Wednesday, May 8th, 1945.
USA, New York, New York City.
"The Nazi regime has finally fallen. You'd believe the Japanese would surrender as well, but it seems they are holding their ground! Japan is determined to continue this war until America finally bleeds out! But do not worry, America will do whatever it takes to end this war!"
A young white woman with wavy-fine chestnut brown hair was staring at a television set that played the news from a technology store window. Looking at the time on her pocket watch, she hurried out of the crowd surrounding the store, looking for any taxis on the road but finding none in sight. She groaned in frustration, not seeing any yellow cars anywhere. When she finally found a cab, she stretched out her arm and waved her hand at the driver. The cab driver stopped in front of her. The young woman sighed in relief and opened the back seat door before going inside, closing the door behind her in the process.
"Where to, ma'am?" the middle-aged, Brooklyn-sounding cab driver asked, looking at her from his rear mirror.
"New York University," the woman answered. The cab driver nodded in response as he starts driving again. "If you haven't come, I would have had to run my way there."
The cab driver lets out a raspy chuckle. "Not everyone gets to celebrate the end of the war. Some of us gotta keep working," he says as he kept his eyes on the road. "You got a name, Miss?"
"Auryon Washington, sir." the woman answered with a bright smile. The woman, now known as Auryon, looked out the cab window, seeing the crowd of people pass by.
"Orion?" the cab driver asked, "with an O?" The cab driver asked.
"No. It 's Auryon—A-U-R-Y-O-N." She corrected.
"So, it's 'ARE-YON,' correct? Sounds ridiculous." the driver chuckled.
Auryon sighed, nodding as a response to the man.
When the cab brought her to the university, she immediately paid the driver before exiting the taxi and ran towards the picturesque, white-walled university. The university looked like a castle in Great Britain. When she came inside, she was astonished by the beautiful atrium she entered, beams of light shooting through the many glass windows of the university. She realized she was getting distracted and continued walking. Auryon was lost, deciding to ask for help.
"Excuse me!" Auryon walked towards a tall, middle-aged, white man wearing a gray tweed suit with a bow tie. He wore round-eyed glasses and appeared to be balding. The man turned around to look at her.
"Need something, miss?" The man asked with a soothing, modulated voice.
"I'm looking for the zoology department."
"Really?" the man asked with a chuckle. "Would you like me to bring you there?"
Auryon nodded as a response, a bright smile forming on her face. "Thank you, sir!"
The man gestured her to follow him as he started walking. Auryon followed the man at the same pace.
"may I ask for your name, sir?"
"I am Professor Edward Morton, head of the zoology department," the man introduced himself. "If I may ask, what is your business there, miss?"
"O-Oh, right!" Auryon stopped to introduce herself. Edward stopped as well to look at the young woman. "My name is Auryon Washington. I am twenty-one years old, and I want to join your department after quitting my previous job."
"That young, huh?" a smile slid across Edward's face. "Well, Miss Washington. Once we head to my office, we will discuss your qualifications."
After arriving at the zoology department of the university, they go into Edward's office room. The office had walnut wood flooring; the walls have an amber colour, complimenting the walnut wood flooring; there was a unique oak work desk with a large glass window to shine sunlight on it.
"Take a seat, Auryon," Edward said to her, gesturing to the leather accent chair in front of the desk as he takes a seat on the leather desk chair. Auryon sat down, just like he said, as Edward takes out some papers from his desk drawer, putting on reading glasses and started reading them.
After reading the papers, Edward looks at Auryon. "You were an assistant at Los Alamos Laboratory?" he asked.
"Yes, sir."
"May I ask what you were working on?"
Auryon scratches the back of her head. "Well, we were studying plutonium and implosion," she answered. "But, I resigned before we could use it for anything," she let out a chuckle.
"Well, I spoke with Dr. Oppenheimer the day before your arrival, and he spoke highly of you, Miss Washington," Edward continues, removing his reading glasses. "You are a prodigy from what your colleagues and university professors told me, so I believe there is no need for this interview to go any further."
Auryon looks at the older man, trying to contain her excitement, and she clenched her hands together on her lap. "So, am I hired?"
Edward smiles at Auryon. "Once I call the headmaster, I'll be expecting you here tomorrow, seven-in-the-morning."
"Really?!" Auryon asked loudly as she immediately stood up from her seat, startling Edward. After realizing her inappropriate reaction, she slowly sat down then says in a mannered tone, "really?"
Edward chuckles then nods his head. "Yes, Auryon, and it's all right to be exhilarated."
Auryon stood up and held her hand out to Edward to shake his hand. "Thank you, professor."
Edward took Auryon's hand and shook it before letting go. She turned around and walked towards the door, opening it and leaving the room.
After leaving the university building, she stood in the middle of the university's campus. No longer was she able to contain her excitement. She lets it all out by cheering in joy, at the same time startling or catching the attention of the students nearby her. Noticing this caused her to stop immediately. She took deep breaths and stood up straight. She continued walking, avoiding the many eyes that stared at her.
Later, Auryon got off a bus in the boroughs of Manhattan. After leaving the bus, she continued walking down the sidewalk until she made it to an old red brick apartment building. She looks up at the large building before walking towards the main entrance. When doing so, she accidentally ran into someone tall. She stumbles back a bit, then looks up at who she bumped into.
"Hey, watch where you're--" after Auryon's first glance at the person, it was a tall black man with a buzz cut; he looks to be the same age as her. She was surprised because it was someone she recognized. "--Booker?"
YOU ARE READING
Auryon: Rise of the Herrenrasse
Action{Published on February 15, 2020} The Nazi regime is now over, but that doesn't mean there will be peace. Twenty-seven year old, Auryon Washington, was an ex-physicist and is now a zoologist at New York University. When she was assigned to go to Col...
