After Whiplash had received his shared dorm with Furor, and he had chosen the bed closest the window, the bell chimed. It was a pleasing sound, not something to get annoyed of, like his school bell. But now there was no school. Furor bolted out of the room, almost knocking Whiplash over. He sniffed, rolling his eyes, and beginning to head to the Eatery.
"Welcome, all!" Aileen was standing at the back of the room, the setting sunlight from the skylight casting into the room and shining on her hair.
Whiplash sat next to Luna, who was seated at a table with all males. She was joking around with one, supposedly her brother. "Hello, Whiplash!" Luna greeted him with a wave.
"Hello. Who's this?" Whiplash smiles politely at the boy, a lesson he'd been taught by his mother.
The thoughts of his mother filled him with sorrow, but he continued to smile. The boy responded with a snort. "Don't get too overprotective of your girlfriend," he ignored Luna's angry kick to his leg, and Whiplash's defensive glare. "I'm her brother, Arlo. I'm a Bravery."
Whiplash nodded, sitting down. Arlo had the same black hair, but had dark eyes. He also had the same slender physique as his sister. There was a tinkling sound, causing the crowd to divert their attention to the back of the room. Aileen stands, holding some sort of transparent tablet-like device. She dismisses the image with a button on her glasses, and clears her throat. "We welcome all of you... As new soldiers. I am sure you will all do amazing, and obey your friendly dictator. I, Aileen, have made a promise to help you all out as much as I can," Aileen places a gloved hand to her bust. "As well as Highest Pyre. None of us are Manipulators, but we will be there for you as much as we can. Now, eat!"
Aileen, Gale, and Orion leave. Flocks of people get up and move to the food belt. Whiplash follows, gaping at all of the delicious-smelling food. He was never used to this luxury where he came from. If only the dictator supplied his faction like he did the training building. He does not eat much, for his stomach is not used to this amount. He gets up, defeated, and bids farewell to his table. As he walked out into the hallway, the moonlight filtered from the skylight, his long silver hair shimmering. As he walked up the smooth steps, he looked down at his reflection. Who was he? What powers did he have, if he had any?
He bumped into Furor, who was walking down the stairs. Furor let out an 'oof' as Whiplash caught himself from falling with the glass railing. "Sorry." Whiplash mumbled.
Furor nervously laughed, tucking a strand of neon blue hair behind a pierced ear. "That's fine. What're you doing out, Whiplash? Done eating?"
"I could ask you the same thing." Whiplash responded.
"Well, I applied for a weapon to harness my power. There are SO many rules to follow..." Furor groans. "You?"
"I'm not used to eating this much. I'm just heading back to the dorm."
"Right. Well, see you tomorrow!"
And with that, Furor hurried down the stairs. Whiplash watched him, before turning back and continuing to his dorm.
Whiplash rested his head on his pillow. The curvy window was slid open, sending a soft breeze through the room. He listened to the growing silence in the streets below, and began to drift off.
He awoke to a crash. He bolted out of his podbed, tiptoeing to the center of the room. The window was now closed, and he raced to it. He looked out the bubble window, having trouble seeing in the dark. Large shimmering objects floated in the skies, surrounding a much more large ship. Honeycomb patterns were visible on the bottoms of the ships, some lighting in bright yellows and oranges. Veins of yellow light streaked down the mothership's body, as a beam of light fired soundlessly from a honeycomb with a flurry of yellow. It came to the city with the same crash as before, and vibrant flames leaped into the sky. Whiplash sprinted to Furor's podbed, tripping along the way.
Furor wasn't there. Whiplash looked to the window one final time, as more flames began to lick the city and more explosions sounded. He fought the urge to cry out, as he raced down the empty hallway to exit the Manipulators quarters. He flew down the stairs, and somehow knew to scan his wrist to open the grand doors. He stumbled outside, looking skyward. There was a blinding flash, and he awoke, back in his room.
He placed a hand to his throbbing head. He stumbled blindly out of his podbed, and to the bubble window again. There was no fire, no strange objects in the sky. He swallowed hard, and looked to Furor's podbed. There Furor slept, softly breathing. Whiplash placed his hand to his forehead again, squeezing his eyes shut. It was just a dream. It felt so real, though. He drifted back to his bed, happy for the warmth of the silk sheets.
