question, but no one could. They were as insignificant as forgetting to turn off the lights before bed.
Demi quickly backtracked, clearly forgetting, "Yeah, you all can go home."
In disappointment and anger, they simply decided to leave. Cursing, they stomped off through the doors.
As everyone walked away, one man stood incredibly still.
James's heart stopped beating; he grabbed his chest tightly. While everyone around him simply left, something Demi said resonated deep inside James.
Maybe the reality he was fed growing up was a lie. Maybe they were nothing more than useless men sent to war to die.
As he looked at the door and saw the last few people leaving, he took a step—but his leg froze. He couldn't move.
If he was nothing more than a useless man sent to war, then he must become more than that. He must force himself to become more than a man—an Überman, a man so powerful he's capable of truly making a difference in this world.
And if he was sent back to the academy, there was no possible way he could do that. He needed to reach his full potential while the bar was still high. While the environment was still hot.
So James made the biggest mistake of his entire life.
He went through the opposite door and followed behind Demi.
The moment he went through the door, he was hemmed up by his neck as Sho grabbed him and smashed him through the door right back to the courtyard.
Demi hearing this walked behind his lieutenant Sho, staring at James who didn't leave. His piercing gaze said a lot—however, he didn't even respect James enough to say any words.
James came to the simplest conclusion he could: he had to earn his spot in this organization. For them to see his talents, he had to fight.
Live or die.
"Dye my wool red."
Crack my skull.
It doesnt matter.
"I will never be sheep."
James whispered.
Im dropping all my morals. Im sacrificing my life here. Everything, James was overcome with emotion.
I'll never lick the boot of men like you.
Walking off Demi paused. "Men like me?"
As the battle continued it was.....
Dissapointing.
Despite his efforts James couldn't even land a clean hit on Demi.
Until...
James did everything he could to fight Demi however nothing worked. Demi slipped his punch with a half-smile, closing one eye as he pivoted and drove a kick into James's ribs, sending him skidding across the courtyard.
"There are no men like me," Demi muttered. "I am—"
Flames erupted around them before he could finish, the air twisting with heat.
Sho blinked, confused.
James steadied himself, throwing his technology to the ground, he slowly raised his hand pointing to the sky. His voice was steady and cold.
"There will always be men like you-."
-
James stood beside the brown door. Speaking to himself, his eyes grey and dead.
He had never entered the room.
He had entered the room.
He had never entered the room
A room?
What room. Behind the door was nothing. A empty room
rom.
ROom?
Whom?
The guards watched, guarding the brown door, not saying a single word.
A fly pitched on the eyeball of the Gaurd. As they stood there, no reaction. No dilation of the pupil. Nothing.
As fog entered and left the room, A tear ran down the eye of James.
Trying His best to break free, his words slurring "T-t-there will always."
Cries*
"There will always be men like you."