(Octavian 26, 59 / 8:30AM)

  (Jenny) Luke?

  A faint knock was heard outside Luke’s dorm.

  Csping both of her hands down to her crotch, Jenny straightened her back as her gsses started to loosen their hold on her ears.

  With the helm of her lenses reaching onto the bottom portion of her nose, she adjusted the position by using her pointer finger to push it back so that her eyeshes made contact with the lenses.

  (Jenny) Are you there Luke? David said you have a letter to read.

  Hearing nothing but silence, Jenny turned the golden circur door knob until a quiet click was dispatched. Still having her right hand on the knob, she turned it clockwise for the door to be open wide.

  (Jenny) What the…

  Luke slept peacefully on the hard wooden floor.

  Still resting his eyes, Luke slowly turned his head to the left as dark eyebags reeked every part of his eyelids. His right cheek was still being crushed by the floor below, and his arms remained motionless as his left hand held onto a metal blocky game controller.

  But Luke wasn’t the only one in that position.

  On top of his bed that he couldn’t sleep, id Jack, Miles, and Stan who toppled onto each other like a can of sardines. All three of them were in a deep slumber, not even the whiff of stale soda or homemade pizza was enough to wake them, as the food was all piled onto one of the desks beside the TV.

  The TV was one of the few colored ones that were manufactured from Ticia right before the fall, as well as one of the consoles being produced at the same time. Even though Kepputha was technologically 30 years behind Ticia, the outlets and power were retively the same.

  And to the opposite side of the room y Gary and Diego, who slept sitting up as they both had the back of their heads rubbing against the white wallpapered walls.

  Looking down specifically at Luke, her face darkened while uncsping both of her hands, letting them drop to her sides.

  (Jenny) Hey…

  Luke slowly opened his eyes as the eye-crust tried to glue them shut. Unable to even push himself out of the floor, he let his mouth open agape, his lips already dried and wrinkled like he ran a marathon in a desert.

  (Luke) Hey Jenny … cough … Do you need something?

  Fast forward.

  (David) All six of you look like shit.

  Several minutes ter, the six men were all huddled up inside the rge kitchen inside of the Dark Angels building.

  Every one of them had pitch-bck eyebags that encompassed all around their eyes, with the only exception being Jack. Instead of the coffee cups that the rest of the men had in front of them, Jack only had just a pstic water bottle that was straight out of the storage room.

  (David) What the hell were you guys doing?

  (Luke) We were doing a video game tournament, but then it turned into casual game night, and then a roast battle, and then a wrestling match, and I guess we all just crashed…

  (David) sighs…

  (Boris) Are those party animals awake I take it?

  Out of the end of the hallway, came a chubby man who wore a bck fedora and suit, with circur gsses that reflected his gray irises.

  In his right hand, he held a khaki-colored envelope, while he had his left hand inside of his pocket. With everyone in the room turning their attention onto the overseer of the Dark Angels, Luke rubbed his eyes while letting out a soft groan.

  (Luke) Yeah, we’re awake, but barely.

  (Boris) Then I hope you’re wide awake to take in the info on this envelope then.

  Standing in front of Luke, Boris held out the envelope as Luke proceeded to shyly take it. Gripping it with both of his fingers, Luke tore the top part of the envelope as a single line of paper was deeply tucked inside.

  Shaking the paper that resided in it, it was then settled on the table in front of him.

  (Luke) Who’s this for?

  (Boris) It’s a military envelope, and the person they want to communicate with is with you.

  (Luke) Me? What does the military want from me?

  (Boris) I suggest reading it will work. You know, with your eyes?

  Putting the pieces of the khaki envelope inside of his leather jacket, Luke unfolded the yers upon yers of folds that were bonded together like a mysterious code. Finally having the full paper right in front of him, it was big enough to be compared to just a regur sheet of ordinary paper.

  Clearing his throat, Luke skimmed through the top of the letter as there was one name that he recognized immediately.

  (Luke) It’s from President Reed.

  Everyone went silent, with some of them puckering up their mouths with their lips.

  David and Boris, the only ones who didn’t let shock overcome them, took matters into their own hands and hovered over Luke as he continued to scan the paper. Boris, who had his hands behind his back, read along with Luke while David could barely keep up.

