Elite

Chapter 4

Elyria was dragged by the infantry soldiers to the building where the offices were. They sat her down on a stool in a small, well-lit room that had only two chairs facing each other and a steel table between them, a CCTV sitting at a corner of the ceiling.

They left her there without a word, and not bothering to remove her handcuffs.

Elyria yawned and rested her face on the table, the cold steel biting her skin. If only she had her hands free, she could use her arms as pillows.

She's not sure how much time has passed, she's starting to think that they've forgotten about her. Should she get up and do something about it?

She shakes the thought away and turns her neck on the opposite side, resting the other side of her face on the table, the uncomfortable position is not ideal for sleeping but she does it anyway.

"She's clear, General's order.", Elyria woke up hearing someone outside the door say before it unlocked. She opened her eyes to a guy in spectacles wearing a lab gown. His hair had streaks of gray, and age lines in the corner of his eyes and mouth were deep.

One of the soldiers who brought her there asked her to stand and proceeded to remove her handcuffs. She strokes her wrists, not realizing how numb they are.

"Follow me", the guy in the lab gown said.

They walked out of the building without talking to each other and crossed the yard.

"What time is it?", Elyria asked noticing that the yard was now empty.

"Class is scheduled right now.", the guy didn't turn to look at her.

They entered the north-west building where classes are held. Elyria earned a few stares and whispers from the elites that they've come across the hallway, she's guessing word travels quickly in here.

The guy stopped in front of a door, his hands on the doorknob but hesitated opening it as he turned to face her, "Please stop causing any more trouble, I can't save your ass every time."

"Well aware", she answered and followed the man inside the room.

The recruits whipped their heads at them almost at the same time and went quiet when they entered the classroom. They were all wearing their black uniforms aside from Elyria who was still in the clothes she slept in. A few dirt covered the front of her shirt from being tackled to the ground earlier but she didn't seem to mind.

Elyria sat on the first chair she saw which is the closest to the door. A recruit who was standing next to it, and who was supposed to sit there simply moved to the back of the room to find another vacant desk.

The man stood in front of the class, "Good morning! Sorry for being late, and welcome to your first class.", he greeted.

"I'm Dr. Evangale, I'm a scientist who is an expert in astrogeology amongst other things but you can just call me professor.", he continued.

"Let's start with something basic, shall we?", he said and slowly paced the front of the room back and forth staring at the floor as if thinking where to start.

"Can anyone tell me why there's an immediate need to reclaim land on Earth?", he asked and faced the recruits.

"Because we only have precisely three years to live here.",  Hulk answered from his seat.

"And why is that?", a follow-up question from the professor.

"Bergelmir is on its way to revolve around the back of Narvi, which means no sunlight which will make it impossible for us to live.", Tatter was proud of her answer.