The Afters

One

A/N
I put my time and effort into this... so enjoy lmao
Follow me! I'm lonely!😞

Chapter 1

"Pick up the pace!" I could hear Sargent Gates shout from somewhere on the sidelines. I reached for the bar in front of me as I dangled over 12 inch spikes. Other kids around me lurched forward on the simple-but-deadly money bar drill. I spotted Ben a few bars ahead of me and inwardly smiled. He was in his full titanium form and his muscles, though they were silver, were bulging. "Ghost! Let's go!"

I snapped back into reality and reached for the bar ahead of me.

"Alright," Sargent Gates bellowed. "Shoving is now allowed!"

I moved faster through the bars because I knew how aggressive some freshman got.

"Hey Ghost," I turned just in time to see Creeper, a girl who really hates me, swing her legs in my direction to try to make me fall to my doom.

"Quit it Creeper," I reached for the next bar.

"Never!" she shouted and kicked me in the face. I lost my grip and fell. I felt the 12 inch spike drive into my back and come out through my stomach. I looked up and saw Ben's eyes widen in anger and horror. Then I saw Creeper snicker and move on as if nothing happened.

"That's thirty suicides Ghost," Sargent Gates' voice rang in my ears. I pulled myself off of the spike and watched as my skin stitched itself together. The blood stain was all that remained from the great fall.

Now, I know what you're thinking... shouldn't she be dead. Well, if I was a 21st century human than yes, but this is the 35th century, things are different. In the year 2075 Russia finally declared war on China. We call this the Before Stages. The people who lived during those times were called the Priors. After that happened the world plunged into a massive war. It is said that there were five year breaks in between some of the wars, but no one knows for sure. In those times, everyone was your enemy, humans turned on each other. Alliances broken and made every few hours.

Then, when the Finitives came, we called that the transition period. The people who lived in that time were called the inbes (pronounced kinda like indie music, except with a 'b') short for the inbetweens. This was around the year 3294, and the nations had to band together to stop them. The Finitives, aliens as the inbetweens called them, were savage. They wiped out anything, everything, and anyone who was in their path. Refugee camps were made in military bases that had survived the wrath of the Finitives.

There were 4,325 camps when the inbetweens started to fight back. When they finally drove the Finitives off of the earth in 3499, there were only three camps left.

Here's the twisted thing about the whole war... they had children fight because there was a scarce amounts of adults. I, Ghost, am a sixteen year old soldier in one of the three camps.

Now, back to the situation when my body survived a 12 inch spike going right through me. In the year 3298, the FInitives accidentally unleashed a toxin into the water that gave the 33rd century humans mutant abilities. Through the years, the abilities have doubled and even tripled in the genetics. The small portion of humans who didn't gain abilities quickly died off.

That is the reason the camps use children. Their abilities are way more advanced than any adult due to the fact that their genetics have been modified through time. I have the ability to self heal and have telepathy.

Ben, my boyfriend, is indestructible. He looks normal, but when he's fighting, his skin turns into a sliver trimantium (strongest metal of our time) and it is bulletproof and any type of weapon or nuclear explosion. It's not easy because not everybody is indestructible or self healing. By the time you are my age, you have seen a lot more death that a 21st century kid have. We, the fighters of the 35th century, are called the Afters because we were born after the big epidemic.

As for Creeper calling me Ghost, you were rarely called by your real name unless you knew the person really well (Creeper's real name isn't Creeper if that's what you're wondering and Ben's name is Terminator).

"Ghost!" I snapped out of a daze for the second time and faced Sargent Gates. "When I said thirty suicides, I meant now!"

I stood at attention then jogged off towards the track.

* * * * * * * * *

"I don't care if you can self heal, Creeper needs to back off," Ben hit his fist lightly against the cafeteria table, even that left a dent. He was sometimes too strong for his own good.

"Did it hurt?" I asked softly while placing my free hand on his fist and unballing it. I wasn't sure why I was asking, but felt the need to. "I mean watching me get... impaled."

Ben shifted hand so that he was holding mine and looked up at me. His shaggy dark brown hair fell into his eyes as his built, but not too bulky, figure hunched over his dinner tray.

"It always does," his deep blue eyes met my bright emerald ones. "I can't help but think 'is this the time that her abilities won't save her? Is she really going to die this time?'"

"Mutant abilities don't work that way, you know that."

"Still, if I lost you..." I could feel Ben's eyes sweep over me like he was trying to memorize how I looked. My light brown hair tied back into a tight ponytail, my plain, black long sleeve shirt, my baggy army cargo pants, and my very small freckles that you could miss if you didn't look hard enough. Ben never missed them. "You mean everything to me, you know that."

He nudged me with is boot. I grinned and squeezed his hand.

"Attention Afters! Every soldier to their section barracks. Section leaders to the headquarters!" the overhead speaker blared. I looked around at the faces of everyone in the cafeteria, we were all shocked. Nobody, not even section leaders like Ben, got called to the headquarters.

I turned to Ben with worry-filled eyes. He looked really pale but got up and dropped a kiss on my cheek and whispering 'I'll see you later' before leaving. I stood up and got in line with the other soldiers from my section. A general marched us back to our barracks and shut the door firmly behind us.