  (Luke) It’s a summoning, the president wants to see us personally.

  (Boris) Not personally, Reed wants to hold a military ceremony for you guys.

  (Luke) But this letter doesn’t say anything about a ceremony here.

  Luke put down the sheet of white paper as he still had it with the tip of his fingers. Bringing it down to his side, Jack spoke up as he csped both of his hands together.

  This caused Luke to turn his attention onto the well-groomed man, by perking his ears up as well as leaning his body close to Jack’s voice.

  (Jack) We saved the city. We saved this country. I mean, it’s about time we get acknowledged for our bor of fruits.

  (Luke) I think you mean the fruits of our bor.

  (Jack) Whatever. But still, we should go.

  Luke scratched his right temple with his right hand.

  Gncing at Jack, he squinted his eyes back onto the paper that he held with both of his hands. Looking toward Jack again, he put down the paper as he still had his palms hovering over the letter.

  (Luke) Well … maybe I was just paranoid that’s all. It’s all out of the blue you know. And also it seems pretty te for them to finally acknowledge us.

  (Stan) Best guess, probably took a while for the politicians and high figures to safely settle into Lagefor again.

  (Luke) Maybe, but remember that telephone call that Boris had on the day that Lagefor was attacked?

  Stan folded his arms, tilting his chair back as he looked down onto the ground. Rocking back and forth, Stan allowed the memories of that pitiful and chaotic day to settle in, his face soulless and ck of human emotion that even put Miles in worry.

  Not only that, but Stan quickly stopped his rocking, while fully having all four legs of the chair as straight as a crystal. Laying down his hands, he had them supported by his knees that started to dig deep into his wrists.

  (Stan) I remember. Many high military personnel were assigned to Las Thens, by orders from President Reed.

  Luke held both of his hands together in a firm grip, as he hunched his back forward so that his face was slightly leaning. With his left red eye gleaming onto the brown-ginger-haired man that made eye contact back, Luke slowly let out a comforting smile that caused Stan to tilt his head up.

  (Luke) Either way, I don’t think the President would just let his city be terrorized by a couple of liches.

  Getting up from his seat, Luke turned around to face both Boris and David who stood side by side like peas in a pod. Straightening his back, Luke angled both of his hands and arms so that they were pointed downward onto the kitchen floor.

  The rest of the men that were sitting at the table followed suit.

  (Luke) We could give the President some regard. I guess me, you and him had one promise in common.

  (Boris) Not letting this city have the same fate as Cstine, I know.

  Luke then turned his head toward the group of men that he had pyed with not too long ago, as their faces were all drooped down to the ground.

  Putting both of his hands onto his sides, Luke’s smile reached a higher altitude so that it barely reached the level of his nose. Sticking out his right hand, he then gave all the men that were behind him a big thumbs up, causing some of his friends to flinch upward by the sudden gesture.

  (Luke) I think it’s about time that we make a name for ourselves.

  (Gary) I like the sound of that.

  (Diego) Me too.

  (Stan) Me three.

  (Jack) Me four.

  (Miles) You killed it.

  (Jack) Shut up! You killed it!

  As he saw the zy-eyed yet moving men who were barely awake to begin with, Luke grabbed the cup of coffee that was still letting out burning steam. Putting the edge of the mug right onto his lips, he ingested half of the hot coffee in one go, before settling it down onto the table again.

  With his right sleeve, he swiped away a bit of that same coffee that got onto both his bottom and upper lips.

  (Luke) Before we settle on a date, I should probably tell Luna and Hope about this…

  (Luke’s thoughts) And also our little goofstar.

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Octavian 28, 59 8:00AM)

  A couple of days ter.

  Soft knocking trickled a white door with dented marks along its hinges.

  The doorknob that was supposed to be a circle was wrapped in an oval shape, along the white paint vastly slid off compared to the other doors around the floor he was on. As no response was given from the other side, Luke softly twisted the slightly broken-down doorknob to let himself in.

  And upon just opening the door wide…

  (Luke’s thoughts) How messy is she?!

