The Spectre

Chapter Eight

2045

"Hey, wake up!" Jez was jolted from his dream, and he turned to find Zara staring at him, an unimpressed expression on her face. "Sorry for interrupting, but the teacher is giving us the death stare!" she scolded, and Jez looked to the front of the room to see that she was right. Their old teacher with white hair and a permanent scowl on his face looked even more displeased than usual. "Now that we are all paying attention today," he grumbled, quickly continuing with his lecture. "The Spectre's were power-hungry. They were desperate to be noticed by the world, and when they realised we had become more popular, they began turning corrupt and evil! Killing any of us that they passed in the street!" Jez sighed and glanced back at Zara, who was still staring at him. "I was dreaming," Jez said softly.

They had had too many talks about this for Zara to be told any more. "Oh," she said, quietly so that their teacher would not hear. "You thinking about your mom again?" Jez nodded, risking a quick glance around the room before whispering, "It was ten years ago today that she was murdered by a Spectre." Zara sighed and, unless Jez was mistaken, rolled her eyes. "We have talked about this. You don't know that it was a Spectre!" she said, clearly exasperated, but Jez shook his head stubbornly. He was not going to be told any different. "My father, the General, saw the Spectre fleeing the house! Even the kernel said that it was definitely a Spectre!" To that, Zara had no response. She just nodded and resumed staring at the teacher, looking as though she was actually interested in the class for once.

"I know you have your...opinion on the way we choose to stand up for justice, but when my own mother becomes a victim, I have to start following the rest of the Zodiacs." Jez thought it was a reasonable thing to say, but Zara remained silent. "The Spectre Games are happening in a few days. Aren't you bothered by forcing people who may be innocent to kill each other?" Zara said after several quiet moments, and Jez gaped at her. The question itself had caught him off guard, but when he thought about it, he could see what she meant. "Either way, we cannot do anything about it," Jez said, but Zara seemed determined to get her point across, "You're the General's son!" Jez felt himself grow angry, and he pointed a finger to his left cheek, where the red, crossed-shape scar rested. "I won't convince him," he muttered.

The teacher at the front of the room coughed loudly, and both Jez and Zara looked up to find him staring straight at them. "Jez! You may be the General's son, but you still have to pay attention in my class!" the teacher sighed, waited for the two to stare at him, and then he continued. "Spectres thought we were thieves and murderers over several disputes in the past. Their influence on the law lead to Zodiacs being arrested under false charges, and shopkeepers began refusing to sell us food. For our own survival, the Zodiacs moved out here, in isolation." As though on cue, the door to the classroom swung open, and the General stepped inside. "This is correct. I am the one who made sure we had a place to move to," the General said, stopping in the centre of the classroom and turning to face the students.

"Under my leadership, I have shaped our Zodiac Empire into one that will conquer what has been taken from us. The Zodiac Empire has grown tremendously since the past ten years when my own wife was murdered by the Spectres." The General paused for several seconds, letting his words sink in. "Our Empire is now ready to finally show the world that we are not afraid to stand up for what is right, and we have an army that is feared by all!" He stopped again, and even Jez felt compelled to stand alongside the General no matter what. His father was good at speeches. "Now that most of you boys are fifteen, aside from a few fourteen-year-old exceptions, you are able to train as not just soldiers, but Elite Guards. Our time to come out to the world is drawing closer. Only one of you shall be chosen as an Elite Guard."

He stopped yet again, but Jez now felt a burning desire to be the Elite Guard his father was telling them they had to become. "You will be the last group of young trainees to be part of this conquest. If you wish to train to be an Elite Guard, make your way down to the gym with me for the first trial of your skills." Zara sighed and leaned back in her chair, and Jez realised what was bothering her. "Look, I'm sorry girls aren't allowed to be in the Empire. I might be able to ask him if you can still fight, though," Jez said, trying to be helpful, but Zara shook her head. "Don't bother. I do not care about the army and all. The only thing I want from the world is peace." Jez wishes he knew where she got her wisdom from, but then he turned and hurried away without saying more. He caught up with his father and the boys from his class within seconds.