"Booker!" said Auryon with excitement. She then immediately wrapped her arms around the black man, then pulling him into a hug. "Thank god, you're back! I thought your discharge isn't until September."
"A-Auri," fretted Booker. He looked around the street, seeing a few eyes from white men and women staring at the two. He quickly pulled her off of himself. "I thought I told you not to do this whenever we're in public."
"Oh, come on," she rolled her eyes at him. "A negro being around a white girl won't be the end of the world." Before Booker could make a retort, Auryon interrupts him. "Come in; I have a bottle of rum I was saving till your discharge," she coaxed. "I won't be taking no for an answer, Booker."
A small grin come across Booker's face as he shrugged. "I guess I have no choice," he answered. Auryon then opened the entrance before they both go inside the apartment building.
They later arrive at Auryon's apartment room. When going inside, Booker looked around the one-bedroom apartment. While Auryon went into the small kitchen to get the rum from her cabinets, Booker had his eyes on a black wood console table by a window in the living room. The table has a vase holding a single white rose inside; there was also a tabletop picture frame on top of it. He walked towards the table and picked up the picture frame. He saw a smiling, young girl with wavy-short hair standing in between an adult man and woman.
"Hey, Auri?" he called out, turning around to see Auryon come out of the kitchen, holding a bottle of rum and two shot glasses.
"Yeah?" Auryon looked at Booker, seeing him holding the picture frame. She walks up to him. "I was pretty cute back then, wasn't I?"
"Y-Yeah," Booker cleared his throat. He puts the picture frame back down on the table.
Auryon placed the two glasses on the coffee table before pouring rum into the glasses. She picked up a glass of rum before sitting down on the gray couch—Auryon gestures Booker to join her. Booker nodded and walked towards the couch before sitting down and picking up a filled glass.
"So, why the early discharge?" Auryon asked curiously.
"I got wounded in battle, so I was discharged early," Booker answers. "My superior officer was kind enough to do some tweaking with the report to make sure I don't have to come back to the fight."
"Sounds illegal."
"No one will question a white man in a high position, so I don't care."
Auryon began smiling excitedly at him. "You were in the 761st Tank Battalion, right?" She leaned closer to Booker, causing him to lean back a bit bashfully. "Win any awards?"
"Earlier than I was supposed to, but I guess that's the perk of being sent home for getting hurt." Booker chuckled. "Yeah, let me get it." He takes a sip from the glass before putting it back down on the coffee table. He gets up from the couch then towards his bag.
As Auryon watched Booker rummage through his bag, he pulls out a bronze star-shaped medal attached to a red, white and blue ribbon. He went back to the couch to give her a closer look. She stares at the bronze star in amazement. Auryon looks at Booker, smiling brightly.
"Congratulations!"
Booker's cheeks flush red as he chuckles nervously. "T-Thanks," he looks away from Auryon's bright gaze. "All I did was help some soldiers from getting killed."
"That's still a huge accomplishment!"
Booker also showed Auryon another medal he received. A Purple Heart for those who were wounded or killed while serving.
"E-Enough about me," Booker puts the medals down on the coffee table. "How was the lab?"
"I can't say much about it," Auryon shrugged before gulping down the glass of rum in her hand. "Even though I quit my job at the lab, I still can't spill the beans."
"Secret government stuff, huh?"
Auryon nodded, pouring more rum into her empty glass. She'd love to tell him, but it isn't something she can tell everyone. Edward was an exception because she's her boss now, and she thought she had to tell him at least a bit of what she was doing at Los Alamos to get the job.
Auryon sighed, and just when she was about to take a sip from her glass, a loud ring startles her, almost making her drop her drink. She turned to the rotary telephone that rang on a wooden table in the corner of the living room. Auryon gets up from the couch and puts her glass down on the coffee table before walking towards the telephone. She picked up the receiver before placing it against her ear.
"Hello?" She answers the call, wondering who it was.
"Miss Washington, it's Edward Morton from the university."
"Oh, Dr. Morton, is there something you need?"
"I spoke with the headmaster, and he is happy to have you in my department."
"Really?!" Auryon shouts in excitement, startling Booker in the process.
A soft chuckle came from Edward through the phone. "Also, sorry if this sounds like a huge request, but can you come to the Penn Station?" he asked. "I'm sending a team to Colorado to do research on a new species that was spotted there."
New species? Auryon thought to herself. Hearing this filled her with exhilaration. She became more eager to start working. But, this information made her nervous too.
"New species?" Auryon asked Edward, curious about what he means by that.
"When you get there, you'll find a blonde-haired man by the name of Cain Müller; he'll explain everything," Edward answered.
"Okay... may I make a request?"
"Of course, what do you need?"
Auryon looks back at Booker, who was drinking his third glass of rum. He noticed her staring and smiled at her. She smiled back at her friend as Edward started to speak again.
"Ms. Washington?"
"Yes, I'm still here."
"What is your request?"
"Would it be alright if... I bring a friend?"
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...