  Bnkets and pillows littered the wooden floor all around her bed, with the culprit’s sleeping face still deep asleep as she id her face on a crusty old pillow.

  Having a bnket to barely wrap herself in, the ends of it were mostly hanging off the edge of the bed. Her mouth was covered in drool, a bit of it dropped to form tiny puddles as some of her hair managed to get stained by it.

  And stly, her mouth was open, which made it so that her throat could form the common sound of …

  (Luna) Heavy snoring.

  Making a deadpan face, Luke had his lips ftlined as he looked down with both of his hands onto his sides. Shaking his head once, he let out an exhale of air out of his pink lungs before he tiptoed into Luna’s ir.

  Carefully managing to not step onto any bnkets that would be stained by his freshly cleaned leather boots, Luke hovered over the side on which Luna was sleeping. Analyzing her sleeping face, Luke recalled the first time in which both of them met.

  (Luke’s thoughts) She took everyone by surprise by her beauty. But I guess everyone has that one fw that holds them back.

  Slowly, he put his right hand on her left shoulder, giving her a little nudge.

  Nuding even harder, her body began to shake as her snoring finally ceased. Noticing that the loud noise that came from her throat was gone, Luke—

  Had his wrist instantly held by Luna’s left hand.

  Widening his eyes, Luke remained still as Luna began to wake up from her deep slumber, her eyes already gring at him. Instead of crushing or stabbing her fingernails into Luke’s wrist, she just held onto it as a low angry groan came out from the innards of her throat.

  (Luna) What do you want?

  (Luke) Uh … today is the military ceremony.

  (Luna) I’m not going.

  (Luke) But I kind of told them that I’m bringing everybody to the ceremony.

  (Luna) No.

  Still being devoured by the soft mattress that comforted her, Luna moved her body away from Luke as she let go of his wrist. Continuing to gre at him, she began to wrap her arms around a leftover pillow that was covered in old drool and sweat stains.

  Luke scratched the back of his head with the hand so that he could move again while continuing to wryly smile as the corners of his lips couldn’t fulfill a simple grin. Seeing that Luna was just wearing a simple white crop top along with baggy sweatpants, reminded him of his mother’s usual pajamas that she used to wear.

  (Luke) Come on, please. It’s just for today.

  (Luna) Go away.

  (Luke) sighs … ok.

  Putting both of his hands inside his leather jacket, he turned around to let Luna be left alone with just her old pillows. Just as he was about to step one foot out of the room, Luke stopped right underneath the door frame while not looking back at him.

  (Luke) Is this because I forgot to give you the stack of donuts like I promised you?

  No groan or sound came from her throat, only the ruffling of bnkets and bedsheets being tossed and turned as if she were adjusting her sleep position.

  Gncing in the back of him, Luke noticed that she faced the opposite side of him, as she continued to hold onto the old pillow. Rubbing his hands once, he spoke in front of the wall that was in the hallway, as his voice wasn’t directed at Luna yet it did.

  (Luke) Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you by any means.

  (Luna) Go.

  (Luke) … You know Hope’s going too you know.

  Luna quickly turned her head toward Luke.

  Letting go of the old pillow, she threw it away as she grabbed hold of the bedsheets that were riddled with the same stains as that of her pillows. Clenching the back ends of her teeth, Luna constrained herself as her fingernails began to stab the very bed sheets that cradled her through her past six years of being a soldier.

  (Luna) Excuse me?!

  (Luke) Well, you guys may seem like rivals, but I feel like you guys are friends … sort of.

  Luna jumped out of bed and she set both of her bare feet down onto the floor riddled with old bnkets.

  Her hands already enclosed into fists, she stomped her way toward the shy Luke, who happened to turn his body around to see the angered woman. Standing right in front of him, she deathly gred at him as she growled the words out of her mouth.

  (Luna) Me and her are not friends!

  (Luke) Then—

  (Luna) You win! You win, you win, you win! I’m going! Happy now!? Now get out of my room!

  Taking a step back, Luna smmed the door shut as its bolts and screws let out a shriek of pain.

  Looking to the left of him, Luke noticed a blonde-haired girl with blue eyes who watched the event unfold. Having her hands csped together, she was several feet away as she slightly leaned on the ordinary flower-painted walls.

  (Luke) At least I got her out.

  (Hope) She didn’t have to go if she didn't want to.

  (Luke) I kind of promised Boris that I would be bringing everyone. I can’t tell the President that our strongest soldier couldn’t go because she wanted to sleep in.

  Hope gave off a simple nod as she looked down at her fidgeting hands that barely held onto her fingers. Twirling with them for a solid two seconds, she uncsped them as she shyly looked up at Luke.

  While having a couple of strands of hair blocking her right eye.

  (Hope) I wanted to talk to you about what happened a month ago.

  (Luke) During the attack on Lagefor?

  (Hope) Yeah, when me and you fought against Gemma…

  Luke looked the other way as he used his left hand to rub against his right shoulder.

  Looking down onto the carpet floor that trickled against his clean leather boots, Luke’s lips quivered from the memories that flooded in. Not even tilting his head upward, the wry smile that he tried to shine off was repced by a frown within seconds.

  (Hope) What happened?

  (Luke) I uh… I don’t know.

  (Hope) You were … not like yourself.

  (Luke) … I’m sorry.

  Hope’s footsteps towards Luke tapped and crinkled the hallway around her while closing up her hands as she curled up her fingers into her palms.

  Standing in front of Luke, her shy demeanor was quickly swept away as she put her curled-up hands onto her hips. Like a mother who was grounding their child, Hope let out a frown while she moved her head close to Luke’s face, despite the height difference between them.

  (Hope) Please don’t let that happen again. I thought you went insane or crazy after everything you went through.

  (Luke) I promise that it will never happen again.

  (Hope) Pinky promise.

  (Luke) Pinky promise?

  Taking a step back, Hope extended her right hand while sticking out her pinky.

  Having her motherly frown that was etched on her face, her eyes daggered into Luke’s left red eye as she couldn’t penetrate the side bang that covered his right eye. In return, Luke took out his right hand and also stook out his pinky, making contact with Hope’s as both now were connected through one finger.

  (Hope) Now make an oath.

  (Luke) Uh … I, Luke—

  (Hope) Again. You have to be confident.

  (Luke) Ok, ok. I Luke Fenix will never let those feelings of anger cloud my vision and mind ever again.

  Hope let go of her pinky finger as she pced her right hand back into her leather jacket. Straightening her back, she let out an exhale of air out of her lungs, using her open mouth to do the job.

  She then made a calm and reassuring grin, as the crevices of her lips barely reached the height level of her nose.

  (Hope) Thank you. I should continue getting ready for the ceremony.

  (Luke) That’s ok. The boys and I are already finished getting ready. But there is one thing that I want to do before I go.

  (Hope) One thing?

  Leaving Hope to continue getting ready for the ceremony, Luke stepped out of the building and into the back garden that was filled with roses, tulips, and daisies.

  Feeling the morning cool air brustled against the strands of his hair, both of his hands started to crack and thaw by just feeling the air freeze up his joints. Despite being a summer month, Luke took note of the early chilly mornings that humidified the grass below which he walked through.

  His boots soaking up with water, Luke finally reached the pce that he wanted to see before he went.

  (Luke) We’re finally getting recognition. I think you would’ve loved to be recognized, probably by some lead band guitarist.

  In front of him was a tombstone surrounded by sunflowers.

  Continuing to stand up, he pced his right hand on top of the freshly made stone that created a new home for the fallen soldier. Bits of pebbles and rock fell off from the top, not even a trail of dust was formed along the stone.

  His palms got scratched by the sharp crevices that he rubbed against.

  (Luke) You just rest. After the ceremony, I’ll make sure you get a little statue. After all, you did more than anyone ever could.

  Pulling back his right hand, he then walked away with his head looking toward the door that was going to let him back inside. Putting both hands into his leather jacket, he went through the water-filled grass that soaked up his fresh leather boots, his socks already sogging up.

  Just as he was about to open the door to leave the garden…

  (???) You did more.

  Turning his head back, he looked around the garden.

  Unable to see a figure, Luke looked back toward the tombstone that was being shined by a ray of sunlight. Seeing this, Luke entered back inside the building with a warm smile, closing the door on his way out.